《Esper Labyrinth - ESP - Superhero - LITRPG》 Prologue: A Nice Afternoon An orchestra of jubilation echoed throughout the dormitory, carrying relief and expectation in equal measure. It was a chaotic mix of masculine and feminine voices celebrating their accomplishments. Savouring the sweet nectar of freedom after weeks of preparation for the final exams. Some would be coming back for another year, but most were finished with their studies. Outside, the spring breeze billowed with a comforting warmth. The few trees left standing on the street rustled their leaves impatiently, as if they were old codgers reprimanding the youths drunkenly dancing beneath their canopies. I experienced all the revelries through the lounge room window on the second floor, practically tasting the tantalizing treats being served at nearby restaurants by their fragrance. Freshly cooked slices of pizza, baked apple tarts and pies, roasted chickens served with platters of stuffed peppers, prime ribs bathed in sauces, crabs and lobster drowned in thick tubs of butter and many, many more. Almost everyone was splurging whatever meager funds they still had on good food and strong drinks. Determined to make this a night to remember. Even the sight of cleanup crews dismantling rift-spawn corpses and sweeping up shell casings barely registered with my fellows. Couples and clustered partygoers walked around the dried clumps of blackened blood and viscera without a care in the world. Blind to the enormity of the carcasses on display, as well as the damage they¡¯d caused to the barricade separating the university grounds from the now-condemned Birchwood Park. They were all enjoying the comforts of a mostly peaceful county, while Doris enjoyed the comforts of her funeral urn. ¡®Though, I suppose there¡¯s no harm in a little levity. No one they knew was seriously hurt and another layer of concrete covered in barbed wire is being deployed even now.¡¯ Ugly memories threatened to surface once more. Clawing their way from the pit I¡¯d buried them in. The impotence. The lack of control. The inability to do anything when the situation had called for it. I snuffed them out with practiced ease. Breathing in and out the way I¡¯d been taught at the seminars. Invoking positive emotions to supress the negative ones. When that didn¡¯t work, I indulged in another mouthful of beer. The spreading warmth gripped my insides and made my head spin. ¡®You can¡¯t control everything in your life.¡¯ I reminded myself. ¡®People who try end up worse for wear. Let it go.¡¯ I reached out to put the empty can back on the stand and felt it slip through my clumsy fingers to clatter noisily on the floor. Sighing, I gripped the sides of the comfortable armchair to steady myself while rising. Even so, I almost fell forward after leaning down to pick up the can. Each movement made the universe more tilted than before. So much so that I could swear the potted tulips and roses were giggling at me. Them and the ugly pinkish green wallpaper Vince found so amusing. The odd shapes twisting into grinning smiles before skittering away like a million little spiders. I pushed myself harder. Now heading towards the bathroom. Sharpening my focus while cursing my lack of restraint. ¡®That was stupid of me. I should be drinking less. Not more. Drinking won¡¯t bring her back.¡¯ ¡°Hey man! Where are you going!? We haven¡¯t even started partying!¡± I barked out a dreary laugh, turning my head to face Henry. He was shirtless, sporting the same jeans he¡¯d worn during our last exam. In his right hand was an amber bottle of rum. The liquid swirled as he staggered forward, his laughter so mirthful it threatened to sweep him off his feet. He remained standing though. Completely undeterred by the fire in his belly. If anything, the sluggishness added an easy confidence to his already handsome countenance that made him feel invincible. Some people were just built differently. ¡°I think we¡¯ve both partied plenty for tonight pal. I¡¯m going to bed.¡± ¡°But the celebration!¡± ¡°Can wait until Huey¡¯s party.¡± I finished for him. ¡°His folks are loaded and his pantry is always full. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be grand.¡± ¡°Come on Sully! Huey¡¯s all right. But he¡¯s not one of the lads! Not like we are! This¡­¡± He paused to hiccup in the manner of an old school cartoon character. Completing the motion with a disarming sway. Those big blue eyes became unfocused. Tracking the flowers instead of me. ¡®He¡¯s so wasted, he can hear them too.¡¯ I reasoned. Nevertheless, Henry persisted. ¡°This might be our final chance to party it up! All of us together under the same roof! Doesn¡¯t that mean anything to you!?¡± His words were slurred and clumsy. Transforming into incoherent sputtering towards the end. Yet his eyes were pleading. Filled with a deep and genuine sadness. ¡°It means everything to me. But I need to sleep and so do you. The rent¡¯s been paid until the end of the month. We still have a good while to go out and have fun. Vince and Luigi will be back tomorrow morning, so we can go out then.¡± ¡°Ah shucks. You¡¯re no fun anymore Sully! You sound like my mother!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a compliment.¡± ¡°It ain¡¯t¡­¡± His slurred words were drowned out by a shriek coming from the street. We both froze. All traces of mirth having fled our minds as our brains processed the new stimuli. We darted to the window, fearful of what we might find. Our heads poked out, trying to find the monsters, the rifts opening up, the first stages of a spreading chaos. Instead, we found a woman, screaming her head off in the middle of the street. Her long and lustrous black hair falling from her shoulders in a messy tangle. Her eyes were wide as saucers and drool dripped down from her open mouth. A torn white sundress protected her body from the chilly breeze. She wore no shoes. Partygoers were avoiding her like the plague. Inching further and further away with every passing second. I couldn¡¯t blame them. It was an eerie sight, to say the least. ¡°Hey, Henry. She looks really messed up. Maybe we should go help.¡± No sooner had I finished speaking, than the woman began wailing once again. ¡°NIGHTMARES! NIGHTMARES ALL WEEK! COFFIN SPEAKS! DRAKE DANCES! BUTCHER BURNS! UNDER SOLID EARTH! UNDER BOILING SEAS! UNDER BURNING SKIES!¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Henry grabbed my arm. ¡°Yeah. No. I don¡¯t think so.¡± ¡°She sounds like she needs help.¡± I countered, despite my own rising misgivings. ¡°Oh, she definitely needs help. Totally agree with you on that.¡± He rested his free hand on the windowsill in order to keep himself standing. ¡°But we can¡¯t do anything for her right now. Or, any other time, I guess. Leave it to the spooks. They¡¯ll handle it.¡± I blinked at him. Not taking his meaning. ¡°What are they supposed to¡­?¡± ¡°She¡¯s one of them.¡± He interrupted. Pointing a finger at the raving woman. ¡°That¡¯s Cassandra. New in town. Here to study medicine. Recently graduated from the Toronto Hero Program.¡± He paused. Sucking in a steadying breath. ¡°She¡¯s also a B-Rank Telepath.¡± My jaw dropped. Abject horror taking hold. ¡°And she¡¯s been drinking!?¡± ¡°Apparently. Either that or indulging in other stuff. She¡¯s obviously not well.¡± He shook his head, as if to dispel some of the drunkenness with the motion. It didn¡¯t work. He burped again. Closing his eyes tightly before blinking as fast as he could before speaking again. ¡°My pint.¡± He paused for another breath. ¡°Sorry, my point, is that she¡¯s not our respuse¡­. Respas¡­. R-e-s-p-o-n-s-i-b-i-l-i-t-y. Yes, that¡¯s what I meant. She¡¯s not our problem to deal with.¡± ¡°No kidding. What are her handlers doing?¡± Henry shrugged. ¡°Maybe they¡¯re sleeping off a bottle. Or they could be stuck in traffic. Who knows? Who cares? The important thing is that they are not here.¡± ¡°Are we in danger?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t see why? We¡¯re up here and she¡¯s down there.¡± I turned my head to look at him. Really look at him. With the most flabbergasted expression I could conjure. ¡°Henry! Bro! She¡¯s a B-Ranker! Enhancers at that level can flick trucks around like they¡¯re beer cans! She¡¯s a Telepath and she¡¯s right there! What¡¯s her power!? What¡¯s her range!?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know!¡± ¡°How do you not know!? You told me who she was!¡± Henry looked taken aback. ¡°Okay, so I hit on her a couple of times. Maybe we¡­. Did some things. I don¡¯t really know her.¡± ¡°Dammit Henry! Do you not have any sense of self-preservation?¡± Henry was about to answer when his words were drowned out once more. Cassandra had run into a light post, wrapping her thin arms around it to keep herself from falling. She was still sobbing hysterically. Utterly inconsolable in spite of some well-meaning bystanders who¡¯d flocked to her position. ¡°He¡¯s returns! He returns!¡± She wailed. ¡°In the gingerbread house! Across the she-crow. He¡¯s listening. He¡¯s always listening. Deluded and deceived. His eyes are yet to open!¡± She stumbled away from the post and shoved one of the nearby onlookers. Sending an older woman to the floor. ¡°The veil is slashed! He wakes! He comes! Drowning skies in fire!¡± She was turning and turning, facing different sections of the crowd. Almost as if she was trying to find the source of her woes. To stem the flow of whatever cocktail was in her system. ¡°I see him! I feel him! There is no escape! None can run and none can hide from the Coffin or the Drake!¡± She fell flat on her face and began using her hands to crawl along the ground. Perfectly mimicking the movements of a possessed victim in a horror movie. ¡°Fear false friends! Fear their honeyed words! Fear the gnomes! The gnomes! The gnomes!¡± The crowd was rapidly dispersing. People going into nearby restaurants or making their way to other streets before the situation escalated. ¡°The fox hides among the penguins! The beetle seeks raw flesh! The dragon roars and bellows, burning down the mesh!¡± She writhed on the ground. Hugging herself tightly. Not caring about the dirt accumulating on her pretty dress. I winced, imagining what she must have been feeling at the moment. ¡°Come on.¡± Henry said, tugging at my arm. ¡°Nothing good¡¯s going to come from standing here. Let¡¯s go out the back and go somewhere else.¡± He was right. Someone as strong as her could probably mind-control everyone within a few kilometres without us being able to do anything about it. If she lashed out in her current state, the result would grisly, to say the least. ¡°Tyranny! The Tyrant comes! The Tyrant wakes! Inescapable! Overwhelming! Inexorable! Calamitous!¡± She stood and faced the sky, her visage sending shivers down my spine. Her eyes were wide open and bloodshot. Crimson tears running down her face. ¡°Despot! Poet! Judge! Prophet! The purple halo shines! Wings spread out behind him! A crown of cobwebs on his brow! A week of nightmares! Under burning skies!¡± Another noise cut through the ramblings. Sirens. Ambulances and police cars rushing to the now barren street below. There were other cars too. Black minivans with tinted windows that screamed government spook while not making a sound. Cassandra found herself being encircled by two dozen men and women after that. Half of which were armed to the teeth with very heavy looking guns. There was yelling back and forth. Everyone telling the Esper to lay down and surrender or to come to them for help. I closed the window. Satisfied that the incident had been handled by someone in authority. ¡°Whoa. That was wild man. I didn¡¯t know they were letting Telepaths wander around freely. I always thought they were supposed to be supervised around the clock like Shifters.¡± Henry shrugged. ¡°Cass said that she was trusted. She seemed to think that the UM were about to start pushing for more Telepaths in subjugation missions.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked, not quite able to wrap my head around the concept. ¡°Shifters I can understand. Its nice to have a healer on hand when fighting monsters, but Telepaths? What good would that do?¡± ¡°Plenty, apparently. Cass was saying that the response teams are being stretched very thin these days. Decent ammo is getting harder to make with material shortages and Espers aren¡¯t being born fast enough to replace the ones that die fighting. It¡¯s been in the works for some time, according to her.¡± ¡°You realize she just assaulted a woman in the middle of the day and had a mental breakdown not three metres away from our front door, right?¡± ¡°So? She looked sane enough when we were hanging out.¡± I was skeptical. Very skeptical. Yet, there wasn¡¯t anything I could say at that point. Some of what Henry had said was undeniably true, after all. The response teams had been spread thin and the more rural areas had to cope with monster-related deaths more often than not. It was one of the main reasons that food prices had doubled again in the last year. Just as I was about to enter the labour market. Well, it could be worse. At least rent was still cheap, what with all the people dying. I deflated, feeling a wave of exhaustion washing over me. ¡°Whatever, that¡¯s enough excitement for one day. I¡¯m going to bed.¡± ¡°Whoa! Hold on. What about going back to the pub?¡± ¡°You can go if you want man. I needed to be in bed two hours ago.¡± Henry was moving to say something else, but I managed to escape and lock the door behind me before he could start egging me on. We all loved the guy to death, but no one else in our friend group had that supernatural stamina keeping them going. No sir. This was not the time to keep partying. Now was the time to take a relaxing shower and collapse on my bed. The water felt like a gift from the heavens. So hot it was almost scalding. The inexorable torrent washing away the dizziness and the aching with gratifying speed. In their place came exhaustion. My own body¡¯s reminder that I¡¯d made the right choice. Tiny droplets of moisture clung to my hair as I left for my room. Staying with me as I laid down on the sheets and stretched my muscles. It felt good to end the day like this, all wrapped up in blankets and blissfully aware that there would be no more assignments in my near future. No irksome responsibility to see me up at dawn. The notion was liberating in a way that was difficult to put into words. It was made even sweeter by the recruitment offers I¡¯d received. A guaranteed position at a nearby power plant or a distant oil rig as soon as I¡¯d gotten my engineering degree. The latter paid more, but it would mean moving out of province and part of me wanted to explore my newfound financial independence on familiar territory. Somewhere close to my friends, so that we don¡¯t grow apart right away. Perhaps, I could even find a place close to Mom and Dad. I could visit them more often then. Them, and Doris. ¡®No. Not Doris. Let it go. You bloody fool. Dead is dead. It wasn¡¯t your fault. She¡¯d left you for Mason. You weren¡¯t even there that night. Let it go.¡¯ Mason had been with her instead of me. He¡¯d killed the monsters, gotten nasty scars and a fine for bringing a civilian to an outbreak. Yet he was alive and she was dead and no amount of condemnation would change that. ¡®Stop that, you idiot. It wasn¡¯t your fault. Stop thinking about it. That¡¯s done now. Left behind with all the exams and tests and papers.¡¯ It felt so good to be done with all of it. To be rid of the stress that university life had saddled me with. To be done with all the people I couldn¡¯t stand. Tomorrow, I would face the world as a new man. One that wasn¡¯t weighed down by grief, embarrassment or anxiety. Having made up my mind, I released my grip on the waking world and allowed exhaustion to take me away into a deep dreamless sleep. The only thing I was aware of was the sheer, otherworldly comfort of my bed. Time slipped past me like a gentle current, rejuvenating me whilst dragging my anxiety away. This soothing sensation made the following seconds even more jarring. There was no warning for the sudden shift in scenery. One moment I was stirring, waking up slowly and fighting my instinctual desire to keep myself covered in blankets. For a brief, indulgent instant, temptation won. I felt myself drifting off again, the warmth of the bed seducing me into torpor. Chapter 1: A Dream of a Perfect World. Chapter 1: A Dream of a Perfect World. The sheets were warm and comfortable. Their fluffy mass doing a fantastic job of holding in the heat from my body in just the perfect way to make me want to snuggle, without making me sweat. I buried my head deeper into the pillow as I began to stir. Relishing the sensation and not wanting it to end prematurely. My mind kept buzzing though. Coming alive with a distant echo that reverberated within my skull. At first, I thought it was due to my alarm and that I must have set my phone to vibrating last night. But a quick inspection revealed that my phone wasn¡¯t there. Neither was my nightstand for that matter. Indeed, the rest of my dorm room was changed. The space I found myself in being distantly familiar. One that gave me an eerie feeling of faint recognition without standing out from within my memories. I got off the bed and noted that I was smaller now. My body wrapped up in Thunder Fist pajamas instead of my current eveningwear. ¡°Man, this is trippy.¡± I said. Immediately noting that my voice was that of a child¡¯s too. Then I sighed. ¡°I really should ease up on the booze.¡± Even saying the words felt surreal. The faint impressions of a rapidly emerging hangover were dulling my attention. I didn¡¯t usually remember my dreams and the few standouts were never good. It was always something messed up. Like trying to fly but falling into someone¡¯s backyard. Or being chased around by cartoon characters. Floating off the bed while the bed also floated. Freezing to death in my bed. Being unprepared for a surprise exam. Having an extra exam on top of the one I just finished. Having surprise essays after the surprise exam. Cartoon characters chasing me with failed essays; yelling that I should have been prepared to write at least two papers after my surprise exams. That sort of thing. Well, that and Doris. I never remembered being able to feel small things like the goosebumps in my skin or the cold breeze coming from the open window striking out against my face, or even the coldness spreading into my exposed feet. These small details simply didn¡¯t surface when Funny Bunny was out for blood. No, they only came out when I thought about the monster shelter and I¡¯d been doing a great job repressing those memories. I felt a headache coming to me and winced as I brought my hand to my forehead. It didn¡¯t feel like a normal hangover. Instead, it felt as though someone had bashed me over the head with a shovel or some other blunt object. My brain throbbing intensely as if I was seconds away from passing out. Yet I didn¡¯t lose consciousness and the aching redoubled. ¡°Damn it. This dreams sucks. What even brought it on?¡± I dimly recalled the exams, despite the last of them having been finished only yesterday. Then my thoughts drifted to Henry. To the talk we¡¯d had near the window. To the things that woman had been saying before the ambulance took her away. There was, something about delusions? Burning skies and eyes that hadn¡¯t opened? My body started shaking. My stomach churning as I felt my intestines turning and writhing like serpents. I rushed to the bathroom connected to my room. Forcing open the door and trying to heave into the toilet, only for nothing to come out. Worse, the pain redoubled. Travelling from my stomach and up my spine until it rang my head like a church bell. ¡°Sully?¡± A voice called out from outside the bedroom. ¡°Sully? Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yes mom.¡± I said. Knowing that it was only a dream, but unable to keep myself from reassuring her. I stayed there. Heaving and clutching my stomach, until I heard the door opening behind me. I turned with tears in my eyes and almost jumped backwards in surprise. This person, was not my mother. I mean, she looked like her. As she had some 15 or so years ago. Yet there was an underlying wrongness about her. Her features were somehow off. Too relaxed and placid, with a glazed-over expression that seemed to see right past me and out into nothingness. As if it was someone wearing a mask of my mother, instead of the real deal. ¡°Uh. I¡¯m, okay?¡± I said. Partly paralyzed by fear. ¡°That is lovely dear.¡± She answered. With that same glossy gaze that wasn¡¯t particularly focused on anything. She then lowered her head a little. Too slowly for it to be anything like a normal human expression. I squinted and barely made out a humanoid shape sitting on her shoulder. Two cold blue eyes. Like chips of dirty ice, straddling a mouth bearing a wide grin. That impish smile grew slightly wider and the figure waved once before the outline dissipated like morning mist. ¡°Yes. Lovely. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Come down and have some breakfast.¡± ¡®Yeah. No. I think I¡¯d like to wake up now.¡¯ I pinched myself. Hard. Then did it again. Even harder. To no avail. It wasn¡¯t that big of a problem, since I would be waking up eventually, but that knowledge didn¡¯t make the present situation any less uncomfortable. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be having breakfast today mom.¡± I told the creepy facsimile. She nodded slowly. Without any hint of emotion. I felt the twisting in my stomach worsening and I even went so far as to take a couple of steps back. Fearing that the outline might return. It didn¡¯t. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Will you be going to school today?¡± I had to blink. Several times in quick succession. ¡°Uh, is today a school day?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She confirmed with a small smile. ¡°It is.¡± ¡®Ah. There we go. It really is a regular nightmare after all. Only, I¡¯m not in Uni taking an exam, but rather, back in school taking an exam. How very, odd.¡¯ It was still weird for the dream to be so lifelike, but it made some kind of sense now. ¡°No.¡± I told her. Wanting to see how far I could push my choices. ¡°I won¡¯t be going to school today.¡± She bobbed her head up and down like a broken doll and her empty eyes found mine. ¡°Whatever you think is best Sully. I love you.¡± Then she turned around and strolled right back down the stairs. Failing to close the door behind her. ¡®Huh? Wait, really? I don¡¯t have to go?¡¯ I shouldn¡¯t have surprised me in the slightest. This was a dream after all, and nonsensical things happened in dreams all the time. And yet, there was something deeply disconcerting with my mom agreeing so, easily. Even within a dream. It felt wrong. Extremely wrong and unsettling. To the point where I felt the headache redoubling in intensity as I tried to rationalize my unease. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. It felt as though there were thousands, or hundreds of thousands of voices calling out to me from all around the room. Whispers sneaking in from the corners in the ceiling and from underneath the bed. From within the walk-in closet and beneath the desk. From all the books on the bookshelf and the posters on the walls. They were an incessant chorus assaulting me. Pleading for me to let them out. To allow them the freedom to wake up. Their voices sounded young and old and they came in all kinds of accents. All begging. Pleading. To be let out. ¡°Jeez. That¡¯s what I want. I don¡¯t want to be here any more than they do.¡± Yet the buzzing did not end. They kept assaulting me when I tried to crawl back into bed and they kept assaulting me when I pulled the pillow over my head and they kept going and going no matter how much I willed them away. All while my stomach kept turning and twisting. ¡®Oh, my goodness. How long is this going to last? End already and let me out! I have things to do and people to see! I want to go out with Henry and the boys! Let me out!¡¯ The voices did not relent. Neither did the pain for that matter. It all swirled around me like some thick, gaseous soup. A fog that permeated the insides of my mind. ¡°Sully? Will you be having breakfast?¡± The dream version of my mom asked from behind the door. I threw aside the pillow and decided that I might as well. Perhaps then the dream would let me out. I walked down the stairs in sullen silence. Not bothering to change out of my pajamas. Dad was down there. Eating a healthy breakfast of eggs and some assorted vegetables. He had the same vacant expression that mom had plastered on his face. His eyes seeming to drift off into the air without any rhyme or reason. ¡°I heard that you didn¡¯t go to school today.¡± He said. Not sounding angry in the slightest. ¡°No.¡± I confirmed. ¡°I figured that I might try something different here in the dream. For once at least.¡± He didn¡¯t comment on my words, but merely kept nodding. A fact that sent even more chills up my spine. ¡°Very well.¡± He said after a while. ¡°What would you like to do today?¡± I shrugged. Trying to ward off the worst of the headache. And failing. ¡°Well, since I¡¯m here. An ice-cream breakfast would be nice.¡± Mom smiled. Clapping her hands awkwardly as if to congratulate me on my choice. ¡°Of course, dear. What kind of flavour would you like? How many bowls? Would you like me to pour chocolate syrup on top? Or would you prefer to have it with some cake?¡± I blinked at her. Several times in quick succession. Again, it shouldn¡¯t have bothered me, but it did for some reason. My spine practically vibrating with all the chills going up and down its length. My stomach turning into a boulder that still managed to squirm in place. That was when I heard the singing. I turned to look out the front windows and saw them there. Birds of all kinds and colours. Even ones that obviously weren¡¯t native to Canada. All singing their little songs in front of the glass. With no regard for each other. Their movements were inexplicably stiff and robotic in nature. As if they weren¡¯t truly birds at all, but rather, some creepy contraption rigged up to play music in the likeness of birds. Worse yet, were their eyes. Their tiny, beady eyes. They tracked me as I walked along the table¡¯s edge. Somehow coming across as hateful, desperate and terrified, all at once. The TV turned on by itself then and I was greeted by a sleepy-eyed news anchor I didn¡¯t recognize. Smiling in a way that suggested he¡¯d had several hits of morphine before coming on the air and staring out into nothingness in the exact same way that my parents were. ¡°And now for the morning news. Everything is perfect today. There is no crime. There is no scandal. Everyone has housing and everyone has a job. The economy is stable. New toys are being made with the cool moving arms. The government is handing out kittens and puppies. Everyone is happy. This is another perfect day in our perfect world. Now back to you Sean.¡± ¡°Thank you, Tom. There were a lot of sports teams playing last night. Half of them won and half of them lost. It was very exciting. In other news, there were 1, 233 Rifts appearing in the past week. All the monsters tore themselves to pieces or otherwise mysteriously disappeared. No one got hurt.¡± ¡°How wonderful Sean. Now, could you tell us about the mysterious disappearances?¡± ¡°No Tom. We don¡¯t talk about those.¡± ¡°Okay Sean. You look great. I definitely don¡¯t hold a grudge over you keying my car.¡± ¡°Thank you, Tom. It means a lot. I was very stressed and had to let it out before you-know-who made me mysteriously disappear for having bad thoughts.¡± ¡°My pleasure Sean. I for one, live in constant terror that you-know-who will get me too. I¡¯ve actually been pooping blood for the past couple of months.¡± ¡°Uh-oh.¡± ¡°Exactly what I thought. So, I understand where you¡¯re coming from and I assure you that in no way do I wish harm on you. A little vandalism is okay if it keeps you around.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very nice of you Tom. I certainty have changed for the better since then. I love you. Please let me go. Please let my wife and children go. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please¡­¡± ¡°Stay strong Sean. I love you. Now, lets check on the weather¡­.¡± Dad turned the TV off then. His vacant expression turning to me. ¡°Sorry about that Sully. It looked like the news was upsetting you.¡± I had to shake my head. Wincing as the singing of the birds and the voices streaming in from the corners of the room came together to beat me down further. ¡°You know what? I will go to school after all. Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± ¡°Okay dear. I love you.¡± Mom and dad said in unison. Both still wearing those same blank faces. In the end, dad ended up taking me to school. His old car starting up with a rumble outside our old driveway. It would have been a nostalgic, almost pleasant moment, if it weren¡¯t for my neighbours. All of them were lined up outside their own houses. All waving goodbyes at me as we drove down the street. ¡°Have a good day, Sully! We love you!¡± They all said as one. Repeating the words over and over again as we travelled out of the roundabout. Things did not improve at school. Everyone, even Henry had these same empty stares. Smiling without any mirth and, weirdly enough, agreeing with whatever I said. ¡°Henry, I think that Telepath might have done something to me when she was having her fit.¡± I told the younger version of my friend. ¡°Of course, Sully. You¡¯re always right. You¡¯re so smart Sully.¡± I narrowed my eyes at him. ¡°Yeah. I guess I am. And you¡¯re going to be in for a lecture when I finally get out of here.¡± ¡°Of course, Sully. You¡¯re always right. You¡¯re so smart Sully.¡± ¡°I mean, what kind of idiot goes around fraternizing with Telepaths anyway? Do you have any idea what her powers were? What she might be able to do?¡± ¡°No, Sully. You¡¯re always right. You¡¯re so smart Sully.¡± I stopped trying to talk to him. Asking the teacher to distribute the tests so that I could get this whole thing over with. She did so. Stating that, since I wanted to do a test, we would all be doing a test today. Out in the real world, that would have resulted in the other children administering a rather vicious beating to me later. But not in here. All of the other children there agreed that it was a good idea and that I was very smart for wanting to do a test. I was shivering again by that point. So violently that I feared my real body might fall off the bed. ¡°Okay. No. I have had enough of this. Let¡¯s get the test done and be out of here.¡± The test was normal for the second grade. All normal addition and subtraction questions with laughably small numbers. I filled them out with a sigh, hoping that this would be the end of it. I was left disappointed. Forced to suffer through the whole day with that same, excruciating headache and all those voices that pleaded for release. Worse still, was the fact that everyone seemed utterly delighted to see me. To the point where I was actively avoiding people by the end of the day. Sighing in relief as I found my old bed again. ¡®Yes. It must have been her.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®She was a high-Ranker. She must have done something to the neighbourhood while they were taking her away. I¡¯m probably not the only one this has happened to.¡¯ There was a rage building up within me at that notion. A black, billowing pyre of resentment aimed at Espers who couldn¡¯t control themselves. Espers like Mason or that Cassandra woman. Granted, this wasn¡¯t a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but the experience had still been thoroughly unpleasant. ¡®I¡¯ll file a formal complaint in the morning. At the very least. That should be enough to see her reprimanded. I can¡¯t be the only one going through this.¡¯ I calmed myself down with those reassurances and felt myself drifting back into a feeling that felt somewhat like sleep and somewhat like an awakening. A sharp, unceremonious thud took me straight out of my coziness. I registered a hard, uneven surface beneath me. Small jagged stones bit at my back, their sting taking away my drowsiness in an instant. My bed was gone. Vanished like a midsummer fling. The blankets were gone as well. Leaving me in loose fitting pajamas that still held on to some vestige of heat. I opened my eyes at once, seeing uneven cave surfaces surrounding me. Glowing vines and mushrooms lined the walls and ceiling, giving off a pale green glow that drove away the shadows. Beneath them buzzed a menagerie of smaller insects. All with different body shapes and sizes. The only trait they shared was an overly enlarged thorax that glowed blue and red in distinctive patterns. The smallest was the size of a very fat fruit fly. The largest might very well have been capable of hunting small birds. What with the ominous mandibles and the needle-tipped legs hanging loosely in the air. None had noticed me yet. That, or none cared to do anything about me. Instead, one of the largest specimens shot to the side in an instant. Fast as a bullet. Landing on the outline of a¡­ Silver-coloured fish. One that had been flapping thin wing-like membranes to soar through the air moments before. It too was glowing. The victorious predator rejoiced, clacking its mandibles in jubilation. Until a giant armored otter literally teleported next to it and swallowed bug and fish at once. The animal looked my way with four curious eyes. Then it blinked and disappeared with a loud pop and a sudden displacement of air. As a breeze swept over the cave, my mind finally began adjusting, despite the lingering hangover. ¡°I must still be in the dream.¡± I reasoned. ¡°I only imagined waking up.¡± My musings were suddenly interrupted. My whole attention was held by three small, translucent screens that appeared in front of me.
Greetings, Student. Welcome to the Labyrinth Tutorial. Elite Difficulty. (1000 / 1000).
Due to the Labyrinth¡¯s community policies, all profanity will be censored and replaced with whatever non-offensive word inspires the most negative feelings within individual Students.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 55/55
Type: Telepath Level 1
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 1 / [Message] 1 / [Mental Bolt] 1
Ability Points: 0
Chapter 2: Under Solid Earth. Chapter 2: Under Solid Earth. I gaped at the screen. Keeping my eyes locked to it as time seemed to slow and other senses became blurred. My throat felt as dry as a desert. My veins as hot as any volcano. My heart was a thunderstorm of activity. Repeated rounds of explosive power going off inside my chest. My hearing failed, as all the surrounding sounds of dripping water and buzzing insect wings disappeared into a continuous hum. ¡°What the (Exam)?¡± I stopped, startled by my own words. ¡°What the (Exam)? Why can¡¯t I say (Exam)?¡± My eyes went back to the screens. Reading them again and focusing on the lowest one. Chuckles escaped my mouth as I read it over, turning into hysterical sobs. Panic soon robbed me of all cohesive speech. I felt tears well up in my eyes as they stared at the one crucial detail that had just struck me like a hammer. Telepath. Least common out of the ESP types recognized by the United Militaries. The one all governments agencies kept a watchful eye for. The one that conjured images of enslaved cultists being forced to toil under some deranged overlord far from prying eyes. ¡°Ah, I get it. It¡¯s the same nightmare. Ha! I should¡¯ve known!¡± It was the only explanation that made sense. It¡¯d been years since my mind had taken me back there. With the screaming throngs of people all around me. With the monsters breaking into the community center. With the tall man hurting everyone. Making them do things they didn¡¯t want to do. This was a new scene I hadn¡¯t been taken to before, but it must have been the same kind of torment. The creepy cave, the mushrooms, the cold floor, not to mention that giant centipede looking thing in the cavern ceiling. Yep. This was A-grade horror material. Props to my mind for being so creative. Serves me right after all the sleepless nights I spent studying. I started to get up after swearing up a storm that would have a bar full of sailors blushing. Or, I tried to, at least. Cursing some more at my senseless censorship. No sense in dragging things out after all. The scene was set and the script was obvious. The creature now skittering towards me was about a meter long and thick as my legs. Its brown-yellow carapace was covered in scratches and discolored scars, indicating an existence filled with struggle. ¡®You and me both pal.¡¯ I thought grimly. ¡®Just the kind of stuff I¡¯d dream up after a stressful week of finals.¡¯ ¡®Yep.¡¯ ¡®Time for me to get eaten by Mr. Many Legs and wake up late. Just in time for Henry to hog the bathroom for a few hours.¡¯ ¡®I just hope it doesn¡¯t hurt too muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!!!¡¯ Fire clouds my thoughts, searing pain spreading from my right hand where insect jaws met soft human flesh. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!¡± Instincts drove me backwards and unto my rear end as the monster let go of my hand. It darted backwards and to my right, positioning itself just behind my ear and preparing for another strike. In response, a cool stream flowed from just behind my eyes. It coalesced into a small orb of purple energy that floated before me and collapsed into itself. Half a heartbeat later, the monster¡¯s head exploded. I sat there, panting for what felt like hours. Tears ran down my cheeks as I caressed the wound, stemming the flow of blood. The pain had lessened soon after the head explosion, but I could not bring myself to stop crying. Even as delirious as I was, one fact could not be denied. I had done that. I had blown that thing¡¯s head clean off. Me. The Telepath.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Current Objective: Survive 1 cycle.
Survivor Count: 987/1000
I sobbed and sobbed. Beleaguered by terror and the thrumming in my head the beer had left. Laying there like an imbecile. Part of me was screaming at the rest of me. Berating me for my weakness and alarming stupidity. It was a harsh voice trapped helplessly within my thick skull. It screamed at me to get up and cry later. That there was a dead monster right beside me. All at once, I was back among the crowd that night, unwanted memories forcing their way out. I was watching the crab-thing ripping through grown men like tissues paper. I was hearing my parents sob, realizing they were trying to push me back, to put themselves between me and death. Breathing became painful. Shivers lanced through my bones and up my back. I needed to do something¡­ Anything. Green ichor oozed out of its shell through the gap I¡¯d made just minutes before. It spread all around the floor and gathered into a puddle of green goo, staining the bottom of my pajamas. For all I knew, these things bled acid or poison or nuclear waste. Worse, it could have all kinds of monster friends that would hear my stupid, stupid, stupid sobbing. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I knew that part of me was right. It was that persistent instinct from when people ran around hunting with spears. It knew when a situation had devolved into a matter of life or death. Spurring me to look after number 1 first and foremost. Survival of the fittest meant getting my crying piehole shut and finding a safer spot to panic in. Right now. Still, I remained paralyzed. Agony surged within my entire arm every time I tried to move it. It glued me to that spot, even as more and more centipedes made their way to me. I couldn¡¯t actually see them yet, but I knew they were there. There was a fog of sorts, in my head. It started from behind my eyes, just as the purple stream had done earlier. However, it spread outwards instead of gathering. Billowing wisps of energy dancing away from me and forming a sphere. It passed through the walls and the creatures hiding behind them, as if solid matter were no impediment at all. As it went, I could hear new things, feel new things. Though the feeling was alien, I understood it at once. As if this was a skill of mine. One I¡¯d had all my life, simply forgotten and now crawling to the forefront. These were the thoughts and emotions of beings beside me. They were screaming in a cacophonous mesh of sounds and textures grating against my skin. ¡®Food. Feed. Blood.¡¯ ¡®Tasty. Prey.¡¯ ¡®Together. Together. Bite. Bite. Together.¡¯ ¡®No! Please! I don¡¯t want to die! Help! Please! Please! Plea¡­¡¯ New sensations pooled together alongside these signals. A dull, persistent throbbing made itself known within my skull. It was soon joined by a muffled itch at the back of my head, where spine met skull. Discomfort acted as kindling to my horror, feeding the flames of inhuman impressions. To my shame, I sobbed even louder. I understood then that I would be killed. Every single one of these things wanted blood. Mine and that of others sent here with me. Their clumsy thoughts dripped with venom and malice and hunger, terrible as no other animal I¡¯d ever encountered. Human signals went out one by one all around me. They begged for help, exuding an aura of all-consuming dread. No centipede relented. Closer. Closer. Closer¡­ They were moving closer by the second. Every instant carried them towards me, their hunger getting nearer. My brain betrayed me then. Shoving images into the forefront of my mind. Images of the crabs at the community center. Of the torn bodies that had been my neighbors. Of Doris. ¡°NO! I! WILL! NOT! BE! EATEN!¡± Fear was driven away by my surging desperation. The old instincts finally kicked into gear as I focused and tried to replicate the earlier attack. I succeeded. With a sudden shiver, I stopped receiving the thoughts of the monster nearest to me. I turned my head towards a corner where I knew another was about to emerge. I focused once more. To my horror, I felt resistance from within me. There was suddenly a wall in my mind, a thin membrane of nothingness that strangled my newfound strength. It kept the stream from surging forward at my command and I soon realized why. There wasn¡¯t enough of it yet. The wall was keeping it from seeping out before enough of the cool water had filled me. The centipede had rounded the corner in those brief instants and it turned its mandibles in my direction as the words escaped my lips. It clicked them together, almost mockingly. Feelings skittered from within its mind. The promise of violence nearly fulfilled. Vicious hunger about to be sated. A resonating jubilation at seeing my wound. ¡®Easy Kill.¡¯ My good hand reached for the wall behind me as my legs worked to bring me up. Oddly enough, the pain in my wound stopped registering as much. It still stung, but the adrenaline overwrote that. If there was ever a time to ignore a puncture wound, it was when facing giant bug monsters. As I staggered into a standing position, I began to shift my weight and get ready for a lunge. Deep down, I knew the wall would vanish soon. All I''d have to do would be to dodge one attack, maybe two. Then I could let loose. The creature shifted its own weight in response. Skittering legs bring it to one side, then another. It seemed to hesitate for a moment, beady antennas swishing rapidly. I calmed my breath and focused on the signals from its mind. ¡®Alert? Fight back? No. Spread the scent. Come help! Come help. Wounded here. Slow.¡¯ It was trying to reach out to¡­. something. Someone. The monster was getting a bit put off by a lack of response as well. Its focus was split between me and another direction. The same direction where I¡¯d struck down its kin. Right now, it was afraid. ¡°Ah. There we go.¡± I said, madness taking hold of me. ¡°An ambush predator, are we? Not so tough without your little pal? No, sir. Not when your snack is all alert and there¡¯s a fresh corpse next to it.¡± ¡®Bless you, adrenaline! Bless you and all your neurochemical goodness! I¡¯ll never take you for granted again!¡¯ This wasn''t over. My life wasn''t over. I could survive this. I would survive this! A maniacal grin had spread all over my face before I knew it. It got even wider when I felt the wall dissipate. Without a second¡¯s hesitation, I pulled the trigger. There was a crunch and a splatter as green giblets flew from the fresh corpse. It collapsed gracelessly, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. For an instant, the throbbing lessened. That irking itch receded like the tide. I laughed. Oh boy did I laugh. Then I took stock of my surroundings and all the other centipedes approaching. They rushed along the walls towards me, but not directly. With a start, I realized the walls twisted and turned several times and it would be some time before the nearest reaches my position. My current position that is. In response to this realization, I turned around and bravely ran away. The pain slowed me down, but not as much as before. My headache became a distant afterthought, something that almost registered in my mind, yet stayed out of reach. Pebbles stabbed my feet as I moved, eliciting grunts and winces that failed to slow me down. An errant puddle made me slip as I rounded a corner and the fall gifted me a bruise. Further in, vegetation started to thicken. Pink circular leaves spiraled downwards from the ceiling, forming clusters that reached the floor. None were thick enough to impede my movement and I swatted a few away with my left arm. The first strike caused tiny, near invisible fangs to rip open sections of my clothes, leaving the appendage exposed and vulnerable. My brain didn''t notice in time to stop. Fire kissed my skin as needles penetrated into muscle. My bicep started to numb. I didn''t allow myself the privilege of respite. Instead, I ran along the tunnels for what felt like an eternity, encountering centipedes every now and then. I didn''t actually see them with my eyes though. I felt them through my fog and clamped down with force as soon as I was able. There were those that escaped me, of course, but the burning in my lungs and the worsening pain kept me from caring. Brand new terrors were carved into my soul with every intersection I passed. All the tunnels looked similar enough to make me believe I was going in circles. Shadows and mushroom vines formed murals that confused my sense of direction. Pink tubes blockaded entire trails and their fronds opened further every time I got near. I had no idea which direction I came from, or which direction I was running towards. In my haste, I almost crashed into another person, or thing, at some point. Dodging to the side in time to realize that it wasn¡¯t a human being at all, but rather, a human-shaped mantis. It had stood on two thick legs, rather than the usual four. To compensate, it waved four scythe-like appendages in my direction, whistling as they cut the wind. I screamed at it. It screamed back. I ran from it and it ran from me in turn. Eventually, the tunnels gave way to a somewhat open chamber. A small stream rushed from the stones in the wall and divided the room in half, with the other end disappearing down a metal grate. Better yet, there was an open door marking the entrance, made up of solid metal bars. A door that conveniently lacked any gaps big enough to allow centipedes through. Naturally, I slammed it shut behind me, using bolts on the floor and handle to lock it firmly in place. I laughed as I failed to sense any other immediate threats. I laughed until my lungs were raw and the exhaustion finally struck. I laughed until I remembered how I managed to escape with my life. Then I thought of the screen. It appeared in front of me, just like that.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 43/65
Type: Telepath Level 3
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 1 / [Message] 1 / [Mental Bolt] 1
Ability Points: 6
Survivor Count: 917/1000
I stopped laughing. 83 people dead. Dead and devoured. Alone. In a deep, dark maze. Begging for their lives. Hoping against hope that all of this wasn¡¯t real. Their friends will never find them. Their families will never know where they went. Their neighbours won¡¯t even know why they vanished. I thought of my own family. I thought of what they would say if they found out what happened to me. Would they be glad I survived? Would they be horrified to see what I¡¯ve become? What would happen when the government found out? What would they think of the fact I¡¯m not registered to fight the rifts? Would they think I¡¯m a villain, like Amputator or Blackjack? After that, the tears returned. As did the wrath. Someone had done this to me. Somehow. And they would pay. Chapter 3: Cavern Blues. Chapter 3: Cavern Blues. ¡°Stop that, Sully. Get your anger under control. First thing¡¯s first. Make sure the dude on the floor isn¡¯t about to die on you.¡± That seemed like the most reasonable course of action. I moved over to him. Bending over the unconscious man and taking in his features. He looked to be about 20 years old. Maybe younger. With a toned, tanned body and a face that screamed up-and-coming-actor. I leaned in closer, but didn¡¯t smell any alcohol on his breath, so he probably wasn¡¯t intoxicated. I tapped him on the shoulder. Calling out to him When no answer was forthcoming, I checked his pulse. Making sure that he was breathing normally, before turning him over into the recovery position with a grunt of effort. Then I called out to him again and again. For a few minutes straight. Going so far as to gently pinch his shoulders and biceps. All to no avail. ¡®Damn it! Is this like my own dream? Is this guy stuck in his own delusion too?¡¯ It was both completely possible and a really awful move on the part of whomever did this to us. This guy was unbelievably lucky that he was left here in the locked safe room. If he¡¯d been outside with the centipedes, chances are he wouldn¡¯t have made it. I drew back and began taking deep, calming breaths once more. Forcing myself to stare into reality. ¡°Okay. Okay. Think. What comes next? What is the best course of action?¡± Well, that was self-explanatory. Me and whatever survivors remained had to get out of here as fast as humanly possible. Firstly, because there was no telling why any of us were taken or to what location; and secondly, because there was not telling how long it had been since we were taken. Rule number one of kidnappings was that chances of survival dropped exponentially the longer a person had been missing. Especially if they¡¯d been taken to a second location. Now, some dingy warehouse out on the docks would have been bad enough, but this was a whole other level of sucking. For all I knew, there might be masked psychos with chainsaws and clown makeup waiting just outside the range of my fog. Rictus smiles plastered on their faces. Granted, that didn¡¯t explain the powers, but I simply couldn¡¯t think of a reason as to why any kidnapper would want their victims to have powers. Unless, unless this was some sort of sick game to them. Like how some serial killers hunt humans for sport. Only with higher stakes since there were monsters around and we all had superpowers. ¡°No. That¡¯s stupid. If there really were a thousand people trapped here at the beginning, then that kind of reasoning doesn¡¯t add up. Its too much effort. Too many resources sunk into this elaborate setting. For someone to either find or dig this cave system, it would have had to be an organization with significant resources.¡± ¡®Then again. Any organization that managed to give people powers would never want for anything. All they would have to do was sell their patent to the United Militaries and all of them would be set for life. Perhaps that¡¯s it. Perhaps we¡¯re the Guinea pigs for that kind of procedure.¡¯ I shook my head. Dispelling the spiraling thoughts before they had a chance to overwhelm me. ¡°I have to keep a level head. This is real. I have to find a way to live through this. Think Sully. Think!¡± I tried to do just that, but kept coming back to the realization that whomever did this had money to burn and likely held a lot of influence thanks to that. Worse, there was also the fact that this was a cave and therefore, one of the most hazardous biomes on the planet. Vince had been a fan of disaster documentaries and I had lost count of how many events involved either caves or mines. There were stories of people being trapped when a monsoon swept through the area or when a lake¡¯s bottom fell apart. (Centipede), there were even stories of people being trapped in air pockets due to simple, regular rainfall. I recalled those incidents now. Thinking back to how few cave divers ever made it out alive in those scenarios. If that happened here, with all these people and monsters stuck in the same cave system, then the chances of survival would be miniscule, to say the least. Not to mention other, more obvious and worrisome prospects involving the natural bio-chemistry of living beings. That is, animals took in oxygen and breathed out carbon-dioxide. When there was more carbon dioxide than oxygen, people would encounter problems. However, if someone down here was foolish enough to start a fire in this confined space¡­. ¡°Ha. Yeah. No. Carbon monoxide kills so quickly that victims are sometimes not even aware that it¡¯s happening. It would mean a quick death, at least. Ha. Hahahhaha. Ha! Ha! Ha!¡± I had to laugh. Because otherwise, I might have wept. ¡°Whoo. Calm down man. Keep a level head if you want to survive. Don¡¯t lose your mind now. Think, how deep is this cave? How long will escaping take?¡± I faintly recalled that the deepest natural cave system in the world was somewhere on the range of two or so kilometres deep. Though a good amount of that was underwater. Since we were mostly dry and there were obvious signs of human construction, that meant we were nowhere near that depth. Maybe half that, if this turned out to be some kind of abandoned mine or some space that a bunch of villains had hollowed out over the course of years. In the former case, we should be looking out for some means of ascension. Like a rope or ladders or even rudimentary elevators installed on or near ventilation shafts. If we were dealing with a more modern mine, this would mean modern elevators as well. However, if we were dealing with the latter case then¡­ yeah. There was no telling what powers might be able to do, given enough time. This whole place could have been dug out in a weekend or over the course of the last two decades. It was simply impossible to know without dating equipment or a lab to analyse the limestone and the other samples of bedrock. Granted, I could still make rough guesses based on how the tunnels appeared, but the more I thought about it, the less they looked like natural formations. For one, the tunnels were too wide and smooth for them to be normal works of nature. Caves, especially big ones, were infamous for having tons of narrow crevices where people had been stuck while spelunking. Sometimes resulting in their own death. But these tunnels didn¡¯t look like that would be possible. Even at the narrowest points I¡¯d see so far. What¡¯s more, natural caves were sometimes formed by underground rivers, as the stones were eroded over the course of thousands or millions of years. But there were far too many diverging paths for that to make sense down here. Not to mention the presence of grates that allowed water to flow in and out from somewhere. ¡°If that somewhere is a pumping station, it means there has to be some group behind this. If it turns out to be connected to a reservoir outside then¡­¡± Then it was only a matter of time until the whole thing flooded and killed everyone inside. Either due to the masterminds deciding to erase all evidence of their crimes, or due to natural flooding from the rain. I rubbed my temples softly. Trying to massage some of the stress away. My mind was struggling to make sense of everything. Despite my best efforts to remain calm and collected. Stolen story; please report. Part of me was still at the shelter; seeing the tall man playing while the here and now clawed its way into the forefront. Pain distracted me from thinking clearly, as the wounds on my feet began to register alongside the pain in my hand and the bruise on my shoulder. The throbbing worsened too. It resonated within my skull as purple mist flowed freely from behind my eyes. My entire body felt out of balance, thrown off kilter by the overlapping sensations of reality and the unnatural fog. My eyes darted around and captured two different scenes at the same time, each violently clashing with the other. I tried to banish these new flaring impressions. To isolate myself from the both worlds and shield myself within memories. To escape. More memories of documentaries and interviews surfaced. This time on the subject of Espers and powers. I tried to recall anything that might shine a light on my situation. Classroom lessons came up; facts so well-known I never bothered to pay much attention. Mrs. Doyle¡¯s utterly nihilistic monologues began to play within my skull. Blurred and distant impressions from the seventh grade emerging to fill the gaps. ¡°Now kids, today we¡¯ll be going over Esper typing and career prospects.¡± She had said, just before lighting a fresh cigarette and drawing in smoke. ¡°Most of you won¡¯t get powers. That¡¯s a sad fact we all have to acknowledge. Still, the curriculum demands that you be somewhat educated on the matter. Maybe one of you will meet a real Esper someday while you¡¯re out delivering fast food or cleaning vomit off the floor. Maybe.¡± She stopped for effect, narrow beady eyes staring into our souls. Small grey puffs continued to escape with her words. ¡°Regardless, you have to know the statistics to pass, so we might as well.¡± Another pause. Another drag. ¡°Enhancers account for roughly 51.7 % of all super humans, making them the largest demographic by far. If you develop these abilities, you can expect a typical military career after graduation. There isn¡¯t much super strength or speed can do for you in an office after all. Any Enhancer will find themselves in high demand near rift-prone cities and even the weakest of them get decent wages and benefits.¡± She yawned after that, as if this was an annoying routine that someone had dumped on her. Every motion of her face betrayed her disinterest as her eyes drifted about. ¡°Projectors make up 18.6 % of the whole and can look forward to more options, depending on what they can do. Pyrokinetic and Electrokinetic Espers have the highest demand right now as power plants are hiring more and more suppliers. Or you could go the military route as well, though you¡¯ll have to demonstrate some offensive abilities in order to justify any special status. Other powers can get you into a circus or a performance group, so there¡¯s always that to fall back on.¡± There was a smirk on her face for a mere fraction of a second. Then it was gone and lost forever. As if the very idea of humor repulsed her. ¡°Moving on, Shifters sit at 21.2 % and should all report to their nearest police station immediately so that their tracking bracelet can be installed. You will then be required to attend mandatory anger management courses until graduation. Failure to comply will result in incarceration. If you get Shifter powers, you should just keep your little furry head down and cash in the healing money. Also, you should stop growling at people trying to buy your services. Just heal people and get rich. How hard is that? Oh, and do your best to avoid snapping and killing people. Seems to happen an awful lot. The government really wants it to stop.¡± She stopped to nod her head at this point, in a way that suggested she¡¯d done us all a genuine favor with that advice. ¡°Lastly, Telepaths are the least common at a measly 8.5 %. There weren¡¯t many job openings for these guys before the bombs fell. As you can all guess, this hasn¡¯t improved. Due to the threat they pose to global security, Telepaths are all required to register for forced re-education and monitoring. By order of the Entente Coalition, all Telepaths violating this agreement label themselves as enemies of the free world. This legally revokes all human rights and allows for law enforcement to carry out on-site executions.¡± ¡°Good Riddance.¡± Said someone behind me. ¡°Indeed. Remote controlled attack drones are standard in these cases, although snipers have also been used on occasion. Career prospects include police work, SWAT team negotiators, espionage, military service fighting rift spawn, life on a prison island or target practice.¡± I distinctly remembered my lack of reaction to that statement. Back then, the shelter visited me every night. Memories of a smaller, more vulnerable version of myself watching people move and dance according to some freak¡¯s whims. Seeing the tall man forcing the monsters to kill each other. Being helpless as he toyed with my neighbors and my parents and everyone I loved. It was normal to hate Telepaths. Just one of them sparked the third world war. Who cared if they got shot? No. I didn¡¯t have time to think about that back then. I was going to be an Enhancer. The strongest one in the world. I wouldn¡¯t wind up in some boring job like Mrs. Doyle said. I would be like Horizon or Thunder Fist. A superhero. Someone who wouldn¡¯t be helpless ever again. That brilliant, juvenile fascination with super people and what they could do had me in its grip back then. Telepaths were the bad guys taking over companies, starting cults, hijacking political movements, defrauding the public, escaping custody, harassing people and all sorts of other wacky hijinks. I only needed to worry about taking them down. Back then, it was a small dream. One of those fantasies that always kept their appeal. Until I passed the age range that is. If someone didn¡¯t get powers between 12 and 14, then that was that. Normal as normal could be. Getting powers at 22 should have been impossible. Yet here I was. In a cave. All alone. Hung over and sucking on stones for hydration. Okay, I wasn¡¯t sucking on stones, but I was scooping up unfiltered water with my one good hand. Unhygienic? Absolutely. Did I care? Absolutely not. ¡°(Centipede) me, that¡¯s the stuff. Oh, I really needed that.¡± I¡¯d been running from the freaking centipedes for a good hour. Yes, I checked my wristwatch. One whole hour of dragging a throbbing, bleeding hand all over these nasty tunnels to save my sorry behind. My sorry Telepath behind. This time, I managed to hold the sobbing in check. There had been enough of that already. ¡°Get yourself together man!¡± I shouted. ¡°You survived university! You can survive this! You¡¯ve got this passed-out guy to take care of too! Keep your wits about you. Stay calm. Stay positive. Think about what happened and what you can do about it.¡± A few seconds passed as I bathed in the deafening silence that followed. ¡®Yep. I¡¯ve officially lost my mind.¡¯ I chuckled in response to my own dry humor before reasserting my argument as valid. Sure, the situation looked bleak, but staying positive and thinking things through never worsened someone¡¯s odds. Firstly, the issue of the cave. I¡¯d never heard of being teleported to some hole filled with giant centipedes. I mean, there weren¡¯t that many people with powers, maybe two hundred thousand or so worldwide, but the few that did exist loved going on talk shows. I was pretty sure someone would have mentioned this if it was part of the process. Maybe this was what the inside of a rift looked like, but that just begged the question of how I¡¯d gone from my cozy bed to an open rift. In addition, there was the screen. I focused on it once more and brought it before me.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 43/65
Type: Telepath Level 3
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 1 / [Message] 1 / [Mental Bolt] 1
Ability Points: 6
¡®Okay.¡¯ ¡®Okay. Don¡¯t panic. I got this.¡¯ ¡®Breathe in, breathe out. I¡¯m not some kind of deranged cult leader or anything. I haven¡¯t brainwashed anyone. No one needs to know.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, in fact, no one will know. I¡¯m way past the testing age. Who would think to look for me?¡¯ ¡®So long as I keep my mouth shut, I can move on with my life. Just get out, get my final grades, my degree and my cat. After that, get a nice stable engineering job and never think about any of this ever again. But first, I need to survive this place. Positive thoughts now. Positive thoughts.¡¯ The screen was still open and I glanced at it once more. Hesitation boiled through my entire body, suffusing each and every one of my cells. I had no idea what this thing was. Where it came from. How it changed me. It looked like something out of a video game, which only raised more questions than it answered. What kind of sick freak kidnapped people and threw them into video game land? More importantly, why? Was this a secret military experiment? The levels implied that they wanted me or, us I guess, to get stronger, which meant that outcome was to their benefit. If so, why do it like this? Why not just throw a bunch of people in a boot camp? I didn''t know what happened as I was laying down in bed. I didn''t know if someone used a power or some drug to make me into a Telepath. ¡®Or some new experimental cybernetic implant. That would explain the screens and the censorship. Best case scenario, its an ocular implant and someone gouged my eyes out. Worst case scenario, it¡¯s a cranial implant and some yahoo was poking around my brain while I was out. Ah (Centipede), that would explain the censorship. What¡¯s with that? Is this daytime television? Is the CBC going to pull the plug on this whole operation if some of us express how (Centipede)ing horrible this situation is?¡¯ Images of bomb collars assaulted me. All were taken straight out of documentaries detailing the prison lives of Espers convicted of violent offenses. They couldn¡¯t be trusted to roam freely out in society, but the governments around the world couldn¡¯t let a rare resource go that easily. Not when rifts still killed so many. Maybe that was it. This really was a government experiment to get more soldiers on the ground. Human rights be dammed. ¡®Come to think of it, I don¡¯t even know if this could be reversed. Maybe there was some hope for me. Some way that I could be cured. If that was the case, then any interaction with the screen might blow my chances of rehabilitation. It might make this whole thing infinitely worse.¡¯ Frustration set in as the throbbing in my hand worsened; along with the aches in my head. That insufferable itch returned to the forefront, demanding my attention. Fresh memories assaulted me. Jaws tightening around my hand. The second strike that never came due to my intervention. The usage of my power. I bit my lower lip as I recalled the feeling. The relief that it brought. With that came the certainty that I would not have survived without this power. Wicked and evil it may have been, but I was still alive because of it. Thanks to it. Yeah. It would be stupid to give it up. I needed all the help I could get. If the screen let me live, then it was right to keep using it. I hardened myself. The choice was made. Time to game plan. Chapter 4: Still me. Chapter 4: Still me. The man was still passed out as I paced about the cave. Trying to piece together the rules of this System. Looking back, it all seemed self-explanatory. The listed abilities had plus signs next to them, implying that the points could be used to make them stronger. The few shots I¡¯d fired were deadly, but there was the glaring issue of the barrier that kept me from firing them in succession. Maybe that would go away if I strengthened it? There were three abilities listed in the screen and I immediately knew what two of them did. The third one would need testing, though it appeared straight-forward in concept. Something to keep in mind for later. Right now, I needed a better way to fight back. Preferably from a long distance away. The wound on my right hand had stopped bleeding and I had cleaned it with water, but it was still tender and unresponsive. I took a moment to imagine all the ways this could turn out. This cave was anything but sterile, so there was a risk of infection. Not to mention the side effects from whatever venom that stupid bug may or may not have had. Come to think of it, could bug bites pass communicable diseases? Did centipedes carry rabies? ¡®No. Probably not. That¡¯s silly. But if they did?¡¯ I gazed down at the hand once more. Better to avoid directly facing the enemy from now on. Just in case. With that in mind, I focused on my only offensive ability and assigned my points. I had expected it to go all the way to seven, but it looked like each upgrade cost more points. Bringing it up to 2, took 2 points. Similarly bringing it up to 3, cost 3. Now I had one point left over and nothing to put it towards. Each of the remaining abilities cost at least 2 points to raise, so that was out. Maybe I could save them and then bring [Mental Bolt] to 4? Unless¡­ ¡°Hey system. What can I do with leftover points?¡±
Ability Points: May be used to enhance existing abilities or acquire new ones. Abilities are limited by current Tier. Current Tier yields 3 ability points per level.
¡°Whoa! Okay. That worked. Good job me. Time to capitalize. System, show me what I can get for 1 point.¡±
Available Abilities: [Static Illusion] 1 / [Fever] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Electronic Interface] 1 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Team Tactics] 1 / [Team Spirit] 1 / [Team Resilience] 1 / [Team Momentum] 1 / [Team Doctrine] 1 / [Mental Map] 1 / [Fear] 1 / [Courage] 1 / [Anxiety] 1 / [Confusion] 1 / [Hobble] 1 / [Phobia] 1¡­
Wow. That was one big list. A nice little overview of what a supervillain might do on a Friday afternoon. Okay. Time to sit down and think about all the options carefully. ¡®AAAAAGH! Help! Help! Somebody help me! Someone wake me up! This isn¡¯t real! This isn¡¯t real! Please! Anybody!¡¯ My brain froze as screams came through my fog. Upwards and to my left. The layers of stone between us did nothing to muffle the desperation packed into their plea. Ephemeral energy tracked their passage as they ran. Behind them were six centipedes acting in unison. They gave chase as their own emotions flared up. A half-dozen lanterns glowing with naked malice. Trauma resurfaced and strangled my response. I though back to my own flight. The wound on my hand ached with increasing fervor. The numbness in my left bicep spread. Adrenaline was flying through my veins once more, stepping up to keep me alive. There was a disturbing clarity within me, pulling my strings like some sadistic spirit. Demanding that I resist. Power began to gather behind my eyes. Ready to do just that. Then it stopped. I hesitated, thinking back to the screen. To the possibility that I might be making things worse for me by gaining levels and becoming stronger. The victim slipped while I remained frozen. A small wave of hateful chitin caught up to them. A spike of pain travelled back to me. It continued to surge as a shapeless mass of incandescent anguish. The silence that followed was deafening. Whispers break their hold some time later, brining me out my stupor and into a repulsive, disgusting truth. ¡®I, did nothing. I could have helped. But I did nothing.¡¯ A new fresh terror shattered me alongside the realization. In that moment, there was no Solomon. There was no me. Instead, there was a monster wearing my skin. Clothed in my now-tainted pajamas. This being was revulsion made manifest. Self-hatred and shame given form and flesh. It was a mockery of humanity and all that is good. I stood there, considering this foul creature, and struggled to comprehend how it came to be. ¡®I did nothing. They are dead because of me.¡¯ More emotions danced in my mist. More misfortunes reared their head. The sword of Damocles lay poised and ready to snuff out more lives. Unless I stopped it. Immediately, I resolved to help. New impulses activated and power flowed through my eyes once more. It stuck to my ghostly web, searching through it for a target. It didn''t need to wait for long. The person on the other side of the stone walls was running from a large group, 14 centipedes forming a hunting pack. They skittered on the floor, walls and ceiling, faster and faster. [Mental Bolt] activated and the leading centipede fell over headless. My only means of attack went on cooldown, having barely made a difference.
Psy: 40/65 A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
I looked through the list of abilities before I could stop myself. I needed something else to slow them down. Something that could hit all enemies in an area. The screen didn''t have any information on what each option did, but the names provided clues. I closed my eyes and heard more screaming. More desperation. More hunger from the pursuers. They didn¡¯t even notice their kin¡¯s death. I opened my eyes and chose the first option that sounded like an attack. [Fever] activated. Unlike my earlier strike, it spread outwards like a blooming flower, creating a net of energy that entangled the middle of the swarm. Those affected either stop or slow down considerably, losing their grip and falling unto the floor. Pain radiated from their skulls as a crippling surge of heat leaves them stunned. While none of them died, the charge had been broken. Bewilderment reached me from the fleeing human as they looked over their shoulder. They turned on their heels and held their hands over their heads in one fluid motion. Then the hands came down. All the unaffected creatures went silent in the fog. The rest changed their tune. Where once was bloodlust, there is only fear. Their prey was a Projector. One who was now fighting back. Another hand motion made my victims redouble their terror. Thoughts and feelings came through my ability, carrying news of fire. Then, silence.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Psy: 35/70
I smiled in response, realizing what I¡¯d just done. I, filthy Telepath, had just saved someone¡¯s life. Helped them kill a whole squad of monsters. It was an odd feeling. I hadn¡¯t really thought about any of it. I¡¯d just seen someone in danger and decided to help. I hadn¡¯t done it for any kind of self interest or personal gain. I¡¯d just done it because I wanted to help. A natural reaction to the situation. The smile widened as adrenaline continued to flow. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m still me. I¡¯m still a decent person, no matter what happens.¡± Memories of recently deceased were quashed. I fought tooth and nail against myself to submerge them deep in my subconscious. It was a truth too terrible to contemplate at the moment. I needed to focus on what mattered. The life I managed to save. Things would undoubtedly become difficult in the future. I had no idea where I was. I had no idea how long ago I¡¯d been kidnapped. I didn¡¯t even know why I was taken. Right now, though, the comfort kept those uncomfortable facts away. I¡¯m wasn''t going to become some degenerate just because I was like this. I wasn''t going to turn into some power-hungry lunatic. I was still me. (Centipede) what everybody else thought about Telepaths. I was still me. I was still in control. I could control myself. I decided whether to be moral or immoral. Not some societal pressure of temptation inherent to my Type. I controlled myself. New sounds filled my psychic senses. This time from below me. Once more, I reached out to assess the situation. Deep down underneath there were two people surrounded by enemies. They seemed to be a hundred meters down, just on the edge of my senses. Worry crept up my face as I counted the centipedes. Dozens and dozens. To make things worse, there were outliers among the horde. Signals that felt far too alien to be human while also forming coherent sentences and plans within their own brains. They hummed within the fog, shining with might. I threw a [Mental Bolt] in their direction, followed by a [Fever].
Psy: 27/70
Even as I attacked, the situation didn''t look survivable. Critters leapt at the humans, 5 from the front and back. I prepared myself for the worst. I tried to brace myself against a cave wall in expectation of the silence that would surely follow. Miraculously, my expectations were subverted. Not only were the people still alive, they fought with renewed vigor. I couldn''t see exactly what they were doing through [Sense Thoughts], but I began to get more information through their enemies. The centipedes continued to think in small words and big emotions. Their minds simplistic in their design. ¡®Hunters. Weapons. Strong. Strong prey. Strong flesh. Rip it. Tear it. Feed.¡¯ The others came through far more clearly. ¡®They are well trained. They coordinate with each other. Axes and knives are swung. They will not fall easily. Someone else is attacking. From the shadows. Unseen. Looking for them. Break the formation. Break their spirit. Break their bodies. Not here in the pit. Up or down the tunnel. Send hunting party to search for them.¡¯ The thing did something then. Its light shuddered and expanded, getting a reaction out of all the nearby centipedes. I attacked it as soon as I was able, sending both powers against it. It died from a bolt. Its followers were slowed by [Fever].
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Psy: 19/75
Unfortunately, it didn''t stop the reaction from the crowd. I gulped as more and more life entered my fog. They formed a river of flesh and chitin that separated from the main battle below and branched out into the tunnels that lined the space. Some went further downwards and disappeared from my senses once more. Some went either left or right and disappeared as well. Some went upwards. Towards my position. Oh poo. I really did it this time. I looked on helplessly as I waited for my attacks to finish their cooldown. Then I went back to the screen to fish out more attacks. [Fear] was used immediately after being acquired. I felt the energy gathered within me and expanded it outward. Like immaterial water that flowed from all my pores, it shot out in all directions. The wave traveled through the walls in search of my target. It fell short.
Psy: 17/75
Unlike [Fever], this ability didn¡¯t start from a point of my choosing. Meaning its range was always limited by my position. I cursed as the hateful bugs went unimpeded. They delved deeper and deeper into my fog, through tunnels big and small. I felt them searching. Hearing their legs as they moved. Tiny, sharp noises raining down incessantly. Down below, the hunters were still being besieged from all sides as more and more reinforcements surged from the chambers below them. I worried that I¡¯ve just delayed their inevitable deaths as I considered the numbers. Hundreds had gathered together. A veritable storm of clicking jaws. My peers didn''t falter. The line was held. In fact, the monsters appeared to be on the backfoot. Minions charged time after time. Each assault adding more carrion to the floor as feedback was cut off. The warriors danced their way into a macabre spectacle, axe and blade singing through the air in concert. Only then did I realize how they were managing the impossible. Its not just that they were armed. These two were Enhancers getting ludicrous amounts of experience. If I managed to thin the numbers a bit, they could totally escape. An idea formed in my beleaguered mind as I considered the screen. I spent 4 points on bringing [Fever] and [Sense Thoughts] to 2. Heat spread from behind my eyes as my gamble paid off. My fog¡¯s range had doubled, as had the range of [Fever]. I waited a few more precious instants as the walls in my mind dissipated. As they crumbled, power lashes out. My attack slowly killed the weaker centipedes and gravely wounded the others. Feelings flooded into me with increased intensity, as grunts felt their juices boiling as their own nervous systems turned against them. I assessed the situation while waiting for my cooldown to end. The area of effect was still not very big, but the enemies were bunched together so tightly that it hardly made a difference. That last shot affected 28 centipedes within the horde, collapsing 3 or 4 attack waves at once. I expected this to be the signal for a hasty retreat. For the two hapless souls to run like the wind and disappear. That, didn''t happen for some reason. The survivors rallied and redoubled their efforts, their thoughts now reeking of triumph and jubilation. ¡®The Holy One acts!¡¯ ¡®There¡¯s a shepherd here! Don¡¯t break formation.¡¯ ¡®Have to fight harder. Harder! Don¡¯t let up!¡¯ Huh. Wasn¡¯t really expecting that to be honest. I would have been running the second shells started hitting the floor. No matter. These people still needed help. Actually, they needed my help now more than before. Emotions radiated from each bug around the two, raw bloodlust sending psychic punches in my direction. My walls dissipated and I acted again, determined to make this one count. [Fever] cascaded over the chamber and another thirty fell down.
Psy: 7/75
A brief lull descended onto the battlefield, giving me a brief window to act. ¡®Run!¡¯ I thought as loudly as I could, hoping I was right about what [Message] did. ¡®Escape while you have the chance!¡¯ The two people looked at each other below my feet. They stood there, injured but not beaten despite the odds. Imposing as wolves among hounds. I failed to catch their movements until they reached one of the tunnel entrances. Then they began to move upwards, though slightly away from my current base. Fog followed them until the very edge of my perceptions. While there were some pursuers, most were struck down as soon as [Fever] finished re-charging.A warm smile blossomed on my lips as I felt another increase in level.
Psy: 2/80
Horrible as that was, I just saved the lives of three people. All without putting myself in any real danger. Getting caught outside would still suck, but maybe this isn¡¯t such a bad thing right now. I only realized my mistake when the clanging of jaws on metal reached my ears. Clang! Turning around revealed the scouts I had forgotten about. The ones that spilled out of the depths in search of the invisible attacker. There were 4 of them here, trying to chew their way into my haven. I attempted to lash out in wrath, only to realize that I couldn''t. Clang! Clang! [Mental Bolt] wouldn''t activate, despite not having been used recently. I summoned the screen for answers and noticed the measly 2 in my reserves. Oh. Double poo. I¡¯m was of attacks. Clang! I activated [Fear] for the second time, hoping that I¡¯d be close enough for it to count. This time, the ability worked as intended. The probing ceased. A sharp whip of emotion came my way. Centipedes flee in panic. I laughed. Softly and quietly. I was going to make it. I was going to go home. I was going to save as many people as I could. I was still me. These notions warmed me while my body grew more and more lethargic. I didn''t even notice anything wrong until my fog dissipated, leaving me alone with the stream and the glowing mushrooms. ¡°Wha¡­?¡± I stuttered as the shock of losing control brought me back to reality. I tried to activate it once more but nothing responded inside. As if the wellspring of my power had just run dry. ¡®Oh right. The Psy. I got to 0¡¯ My eyes began to shut against my will. Darkness consumed me. Chapter 5: Hard Knocks. Chapter 5: Hard Knocks. Thump. Thump. Thump. I was small again. Only six years old and scared. Thump. Thump. Thump. All the grownups were scared too. They screamed so loudly. It hurt my ears. Thump. Thump. Thump. I was crying. I had tried to be brave, but I was so tired and sad and angry. Mom and Dad were trying to move away from the doors. Thump. Thump. Thump. Everyone else was too. Some were pushing and shoving. Mr. Gideon pulled out a bat and started hitting Mr. Birch. Thump. Thump. Thump. A pincer tore into the walls above the door. I stared in disbelief. Unable to comprehend why a rift had opened up without any heroes doing anything. Thunder Fist should be here. He was always there for people. The truck-sized crab finished breaking down the shelter wall. It grasped the leftovers of brick and rebar and sent them flying. ¡®This isn¡¯t real.¡¯ I concluded. ¡®I¡¯m not really here. I¡¯m in my bed with Mittens. I¡¯m all wrapped up in blankets because it was cold outside.¡¯ The crab entered the old community center with a relaxed gait. Dozens upon dozens of little crabs followed. They were like a hen and her chicks, eager and hungry. A pincer took hold of Mr. Gideon. Another, ripped off his legs, then his arms. The mother crab threw all the parts down where the little crabs were waiting. More shouting. More shoving. Mom was crying. The crab grabbed Mr. Birch next. Then it grabbed Mrs. Birch and old man Ronnie. All the little ones were red before, but they¡¯re wetter now. Shinier under the lights. I wanted it to stop. I wanted the monster to die. I started yelling, emotions burning like a dying sun. My eyes opened to a room filled with silence. The tall man was there, in front of the giant monsters. He told them¡­ He told them that it was their turn to be afraid. So, they were. They all died afraid and in pain. All the people there were quiet. They were looking at the tall man. They were full of fear. Afraid of him. The tall man chuckled. Gleeful that he could move people and tell them what to do. He said that everyone had to wait nicely. He told everyone to go to sleep. My eyelids shut and I tried to think about my bed and Mittens. ¡°¡­ude¡­!....Dud¡­e¡­!....ake¡­.up!....¡± ¡®Cold. My bed is so cold. Hard too. Did I fall on the floor?¡¯ ¡°Dude! Dude come on! Don¡¯t play games with me dude!¡± I opened my eyes slowly, struggling with the grogginess that came from a big, fat nap. At first, the scene that greeted me looked rather, strange. There was a muscled surfer bro in shorts screaming down at me. His firm hands were clasping my shoulders tightly. Vigorously shaking me as his face grew more panicked. ¡°Stop.¡± I spoke. Coughing slightly as I felt dust entering my lungs. ¡°Stop! Stop! I¡¯m awake!¡± The tanned man stopped, breathing out a sigh of relief and collapsing backwards onto the floor. I squinted, trying and failing to find my bed, my sheets, my posters, my table, my bookcase. Confused as I was, their absence didn¡¯t quite trigger the panic it normally would. At least, not until I brought myself to a sitting position and took in the soft glow of mushrooms on the ceiling. I blinked and started taking in the environment. It was a cave. A circular chamber inside a cave. With a small stream running out of the walls and down the middle. It flowed into a small metal grate and disappeared downwards into places unknown. The trickle was oddly soothing. A steady drip, drip, drip. Those small sounds were all there was. Their presence brought clarity into the pervasive darkness. ¡®Oh (Centipede). That wasn¡¯t a dream.¡¯ ¡°Okay dude.¡± The tanned man said while standing up. ¡°The prank¡¯s gone far enough. Take me back to the resort.¡± I blinked at him again. ¡°Resort?¡± ¡°Yeah. The resort where I was staying with my friends. You know, the one on Honolulu. I¡¯m sure they paid you ahead of time to make it seem convincing. Hahaha. Very funny. Now take me back.¡± My head was throbbing as I stood up. ¡°Right then. I have some bad news for you.¡± I proceeded to explain our current situation, as well as the estimates I¡¯d come up with regarding our current depth and how long it would take for us to get to the surface. The tanned man seemed to take it all in. His mind staying oddly calm as I finished my explanation. ¡°Right.¡± He said after a while. ¡°I guess they paid you really well then. Okay.¡± He chuckled in good humor. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what this attraction is called, but kudos for the role-play. I actually thought you were serious for a moment there. So, are the monsters animatronics or¡­¡± I stared at him. Then sighed and stood up. I opened the door gingerly, careful not to put too much pressure on my wounded hand. Then I pointed to one of the centipedes I had killed. The tanned man saw it and chuckled louder. ¡°Cool. Must be really high budget. Smells like¡­.¡± I stopped him before he could get any more words out. ¡°Look, whatever your name is, I get it. It does not sound real. So, if you want to find out how real it is, focus on your screen.¡± ¡°My screen?¡± He asked in confusion. ¡°Yes.¡± I sighed. ¡°Your screen. Just will it open by thinking ¡®status¡¯ or something. Its like a mental flex.¡± He narrowed his eyes, but shrugged and leaned backwards anyways. Then he yelped as he stared out into empty air. ¡°What the (Buzzkill)?¡± ¡®Oof. That censor word¡¯s about to change.¡¯ I thought bitterly. Refocusing my attention on my own screen.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 80/80
Type: Telepath Level 6
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 2 / [Message] 1 / [Mental Bolt] 3 / [Fever] 2 / [Fear] 1
Ability Points: 4
Huh. Well, on the one hand I¡¯m still alive. On the other hand, still a Telepath. You know what? I¡¯ll take it. (Centipede) what anybody else says. It was good to be alive. Even down here in my creepy dungeon. That could have gone a whole lot worse. I glanced down at my wristwatch. 2 hours have passed. Yep, sounds about right. Passed out in the murder hole for 2 whole hours. I took a deep breath to steady myself before I began to lose my bearings. Yeah, it was bad. It was really bad. I could have easily died here if that had happened anywhere else. No going all the way to 0 unless I was here or somewhere else with a locked door between me and the nasties. My gaze wandered over to the gate I had just closed once more. It stood firmly in place, despite the shallow marks left by the bugs. To my horror, I discovered that the bolt on the floor had given way in the previous struggle. That¡¯s when I realized the truth. There wasn¡¯t a solid metal door between me and my attackers. Only two shoddy metal tubes kept this space sealed. One of them had already given way. ¡°All righty then. Time to go find greener pastures.¡± I paused to glance back at the window in reality. ¡°After I¡¯ve spent my points.¡± I summoned the list of options before me and took my time analysing their names.
Available Abilities: [Static Illusion] 1 / [Fever] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Electronic Interface] 1 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Team Tactics] 1 / [Team Spirit] 1 / [Team Resilience] 1 / [Team Momentum] 1 / [Team Doctrine] 1 / [Mental Map] 1 / [Fear] 1 / [Courage] 1 / [Anxiety] 1 / [Confusion] 1 / [Hobble] 1 / [Phobia] 1 / [Puppet Animal] 1 / [Puppet Plant] 1 / [Puppet Fungus] 1 / [Puppet Sentient] 1 / [Puppet Machine] 1 / [Faint Presence] 1 / [Imposing Presence] 1 / [Alluring Presence] 1 / [Hide] 1 / [Mask] 1 / [Hidden Danger] 1 / [Muffle] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Precognition] 1 / [Premonition] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Meditation] 1 / [Mark Target] 1 / [Calm] 1 / [Enrage] 1 / [Friendship] 1 / [Resolve] 1 / [Review Memory] 1 / [Share Memory] 1 / [Fog Memory] 1 / [Drunkenness] 1 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Inspiration] 1 / [Psychometry] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 1 / [Hum of Striding] 1 / [Hum of Defence] 1 / [Hum of Harmony] 1 / [Hum of Discord] 1 / [Hum of Cleansing] 1 / [Hum of Mist] 1 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Cleansing Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 1 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Block Mental Detection] 1 / [Block Mental Attack] 1 / [Interrupt] 1 / [Awaken Organism] 1 / [Awaken Object] 1 / [Stable Reality] 1 / [Unstable Reality] 1 / [Manifest Intruder] 1 / [Seal Intruder] 1 / [Banish Intruder] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1 / [Psionic Hex] 1 / [Psionic Curse] 1 / [Drown] 1 / [Heart Attack] 1 / [Indigestion] 1 / [Blind] 1 / [Deafen] 1/ [Anosmia] 1 / [Phantom Pain] 1
As expected, there were a lot of options. Many of them excellent. If you happened to be a completely asocial degenerate looking to spread misery everywhere they can. Their potential shinning through even through their name. The first ones to really catch my attention are the puppet ones. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Particularly, [Puppet Sentient]. Oh boy. Oh, my goodness. That¡¯s¡­ Not a good look. I was really here. Sitting in the dark with soiled pajamas. Considering the merits of learning to move people against their will. Wunderbar. Those words had Saturday morning cartoon villain written all over them. In big neon letters. Accompanied by proud trumpets and cute little cherubs proclaiming me the undisputed king of scumbags. I could see it now, a figure standing atop a dais, ordering a crowd to get on their knees and give him their banking information. The man laughed maniacally until Thunder Fist landed nearby and punched half their freaking teeth in. The crowd woke up and cheered. Little kids throwing their drinks at the villain¡¯s head while someone rushed in and kicked them between the legs. Then they went to trial and the judge walked down from their seat and performed a sick body slam. The jurors cheered, as do all the people in attendance. The court bailiff walked in and kicked them between the legs again. Tasing them once or twice for good measure. The justice system as a whole, threw away the key and everyone lived happily ever after. I sighed again. ¡®No thank you. I¡¯m not quite that desperate just yet. In fact, I¡¯ll just pretend that option doesn¡¯t exist. Better for everyone. Instead, I¡¯ll focus all my energy on stuff I can actually use without devolving into another existential crisis.¡¯ Right off the bat, I prioritized anything that would let me avoid combat over more attacking options. My reasoning being that I only had a limited Psy pool to work with. Better to cover my escape routes now while I had points to spend. ¡°Dude. I¡¯m freaking out.¡± The tanned man said. I turned my head to regard him once more. Noting how his eyes seemed extremely dilated and his face appeared to be flushed. ¡°You and me both man. You and me both.¡± If anything, those words made him come across as even more unsettled and I cursed myself for my stupidity at once. ¡°Right, no. I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t thinking man. I¡¯ve been dealing with this for some time and I think the stress is getting to me.¡± I extended my uninjured hand. ¡°I¡¯m Solomon. But my friends call me Sully.¡± I said. Explicitly forgetting to mention my Type. ¡°Uh. Hi. Sully. I¡¯m Steve. I, uh.¡± He kept stammering over his words for some time. Going so far as to take a few steps back. ¡°Okay. Don¡¯t freak out, but¡­ I think I might be a Telepath.¡± I felt the tension in my shoulders draining away in droves after that. ¡°Oh thank goodness.¡± He blinked in confusion. ¡°You¡¯re not scared?¡± ¡°Oh, no. Don¡¯t me wrong. I am absolutely mortified right now, but there¡¯s nothing else to do but work through the fear. Also, relax. I¡¯m also a Telepath.¡± He still eyes me warily. ¡°You¡¯re not, like, a deranged mind-controller are you?¡± ¡°No.¡± I assured him. ¡°Like I said. I just got here too. I¡¯m still trying to figure all this out. Speaking of which; System! Give me descriptions of all available abilities.¡±
System Notice: Tier 1 abilities will not carry descriptions due to their modular nature. This directive has been applied retroactively to all iterations of the system. Ability descriptions have been proven to stunt early Esper development. Students are encouraged to experiment and mold their abilities to suit their needs.
I stared at the screen, unblinking. Slowly, my eyes scanned the response, then went over the text again with a fine-tooth comb, looking for hidden meanings and contemplating the implications. Finally, I sighed. ¡°Oh. That¡¯s great. Lovely. Whomever threw me in here wants me to get stronger, but won¡¯t tell me what the bloody powers do. That¡¯s fantastic. A+ for effort.¡± Steve followed my lead and scanned the message. ¡°Dude. That is, like seriously messed up. I mean, some of them are pretty straight forward like [Indigestion], but you¡¯ve also got things like [Stable Reality] and [Unstable Reality] or [Manifest Intruder] or [Psionic Jinx]. And they won¡¯t even tell us what they do. This is the worst Isekai ever.¡± I turned to him. ¡°Isekai?¡± ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s what this is.¡± He said with growing confidence. ¡°We¡¯ve been summoned to another world and given superpowers by the System. After this, we¡¯ll have to use them to save this new world. Probably by killing an evil king or monster. But it might turn out that it¡¯s actually a hot babe that wants to get along with humans and the guys who summoned us are the bad guys. Or maybe we might get betrayed by the princess who summoned us and¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I interrupted him. ¡°A¡­ princess?¡± ¡°Yeah dude.¡± Steve affirmed. ¡°Keep up with the developments. So, the princess gave us powers and now we have the System. Since there¡¯s two of us, that means that either one of us or someone we¡¯ll be meeting soon is a super-scary final-boss kind of guy who will be our friend to start with. We¡¯ll want to mind-read everyone who comes along to introduce us to the good human king who will later turn out to be super mean to the beast-folk.¡± ¡°The beast-folk?¡± I asked. ¡°Like, Shifters?¡± ¡°Hmn. Oh. No. I meant girls with, oh wait. I guess that also makes sense. Never mind.¡± ¡®Oh no. Steve is brain-damaged.¡¯ ¡°Hey! I read your mind! I am not brain damaged!¡± ¡°You just told me that we were kidnapped by a princess who will later betray us.¡± I pointed out. ¡°That¡¯s just what happens! I¡¯m not brain damaged! I¡¯m telling you the truth!¡± I blinked a couple of times and then covered my face with my one good hand. ¡°Okay Steve. Whatever. Let¡¯s not fight over this and get back to the screen.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t figured all this out already?¡± ¡°No.¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve been, busy. With a lot of monster hunting.¡± Going back to the board, that whole bit about abilities being modular was quite interesting. Maybe I could get past the cooldown with practice? Food for thought. I¡¯d have to keep trying new things with the swirls of energy. ¡°Time to try something else then. System, who kidnapped me? Who built the labyrinth? What do they want?¡± No response came forward and I cursed internally. ¡°I told you man. It was a princess who summoned us.¡± Steve insisted. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried really, really hard to keep my mind clear of any aggressive thoughts he might pick up on. ¡°Is there anything you can tell me?¡± I asked the System once more.
System Notice: All Students have received equal access to information. Access to information has been fine-tuned to maximize potential growth.
¡°Right. I¡¯ll just take your word for it.¡± A sudden lump formed in my throat as an idea hit me. ¡®This thing didn¡¯t tell me what ability points did until I asked.¡¯ ¡°Wait! Give me all the information you can. Doesn¡¯t matter if it deemed relevant. I want all the information that¡¯s available to me.¡±
System Notice: Tutorial simplifications disabled as per Student request. Full menu has been made available.
Status
Titles
Equipment
Abilities
Forums
Team
Objectives
Instance
¡°AHA!¡± Steve followed my lead and whistled. ¡°Wow. Way to go dude. I never would have thought to try that. I figured the System would give us everything from the start. It¡¯s starting to come off as a little mean by holding this stuff back.¡± ¡°Yeah. No (Centipede).¡± I turned back to the System. ¡°What other secrets are you hiding?¡± No answer was brought forward. The System stayed as silent as the grave. So, I started flicking with the remaining options alongside Steve. The Status window was the same as usual. No change there. The Titles window opened to reveal a plain box.
Titles: Student has no titles.
Fair enough, I guess. ¡°System, what¡¯s a Title and how can I get one?¡±
System Notice: This information will be available after the conquest of a safe zone.
¡°What¡¯s a safe zone?¡± Steve asked in confusion. ¡°I thought you said this was the safe zone.¡± ¡°This is a safe room.¡± I corrected. ¡°And I didn¡¯t get any kind of pop up telling me that. I just figured it out because there¡¯s one entrance and one exit that¡¯s covered by a door that closes. That and I found you in one piece at a time when monsters were eating people alive. I figured that the room had to be at least somewhat safe.¡± Steve paled at that, but nodded. The Equipment window opened to reveal another plain box.
Equipment: No System equipment available. No Store Tokens available. No special Tokens Available.
Under that window was the smorgasbord of options I¡¯d been shown already, detailing all the immoral ways I could improve my current condition. I groaned as the implications of the memory altering ones finally dropped, briefly imagining myself as one of the guys chasing down John Gardens in the titular movies. Those always ended in the same way. With the big bad electrocuting or blowing up his latest girlfriend after brainwashing her, prompting John to yell: ¡°NOOOOO! Honesty!¡± Or ¡°NOOOOO! Faith!¡± After that, his trusty sidekick Boombox distracted the ne¡¯er do well. Long enough for John to overcome his grief at the last moment and save the day. By disembowelling his rival. Slowly. I¡¯d seen both movies in the theatres with my friends. Both times, the audience had cheered at the blood sport. I massaged my head in order to alleviate a small fraction of the stress I felt. It didn¡¯t work. Intrusive thoughts kept coming one after the other like flies on a landfill. They buzzed and buzzed, never retreating for long as my mind kept stubbornly conjuring the worst-case scenarios for me. ¡®The screens aren¡¯t really there since my hand can pass through them. That means there isn¡¯t a sadistic Projector making solid constructs out of light. Which leaves hallucinations, either from a traumatic brain injury or an undiagnosed mental health disorder.¡¯ I groaned at the prospect as more options kept beating me over the head. ¡®Or, you know, an evil Telepath messing with my mind. Or drugs. I could very well have been roofied while I was asleep.¡¯ ¡°No. No! Stop that, Sully! Stop it! That¡¯s the anxiety talking. That¡¯s not you. That doesn¡¯t help. Happy thoughts. Deep breaths and happy thoughts.¡± ¡°Dude, you¡¯re starting to scare me.¡± Steve said. ¡°I don¡¯t know why.¡± I countered. ¡°I think I¡¯m handling this whole thing much better than most people I know would have. The trick is to break down the large problems into smaller, more manageable ones and to have a positive, can-do attitude.¡± I drew in a deep, long breath. Just like Henry taught me. Letting all the fear out alongside the air. Then I did it again. Until I snapped back into focus and turned to the screens. ¡°Okay. Back to business. Show me the forums.¡±
System Notice: Forums not available until the start of the third cycle.
¡°Erm, could I see the store?¡±
System Notice: Labyrinth Store can only be accessed through intermediaries. Intermediaries will be scattered throughout the Tutorial.
I fought hard to supress the shivers crawling up my spine and went for the next tab.
Team: The Student has not yet formed a team.
¡°Of course. Makes sense. Thank you for the pre-emptive explanation system. You¡¯re a big help. Let¡¯s move on.¡±
Objectives: Current Objective: Survive the first cycle. (59 days remaining) Bonus Objective: Conquer a safe zone. Bonus Objective: Reach level 50. Bonus Objective: Increase the Tier of an ability. Bonus Objective: Gain a Title.
Survivor Count: 895/1000
Instance: 10:03 am ¨C Earth TRKG-2004 Tutorial Labyrinth ¨C Elite Difficulty.
¡°System, why does planet Earth have a serial number next to it?¡± ¡°Dude. Sully. Its because that¡¯s our old world and we¡¯ve been Isekaid.¡± Steve insisted.
System Notice: It is standard practice to classify Students by their dimension of origin so as to not confuse Students from the same planet located in different dimensions.
¡°Right. I¡¯m going to have a bit of an existential crisis about the implications of multiple dimensions later, but there¡¯s something else. System, why does it say that we¡¯re in the Elite difficulty?¡± I said, feeling like a cretin all the while. No response was forthcoming. ¡°Oooooh.¡± Steve said. His tone becoming more and more strained as he let the sounds out. ¡°So its that kind of Isekai.¡± His shoulders slumped. ¡°Well (Buzzkill).¡± He turned to me. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you have any cheats we can pull out to secure our survival?¡± ¡°No?¡± I said. ¡°At least, I don¡¯t think so. I think I¡¯ve got a good grasp on the mechanics but that¡¯s about it.¡± Steve nodded slowly. ¡°Right. In that case, we¡¯re going to want to stay right here and camp out as long as possible.¡± Marshalling my willpower, I fought down the rush of paranoia and anxiety bubbling up in my veins. Turning my head to face him directly. ¡°Okay? Why do you think that?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s the most obvious way to survive!¡± He shouted with exasperation. ¡°There¡¯s going to be someone here, in this instance, who will be head and shoulders above the rest. I don¡¯t know who it is or whether they¡¯re a good guy or not, but someone will eventually rise to the top. What we have to do now is stay put. Avoid dying. And then, when that person bears the Tutorial, we all rush over to them and offer ourselves as teammates.¡± I thought about punching him, but dispelled the notion with enough speed that I figured he didn¡¯t manage to get a read on me. Now wasn¡¯t the time. ¡°Listen, man. This isn¡¯t¡­ This is real life. I got bit. I almost lost a hand. Honestly, we¡¯re lucky we met each other before anything else got to you too. We have to worry about things like our oxygen supply and the chances of a cave-in. You know, the things that normally kill people who wind up in caves. This¡­ this isn¡¯t helping.¡± Steve clicked his tongue. ¡°Man, you don¡¯t understand anything. Whomever out us here obviously doesn¡¯t want to let that happen. It wouldn¡¯t make sense for them to go to all this trouble only to kill us like that.¡± ¡°On the contrary. It would make perfect sense for them to kill us like that. It means they don¡¯t need to worry about fighting a few hundred new Superhumans directly and they get to erase all the evidence of us in one fell swoop. If anything, the lack or organizers here in person makes me think that they¡¯ve already prepared to bury us as soon as we become inconvenient or they get whatever data they were hoping to get. There might be demolition charges inside the walls as we speak.¡± Steve didn¡¯t say anything else. Instead, he turned his head to the side and started gnashing his teeth. His mind going on and on about how stupid I was being. I took a deep breath, refocusing on the screen and preparing myself to ask the pertinent question. ¡°What is difference between this and other difficulties?¡± The question hung in the air for an uncomfortable amount of time. That, as it turned out, was the final straw. ¡°You know what. Screw you. Screw you and whomever made you. I did not survive the opening of the rifts, having my family home burned down, months inside a refugee camp and years of appalling poverty just to die here in this hole for some sick freak¡¯s pleasure.¡± Breathing became an afterthought as truth spilled out. ¡°I didn¡¯t make it through the shelter, the monsters, and the tall man so that I could rot in some hole in the middle of nowhere. I¡¯m going to get out of here. I¡¯m going to rescue as many people as I can and I will see you brought to justice. Just you wait. This is a linear function where f(x) is (Centipede) around and f(y) is find out.¡± I was shaking with impotent rage as those final words came out. Spite, thick and cloying, helping to fuel my resolve. Chapter 6: When given lemons… Chapter 6: When given lemons¡­ I was very proud of myself at the moment. Never in my life did I imagine I had such vast reserves of patience. Indeed, I was practically an enlightened monk sitting atop a mountain, bathing in soft rays of sunlight. Soft and soothing breaths came in and out of my lungs, taking away all earthly worries, all the anxiety I had, all the stress weighing me down. Most importantly, it was taking this volcano of white-hot fury I had boiling inside of me. The timing was excellent, as without this serene influence, I might have completely lost my mind from sheer, unadulterated spite. ¡°Why? Why all this? Why not just have everyone in one place?¡±
System Notice: Students perform better in the long run when they have a generous diversity of thought and philosophy.
¡°Don¡¯t listen to it.¡± Steve spoke up. ¡°Its so that everyone has to fend for themselves at the start. This kind of System wants to weed out the weak early on.¡± I turned to Steve. ¡°Listen, man. I couldn¡¯t help but reading your mind a few times while we were talking. You realize that you¡¯re acting as if this is a video game, right?¡± ¡°Well yeah. Because it is like a video game.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I agreed. ¡°One where other people, people we could be helping, are dying by the score. One where we¡¯ll be very, very dead if we happen to mess up. As the list of survivors clearly shows. One where you suggested that our best move was to hunker down and do nothing.¡± ¡°Yeah, so?¡± I pinched myself to avoid going on another rant. ¡°Don¡¯t let yourself down Sully. You¡¯re better than this. You¡¯re going to make it out. You¡¯re still you. You¡¯re going to keep being a good person, despite being a Telepath and you¡¯re going to save more people.¡± ¡°Dude, you¡¯re starting to scare me.¡± I ignored him. One breath came in, slow and steady until my lungs were full. Then it went out, leaving me deflated and more in control. Another breath, drawn in through the nose and expelled through the mouth. Then another, and another. ¡°All right.¡± I said after some time. ¡°This partnership of ours isn¡¯t a sinking ship just yet. Can we at least agree that levelling is important to our survival?¡± Steve seemed to hesitate. His bare chest shivering slightly as he shuffled awkwardly in place. His eyes were darting around as well, brown flecks moving from side to side as they reflected what little light could be found in the cave. His mind was now awash with some aspects of the Labyrinth that I had already become familiar with. Such as the giant centipedes, and the venom they carried. Up until this point, the idea of physically coming across a monster was hypothetical. He¡¯d seen them in his own fog, but he hadn¡¯t actually witnessed what they were in their entirety. There were simply some things one had to see for themselves. Like the sound of their skittering legs on stone as they whizzed about, far faster than one would expect. Or the way their little, primitive minds were hyper-fixated on food. On the kill placed in front of them. ¡°I mean, I guess that makes sense. It¡¯s a really high difficulty instance, but we should be able to handle the starting enemies. At least, I should be able to if you were able to.¡± ¡°Okay then. I¡¯m glad we can agree on something. Now, since levelling is important because we get more Psy and more ability points, then it stands to reason that we should think about spending those points carefully, since we¡¯re working with a limited amount. Right?¡± He seemed affronted at that. ¡°Of course, man. That¡¯s obvious. Don¡¯t treat me like I¡¯m stupid.¡± I put my hands up in a placating manner. Doing my best to clear my mind of my private opinions. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of it. Now, back to my point. Since we have a limited amount of ability points, we should spend them carefully. After reviewing all the available abilities and going over our options. Take my current options for instance. I got four points to spend and need defensive abilities. The system won¡¯t tell me anything about them, so I have to go by their names. I¡¯m pretty sure I can figure this out.¡± I went back to the list. ¡°Telepaths can¡¯t rely on super durable physiques like Enhancers or regeneration like Shifters. Nor could they pull off energy fields like Projectors. For me¡­¡± I paused and corrected myself. ¡°For us, the best strategy would be to stay out of sight and out of mind, striking out from very far away and hopefully finishing off the monsters before they have a chance to retaliate.¡± I looked back at Steve. ¡°Does that sound reasonable?¡± He nodded slowly. ¡°I guess I can get behind that.¡± Then his eyes focused on mine. Bearing some hints of suspicion. ¡°Okay. You take the upgrades and I¡¯ll watch how you do. It should be fine since this is your idea of how to progress. I¡¯ll spend my points after seeing how you do.¡± I blinked. A little astounded that, after coming to terms with the fact that both of us were stuck here together, he¡¯d still be showing apprehension at the idea of cooperation. I searched his mind then. Trying to look for any ulterior motives and finding none. The man was honestly just trying to see what worked and wanted me to spend the points in case the build I proposed was sub-optimal. ¡®That¡¯s fine. I guess. Bit of a jerky move to make when our best shot at survival involves implicit trust but whatever. As long as it gets him on board.¡¯ With that in mind, I decided to go for [Static Illusion], [Hide], and [Faint Presence] right off the bat, with an extra point up for debate. The first three options would hopefully allow me to sneak past enemies or make them ignore me. I figured that was far more cost-effective when it came to swarms that may or may not be hunting for me. Upgrading [Fever] was an option, but I couldn¡¯t guarantee kills with that yet and I didn¡¯t know if another point would make that much of a difference. In addition, I now knew for a fact that there were massive groups of centipedes that gathered up and strategized to some degree. If I was surrounded anywhere, then that was that. Lights out. Welcome to the pearly gates. Better to rely on stealth to carry me through. If being a sneaky little poo meant surviving then sign me up for ninja school. ¡°Yeah. That sounds like a good idea.¡± Steve agreed. ¡°I think I¡¯m gonna go that route too. Stealth builds tend to be overpowered when done right.¡± He paused again. ¡°After you¡¯ve tried it out. Of course. If it doesn¡¯t work out, I can still use my points on something else. Meaning we have a backup. As a group.¡± He clarified. ¡°As a group.¡± I agreed. Trying very hard to keep my mounting irritation under control. I nodded. Thinking back to how I also had a certain degree of insurance from my superhero knowledge. Blackjack had famously disappeared time and time again after each of her attacks. Every time, Enhancers, Projectors and Shifters would gather and search for hours without any luck. Every time, footage would emerge of her literally walking alongside response units without being noticed. It wasn¡¯t that she could turn invisible or anything. Rather, that she could make herself undetectable to people around her. I had no illusions that my abilities would be that strong right away, but it was a start. Definitely a decent use of 3 points. That last point would require some deliberation however. I¡¯d narrowed down my choices to either [Precognition], which sounded overpowered, or [Mental Map], which sounded very useful and practical. Problem was, we had no descriptions for either of them. Taking one might mean missing out on an incredible ability until my next level. With how things had played out, I might not make it that far. I was leaning towards [Precognition] right now, only because of the possibilities I conjured up in my head. Being able to predict the future? Knowing how things would play out before every fight? Every conversation? Every little situation where skill and probability were a factor? It was simply too good to be true. Which is exactly why I was suspicious. I was all for positivity in the face of adversity but if being in this forsaken hole had taught me anything it was that whomever threw me down here had very few scruples and a twisted disposition. Furthermore, there was that itty bitty fact that no Telepath I¡¯d ever heard of could predict the future. I¡¯m pretty sure something like that would have made the news, which only deepened my skepticism. There was no way something that good would be available for 1 point. There had to be a catch. Besides, [Mental Map] was something relatively simple in concept. A map that was in my mind. Brilliant thing to have around. Yes, I could tell distance and relative positions using [Sense Thoughts], but that was that. There could be a single wall between me and my target or there could be fifty. Furthermore, I¡¯d lose track of them once they died, leaving me blind once more. So, these were my final choices. Take a gamble on something amazing or settle for something safe and useful. ¡°I think I¡¯ll go for more points in [Hide] instead.¡± Steve said. ¡°If it actually works, it might be the better option. [Precognition] sounds like a scam. I¡¯d bet it wouldn¡¯t even work that well unless you invested heavily into it. It might be smart to indulge a little bit once we have more levels under our belt, but I¡¯m not willing to risk it. I, I¡¯m going to be honest. I¡¯m not too familiar with Blackjack. Nothing specific at least. But I do know she¡¯s never been caught. So, going for stealth sounds like the safer option. That sounds like our last line of defence and I want to make sure it won¡¯t fail if I meet a monster with keen senses or super vision or something.¡± That made sense. Not the route I would have gone for, as I was pretty sure most monsters would be dead long before they reached me, but his logic was sound. In the end, I settled for the safe option. I could always go back to try out Precognition, but I needed a definitive edge right now. With a small pang of sadness, I allocated my points.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 80/80
Type: Telepath Level 6
Abilities: This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. [Sense Thoughts] 2 / [Message] 1 / [Mental Bolt] 3 / [Fever] 2 / [Fear] 1 / [Static Illusion] 1 / [Hide] 1 / [Faint Presence] 1 / [Mental Map] 1
Ability Points: 0
At once, four new swirls of energy appeared in my head. I knew them all instinctively, as if I had known them all my life. Two of them, [Faint Presence] and [Mental Map], were passive in nature. No matter how hard I tried, they would not accept any Psy into them. It was much the same deal as [Sense Thoughts]. Either I turn them off or on. No in between. The map appeared as a holographic image of a sphere in my head. Within the center of the sphere lay my current chamber, dyed in pale blue and purple. I appeared as a single yellow dot in the middle, soft currents dancing from me to fill the image. I couldn¡¯t feel anything different about my presence, but I figured I was immune to whatever I was doing now. I decided to leave the ability activated and move on. The other two were a bit trickier. [Static Illusion] did just what it advertised. I focused on an area and willed it to become a rock to my senses. It worked. Somewhat. The rock did appear where I wanted and it did look how I wanted it to look. However, the size was off. This Illusion was way too small to hide myself in. On closer inspection, it also rippled as I moved around it. I shook my head as disappointment set in. Right now, it would be a good distraction, but little else. A few more points might fix that, or they might not. On the bright side, only one Psy per use, so there was potential there. It would just have to be a gamble for another time. My last ability, well, I don¡¯t know how good it was yet. I could feel it inside me. I could activate it. I just couldn¡¯t notice anything different. Maybe a centipede would be completely baffled right now, wondering how the handsome human had vanished from the world. Or, maybe it would wonder what the handsome human was doing to become partly see-through. Could centipedes, see? I guess they sense with their antennas. Would my ability work on antennas? No matter. I needed to find live prey to test this on anyway. One sad little beast, all by its lonesome. If it works? Great. If it doesn¡¯t? Better to find out it doesn¡¯t work in a controlled setting. That¡¯s the scientific process in action. I turned on my senses, combining [Mental Map] and [Sense Thoughts]. Flickers of emotion came to me and began to fill out blank spots in a three-dimensional sphere. Critters in groups of two and three and four moved around my sides and above me. Below me lay the same concentration of life that had sent scouts to accost me. Their feedback filled my map as my own energy did, modelling their passages and crevices. Then I noticed that the map stopped forming around the entrance to the lower tunnels, where the re-enforcements were coming from earlier. The same spot that marked my previous range. Huh. So, the range of my map is half that of my current senses. Good to know. Maybe it¡¯s because of the level difference? I set out to test it further by moving around my chamber. The borders of the map being made moved with me, as did the borders of my senses. However, there was one crucial difference. The previously-completed portions remained in place, even after I move away. Finally, some good news. About time. This meant that I could slowly map out the whole maze given enough time. It also meant that I didn¡¯t have to worry about losing my only source of water. Steve also followed suit and appeared suitably impressed, so that was good. Us being on the same page was a relief. Now then. Two choices lay before me. Before us. Go out and test my, our, new powers or stay here a bit longer and get a few more levels before heading out. I considered it for a while as centipedes moved throughout the labyrinth. I could start taking them out from here, but then I risked them converging on our position again. On the other hand, I could start sniping them after we made our way out of here. That way, search parties wouldn¡¯t attack my little hideout. Wait. What about the smarter variants? Those things I felt when the Enhancers were fighting. I didn¡¯t sense any right now, but they could easily figure out where we came from if they know the tunnels. If that happened, they could set up an ambush at our only water source. Granted it wouldn¡¯t catch me by surprise, but it would force a confrontation. An idea struck me at that moment. It beat me over the head with how easy and obvious it was. Man, I was such an idiot. That lack of imagination was going to get me killed if I didn¡¯t shape up. I turned back to the metal door and the battered locks. I made my essence flow and laid down an Illusion. Then another. Then one more on top of that. I continued until the entire gateway looked like yet another wall in the cave. Completely unremarkable if one didn¡¯t pay close attention. The whole process set me back 10 Psy, but I couldn¡¯t help but pat myself on the back. ¡°Dude! Way to go! That¡¯s genius!¡± Steve cheered. I couldn¡¯t help but agree with him on this one thing. I¡¯d just found our ideal hunting method. The next few minutes passed without much consequence. We threw [Fever] and [Mental Bolt] at enemies and watched their reactions. I heard their panic as I removed their friends or immobilized entire groups. I studied how they spread out in search of me, bigger packs of 10 or 20 dispersing at once to explore all available openings. This encouraged me to keep targeting bigger and bigger hordes as their dispersal filled out my map extremely quickly. Indeed, the whole sphere was almost filled out after just half an hour. I stared at it in my mind, conjuring the sphere into being. I¡¯d guess it had a radius of roughly 100 metres. It was a very rough guesstimate but it felt right. Furthermore, the power now extended in every direction and was completely full of twists and turns. There were passages that diverted themselves into three separate corridors, slow inclines that send travellers far below or far above their previous positions and holes that lead to chambers filled to bursting with chitin. Now, 2 levels higher and 60 Psy lighter, I could make a few tentative conclusions.
  1. This place was huge. I mean, completely gigantic in a way that would drive aspiring architects green with envy. It¡¯s also one big deathtrap, in a way that would make injury lawyers salivate like hungry hyenas. Sadly, I should probably get used to the idea of being stuck here for a while. Or until help comes, as unlikely as that seems.
  2. My Illusions worked! At no point did any of the centipedes stop to take a closer look. I can even simulate other things like sounds or smells, which could come in handy. They were also static and contained to a single location, but its still good to have more options. The only downside was that they started to vanish after about 20 minutes and had to be re-done. Still, that¡¯s a massive load off my back.
  3. [Fever] did give me kills. Slowly. It took a while for the centipedes to keel over and some of the stronger ones shrug it off after a minute of two. Consider Improving.
  4. Psy doesn¡¯t regenerate unless I¡¯m completely still and resting. I would have to try to get breaks whenever I was at or below 20 Psy. That way I would have some wiggle room in case of emergencies.
  5. There had to be other safe places aside from this one. I knew this because the survivor count had stopped at 895. Not a single person had died while I was experimenting. Yes, the number was absolutely spine-chilling, but everyone left seems to have found a decent hiding spot.
Overall, could be worse. Could be way (Centipede)ing worse. Still, that number left a question hanging in the air. Should I stay here where its relatively safe or try to find and rescue other people? Should I spend my points now or wait to see what the surrounding situation is? Any superhero worth their salt would have leapt at the chance to save lives after all. Then again, I probably wouldn¡¯t react very well to finding a Telepath in front of me after surviving a kidnapping. There were those two weirdoes that had called me a Shepherd or something but I figured they were most definitely not the norm. Then there was the whole difficulties and possible alternate dimensions thing. I wasn¡¯t quite ready to trust the System messages without further evidence, but if it were true, then it put me at a far trickier position. Beyond that, my levelling had petered off, so I was hesitant to spend the points. It could be a game-like thing, where sniping mobs from safety doesn¡¯t give any progress past a certain point, or it could be that I¡¯m either at or approaching the proverbial soft cap for experience. Maybe the centipedes didn¡¯t give out anything past level 8 and I¡¯d have to find stronger enemies. It would suck, but no more than the whole morning kidnapping scenario already did. Or maybe this whole game-like thing worked as a representation of skill or familiarity with powers. If so, training or using abilities in new ways was more important. Right, better to hold off for now. Maybe see if I could link up with a group and get some more information before deciding what to get. As for the safety angle, the decision was simple. Staying here meant certain death sooner or later. Either by the inexorable march of time and the need for food, or from suffocation, once someone was stupid enough to start lighting fires around the place. Again, carbon monoxide was not the way to go and even if this was a magical, other world, there was still the fact that gravity carried water down into the earth. All it would take is a heavy rain to drown all of us together. Alternatively, I could go outside and actually try to be a hero. To make a positive difference despite what I was. While looking for an exit, of course. Again, the deepest cavern on earth was two or so kilometres below ground. We would reach the surface eventually. ¡°Right. I guess that settles it.¡± I said aloud. ¡°We¡¯re going up.¡± ¡°Uh. No.¡± Steve said sharply. I turned to look at him. Confusion evident on my face. ¡°Uh, Steve. You¡¯ve been reading my mind. Right?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± He confirmed. ¡°So, you know about my friend Vince and all his caving accident documentaries?¡± ¡°Yeah. I know about them.¡± ¡°And, you don¡¯t want to leave, despite that?¡± Steve shrugged. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t want to leave Sully. Look around.¡± He spread his arms out to signal the empty cavern. ¡°We have running water here. And safety besides. The smart thing to do is to stay put and keep grinding until we reach some kind of level cap.¡± ¡°We already reached a level cap.¡± I pointed out. ¡°No. We reached a soft cap. That¡¯s different. A hard cap means that anymore levelling is impossible. A soft cap means its more difficult. Yeah, spamming bolts over and over again might not be fun, but it¡¯ll have to do. If it means I have to kill hundreds or thousands of centipedes for the next level, then I¡¯m okay with that. Who knows? We might be able to ride this out until level 100 or something. Or, we could run into other ways of levelling up besides killing mobs. We don¡¯t know everything about this System yet and you know what they say about assuming.¡± I stammered. Trying to find the words. ¡°Steve! Man! Basic Chemistry says that¡¯s a terrible idea! Gases like carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are produced when we breathe and there are a lot of breathing people and monsters around here. They also tend to gather at the lowest points of caves during cave-ins. Because of the lack of ventilation. Also, water. It also does that too. You¡¯ll die if it starts raining. At least this way, we¡¯ll have a chance. Besides, between the two of us, we can attack twice as fast and we have twice as much Psy to rely on. On top of that, the bolts have a cooldown, so if one of us runs into something that takes two bolts, the other can finish the monster off. Beside all of that, I mean, dude! We have no food! And the water we do have might be riddled with parasites and tapeworms or, the plague for all we know! I mean, I¡¯ll take it over dehydration right now, but I sure wouldn¡¯t trust it to keep me alive and healthy over an extended period of time.¡± Steve heard my pleas in stony silence. Then he heard them again when I repeated myself. All of them fell on deaf ears. ¡°Oh, my goodness Steve! What aren¡¯t you getting about this!?¡± He put up his hands then. Backing off slightly without seeming the least bit convinced. ¡°Look man. Those are all good points. I admit it. However, this is still the right choice. I want to be at least level 20 before heading out. That way I can invest in all the abilities I want. Like, [Block Mental Detection] and [Block Mental Attack], for example.¡± He shivered for a second before composing himself. ¡°I know you already considered them and that you don¡¯t think its at the top of the priority list. I disagree.¡± ¡°Its not that I don¡¯t think they¡¯re worthwhile man.¡± I clarified. ¡°Its just that we can get them later. After ensuring our physical safety from the physical monsters. Again, as far as we know, we¡¯re living on borrowed time. The most logical option is to make it to the surface as quickly as humanly possible. We haven¡¯t encountered Telepathic monsters yet. So, what we can do is leave a couple of points free in case we do. Taking both those powers is only two points. Less than a level. That, and by having the points on standby, we can opt for another ability in case we need it.¡± Steve shook his head. I tried reading his mind again and again, but only ended up getting a confused jumble of¡­ ¡°Dude! You already took the ability! Its getting harder to read your mind! What are you even complaining for?¡± He frowned. ¡°I guess I¡¯m complaining that you were able to read my mind at all. That kind of sucks. But it highlights my point. We need to get that ability up to level 3 or 4 at least. Not because of monsters, but because of people.¡± I stopped dead in my tracks. Sensing where he was going. I took another deep, calming breath. ¡°Okay. I get it. I¡¯m not going to argue that point. I¡¯ve sensed Enhancers and Projectors out here, but I also met you. Another Telepath. It stands to reason that there are others. It also stands to reason that the others might not be¡­ friendly.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Steve smiled. ¡°Then we¡¯re in agreement.¡± ¡°However¡­¡± I continued. ¡°I don¡¯t think the chances of a confrontation are very high. Its not like any other people are likely to try and attack us when we¡¯re surrounded by actual, literal monsters. Even if we¡¯re attacked, their abilities would be working just like ours, so I would actually argue that having the longer range on [Sense Thoughts] makes more sense. It means we can sense the other attacker before they sense us and it would also give us a bigger edge against monsters at the same time. All while we can keep a couple of points in reserve for the blocking abilities in case all else fails.¡± Steve shook his head. Sighing dramatically. ¡°And this is why I want to keep grinding. You already can¡¯t sense my own thoughts very well. What if the other person hides their intentions before attacking? What if we don¡¯t attack them, despite having the range advantage, because we¡¯re afraid of hurting a potential ally?¡± He began to wag his finger theatrically. ¡°No. Better to risk a flood or a tunnel collapse for a few days. I¡¯m sure the System will provide food in some capacity. Worst case scenario, we can eat the mushrooms.¡± I gazed at the far wall, where some of the luminescent fungal colonies were growing. Taking in their fluorescent, pale green glow. Then I looked back at Steve. ¡°Bro.¡± I said. Unable to put my disappointment into proper words. ¡°Don¡¯t you bro me dude. That¡¯s my line.¡± Steve snapped. ¡°Here. I¡¯ll prove that I¡¯m right.¡± I felt his Psy swelling up, and I panicked as I realized he meant to attack me with [Fever]. His own inner world making the line grow taut. I immediately cursed, summoning a bolt in self-defence. But I needn¡¯t have bothered. Steve was on the floor. Screaming. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!¡± He wailed. Letting loose a cry of exquisite agony as he collapsed and began to writhe like a worm. His nails slashing bloody ribbons across his face as his eyes began to melt like hot wax. Blood and tears streaming together and pooling down unto the floor. I tried to help, to hold him, but it was no use. He screamed and screamed and screamed. For minutes that felt like hours. Until he stopped. His body growing limp, as his head exploded. I stared at him. At his corpse. Wondering what the (Centipede) had just happened in front of me. Then I stood. Swallowing the lump in my throat. ¡°I¡­ guess the System doesn¡¯t like us attacking each other. At least, not with Telepathic abilities.¡± I said aloud. Addressing no one in particular. My mind still reeling from the sight of his rapidly cooling corpse and the spreading puddle of warm blood across the floor. I watched as the trails covered the surface of the cavern. Intermixing with the stream falling from the grate. ¡°Right then.¡± I repeated a few times, before I finally got the shaking under control. ¡°I guess [Block Mental Detection] and [Block Mental Attack] aren¡¯t priorities for now. Using Telepath abilities to attack other people is a very bad idea.¡± The words calmed me down somewhat, though another notion soon reared its ugly head. I couldn¡¯t use Telepathic abilities on other people, but what if they used their own abilities on me? What would happen if someone threw an enhanced punch or a bolt of fire? Would they be held to the same standard? My stomach churned and it took all the effort I could muster, to keep myself from throwing up. Chapter 7: The Weirdoes. Chapter 7: The Weirdoes. Stepping out of my little haven took more time than I¡¯d care to admit. Part of my hesitation was fueled by a healthy fear of the freaking giant centipedes, but other worries kept knifing me in the gut. ¡®Such as the sight of Steve.¡¯ I had a bad feeling that sleep wouldn¡¯t be coming quite as easily as before. Not after seeing that. Beyond that, there was the annoyingly persistent hangover to consider, slowing down my thoughts and movements by miniscule amounts. ¡®Though the smallest error might yet be the death of me.¡¯ I thought bitterly. Beyond that, was another, more pertinent oozing pustule stinking up my hopes of companionship. That is to say, what kind of reaction I could expect from any people I approached. ¡°Stop that, Sully. You¡¯re being stupid. This is a serious situation with real stakes. Sure, some people don¡¯t care for mind-readers, but any port in a storm, right? Also stop talking to yourself. Its weird. You¡¯re going to weird people out. You haven¡¯t been here long enough to go insane. Get your act together. Think positive thoughts.¡± Regardless, I eventually gathered my courage and forced myself through the open door and the illusions I¡¯d placed in the gap. Seeing the damp, dark hallway with my own eyes rather than my map brought about a sense of disorientation. It was as if the latter was superimposed on the reality I perceived with my eyes, almost like a filter for a photograph. One was a colourless grid I could sense through my fog, while another was just, reality as I always knew it. With a start, I realized that the image inside my fog was sharper and that it picked up details in the surrounding rock better than my eyes. I had fallen into the habit of relying on the map first without realizing it, having familiarized myself with the new sense to the point where I trusted it implicitly. That was worrying. Sure, I wanted to stay optimistic, but throwing caution to the wind was often a prelude to a violent messy death. No, better to have faith in my own eyes for now. The first step forward was the hardest, and I had to fight my instincts to avoid turning back. After that, each subsequent, tentative stride came with more confidence. ¡®Yeah. I can totally do this. I can totally go out hunting monsters. I can totally save people. I totally won¡¯t get my face chewed off by giant bugs.¡¯ Breathing deeply, I began to draw out a bolt and start practising. The first exercise I thought of was a simple one. Just hang on the purple wisp of death while walking. That¡¯s it. I kept moving and tried to get a feel for the projectile without firing it. When that proved simple, I branched out to new tricks. Making it come closer, pushing it farther from my body without releasing it, prodding it to go up or down while keeping it stable. It took some getting used to, but the routine was soon familiar enough that I could show some confidence. Feeling thusly, I tried firing two bolts in succession. The wall formed behind my eyes and no more wisps came out. After that, I tried all of my new techniques, attempting to find some loophole that would let me abuse the strongest attack I had. No such luck. Fluorescent mushrooms lit my way as I delved deeper into the foreboding darkness. Their soft greenish light created an ambiance of alien beauty when contrasted to the swaying pink vines that appeared down diverging paths. I couldn¡¯t sense the plants within my fog, but I figured there was no great loss there. My map knew where the intersections were and I could see them clearly by their bioluminescence. I definitely wouldn¡¯t be caught off-guard by something I failed to pick up ever again. Instead, I was more worried about the stupid pebbles stabbing at my feet every now and then. It wasn¡¯t anything too bad, but it was more annoying every time it happened. I¡¯d wince, brush the offending bit of stone out the way, swear loudly and move on. The problem was that this entire maze was constructed in such a way as to ensure a near constant stream of hidden pebbles. Not to mention the puddles of still water that appeared with slightly less frequency. ¡®Okay. Don¡¯t let something this small get to you man. You got this. Stay positive. Stay positive. Happy thoughts all around. Dwelling on the pain isn¡¯t going to make it go away.¡¯ My wounded hand brought me back to reality with a jolt of pain. I cursed once more and absentmindedly considered how unfair it was that it was losing feeling and experiencing hypersensitivity at the same time. Shrugging, I kept going. Filling my map and slaying monsters as I progressed. The idea was to keep going up. Momentary setbacks due to dead ends were fine as long as I ended up back on the same course. If there was a ceiling, and more importantly, a hatch through which people got in, then it was only a matter of time until I found it. So, off I went. Further and further. Until a faint clicking sound echoed in the shadows, just as I was crouching to get pebbles out of my feet. A very large arrow, or maybe a small ballista bolt, embedded itself in the stone with a resounding: THUNK! The shock sent me reeling and my heart beat with a new rush from the adrenaline. I looked at it for a long time, contemplating how close I¡¯d come to death. If the purpose of this place was indeed, educational in nature, then this was a flagrant misuse of resources. That is, to say, a waste of kidnaping victims like me. With that in mind, who would have put this here and why? What could they have hoped to gain? What was their angle? Was there even a reason? Or did the architect find the notion of laying traps only the most caffeinated paranoids would be able to anticipate endlessly amusing? If so, why put those little white spots around the pressure plate? A sense of fairness? Here? Several gulps and an existential crisis later, I was back on my feet. Moving far more slowly than before and hugging the right wall, but moving nonetheless. Sadly, the threat of death hadn¡¯t changed the futility of all other options. I still needed food and help from other people if I wanted to survive. Expecting either to land on my lap was unrealistic, given the current context. Granted, the prospect of trying to figure out where the deathtraps were by being ¡®extra careful¡¯ wasn¡¯t very appetizing, but it was all I had. That was, until I managed to unlock [Precognition] or some other means of sniffing out trouble. So, I moved, further and further still. Into the beckoning abyss that twisted itself through diverging openings to adjacent tunnels. Some were big enough to fit elephants inside while others could barely fit a person crawling on all fours. Some were devoid of the pink fronds that had scratched me while others were filled to bursting with them. Twice I sensed animals inside my fog. Not dissimilar to the centipedes, but not hostile in any way. Their own minds reflected their cowardice and their instincts to avoid confrontation as they exploded at my approach. ¡®Flee! The two legs come!¡¯ ¡®Flee! Away! Away!¡¯ ¡®Mean sounds! Angry sounds!¡¯ ¡®No closer! Away!¡¯ ¡®Not friend! Not friend!¡¯ ¡®Eats us! Chews on our bones!¡¯ ¡®Eats us! Grabs the tails! Bites the legs!¡¯ That was, new. Honestly, I didn¡¯t know whether to feel offended or relieved. Whatever these things were, they could notice me around the same time as I noticed them and they could feel which direction I was heading in. That ability would have been troublesome on a centipede, which made it all the stranger that they lacked it. Surely the sadist behind this maze wouldn¡¯t have overlooked the chance to step on his victims a little more. Oh well. I would take whatever small victories I could get. I¡¯d leave these guys alone so long as they left me alone. That aside, I did notice a fair number of centipedes in the adjacent tunnels and I wasted no time putting them in their place. That is to say, the ground. Figuratively speaking of course. I just blew their brains out with psychic blasts. Then, when my Psy got low, I put some illusions near a dead end and had a little break. It was a wonderful way of going about exploration. No more levels though. Which was strange but not entirely unexpected. I¡¯d already realized this place and the screen worked on video game logic back when Steve was still alive. Though I still could not fathom the reason. It made sense that exploiting the same mob over and over again wouldn¡¯t get me much further. On the other hand, there were the changes to my body in general. Every level gave me more Psy, but what did that mean? What was Psy? None of the scientific journals mentioned a new kind of energy back in my world. Studies would instead reference brainwave activity or the thickness of established nerve networks. It was, for the most part, a parade of similar, completely superficial observations. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. All the smart people knew there were differences between a normal human and an Esper, but no one could tell how a normal human turned into an Esper. Was it a natural evolution? Was it radiation? Was it some drug in the water? Some kind of bio-weapon? What about animals? Why didn¡¯t they get powers? Could it be the side-effect of medication? Or maybe genetic manipulation at a global scale? Too many questions and not nearly enough answers. It was unfortunate, but no sense crying about it now. Instead, it only made sense to cry about a whole host of other possibilities, such as the very real chance that there may be worse critters out there. Suppressing the shudder that crawled up my spine, I kept my feet moving through the stone floor. ¡°Remember your mantra. Happy thoughts. Positive thoughts. You¡¯ll make it through this. You always do.¡± Running was always an option if it came to that. Yet, surviving and saving people in danger was more important. That said, there was an issue that was irking me more and more. ¡®Holy mothballs this place is gigantic! Let¡¯s just ignore the whole multiple dimension kidnapper thing, who in their right mind would even think to make this layout!? Where did they get the money!? Where did they find the time!? Who even signs up to dig out some old pervert¡¯s murder-dungeon? How much could you make as a contractor digging out murder-dungeons? This isn¡¯t exactly a standard house renovation.¡¯ In my mind, an image appeared of a lonely, depressed and underpaid goon in a bright yellow costume driving down a country road offering cash to dig creepy caves for rich people. I imagine him feeling dirty inside and having to come home smelling of sweat and cave moss. I also imagined him getting miner¡¯s lung and stubbing his toe on the nightstand as he got up in the morning. Good. That would serve him right. I hoped he got bitten by the bugs and poisoned by the plants. I sighed and stopped to take a break, leaning my back against the flat surface of a nearby wall. My journey was growing more and more tedious as the hallway I was taking diverged into three separate passages. I couldn¡¯t sense any monsters down any of them and I also couldn¡¯t see very far due to the even dimmer lighting. Shrugging, I opted to retrace my steps and choose a more well-lit branching path. I wasn¡¯t exactly scared of the dark and I¡¯d even grown somewhat reliant on my fog, but I didn¡¯t like the idea of not knowing what could be around the corner. A few hundred metres didn¡¯t feel all that assuring when my hand was still throbbing from a giant bug bite. So, I went and kept going down an almost identical tunnel to the one I¡¯d come through before. Then I kept going and going. Trying my best to avoid the freaking pebbles all over the freaking place. ¡®Seriously! I hope that underpaid contractor breaks his leg! No, both his legs! Both his legs and an arm! I hope his girlfriend breaks up with him for being a smelly loser who puts pebbles into caves and digs out murder-dungeons! He probably stinks of alcohol and dead cats! He probably put all these pebbles here because he has no friends! He probably has no friends because he¡¯s a loser who digs out creepy tunnels and stinks of dead cats!¡¯ My fully justified righteous indignation was interrupted for a brief moment as I picked up on another person at the very edges of my fog. Then they were closer. Much closer. They were approaching my location with frightening alacrity, despite the many walls and the twisting nature of the labyrinth. Their thoughts were bursting with unchecked excitement. Sweet jubilation that exploded from the very core of their being. ¡®WHOOOOOOOOOO! I LOVE THIS PLACE! YEAH! YEAH! FASTER! FASTER! I¡¯LL SHOW YOU MR. WHITMER! YOU SMELLY OLD FART! YOU THINK YOU CAN KILL MY DOG AND GET AWAY WITH IT!? YOU AND YOUR GOONS ARE DONE FOR! JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET OUT! JUST YOU WAIT YOU FAT¡­!¡¯ Before I knew it, they had reached the edge of my map, halfway inside my fog. Then further in, again, much faster than a human should be able to move. Then the man was running towards me, fast as a motorcycle. He was young and skinny, with taut muscles and dirty clothes. His face sported some bruises and a broken nose. In his right hand was a metal crowbar. No, not a crowbar, some sort of metal instrument shaped like a cow¡¯s leg. He barely looked my way as he passed, slowing down for a few seconds and yelling: ¡°Watch out for the sludge! It¡¯s the only thing I haven¡¯t been able to kill! Also, avoid the gnomes! They¡¯re crazy and evil! They¡¯re crazy evil!¡± And just like that, he was gone. His mind kept playing the same message over and over like a broken record. The persistence of the idea fascinating and empowering him. I could only stare at his back as it rounded a corner and disappeared from sight. Then he was at the edges of my map again. Then at the border of my fog. ¡°Huh.¡± I said, unable to think of anything else. ¡°I mean, thank you. For the advice I mean. I guess you don¡¯t need help.¡± It was a good interaction, all things considered. I found out that not everyone needed saving. Which was good. A load off my shoulders and my conscience. Nice. Also, there was a sludge out there, that was presumably alive and dangerous. Excellent piece of information. I stood there like an imbecile for a solid minute or two, trying to get past the initial surprise. ¡®Gnomes? As in, garden gnomes? Or is it more like classical fairies? Is a pixie going to jump out of a pond and give me a riddle?¡¯ In the end, I shrugged and kept moving in the same direction as before. ¡°Okay, the next person I meet will be the one. I¡¯ll open up about what happened. We¡¯ll have a chat and hopefully we can team up.¡± The next few people I saved wouldn¡¯t entertain me however. I erased the monster harassing them and reached out through [Message]. ¡®Hello friends! Have no fear. You¡¯re safe now.¡¯ To which they responded: ¡®AAAAH! Evil spirit!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s the wraith! It¡¯s the wraith on the walls!¡¯ ¡®Go away! The power of Saturn protects me! Begone from this place!¡¯ ¡®Leave us be!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s the gnomes again! It¡¯s the gnomes again!¡¯ ¡®AAAAAAAA!¡¯ Well fine. Be that way. I tried not to take it personally and moved further along. People who would¡¯ve died were now safe. That was all I needed. ¡°Okay, the next person I meet will be the one. I¡¯ll open up about what happened. We¡¯ll have a chat and hopefully we can team up.¡± 30 minutes later I was right below another fight. Again, a quick dose of [Fever] made quick work of the monsters. ¡®AAAAAHH!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯s a witch!¡¯ ¡®Quick! Find a temple! We have to find a temple!¡¯ ¡®The gnomes! The gnomes are coming closer!¡¯ ¡®Quick, bash that one¡¯s skull! Hurry! Before the rest catch up!¡¯ ¡°Fine. No problem. The next person I meet will be the one. I¡¯ll open up about what happened. We¡¯ll have a chat and hopefully we can team up.¡± Another hour passed until I reached yet another group in need of assistance. At least, that¡¯s what I assumed was happening. On closer inspection, the stampede of monsters was headed away from the person, rather than towards them. Reaching out to them made me stumble with nausea. For a second, all my senses were a wee jumbled. Up was down and left was right. I tried to move my hand out. To break my fall. My body jerked both its legs, and I had to supress the urge to throw up. Another second later, I was blind, then deaf, then mute. That¡¯s when the voice came, cute and melodious, not unlike an adorable songbird. ¡®Would you like to be my friend?¡¯ Another spasm struck me as I tried to get up. ¡®I like having friends. I¡¯m really strong and I can stretch into boots and pants and shirts. I¡¯m better than what you¡¯re wearing. The dead fibres don¡¯t care about you. They¡¯re just using you for your supple skin. They don¡¯t want you as a friend. Not like me. I want to be your friend. Come to me. We can be so much stronger together.¡¯ Briefly overtaken by panic, I attacked through the fog. It reached the speaker. It did nothing. ¡®Weak. You¡¯re still this weak. But I don¡¯t care. I want to be your friend. I want to make you, the best you, that you can be. Come be my friend.¡¯ In retrospect, the realization that the creature wasn¡¯t human really should have come earlier. The connection was briefly severed when [Hide] activated and I lost no time in getting out of there. Running for another 20 minutes saw me entering a peculiar area. Here, the floor alternated between rough natural scenery and roughly carved planks of wood. They weren¡¯t ubiquitous enough to be called common, but it was a welcome change given the lack of pebbles. ¡°Okay, the next person I meet will be the one. I¡¯ll open up about what happened. We¡¯ll have a chat and hopefully we can team up.¡± Once more, a one two punch of a bolt and a blooming fever took care of the issue. I opened communications and hoped for the best. ¡®It¡¯s the Shepherd again!¡¯ ¡®Please tell us where you are!¡¯ ¡®We¡¯ll take you away from this place! Back to our tribe! We¡¯ll stay together! One big family!¡¯ ¡®Yes! Join our family!¡¯ Another bust then. No big deal. I keep helping people and I keep making a difference. Its all good. ¡°The next person for sure.¡± It took a bit longer to find another human being. Another 2 hours to be exact. This whole time, I was mowing down centipedes with nary a level to show for it and my hand ached like never before. In spite of that, I was content. I was making a difference. There were emotions inside my fog, one floor above me and a little to the right. I tasted the distinct heartlessness of bloodthirsty creatures surrounding a person. I rushed to the fight, wanting to get close enough that I could use [Message] to coordinate with my fellow survivor. The individual in question was silent as the grave. No thoughts nor emotions escaped from their cranium, leading me to believe that they might be injured. That worry turned out to be baseless, as I felt pain and anger coming from the unknown creatures. They were frustrated that their prey was so quick and stubborn. Salivating at the prospect of biting into still-living flesh. ¡®False fur, dead fur.¡¯ ¡®Sharp claw. Very sharp.¡¯ ¡®Claw hurts the scales and hurt the friends.¡¯ ¡®Long ears. Dead ears.¡¯ Their monologue was cut off abruptly as one of them came down with a case of exposed brain. It was followed by the rest of them catching a very bad and sudden flu, which left them exhausted and overheating. What a tragedy. Swift steps took me nearer and nearer and the fight was soon encompassed by the edges of my map. Wasting no time, I opened communications. ¡®Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯m here to help! I¡¯ll blast them dead and keep them slowed. You get to safety!¡¯ Once more, I noted the lack of thoughts and emotions swirling around my fellow human. However, I did notice the sudden chill and death afflicting their assailants.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Nice! Another little power boost and confirmation that the tide was turning. I could see the room now, located firmly within my map. Better yet, I could feel the last of the monsters succumbing to their wounds. With a smile on my face and a song in my heart, I made my way over to the chamber where the fight had been. ¡°Hey there!¡± I said as I rounded the corner. ¡°Are you hurt?¡± Looking at the individual, I soon came to the conclusion that he wasn¡¯t hurt. Or rather, that he wouldn¡¯t be hurt for long. What few wounds he did have were located on his arms and legs and they were closing rapidly. It was as if someone were re-winding time, dragging the universe back to the point before any conflict took place. ¡®This person is a Shifter.¡¯ I thought absentmindedly, before the rest of their body came into focus. They were tall. Very tall. Maybe 190 cm or 6¡¯2. They were also skinny, to the point where there was barely any meat on their exposed limbs. That wasn¡¯t the most eye-catching thing though. No, that was merely an afterthought. The most prominent feature this guy had, was his costume. He was wearing a full-body Funny Bunny costume, stained red and black with blood and ichor. At his feet were a dozen giant eel corpses, all dismembered at various points. They were grey-green in colour, with red and white fins along their backs and bio-luminescent rows of sharpened teeth jutting from their jaws. In additions they were roughly twice as big as the centipedes had been, both in length and thickness. Perhaps they were amphibious, crawling like snakes to ambush prey or perhaps they were telekinetic and floated along the caves as if swimming through water. From their wounds leaked a tiny lake of foul-smelling blood. It trickled onto the stone floor, mixing with tiny puddles of water and giving the room a haunted ambiance. On his head was Funny¡¯s face, cold dead plastic eyes staring in my direction. The cartoon¡¯s look-alike had none of the original¡¯s mirth. No, this one was utterly still. Unmoving in a manner similar to that of predatory felines. In his hand, was a huge, bloody, meat cleaver. Its blade was chipped in several spots along the edge and its sides were caked in viscera and bits of pulverized bone. He was breathing deeply. Each intake of air coming in hard and leaving harder. The cleaver remained in his hand, gripped so tightly that his knuckles had gone white. Yet, both the weapon and his arm remained fixed at their current positions. Neither moved a single inch, even as the man¡¯s torso heaved with life. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I began to hear the newscasters back home disgorging the daily updates. ¡°Family of four slaughtered¡­¡± ¡°Robbing a convenience store¡­¡± ¡°Twentynine confirmed victims so far¡­¡± ¡°No clear motive¡­¡± ¡°Attack came out of the blue¡­¡± ¡°From healer to killer¡­¡± The eyes kept peering at me, as the breaths remained steady. All the while, his mind was empty as the void. No emotions. No thoughts. No sign of awareness or purpose beyond those his body betrayed. ¡®Oh. (Centipede) me.¡¯ He kept that up for a full minute before I made an executive decision to cut my losses there. I took a small step backwards, mustering my will to allocate my points. In an instant, 5 points brought [Hide] to level 3, while 4 points brought [Faint Presence] and [Static Illusion] to level 2 each. Wasting no time, I poured Psy into the former, feeling the man¡¯s eyes lose track of me. He tilted his head in apparent confusion, probably wondering where I¡¯d gone. For my part, I booked it. The almost vertical path I took on my way up was quickly covered by a much more credible wall of phantom stones, buying me a few precious minutes. After that, I kept going. As a matter of fact, I didn¡¯t stop until I looped around a few times and went down another floor, only to ascend three more at a different location. Only then did I allow myself the privilege of well-deserved rest and a heavy sigh of relief. Chapter 8: Dose of Reality. Chapter 8: Dose of Reality. ¡°Okay Sully, calm down. Positive thoughts. Positive (Centipede)ing thoughts. That guy doesn¡¯t count. Next guy I meet will be the one.¡± Yes, indeed. I couldn¡¯t let myself dwell on past failures. No sir. Its good to learn from one¡¯s mistakes but it won¡¯t do to keep them festering. That¡¯s how people get nervous breakdowns. Naturally, there was still the very real possibility that Bunny Man could track me down using his Shifter powers depending on what their Type got on their screens, but I preferred to ignore that inconvenient truth. Opening that can of worms would leave me paralyzed in some corner, unable to help anyone. Besides, I had other issues to contend with at the moment. Specifically, the issue of sustenance. I¡¯d gone through hard times before, when my family was displaced after a rift opened down the block, but never to the point where I missed more than one or two meals. The new experience was, not pleasant. My stomach kept grumbling in protest, adding itself to the list of body parts rebelling against me. The sounds it made were worrying, though not as much as the fatigue that accompanied them. Old memories began to surface once more, of seminars warning my highschooler self about the dangers of eating disorders. ¡°Yeah. I remember now. It was tiredness, dizziness, and a slower natural healing rate.¡± Another rumble echoed out and my eyes went to my wounded hand. ¡°Right. Have to make sure its clean. I¡¯ll scrub it at the next watering hole.¡± As I hunted, my pace became slower. My two legs simply refused to move at the same rate as before. Each corner and dead-end started to grow on me, presenting themselves as lovely little alcoves for me to sit in. Maybe even rest my eyes for a bit. The possibility of finding lethal traps every few steps certainly wasn¡¯t helping. Although, it must be said that I only triggered three of them so far and I managed to get out thanks to my nifty ninja trick, since all they did was call down a buttload of monsters. The first time I gave in to temptation, I awoke just in time to find a rabbit-looking thing entering my illusions. A well-timed bolt shattered its skull open mid-leap and two horns flew backwards as their previous lodging gave way. As they struck the floor, sparks of electricity crackled and the smell of cooked flesh permeated in the air. The rest of the carcass promptly went up in flames, filling the dreary stale atmosphere with smoke. The second time, I had the good sense to at least lock myself behind a metal door. Still, I was out for another hour and awoke to a digestive system in open revolt. All the nerve endings in that area were screaming. Threatening that I better put something in my mouth or else. Curiously, I could also feel my power with more¡­ clarity, I guess. It was as if I¡¯d been watching a low-resolution video this whole time, only to be exposed to the best monitor money could buy. Moreover, all the motes of light were easier to control. They bent and weaved themselves more sharply, reacting to my own wishes within nanoseconds of me deciding what to do. I could tell where each strand began and where it ended, to the point where small damaged sections were noticeable for the first time. The difference was as outstanding as it was worrying. ¡®Am I really this good all of the sudden? Or is this all in my head? Is the hunger playing tricks on me? It¡¯s only been most of a day. I read somewhere the human body can go a month without food. It¡¯s been rough, but it hasn¡¯t been that long.¡¯ Over the following hours of rescuing people and practising with the wisps, that particular notion kept nagging at me. That was, until I realized my mistake. This whole time, I hadn¡¯t been conserving energy like stranded people were supposed to do. I¡¯d been moving almost constantly and I¡¯d been expending resources tweaking and tempering my Psy usage. In other words, I was pushing my body way past its usual limits while providing nothing to fuel it. As I dwelled on my own folly, my eyes wandered over to two different places. One was right in front of me, on the floor. There sat the remains of what might have been a giant monstrous gecko, armored in obsidian scales and sporting 10 legs instead of four. The brain was no longer contained as I¡¯d recently used it for target practice. Dark red juices coalesced on the floor in a sticky puddle. ¡°I mean. I can¡¯t really skin it. Don¡¯t got anything for fire either. I guess I could try a bit of raw¡­¡± I stopped that train of thought before it got too far. Merely thinking about eating a monster had me on the verge of hurling. The other choice presented to me was little more reasonable, though not my much. The glowing mushrooms were all over the place, in almost every wall and ceiling. The light green kind were the most common, but others were purple with white spots, red with white spots, brown with tall stalks and blue with green and purple sections along the body. Any of these could be edible or poisonous. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°The question is, do I want to risk it yet?¡± The answer, it turns out, was no. Terrible as the hunger was, the prospect of a slow clumsy death from wild mutant fungi was worse. Better to keep pushing myself forward and get as strong as possible. The system mentioned a store, so there was still that avenue to pursue. ¡°But first I need a team. Someone to watch my back. Anyone will do.¡± As it happened, there was someone else nearby and they didn¡¯t give me the impression of a deranged maniac. Grunting with effort, I made my way to them, making sure to ask some pertinent questions before coming to view. ¡®Hello there. Are you or are you not a serial-killer?¡¯ Okay, maybe head trauma and a potentially-infected hand had blunted my social skills somewhat. It sounded better in my head. ¡®Who is this!? Show yourself!¡¯ ¡®Gladly! I just want to make sure you aren¡¯t in a serial-killery sort of mood. Just a precaution to avoid embarrassing mishaps.¡¯ The presence vanished from my map and fog for the briefest of instants. Then they reappeared behind me. At the same time, I felt a small nudge by a hollow pair of metallic cylinders touching my back. ¡°Try anything and your insides will become your outsides faster than you can blink.¡± ¡®Right. She managed to find me immediately. All without me realizing what she meant to do. Freaking teleporters. Freaking Projectors in general.¡¯ I made a mental note to explore other ways of using [Message] and [Sense Thoughts] alongside the other abilities. Get caught once, shame on me, get caught twice and it might prove fatal. ¡°No need for that ma¡¯am. I was trying to help.¡± I answered, trying very hard not to whimper. ¡°Good, then you won¡¯t mind turning around and explaining what¡¯s going on here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be more than happy to turn around. As for the whole explanation bit, well, my money¡¯s on perverted Projector with a penchant for teleportation right now. Probably has access to augmented reality contact lenses or cranial implants as well as copious amounts of money and secret Type-granting technology. We could also be trapped in the clutches of some interdimensional being, but that¡¯s a bit more unlikely.¡± ¡°Speak like a regular person.¡± Came the order. ¡°Slowly and carefully. Tell me who¡¯s behind this and don¡¯t try anything funny. The gnomes already stabbed me once and they already paid the price. Don¡¯t think for a moment that I¡¯ll hesitate.¡± ¡°Gnomes?¡± ¡°Shut it. Tell. Me. What. You. Know.¡± Each word was accompanied by an annoying jabbing of the shotgun. A small gesture to illustrate how messy things will be if I declined her request. ¡°Lady, if I knew that I wouldn¡¯t be so stressed about everything. I don¡¯t know. Besides, I¡¯m unarmed and while I haven¡¯t seen any gnomes, I can tell you right now there¡¯s worse out there. If you happen to run across a man in a bunny costume, make sure you¡­¡± ¡°Shut up. Stop stalling.¡± The order was accompanied by the barrel pressing harder against me. ¡°Tell me where we are.¡± ¡°Also don¡¯t know.¡± The barrel dug deeper into my pajamas. ¡°But I do know some things. You can ask the system for more information and it¡¯ll show you more data on the screen.¡± She then proceeded to follow my instructions and to ask the same questions I had. The system answered her as it did me, and her fury grew with each query. Towards the end, the shotgun was back at her side and her curses made it clear that her mood had not improved. ¡°Who would do this? Why go to all this trouble with the apocalypse going on outside?¡± ¡°Wow, I know the rifts are really bad in some countries, but apocalypse is a bit of an overstatement. Everything is fine and I¡¯m sure some government agency has caught on to all the missing people. We just need to get stronger and save as many as we can while we wait for rescue.¡± ¡°Rifts? What are rifts? The zombies man! I¡¯m talking about the undead freaking apocalypse! If whoever did this can give out superpowers then they need to start doing it at an industrial freaking scale.¡± My eyes scanned the woman up and down, taking in her aged ebony skin and her frizzy hair. Then they went to her clothing, well-worn and tattered in places. Then they went to the shotgun and the stained bandages on her hands. At the same time, my fog searched her mind. ¡®I need to get back to Kenny. Back to my family. I can¡¯t stay here. I can¡¯t die here. My babies need me. I need to leave. I need to get out. I need to get out. I need to get out. They¡¯re probably scared and crying and Kenny doesn¡¯t know where I am. I need to get out.¡¯ Jeez. That¡¯s heavy. There was no trace of deception within her as far as I could tell. Gulping, I prepared for the last test. ¡°On the Instance screen, what does it say after the time?¡± I asked as causally as I dared. ¡°Earth ¨C TLTL 2012.¡± She said disinterestedly. Her eyebrows rose then and she stared in my direction. ¡°There¡¯s something different on yours. What is it?¡± ¡°TRKG-2004¡± ¡°Its not my world.¡± ¡°Ah no. At least, I don¡¯t think so right now. I¡¯m holding on to a ¡®trust but verify¡¯ strategy at the moment. But I see an easy way to tell if we¡¯re really in as much trouble as I think we might be in.¡± ¡°Zombies. My state is full of slobbering zombies. They all followed the refugees from the east coast and flooded Denver. Everyone¡¯s either dead or up in the mountain towns. We haven¡¯t heard from the government in months. Do you know anything about that?¡± ¡°Eh no. I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t. What did your world¡¯s superheroes do?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as superheroes.¡± The woman said. ¡°Until today, I guess.¡± ¡°Right. So, interdimensional kidnapper it is. No problem. I¡¯m sure whatever is in store for us, we can tackle it together.¡± The shotgun came back up. ¡°Hand over all your food and water.¡± ¡®Oh, you have got be kidding me.¡¯ Now, I could have opened fire. [Mental Bolt] was definitely faster than a bullet and it was undetectable to boot. Painting the nearby walls with the squishy parts of her cranium would have been easy. Very easy. But Steve had thought using [Fever] on me would have been easy too. Even if I ignored that, diplomacy wasn¡¯t completely out of the question yet. ¡°Lady, look at me. Where would I be hiding any¡­¡± The punch knocked me off my feet. My head swam and my weakened frame couldn¡¯t move fast enough to break my fall. I got a few new bruises and felt on of my ankles twisting. I screamed in surprise as well as agony. My new acquaintance was not bothered in the least. Her hand searched the pockets of my pajamas and more curses came forth. ¡°Do not follow me. I can¡¯t afford to take care of burdens.¡± ¡°Whatever you say lady.¡± I wheezed out through the pain. I could have summoned a bolt then. I could have sniped her head clean open. I could have made her brain splatter all around the tunnel like an overripe melon cracking open on the floor. I wanted to do it too. At that moment, the mixture of terror and indignation brought forward by the mugging was stronger than I could bear. How dare she. How dare someone be this (Centipede)ing stupid. To attack other people when there were literal waking nightmares running amok. That wouldn¡¯t have helped though. I would have ended up dead. Like Steve. Even is that wasn¡¯t the case, one more person hunting the monsters meant less monsters to harass the entire group. Besides, the idea of taking a life¡­. The bolt had come together easily enough. The will behind it saw a human being. My conscience wouldn¡¯t allow it. That would make me no better than the Tall Man. I was willing to do a lot of things to survive, but not that. Never that. So, I swallowed my hurt and moved on to new pastures. Getting up was hard. Staying upright was harder. My ankle throbbed with every hobbled step now, flaring in protest and demanding rest. ¡°I can¡¯t. I don¡¯t have food. I¡¯m thirsty again. I can¡¯t slow down. I have to keep moving. Remember the mantra. Happy thoughts. Positive thoughts. I¡¯ll make it through this. I always do.¡± Feeling the words leaving without my full consent was new. Part of me wasn¡¯t even aware of what they would be before they manifested. I was oddly, lucid. In the sense that I expected more confusion than this. I¡¯d expected malnutrition to take more of a toll. I¡¯d expected the punch to leave me, more hurt. Incapable of acting. That did not happen. I felt, extra aware of what had happened. More in control. My fog billowed outwards, the tendrils of ethereal smoke dancing away from the lighthouse at the epicenter. Away from me. ¡°I have to keep saving people. That¡¯s what Thunder Fist would have done. That¡¯s what heroes do. What I should do. I¡¯m still me. Even after becoming a Telepath. I¡¯m still me. I can¡¯t fail. Not here. I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t¡­¡± The words were meaningless now. A mantra serving to keep me in line, even as time slipped through my fingers. I can¡¯t recall how I got back to the sealed room. I can¡¯t recall closing the door behind me. Shadows seemed to leer at me every time I turned a corner. There were faces in the nooks and crannies. They belonged to everyone and no one. Perfect strangers, side by side with my room mates. Henry was there, as were Vince and Luigi. We were all stupid drunk, stumbling through the town because Lu, being the empty-headed lad that he was, had overshot the expected pre-drinking requirement. Hard to sympathise with bouncers, but puke-stained jeans proved that they were very much in the right. I smiled like a moron, thinking of the good times. I imagined what they¡¯d say if they were here with me. No doubt Vince would be quipping awful one-liners at the expense of all our detractors while Luigi huffed and puffed himself into a rant. Henry would smile and laugh and then we¡¯d all be smiling and laughing. ¡®Yeah. That¡¯s what a hero should be like.¡¯ My body slumped down against my will, leaning on the nearest smooth wall. ¡®Why can¡¯t I be like that? What am I doing wrong? I¡¯m trying so hard. I¡¯ve been trying so hard this whole time. Why won¡¯t anyone listen?¡¯ My eyes closed and relief flooded in. Chapter 9: Taking Risks. Chapter 9: Taking Risks. Memories had come unbidden. Scenes of laughter and revelry. I recalled the words I¡¯d said to Henry less than a day ago. How I¡¯d promised to keep the party going with Vince and Luigi. How I¡¯d been complaining about the time and the levels of intoxication we¡¯d reached. What a fool I was. I should have told him to put on a shirt and gone out to eat with him. Everything had smelt so very tasty. The mere memory of it caused me to salivate as I trudged along in the darkness. I should have called my parents too. They¡¯d be worried sick now. Wondering where I¡¯d gone. Why they couldn¡¯t reach me. The dorm had security cameras, but those probably wouldn¡¯t have picked up teleportation or whatever had happened. Would this be categorized as an Esper crime? Would they be forced to wait until a special crime unit was assembled? How long would pass before the cops gave me up for dead? How long would my parents be waiting for an answer? An update? A clue? Anything to grasp onto? Would I have a funeral? Would the lads show up to comfort my folks? Would they look at my parents the same way I looked at Doris¡¯ father? ¡°Stop it. You idiot. This isn¡¯t helping. Positive thoughts are the way forward. You have to stay positive.¡± ¡°Okay, the next person I meet will be the one. I¡¯ll open up about what happened. We¡¯ll have a chat and hopefully they aren¡¯t a filthy thief.¡± Despite my forced enthusiasm, things were looking bleak. My training had not allowed me to conjure two bolts at once and no amount of swinging the ethereal wisp around seemed to do any good. To make matters worse, I felt terrible all around. It was a deeper ache than before, all the little cuts at my feet merging with the wounds on my arm and hand. The hunger didn¡¯t help either. My stomach was grumbling about missed appointments with the cafeteria slop, unsubtly reminding me that dirty cave water did not make for a fulfilling diet. The pangs made all the misery stand out more, taking more of my focus. I wanted to stop somewhere and take a break. Another good long nap to help smooth out the edges digging into me. ¡°Stop it, Sully. You have to keep going. Have to find people in need. Have to find a group to join. Don¡¯t think about distractions. Think about the purple energy. Keep working on it. Something is bound to happen.¡± ¡®Especially since you don¡¯t know when a monster might take you by surprise. Or another person for that matter.¡¯ Knowing I was right, my focus returned to bolt duty. I felt I could stretch it as far as it would go, but I still couldn¡¯t make it hit harder. Or, well, I couldn¡¯t tell if it hit harder, but it didn¡¯t feel like it. I also couldn¡¯t overcome the period of forced inactivity no matter how I tried to slip the energy through. It felt like throwing my own weight against a massive steel door, hurting myself over and over again for nothing. The same was true for [Message]. The mechanics behind the process weren¡¯t a mystery. I think something on my end and another person picks up on those¡­ ¡®Wait, what if I could transfer more than words? I¡¯ve been doing things the same way for a whole day, but the system said it didn¡¯t give out ability descriptions on purpose. It wants us to experiment. At least, I think it does. What if I tried passing along feelings of trust and sincerity?¡¯ That query festered as I considered the ways it could go wrong. Or right. It could go very right, depending on the approach I take. Some people might consider that kind of thing mind-control. As I walked, the floor beneath started to change. Once there had been uneven cavern surfaces dotted with pebbles and little puddles. Now the path started to resemble a soft layer of sand laid out on a smooth surface. It was still difficult to traverse, but the number of little annoyances had gone down drastically as there were less bits of debris sticking to my feet. It was also better for spotting already triggered traps and spots where traps might be hidden. Any corner holding less sand than usual was suspect, as bugs that passed through soon found out. It meant that the bottom of the floor would give way to pitfalls filled with all manner of nasty surprises. Realizing how many of the things were scattered about made me glad for my luck thus far, but it also infuriated me. Others trapped here with me might have been doing everything right and keeping the enemies at bay, when an errant step would kill them. How many people had died to stupid pits in the ground? How more would die because they couldn¡¯t spot the traps, even as they knew they were there? In the grip of frustration, I made a [Mental Bolt] appear on my side and ordered it to go around me in a circular trajectory. I used all that I¡¯d learned to keep it at bay while dragging it around my torso, over and over again. Then I pushed it along with more ferocity, faster and faster. The power cut through my fog and started dissipating, its edges falling away as I pumped more effort into it. That was when something peculiar happened. The bolt took in more Psy. As it did, its diameter doubled, as did its speed. It was now as big as a tennis ball, spinning in the air as it whirled and whirled around me. Stunned, I tried putting more of myself into it. Leaning into the sensation was marvelous and exciting. It went faster as I willed it to, becoming larger and more impactful. Before I knew it, it was four times as big as it had been at the beginning. It now buzzed like a saw, shredding air from whatever unreality it was located in. ¡°Finally! About time I got this right! Let¡¯s go super shot!¡± I searched for my target and found three centipedes off in the distance, more of those non-hostile critters and a couple of eels. Not exactly the kind of targets that I had in mind. So, I moved a bit further down the tunnel, growing the payload as I did. Suddenly, I felt a wave of excitement as I got three signals in the distance. A big, unknown monster, fighting against two humans. Without hesitation, I let my wrath loose on the beast. It felt stronger than anything I¡¯d ever faced before, even from here. Its outline shimmered with hidden might and the two facing off against it roiled with panic and determination alike. [Mental Bolt] Struck like a meteor taken from the night sky. It landed on the target and created a splatter of silence in my senses.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
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System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Mental Bolt] 3 has grown to [Mental Bolt] 4
¡®Oh sweet! A level from the new monster and a level from the improved shot! I¡¯m double dipping on success!¡¯ Weary as I was, this achievement brought a smile to my lips. It was another step taken on the road to becoming strong enough to bust out. Something far more important now that the whole dimension hopping theory looked more likely. It was somewhat dampened by the realization that four of the points I should have had were used to advance my bolts without my input, but it was a small matter at the moment. The two fighters gave off feelings of confusion for a few heartbeats. They took positions at each other¡¯s backs and squared off to meet any incoming threat. ¡®Walder! Get behind me! Don¡¯t panic now.¡¯ ¡®Sir! I can¡¯t see anything! I don¡¯t know where the blow came from!¡¯ ¡®Walder! Don¡¯t lose courage! Keep steady and try to feel anyone else speaking to you! The evil speaks in your mind!¡¯ Wow. What do you know. More people that don¡¯t like me. I¡¯m shocked beyond words. On a more serious note, this had been going on for way too long. The Bunny man and the prepper zombie woman have got to be flukes. I¡¯ll just try talking to them the normal way. If it works out, I¡¯ve found myself a team. If it doesn¡¯t, I¡¯ll hide and bail. With a steadying breath, I moved further in their direction, rounding the corner and calling out. ¡°Gentlemen! Don¡¯t be scared. I don¡¯t mean you any harm.¡± One of the men turned my way, bloody sword in one hand and a kite shield in the other. Yes. An actual medieval sword and shield. The former was chipped and cracked in places, while the latter was made of wooden boards banded with metal. On the man¡¯s chest was a set of chainmail draped over a sweaty gambeson. The cloth was yellow beneath the layer of grime and dirt that covered it. In the middle of the shield was a black dog in a running position. His partner held a broken spear, and looked as if the mere sight of me would kill him from fright. Next to him was the body of a giant rodent. Maybe a mole of some kind? A closer inspection dispelled such carefree notions as I saw a pair of massive lobster claws on either of the thing¡¯s sides. Those were almost as big as the rest of the monster put together. They would have been a hindrance on any animal from earth, weighing them down to the point where movement was impossible. Its entire body had been ripped open, starting from the brainstem and going down the spine. Its death had been messy and near instantaneous from the look of things. Below it was a growing pool of viscera, painting crimson streaks on a canvas of tinted glass and colourful sand. ¡°Ah. A fellow traveller. Great to see a friendly face lad and I¡¯m sorry for your¡­¡± The man paused to look me up and down. ¡°Recent troubles.¡± He finished with a resigned sigh. ¡°Sir. This stranger¡¯s clothes are all rags. He looks to be in trouble.¡± ¡°That he does squire. That he does. Unfortunately, we cannot spare bandages, but we still have to do all we can to help the poor. It is the way of a knight to offer a helping hand whenever possible. Come stranger! We have some jerky to spare!¡± I was stunned. I hadn¡¯t even asked for help yet. I was going to, but he¡¯d offered it to me without being prompted in any way. After the attempted mugging I¡¯d just endured, this scene was touching enough that it brought me to tears. ¡°Oh, thank goodness. Thank you. Thank you. I can¡¯t explain how hard it¡¯s been.¡± I stumbled on my way over, and my body hit the floor. The two men helped me to my feet and the smaller one, the squire, put my arm over his shoulder. Together, we travelled on until we reached a gargantuan open space. The ceiling here was hundreds of metres above us, well outside my fog¡¯s reach. It shone like a pile of scattered diamonds, or a bunch of disco-balls taped together. As for the length and width of the place, I could only guess. Mushrooms the size of oak trees littered the landscape, making it difficult to judge distances. They appeared to have solid obsidian spikes growing out of them, stone branches twisting at odd angles. Among them, I could sense new monsters flinging themselves from perch to perch before traversing deeper into the forest. Some kind of shadowy lemur or a very agile badger. We didn¡¯t go near the treeline however. Instead, the three of us sat around a ring of stones, some large, some small. Within the ring was a pile of charred centipede corpses, smoldering embers long extinguished. The knight withdrew a fresher corpse from one of his bags and threw it onto the pile while the squire drew a flint and got the fire going. The monstrous insect lit up at once and its juices warmed the air as they melted. ¡°Here you go lad.¡± The knight said afterwards. ¡°Some salted jerky to fill your belly. I know it isn¡¯t much, but its what we can spare.¡± ¡°Its what we had with us when we were taken.¡± My hands were shaking as I accepted the gift. The meat was tough and, in all honesty, not very tasty, but it was enough to fill me up a bit. All the thanks I gave were completely sincere. Every single one. For the first time this day, I felt a degree of real safety. Sustenance brought relief and relief brought exhaustion. I leaned against one of the boulders marking the edges of the camp started to converse with my new allies. The men, Pete and Walder, were lovely to be around. They freely shared everything they¡¯d learned, telling me about a bull made of steel they fled from and how it killed most of their friends. Walder, as it turned out, was just a kid. Barely 15 years old, and he was an actual squire for sir Pete, fighting in an actual war. A war that, going by the details, involved several cousins arguing over who would take over some vineyards. It didn¡¯t make sense to me, but that wasn¡¯t any of my business. They had been in their respective tents, getting ready for another day of marching when they were taken. ¡°It was fast, faster than any other thing I ever felt.¡± ¡°And spooky! It was spooky too. There was grass under us one moment and stone the next. Both me and sir fell down and had to deal with the magic stuff.¡± ¡°Indeed. But have no fear boy. We are men of justice and we will always prevail against the forces of evil.¡± ¡°Right. Hold on. When you say magic, what do you mean? Are there wizards where you two come from?¡± ¡°Wizards aye, and witches too.¡± The man spat to the side. ¡°They gave a friend of mine the pox you know. Back in Antwerp. There was this old mean hag living out of a hovel with a twisted cane and an even more twisted nose. He wanted a cure for his rotting stones and the crone gave him a potion. Well! The stuff nearly killed him. We all went back and burned her hut to the ground as punishment. It was she who¡¯d done this. Marked me and the lad out for her spirits to carry us off.¡± ¡°That she did sir. It seems killing her wasn¡¯t enough.¡± ¡°No lad. It wasn¡¯t.¡± It took a few seconds for the words to set in. For the meaning to make its way through my thick skull and grant me that juicy context. ¡®Oh. These two have killed people.¡¯ The realization that there were murderers in the labyrinth was shocking, even after my recent exposure to cleavers and shotguns. It really shouldn¡¯t have been, given that they¡¯d both admitted to being soldiers, but I must¡¯ve disassociated from the implications of their statements. Distance and unfamiliarity dulling the fact that these two polite men were killers. Worse was the fact that the killers in question were sitting right beside me. Cold sweat erupted from my back and my eyes began to drift away from the camp, drinking in the emerald sands around the clearing and the scattered boulders that littered the landscape. There were plenty of places where an errant step might obscure me. Plenty of cover to hide behind too. Maybe give me enough time to cover myself with illusions. Something in the conversation drew me from the grip of terror and my head snapped to attention. ¡°Wait a minute you two. Hold on a moment. You think someone in your, area, might have done this?¡± ¡°Aye. It was a witch man! Pay attention! They¡¯re the ones that get into people¡¯s heads and hear their thoughts.¡± ¡°And throw fire from their fingers!¡± ¡°And do other scary things. This window that showed up is their magic. I know because one of them was beside us when we were taken. Some lass, a bit wide at the hips and a bruise on her shoulder.¡± ¡°She said that she was scared for her life and that her husband was going to kill her.¡± ¡°Right, she told us a tale of how her husband had drunk too much and become angry and then, when we¡¯d almost agreed to help, she starts going on about the same window we¡¯re seeing.¡± ¡°And she says that she¡¯s something called a Telepath.¡± ¡°Aye, long story short, she claimed to have been turned into a witch all of the sudden and even had the nerve to say she was innocent! Ha! An innocent witch! Could you believe it!?¡± ¡°No sir, I couldn¡¯t. Witches are all evil!¡± ¡°Right!¡± I echoed in what I sincerely hoped was a convincing show of enthusiastic bigotry. ¡°So, what happened to this witch you caught?¡± ¡°What do you mean what happened? We¡¯re loyal servants of Saturn. Of course, we killed her.¡± ¡°I drove my spear through her belly!¡± Spoke the boy. ¡°The tip of it went in one end and out the other. Like a ham. But bigger and with more screaming and pleading and begging. I did feel a little pity, but I did my duty!¡± ¡°Ha! That shows you¡¯ve got mettle boy! A lesser man might have flinched and doubted his duty, having to face an unarmed woman. You knew that a witch is never not dangerous and that they all have to be put down. You¡¯re a hero.¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± I agreed at once. ¡°A shining example of what a hero should be.¡± My own comments caught me by surprise. The lie had been so easy that it would appear as truthful sentiment. Somewhere, adrenaline had overridden my normal social tells, granting me an eerie calmness. I could feel a slight twitching of my fingers then, fed by fear and anxiety. From then on, I focused on recovering as much Psy as I could before having to leave. As a precaution, I began to fiddle with [Hide], readying the ability within me and preparing myself to go at the first sign of aggression. It never came. These two treated me cordially till the very end and offered to share the campfire a while longer if I wished to rest. I declined them as politely as possible, making myself seem distraught at the idea of burdening them while they were on such a noble quest. The two of them bought it, hook line and sinker and I was able to leave in peace. Chapter 10: Visions. Chapter 10: Visions. The walk back to the narrow tunnels was terrifying. I kept all my attention on the fog, worried that either of the pair would realize what I was and give chase. ¡°Oh, that is great. First the Bunny man and then the Spanish inquisition. I certainly wasn¡¯t expecting that.¡± Humour aside, this was bad. Really bad. To the point where even my unwavering optimism was finding it hard to keep up. If a fight had broken out, there was a chance I could¡¯ve taken the two men back there, but they were clearly seasoned killers and I was some recent university graduate. No, I probably would have stumbled on something and gotten myself killed. No matter how you sliced it, I was already weak and was making myself weaker by exposure. Telepaths were not meant to be brave and throw themselves head first at the enemy. Acting like Thunder Fist had made me dangerously exposed three separate times, and the most pleasant of them had ended in a mugging. I still wanted to be helpful and save people, but not like this. No, I needed to be stealthier. Sneakier, and much stronger than I was now. With that in mind I proceeded to bravely find a corner to hide in, walled myself off using illusions and sat right down. Okay fine, maybe it wasn¡¯t exactly what a hero would do, but I was low on Psy from all that hiding and running and experimenting. Plus, I found out that I was right about the eels. They swam lazily through the air, close to the ceiling where they were almost invisible. Save for their jaws of course, as they glowed a slightly softer color than the surrounding mushrooms. Anyone not paying attention would have found themselves torn to shreds as they leap in ambush. Thankfully, my fog gave me the upper hand in those encounters. Not that I was going to face them head-on. Instead, I calmed my breathing and let my body recover. The only times I broke out of my restful state was whenever I sniped a lone creature. There weren¡¯t many such chances, so I ended up spending more time than I¡¯d have liked sitting there. Such frivolities paid off when I felt a familiar presence slithering a few hundred metres away. ¡®Friend? Where are you friend? I¡¯m lonely without you. Its cold too. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m much toastier than your clothes. Much better insulation too. I can make us strong. If only you¡¯ll agree to feed me. To make me whole. I just want to be your friend and go on adventures together. Please take me with you.¡¯ In response to this heartwarming and not at all creepy declaration of devotion, I opted to stay in hiding, and to charge another, bigger bolt for good measure. I was thankful that I didn¡¯t have to use it. The rest of my break was filled with experimentation. These new senses of mine were, odd, but familiar. I felt like I knew how to drag the energies within me and move them around in the same way I could my own fingers. The system prompt had said the abilities were modular, but hadn¡¯t explained further, despite my asking. So, what did that mean exactly? Could I stretch my fog by willing it to go further? Could I stretch my map? What about spreading out my bolts like the fever? Alas, experimentation did not prove overly fruitful. Either I wasn¡¯t getting something about the way abilities worked or I just needed more time to figure this out. The whole process was not glamourous by any means, but the results spoke for themselves.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 102/115
Type: Telepath Level 13
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 2 / [Message] 1 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 2 / [Fear] 1 / [Static Illusion] 2 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 1
Ability Points: 8
Two whole levels. In four hours. Not quite the progress I was hoping for, but it was something. Now then, just what to do about the extra points? My first instinct was to upgrade my map, mostly because I wanted the added range and it had proven to be immensely useful thus far. The number of traps and dead ends I¡¯d managed to spot without risking my life had ensured it had a special place in my heart. Granted the traps were either already sprung or very recently activated by centipedes or eels I lured there, but those were unimportant details. I wanted more range to my fog as well and to [Message]. Coming face to face with a bloody meat cleaver was near the very bottom of the list of things I wanted to do and more range meant more chances to intercept incoming lunatics. Besides that, well, it was my biggest advantage. Staying far away from danger was the one good thing about being a Telepath. I could get a better idea of my surroundings, be forewarned of danger and even have a better chance of helping out someone in need. Yep, it was decided. More distance covered meant an easier time of things. With that done, I was left with one point to spare. My eyes wandered over the screen, drawn to that lovely little option. [Precognition] If it worked, I might be able to further bolster all my abilities at once. I could already picture it, being able to know what skill to use at what time for maximum effectiveness. Being able to predict enemy movements before they even thought of them. Being able to know which spots made for the deadliest ambushes. Not to mention the very real possibility that being warned about threats could save my life if all else fails. ¡°Yeah. One point is worth it. I¡¯ll try it out and see what happens.¡± With that I allocated all I had left and felt the power rush in. Both my fog and my map grew heartier, now covering one hundred additional metres. It confirmed my earlier assumption, and gave me a simple 1 point per 100 metres rule to follow from now on. More signals came in. Eels, centipedes and other monsters I could not recognize. They were scattered above and below me, ignorant of my presence. There were no people nearby. No one that needed saving. The environment soon became clear as walls and floors sprouted from the new edges of [Mental map]. There was an antechamber further down to my left, holding a sizable volume of water and protected by yet another metal door. Monsters gazed through the bars, but without prey, had no incentive to look deeper. While this was happening, I felt another presence blooming. A thick tangle of tightly woven golden threads. Each strand was thin and weak, but they all came together to form knots and bindings that looked sturdier than the sum of their parts. Having it there felt different from all the others. It felt, right. Like it had always been there, even before I came to the labyrinth. Like this was my true calling all along. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Excitement filled me and I began to untangle the strings, ordering the new force to manifest. The ball of radiant yarn drank in Psy and redoubled in splendor. It stayed inside my body, opening up and spreading to all my nerves and organs. I felt, blissful. Happy. Self assured. For the first time in half a day, I knew that everything would be fine. Nothing else happened. I kept it up for a few more minutes, trying to get the feeling to leave my body, but it refused. It was caged in much the same way as my bolts were trapped by the wall after firing once. My skin was a fortress that contained it without fail. ¡°Come on. The happy feelings are all well and good but I need more to justify spending the points. I mean, I might just keep spending them for the good vibes but I¡¯ll feel bad about it. Do something.¡± I waved my hand and the world slowed to a crawl. My physical limb was all but paralyzed whilst four copies emerged, each taking a slightly different trajectory. All of me was invested in the four possibilities and knew them for what they were. There was no need for explanations or system notices. The power dictated what would occur and let me choose which path to follow. Which fiction to make real. A wicked smile bloomed on my face. I tried to push more Psy into it. It went so smoothly I figured I overshot it at first. Turns out that¡¯s what real compatibility looks like. This was it. The best, most awesome ability I wanted. This was the edge that would keep me alive. A veritable deluge erupted all along the trails. [Precognition] sang a hallowed tune, brighter and more terrible than the sun. For the briefest of instants, I had it all under control. Then a bolt of amber lighting exploded inside of me, racing through my lungs and escaping through my eyes. I was blind for a moment. Completely cut off from my surroundings. Until I saw the Bunny Man again, knees bent down as he placed a hand on my shoulder. The lifeless eyes of his mask closed in on my own as he leaned in to whisper something. I couldn¡¯t make out what it was. I gasped as reality flooded back in. Along with it came pain, sharp and incessant. Like needles being jammed underneath my nails, but spread out all over my body. I screamed, as the burning sensation spread and I was drawn back in. I saw a man missing an arm, lifting his stump and conjuring whips of fire. His beard was shaggy and unkempt. His hair was half burned off. His eyes carried malice and madness in equal measure, drinking in the flames he made dance and the light they let out. Jubilation filled him as he underwent his crusade, snuffing out all the evil from the world. I saw the running man again. He kicked people near smoking chimneys. The macabre dance of death was entrancing, knives and clubs failing to find purchase as he laughed and laughed and laughed. He hunted through the pier for the portly man. Salivating at the prospect of well-deserved vengeance. I saw a pair of hulking mutants, one male, one female. The woman was huge, a little over two metres and muscled like a Greek legend. The man was even bigger, almost half a metre taller, far beyond what humans could ever be. If she was built like an Olympian, then he was built like someone that ate Olympians for breakfast. They hunted someone, me. They searched through the darkness. They whispered for their Shepherd, axes in tow. I saw a mother, dressed in a worn jacket and her own desperation. She held her children close, making sure they ate before her and revelling in their smiles. She knows about their nightmares, but does not tell them the truth. She knows her husband is dead. She knows the corpses ate him. She woke up in the darkness, alone and panicking. Now she walks through space. Her ebony skin glowing as lightning explodes from her fingers. Monsters big and small perish at her passing and her countenance hardens as hope fills her once more. I saw a monster. A great, hairy spider munching on a butterfly. His webs were invisible, despite their strength, and they waited all around the arena for any fools that might dare to face the apex of the caves. Looking closer, there was no hair, but a swarming mass of blackened human hands, reaching out for salvation. I saw a beautiful maiden with moonlight in her hair. She donned a suit of armor made of the purest silver. Its glow was completely overshadowed by her smile and the joy it brought with it. She was loveliness made manifest. Graceful and kind. She touched my arm gently, leaning in for a kiss. Then she jammed the needle in my side and laughed. ¡°You are the single greatest thing that ever happened to me Sully.¡± Her smile widened. ¡°And you will make me the richest lady in my backwater world.¡± The laughter turned maniacal as she dropped metal bars beside me. They came alive at the push of a button, turning into thousands upon thousands of insects that ate at my flesh. I tried to scream but could not manage to move my mouth. I tried to plead, but the words died in my throat. In the distance, a voice could be heard. A drunken, slurred chant echoing in the void. ¡°Star and Moon. Strength and Chariot. The Hanged Man! The Emperor is the Fool. He dances with a paper crown and the bells in his motley jingle to mark his passing! The Empress is under the sea! Upside down where the Sun can¡¯t reach! Her face is black and blue!¡± ¡°Fat birds are playing in the snow! Hiding a fox under their skirts! The Magician slays the dragon with her silver wand! Men cheer and Women weep! Her armor glitters and sparkles! The chains! Oh, the chains! They strangle me! They strangle you! But are they touching us?¡± ¡°Under the sea and over the stars. A thousand maggots slither. They grow big and they grow fat, before the great corpse withers.¡± ¡°Juices fall and juices rise, dancing to the beat. Yet none will stay and none will sing, all will turn to meat.¡± ¡°He comes and she comes after, burning with a vengeance. He will die and she will smile, passing down her sentence.¡± ¡°The spider looks, the spider sees, everywhere and nowhere. It is there and it is here, watching from the corner.¡± ¡°I see you. I know you. You cannot escape. None can run and none can hide from the Coffin or the Drake.¡± ¡°The shadows come to play and sing and dance. They stroll about the cobweb, tearing its expanse.¡± ¡°The mirror cannot hold. The mirror cannot stay. The shards of glass will all fly out and blind those in the way.¡± ¡°The Coffin is still empty, very musty and very cold. Its owner hides behind the veil, eyes glittering with gold.¡± ¡°The Drake is loud and furious. Terrible in wrath. Its tendrils invite horrid doom to all within its path.¡± ¡°The butcher will come! With fire and sword! To cast you out of your homes and burn all that you hold dear! But I won¡¯t be here! You¡¯ll have driven me away! You¡¯ll have no one to defend you! No one!¡± ¡°You are all blind! Your eyes are yet to open! See the world now! See it through my eyes! Feel it through my blood!¡± Through it all, she laughed. Giggling in that same manner that had enchanted me just seconds ago. I saw the sarcophagus. The thing that was left once the transformation was done. The prisoner had no heart or lungs or stomach. No bones held up its frames and it only moved by virtue of six robotic limbs attached to the bottom. The maiden cursed, her hair jostled out of place by ranting and raving. ¡°We¡¯re almost there my little windfall. Just one boss left and I can sell you to the investors. There you can be their little seer and I can be rich. Just a little longer.¡± She had thought herself clever, and she was. She had played all the others against their own best interest, promising technology from the empire in exchange for obedience. Her servants faced the creature beneath the spider and fought bravely while ignorant of the true danger. The sarcophagus knew the time had come and lashed out one final time. Not at the butterfly, but at the hidden observer. Then it vanished, hiding while his mistress was struck in retaliation. The remote controller was dropped. Then smashed. All the challengers kept fighting till the very end, spilling their life¡¯s blood for a doomed cause. The sarcophagus returned to deal the finishing blow, once all was said and done. It used the token and fled to the savant, that it might learn to weave flesh as well as thought. I surfaced once more and cut off the connection. The suffering was all consuming and I felt tears welling up. It happened too fast. So violently, that I was left disoriented. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the notifications.
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Too much.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Somebody.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Make it stop.
Ability Evolving: [Precognition] 1 has grown to [Precognition] 4
System Notice: Further Evolution has failed. Insufficient resources. Insufficient Understanding. Please try again. Student came very close.
I cried out for help. For my parents, for my friends, for Doris. But the words would not form. Hot pincers had burned away my tongue and the fires had crawled beneath my skin and all along my body. I was a statue of smoky glass. Melting and deforming like candle wax. ¡®Dad! Mom! Anybody! Please!¡¯ ¡®I didn¡¯t do anything! I don¡¯t deserve this! Please! Make it stop!¡¯ The fire did not listen. It did not care. It ate and ate and ate. Corroding the weakness away. Until the veil was made whole and reality re-asserted itself. ¡°No! Stop!¡± My words were accompanied by the rush of exhaustion taking me. My corporeal shell having been sapped of all its strength. My eyelids felt heavy. My very being was filled with weariness. Yet I could not stop the terror gripping me. I looked from one shadowy corner to the other. Horrified at the prospect of another vision. When none came, I slowed my breathing. More on instinct than any based on any form of conscious decision. Looking over, my Psy was almost gone. In a way, I was thankful. It made it easier to squeeze the strings until they retreated. Back down into their original tangled mess. Away from the damage they¡¯d inflicted. Three hours later, I was fully recharged and well enough to walk. The pain had lessened to a more tolerable level, and the intensity of it had put both my hand and my arm into perspective. Yes, it had been bad, but the surge from the visions had been torturous. I had to get going. I had to keep myself moving. I had to keep getting stronger and never think about using [Precognition] ever again. ¡°At least I know that I can level by practising. It¡¯s a good thing to know. Yeah. That and I have more Psy to work with. It¡¯s a good learning experience. Yeah. Don¡¯t think about it too much. Don¡¯t think about the traps. Don¡¯t think about what you¡¯ll be doing next. Don¡¯t think about it at all. Happy thoughts. Positive thoughts.¡± Chapter 11: The day after. Chapter 11: The day after. Clearing out the nearby watering hole wasn¡¯t easy. Not the whole, pest control aspect of it mind you. That problem barely took 10 minutes. No, the real issue was the aftershocks. Blinding agony shot through me with every step, every minor motion. It took hours for it to dissipate and by then, I was done. Too much walking and running and fearing for my life with little water and no food. I was tired and weak. I just wanted it to stop. The idea had been to take a quick nap. Just a few hours to clear my head before I kept going. Instead, I awoke to a grumbling stomach and a killer migraine. My arm had lost almost all feeling and my hand itched and stung. Worse yet, I was still a prisoner. In the dream, me and Henry and Vince and Luigi had all gone for the unhealthiest breakfast we could imagine. We walked up and down unfamiliar streets, with a golden summer¡¯s sun beating down on us from above and sand caressing our feet. The four of us put a cheese covered chicken patty between two pizza slices and topped it off with four different kinds of sauces. It tasted terrible, too greasy for human consumption. Bits of cheese sliding this way and that. But we were all drunk as sailors and howling with laughter. Afterwards, I called my parents and assured them that I was alive and well and safe. Dad and Mom cried for what seemed like an eternity. Glad to see me home at last. Swearing that they¡¯d never lose track of me again. When all that was done, I¡¯d gone to Doris¡¯ dorm. To find her arms wrapped around Mason the sot. I told her what had happened and explained how much she¡¯d hurt me. How I wanted her back regardless. She stared at me. Her big brown eyes locked mine. Then she yelled. ¡°Get out of here! Telepath! Freak! Die already!¡± Her scorn jolted me awake. Brining me back to the tunnels. To the darkness and the aches. Looking down at my watch, I noticed that more than 10 hours had passed. ¡®Fantastic. Fell asleep in the middle of the murder-dungeon. Again. Top marks for Sully the hero.¡¯ Shaking my head, I tried to get up and immediately regretted it. Every minute movement hurt. The pain made me wheeze and then the wheezing hurt. My goodness did it hurt. ¡°Oh, come on body, work with me. I¡¯ve got to get out there and help people. Who knows what¡¯s out there or how many people are left?¡± In response to my query, a new window popped up.
Survivor Count: 849/1000
¡°Great. Thanks.¡± A few more minutes of pathetic struggling ensued with little to no results. ¡°Come on! Get up! I can¡¯t stay here! I need to find people! I need to help! Get up you useless sack of meat!¡± ¡°You¡¯re not useless.¡± Came a voice to my side. My head swirled in the direction of the sound. There, standing stock still, was the tall man¡¯s outline. If my stomach held anything within it, no doubt it would have resurfaced alongside my memories. Like water behind a broken dam, they rushed at me. Cruel and unrelenting. The sounds of agony. The red, wet sheen on the community center¡¯s tiles. The screams of all the people seeking shelter. I was screaming too. The echoes bouncing off the cavern walls to hit me again and again. That shape. That awful frame, moved closer into the mushroom¡¯s light and I saw that it was someone much better. The Bunny Man. It was just like in the visions. The same unfeeling plastic eyes staring down at me. The same stained, chipped blade in his hand. The same white knuckles holding on to it. However, there were more spots of colour on the suit. More dark crimson gashes where wounds had been, before they closed by order of his power. Just as before, there were no thoughts, nor emotions within that skull. ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me.¡± I said without thinking. A wave of shame hit me right after. This wasn¡¯t how heroes were supposed to act. This wasn¡¯t right. The man walked closer. Slow steady steps brought him nearer, until he was right beside me. ¡®He will kill me. I¡¯ve already survived so many monsters, I¡¯ve saved other people. All so he could kill me when I was weak. I need to do something. I need to defend myself.¡¯ I knew this to be true. I wouldn¡¯t see tomorrow if I didn¡¯t do something. I wouldn¡¯t see daylight again. I wouldn¡¯t see my family again. ¡®Oh dear. Why did I just realize that? Why did I go galivanting without thinking of myself?¡¯ No. My head became clear then, banishing the panic. ¡®I will not regret what I¡¯ve done. I was in a position to help. I did the same thing I would have done before becoming a Telepath. I¡¯ve never needed a reason to help people. Even if I die, I won¡¯t take back anything I¡¯ve done.¡¯ With that, I began to call upon a bolt, feeling it swimming behind my eyes. Whatever happens, I will not go down without a fight. Another blast of pain ruined my concentration. ¡®Get yourself together man! This isn¡¯t the end. This can¡¯t be the end. Not like this.¡¯ A shiver ran through my spine and I started to feel¡­ To feel¡­ Better. The pain receded, little by little. Feeling returned to my arm and the bruises and soreness seemed less prominent. Less important. A wave of relief washed over me and I felt calm and collected once more. ¡®Was I really that hurt? Should my body feel this good?¡¯ Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. I didn¡¯t know, but I wasn¡¯t about to argue with results. ¡°Wait a second. What results? Why am I feeling this way?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m healing you.¡± Said the Bunny man, in a tone that suggested this was the most normal thing in the world. He had one of his hands on my shoulder, his bone-thin fingers steadying me with surprising vigour. ¡°You should not be ashamed of yourself young man. I saw what you did. Not everyone would have run into danger for someone they didn¡¯t know. You¡¯re a good person. You should be proud.¡± His hand left my shoulder and went into his pocket. ¡°Here, the robot bulls have these inside of them. I know its not much, but its all I have.¡± Just like that, he pulled out three wrapped sticks. Once he unwrapped one of them, I realized they were protein bars. ¡°Eat son. You¡¯ll need it.¡± My mouth had been hanging open for a while and this guy took it as an invitation. In went half a bar and I found myself chewing before I knew what was happening. Then this guy. This terrifying idiot, left. He left without saying another word. I dimly recalled that, while Shifters could heal themselves and others, they could also be extremely anti-social and anger prone. More than one high ranker had found themselves in prison after mauling the people who¡¯d paid for their services. Yet here was this guy. Tracking me down so he could heal me. He was so skinny, but he gave me food. The shame I felt that moment was almost as bad as the pain from the visions. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m sorry for judging you for your weird outfit Bunny man. Though the cleaver is still really scary. I promise I¡¯ll do you proud. I¡¯ll keep helping people and I¡¯ll keep believing in them. No matter what.¡± Okay, so maybe the adrenaline rush of surviving a sudden ambush had me a tad emotional. So what? It didn¡¯t change what needed to be done. I couldn¡¯t let some punks in literal dark age clothing scare me away from doing the right thing. All that mattered was that I was alive, healthy and ready for action. Figuratively of course. I¡¯m still not going anywhere near the monsters. Sighing, I brought up my status and admired the changes.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 130/130
Type: Telepath Level 16
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 3 / [Message] 2 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 2 / [Fear] 1 / [Static Illusion] 2 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 2 / [Precognition] 4
Ability Points: 0
My eyes locked onto the latest addition to my arsenal. Memories began flooding back. Of the spider hiding from the hunters. Of the beautiful maiden smiling near me. Of the sarcophagus, making its way forward on metal spikes. To my dismay, I found the golden threads waking up as if prodded by a subconscious instinct. Rage and fear pushed the power right back down again, not stopping the metaphorical beating until I felt sure it wouldn¡¯t get out of hand again. I moved out after a while, choosing to try and replicate my training success with [Fever]. My logic being that what worked for my bolt could very well apply to the area-of-effect flower that was the plague. As a bonus, it would keep my mind from dwelling on the visions. At least, I hoped it would. Alas, the suffering they¡¯d brought still came back to stun me on occasion. I would be taking down a group of centipedes and setting them against a group of eels when an unnatural cold crept up my spine. For a moment, I was nothing but a brain and the attached spine. The tubes kept me from dying, forcing me into an unnatural fugue state where obedience was air and to even consider rebelling was suffocating. The silver-haired maiden smiled and caressed the sarcophagus on occasion, gloating. Her smiles were sharp and dipped in poison and her eyes were those of a tiger, ruthless and calculating. Each time, I would emerge from my visions a little weaker and lower on Psy. Each time, whatever task I had undertaken was completed to perfection, as if my body had known the exact requirements for an optimal outcome and acted accordingly. It was horror movie creepy and there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening. On a lighter note, the flashes sometimes gave me a sort of, inspiration. I would see another me superimposed on my position and I would see him split into two copies and into four afterwards. I knew what each copy was going to try and could assess the success and failure of each attempt as if all of them happened at the same time. Trippy, but undeniably useful in planning ambushes. For example, I had seen one possible me using visual illusions to herd search parties away from himself as I had been. While this was happening and that version of me left unharmed, another me was using illusions of sounds to lure search parties into triggered traps. Staggering back to the real world, I immediately set out to duplicate the experiment. First, I tracked down another three groups of centipedes, as well as a cluster of eels swimming in a large oval chamber off to the side. Then I consulted my map and went to each of the intersections connecting the adjacent passages together. On each, I made an illusion. Not of a sound, but of a smell. The smell of dead eels to be precise. Then I prodded each of the gathered insects. Not with a fever or a bolt, but with a message. ¡®Food here!¡¯ ¡®Lots of yummy food!¡¯ ¡®Food for days!¡¯ It wasn¡¯t long before the cries were met with an avalanche of enthusiasm, followed by weighty stampede towards the group of eels. My scented trails worked like a charm, bringing in all the squirming antennae I could ever want right into the glowing jaws of the eels. ¡®Scales!¡¯ ¡®Bloody scales!¡¯ ¡®Yummy! Yummy!¡¯ ¡®Eat them! Together!¡¯ When a considerable number of them had bunched up, I brought out [Fever] and made it spin around me. It did nothing. The bunched-up energy vibrated and almost broke in mid air, forcing me to fire it early. About 50 monsters felt the sting, but continued fighting regardless. Contrary to my expectations, the brawl was only growing in intensity. Whatever method the bugs used to call for re-enforcements was working wonders and streams of chitin were flowing into the meatgrinder. In contrast, the eels were struggling to hold on, despite being individually stronger. Whenever one of their number fell, the others would have to bear the strain of more attacks, which would then divide their attention and slow them further. On my end, I held back from using any bolts and was giving [Fever] my full attention. The blasted thing refused to work properly, threatening to explode in my face whenever I tried to send it into the orbit. When it looked like the battle might be ending, I gave up and threw it without any extra power. It proved to be too much for the remaining three eels to bear and whatever centipedes had survived relished in their victory in spite of the pain. ¡°Okay, don¡¯t stress about it just yet. There has to be some aspect of it you aren¡¯t thinking about. Some clue you¡¯ve missed.¡± Looking back at all the feasting monsters, I wondered when was the next time I¡¯d have this kind of golden opportunity. That was when another group of eels entered my fog from a different direction. A smile crept onto my face. ¡°Well, I guess I might just have to make my own luck.¡± The next few times were enlightening. Each eel would bring down half a dozen bugs in a frightening amount of time, but the horde was without end and without fear. The sheer weight of numbers was a far more potent aspect to their hunting strategy than I¡¯d originally thought and its effectiveness was without question. On the other hand, the centipedes were literally too stupid for their own good. There were a few close calls when a tactical retreat might have saved a squad or when two hunting parties might have gotten off a spectacular ambush if one had waited for the other. This did not seem to phase them in any way. For centipedes, the might of the swarm was all-encompassing and it was admittedly difficult to miss the point of this exercise. No matter how great the hurdle, weaklings could overcome it by banding together. Don¡¯t underestimate weak foes and don¡¯t underestimate the power of a team of Espers. ¡°Hopefully we don¡¯t have to result to human wave tactics when our turn comes.¡± After all was said and done, I¡¯d managed another upgraded ability. To my own surprise, it wasn¡¯t [Fever].
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Static Illusion] 2 has grown to [Static Illusion] 3
I mean, it made sense. While jostling my toxic flower around had done little and less aside from pest control, I¡¯d placed far more illusions than ever before. Furthermore, each new addition was more detailed than the last, making me delve deep into memories and place half-recalled noises and smells into the tunnels surrounding my kill room. It wasn¡¯t stimulating work, but it had clearly done something. From that point forward, I set out to litter the labyrinth with illusions, making it so that monster against monster violence erupted even while I was away. Beyond that, did I mention I was a genius? Because I am undoubtedly a genius. Everywhere I went, illusory signs appeared in mid-air, followed by a detailed 3-d map and labelled caches of water and monster nests. Not to toot my own horn, but the more I put these up, the better I felt about people¡¯s chances. I was actively making things easier for all that followed me without having to risk my own neck. It was nothing short of brilliant. Chapter 12: The Lure. Chapter 12: The Lure. Another few hours saw me thoroughly humbled. Not that it was bad thing mind you. I was happy for my fellow survivors. This was a step we could all take together. ¡®Yes. This is fine.¡¯ I kept telling myself. Glancing at the message carved into the stone wall. Well, it wasn¡¯t really carved so much as it punched into the wall. Probably by a witty Enhancer, though a bulky Shifter or telekinetic Projector was just as likely. The craters followed one another so that they made patterns, saying things like: ¡°Water on the left. Up the Stairs.¡± ¡°Pitfall down the right hall.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t touch the big red flowers.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t follow the singing.¡± ¡°Vertical shaft straight ahead.¡± ¡°Large open area after the second hole.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t trust gnomes.¡± ¡°Kill gnomes.¡± ¡°Kill gnomes.¡± ¡°Kill gnomes.¡± ¡°Yellow Dotted mushrooms not poisonous.¡± ¡°This is all the fault of the Andromedin Wasp empire. The aliens use human Telepaths. Kill Telepaths.¡± ¡°Do not believe these lies!¡± Yes, there had been an exclamation mark carved out too. These were also much bigger than the rest. The imprint of the fists resembling ogres rather than humans. ¡°We will defend the Shepherd¡¯s honor! Kill the traitors to humanity!¡± Some weren¡¯t written in English so I had no idea what they said, but those words I could make out were, for the most part, very useful. Except those last few of course. I had a feeling that whomever wrote them wouldn¡¯t be down for a mutually beneficial partnership any time soon. Not unless there were psychedelics involved. Nonetheless, it was positive change for everyone. Information sharing would help all of us down the line and it was possible that I could learn things I hadn¡¯t known before. My own illusions faded with time, though they were bright and eye catching. Yes, their duration did increase with every new attempt, if ever so slightly and I could look forward to them lasting more with more points invested, but they still didn¡¯t hold a candle to the carvings. This, more permanent solution was as brilliant as it was simple. ¡®So, why do I feel so angry?¡¯ Perhaps it was the very pointed lack of the aforementioned edible mushrooms mentioned in the message. If they were truly safe for consumption, everyone and their mother would have picked more than they needed. Wary of running out later on. Perhaps it was the ridiculous slander, claiming that I was somehow to blame for all this. That I was an agent of an alien empire, in the fashion of a cheap 80¡¯s thriller. Or perhaps it was the realization that I was horribly disadvantaged in comparison to everyone else. ¡®Yes. That does sting. I used to be a sucker for documentaries and interviews. I know more about Enhancer and Shifter training regiments than most of my friends and those were for Espers who couldn¡¯t grow in power, only skill. I could have been unstoppable with a different Type. I could have been a hero, saving everyone I came across. Smashing centipedes and eels left and right. Building a proper group that could handle whatever the freaks running the show cared to throw at us.¡¯ Instead, I was Telepath. Reviled and despised, even by confessed murderers. ¡°What did I do to deserve this, I wonder? Is reincarnation real? Was I some gang boss or tyrant in a previous life? One of those people that kick puppies and kittens for fun?¡± No one answered. No one save the centipedes dotted around my fog, who were skittering about randomly up walls and into crevices. Thinking of many colorful ways in which to tear me limb from limb and suck up my juicy insides. I killed a few with a rush of Psy and found that I didn¡¯t feel any better afterwards. ¡®It¡¯s too easy now. But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m safe. Any of the ones I just killed could have ripped me apart if they caught my physical body. I keep getting stronger, but I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯m advancing at all.¡¯ I sighed, trying to push my jealousy aside and kept moving forward. Following the indicated route to a new watering hole. Inside was a small swift stream flowing from a metal grate in the ceiling of the right wall and down another grate at the far side of the room. A few boulders had been¡­ Moulded? I guess? Or sliced with claws into the desired shapes. Doesn¡¯t matter. They were chairs now. With modest, uneven bumps for armrests and lumbar support. I checked my fog one more time to make sure there wasn¡¯t anyone here and then proceeded to sit down. ¡°Warm. There was someone here not too long ago.¡± That was interesting. I had thought everyone else would be trying to escape too. That¡¯s what you did, when some unknown party kidnapped you in the night. Making yourself comfortable didn¡¯t make sense. ¡®That is, if they were kidnapped. If someone other than my fellow victims carved this seat¡­¡¯ The notion was disquieting. So much so that I resolved to keep moving, rather than stay and try to talk my way into a friend. Maybe rushing to conclusions wasn¡¯t the smartest idea right now. Maybe the paranoia came from my encounter with shotgun lady or the pair in the clearing. For all I knew, this was the work of another fan of Thunder Fist, giddy about the chance to become a high-ranked Esper and willing to take the chance training down here instead of focusing on escaping. It was possible. ¡®But, am I willing to bet my life on it?¡¯ No. I wasn¡¯t. If my days here had taught me anything it was that the proverbial deck was stacked against me. Someone like Mason might be able to endure being raked by monsters with his empowered physique and Shifters might be able to undo the damage altogether. Yet what would be a glancing blow to them would turn me into a red smear on the walls. It wasn¡¯t fair, but why would some shadowy organization care about fairness? Sighing once more, I went to have a drink before moving onwards. Only then did I see the body behind the chair. ¡°AaAaaAouooo¡­¡± It moaned. Barely able to move air through its crushed chest. ¡®No. Not it. Him. This is a person!¡¯ I realized with mounting horror. The little body suggested a child, but the white beard suggested a grown man. The hairs on it were stained with blackened blood, twisted and clumped together. They clung feebly to the sad remains of a green shirt with golden buttons. His right arm was missing at the shoulder and his left was twisted at awkward angles. His legs had been broken at the knee and puncture wounds resembling large needles ran along their length. His eyes were missing entirely. A conical red hat clung to his scalp. ¡°Holy cow! Are you okay!?¡± I said stupidly. My mind unable to keep up. I couldn¡¯t think straight. Panic holding me down, making me stupid and clumsy. My throat had dried out in seconds. My veins were on fire. My heart was a blaring siren. My hearing failed, as all the surrounding sounds faded to the background. I felt clumsy. Like a puppet, with some shadowy figure tugging at my strings. ¡°AAAAAaaaaaaouoaaa¡­¡± He answered. At the same time, the sad remains of his left hand tried to move, to grasp or make a gesture. His head turned towards me with great difficulty, empty sockets leaning towards my voice. He moaned again, louder, while still trying to bring up his left arm. He looked so close to death, that I did not dare touch him. Too afraid of breaking him like an expensive vase. ¡®Is this what Doris looked like, back in the forest? Were her final moments like this? Spent alone, shivering in the darkness? Asking for help?¡¯ I could feel bitter tears starting to form in the corners of my eyes at that thought. Some force wrapped me in tightly wound strings and dragged me deeper into despair. Into the past. It had been dark that night. Mason had said, the beasts were hazy. Partly incorporeal while still possessing razor-sharp claws. A larger pack had eviscerated two of the weaker responding Espers and their police backup. The great fool walked away with grisly scars along his neck, back and thighs. Living only thanks to being a D-ranker himself and even then, it was a close thing. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Doris had not been so fortunate. The scraps of meat were only identified by the earrings she¡¯d been wearing. Her widowed father had been her only living relative. He¡¯d tried to punch Mason at the funeral. Screaming in a fit of rage or madness. Mason had retaliated. The grieving man was still eating through a straw the last time I saw him. We¡¯d spoken a few times before that, and he¡¯d always seemed an amiable codger. Full of life, despite losing his wife and sons to the original outbreak. The creature in the hospital bed hardly resembled him. Eyes sunken in and devoid of light, barely responding to my voice. A corpse in all but name. For his part in the assault of a baseline person and bringing another baseline person into a quarantined zone, Mason received 3 years of docked wages from his extermination duties, as well as 50 hours of community service. He¡¯d had the gall to appeal, though that judgement was still pending. For my part, I could not even summon the energy to get angry. After all, what was the point? What could I do? Yes, Mason had been complicit in her death, but she¡¯d chosen to go with him. She¡¯d even looked forward to it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I said, unable to think of anything else. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t do anything for you. I¡¯m sorry this happened to you. I don¡¯t know how to help.¡± My fists were clenched tightly now. Memories of first-aid seminars came back all at once, but they proved unhelpful. ¡®Am I supposed to do chest compressions? His chest¡¯s caved in! How is tourniquet supposed to help, when His freaking arm is missing!?¡¯ The little man, was still moaning, despite the hideous wounds. Still fighting against his fate. ¡®Is he begging me to save him? Or is he begging for the pain to end?¡¯ The latter might be possible, if I could bring myself to do what was necessary. There were plenty of heavy rocks here. Any one of them could put an end to the suffering. ¡°No. I¡­I can¡¯t do it. I don¡¯t have it in me. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I wish I could help, but I can¡¯t. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be sorrier if that gnome was real.¡± Said a voice behind me. I flinched and fell forward. Horrified that I hadn¡¯t felt anything through my fog. ¡®Wait a second. The man. I can¡¯t feel his mind either.¡¯ With a sudden rush of adrenaline, I realized that my hand had fallen into him. Into the image of him. My fingers moved and felt empty air, where the heaving chest was supposed to be. ¡°An illusion.¡± I realized with a start. ¡°But how? Its moving!¡± ¡°Seems to me like someone hasn¡¯t been diligent in their training.¡± Said the voice once more. ¡°Though I guess you could be forgiven for that if you just became a mage.¡± This time, I turned around to face it and found a bush where a person should have been. Pink vines and fronds of the same kind that had poisoned me on my first day acted as armor, with big red flowers as pauldrons and shin guards. The rest was all a tangle of long cylindrical tentacles laden with teeth and cactus needles, with the cleaned skull of a dog or wolf at its center. ¡°Nice to see a fellow heretic.¡± The bush said. ¡°Even a slow and stupid one. Though you do look lovely when you cry. The witch hunters would have enjoyed you. They live for a good begging.¡± ¡°Now now Helga. That¡¯s no way to treat a guest.¡± A raspy voice behind her chided. Its pronunciation was off. Containing the clicking of mandibles between some vowels. Soon, the figure revealed themselves from behind its corpulent companion. It was a mantis, with two thick legs and four gleaming scythes instead of arms. Much bigger than the last time we¡¯d met. ¡°You!¡± I shouted immediately. ¡°You were there! The first day!¡± The thing¡¯s compound eyes did not move, though its head tilted at an awkward angle. ¡°Ah, you were the fellow who came running out.¡± It seemed to laugh, though its appearance was so alien I couldn¡¯t say whether it was from joy or derision. ¡°You gave me quite the scare. I almost soiled my pants.¡± ¡°You have no pants.¡± Said the shrub, in a voice tinged with disapproval and exasperation. ¡°Not right now. I¡¯d like to get some though.¡± It clacked it mandibles faster, as if using them as a sign of good humour. ¡°You there. New blood. Where did you get those?¡± ¡°None of your damn business.¡± I answered before I could stop myself. My heart was still pounding from the stress of the fake body and from the news that my fog wasn¡¯t anywhere near as reliable as I¡¯d imagined. Not to mention the rage. The boiling tar running through my veins at the realization that I¡¯d been made to relive Doris¡¯ death by some Telepath ability. In a span of seconds, I¡¯d been put back there with the crabs again. The tall man leering as he toyed with people as if they were dolls. My whole being felt violated. I wanted revenge. A deep breath brought me back from the brink and another urged me further back. Thoughts of Henry and Vince and Luigi. Of mom and dad. ¡®Calm yourself. This might be a chance. An opportunity to form a team. To finally have someone watching my back. Who would be better than another Telepath? They even have a friend already.¡¯ Their next words put an end to that hope however. ¡°Feisty. I like that in a victim.¡± The bush chuckled. ¡°Too bad for you, none of the gnomes we killed have clothes that fit us and I never picked up sewing. Strip. I don¡¯t want to have to clean bloodstains out of my new pants.¡± ¡°Hey! I want those pants!¡± The mantis protested. The words they said were filled with malice, but her mind told a different story. While the mantis-man was keeping me out somehow, the lady covered in vines was tense. Blustering on purpose to hide her unease. Her fear and trepidation that kept rising up, now that her trick to keep me out of her mind had apparently faltered. She couldn¡¯t read me as well as I could read her now and she knew it. It made her afraid. She too knew that this situation was bad. She too knew that we could not stay here, if we wanted to survive. Yet, she seemed to only trust the mantis man implicitly. Reeling from waves of affection. From the purest, most selfless love. While she too wanted allies, she couldn¡¯t bring herself to trust anyone here, after being attacked once already. Her trap had been meant for gnomes, instead of humans. She wanted to scare me into fleeing, more than anything else. Though she does really want the pants. ¡®Okay. Wow. Don¡¯t lose your head Solomon. This can still be salvaged. Positive thoughts now. Positive thoughts.¡¯ ¡°You can have the pants.¡± I said with reluctance. ¡°If you let me join you. I can be useful.¡± The mantis nodded their head sagely. ¡°Glad to see you¡¯re not completely stupid lad. Have no fear. Me and Helga have been through worse. We¡¯ll be stronger together.¡± He was edging closer when several smooth vines came to life and wrapped themselves around his torso. ¡°No.¡± Helga said. ¡°No?¡± He asked, confused. ¡°No. I will not have this mage with us. I can trust anyone I can read, but he¡¯s closed off to me.¡± ¡°So? He¡¯s weak enough to fall for the lure and he can¡¯t be that smart if he didn¡¯t scout out the room before entering. What¡¯s the harm?¡± The huge tangle of plants seemed to shrug. ¡°Call it my personal judgement. I almost never see people I can¡¯t glimpse. Something seems fishy.¡± ¡°Oh, come now. Have you seen the things that crawl around here? I mean, you know I¡¯m no coward, but even I¡¯m starting to sweat a little in between fights. More people mean better odds. It¡¯s not like he¡¯s working for your father. Or the Inquisition. Him being a mage and all. That, and him being like you means he isn¡¯t likely to stab us in the back.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean he won¡¯t betray us in the middle of a battle.¡± I cleared my throat. ¡°Um, if I can a word in for just a second. I¡¯m totally on board with your friend here. I¡¯m sure we can put aside any differences we might have if it means forming a group. Humans are supposed to stick together. We¡¯re always stronger in numbers. My presence, or your, could be the difference between life or death. The request for pants is¡­ odd. But it is not a dealbreaker when my life is on the line.¡± I saw the mantis guy nodding, so pushed my argument further. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re right that it¡¯s a risky proposition. I could betray you. But that would be a singularly stupid thing to do on my part. He¡¯s obviously a Shifter. Which means he can heal. Having him around is akin to having three or four extra lives. You¡¯d have to be (Centipede)ing braindead to stay alone in this situation where the mushrooms could be deadly or the air could be filled with asbestos or neurotoxins or something. Also, you¡¯re a Telepath. One that is clearly stronger than me. You¡¯d be able to tell if I was about to turn, even if you can¡¯t read some of my thoughts. You¡¯d also be aware that two of us could snipe anything that came too close with twice the power, twice as often. I¡¯ve been worrying about running out of Psy this whole time and I¡¯ve had to be slow so that I can watch out for traps. Two people alternating between themselves could go much faster and three people looking for traps could be much safer. If it¡¯s a choice between my pants and my life, I¡¯ll happily give up the pants.¡± ¡°Never mind. He¡¯s smart too and wise to boot.¡± Mantis man chirruped. ¡°I say we take him. You never know what kind of monster we might run into. In fact, forget about the pants. Let¡¯s start fresh. I have a good feeling about him.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t. He¡¯s giving me goose prickles.¡± ¡°Helga, everyone gives you goose prickles.¡± The mantis man made a sighing motion with his head, although the noises that came out were anything but human. ¡°Can¡¯t you just charm him? Make sure he¡¯s safe to bring?¡± ¡°Maybe. Hold on. Don¡¯t let him near me.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± I yelled. Remembering Steve¡¯s last moments. To which she just laughed. It felt as if a giant had kicked me in ribs. My breath escaped and I gasped for more air. Tendrils of nothingness slithered past my fog and past my eyes. Crawling into my center and lightly touching my lake. ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t use the power on me! You¡¯ll die!¡± The woman scoffed. ¡°Sure I will. It isn¡¯t as if I¡¯ve done this many times to others here with no consequences¡­ Wait. Huh. That¡¯s¡­ Interesting. There¡¯s a seal here. Powerful stuff. Let me dive a little bit deeper and¡­¡± The whole of the bulk stopped moving. Helga and all her plants felt their connections stiffen. She howled in an expression that could only be called exquisite agony. If the vines could scream, they would¡¯ve joined her too. ¡®She attacked me, and she¡¯s still alive.¡¯ I realized with a start. I had braced myself for something to go wrong. For either the shrub or the mantis to do something to counter me. Instead, both crumpled to the floor. Like puppets bereft of strings. The foliage surrounding the shrub slid away at once and poisoned pink fronds began slapping the air, as if trying to grasp dinner. Meanwhile, the large flowers blossomed further, revealing both feline and canine skulls beneath the petals, lunging forward on tangled heaps of thorny rope. At the center of it was a woman. Maybe in her mid twenties. With crooked teeth, messy brown hair and piercing grey eyes. Some of the plants she¡¯d been wearing turned on her with delight, poisoning her with needles and skin contact. Others tore chunks of exoskeleton from the mantis man, redoubling the potency of his screams. I was frozen with indecision. Sweating bullets as panic took hold. My first instinct was to try and help them. But other notions rose to the forefront. ¡®This is a fight. They tried to rob you. They¡¯ll assume you hurt them. They¡¯ll try to kill you. They attacked first. This is self-defence. Besides, she said she did this before and didn¡¯t suffer any consequences. Until she did it to me.¡¯ I didn¡¯t have time to consider what made me special. Lessons of my youth came back up. The hatred everyone felt for thieves and looters. The kind of scum that would fight other people while monsters were running loose. Those were the worst. The ones who¡¯d be sent to the firing squad or the noose. I, I was supposed to help them. I¡¯d been taught to help them. But they¡¯d attacked me first. What¡¯s more, whatever happened to Steve wasn¡¯t affecting them in the same way. At least, they weren¡¯t close to dying by themselves. That¡¯s when I started getting a, particular itch in my hands, in my heart, behind my eyes¡­. It¡­. It¡­.. I took a deep breath. Bracing myself. Before releasing a dose of [Fever]. The act made me sick. But it made them feel a whole lot worse. They gurgled as they spasmed. Feelings of terror and helplessness flowing into me from their positions. Meanwhile, I wasn¡¯t feeling any sort of backlash. Not like Steve and certainly not like the one they had endured. I tried to think about it. About what caused it, when I¡­. I hit them again. This time targeting the man with [Mental Bolt] and followed that up with a dose of [Fear]. The man¡¯s head, did not explode. Instead, his forehead swelled as if filled with fluids. His mouth-pincer organ releasing bestial screeches of exquisite agony. He writhed and tore at his own skull. They were near death now. I knew it. I¡­ The smart thing to do. The logical thing to do, would be to¡­ I stopped. Gasping. Reeling as the shadows in the chamber danced, and misshapen forms swelled within them. I felt a presence. A deeply familiar tingle that skittered around the dges of my perceptions. Coming, coming¡­ Closer. I hurled, banishing a bile I hadn¡¯t known was there. Shivering with a revulsion I could not put into words. I shook my own head over and over. Repulsed and disgusted at myself. Then I saw the Mantis-man getting up. Groggily crawling to his feet. The damage being undone with ever passing second. While my cooldowns were still active. Terror shot up my spine at the prospect. Realizing that he''d be up before I could attack again. So, I used [Hide] and made to leave before he got his bearings. None tried to hit me and I managed to leave the watering hole unscathed. After that, I kept running and running and running. Past pitfalls and clusters of centipedes. Past buzzing swarms of bees crackling with electricity around hollowed-out walls. Past eels tangled up around the carcass of an armored otter. Chapter 13: Acrophobia. Chapter 13: Acrophobia. ¡®Stupid. How are you this stupid. Of course it was a trap. What did you expect? A hug and a kiss? Promises of brotherhood? Do you think this is a comic book or a movie? That we¡¯re all going to get along and serve the kidnappers their comeuppance?¡¯ That part was bad enough. The truth that I¡¯d almost gained compatriots made it a thousand times worse. ¡®I was so close. I was so (Centipede)ing close, to having teammates. To having a healer around.¡¯ My fists were clenched with barely supressed rage as my head throbbed. ¡®At least, at least I didn¡¯t kill them. At least they didn¡¯t die like Steve did. That¡¯s the one silver lining in all this. Well, that, and it seems like I don¡¯t need to spend points in [Block Mental Detection] or [Block Mental Attack] anytime soon. I wasn¡¯t affected for some reason, but it seems like other folks who use Telepathic attacks tend to have a very bad time of it.¡¯ Eventually, the adrenaline wavered and the fatigue came back with a vengeance. My chest was heaving up and down like that of the Illusion. The air seemed to burn my lungs as it came in. Too hot and too humid for my liking. ¡®Wait. Hot and humid?¡¯ The caverns had been damp, but chilly just a few moments ago. Though time had blurred as I fled. This section held a warmth that had been missing before. Its walls had more space between them and they were more uniform, though a few still bore messages carved into them. Its ceiling was higher and decorated with glinting crystals and gems of all shapes and sizes, illuminating the area in place of mushrooms. Between them, were large deposits of gold, speckled with stone and waiting to be mined. ¡®How long was I running? Where even is this? What kind of imbecile traps people in a gold mine.¡¯ Looking closer, there were enough precious minerals here to make any mining tycoon green with envy. Just a single section of a single wall might be enough to make me a multi-millionaire. Belatedly, I considered fashioning a pick and trying to retrieve a fistful of gold, before I slapped myself back to reality. ¡°You just escaped an ambush. You idiot. You have to keep moving. If she really was a Telepath, she¡¯ll have a [Mental Map] of her own. That, and a pet Shifter to heal her and sniff you out. Keep moving.¡± In truth, that was easier said than done. There were no other paths here but forward and every twenty steps brought a noticeable increase in temperature. Before long, I was sweating profusely and considered turning back. ¡®No. They¡¯ll have shaken off the [Fever] by now and they won¡¯t make the same mistake twice. She¡¯ll let her Shifter come at me, while she sits in the back.¡¯ It would have to be this way, since death was behind me. Whatever miracle allowed me to slip past them so easily would probably not help a second time. Not when she could snipe with [Mental Bolts] of her own. Not to mention the scythes on the Shifter. I felt a shiver running through me once more but bit my lip and forced myself onward. My map continued to grow, as I fought new and interesting critters. Snails with golden shells that fell from the ceiling and floated in mid-air while launching bolts of fire from their eyes, chameleons that tried to hide by taking on the hues of rocks and gemstones, brown beetles that created piercing shrieks with the buzzing of their wings. Once, I even encountered a puma with red and silver fur that leapt up from a pitfall trap so obvious that I¡¯d originally looked for smaller, hidden traps around it, suspecting a double layered trick. None had any kind of counter to my tried-and-true tactic of hiding, escaping and siccing them against each other. The snails hated the beetles and the beetles hated the snails right back. One side would sear the wings and exoskeleton off the other while their enemies would shatter the shells with their sonic blasts. Victory often went to those with larger numbers or whomever struck first. The chameleons almost never got involved unless the winner was heavily wounded. In such cases, a barbed tongue would shoot forward and impale the survivors one by one. Then they quickly retreated while their hapless victims twitched and faltered from the venom. Sending out a few final strikes in defiance. When that was done, the sneaky opportunists would simply walk right in, bite whatever remained and slurp all bodily fluids into their gullet. All appeared entirely too pleased with themselves afterwards. Until I deployed my own abilities from the relative safety of a corner or large boulder blocking the way. Then they chirped and squealed in outrage. Dismayed by someone else using those tactics against them. It was so effective that I was starting to suspect I was being lured into a false sense of security on purpose. In that, I was proven right, as the long hallway eventually led to an opening, similar to the one the inquisition guys had found. There, in front of me, was a bridge of stone and smoky crystal. It looked to be 12 metres wide and goodness only knows how long. Potent gales blew dust and debris from the lower layers of the chasm, momentarily blinding me and forcing me back. Another, more careful inspection performed on all fours revealed other bridges below and above me, connecting other tunnels in differing elevations. The whole environment was very well-lit, in stark contrast to other sections of the labyrinth. Floating rivers of solid light hang from the walls, entangling themselves on surfaces below and above me. Between them fly schools of brass, bronze and red fish. Swimming through the air as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Onyx sharks floated near them, sometimes rushing the groups for a bit and dispersing the crowds. Even those great beasts broke and ran whenever one of the white seahorses turned in their directions. There were only three, but they were nothing less than gargantuan. Easily 40 or 50 metres long from tail to head. At one point, a shark had been too slow to react and the middle seahorse shot a devastating beam of light from its snout. The laser disintegrated the shark completely and then went on to burn into one of the ramparts on the far side. The wound bled hot molten lava. Liquid death that swirled and danced in the air instead of falling down. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. As for the drop itself¡­ There¡¯s no bottom. None that I can see anyway. Any potential fall would presumably stretch on for a disturbingly long time. Now, I consider myself a reasonable individual, despite all the risks I¡¯ve taken. I firmly believe that every decision I¡¯ve made could be justified by my circumstances at the time. Even something such as attacking people could be excused since they tried to kill me first. The reason I bring all of this up is that I¡¯m bothered by the definition of a phobia. Supposedly, it refers to an irrational fear. A worry that eats away at someone and is labelled as a mental health condition. With that in mind, I find it very offensive that people classify a fear of heights as one of those. Why, I honestly struggle to come up with a more reasonable fear to have than that of high places. Its perfectly reasonable to be mortified when a casual slip could see me deader than the puma the snails had roasted. ¡®Yes. I¡¯m not the problem.¡¯ I think to myself. ¡®The bridge is the problem. I mean, it doesn¡¯t even have handrails. What kind of loon would take this kind of risk.¡¯ It was then that one of the lower bridges exploded. From there, two figures jumped up, wreathed in flames and carried by the force of the blast. They should have dropped like stones. Falling to a painful clumsy death. Instead, they kept going. Flying like a pair of very ugly rockets. Landing upon the wall opposite me with a thunderous crash. I expected them to burst like melons. Instead, they had created circular impressions on the stones, fissures opening up at the edges. From beneath, a fourth giant seahorse rose, changing in coloration from white to orange to red. Energy crackled in its mouth and eyes. Both were glowing. ¡°For Humanity! For the Shepherd!¡± One of the figures cried. ¡°For the Skull Bashers!¡± Cried the other. The both of them leapt in opposite directions at once, past schools of floating fish and sharks, with no regard for their well being. As they soared, I couldn¡¯t help but note how incredible the scene was. That, and how dead I¡¯d be if I were in their place. ¡®I guess that¡¯s Enhancers for you. In a league of their own. Oh my goodness. What I wouldn¡¯t give to be like them. Wait. Are those actually humans?¡¯ It was a very good question. Even from this distance, the two looked sort of human, in that they had similar proportions. However, no normal person could be so¡­ Large. Not unless they were a Shifter and these were clearly Enhancers. These looked more like ogres. Flying ogres dressed up in thick furs and carrying bone clubs and axes. ¡°I swear if there are people down here with two Types, I¡¯m going to find the one responsible and strangle them with their own belt.¡± Another seahorse joined the fight. Interposing itself between the female sounding ogre and the bridge she had aimed herself at. That was its last mistake. The great pale axe fell and the giant was split open. Bloody innards spilling out in showers of gore. The rest of the creatures took note and bellowed in rage. A chorus that was half a song and half a scream. They too started changing colour. They, and the bridges. Including the one I was standing on right now. My heart began beating so fast, I thought it might burst from my chest. I was frozen stiff just like the first time I¡¯d seen a centipede. Once more, the voice started talking. Wild Solomon, trying to keep me alive. ¡®Move.¡¯ ¡°No.¡± ¡®No? Why not?¡¯ ¡°Because there is absolutely no way in all of creation, that I¡¯m taking one step out into certain death. No way at all.¡± ¡®Those two are flying like its nobody¡¯s business.¡¯ ¡°They¡¯re mad.¡± I said to no one in particular. ¡°Those two must have been off their rocker before coming here. What kind of fool throws themselves into the open air? It must be even worse now. All that power¡¯s gone straight to their heads. They feel invincible.¡± That was bad freaking news. If Greek tragedies had taught humanity anything it¡¯s that Hubris came down hard on people who thought they were too good for everybody else. Worse, those exceptional fellows had an uncanny tendency to drag people down with them. Even if they were only bystanders. People like me. A strong gale came from below, as if on cue. The bridge¡¯s shine dimmed and its structure crumbled. I plummeted. Icarus falling on waxen wings. 100 metres. 200 metres. 500 metres. 800 metres. Screaming all the way down. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!¡± My hands wrapped themselves around nothing as I flailed my arms. It was of no use. My throat grew hoarse from shouting. I lost time. Vertigo is sending my mind into spirals. Insurmountable horror kept me from focusing and even the burning rush of adrenaline didn¡¯t help. This was something bigger than me. More ferocious. I couldn¡¯t think clearly. I was slipping, further and further into the gaping abyss. This was different from any helplessness I¡¯ve felt before. The strings behind my eyes lashed out in random patterns, my subconscious grasping for anything that might help. Any sliver of hope. [Precognition] activated. And a whole new kind of despair enveloped me. Scenes of Henry and Luigi and Vince. All running for their lives in their own trials. Desperately clinging to recollections of home. They were surrounded by bipedal crow-people. All dressed in silks and radiant laces. Those things snap their beaks and bark out orders. Threatening to whip them if they do not perform to their standards. Both groups come together to celebrate a festival. Humans and giant corvids draining cups of amber liquids. In the distance, they spot a screen. A list of the lost and the damned. All eyes bulged open. A few begin to flee at once. In the distance, the tall man presented himself. Smiling with crooked teeth at the wanton cruelty. His hands were stained with blood and a thousand gnomes suffer for his pleasure. He opened his mouth to speak and reality trembles. There was no Solomon. There was no, me. There was only the formless ocean and all the eyes within it. Tainted red and green by the opening of the door. The reckoning with the slaver and the spider. Uncountable and infinite, drinking the very stars in perpetuity. It all stemmed from a single creature, a single life. Some wretched thing that used to be human. That used to be an aspiring engineer dreaming after finishing their exams. This pest had no eyes or mouth or ears. It had no means by which to scream and curse their continued existence. Instead, it reveled in cursing others. Enwrapped in grief and beset by pain. Biding its time and growing. A parasite within the cobweb. A leech upon reality. A scourge upon this universe and all the universes that have been or ever will be. It was a grub. Pupating and mutating into something greater. Unlike before, I did not see all the futures. There were fewer patterns. Fewer paths to travel. Choices I¡¯ve made have broken down distant outcomes, even as new possibilities rise in their place and grow prominent. This could all be likened to a waterslide, where each droplet is a different, almost imperceptible change. A breath taken a second earlier. A twitch in the legs. A final cry for salvation. Regardless, they all flow onwards. Deeper and deeper into the jaws of death. Golden strings dim with every passing nanosecond, closing off potential escapes. I know what must be done. All paranoia must be banished from my psyche. That boy, yearning for a boring position after university, must die, so that I can live. I did not feel the butcher or the slaver or the tireless metal men. They were distant worries. Storms brewing beyond the horizon. Through it all, I remembered my goal. The token I had to get. The life I wanted to live. For the sake of my future, I must take the gamble. I did as the vision bade and closed my eyes. Thinking of myself as a leaf on the wind. Time became confused. Minutes turning into hours as I pushed out the sounds of debris, explosions, and erupting viscera. Waves of heat struck me at uneven intervals. Cooking me from above or below, but never from both sides at once. The wind slowed noticeably and I felt myself floating like a feather. Later, much later. I felt the distinctive wetness of a pond engulf me up to the ears. My landing had not been as fatal as I¡¯d feared. Quite the contrary in fact. Slowly, I opened my eyes and found myself at the bottom on the pit. There, I noted a myriad of waterfalls. Flowing upwards. Just like the distinctively larger and darker fish that floated nearby and the enormous lobster-moles that chased after them through the air. ¡°Huh. Gravity¡¯s inverted.¡± I noted, with a voice strained from screaming. Chapter 14: Hunger. Chapter 14: Hunger. So, good news and bad news. On the upside, I wasn¡¯t currently dead. Always a positive. Furthermore, I hadn¡¯t sustained any physical injuries, which was honestly nothing short of miraculous. The downside was that I had managed to end up very far away from the spot where I was and even further from the entrance to the maze. Meaning that I would have to climb all the way back to my starting point if I wanted to have any hope of getting out. ¡°Heh. Ha. HAHAHAHA!¡± I laughed, unable to keep myself in check. ¡°Oh, my goodness. There it is again. The fear, the uncertainty. The lack of control.¡± That last point was especially prescient. I was once again in a position where I didn¡¯t have any control over my surroundings. Over my future. I mean, that seahorse-dragon thing had possessed a (Centipede)ing atomic breath! It could have literally vaporized before I had a chance to blink in its general direction! Who thought it was a good idea to leave that thing in the same general location as people? I laughed harder at my owns stupidity. ¡°Come on Sully, you know better than to ask that. Psychopaths, that¡¯s who! There¡¯s no other explanation. Me and the others have been trapped here by a very wealthy, superpowered psychopath that¡¯s undoubtedly watching us through hidden cameras on the walls or sensors inside our brains. How else could you explain the screens that show up now and then? Or the censorship? As if this whole thing was a pay-per view show being streamed by the most homicidal freaks on the planet. What, did you think there was an kind old granny installing mother(Centepide)ing anti-gravity fields in volcanic caves? Wake up man. Prepare for the worst. You could have died!¡± I take a moment to heave, keeping my hands on my wobbling legs in order to avoid falling on my face. I¡¯m tired. I am so tired of it all. Hungry too. So hungry. My stomach growled in confirmation and I grimaced as the aching shook me further. I clench my fists and take a deep, calming breath. Followed by another and another. Drawing air in, holding it as long as possible and allowing it to escape in slow hiss. ¡°Its okay. I¡¯m okay. I¡¯m alive. I can still keep going. I can still make it out.¡± The words ring hollow amidst the wet floor and the vertical drop I just traversed. Nevertheless, I take note of my surroundings and see that there are five passages connected to the bottom of the crevice. Two of them are immediately discarded due to how small they are. I¡¯d have to get on my hands and knees to fit, which meant I¡¯d be trapped in a very narrow space that could be assailed at any time by monsters. Images of pumas leaping from pitfalls and snails flooding corridors with fire run through my mind again. ¡°No, definitely not those. Which leaves the two leading down and the one tunnel leading up. The one with the overgrown pink plants all over the place. Great.¡± While I wasn¡¯t a biology student myself, I did have friends who were. Vince, for one. Him and Doris. I shook my head to dispel the memories before they surged back up. ¡°Focus man. Focus. What was it that Vince said? Bright colours in nature are signals to predators. Like a big neon sign stating ¡®Stay away or I¡¯ll (Centipede) you up!¡¯ Which usually translates either poison or venom.¡± Now that I thought about it, some of those fronds resembled the ones that had cut me on my first few hours here. I recalled the side effects again, as well as the speed at which they spread. If it hadn¡¯t been for the bunny man¡­ ¡°Okay, that¡¯s not going to work. If only I had something to swat them out of my path without touching them.¡± Then, like the imbecile that I was, I saw a stick and remembered that I had hands. I chuckled, deflating somewhat as the tension left me and grabbed my new tool from the pond. I took another steadying breath as my fingers curled around the shaft, before walking over and starting the climb once more. At first, everything went according to plan. The stick did its job and pushed the vines and fronds away without issue and no monsters came out of the woodwork to harass me. I was activating [Precognition] in steady intervals. Trying to determine the location of nearby traps since my fog wasn¡¯t picking anything up. To my relief, none of the phantom versions of me superimposed on reality ran into any unforeseen troubles. I mean, yeah, I did see them getting stung and even ripped apart by some of the tentacled plants, but that was a danger I was already aware of. Those mutated flowers wouldn¡¯t be catching me any time soon. That relief turned to frustration some hours later. I was almost sure I¡¯d walked at least a couple of kilometres, yet I remained surrounded by pink carnivorous petals. It would seem that, out of all the corridors in all the floors I¡¯d gone through, this was the only one that didn¡¯t have a few branching tunnels to chose from. I was stuck going uphill. Without a source of water or food nearby. I was also still on edge after noticing that some of the plants were different from the rest. There were certain specimens that looked less like a regular flower or tree and more like a wooden drum with a face carved on one side. Those faces were filled with razor sharp teeth and those eyes were not just there for their artistic value. Luminescent insects crawled in and out of them, buzzing loudly whenever I approached. The noises made the drum-plants grow limbs on their underside. Short, stubby things that wouldn¡¯t be taking them to any races. Yet they did allow for some motion and the plants followed the insect¡¯s buzzing towards my location until I hit a bunch of them with [Fever]. The bugs scattered in all directions before dying mid-flight, as if they¡¯d been hit with a toxic spray by a fumigator. Seeing their chance, the pink-petaled locals moved their fronds to intercept, wrapping them up before dragging them towards their center. The drum-plants thereby proved two of my suspicions. They could move, although they were limited in their ability to do so; and they could flush me out, though it would take them some time or luck to stumble into me. Worse, exhaustion was beginning to take its toll now that the adrenaline from my fall had been flushed out of my system. I felt heavy, as if my legs were made of wood. My eyes begun to close, even as I forced my feet to stay in motion. ¡°Come on man. Don¡¯t give up now. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s a safe area around the next corner. I¡¯m sure its nearby. Just keep moving. The plants do move so you have to keep going. There will be a watering hole next time. Next time. I¡¯m sure of it.¡± Next time didn¡¯t come for another four hours. When it did arrive, I was half a corpse. Running on the last vestiges of what others would call fumes. I had left the pseudo-jungle behind and arrived on a large circular chamber with vents littering the ceiling and at least half a dozen other entrances to choose from. Several of which continued upwards. There were some large boulders in the middle, but I didn¡¯t think too much of them since my fog still wasn¡¯t picking up anything. Instead, I locked my gaze onto the metal bars separating the watering hole from the rest of the dungeon. I was so relieved that my knees almost gave out and I smiled widely. Grinning like an idiot. I rushed towards the gate, about to open it, when another feature of the environment took my breath away. ¡°Is that¡­ is that a (Centipede)ing apple tree?¡± I let go of the gate, too stunned to say anything else. Sure enough. There was a big, freaking apple tree down here. Standing behind the boulders that had blocked my vision earlier. Its leaves were green and the apples hanging from the branches were red. It looked like any old apple tree you¡¯d find back home in Canada. Down to the smallest details. My stomach rumbled again and I almost wept. I ran towards it. Whooping and hollering with newfound vigor. Then I stopped. As I realized that this was, indeed an apple tree. Down here. In the middle of the murder dungeon. Placed precariously in the open. Right after a section filled to the brim with venomous plants. ''Okay. Calm down. Push down the hunger. This has got to be a trap. Think.'' From the perspective of a video game, which the System resembled, this would be something like a mimic. A creature that looked like a normal tree while being a blood-sucking leech or something. Meaning that getting close would be a really bad idea. From the perspective of natural biology, plants that relied on photosynthesis could not survive without light and sufficient nutrients. It simply wasn''t possible. There was a chance that it had been teleported here alongside the rest of us, but that theory also had its holes. More specifically, the curious absence of buzzing insects. They had been all over the mushrooms and most of the tunnels. The only places where they had been absent had been those that were filled with predators. Like the carnivorous plants. Meaning that getting close might very well end with me being slowly digested inside a pod. I gulped and looked around for something to throw, finally settling for a hefty stone over to my left. My fingers curled around it and I proceeded to throw it up in the air before catching it again. Familiarizing myself with the balance. Then I threw it towards the tree. As hard as I possibly could. The rock''s jagged edge hit the trunk with a loud thud. The tree didn''t like that. Not one bloody bit. I could tell as much because it and by extension, all the earth around it shook violently, before thick roots ripped themselves off the ground and branches started swinging wildly in every direction. I leapt backwards, dodging an errant blow my mere inches. The rumbling escalated from there. Only ceasing when the thing had fully escaped its stony confines. The (Centipede)ing tree then took a boxing stance. As in, a stance professional boxers used to beat the stuffing out of each other. Then it charged at me. Because of course it would. I wasted no time in activating [Hide]. Throwing open the watering hole door and flinging myself into the safety of the enclosed room. I scrambled to shut the door behind me, but failed, the tree¡¯s assault ripping the metal bars off their hinges with the casual ease of a child toppling a sandcastle. I turned the other way, placing myself at the furthest corner of the room in the hope that my new tormentor wasn¡¯t able to reach me. Miraculously, it worked. The thing spread its branches through the opening where the door had been but couldn¡¯t reach me no matter how much it strained. So, I waited. Sitting down and catching my breath. Trying really hard not to crack under the immense pressure and the realization that I¡¯d almost died to a (Centipede)ing tree. On the upside, it left after only an hour or so and was even kind enough to ignore the apples that had fallen off it during its attempted murder. I picked some up during my escape, fleeing as fast as I could through the narrowest tunnel I could find. On the downside, that was all the food I¡¯d enjoyed that day. Or the day after for that matter. Yeah. Not the best time to be rummaging through an unknown floor. Especially since I was climbing up to the point where I¡¯d previously been instead of making progress towards my escape. At this pace, I might reach my previous spot in a couple more days. So, a little over a week? How long had I been here? Five days? Six? Somehow it all blurred together. One long inescapable nightmare. To make matters worse, the messages seemed to echo my feelings. Punched or gouged out holes stating things like: ¡°No escape.¡± ¡°Repent your sins.¡± ¡°Fight the Andromedin Wasp Empire! Kill the Telepaths!¡± Lovely sentiments all around. ¡®Don¡¯t think about that Solomon. Positive thoughts now. Positive thoughts. It can get better. It will get better. Keep an eye out for more living trees or mushrooms or whatever.¡¯ So, I kept moving. Practising on anything that came too close. Regardless, it took most of the day to figure out what I was doing wrong in regards to [Fever]. Ironically enough, the idea came to me whilst setting up another ambush site after gaining a level. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The sandy layer of floor had given way to polished marble in the new section and floating balls of light served to illuminate the way forward, rather than the usual mushrooms. The walls were also straighter, forming perfect 90-degree angles as they touched the adjacent surfaces. It made forming trails for prey a little difficult, as I would need to make every layer fit with the others to mimic the perfectly even surfaces nearby. It was like filling out a puzzle in empty air, where a single slip of my hands might give the whole picture away. My illusions had gotten two of the giant moles into a single room. One where centipedes, eels, beetles, golden snails, shadow-trout, bone flowers, silver pumas and two of those famous robot bulls were slaughtering each other. Most of them had been sent by me, but the bulls had just kind of, shown up some time after the fight started. The first thing I noticed was that the bulls didn¡¯t register at all in my fog. Which made sense, them being machines and all. The second thing I noticed was that my illusions didn¡¯t affect the bulls either. Which made no sense at all, given that they were stimuli hanging in space. Robot or no, they shouldn¡¯t have been able to see through the visual screens I¡¯d put in place to herd the masses. That¡¯s when I started asking questions. What were the illusions anyway? If they were light-constructs, that would mean Telepaths could control light to some degree. If that was the case, why had no Telepath used illusions that could be caught on camera? Then I remembered the villainous Blackjack walking in front of the heroes and slipping right past them. The public had been outraged as they couldn¡¯t see the falsehoods befuddling the response teams. All they ever saw was their heroes standing around looking confused. Thunder Fist and Horizon were fine from a physical perspective. Neither had suffered so much as a scratch. They couldn¡¯t see what they¡¯d been hit by. Because the illusions existed, not in the regular world, but some sort of psychic void. The energy interacted with living beings to reproduce physical stimuli, mimicking sights, sounds and smells. It was the energy that was left behind when I used the ability, not a static amount of still light or chemicals that gave off scents. As soon as I figured this out, I tried to peer into one of my own works. Rather than being the usual filled air, it now looked as if it were a spark. A candle burning through wick in order to fool the senses. If that were the case, could the illusions be more, charged up? Could I empower an illusion? A quick test showed that I could so by placing more Psy into each forgery, wrapping layers of fuel around the floating tendrils that made up the core. In a way, it was like giving more wick to each candle. After a successful experiment, I applied the same lessons to [Fever]. This time, it worked like a charm.
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Static Illusion] 3 has grown to [Static Illusion] 4
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Fever] 2 has grown to [Fever] 3
Counting the earlier, legitimate level from killing monsters, this left me with 2 ability points to spend and a much greater understanding of what was going on. All that slaying served a purpose, but levelling via escalating hunts was impractical. After all, why risk life and limb when it was much easier and more expedient to train up the individual powers. It, kind of sucked that the upgrade still ate up free points, but it was still far more efficient than the hiding and sniping routine or even the devious mastermind routine I employed to boost my KD ratio. With these new lessons in mind, I moved on to another unexplored section of the maze. After taking my prize of course. Bunny man had mentioned that the bovine constructs had nutrient bars inside of them. This notion could very well be a side-effect of his, condition, but it wouldn¡¯t hurt to try. Stepping into the silent chamber where the melee broken out was easy. Keeping myself from vomiting was considerably harder. Viscera and offal coated the floor, creating a vile layer of bodily fluids from a menagerie of monsters. Some of these bore the telltale signs of my bolts whilst others appeared as though they¡¯d been crushed or mangled. In particular, both moles were missing their lobster arms and I soon realized the weapons had been torn off in the scuffle. Contrary to my expectations, the moles were not nearly as dangerous as a well-coordinated swarm of underlings. Worse yet had been the robot. Its chassis was bent and shattered where front legs met torso. Through the hole, I could see the barest glint of exposed wires and chrome. I approached slowly, dancing around the wreckage and making sudden motions in one direction after another. When no self-detonation occurred, I figured it was safe enough to inspect. The design itself was, serviceable. I guess. All hydraulics and synthetic muscle mounted on a heavy titanium frame. It was a few years behind what the guys and I had worked on under professor Maze, but that was to be expected. The only real standout was the power source. The battery itself was, well, impossible. Compact in the extreme whilst still being able to breathe life into the very hungry locomotion systems. To say it was valuable would be an understatement. A more apt description would be that my own professor and any of his graduate students would gladly murder me for it. It looked like any other battery one might buy in a store, only without a logo. However, it and it alone had given life to the lumbering drone. A drone that was bigger than a rhino and sported several inches of armor. There had to be a vast array of innovations locked away in this little package, but they would have to wait for later. For now, I was content to grab a woefully inadequate meal and count myself lucky. The bars were stiff and hard. All the same, any food would have a heavenly taste at this point. After all, I was starving. Those early symptoms had been there since I missed breakfast. Just about everyone gets cranky when they¡¯ve missed a meal, for good reason. From there it had been a slippery slope of fatigue, dizziness and poor concentration. Usually, this would¡¯ve had a negative impact on my training, given that it required so much focus. Paradoxically, the opposite was true. The hunger sharpened my willpower, growing my connection to the motes inside of me. It also got me thinking about what I had done thus far and how the lessons could be applied elsewhere. [Fear] had taken a bit of a backseat recently, mainly because of the close-range required. What if that wasn¡¯t the case anymore? What if it were possible to entrap the mote next to another mote, say [Mental Bolt]? Would that de-stabilize my attack or would it have an additional effect? It was this morbid curiosity that saw me clearing a nearby watering hole with my first ever combined blast. At first, the bolt took in more Psy, as it had done before. I made it spin around my orbit, going round and round, faster and faster. The air began to crackle and I held on to the whizzing orb of death while summoning the lesser strands from within me. They did not get along. If pushed, I would have to compare then to two magnets pushing against each other, only both were made of liquid and hissed like vipers every time they came close. More than once, I felt the grip I had on [Fear] give way while the bolt attempted to break free. Aches began to sprout from my stomach, but all of me was next to those two concepts, trying to marry them together. ¡°Remember your mantra. Happy thoughts. Positive thoughts. You¡¯ll make it through this. You always do.¡± I failed. Then I failed again and again. Cursing myself, I went to sleep after drinking as much water as I dared and doing my business in a distant dead-end. I dreamed of the sarcophagus. Of a blood-soaked needle leaving my body. A whisper grew in volume and intensity just behind me, promising the world, the moon and all the stars in the night sky. Worst of all, I dreamt of the abomination in the vault. Of torrential rains of bright-green acid melting his gaolers. It spoke to me sweetly and promised me enlightenment. All I had to do was surrender my mercy and my humanity. Embracing the crimson crown in all its majesty. Morning brought peace and more hunger besides. My brain cried out as I stood and a spell of dizziness sent me to the floor. Everything was harder now. More confused. The limb¡¯s I¡¯d been born with had become suspicious strangers, refusing all but the simplest commands. The smell of my own body, which had been so distracting earlier, was a mere afterthought. Whatever sad bits of cloth remained of my pajamas were thoroughly soiled, to the point where I genuinely couldn¡¯t imagine them ever being clean again. ¡°How many are left?¡±
Survivor Count: 781/1000
¡®Yeah. That sounds about right.¡¯ One deep breath later, I was ready to move again. It took two more tries before I was standing properly. From there, I wandered off into the unexplored areas of my map. ¡°Right. First priority. Find and take down as many bulls as I can. Another day of this might kill me if I¡¯m not careful. I need to eat something. I need to keep moving. I need to keep saving people.¡± As per my own wish, it didn¡¯t take long to find another person, and I soon settled behind an illusory wall, ready to make contact. Again. ¡®This time for sure.¡¯ I thought, jinxing the whole ordeal as I did so. They were located outside my map, but I could roughly guess they were right around the next corner. I narrowed my focus and allowed the signals to flow. The loose strings of energy came back to me, carrying the imprint of a male, thinking quickly and erratically. This new consciousness tasted of adrenaline and exhaustion. Feeling more like a thinking corpse parading itself as a man. Someone who had suffered immensely but refused to stay down due to sheer stubbornness and spite. I could relate on so many levels. ¡®Damn you! How dare a filthy savage like you try to kill me! Damn it! Damn you! Damn this whole place! I¡¯ll come back with the rest of my regiment and smoke the rest of you mud people out!¡¯ Huh. That was, different. ¡®On second thought. Maybe this wasn¡¯t the best time to look for friends. Yeah. I think I¡¯ll just step into this other passage right here and go in the opposite direction.¡¯ The fact that I had to do that sucked. Yet, I couldn¡¯t think of a better way at the moment. That guy sounded violent and more than a little peeved. To the point where going out to meet him could result in my skull being caved in with a sharp rock. Of course, there was always the chance that he was actually an upstanding pillar of the community, but I didn¡¯t feel like gambling with my life after everything I¡¯d been through so far. So, I sighed and moved away. Going up and around his position so that two different floors separated us. I climbed and climbed and climbed. Noting the way different patterns appeared on the walls as I went up. It wasn¡¯t like those words carved out by my fellow survivors, but rather, like the etchings of old European proto-societies. Carvings of centipedes and eels and other things besides them. There was a somber beauty to the way they¡¯d been etched onto the tunnels. Abstract artistry somehow finding a foothold in even this remote location. I felt a dull, throbbing pain in my stomach and massaged it lightly. Willfully ignoring the protests my own intestines were throwing out. ¡®I can¡¯t slow down. Not now. There¡¯s no telling how deep this cave is and there¡¯s no telling what else is waiting up there in the surface.¡¯ I dimly recalled videos of cave diving expeditions again. Specifically, those that had gone horrifically wrong. There was always the danger of a collapsing tunnel in natural cave formations. That and the threat of the whole structure flooding due to a rainstorm outside. More than one adventurer had met their end when their foot got stuck or after they wedged themselves too tightly in some passage or crevice. ¡®And of course, there¡¯s always the danger of carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide poisoning. There are monsters in here that can set fires and I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ve sensed Projectors using fire as well. All it would take was some sort of accelerant and the whole thing could be filled with smoke faster than I could run.¡¯ I shuddered again, clenched my teeth and kept moving. Cursing everyone else I¡¯d found under my breath. ¡®If there were two of us, we could have covered more ground since we wouldn¡¯t need to take breaks to recover Psy as often. If there had been three or four of us, we could have covered twice or thrice as much ground by this point. We could have made it to the surface. If I had somehow managed to form a group of six or ten, why, I might have made it outside by now.¡¯ If there even was a way outside. The deepest cave in the world should have been roughly two kilometres in depth and I was pretty sure I¡¯d climbed at least twice that much distance by now. Closing my eyes and focusing on the sections of [Mental Map] that had formed confirmed those suspicions. ¡®Meaning I can more or less rule out the possibility of this being a naturally-formed cave. But that only leads to more questions. Who could have possibly taken the time to dig all this? More importantly, why do this at all? If what the mastermind wanted was super-powered soldiers then it didn¡¯t make sense to have us dying down here like roaches scattering about a kitchen floor. Giving some powers can¡¯t be cheap or easy, so how could they waste such an investment of resources? Why not have us drilling in some gulag out in Siberia or a desert compound somewhere out in the middle of nowhere? What could they possibly hope to gain by bringing people from different dimensions?¡¯ It was no good. The more I thought about the options available to me, the more factors came into play. All serving to bring my hopes down even further. ¡®Then there¡¯s the issue of ventilation as well. Let¡¯s say there are a couple of hundred fires burning down here at any one time. A generous understatement, if my memories and observations are any indication. That means we should all be very, very dead. Carbon monoxide is one of those things living creatures don¡¯t take kindly to. Even high-Ranked Shifters and Enhancers need to breathe. Their cells still need oxygen in their blood to keep going. So how?¡¯ I stumbled. Landing on my shoulders before I knew it. Scraping some skin off as my body hit the floor. I grimaced. Sucking in a breath while also supressing any shouts or curses that might give away my position. I stood on stumbling legs. My vision turning blurry as I started moving again. ¡®Oh shoot. Did I jinx it? Ha. That would almost be funny.¡¯ My stomach growled then. More fiercely than before. ¡®Ah, of course. It¡¯s the hunger. Naturally.¡¯ I hadn¡¯t seen another edible mushroom so far and hadn¡¯t found anything else to eat either. It stood to reason that my body would start shutting down right about now. I clenched my teeth and looked for a nearby safe zone. Deciding to take a break and drink some water until I was well enough to walk again. Unfortunately, it seemed like there wasn¡¯t anywhere to rest nearby. So, I kept moving upwards. Hoping against hope that the world didn¡¯t drop a massive (Centipede) on me right now. I went on for another half hour before I fell once more. This time managing to catch myself on a wall before hitting the floor. Then I went on for another fifteen minutes before the same thing happened. I was no stranger to dizziness, but these sensations were miles away from those brought on by strong drink. I was¡­ I felt, empty. Like there was something missing within me. An ache that now ran down my arms and legs. Turning all my limbs to clumsy sticks of iron. ¡®I need to rest.¡¯ A part of me thought. ¡®There are still monsters out here.¡¯ Another part of me bit back. Throwing another charged [Mental Bolt] to a passing puma stalking prey one floor above me. My eyes went to my status then. Confirming that I still had 50 Psy left. It wasn¡¯t great, so I would need to ration them until I found another safe zone. I tried to get up and found my legs wanting. They wobbled like warm jelly. Refusing to take my weight on. I managed to catch myself before hitting the floor once more, though one of my legs scraped against a nearby rock. ¡®Right. That¡¯s not going to work. Just a little snooze then.¡¯ A sweet, tempting voice whispered within me. The rest of me jumped up. Sweating bullets as my brain went over all the ways in which doing such a thing would be tantamount to suicide. ¡°I can¡¯t stay here.¡± I told myself. Speaking the words out loud in the hope that they¡¯d lend me strength. ¡°There are too many monsters and too many dangerous loons around. This might be some, alternate dimension or something, but that doesn¡¯t mean the regular spelunking rules don¡¯t apply. I need to find an exit. I need to keep moving. I need¡­ I need¡­.¡± ¡®Food.¡¯ My spirit finished, as my muscles sagged with exhaustion. I recall struggling to rise. To move. To get back to searching. But my eyelids felt as if entire continents were dragging them down. So, very heavy. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid.¡± I murmured. ¡°Get up. You have to live. For Dad and Mom. For Henry and Vince and Luigi. You can¡¯t die here. They deserve to know what happened at least. Get up. Get¡­¡± The world turned black, and I was sucked into a shallow sleep. One that was interrupted when I sensed bloodshed coming from above me. A fight ensuing between some amorphous mass and a lobster-mole. I tried to move, but my legs would not obey. Instead, sharp, blinding arcs of agony lanced their way up my limbs. The soreness biting at my very bones to keep me in place. I didn¡¯t relent. Biting my lips and summoning whatever meager scraps of energy I had left so that I could rise and move and run. I did manage to rise, but moving was more of a chore than I recalled. My eyelids were still falling despite my best efforts. My whole being feeling like a deflated balloon that some else was carrying. I felt weak. Vulnerable in a whole different manner than before. Chills and goosebumps crawling up my back as I felt the fight atop me getting out of hand. Then, within the span of a single heartbeat, the mole struck the ground beneath it and collapsed the ceiling above me. Reeling as it made to charge. I instinctively called on [Hide] and [Precognition]. Finding the one future where I wasn¡¯t crushed beneath the thing¡¯s bulk and erasing all traces from my presence as I moved out of the monster¡¯s way. My strings showed me the way and I managed to leap sideways into a smooth section of wall. Pressing myself against the stony surface like my life depended on it. Probably because it did. The charging behemoth did not notice, or if it did, it didn¡¯t care overmuch. I sighed in relief. Losing the usual focus I had on my surroundings as I slowly collapsed back down unto the floor. Only to find something soft and squishy waiting for me. I looked down, barely having enough energy left to re-summon my fog. There, below me, was an amorphous blob of something. Some creature that was very, very happy that I landed atop it. Its feelers started wrapping around me, before I had the chance to flee. I pulled away from it. Screaming in a panic as I used my arms and legs to crawl away while also loosing a [Mental Bolt] and [Fever] in its direction. To my growing horror, the amoeba didn''t so much as flinch. It started extending tentacles outward, in a manner that reminded me of what I''d learned of single-celled predators. How they would envelop their prey before digesting them alive. ¡®Goodness gracious!¡¯ It¡¯s mind squirmed. ¡®You¡¯re this strong!? This early!? You¡¯re the best! You and I are going to be best friends forever!¡¯ Chapter 15: Best Friends Forever. Chapter 15: Best Friends Forever. Luigi was laughing. A loud, raucous sound that threatened to bring down the bowling alley. Henry and Vince were laughing too, though they at least had the decency to stifle their giggles. ¡°Yeah. Yeah. Chuck it up you guys. I¡¯m sure you can do so much better.¡± I spat back with faux outrage. As it turned out, I was right on the money. They could do much better. Vince was knocking at least six pins with every attempt. Henry was getting upwards of eight. Luigi, the fat oaf, was getting perfect strikes. Every time. I, of course, accused him of being a dirty cheater and using loaded balls or something. Luigi had laughed harder. He laughed so hard his lungs couldn¡¯t keep up with the weight of his frame, causing his face to change colour. ¡°I¡¯m not cheating, stupid. You¡¯re just that bad. Clumsy as drunk cow driving a bumper car and almost as blind. I bet you could replace your fingers with carrots and somehow improve your score.¡± ¡°Mooooo goes the loser.¡± Henry added, to the delight of a few passing youths. ¡°Mooooo.¡± Vince agreed. ¡°Stop hitting the sauce before coming to play if you want to hit something!¡± ¡°Other than his own foot you mean!¡± They¡¯d all laugh themselves breathless. So much so, that I was laughing alongside them before I knew it. That night, we¡¯d been daft enough to eat the burgers sold at the bowling alley. Partaking in meat so dodgy, Vince swore up and down it had come from a viper-bear¡¯s backside. In retrospect, he might¡¯ve been completely right. That patty felt like lava going in and burned like a collapsing star going out. Luigi had declared an eternal blood feud against the establishment and for the next few years, told anyone who¡¯d listen that he¡¯d survived an assassination attempt. The memories blurred more and more with time. Fogging over until I could no longer recognize the lad¡¯s faces. That first breath I took upon waking might have been the sweetest of my entire life thus far. The air tasted of miracles and survival. Of freedom. Each subsequent intake felt even better in my lungs. They allowed me to begin processing the day¡¯s events. To know what had gone wrong. ¡°I¡¯m still alive. I¡¯m still alive. How? What happened?¡± I realized, with a start, that I couldn¡¯t feel my broken leg. Immediately, I looked down and found my body covered by a thick layer of¡­. Something. Whatever it was, it was skin tight, but not constricting in any way. It had just the right amount of flexibility to feel liberating while still giving off an aura of toughness. Moreover, it was warm and nice. All of me felt good, like I was receiving one big hug from my parents. ¡®Good morning, friend!¡¯ Said my new suit. ¡®I see you¡¯re up and ready! That¡¯s great! I wasn¡¯t able to fix your leg, but I¡¯m stopping the pain and keeping it in a leg-shaped cast. You¡¯ll be walking with the best of them! Even with all your bones there being broken! Let¡¯s go out there and become the strongest, nicest Esper we can be!¡¯
System Notice: Student has successfully bonded with a protective Symbiote. Student¡¯s Psy will be routinely drained
Equipment: Inferior Symbiote (Psy: 100 / 100) No Store Tokens available. No special Tokens Available.
Inferior Symbiote (Symbiote) (Common) (Psy:100 / 100) An artificial lifeform found in all sections of the labyrinth, as well as all system stores. This specimen is part of the lowest Tier of symbiotes. This specimen does not grant significant bonuses to ability usage. Can replicate the shape and properties of most non-imbued equipment. Can absorb minute amounts of damage as long as Psy is provided. Can regulate temperature and air supply as long as Psy is provided. Can administer basic wound care as long as Psy is provided. Can administer nutrients from its own meals directly to host as long as Psy is provided. Can be upgraded by Student using specialized materials.
Survivor Count: 658/1000
Swearing felt natural. Felt good. I¡¯d been trying to cut back on the habit in anticipation of my upcoming employment, but there were some situations where it couldn¡¯t be helped. ¡®Wow friend! You have a lot of funny words! I think they mean¡­mammalian reproduction?¡¯ The stream of curses continued. ¡®Wow friend. You really are fixated on reproduction! I guess that¡¯s normal with primates, but its still surprising.¡¯ This lovely back and forth kept going for roughly 10 minutes. At that point, all the bottled-up emotions popped like a balloon. It was a weird state of mind, where the strangeness took a back seat to the fact that I was still alive and seemingly whole. I read the messages over once, before combing through all of them again to make sure I wasn¡¯t missing anything. Then I started a round of introductions with my new, uh, suit. Sadly, it ended prematurely when one of my feet touched a desiccated corpse on the ground. Around it were the other discarded leavings of the sludge. Somewhere, in the back of my skull, a memory of Vince resurfaced. He was saying something about movie plot holes and how seeing one makes him have an hour¡¯s worth of musings in the span of two seconds. I was pretty sure that was happening to me now. ¡®Can administer nutrients from its own meals directly to host as long as Psy is provided.¡¯ Another twitch made my boot-covered toes scrape against the shell. ¡®Can administer nutrients from its own meals directly to host as long as Psy is provided.¡¯ The sludge had been carrying a pile of monsters. All dead for who knows how long. ¡®Can administer nutrients from its own meals directly to host as long as Psy is provided.¡¯ Thankfully, whatever link had formed between me and the parasite was very good at transmitting information. The face covering opened right as I started to heave. Very little came out. ¡®Are you okay friend? Are you sick? You need to take care of yourself if you¡¯re sick!¡¯ I ignored the advice. I was too disgusted to process it. And I continued to be disgusted for some time after that. ¡°Where, where did their insides go?¡± I managed. ¡®Into each and every one of my cells! I can form multiple stomachs anywhere on my body! From there, 10% of my stored calories, proteins and vitamins went directly into your bloodstream! You are as well-fed as I could manage. Aren¡¯t I great?¡¯ Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. My Psy roiled in response, ready to strike like a threatened viper. It didn¡¯t take. It didn¡¯t flow. Not against the suit. My power recognized it as, part of me. ¡°Remember your mantra. Happy thoughts. Positive thoughts. You¡¯ll make it through this. You always do.¡± One little breakdown later, I was finally ready to move forward. I mean, sure, this was a complete violation of my boundaries and sense of self and sure, I¡¯d been injected with monster juices, but there were upsides. For one, I was alive. Also, I was now fully clothed. In a sense. No pebbles though, so good overall result. Yes. Yes indeed. Positive thoughts all around. No negative Nancy¡¯s here. No sir. I got up, feeling rested and full. I stretched, making sure nothing was out of the ordinary. Then I threw myself on the ground and tried rolling from side to side. I went all over the place, jostling the tattered scraps that used to be my pajamas as well as the bodies. The suit remained in place. Worse, it started talking to me again. ¡®Are you under attack friend!? Is someone taking control of you!? Fight it! I believe in you! We can overcome anything together! Believe in the power of friendship! Believe in the bond we share!¡¯ ¡°The bond we share is what I¡¯m trying to break!¡± I shouted without thinking. It was at that moment that I remembered this thing had access to my bloodstream and a cold chill crept up my spine. ¡®Why would you say that friend? That¡¯s not nice. I helped you get to safety and I put your bones back together. All I want is for you to be happy.¡¯ Another chill. Another tremor. I needed to get free. I needed it to get off. But I couldn¡¯t target it. Desperation clouded my thinking, urging me to find some way, any way, out of this situation. Immediately, I recalled that [Fear] didn¡¯t require a target. It hit anything within the radius. Just like [Fever]. Thusly, in a move that some might have considered imbecilic, I charged up a cocktail of the two abilities. By some miracle, the strings did not reject each other as my earlier experiments with the bolts had. Instead, the intertwined and mixed their colouring. Fueled by adrenaline, more Psy was shoved in. I kept it up until the payload was slipping through my proverbial fingers and actively shaking off my grip. It was a bomb of raw psionic might, unstable in the extreme. I set it free all around me and for the first time since the visions, felt the weight of my own skill. While nowhere near as bad as that time, it was still horrible. Every nightmare I ever had came back to me at once, followed by a crippling heat in my brain. I was overheating, sweating like never before. There were more chills now, all along my back and limbs. Terrible fits of shuddering that made me vibrate with the effort of staying alive. It only got worse. Thinking back, the signals that came from monsters afflicted by just one of these abilities were dreadful. I¡¯d never considered that it could happen to me. Never imagined that pain inside me. It brought a morbid understanding as it washed over me. I wasn¡¯t throwing viruses whenever I attacked a mass of centipedes. I was sending a flower of Psy, arranged in a different way than the bolts. I commanded the neurons to simulate a fever and so they did. I commanded that the symptoms be more severe, and so they were. From my perspective, I was merely thinning the herd and setting up or finalizing an ambush. I couldn¡¯t have known what it was like, how terrifying the experience could be when coupled with my aura of torment. There was no logic behind it. There didn¡¯t need to be. I was putting out orders for monsters to fear me. And so, they did. It was all energy taking different flavours. Kind of like forcing an ice cream swirl down someone¡¯s throat. Or brain, I guess. ¡°I¡¯m going to die.¡± I said bluntly. ¡°After all that struggle, my own power will have killed me.¡± ¡®Serves me right. For being so stupid.¡¯ The heatstroke was too much all at once. Worse, this was only the beginning. The ability was stuck to me like flies on dung. Orbiting nearby, befouling me further. Pulses of Psy emanated from the bomb every fraction of a second, beating me down as it had so many monsters. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to die here.¡± ¡°Not like this. There¡¯s got to be something¡­ Something I could so. I don¡¯t want to die.¡± The waves washed over me in solemn silence. They rose like the tide, drowning me. Enlightenment blossomed as I felt myself be submerged. I had made the construct and I should be able to unmake it. Yes, it was clearer now. How much of me was inside the ocean. All the waters were of my making, woven of differently coloured strings that led inside me. I had imagined that any connections were severed after I threw an attack, but some lingering mark remained. All those hours upon hours of practicing helped me put the pieces into place. Those strings were more alike than I realized and they could all fit together in some kind of way. Right now, I was too blind to see it, but the way did exist. It had to. The suit had gone completely silent, shifting its mass in such a way as to provide as much cool air as possible to my head. The bits that were still connected began to reduce their own body temperature as well. ¡°You¡¯re trying to keep me alive.¡± I said, all reason being washed away by the depth of my stupor. ¡®Of course! You¡¯re my friend now! The only one for me! I swear I¡¯ll never let you down! I¡¯ll never betray you! I¡¯ll be there for you no matter what! Because you bonded with me and became my best friend forever!¡¯ I tried to grasp that mind, that inner voice. The link between us was solid, immovable. I couldn¡¯t tell where I ended and it began. Befuddled as I was, I expressed myself in a different manner. Using emotions instead of words. Images and smells instead of proper language. I felt it. What it wanted. What it feared. Its unwavering sincerity in wanting to help me. The torrent flowed into me and after all the rejection and the abuse, I couldn¡¯t help but reciprocate it. Instead, I began to shift my Psy inside my body, uplifting the shell I was trapped in so that it rose above the murk. One by one, all my current abilities came to life, draining a little bit of my remaining influence from the attack and thereby unraveling the edges. Shaken, the candle of [Fever] and [Fear] melted faster and faster and faster. ¡°So strange.¡± ¡®What is it friend?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ve been doing this less than a week, but it all feels so familiar.¡± ¡®Of course, it does! You¡¯re you!¡¯ I sent more messages back and forth, carrying the insecurities I felt. Delirium had fully set in by this point, crushing all filters I might have had. ¡°I don¡¯t understand. This whole place. This whole system. The levels, they change me. Make me into more of a Telepath. I don¡¯t want to be a Telepath. I want to be a hero. I want to help people.¡± ¡®Why don¡¯t you want to be a Telepath?¡¯ It asked innocently. ¡°Because they¡¯re bad people. They hurt others, control them. Make them think things they don¡¯t want to think. Do things they don¡¯t want to do. I don¡¯t want to be like that. I don¡¯t want the levels to make me like that. I need the strength to keep me alive, but I hate what it does to me. I hate being this good at controlling the power.¡± Vexation was transmitted to me. ¡®There might be similarities between Students, but all of them fuel themselves with Psy. That source comes from you and you alone. You are the beginning and the end. It is born from your concept and limited by your experience or lack thereof. Gaining levels isn¡¯t changing who you are, it is becoming more of your true self. This you, right now, is more real than the old you ever was. I think you know that, friend. Even without me having to tell you.¡¯ It paused for a moment, unsure if It should continue. ¡®For what it worth. I think you¡¯re the best Student in this whole labyrinth. You don¡¯t need to help anyone. Others might need the support of a team, but getting this good this fast means most others will slow you down, even in this tutorial reserved for the elite. But you still went out and helped. That means you¡¯re a very prosocial friend. Besides that, you¡¯re my friend and you¡¯re great. Don¡¯t let anyone tell you otherwise.¡¯ Alien as the creature was, those reassurance brought me comfort. They steadied me as I used everything left inside to erode the Psy assailing me. When that wasn¡¯t enough, I also activated [Precognition]. I refused to die. Not after finally getting a grip. If I had to suffer more visions to live, then so be it. As expected, the golden threads expedited the process by a thousandfold. I was shown the perfect way to move every single iota of my reserves, as well as how to degrade the instrument of my downfall. Once more, I felt confidence unlike anything I¡¯d felt before. That jubilation was transmitted to my friend and he giggled in response. The two of us talked like that for hours, laying on the floor of the sealed chamber, not caring for what was happening outside. When the effects of my attack lifted, I had new notifications in front of me.
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Fever] 3 has grown to [Fever] 4
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Fear] 1 has grown to [Fear] 3
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Message] 2 has grown to [Message] 4
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Gained: [Friendship] 1 has been added to the Status.
Ability Gained: [Meditation] 1 has been added to the Status.
Ability Evolving: [Meditation] 1 has grown to [Meditation] 2
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 2/180
Type: Telepath Level 26
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 3 / [Message] 4 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 4 / [Fear] 3 / [Static Illusion] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 2 / [Precognition] 4 / [Friendship] 1 / [Meditation] 2
Ability Points: 0
Standing up was, different. I felt so much, tranquility. Ideas weren¡¯t popping in from stress. I wasn¡¯t being reminded of all my failures and shortcomings. Intrusive insults weren¡¯t stabbing into me. Instead, I was fully aware of what had happened, how I had survived and what my options were. All without my subconscious undermining me. Without the reminders of what my powers could do. I looked at my screen, towards the newest ability in my repertoire. ¡®Is everything all right friend?¡¯ ¡°Yes. I¡¯m good. Better than I¡¯ve been in days. I¡­ realized some things towards the end. You were right. You helped me see when I was blind. My actions are my own. There is no future, other than the one I make for myself.¡± ¡®Ha ha! You¡¯re funny friend! That was obvious from the beginning!¡¯ I smiled wryly. ¡°Not to me.¡± Chapter 16: Meditations. Chapter 16: Meditations. Hunting for the rest of the day yielded no more levels. Not that I expected any. [Meditation] allowed me to sense Psy far more clearly than before and regenerate it faster than ever, even while in motion. My hunting speed had therefore skyrocketed without the constant need for breaks or the constant drag of fatigue. Yet, with those improved feelings came a greater understanding of the levelling process. I had grown too strong, too fast. Nothing in my near vicinity came even close to posing a threat. Not that I let my guard down of course. The old adage still rang true. Pride cometh before the fall; which is a fancy way to say people who think they¡¯re untouchable tend to get their teeth kicked in sooner rather than later. Case in point, any of the regular monsters I was passing could have killed me in seconds if they actually figured out where I was. No, the problem was one of challenge, in that, I was not being forced to go beyond my current limits in any of the fights I had ended during the past few hours. For example, all my training with [Mental Bolt] had focused on how I could supercharge a strike or trying to bypass the cooldown. What I hadn¡¯t realized until acquiring this new perspective was that I had also slowly adjusted the delivery of each bolt as I fought over the course of days. In the beginning, I was pooling energy together and sending it off, without any care or forethought other than picking the target. By the second day, I¡¯d been subconsciously leading the bolt towards my target even after firing. Now, I was able to fully move it around mid-flight, making it spiral and sharpen its edge to better penetrate the stronger monster¡¯s innate resistances. As for those resistances, they all had a lesser awareness that they used to dampen blows. That was why stronger monsters with more Psy had endured more than one bolt or survived my [Fever]. Now, my own abilities were so strong they could overwhelm the centipedes, the eels, the rabbits, the moles and the beetles with little issue. Besides all those reasons, there was something else that I couldn¡¯t properly describe. A nagging sensation at the back of my head that a vital piece of the puzzle was eluding me. It¡¯d started when I fully opened up to Buddy and more or less accepted what I was. Since then, I¡¯d become restless, not sure whether to release or supress this new, familiar echo. I kept having that dream too. The one where I would find myself in my old bedroom, wearing my old pajamas. It, somehow became more and more disturbing the more I revisited. The corners and the walls whispering more frequently and more ferociously. Beating me down from all sides within the dream. That was definitely annoying, but it was a minor issue in the grander scheme of things. The greatest problem was that I had hit a ceiling. My regular hunting methods were very well-adapted to surviving down here in the Labyrinth, but they were not allowing me to level as I¡¯d previously done. Of course, there were other ways to level besides hunting. I had gained levels before, when I made breakthroughs with my abilities or acted in such a way that I received new ones. That was how I had gotten my hands on [Meditation] and [Friendship] after all. Which meant the only way I¡¯d advance was through experimentation. To that end, I was trying something a little different. ¡°Hello there scamp. Can I call you scamp?¡± The mandibles clacked in a different way than before, faster and more upbeat. ¡®Yes yes. This blood bag can call me scamp. Yes.¡¯ Both my fog and the link I¡¯d created with [Message] buzzed with conflicting emotions. The centipede in front of me was hungry and perfectly aware that I had just killed its comrades. Yet, it saw me as an ally. Well, maybe that was too strong a word. It saw me as a thing that gave it happy feelings. Yeah, that was more apt. [Friendship] wasn¡¯t as benevolent as it sounded. What it did was activate the ¡®feel good¡¯ part of the brain while a conversation was in place. Like a sinister roofie that deluded one to perceive the attacking party more favourably. Moreover, the target wouldn¡¯t know I was the source unless I pointed it out. With that established, I was trying to see how much I could get away with while the ability was still in effect. ¡°So, buddy. Can you jump for me?¡± ¡®I don¡¯t want to jump.¡¯ ¡°Really? I think you¡¯ll feel a lot better if you jump.¡± I injected a snippet of Psy into the conversation, giving it a taste of pleasure. As I did so, a stream of bile threatened to overflow from within my stomach. Memories of the tall man and the community center breaking free of their suppression to remind me of what I could become if I went down this path. My teeth clenched as I willed my focus back to the skittering horror before me. This was not the time. This was not the place. What I was doing was different. This wasn¡¯t mind-control. Only encouragement. I¡¯m not evil. Definitely not. Its mind hummed in response, then tried to claw itself back to its original position. ¡®I want to feel good, but I don¡¯t want to jump.¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s fine, but I won¡¯t give you the happy feelings unless you jump.¡± It went back into itself, wrangling the possibilities in its tiny brain. After a few seconds, it came up with the smartest answer it could conjure. ¡®No. I want to feel good without jumping.¡¯ ¡°Welp.¡± I said, standing back a bit. ¡°That really is a shame. I was hoping for more out of this.¡± ¡®Why are you leaving?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m not leaving, I just don¡¯t want ichor on my new suit.¡± As the words left my mouth, I struck a dramatic pose and said the fated incantation. ¡°You are already dead!¡± ¡®What?¡¯ It asked, with visible confusion. ¡°Wrong choice of words.¡± I snickered as the chitin covered skull exploded with a satisfying squelch. The silence that followed was deafening. ¡°Yeah. That was bad and I should feel bad.¡± Childish play acting aside, the string of failures was a bummer. Even after all that experimenting, the prospect of having an army of goons standing between me and danger wasn¡¯t looking too bright. Maybe it was the low baseline for intelligence. Maybe it was the fact I¡¯d just killed its brood. Probably a mix of both in all honesty. Though perhaps it was for the best. I¡¯d had these eerie feelings all throughout the experiments. A strange sense of Deja-vu, followed by a tightness in my chest and throat. Within me, the deep dark lake stirred. Dancing strings of power flailing like reeds within a storm. From beneath the water, slithering wisps tried to escape and breach the surface. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. It might¡¯ve been a physiological reaction to the dubious morality of taming monsters. It might¡¯ve been something else entirely. Regardless of the underlying reason, I was left with no recourse but to continue slaughtering my way through this dank cave all by my lonesome. Okay, maybe not by my lonesome. ¡°How are you doing Buddy?¡± ¡®I¡¯m great!¡¯ Said the parasite clinging to me. Big round eyes had formed on my chest, a little above my pectoral muscles. Their owner stared up at me, lovingly stretching to devour the last of the monsters in order to sustain us both. I¡¯d be lying if I said it wasn¡¯t unsettling, but I¡¯d gotten used to it by now. Funny how much humans are able to cope with in order to avoid starvation. Though, I would have kept him even without that function. Before, I was a lowly peon trudging along in the rags that used to be my pajamas. Now, I was happily spelunking in what looked like a crimson astronaut suit, complete with a thick transparent helmet, built-in air conditioning and most importantly, boots. Not just shoes, but thick, sturdy boots. Lovely coverings that kept my feet all nice and cozy and free from the sting of pebbles every dammed step I took in this forsaken pit of despair. Dear merciful buddha how I missed having boots. It was one of those things you never thought about until you found yourself bereft of their comfort. Taking a deep, appreciative breath, I swore to myself that I would never again deign to go barefoot. ¡®Hehe. You sure do think of silly things Sully. Of course, you won¡¯t have to worry about that. You have me and I¡¯ll never abandon you. Never ever! Because you are my best friend!¡¯ ¡°Glad to hear it buddy. You about done?¡± ¡®Oh yeah. Nutrients coming through!¡¯ I didn¡¯t feel any different, but the feeling of satiation hadn¡¯t left me, so I took it in stride. Moving on, we continued to set up ambushes and organize instances of inter-monster violence. All while practising different ways of mixing the [Fear] and the [Fever]. It wasn¡¯t something to be taken lightly as I felt myself getting traumatic flashbacks from the emotions my victims gave off, but the struggle was its own reward. The presence of [Meditation] could also be felt throughout. Before, I¡¯d been plagued by incessant bouts of indecision. Questioning every other thing I did with an endless tirade of what ifs? Stopping by every single corner and using [Precognition] to scout out the surrounding tunnels three times over before finally deciding it was free of traps. Now, I could feel comfortable enough in my own skills to restrain myself to one use per intersections. Relying instead on other cues. Like the presence of uneaten monster corpses for example. If something down here wasn¡¯t devoured or crushed, chances were good that a trap had gotten to them. Mutated plants and animals would have slurped them up otherwise, whereas robots would have mashed them into a bloody pulp. Furthermore, I found that I was able to sleep better thanks to [Meditation] as well. The dreams weren¡¯t gone, per se. But they were more subdued. More bearable. That change alone was worth all the points that it had sucked up. I felt more, confident. More self assured. To the point where I started to look forward to exploring new areas. I was still wrestling with the idea that going up was fruitless, given how so many people from different dimensions had wound up down here with me. Yet, with [Mediation], I found that I could cope. Breathing in and out became more rhythmical. More of a controlled trance. I could push away my fears and my doubts and focus on what I could do, instead of worrying about what I couldn¡¯t change. ¡®This maze is probably just a basement that someone powerful dug up. It may not be my world, but there has to be a border somewhere. Some way to the surface. Creating a whole subdimension just for this would be a waste of time for anyone powerful enough to actually do it.¡¯ ¡®What¡¯s a subdimension Sully?¡¯ ¡®I¡­I don¡¯t know how to explain it. I know physics, but I¡¯m not a physicist. Think of it like a bubble in empty space or a place that has no defined beginning or end. So that it loops around itself.¡¯ ¡®Neat! What are you going to do if the Labyrinth is a subdimension?¡¯ I shuddered. Willing [Meditation] to overtake me and to drive away my doubts. My mind was immediately calmed. As if by some outside influence. Each of my thoughts falling into place without any hint of panic. At least, not when I compared the current me with the me from last week. ¡®I guess we¡¯ll see when we get to that point.¡¯ I answered Buddy. In truth, I wouldn¡¯t even know where to start. This whole time, I¡¯d been moving on the assumption that there would be an end to it. That I could escape if I simply kept moving upwards. It made sense, after all. There was definitely a breeze, which meant there was air coming in from somewhere else. Besides that, all the safe rooms had running water, yet I hadn¡¯t found a single one that had been flooded. Which suggested that the grates were connected to pumps as I had originally suspected and that there was a sewer system that constantly allowed water to drain out of chambers. That suggested electricity, which suggested normal human engineering which suggested that this was one big man-made cave. ¡®Yeah. That¡¯s all well and good. But it still doesn¡¯t explain the inverted gravity back at the pit. Nor does it address all that raw gold lining the walls. A fistful of that could have made me and anyone else on earth a millionaire. Yet, if I accept that this place was man-made, I¡¯m also accepting that someone was either rich or stupid enough to leave literal metric tons of gold just sitting around. Also, I haven¡¯t run into any breathing issues yet. Which means the ventilation in this place has to be top notch given how massive it is. Which is weird because I haven¡¯t seen any air vents yet.¡¯ Furthermore, there was the System to consider. Whatever it was, it wasn¡¯t some mechanical implant. It couldn¡¯t be. There were too many moving parts to this puzzle and too many inconsistencies with how machines worked. My levelling was too inconsistent. Too dependant on my actual progress rather than numbers going up by themselves. The more I called on [Meditation] the more I felt each individual strand of power within my lake. It was, a calming sense of control. A feeling that things were not truly out of my hands, even at this juncture. A knowledge that spoke of conquest and domination. Whispering assurances in my ear as I felt my own strength in comparison to that of the monsters around me. ¡®Stop that, fool.¡¯ I chided myself. ¡®Never forget that pride is a slow and insidious killer. You are physically weak and surrounded by things that are physically strong. Get yourself together.¡¯ I called upon my Psy to [Hide] me and sent out another volley of [Fever] to a group of eels. Feeling their deaths through my fog as if I¡¯d been standing right next to them. Again, no level was forthcoming. I sucked in a breath and allowed my mind to wander for the moment. ¡®Right then. Time to face the facts. This is probably not a man-made cave. At least, not a regular one. There is a chance that it could be some alternate dimension or pocket dimension. Maybe even another planet entirely. If that¡¯s the case, then heading up might be futile. There might not be anything in the surface. Nothing that can help me, in any case.¡¯ I released the breath, as well as some of the tension on my shoulders. ¡°But there¡¯s no other option right now.¡± I spoke aloud. ¡°If I stay put, I¡¯ll eventually run out of food or air or both. Not to mention that there¡¯s no telling how long the water will keep flowing. For all I know, the water-pumping system could be close to malfunctioning or the mastermind might decide to turn it off for (Centipede)s and giggles.¡± That was also true. Regardless of the nature of this place, it remained an underground biome. Therefore, logic dictated that it must lead to somewhere on the surface. Whether that was earth or some other place, only time would tell. For me, there was no choice but to keep positive thoughts in my mind and keep heading upwards. Hopefully coming closer to freedom. A queer feeling of coldness began to set in after another day of hunting and setting ambushes. It wasn¡¯t exactly noticeable at first, merely a few momentary chills over the course of the day. My attention was still focused on self-improvement or rather, the lack thereof. I was pulling off bigger ambushes by the hour, yet could find no good way to make a breakthrough. Psionic bolts and bombs went off and did their thing without resistance and my way became clear for another few hundred metres. Over and over again. The day after that revealed no more secrets either. Although I did notice a distinct lack of people the higher, I went. There had been more deaths of course, but not so much as to explain the barren tunnels my map was capturing. ¡°Hey Buddy. Are you sure you don¡¯t remember anything before the labyrinth?¡± ¡®Nope! I already told you Sully. I was born here. I knew some things about myself since then and that was that. Oh! And I knew I wanted a friend like you!¡¯ ¡°So, you really don¡¯t know what¡¯s above us?¡± ¡®Rocks! Duh!¡¯ ¡°No Buddy. I meant above those rocks.¡± ¡®More rocks?¡¯ ¡°I mean. Yes. I think. That¡¯s not¡­uhm.¡± ¡®You sound frustrated Sully. Is it something I said?¡¯ ¡°No Buddy. You¡¯re doing great. I really appreciate you and I couldn¡¯t have gotten this far without you.¡± Which was true, incidentally. My pace had dramatically increased since getting Buddy on board. One of the many little perks of not starving to death. Or being poisoned by fluorescent mushrooms. Back then, I¡¯d been desperate enough to consider the proposition, consequences be dammed. Inescapable hunger does that to otherwise rational minds. Bending perception until any old scrap looks as tantalizing as an all-you-can-eat buffet. If pressed, I could even recall snippets of conversation between a few of my friends on the Biology Majors talking about how otherwise tame herbivores wouldn¡¯t think twice about swallowing small critters if times got tough. Sheep, horses, cows, deer, squirrels, giraffes, you name it and its probably eaten a few baby birds here and there to top off an otherwise green diet. Thankfully, my ever-reliable Buddy could filter such trifles out before sending vitamins into me and all was well and good. So long as I didn¡¯t think too hard about how those proteins made their way into my bloodstream. Alas, some topics are better left unexplored, though I had a sinking feeling that it bore striking resemblance to an IV drip. Those snacks were becoming scarcer as I trudged along. For some reason, the monster population grew thinner the more I climbed. Previously, I¡¯d be lucky to walk up a set of stairs without having to worry about a swarm descending on me from hidden crevices in the ceiling. Now, I could go half an hour before finding a cluster. Less paranoid individuals might have rejoiced. Instead, I was bombarded by waves of stress, absolutely convinced that there was a catch. [Meditation] pushed the feelings down and even banished the larger, irrational concerns. But that still left me with the completely rational ones. If the monsters were less prevalent here, then that could be due to three causes. The first was that a group of people with similar levels of power to myself were out overhunting. It was a simple notion and one that might just be the true cause of the scarcity. Yet, I hadn¡¯t run into any people for some time either. The second option was that the monsters were simple less prevalent here due to traps of the temperature. Again, completely possible. It was getting pretty bloody cold now and insects couldn¡¯t regulate their temperature as well as mammals could, at least, as far as I was aware. The third and most worrying option, was that something else was hunting the smaller monsters. An apex predator that thinned the population to such a degree as to be plainly obvious to anyone paying attention. ¡®Any one of these could be the reason. Yet, why doesn¡¯t it feel like any one is right?¡¯ It was nothing more than hunch on my part. An ill feeling at the base of my skull. Yet I could not banish it from my mind. I felt as though¡­. The truth might be a combination of all three factors. Instead of any one. I sneezed within Buddy¡¯s protective suit and asked him to lower the see-through membrane making up the visor so I could clean myself up. Then I called upon [Meditation] once more. Willing myself to focus on the here and now. Whatever the truth was, there was nothing else to do, but train. Hoping that, when the chips were down, it would be enough. Chapter 17: A Chance Encounter. Chapter 17: A Chance Encounter. I turned a few corners and follow along some straight passages while keeping a lookout for more centipedes or eels or moles or whatever else decided to make an appetizer out of me. With a grunt of effort, I sniped one of the moles when it came into range. I then tried to find a detour that would allow me to reach it in order for Buddy to top off his reserves. Goose prickles erupted all over my skin as I took note of a large antechamber. Cobbled paths that crisscrossed each other around a dried-out fountain greeted me, barely illuminated by motes of green and red light floating in midair. At its center was a trio of metal statues depicting dancing children. Rust trailed down from their hollow eyes where running water might have flowed. ¡°Nice. This definitely doesn¡¯t scream B-rated slasher film.¡± Unlike the normal resting spots, there weren¡¯t any doors on this one, and there seem to be multiple entrances. Stone stairs were carved into the walls, leading to rocky balconies adorned with withered roots. Other than that, it was a similar deal as before. A steady stream raining down from the ceiling into the middle of the room, flowing down several stone grates. Almost as if the rooms are slight variations of each other. Of the same rough template. Looking at it from that perspective, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder what the architect was on. If the designer was even human. Artificial intelligence could theoretically design a dungeon in this manner by re-arranging premade rooms. Meaning there was a chance some distant mastermind had a bunch of computers and an army of drones to dig out his pet project. Various scenarios played out within my weary mind as I made my way over to the dead mole next to the fountain. In most cases, robot armies would be a ludicrous proposition. Regardless, it was no less maddening than the very notion of giving random people powers. ¡°Stop that, Sully. That road leads to many questions and few answers. Best to avoid making assumptions until you¡¯re out. Also, stop talking to yourself. Its creepy. I¡¯m not crazy.¡± ¡®That¡¯s right! You¡¯re perfectly sane!¡¯ Said the talking amoeba glued to my skin. Many snarky replies tried to leave my mouth. All silenced by the rustle I heard behind me. I bolted forward as my mind sharpened, turning around to face my foe. ¡°Whoa! Easy there! I¡¯m human! Just like you!¡± I stopped and looked at the newcomer. Very much aware that my fog failed to pick up anything. My eyes scanned his form, moving up and down to get their measure. It was indeed a human. Tall and lean, with taught muscles, pale skin and an athletic frame. Their face suggested early thirties and their expression spoke of hope and relief. Their blue eyes were firm, betraying an inner strength I sorely wished I had. Their hair was matted and filthy, unleashing a stench that would make a disgruntled skunk blush. Specifically, their beard reeked of half-digested mushrooms and what I really hoped wasn¡¯t flying eel meat. ¡®Hey Buddy. How am I smelling this dude through the astronaut form?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m the one smelling him and passing along the info!¡¯ ¡®Cool, can I ask you to stop for a little while?¡¯ ¡®Sure. Thing Sully! Anything for you!¡¯ Coming back to the issue at hand, I breathed a sweet sigh of relief. Pointedly ignoring my own odour. The man wore an abused set of winter camping gear, torn in places where an errant jaw might have tried to find supple flesh. Puncture wounds indicative of many encounters with centipedes. Strangely, I didn¡¯t find any bloodstains, human or otherwise. His breath misted in the air with every heave of his lungs. ¡°Man! I¡¯m I glad to see you. I thought I was all alone in this cave. Did you get bit? How did they get past your shield?¡± ¡°My shield?¡± I replied dumbly. What was this guy talking about? He got a shield? Where was it? More importantly, why hadn¡¯t I gotten one too? Oh, that is just perfect. More than a week into my kidnapping and whoever ran this place was already picking favourites. As if the whole host of murders wasn¡¯t enough to cement their villainy. ¡°I¡¯m talking about the ability. Force Bubble. You know, the one that covers you up and takes the bites for you.¡± Oh. He¡¯s a Projector. Moreover, he thinks I¡¯m a Projector. Tell him I¡¯m a Telepath? Not quite yet. I had hoped to get the measure of people by mind-reading for bit before taking that step. An added level of insurance, put in place after my last encounter. One which wasn¡¯t available for whatever reason. There was only one real solution. Misdirect harder than a politician on campaign. ¡°Nah man! This came from a dead mole. I got them before they reached me but got blood all over the suit. Now that I have powers, I¡¯ll never let these guys touch me again!¡± I cringed as soon as the words were out. There was an itch in my skin. A visceral reaction to a very poor performance. It was technically true, yet I wasn¡¯t known for my credible poker face at the best of times. I was feeling more itching at the back of my neck. A feeling that my new friend didn¡¯t buy the steamy pile of fertilizer I was selling. My hands felt clammy and cold. A knot was forming in my stomach. All stemming from the simple fact that I had been bested in the one ability I¡¯d grown to trust above all others. Marshalling my resolve, I narrowed my focus. Wrangling the fog as if it were an unruly beast and trying to find this person within its depths. Nothing. Not even the hint of an outline like with the Bunny Man. Was he even there? Could this be a hallucination? ¡°Hey man, Sully, was it? Are you ok? You¡¯re starting to give me the creeps with the whole silent treatment. That and the astronaut suit make you look a bit off. Not that it¡¯s a bad look mind you. I thought I was prepared for the apocalypse but you really took it one step further, sleeping in that thing.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± I answered reflexively. Pointedly ignoring his comment about some apocalypse. ¡°I¡­I got caught off guard is all. Been a while since I saw another person.¡± ¡°Boy, do I hear that. Those (Gnome)ing gnomes sure are doing a number on us.¡± The man took another step in my direction. Worry painted on his face. As he did so, the coloured light ebbed and flowed away from his body in a circular motion. Pushed away by an unseen barrier. Taking inspiration from this apparent talent, I forced my fog to rotate into a drill-like shape and tried to wrap tendrils of smoke around the stranger. In less than a second, that careless slip had been rectified and I began to get signals from his mind too. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡®So, it wasn¡¯t just me that got thrown down here.¡¯ He thought with evident relief. ¡®I was right. This is a government conspiracy to hide where powers come from. They¡¯ve been keeping the truth from us for years! The bastards! They didn¡¯t want people to know about aliens teleporting humans into their underground cave networks. The only question is why? Why keep this hidden? Why breed monsters here? Why work with the freaking gnomes? AHA! They wanted to keep people from being prepared! To keep the number of Espers low! To control the population! The secret cabal must have messed up this time and grabbed older people instead of teenagers. Ha! I was right to kill those government spooks! Just you wait! I¡¯ll blow this thing wide open!¡¯ Oh. My. Goodness. That was¡­ That was a bit more information than I wanted. Conspiracies aside, my new friend doesn¡¯t know anything about the current situation. Not anymore than me at least. He also didn¡¯t even stop to suspect me. Either I did way better than I gave myself credit for. That, or this guy is completely oblivious. Like a Shifter who doesn¡¯t understand why everyone is so upset at him for eating passengers on the go-train. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m really glad to meet you. My name is Randall.¡± He said, reaching forward to shake my right hand. Freed from my momentary horror, I grabbed onto that gesture with more gusto than he could ever know. The feelings of unease were still kicking, all my strings moving erratically behind my eyes. The golden string of [Precognition] was especially active. It vibrated with a frenzy that suggested singular purpose. Now was not the time for contemplation however. So far, this encounter was going far better than I had dared hope for. The last thing I needed was my own ability mucking it up. I opened my mouth and greeted him with enthusiasm. ¡®Hi. I¡¯m Solomon. Nice to meet you.¡¯ Is what I meant to say. ¡°I am your death. Butcher.¡± Is what came out of my mouth. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Solomon! My name is Solomon! That¡¯s what I said!¡± ¡®HOOOOOOOOOLLLLYYYYYYYY COOOOOOOWWWW!!!!!!!!!¡¯ ¡®WHAT! WHAT THE ACTUAL, WHAT!?¡¯ ¡®DID PRECOGNITION TAKE OVER MY SPEECH!!!!¡¯ ¡®IT CAN DO THAT!!!!¡¯ ¡®AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!¡¯ ¡®NO!¡¯ ¡®NO PLEASE!¡¯ ¡®NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOOO!¡¯ ¡°Yeah, I must have misheard you. Sorry. I think I¡¯m a bit shaken up by everything. Lack of sleep is something else. Almost ran out of Psy a couple of times you know?¡± ¡°Yes. I totally relate to that.¡± I said, clenching my jaw hard enough to crush diamonds. That was, not okay. Holy cow that wasn¡¯t okay. ¡®Oh, my goodness.¡¯ ¡®What the actual¡­?¡¯ ¡®That can happen?¡¯ ¡®Really?¡¯ ¡®In the middle of a conversation?¡¯ ¡®Wait. I¡¯ve been silent too long.¡¯ ¡®Act normal.¡¯ ¡®Act normal.¡¯ ¡®Push the bad feelings down! Push Solomon!¡¯ ¡°All right. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡± ¡°Right on man! Oh wait, I need to get a drink first. My throat is killing me right now.¡± He moved past me and quickly began to pour water into his mouth. Afterwards, he began to scan the room in earnest, eventually noticing the fountain. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s not a natural formation!¡± He said, stating the obvious. ¡°Yeah. It looks like someone put it there.¡± ¡°I knew it! This must be a secret government facility! Where they experiment on people who get powers! They catch us before we know what¡¯s going on and teleport us away to their secret underground bunkers! All so they can give us to their alien wasp overlords and make us part of their space harems! That must be where the gnomes come from! They¡¯re crossbreeds between people and aliens. Bred to take over our planet and become another slave colony in the Zircon empire!¡± Whoa. That was¡­ honest. I had expected Randall to keep his theories to himself at first. It¡¯s usually the kind of thing you post on forums under the cover of anonymity. Yet here he was opening his heart out to me. Maybe he thought I was another theorist? ¡°I don¡¯t know man.¡± I answered wearily. ¡°Somehow, I don¡¯t think the Canadian government has the budget for secret underground power testing facilities. I was leaning more towards paramilitary groups or psyched out billionaires.¡± ¡°Who said anything about the Canadians?¡± He responded with genuine confusion. ¡°It¡¯s our government?¡± He looked at me like I had just grown an elephant trunk. ¡°I¡¯m from Nevada. In the Western Federation States.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Oh indeed. If they¡¯re taking people from different countries, this might be the global shadow government¡¯s doing.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I answered at once. Some people might have taken this time to scoff or to call Randall all sorts of hurtful things. Not me. Randall could believe whatever he wanted, so long as he helped keep me safe. In fact, he might even be right, considering every strange thing that had happened so far. Granted, the weight of evidence wasn¡¯t on his side, but you never know. It could be true if enough powerful people got together and decided to flip the current status quo upside down. Yeah, Randall wasn¡¯t quite as crazy as he seemed. Again, he still hadn¡¯t tried to rob or kill me. Or admitted to robbing and killing other people. What¡¯s a few conspiracies between friends? At least he wasn¡¯t having a mental breakdown caused by traumatic visions. Or having his own abilities taking over his body. Or talking to himself. ¡°I¡¯m telling you. This is it. We got hard proof on our hands now. They won¡¯t be able to hide the truth. Telepaths secretly control the world from their hidden island resorts around Australia. They make elected leaders into puppets and have them do whatever they want. All so they can mate with their insectoid waifs from the Andromeda galaxy. The gnomes are in on it too. That¡¯s why they hunt us down. They must be some kind of servant race genetically created to look like humans. You know their pointy hats, right?¡± His eyes gleamed with malice and bloodlust. His lips moving so fast the words became slurred. ¡°Well, they¡¯re only pointy because their skulls are pointy! Like, we humans have rounded heads, but their heads are shaped like traffic cones! Personally, I have a theory that they¡¯re actually cyborgs who keep telecommunications equipment inside their skulls. Like a pointy, circular antenna. It¡¯s up to us to make it right. We have to find all the Telepaths here and kill them. Like I killed those people who mad fun of me back home! They all laughed! Laughed at me in their blogs and videos! They weren¡¯t laughing when fist got powers, I¡¯ll tell you that! They tried to label me a terrorist! Because I was showing people the truth! So, what if I burned down some animal shelters!? They were secret induction zones where they primed normal people against the rest of us! Now though¡­.¡± He looked down on his hands, before clenching them tightly. ¡°I can grow beyond S-rank. Beyond my former limits. I¡¯ve already merged some abilities and I¡¯m gonna keep merging more! I¡¯ll be unstoppable!¡± Oh. Oh. Oh no. At that moment, I wanted to tell him he was wrong. That this was all some kind of cruel joke and that they¡¯d been given powers, seemingly at random. ¡°Of course.¡± I said instead. There was absolutely no way I was going to tell Randall anything. Especially since I had no idea what other abilities he had. I might as well be telling a serial killer all the best places to cut me up. Doubly so with unknown powers in the mix. For all I knew, the man could shatter every bone in my body with a thought. Also, Australia? The whole continent had been underwater for a decade. Ever since The Stomper got a bit too liberal with his power usage. It¡¯s why the grading system is taken so seriously these days. Why Projectors have to wear bomb collars all over Asia as if they were Shifters. Randall was clearly not right in the head. He might be even crazier than me, and that was saying something at the moment. Once more I was lying through my teeth. Once more, Randall failed to notice. He was enraptured in his own speech. Each sentence hyped him up even further and his body language became more and more excited. For my part, I was sweating bullets. Then, a thought struck me. An idea equal parts feasible and horrifying. If we stuck together, Randall might sense that I¡¯m different from him. No, he definitely would sooner or later. It wasn¡¯t the sort of secret I could keep. Worse, he might sense that while I was in a very vulnerable position. But it didn¡¯t have to be that way. Randall was distracted right now. I could see into his mind to confirm it. He had lost all sense of spatial awareness. So wrapped up in his own delusions of grandeur. Inside his cranium, there was nothing but anticipation for his accolades. A morbid fascination with the notion that he was right and everyone else had been wrong. That his friends had all been too skeptical, too wrapped up in the lies the governments spewed. Not like him. Not like someone with his smarts and his gumption. He wasn¡¯t blinded by the propaganda. By the lies that came on network tv. He was the hero. He was the one everyone would remember. He would put his name in all the history books that were written from this point onwards. He would find all the Telepaths hidden in their mansions with their mindwiped politician friends. He would kill them all. Everyone would love him for it. He would have a dozen girlfriends and a million followers. He would finally clean the halls of office and tear down to alien-backed telepathic regime. As those ideas begin to take shape within Randall, my own mind sharpens. Adrenaline courses through my veins yet again as stress presses down on me. All those new instincts guide me, holding muscle and bone hostage. My will becomes a sword and prepares to fall upon my foe. How easy would it be, to just reach out and use my power? To let the stream flow from behind my eyes and snuff out the candle of his life. For a second. I actually considered it. Even though it was a vile and disgusting idea. To kill someone when their back was turned. To hunt them before they hunted me. Fear and dread rise to meet the challenge. In spite of all that, I¡¯m still me. I¡¯m still the same recent graduate. I¡¯m still a good person. I¡¯m not a murderer. I know that for a fact. Nothing else matters. ¡®But would it be wrong? Wouldn¡¯t killing him save more lives?¡¯ There was a very real chance that this was true. [Meditation] rose up then. Its tender strings calming me down and reminding me that my kindness had almost gotten me killed more than once by this point. That the soldier had literally left me to die. This guy just admitted to killing people. Multiple people from the sounds of it. Was it, smart, to let him live? Was it the right thing to do? Was it something Thunder Fist would do? I considered it some more. My idol did have blood on his hands, from the many times he¡¯d fought villains. He¡¯s explained his reasoning on interviews. Telling reporters that he hadn¡¯t had a choice. That innocents would have died if he hadn¡¯t done it. Finally deciding to trust [Precognition] with the decision. I saw an unreal me, overlapping with my form. I saw it lash out in wrath. I saw its assault bouncing off harmlessly. Then I saw it being cremated. Randall¡¯s frame erupting in psychic fire. I felt the heat, despite it being a mirage. Beads of sweat gathered on my forehead and I had to forcefully gather all the self-control I had left to keep from shaking. ¡®Right. That is a very bad idea. I can¡¯t help anyone if I¡¯m dead.¡¯ Instead, I began walking backwards as quietly as I could, inching away from Randall while he continued to talk. Upon reaching the entrance to the chamber, I slipped into one of the tunnels and disappeared from sight. Tiptoeing into one of the many adjacent passages. Fading into the hungry darkness like a rat in a barn. Chapter 18: Dear Diary. Chapter 18: Dear Diary. ¡°You know Buddy, I don¡¯t think I show you enough gratitude. Thank you for being here to feed and clothe me. I really do think I would¡¯ve died by now if it wasn¡¯t for you.¡± ¡®Aww. Thank Sully! I appreciate you too! You¡¯re the bestest best friend a Symbiote could ask for!¡¯¡¯ I smiled, caressing the slightly thicker section of Buddy that had positioned itself over my heart. He didn¡¯t have a central nervous system per se, but I¡¯d noticed that he felt a rush of comfort and other feelings of safety and affirmation whenever I stroked certain parts of him. It was like a petting a puppy or scratching behind its ears. Someone looking at me from the lenses of a hidden camera might believe that I¡¯d lost it if they saw my actions. That couldn¡¯t be further from the truth. Buddy¡¯s presence might very well be the only thing keeping me even remotely sane right now. Having someone to talk to had improved my stress levels tremendously. So much so that I¡¯d gone from having mini-panic attacks every time I used [Precognition] to find any surrounding traps, to merely having horrible recurring nightmares. I mean, yeah, going to bed still wasn¡¯t fun, but at least I could catch some sleep without having to worry about uninvited guests gnawing off my privates while I lay helpless. Buddy could and would wake me up in any such scenario, making him almost as good as a human companion would have been. ¡®Actually, isn¡¯t Buddy better than a human companion? I mean, he does all the cooking, he helps to regulate my temperature, he shifts around his form to make pillows for me at night, he gets rid of my body odour, he helps me remember things, he always has compliments at the ready, he gives good advice without being judgemental, he helped me shave the other night and¡­ yeah, you know what? I¡¯m calling it right now. Buddy is much better than a human companion. Especially one like Randall.¡¯ I shivered, recalling the nightmares I¡¯d had over the past few nights. I had envisioned the blond man overlooking a fancy hotel, their glass windows reflecting his floating form as he hovered over a crowd of protesters. They were shouting at him. Calling for his blood. Some called him murderer. Some called him abuser. Some called him insane. In the dream, their faces were always hazy, yet their voices were clear. They demanded answers. They demanded justice. Randall only served them fire. He spread his arms and six blazing wings erupted from his back. Luminesce to rival the Midwest sun, trapped by walls of force. Those walls fell and the people below him melted like ice cubes in high summer. Sizzling as the water inside of them evaporated. Sometimes he did the same thing, only over a mountain of scrambling monsters instead of people. Howling in rage at no one in particular, and sporting a missing arm. His voice made the monsters squeal. Their own mortal shells crackling and splintering like overcooked bacon until they were naught but blackened ashes scattered in a pit. In the dream, there was a voice. One sickeningly familiar, yet faded and obscured. Like that of the tall man from my memories. The voice ordered his fall and fall he did. Brilliant wings sputtering out like candles in the wind. The following scenes differed from night to night. He would be pacing in front of a pale woman, whose eyes could pierce through souls. Her haunted expression would tighten more and more the more he spoke. As if she was actively killing the human part of her that told her to denounce him. ¡°Its not my fault! They came after me when I was resting! After putting down a monster horde no less! Can you imagine!? The bloody ingratitude!?¡± ¡°Sir, the last town you were deployed to burned down.¡± ¡°Duh! The monsters were in the town!¡± She inhaled. Almost mechanically. Fully controlling her expression into a mask of indifference. ¡°Sir, Colonel Newman had instructed you to wait until the evacuation was complete before utilizing your powers above the second threshold. Colonel Newman specifically instructed you to fight the monster while holding back and minimizing civilian casualties¡± ¡°Evacuation schmacuation! No one was coming in any direction! I would have sensed them! I can sense energy, remember? There wasn¡¯t a chopper to be found for hundreds of kilometres or maybe more. I had to act so that the monsters didn¡¯t disperse!¡± The woman blinked slowly. Reminding me of someone in charge of babysitting a rowdy toddler. A rowdy toddler who¡¯d gotten their hands on a blowtorch. ¡°Sir, the Colonel was very clear that you were to avoid wide-area attacks. The reason why you were contracted to work for¡­ the fee you requested, was that you demonstrated the necessary control over your powers during training exercises. You were supposed to use small, yet lethal single-target shots to diminish the enemy numbers.¡± ¡°And put my own life at risk? I¡¯ll remind you again that there were tens of thousands, some of whom could fly!¡± ¡°Sir, we were under the impression that you could envelop yourself in energy barriers.¡± ¡°For a limited time! How was I supposed to last out there while being attacked from every corner! I had to do something! I had to act decisively! And I did! LA is safe because of me! As well as San Francisco and San Diego! I¡¯m the one who saved those cities! You people should be putting up posters with my face on them all over the country and getting down on your knees whenever you see me!¡± He would huff then. Like a cornered animal. The woman never so much as flinched. ¡°Sir, you burned down Bakersfield and later Pasadena, when the protesters came. The death toll is¡­¡± ¡°Those people had it coming! I¡¯m telling you, I can¡¯t be held responsible for stupid hicks who throw their lives away! I was tired and recuperating after saving their sorry hides from a monster outbreak while the military ran with their tails between their legs! What do you think would have happened if I hadn¡¯t defended myself huh? I¡¯m not an Enhancer. My skin¡¯s no thicker or more durable than yours. But I guess you know that already, don¡¯t you? I bet you wanted this to happen.¡± The woman stared into his eyes, not moving an inch. ¡°Sir, I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t know what you mean by those accusations.¡± ¡°Yeah right! I know what¡¯s going on you alien cow! You¡¯re against me! All of you are! You¡¯ve been sabotaging me from the very beginning! Putting me in the toughest situations so that I could embarrass myself and lose credibility while you sell the earth to your alien masters!¡± The woman raised one eyebrow and the dream changed as the gesture incited Randall into another explosive burst of heat. The rest of the scenes changed from night to night, but they all one thing in common. Randall being an irresponsible (Centipede)face and getting other people killed. Either through sheer, unimaginable incompetence, or just flat-out murderous rage. And naturally, I would feel the aftereffects of said fury whenever I was close to waking up. On the one hand, it was a horrible experience that kept repeating itself at nauseum. Burning alive wasn¡¯t fun and the phantom pain lasted for hours after the nightmares ended; Despite a vestige of my psyche constantly reminding me that it wasn¡¯t real. On the other hand, the visions, if true, confirmed three very important facts. First and foremost, Randall wasn¡¯t from my world. If he was, there¡¯s no way in (Centipede) that those massacres wouldn¡¯t have made international news. Everyone and their mother would know to watch out for the (Centipede)ing lunatic burning towns across the western seaboard of the US. Not to mention the fact that heroes like Thunder Fist would be up his (Centipede) faster than he could blink if he was ever sighted anywhere near civilization. Secondly, I learned that ability names were a little bit disingenuous. [Precognition] was a simple descriptive word for a simple effect. It lets you see the future. How then, did my future sight turn into a (Centipede)ing possessive spectre taking over my mouth? Was this normal? Was my specific variant broken in some way? Or was it due to the high level? [Share Memory] and [Review Memory] were both their own, separate abilities on the board, but it would seem the golden strings had no problem emulating them. As far as I could tell, there had to be factors at play that I wasn¡¯t aware of. At the very least, there had to be some hidden inter-connectiveness between them. Thirdly, I learned that I did, indeed make the right choice back there. Randall was obviously extremely powerful while also being completely unhinged. I might have beaten him if I ambushed him when his back was turned, but it was more likely that he¡¯d shrug off a [Mental Bolt] and turn me into barbecue. Better to get as far away as possible and try to make it to the surface. If I was still in my own world, I¡¯d have plenty of opportunities to snitch on him when I got out. After that, he¡¯d be the United Militaries¡¯ problem. Thankfully, he seemed just sane enough that he wouldn¡¯t be going around killing survivors indiscriminately so he might even make himself useful while he waited around. Who knows? He might even find a way out of here before I do and clear a path to the surface for anyone coming in behind him. I closed my eyes for a moment. Reveling in the fantasy. I knew it probably wasn¡¯t going to happen, since he could have escaped already if he still had all his powers. Yet the idea was comforting. ¡°Yeah. Now that I think about it, there¡¯s no reason to lose hope. There might be someone else out there that¡¯s even stronger than Randall. Someone who isn¡¯t murderous and delusional.¡± ¡®Yeah! Whatever you say Sully!¡¯ I smiled at Buddy¡¯s comment and patted him some more. We continued up the slope, with him transforming the glove over my right hand into a climbing pick and me using it and my other limbs to slowly make our way over the debris. Grunting with every meter we cleared in our ascent. It wasn¡¯t a vertical rise. I never would have tried that, even with Buddy here to keep me together. No, this was a pile of boulders stacked against each other in a large rectangular chamber. One that looked far more treacherous than it actually was and would allow us to bypass the¡­. Man, I don¡¯t even know what that was. A robot that could use telekinesis? No. I don¡¯t have the ability to interface with machines. I would have had to be some kind of lifeform that wasn¡¯t carbon-based and had cells made of metal. Either that or some kind of mollusc or crab or shelled animal that hid inside the metal sphere. What made it dangerous was its ability to more or less negate my fog, as Randall had. I could still sense some parts of it. Faint whispering coming from the upper and lower sections. Normally that wouldn¡¯t have stopped me from experimenting a little. After all, I could always try to [Hide] and book it, as I had with the boxing apple tree. I changed my mind when the nearby ponds started vibrating whilst changing colour. New spheres were rising from their depths, despite them being free of any detritus or pollutants when I¡¯d first marched through. That meant some kind of water-based teleportation. Quite the conundrum, as the entire section I was currently moving through was filled with puddles, ponds, and streams. Not to mention the fact that humans were practically made of water. Granted, I didn¡¯t know if it could teleport inside of me and rip itself out of my body, but I knew enough about horror movies and the Labyrinth to know that I didn¡¯t want to risk it. Some monsters just aren¡¯t worth the experience points. Therefore, I was out of there and I wasn¡¯t going back. I heaved my way up another boulder. Gripping the ledge as hard as I could before pulling myself towards the next one. It was slow going and tiring. Enough that most of my muscles burned with the strain by now. Each boulder was uneven as well, having their own individual jagged edges and pointy shards of loose debris atop them. An experienced climber might have made it through here in thirty minutes or so. As it was, I was getting close to the one-hour mark and still had some ways to go. ¡®Are you going to take a break Sully?¡¯ ¡°No. I¡¯m afraid that I¡¯ll want to rest up for longer than necessary if I take a break now. Better to keep going in case that metal ball shows up.¡± ¡®I think you could have beaten it.¡¯ ¡°Thank you for the vote of confidence Buddy. I appreciate it.¡± The distraction caused my left hand to slip. I cursed, planting my feet back on the flat portions of the stone I¡¯d been standing on moment prior while catching myself with Buddy¡¯s makeshift pick. It worked. I sighed with relief, feeling the tension in my arms. The way they shook from all this exertion. ¡°You know Buddy. I think you¡¯re right. A little break would do us good.¡± ¡®Would you like me to pump some more nutrients into your bloodstream?¡¯ ¡°Yes please. That would be wonderful.¡± I chuckled to myself as the words left my mouth. It sure didn¡¯t sound wonderful. Anyone looking this way who didn¡¯t know what Buddy was would have thought I was a weirdo for relishing such an¡­ intrusive method of getting calories. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Those people could all go suck on a salty sausage. Whatever Buddy did, it didn¡¯t hurt and I was very much done with starvation by now. I took a seat in order to rest properly. Leaning my back against the smooth surface of the boulder I¡¯d just tried to scale. That was when a particular colour caught my eye. It was hard to see, since the bioluminescent mushrooms were all located on the high ceiling. I squinted and noted that it was, indeed, pink. I clicked my tongue, recalling the fronds that had poisoned me after arriving and that tormented me to no end when I was climbing out of the crevice, on my way to the apple tree. I was about to move away, when I took note of its shape. It was, a right angle. Not like the fronds at all, but rather like the cover of a book. I inched closer, trying to ascertain whether or not I was seeing things. My eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Holy cow! Jackpot!¡± ¡®Why¡¯s that Sully?¡¯ ¡°Because I don¡¯t know who left it here! It might be a clue! Maybe one of the builders left it here and forgot about it!¡± My hand was already gripping the thing, flipping it over to check the cover for more information. Barely making out the cover, despite the size of the letter due to the poor lighting. ¡°Diary. Do not touch. P.R.¡± My heart was beating faster, threatening to explode out of my chest. Nothing in the surroundings seemed to matter anymore. To me, they all faded out of existence. Like half-forgotten songs. This was my world right now. My only focus. I had to read it. I had to know. I flipped it open, cursing when I realized that the letters were so small that they¡¯d be impossible to make out without more light. ¡°Buddy, can you take this thing inside of you?¡± ¡®Is it food?¡¯ ¡°No. It is not food.¡± ¡®It smells like food.¡¯ ¡°Well, yeah. The cover¡¯s made of leather and the pages are technically plant fibre, but you can¡¯t have it. I really need it, Buddy. Please.¡± ¡®No problem Sully. Its small enough that I can hold it for you.¡¯ I pressed it to my chest and Buddy absorbed it. Holding it place between my stomach and his own layer of muscle. So, I waited for another half-hour. Getting my strength back while eagerly awaiting the next time I got inside a watering hole. Time flew by as I finished the climb. Motivated by the prospect of finding out why I was here and how I could escape. While I didn¡¯t find a watering hole nearby, I did get my chance two hours later. After setting a horde of vicious were-rats on the biggest puma I¡¯d seen thus far. The challengers were busy minding their own damn business, chewing on some cave mushrooms and chittering away in the dank corners of an intersection. The boss was sitting around in a triangular chamber. Surrounded on all sides by glowing blue crystals that lit up the room. It was lazily licking its diamond tipped claws free of blood from its previous kill, thinking about napping and the kills that would follow. Taking them both down, was child¡¯s play. Simply a matter of making illusory smells near the packs of giant rodents leading back to the puma¡¯s big throne room. The puma was, understandably, a little miffed that the were-rats would dare to interrupt its meal. The were-rats were miffed that said meal was one of their missing cousins. Both sides fought with tooth and claw. Ripping into each other with wild abandon. It took the puma some 10 odd seconds to tear them to pieces, but not before it took a cut to its face and another to its chest. I growled at the corpses, seething that its prey had dared to fight back. Swearing to kill more of them in the future. It got its wish sooner than it had anticipated, when the second hunting party I lured over arrived. They didn¡¯t fare much better than the first one. Barely holding on for a dozen seconds before being wiped out. Thankfully the third group got there just in time to flank the big cat. This time, they had some help. [Mental Bolt] ravaged the puma¡¯s brain. Not managing to kill it outright. Its claws started missing the were-rats by inches, then by metres. The little ones for their part, kept slashing at it. Parting patches of fur and creating crimson ribbons out of what was there before. All while I readied a super charged [Fever] from a hidden corner three rooms away. ¡°Buddy, do you think I¡¯m evil?¡± ¡®No? Why do you ask?¡¯ ¡°Its¡­ I mean. I just hit me that I¡¯m sending creatures to fight my battles for me while planning to kill them too.¡± ¡®So?¡¯ ¡°So, that doesn¡¯t seem a little evil to you?¡± ¡®Meh. They¡¯re stupid. They don¡¯t know how great you are and would have tried to kill you if you went up to them. You¡¯re way more valuable than they are.¡¯ ¡°Okay? Thank you.¡± I would have pointed out that the logic was shaky. However, I shrugged it off as them being monsters and Buddy being here to help me. It was cruel to kill like this and I knew I had to keep doing it if I wanted to make it out. Having decided that, I released [Fever] on the fighters. The impact was immediate. The last three remaining were-rats crumbled to the floor. Screeching in agony as their bodies overheated in mere seconds. The puma managed to hold on better than them. Enough that it crushed all three before collapsing. I writhed feebly afterwards. Making an effort to get away, despite not being able to stand or even drag itself across the room. My next bolt put it out of its misery and I made my way over to find an abattoir. Mangled body parts strew around so that the floor was dyed red. I stepped gingerly over them, to a spot that got plenty of light without needing to sit on a stary limb. For his part, Buddy grew thin tentacles out of its sides and pierced the monsters with them in order to convert their calories into fat stores we could use later. I let him get on with it and flipped open the first few pages. December 7th, 2011. ¡®This is so stupid.¡¯ ¡®The stupid government shrink says I should write down my stupid feelings down on this stupid book so that I could go over them later and process what I¡¯d gone through.¡¯ ¡®Honestly, as if my case was anything special.¡¯ ¡®So, mom and dad got torn apart by terror-tigers. So what? This is Florida. There isn¡¯t a single family that hasn¡¯t lost people.¡¯ ¡®Heroes are few and ammo is scarce. The larger caliber ones anyway.¡¯ ¡®Which is so stupid because they¡¯re the only ones that do anything. Who¡¯d even pull out one of those punny purse guns against a monster? At best you¡¯re distracting it for a few seconds before it eats you. At worst you¡¯re making it angry enough that it starts to eat you before killing you.¡¯ ¡®Ugh. I don¡¯t need to write anything down. Its mind numbing and the teachers here at my new school keep badgering me about it. What I need is a gun. A big gun. So that I can stand a chance the next time something crawls out of the sewers looking for a snack. But noooooo. Guns are for adults and not for snot nosed twerps with anger issues. No problem teach. I¡¯ll tell that to the fifty-foot snake that ate Malcolm last week. You know? The one that fled back into the swamps after munching off his torso? I bet it¡¯ll be real understanding.¡¯ Okay. Promising so far. Nice villain backstory. More or less explains why they want to make new Espers. I flipped through some pages, trying to skip past the early childhood portions to arrive at something more recent. September 23rd, 2015. ¡®I cannot wait to get out of this dump. Things have been so much worse since aunt Marge lost her new husband. She¡¯s been sleepwalking around the apartment more often. Banging on the doors. I don¡¯t know how that woman manages to sleep through it all. I would¡¯ve said she was possessed but she gets better when I pester her to actually take her meds.¡¯ ¡®Kyle came back from his special school today. Acting like he was the king of Florida cause he got a C-Rank power and studied with a bunch of retired old farts. He keeps giving these big fancy speeches all the time, like he was better than the rest of us for being an Enhancer.¡¯ ¡®It wouldn¡¯t be bothering me that much if that was all he did, but nooooo. Kyle is a big fancy name around the county now. He¡¯s going to be the one taking care of us when monsters come, just like his daddy. Whoever that is. No, really. Old man never so much as showed up before junior got powers his powers and now they¡¯re acting like they¡¯ve always been there for each other. It would¡¯ve been funny if it wasn¡¯t so sad. They seem happy though so good for them I guess.¡¯ ¡®Problem is, Kyle senior is a big eugenics believer and he¡¯s been telling his new son that he needs to get lots of women and lots of kids to make sure we all get more snot-nosed C-Ranks going around acting like peacocks. Like, what? I thought we were over this fad 100 years ago? Didn¡¯t we establish that this way of thinking led to many problems? Why are so many people acting like it¡¯s the right way of doing things all of the sudden?¡¯ ¡®Aunt Marge was actually happy when I told her about him leering at me. She said it was great! That I could live a nice comfortable life with him as long as I became a proper lady. She actually said that. A proper lady. I just hope this whole thing blows over. Its not like there aren¡¯t other girls that would be happy with the arrangement. He just needs to leave me alone so I can get back to my own life.¡¯ October 10th, 2015. ¡®We had an assembly today to celebrate Kyle. Yes. That is right. Little man brought down a scorcher all by his lonesome. It was impressive, I guess. Didn¡¯t really care one way or the other. What I did care about was what he said.¡¯ ¡®This drooling, unbathed, perpetually hung-over mess got up on stage and told the entire school that he did it for me, the prettiest girl here. That he hoped this would get me to soften up and party with him. Of course, those weren¡¯t his exact words. He didn¡¯t call me pretty so much as describing how much he liked certain parts of me. But I¡¯m not going to write that here.¡¯ ¡®I was like, what? What is actually wrong with you? Are you high? Have you been taking your mom¡¯s prescriptions? What could have possibly made you think this was a good idea?¡¯ ¡®Actually, you know what. Screw that guy. I¡¯m pressing charges for harassment.¡¯ October 12th, 2015. ¡®The police were really great. They walked me through the process and helped me file the paperwork. It would have been comforting if it weren¡¯t for the prosecutor¡¯s refusal to do anything.¡¯ ¡®Kyle didn¡¯t even get a warning. In fact, I got told off for making life difficult for the town hero. Like, what? Lady! Did you not see the video of the assembly? That clip went viral! But nooooo. Apparently, there¡¯s a literal government push to try and get more Espers in the future. Something about escalating monster attacks. I was told that this behaviour would not be prosecuted as she didn¡¯t believe it constituted a crime.¡¯ ¡®To make matters worse, people in the video¡¯s comments are saying whatever they want about me! Like I¡¯m making things too hard for Kyle by telling to keep his unwashed grubby hands off me! The other girls are harassing me too. People I thought were my friends. They¡¯re ripping on me every chance they get like I¡¯m a stuck-up brat that should be thankful for the attention. Like I wanted this to happen.¡¯ ¡®The teachers don¡¯t care either. They keep telling me to get over it. To move on. To focus on homework. Mrs. Ursula actually had the gall to say that I should be grateful. Grateful! She actually said that! Am I crazy! I¡¯m starting to think I¡¯m crazy! How does nobody else see Kyle for the lazy waste of skin that he is? How does no one else see that he got kicked out of the special super-school for being a waste of a C-Rank? How does nobody else see that he¡¯s coasting after winning the genetic lottery? Is that all someone is these days? A power? Does nothing else matter so long as they can kill monsters?¡¯ November 1st, 2015. ¡®Yeah. He slipped something in my drink during the Halloween party. Yeah, I called the cops without drinking it. Yeah, they tried to arrest him. I have got to give them the credit they¡¯re due. They actually tried. Kyle bounced of course. Literally. Dude can long jump over houses like he¡¯s in a platformer. A report was filed, the drink was tested.¡¯ ¡®The prosecutor refused to do anything. Again. She pulled me and aunt Marge into a meeting to talk about necessary people and how her own kids died from monster attacks. Like that should be reason enough for the rest of us to put up with Kyle freaking felonious actions! Like, lady! How do you have this job!? How has no one fired you!?¡¯ ¡®At least my classmates started to take my side. Finally. I guess harassment, bullying and stalking are okay but drugging someone at a party is where they draw the line. I guess I should be thankful for that much at least.¡¯ ¡®Mrs. Ursula did apologize too. She let me know Phoebe took a video of the whole thing and said I could use it to appeal.¡¯ February, 2016. ¡®The appeal went nowhere.¡¯ ¡®Oh, Kyle was crucified in the court of public opinion and he was found guilty by a different prosecutor. Only the judge gave him a year of community service and docked his pay rates for monster hunting during that time. Yep. That was it. No jail time at all. He filmed himself apologizing later that day and said all he wanted to do was help. To do his part in making Florida a safer place. Like, whoa. Dude. How can you say that with a straight face after what you did? Have you no shame? Forget monster hunting, he should be an actor.¡¯ ¡®Also, people in the comments were defending him. I cannot make this up. There were actually people discussing the morality of polygamy and eugenics in an apology video made by a convicted felon.¡¯ ¡®Geez. I mean. I get folks are desperate. I know the economy¡¯s whacked and getting a hold of food can be tricky. I know I¡¯m lucky to have two meals a day most days of the week. But, like. Are we really at the point where we¡¯re talking about this? Is this not inhumane?¡¯ ¡®Honestly, it was my bad for even trying. At this rate I should do homeschooling until graduation and then join the army or something. It wouldn¡¯t be my first choice, but I¡¯d have a gun. A proper gun and I could leave. I could just leave and go wherever I wanted. The more I think about it, the nicer it sounds.¡¯ January 22nd, 2017. ¡®The funeral was nothing short of dismal. There were hundreds of people there, but hardly any of them were there for Phoebe. Understandable, since she was only one of a couple hundred students being buried. Of the surviving students, most seemed more concerned over their own missing limbs than with the friends that hadn¡¯t made it. All of them were angry.¡¯ ¡®Angry at the Hydra, angry at the response teams that hung back till it was safe, angry at Kyle who¡¯d gotten killed seconds into the fight. That last one irked me the most too. The Acid Hydra had been a juvenile. Barely C-Rank. Kyle should have stomped it out of existence and he probably would have if he hadn¡¯t been on his third bottle for the day.¡¯ ¡®Kyle senior was there. Which surprised me. I didn¡¯t think he would¡¯ve cared if his spawn lived or died. Kyle himself wasn¡¯t in his casket. None of them were. The Acid Hydra hadn¡¯t left enough to bury. Looking around, I could see some of the first responders there too. Some blamed themselves. As if they could have done anything. Others were actively seething about the orders they¡¯d been given.¡¯ ¡®It was standard procedure to wait for mind rankers or heavy ordinance once a monster of that size was confirmed. Which meant the EMTs weren¡¯t allowed to go near the school until cleared by the brass. A lot of students had bled to death while trying to run away and videos of the incident had circulated online.¡¯ ¡®They were all I had to go of off, since I¡¯d been sick that day.¡¯ ¡®I feel like all the people I know see me as a stranger. Like I couldn¡¯t imagine what they¡¯d gone through. I get angry at them whenever we talk. Of course, I know what they¡¯re going through. I survived the collapse of Miami. I know what its like to feel helpless. I know what its like to run because you can¡¯t think of anything else. I know what its like to realize people you left behind got trampled to death before they got eaten. That you might¡¯ve killed them because you were trying to save yourself.¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t even know why I¡¯m still writing this. What¡¯s the point? No one cares. No one wants to hear about other people¡¯s problems. They want to be left all alone to wallow in their own misery.¡¯ ¡®Fine. I¡¯ll give them some space to figure things out while they fix up the school.¡¯ May 3rd, 2017. ¡®The school isn¡¯t getting fixed up. Turns out this kind of thing had happened in other areas too, but not to this scale so it was only a blip on the news. They¡¯re making all of us stay home and study. We¡¯ll be taking GED tests later this year.¡¯ ¡®It sounded like an excuse to avoid paying for the rebuilding costs. Like they were washing their hands of us and telling us to work it out ourselves. Apparently, its being done all over the state. The feds actually stepped in and they¡¯re going to try doing an online-only program. Telling kids to study from the safety of their own bunkers. Those who couldn¡¯t afford to dig one out, well, too bad.¡¯ I remember this. I¡¯d seen it on the news. Florida hadn¡¯t been the first to try this out. Almost all the countries in Asia had implemented an online regiment during the beginning of the decade. However, they had been the first example of mass implementation in the west at that time. In all fairness, it worked wonders, despite the social isolation. Other states had followed their footsteps the following year. Just as European Canada hadn¡¯t had as much trouble with sudden spawns due to how densely distributed our population was after the original rifts opened up, so it had taken longer to put those measures in place. Universities like mine were exempt because we were already fortified; since the biology departments performed vivisections on new monster variants on the regular. I shook my head to dispel a wave of nausea. This¡­ made too much sense. Reading this diary was putting too many facts into perspective. Making me empathise with my captors. I could see how someone that grew up in this environment might think this experiment was justified. Worse, I was beginning to get an idea of who might be funding it. There had been some fringe groups in the news, prior to my kidnapping. Interest groups arguing that fertility clinics should be working towards making new Espers. Their arguments being that we had to make sure humanity was replenishing fighters faster than we were losing them. It sounded ridiculous, until you realized they were the moderates. The extremists were actually pushing polygamy laws and government sanction pairings for the populace. Trying to turn modern society into one big eugenics lab. I shivered at the thought. Feeling a chill creeping through me and refocusing my attention towards my fog for a reprieve. I shot out a charged [Fever] towards a group of were-rats that had made it through the borders of my fog and waited until they were mostly done for before going back to the book. July 30th, 2017. ¡®I graduated. Went down to a testing site and got my GED. No hassle involved. Yay me.¡¯ ¡®Preppers aren¡¯t ridiculed anymore. Instead, they were being actively emulated. All the neighbours had bunkers already, but now they needed to have deeper sub-basements inside the bunkers, with extra rooms to store supplies.¡¯ ¡®Food prices had skyrocketed too. You¡¯d be hard-pressed to find canned good anywhere these days. Too much demand and not enough supply.¡¯ ¡®I was thinking about all of that during the end. Wondering what exactly I was supposed to do now? Construction companies were hiring, but with the caveat that you might be sent outside the city limits for emergency repairs and that refusal was illegal, once you signed the contract. Yeah, that didn¡¯t appeal to me.¡¯ ¡®I guess I could join the force. There were some officers who¡¯d gone way beyond their duty to help me back when Kyle had been making noise. Still, that would mean going up against superpowered criminals with an underfunded and outdated arsenal. No thanks. If I was going to be out there, I wanted to make sure I had the equipment to put threats down. Were there even jobs outside the military that could offer that?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m so confused. I don¡¯t know what to do. Every single option feels like it sucks in one way or the other and everyone around me is telling me to get hitched using my looks. I don¡¯t want that. I don¡¯t want to be helpless. I know what that feels like and it isn¡¯t for me.¡¯ April 22nd, 2022. ¡®Its official. I am the smartest person in my family. Aunt Marge was always going on about how pretty I was and about how I could have a great life if I said yes to Kyle. About how much of a waste it was that I wanted to join the army. About how it would ruin my looks and my marriage prospects.¡¯ ¡®Ha! Look at me now aunty! I got kidnapped and thrown into some kind of video-game and I still came out on top! And I got powers! Ha! Just wait until I come back you old hag! I¡¯ll show you! I¡¯m going to be a pro-hero with commercials and movie-tie-ins and toys served with burgers! Kyle can go take a long walk off a short pier for all I care! I have got it made!¡¯ Huh. So, she wasn¡¯t one of my kidnappers. She was a victim. Same as me. I looked at the book, searching for a name. I found it, behind the cover. ¡®Property of Prudence Kettler. KEEP OUT!¡¯ Prudence. Her name had been Prudence. And she had left her diary there. Something of great emotional value to her. My gaze went back to the total tally of remaining survivors. I inhaled sharply, putting two and two together in my head. The conclusion made me tear up. So much so that I called upon [Meditation]. Pushing out the negative feelings by breathing in and out. Pushing away the crystals and the corpses. Until there was only Buddy and me. Comforting each other. Chapter 19: Creeping Cold. Chapter 19: Creeping Cold. The small drones hovered overhead. Using some manner of anti-gravity system to keep themselves aloft. Their laser pointers cutting through the relative darkness of the abandoned buildings. One by one they searched, scanning the interiors for any sing of life. Their turrets would only fire once they¡¯d successfully locked on to a target, as the dozens of dead minotaurs could attest. Funny how that worked. In most novels a minotaur would be a boss-like entity. The kind that you expect to find guarding some sweet piece of loot with a big axe in hand. Down here, they were target practice. The drones having mowed them down in literal seconds. To make matters worse, the number of bullets fired did not match the size of the magazines. That meant there was some kind of magic at play that teleported bullets into the chambers right before use or¡­ They had unlimited ammo. Somehow. Great. That meant all the hard work I¡¯d put in luring the minotaurs here was a complete waste of time. Okay, okay so it wasn¡¯t all bad. I was still alive and hidden. Plus, the minotaurs were a nuisance I would have had to get rid of anyway. The getting turned into chunky salsa wasn¡¯t a bad outcome, all things considered. From that point of view, I hadn¡¯t lost anything but Psy and effort. All while keeping my position secured and figuring out the enemy¡¯s capabilities. I focused on [Mental Map]. Taking in the surrounding area. Trying to figure out which spots would offer the most protection. There were plenty of places to hide if you were smart enough to know what guns were and that standing in front of them was a bad idea. This whole area of the Labyrinth reminded me of the older parts of Toronto. The ones that hadn¡¯t been repaired yet and still bore the scars of the first Rifts. That is to say, it was a hollowed-out warzone with dilapidated buildings on both sides of the street. Some buildings had piles of rubble at the bottom in place of a second floor while others were missing bits and pieces from the walls. I also recognized the telltale marks that explosives left behind, despite none of the drones using grenades or other such instruments. ¡®So far.¡¯ I corrected myself. The drones weren¡¯t showing up on my fog and their passing didn¡¯t fill up my map like the minotaurs had. Therefore, my usual strategy of analysing enemies while arranging unfavorable matchups wouldn¡¯t cut it. I flared [Precognition]. Pushing it just far enough to see the superimposed future Solomon moving without having to endure another slew of visions. Future Solomon threw a rock at a drone and got turned into Swiss cheese within a second. As it turned out, Buddy wasn¡¯t bullet-proof. Another future Solomon tripped on a rock hidden by the darkness and made enough noise to get the robot¡¯s attention. This version of me threw himself against a wall and allowed it to soak the bullets. The machines did not switch to explosives. Instead, they persisted in their attack. Sending a continuous volley of lead into the concrete. Wearing it down further and further until finally piercing through. My mood soured, as I realized that the explosions must have come from another model. One that I hadn¡¯t seen and couldn¡¯t track. Right. Better avoid detection. ¡®Buddy, have I ever told you about my love-hate relationship with drones?¡¯ ¡®No?¡¯ ¡®Okay. Here it goes. I love the idea of using them against monsters and hate the idea of them being used against people. Especially when people refers to me.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re angry then?¡¯ ¡®Angry? Oh, Buddy. I am (Centipede)ing furious. I finally find some guns that aren¡¯t being levelled against me by another survivor and of course, they¡¯re welded to a pack of killer robots.¡¯ ¡®Do you want them?¡¯ ¡®Yes, Buddy. I want the guns. I want all the guns. Generally, if you find yourself trapped and kidnapped against your will, guns are a very good thing to have. I can¡¯t even begin to count how many pre-rift horror movies would¡¯ve ended in the first ten minutes if the protagonists had a locker full of machine guns.¡¯ ¡®Then, why don¡¯t you take them?¡¯ ¡®Because they¡¯re using the guns right now and I¡¯m not. I am a squishy human. One that doesn¡¯t even have a vest to stop a couple of shots. I¡¯ll be dead as soon as I¡¯m found. It would be different if I was an Enhancer or a Shifter. They¡¯d be able to laugh in the face of bullets. Projectors would be able to hold out if they had the right abilities too. It might be different if I had the [Electronic Interface] ability, but I don¡¯t. Nor do I have the points. I¡¯m not going to take the risk.¡¯ I took a deep breath. Taking care to avoid making too much noise. Moving to the relative safety of the next wall once the drones had moved on to their next patrol point. It would seem that they hadn¡¯t been constructed with heat sensors or programmed to fan out when searching for targets like the drones I had worked on. Small mercies that I was very thankful for. The prototypes me and my fellow students had submitted as our final assignment had been designed with the dual purpose of reconnaissance in hostile areas and searching for survivors in hiding or trapped under rubble. The idea had been to use a cheap, lightweight model to expedite rescue efforts instead of wasting materials attacking something that could shrug off small caliber arms fire. It had to be as cheap as possible because we expected our model to be mass produced and deployed in large numbers over a wide area in order to maximize the chances of finding living people while accounting for losses to monsters. We¡¯d gotten an A and some recruitment offers. I smiled at the memory. Thinking back to the advanced technology on display here. What could we have accomplished with anti-gravity fields and unlimited ammunition? An idea blossomed in my mind. What if I managed to take one of these things back with me? How much good would this do back on the surface? I gulped. Willing myself to stay hidden instead of peeking around the corner. ¡®Don¡¯t be stupid man. You won¡¯t do anyone any good if you¡¯re dead. The best course of action is to escape and tell the authorities about what you saw. They¡¯ll be able to secure the drones then. When they have someone like Thunder Fist to tank the bullets.¡¯ I breathed out, letting the tension escape, before moving on. I was making my way over to one of the smaller side corridors. Staying behind one wall or another for minutes anytime the machines got anywhere near me. It had been stressful, during my first few encounters. Knowing that I couldn¡¯t rely on [Hide] to do anything thanks to what I saw through [Precognition]. Whatever mechanism made the ability work on living monsters wasn¡¯t registering with the drones at all. It might have been different if I¡¯d had the interface ability, though I couldn¡¯t say for sure. I reached the final building before the passage entrance and took note of the distance between the two locations. I¡¯d done it before. I knew I could do it again. Yet the moment had to be timed perfectly. My body rested against the nearest wall. Waiting. Waiting. Breathing in and out in order to maintain a sense of calm. I heard the chirping noises of the drones moving further and further away. Making their way back towards the other end of the cavern. However, something stopped me from fleeing. I was getting new signals in my fog. Drawing in the echoes of two other minds. They are frustrated, cursing inwardly as the approached. And boy were they approaching. Faster and faster, in a vertical descent. The ceiling in the middle of the chamber collapsed not long after. Its fall sending clouds of dust and debris flying in all directions. My hands went to my head as I threw my body to the floor in the fetal position. Hoping against hope that nothing too big hit one of my more important parts. I heard the distinctive sounds of rushing air. Sharp rocks impacting against the wall standing between me and the unfolding chaos. I flinched every time the sounds rang near my skull. A steady thump, thump, thump that sent my heart into overdrive. Thankfully, nothing pierced through the barrier. I took the initiative to lean back against the wall once more, after the battering had stopped. Refocusing on my fog and my map to see the outlines of two human beings. ¡®Wait, are they human? No, they can¡¯t be. Humans don¡¯t grow to that size. Unless they¡¯re Shifters with growing powers. Yeah, that makes sense. They should be human.¡¯ I was still debating what to do, when the first shot rang out. It was soon followed by many, many others. A cacophony of flying bullets spraying in every direction. The two newcomers did not feel scared, nor angry. In fact, they seemed more annoyed than anything else. I heard an explosion, then another. They were followed by the sound of stones being crunched. Not by weapons fire, but by hands. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Then one of the turrets fell silent, with the rest following in short order. The battle, if one could call it that, lasted for roughly one minute. Maybe less. In that time, the two who¡¯d fallen from the ceiling didn¡¯t make so much as grunt. All while being shot several dozen times per second. I gulped. Faced with the realization that I wasn¡¯t anywhere near strong enough to be thinking about saving people. These two, they were what heroes should be. I thought about contacting them through [Message], but thought better of it. These two had done away with the robots easily enough, which meant they¡¯d be able to deal with me just as easily. Furthermore, there was no telling if they¡¯d be amicable or not. Having decided that, I activated [Hide] and peeked at them from around the nearest corner. The two of them were covered in half-destroyed furs. Their vestments sporting a landscape of bullet holes up and down the length of their bodies. None of the holes carried any hint of red. Meaning the attacks hadn¡¯t punctured the skin. No, looking closer, these two weren¡¯t even bruised. One of them was woman. Sporting a tangled mess of bright orange hair and piercing green eyes flecked with gold. Freckles covered her otherwise pale face, standing out even in this dim lighting. That face was incredible. Too perfect, in a way that screamed plastic surgery. Expensive plastic surgery at that. More striking was her size. She was huge. Tall enough that she would¡¯ve easily towered over most body-builders I was familiar with. Maybe a little over 2 metres in height. The man next to her bore a strong resemblance. Maybe a brother or a cousin. His face was beautiful as well, resembling an idealized Greek statue carved from marble. He had the same eyes and the same hair. Only, he was somehow even bigger. Where the woman could have still passed as a somewhat normal human, the man resembled an ogre more than anything else. He was well over two metres, maybe 220 or 230 centimetres in total. With biceps bigger than Luigi¡¯s waist and legs that could put elephants to shame. There was no way this guy was a normal human. I was considering the benefits of contacting them after putting some distance between us to see how they¡¯d react, when I noticed the things, they were holding. The woman held a pale bone axe in one hand and a knife in the other, while the man held a bone club in his right hand. His left, was holding on to a still bleeding human arm. ¡°I cannot believe you let him get away!¡± The woman yelled. ¡°What if he finds the Shepherd? What if he manages to wound him? Or worse? Was all your training for nothing?¡± ¡°The robot bull got in the way.¡± The man growled. Tightening his grip on the severed limb and cracking its remaining bones as he did so. ¡°He will not get away again. I will not allow any harm to come to the Shepherd.¡± ¡°You better not! I have my eyes set on him already. A match like that is all I need to become matriarch of the clan. It¡¯ll put us one step ahead of Glossy for good.¡± The man gave her a withering stare. ¡°You plan is not a bad one. If we find the Shepherd and if he finds you suitable. His help will mean life and safety for our kin. Do not let your personal ambitions consume you.¡± She scoffed. ¡°As if you don¡¯t want to put Glossy in her place and follow father¡¯s footsteps.¡± ¡°I do want that. More than you could know.¡± She was about to say something else, when he dropped the arm and raised a hand to forestall her. ¡°And that is why we must be humble and dedicated. We must gain the Shepherd¡¯s trust before attempting any political moves. Otherwise, Glossy or one of our half-siblings will take him instead. Is that what you want?¡± Her face twisted in fury. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Good. I don¡¯t want that either.¡± He sighed, looking at the discarded limb in the same way a dogwalker might look at the gifts he has to pick up and bag. ¡°We failed this time. Let¡¯s endeavor to improve. Lest it happen again.¡± The two started talking about something else afterwards. I didn¡¯t care. I¡¯d heard enough. My feet began to move. Taking long, silent strides towards the entrance. I sprinted after the halfway mark. Knowing there was a delay between the robot¡¯s acquisition of stimuli and them switching protocols to actively search for the source. I was gone by the time they neared the entrance. Going down a spiralling hallway with a low ceiling covered in glowing fungi. I returned to find the intersection as I¡¯d left it. Covered in furry corpses. My mind went back to my map. Going over the options I¡¯d already crossed out. A sigh escaped my lips after I realized there was only one other alternative if I wanted to keep ascending. A very, very narrow passage at a slight incline. With a ceiling so low that I¡¯d have to crouch in order to traverse it. I bit my lip in frustration. Wondering if I should risk backtracking in hopes of finding a better route that kept going up. It would mean a six hour walk the way I¡¯d originally come from. Not a welcome prospect but not a deal breaker by itself. The problem was that it would mean going back to where the mushroom men were. After they¡¯d very nearly taken my head off. The idea was so unpleasant that I discarded it almost immediately. ¡°Come on Sully. You¡¯re smarter than that. The only reason you made it out was that they were half asleep the first time. Even then, they chased you down for hours. You¡¯d stand a better chance against the machine guns.¡± ¡®Why are you talking to yourself again Sully?¡¯ ¡°Never mind that, Buddy. Let¡¯s keep moving.¡± I made my way over to the tunnel. Resignation colouring my every step. The distance between opposing walls soon grew narrow, barely wide enough for a human to move through. Worse, I soon had to crouch forward as the ceiling dropped lower and lower. With a small sigh of relief, I thanked my lucky stars that I didn¡¯t suffer from claustrophobia. The last thing I needed right now was more ill feelings clouding my judgement. Particularly when I looked at the survivor count. Even with all my efforts thus far, attrition was taking its toll, probably helped along by an unhealthy dose of famine.
Survivor Count: 528/1000
I felt bad for all the victims, I really did. Being kidnapped in the middle of the night and taken to some maze without having done anything was horrifying. And yet¡­. I had done my part and I¡¯d continued doing my part despite the constant stream of hysterical replies and rejection. I was ready to help anyone who asked. It was they who refused to help themselves. Part of still grimaced at the cold calculus of survival. I cherished that bit of myself; a small, untainted shred of na?ve innocence. My hands moved over the spot where the diary was stored. I swore I¡¯d keep those emotions within me, despite knowing it wouldn¡¯t help. Losing them would leave me no better than the tall man. I shivered at the thought and kept moving upwards. Another few hours saw me and Buddy in a distinct watering hole. Here, glowing sapphires illuminated the small stream from beneath, making it seem as though the water was in some way magical. It was then that I felt safe enough to rest and indulge in some well-deserved relaxation. Just like that, me and Buddy celebrated my eleventh day inside the murder-maze. The occasion was marked by a protracted period of running for our freaking lives after finding a two-metre-tall shrew who didn¡¯t take too kindly to illusions. That bloody animal ate [Fever] soup like it was going out of style, not slowing down in the slightest despite my unrelenting assault. I could taste the anticipation it felt as it gave chase. Taking in the emotions of the beast looking forward to a tasty morsel. Thankfully, [Hide] still worked fine and the furry missile passed me by. It didn¡¯t realize something was off until it was almost outside my senses, by which time I¡¯d charged up another super shot. Which did next to nothing, leaving me and Buddy exposed once more. Cursing under my breath, I started sprinting once again, taking whatever twists and turns took me into narrow passages. I felt it gaining ground, frustration and anger fueling its pursuit, its primitive brain busy with thinking up ways to mangle my corpse. Seeing as that outcome might prohibit me from ever seeing daylight again, I redoubled all my efforts, throwing more and more Psy into seemingly futile resistance. At that point, an opportunity presented itself. Just below us was a crevice in the rock, barely big enough for me to crawl into and certainly too small for the oversized rodent. We reached it just in time, sharp claws scraping against stone outside. The shrew squeaked, a gesture that might have come across as adorable were it the right size, but which filled my gut with terror at this distance. I delved as much as I could, careful to tuck my legs into my chest afterwards and focusing on regaining Psy. Beyond the noise and the fear, there was the deep dark lake from which my strings had surfaced. The waters were thick and oily, blotting out any undue influence with practised ease. I allowed them to swallow me whole so as to better shield myself from fear and distraction. There I waited and waited. Feeling the soothing motions of the tides wash away all the accumulated stress.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Meditation] 2 has grown to [Meditation] 3
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 127/185
Type: Telepath Level 27
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 3 / [Message] 4 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 4 / [Fear] 3 / [Static Illusion] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 2 / [Precognition] 4 / [Friendship] 1 / [Meditation] 3 /
Ability Points: 0
Images flooded my psyche, marching slowly so as to make themselves known. There was the community center again and the tall man and the monsters. The people wailed in despair until a stick-like digit silenced them all with a lazy motion. That man was pacing back and forth, regarding the humans beside him as if they were but toys for him to move about and break at his pleasure. With a sidelong glance, the mother crab tore into its children. The crustacean was many things, but it was not stupid. Its own misery roared like a tornado in the small space, begging for the torture to stop. Pleading for the tall man to take it instead of its children. The tall man snarled and said something. Something. Vile. The people recoiled in disgust. Mom and Dad recoiled in disgust. I wept. I awoke some hours later, fully topped off. Filled with that alien weariness I¡¯d so often experienced lately. Another blast met the shrew, which had apparently been hissing and clawing fruitlessly at the walls this entire time. Three more strikes had the desired effect and its abused neurons had the decency to die like any other monster. Unfortunate for me, it had the sheer audacity to expire whilst blocking our only means of egress. Thusly, I was in for another nap so that Buddy could digest away undisturbed. A rest that was cut short by another sudden shiver and I brought my hands over to my visor by reflex. ¡°Buddy. Do you have everything you need?¡± ¡®Yes! I love being with you Sully!¡¯ ¡°Good to hear. In that case, would you mind turning up the heat again? I think I might be sick.¡± ¡®I¡¯m already making you as warm as I can. The outside is too cold.¡¯ ¡°Really? I haven¡¯t felt any big changes.¡± ¡®That¡¯s because I¡¯ve been helping silly! Here, I¡¯ll open up your visor so you can feel it.¡¯ At once, the see-through membrane opened. It was then that I began to fully appreciate how much Buddy had been doing without my notice and how very lucky I was to find him when I did. The stagnant air was definitely below 0 degrees Celsius. Maybe even reaching the negative 20s. ¡°Jeez! Shut it! Shut it! Buddy!¡± The visor closed once more, leaving my teeth clattering and the rest of my body recoiling with the aftershock. ¡°When? When did it get this bad?¡± ¡®The temperature dropped to below freezing yesterday. It¡¯s gotten worse the more we climb.¡¯ ¡°How!? None of the watering holes were frozen over!?¡± ¡®I think the water there was heated.¡¯ ¡°There is no freaking way whoever trapped us down here would go to all that effort. Why spare us the drinking water after going this far to mess with us?¡± ¡®I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m just a suit.¡¯ I had to make an effort to calm myself down. Buddy was one of my few lifelines and I trusted him almost as much as I trusted myself at this point. Getting angry at him over this query wouldn¡¯t solve anything. Now, I consider myself a fairly learned individual. Enough to know that I can¡¯t be an expert on everything and that some details are going to escape my notice. That said, I was pretty sure warm air travelled upwards and that I should not have to risk transforming into a bright red popsicle by trying to escape. Unless I was underneath some out of the way frozen tundra and all the survivors and monsters had made it to this point thanks to underground thermal vents. That might go some way to explaining the water being heated too. However, that didn¡¯t make sense either, as I was fairly certain those didn¡¯t spew out breathable air. Both humans and monsters should have suffocated long ago if that was the case. ¡°There¡¯s something weird going on.¡± I said, feeling like the biggest dunce in the world after the words were out. After the kidnapping, the whole Telepath ordeal, the robots and the mutants, the cold shouldn¡¯t have surprised me. Just another means of tormenting all the hapless victims trapped down here with me. Nothing more, nothing less. Gritting my teeth, I resolved to keep moving. This hindrance wouldn¡¯t be in place if there wasn¡¯t anything important above us. We were close. We must be, if the architect wanted to keep us out. ¡°Buddy, is there any way you could leave the fur alone? I want to take it with us.¡± ¡®What!? Why!? Are you cheating on me!? With some stinky pelt! Sully, how could you!?¡¯ ¡°No! No. I¡¯m not¡­ I¡¯m¡­¡± I took a few deep breaths to calm myself. ¡°I would never cheat on you Buddy. You know that. I merely thought that you could use the help. I¡¯m very cold right now and I think it would be easier for you, for us, if you draped the fur coat over you. To keep more of the heat in.¡± ¡®That¡¯s not fair! I was doing a great job until now!¡¯ ¡°I know Buddy. I know. But at this rate, we might die from the cold. Please. For me.¡± The symbiote grumbled a few protests and sulked for a few more minutes before agreeing. ¡®I only do it because you asked.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ll never forget that, Buddy.¡± ¡®So don¡¯t let the other symbiotes know or they¡¯ll make fun of me.¡¯ ¡°Buddy, the other symbiotes can go jump off a cliff for all I care. You¡¯re doing an amazing job. No one else could be half as great as you.¡± Soft purring answered me, confirming my choice of words to have been correct. Re-invigorated and newly clothed, we kept moving. Chapter 20: No Bargaining. Chapter 20: No Bargaining. Taking the pelt proved to be the right choice soon thereafter. Displeased as Buddy was, it had become clear that extra warmth was necessary around these parts. In fact, I might just risk another fight with a shrew if it meant getting my hands on another one. The puddles that used to plague the cavern floors were frozen solid more often than not, with each floor showing more and more signs of intolerable cold. All the mushrooms were gone as well, meaning the passages were even darker than those on the lower levels. Up here, the only reliable source of illumination were frost-covered vines wrapped around icy stalactites and those were far and few between. The colours changed with every corner, sometimes white, sometimes pinkish-grey. It gave the tunnels an ambiance of serene tranquility. Like that of an oil painting created by someone who¡¯d heard of icy caves, but never actually glimpsed one. There were other factors to consider as well. Centipedes, which used to be the most commonplace of pests were hardly seen anymore. In their place were blue-shelled snails, bigger and meaner than their golden counterparts, sporting twisting horns in their frame. They were preyed upon by rugged, six-limbed toads that inflated their tongues to resemble morning stars. Both ran away from the grey-green pumas that sometimes phased through the ceilings to pounce on the unwary and all avoided the moving chunks of ice that my fog picked up now and then. Those were, strange. Well, stranger than anything else at least. They had thoughts but different from the rest. More persistent and real? As if they were self-sustaining Telepathic illusions. Each notion re-asserting their time on the maze. The only problems with that idea were the very real heaps of corpses left behind whenever something was unlucky or unwise enough to linger in their presence. So, definitely not illusions. More like, an elemental or robot carved out of living tissue and ice? Doesn¡¯t matter. My abilities worked on them just fine, so they were treated like the rest. More difficult to deal with were the penguins. On the one hand, they appeared to be no different from actual, real-life penguins. All cute and cuddly, with that adorable waddle that made my heart ache. On the other hand, I couldn¡¯t read their minds and the few messages carved on the walls were saying things like: ¡°Don¡¯t trust the penguins.¡± ¡°The penguins are evil.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bargain with the penguins.¡± ¡°Boss penguin wants your soul.¡± That last one had been so colourful I¡¯d actually considered turning back down and improving my powers a bit more. I mean, what? Were the penguins in some cult? That didn¡¯t make sense. Then again, when had this hole ever made any sense. ¡®Better to avoid them for now.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t be like that. Come play with us.¡¯ ¡°GAAH! Jeez Buddy! Don¡¯t do that to me! I¡¯m already on edge as it is! I almost¡­ I almost had an accident!¡± ¡®I didn¡¯t do anything Sully. That was someone else speaking.¡¯ Oh. Oh no. ¡®What¡­uh¡­do you mean?¡¯ ¡®I mean there was someone else speaking. Or thinking? I get confused. Its all the same to me but you¡¯re different since you use your mouth to make sounds.¡¯ My heart caught in my throat. Goosebumps were breaking out all over my skin as I managed to gulp and gathered the courage to answer. ¡°Is anybody there?¡± ¡®On your right.¡¯ I looked right. Big mistake. There, on the wall, was an eye. An eye twice as big as I was, with seven pupils of varying colours spinning lazily in place. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!¡± ¡®AAAAAAAA!!!¡¯ Buddy agreed. ¡®Have no fear. I will take all your pain away. In return I only ask one thing.¡¯ It kept sending messages into my brain. All the while, me and Buddy hadn¡¯t stopped screaming. Seeing my chance, I bolted the way I¡¯d come before, relying on my map to navigate through the shadows. ¡®FEEEEEDDD MEEE!¡¯ It finished, not caring that I was sprinting away. A penguin was waddling happily around the corner. Having been previously spared since I didn¡¯t want to hurt something so cute. Another eye appeared in its stomach now and the voice came into the physical world through its open beak. ¡°FEEEEEDDD MEEEE!¡± I slipped on an icy puddle and fell forward, barreling into it. My right arm struck its beak. My left struck its belly, hitting the milky white sections of the orb. The thing howled in pain and rage. ¡°I WILL EAT YOUR SOUL!¡± I scrambled to my feet, landing one more kick on the stomach before dashing away. ¡®Sully! Don¡¯t stop! I¡­I can¡¯t see. Its all around us! Its everywhere! Its in the walls and the air! Its under my skin! Its under your skin!¡¯ ¡°Holy cow Buddy! Stop talking!¡± The last thing I needed right now was more reasons to crap myself. Run first, ask questions later. My fog begins picking up signals within a few seconds; impressions and emotions being carried to me from all directions. All the usual sensations are present, but in far greater quantities. I can feel life across the roof and below the floors, as well as to our sides. Critters moving about far beyond the boundaries of the thick staircase walls. Far more than ever before. All were singing in unison. ¡®I WILL EAT YOUR SOUL!¡¯ It should have been overwhelming, at least, that¡¯s what I expected when I braced myself. This time was different simply by virtue of scale. The resonance was akin to a wave sweeping me up. Drowning me on the plane of unreality I¡¯d become so familiar with since awakening to telepathy. First, I was slowing. Faltering ever so slightly. The next moment, I was stumbling through a forest. Gasping from the cutting winter winds despite having Buddy with me. Every tree and every shadow were long a dizzying. A barricade of unfeeling darkness surrounding me from every direction. I picked a random direction and ran. It didn¡¯t work. Every step made me feel more sluggish. As if I was wading through a tide of molasses. ¡°I¡­I¡¯m back here?¡± ¡®Where is here? I don¡¯t know Sully! I don¡¯t like this! I don¡¯t like this! I don¡¯t like this!¡¯ ¡°Hang on Buddy! I¡­I¡¯ll figure something out!¡± The trees were around me again. Without any visible changes. Their leaves rustled in a queer way when the wind passed through them. Repeating themselves over and over. ¡°Feed me!¡± ¡°Feeeeeed Meee!¡± ¡°FEEEED MEEE!¡± I was breathing hard. Struggling to keep myself from panicking. Until I saw the things leaving the treeline. They were smoky, insubstantial things. Having solid legs one moment and gaseous forms the next. Moonglow glittered in their many, many eyes and the same light shone off their long claws. Their bloody claws. Though they did not approach, I knew them at once. ¡°No. This isn¡¯t real. This is a trap.¡± I stepped back, my mouth having gone as dry as a dessert. Trembling as the new voice came. ¡°Solomon! Why weren¡¯t you there!? Sully! Why didn¡¯t you help me!? Why did you leave me!?¡± The blood crawled and slithered into a puddle. Until a wailing face rose from the heap. The torn and reeking visage¡­ Of Doris. Begging for help. I threw a [Mental Bolt] and a dose of empowered [Fever]. When that didn¡¯t work, I activated [Precognition]. There was a ripple then. Paint washing off canvas. The setting twisted and appeared anew. Reality and the possibilities therein superimposed on the nightmare. I¡­ Began to struggle. To think. To remember. To resist. I was¡­ I was¡­ I was back. In my bed. With Doris at my side. Her breaths were slow and calm and precious. Her warmth made me feel safe. Happy. Her cheeks were flushed and rosy, her lips an enticing red. Her hair was a tangle of knots wrapped around my shoulders, going this way and that. Daylight streamed in through the curtains, illuminating the dorm room. The golden rays added an indescribable beauty to the scene and for half a heartbeat, I tried telling myself that this was real. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The lie came easy. So very easy. I could close my eyes and savor the moment. The labyrinth would be a distant memory then. No different than my recollections of the mother crab and the tall man. Of the offal and the dread. I sobbed, despite myself. Doris woke up. ¡°Jeez Sully. What is it now?¡± She complained while pouting. ¡°It¡¯s a weekend. I want to sleep in. Just be quiet and cuddle.¡± ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± I was weeping then. Forcing myself deeper into the delusion. Praying that it would last another few seconds. Wishing that it became real. [Precognition] was still working however. The golden strings betrayed me. Refusing to alter the course. They said that I was leaning against a wall, with two penguins closing in. One would bite my right arm. Another, my left leg. Their teeth would tear chunks of flesh away. I chose what my real body would do. Moving in spite of the spell placed on me. Dodging by a hair¡¯s breath and kicking one of them. The thing pretending to be Doris shrieked in rage. Her mouth opening to reveal too many needle-like teeth and too many eyes. Her fingers turned to knives, raking me and leaving bloody ribbons through my torso. I shoved her, it, off me and bolted for the door. I was running through the dormitory, past the laughing wallpaper. I was losing speed, both in the dream and the tunnel. The golden strings were working overtime, acting as my only source of information. Then I was jogging and walking. Walking through a parking lot into a camping supply store. I¡¯d¡­ Escaped? What did I escape? There was a monster¡­ I think? Yes. That was it. I had escaped from a centipede. Or was it a crab? I can¡¯t recall. There was a voice. ¡®Oh my goodness! You almost broke out Sully! Keep fighting! The walking birds are trying to eat you!¡¯ Yes. Buddy. I was wearing Buddy. He was so nice to stay by me. I needed to buy more things. I needed weapons. ¡°Guns. I need big freaking guns. Explosive ammo, dragons breath rounds, armor piercing rounds. Big rifles and big shotguns. A flamethrower and a rocket launcher.¡± The store rippled again when I tried to focus, but the desired items did not manifest. It turns out that guns are very regulated right now. I mean, I kind of saw it coming. Getting my hands on one would mean filling out a small mountain of paperwork, going through some very expensive courses and getting a license I¡¯d have to renew each year. Besides that, was the 3-month waiting period and the ludicrous price of each individual rifle. All in all, not very helpful for my current predicament. ¡®Sully! What are you doing! You have to wake up! The small one tried to bite between your legs!¡¯ Not to say there wasn¡¯t any progress. I did purchase some bear spray and some insect repellent, hoping that one or both of them would do something. I knew it was a long-shot from the get go, but I couldn¡¯t really clarify the efficacy on giant mutant insects with the employee at the register. Aside from that, there were two items that caught my attention. Bows and crossbows. I had no idea they sold these. I hadn¡¯t even thought of them as options. I mean, what was a crossbow bolt or an arrow going to do against a robot or a snail as big as house. But then I considered the possibilities. The most numerous enemies down there were the centipedes. They simply outnumbered all the others by a massive margin, to the point where there seemed to be hundreds of them versus everything else. If, for whatever reason, I found myself surrounded without being able to use Psy, then I¡¯d be able to thin their numbers before having to pull out the spear. It was a pretty decent idea to be honest. There was only one small hiccup. I had no idea how to use either. Like, no clue whatsoever. ¡®Sully! One of them ripped a chunk off me! Oh, its eating the pelt. Never mind. We¡¯re good.¡¯ On the one hand, I looked through my phone and found lessons online. Yay! On the other hand, they were $40 per hour. Boo! That and the weapons themselves were on the pricier side. As in, I¡¯d be eating cup noodles for a while. Even then, I¡¯d have to buy the cheapest ones and eat them in moderation. My whole financial situation was bit of mess overall. While I hadn¡¯t lost my part-time job yet, missing those weeks without notice had taken a toll on my boss¡¯ opinion of me. Little did he know, I¡¯d be missing every other day from now on for personal reasons. That meant every penny was precious. Still, I did end up buying the crossbow and some ammo for it. Couldn¡¯t enjoy decent food if I was dead after all. ¡®Wow! One of the pumas is eating the penguins! Go puma go!¡¯ Speaking of money, there¡¯s this question that¡¯s been bothering me ever since I tried to leave with my recently-purchased goods. What kind of person robs a hunting supply store? No, really. I want to know. This is extremely relevant information right now. ¡°Nobody move! Keep your heads down and this¡¯ll all be over!¡± ¡®Yeah buddy, that¡¯s all nice and good, but I can still read your mind. I know you¡¯re planning to rob the customers too.¡¯ ¡®Sully? Were you talking to me? Oh, you¡¯re still asleep. Good news though! The penguins are running and¡­oh. No. They screamed and the puma exploded.¡¯ I don¡¯t actually vocalize those thoughts of course. The very last thing the twitchy loser needed to hear was that there was a Telepath in the room with him. That might lead to all sorts of awkward situations. Like me getting my face blasted off. An entirely possible scenario given the trigger discipline shown so far. He¡¯s already waving the gun around like a drunken teenager playing laser tag. Although, if we¡¯re being fair, the makeshift mask probably doesn¡¯t help much either. You¡¯d think people would know better than to cut holes in pillow cases, but I guess that¡¯s where we are as a society. Seriously man, if you¡¯re not going to put in the proper effort just save us all the trouble and hand yourself in. ¡®Also, how did he get a shotgun? I couldn¡¯t get a shotgun. Even though I really needed one. Where did he get it from? Are there secret gun stores that exclusively market to idiots? If so, where could an enterprising Labyrinth explorer find one of these establishments? Asking for a friend.¡¯ ¡®Sully? I think you¡¯re not alone here. There¡¯s this green bug guy with big legs and four scythe arms. He¡¯s screaming. There¡¯s a woman next to him.¡¯ My thoughts continue to race as the thief starts to take money from the register. He stops rather quickly and resumes their screeching. ¡°Why is there so little money here! You! Get up! Are you telling me that all you have on this register is $53 and 7 cents?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Answers the cashier, a thin young man in a green shirt and brown pants, emblazoned with the logo of a smiling beaver pitching a tent. Sweat flows freely from his too-large forehead and makes it so that his matted brown hair sticks to his face. He looks like he¡¯s about to evacuate his bowels all over the floor. His eyes are large and compounded, like those of a mantis. His hands are human one second and scythes the next. His mind is an even bigger mess. The perfect picture of pessimism. A repeating loop of apologies to his cats and his girlfriend. Begging their forgiveness for not being able to return alive. Imaginary deaths play out in his head, multiple ways this day could end with his life cut short, just as he was finally staring to find happiness. ¡®Chill out man.¡¯ I think to myself. ¡®This will pass. Its not like you¡¯re trapped below ground in a hole filled with giant killer mutants. This is just a hiccup. All he wants is money. Give the imbecile some cash and let him be on his way. The cops can take it from there.¡¯ In an ideal world, that where it all ends. The burglar doesn¡¯t get much for his efforts but he decides to cut his losses. Sadly, our captor does not find himself in a particularly accommodating mood. ¡°Everything you¡¯re selling here is worth an arm and a leg! The cheapest tent you¡¯ve got is $200! Do not! I repeat, do not! Lie! To! Me! Again! Where is the rest of it?¡± ¡°Come on man. Everybody pays with cards! You know that! What kind of person walks around with hundreds of dollars in cash?¡± ¡®Wow, pretty judgemental there Mr. clerk. Especially for someone being held at gun point. Plenty of people carry emergency cash around.¡¯ ¡®Furthermore, while I do hate to admit it, the crook does have a point. Everything here has a huge markup. Those tents can¡¯t possibly be worth that much. I mean $120 for a climbing pick? $180 for hiking pants? More for boots or a sweater? Listen guys, the beaver is cute and all, but the carboard displays don¡¯t call for those kinds of prices.¡¯ ¡®Yeah. Now that I think about it, maybe you guys had it coming a little bit.¡¯ In any case, this whole situation is an exercise in futility. The police are already on their way, so all I need to do is keep my head down and keep [Hide] activated. Looks like it does have its uses after all. Specifically, it seems to make people that know where I am lose track of me for a moment. Couple that with [Faint Presence] and this is a pretty decent hidey-hole. None of the people in here so much as look in my direction and I don¡¯t appear in any of their thoughts. Even if someone does try to find me, I have a pretty sweet backup plan involving [Static Illusion] and the store mascot. ¡®Nice job Sully! You completely disappeared! The penguins are being killed by the bug guy. Oh and the woman is saying something. I think she¡¯s scared. Of you. She¡¯s pale and panting.¡¯ As for how I know the police are on their way? I called them. Obviously. Not with my phone or my voice, heavens no. That would probably irritate the man wielding the gun and I liked my intestines lead-free. I sent a message to the other store employee in the break room. From there, it was actually fairly easy to trigger an alarm. Something the teller was supposed to do with that shiny red button under his desk, but whatever. No one knows how they¡¯ll perform under pressure. Sure enough, a cop car pulls in moments later and two officers file out with their weapons drawn. The would-be criminal also notices. His voice has left him and his mind goes blank. I¡¯m not actually doing anything to him, that¡¯s just how surprised he is. I expect him to turn to the poor employee at any moment now, screaming about how he shouldn¡¯t have done that or how mad he was or whatever. That doesn¡¯t happen. Instead, the thug punches the teller in the stomach and moves to choke him from behind. There is now a hostage in the equation. To make matter worse, the fool opens fire on the officers, aiming his weapon with one hand. It doesn¡¯t go well. ¡®Sully, the lady is really freaked out. She¡¯s crying. The bug guy wants to run away. They¡¯re afraid you might come back. They still can¡¯t see you.¡¯ Recoil makes the weapon swing wildly in the air, slugs embedding themselves on wooden walls and shattering windows. Worse, firing so close to his victim¡¯s ear stuns him, making him spasm and reel with pain. The sudden motion coupled with the shotgun¡¯s kick make the thief stumble backwards, releasing the cashier momentarily. He tries to recover, intent on getting back his meat shield. That¡¯s when I activate [Fear], making sure to isolate its range so that only one target is affected, out of all the people surrounding me. To put extra icing on this cake, I conjure some illusions. Two static images on the ceiling. A single, waiting centipede, curled up next to Gappy, the big-headed, gap-toothed beaver. He smiles as his dead-glossy eyes stare unblinkingly at nothing. Neither of the images move, but a voice can be heard within the shooter¡¯s brain. A whisper made of darkness that seems to come from the gaping mouth of his hallucination. ¡®Ha ha! Wanna help me pitch my tent?!¡¯ The fool screams hysterically and discharges a second shot wildly into the air. Slugs pass through my false creatures and I dispel them, scrapping both from the world. It did its job beautifully. Yet the bullets are still flying. I activate [Precognition] to dodge the reaming hail. The store shivered. Colours washing into each other. Until they held still and cracked like stained glass.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Gained: [Block Mental Attack] 1 has been added to the Status.
Ability Gained: [Block Mental Detection] 1 has been added to the Status.
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Block Mental Attack] 1 has grown to [Block Mental Attack] 2
Ability Evolving: [Block Mental Detection] 1 has grown to [Block Mental Detection] 2
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 127/195
Type: Telepath Level 29
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 3 / [Message] 4 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 4 / [Fear] 3 / [Static Illusion] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 2 / [Precognition] 4 / [Friendship] 1 / [Meditation] 3 / [Block Mental Attack] 2 / [Block Mental Detection] 2
Ability Points: 0
I returned to the frozen landscape bereft of supplies. Feeling blood trickling down my arms and legs. A familiar, sticky wetness that clung to me. ¡°He¡¯s gone! He¡¯s gone! He¡¯ll kill us all!¡± ¡°Calm down! He¡¯s not here Helga!¡± ¡°He was here! I saw it! He was fighting the thing between the spaces!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a good thing? It might¡¯ve killed him. Those birds are nasty.¡± ¡°No! No! No! He¡¯s alive! That¡¯s too weak! It¡¯s too weak to kill him! To kill it! It scares and traps people and leaves them helpless but does little more! He¡¯s more dangerous! The Tyrant! The Judge! The Despot! The Hanged! He¡¯s the end of day! The liar and deceiver! We have to kill him! We have to kill it! While its asleep!¡± I had no idea what these two were talking about and didn¡¯t care to find out. Instead, I reached out through my fog and attacked a passing shrew. Waiting with bated breath until it came to fight the two would be killers. Scenes of the forest and the store clashed against what Buddy was telling me, but I had no time to make sense of anything. As soon as the shrew appeared, shrieking and salivating, I unleashed a charged [Fever] into the fray, using the distraction to rush out a side passage. Pumping more and more Psy into [Hide] and allowing Buddy to bandage my wounds after a fashion. ¡®At least he can stem the bleeding. There¡¯s that silver lining. I should not be ungrateful.¡¯ Yet I seethed. At the penguins. At the mastermind who put them there. At the thing howling between the walls. Bitter in the knowledge that hunting them down would be the height of stupidity. ¡®Escaping come first.¡¯ I repeated over and over again. As I vanished into the darkness. Intermission: Keep it Together. Do not lose your temper. Do not lose your temper. Do not lose... "Hey! Are you listening to me!? We''ve got to turn back now! We''ve gone too far! Prudence? Prudence!?" My hands began to itch. [Claws] growing from my fingertips without any conscious effort. A smarter man might have taken the hint and backed off. Ryan merely raised his voice. Yelling so loudly that every centipede, mole-bear, eel and thunder-rabbit within a few miles knew where we were. I started hearing the little whispers again. Those faint echoes my dark passenger let out every once in awhile. ''Kill him. Kill him now. Do yourself a favor. Do them all a favor. Do him a favor. He''s already dead. Make it quicker. Make it less painful.'' My increasingly sharp fingers didn''t go for his throat. Despite some part of me really wanting to tear it open. ''That isn''t going to help. Calm down. Stay focused. Do not lose your temper.'' "Hey! I''m talking to you, you stupid cow! Can''t you hear me!?" "I can hear you just fine." I said through gritted teeth. "Then why aren''t we going back to the pool?" "Because you and your friends already ate all the mushrooms around it. Ryan. There''s no point in going back there." Ryan looked like he was about to say something else, when Jane came over from the side. Pressing her body against his arm and sobbing. "Please. We have to go back. We can''t be out here. Its too dangerous. What if we run into monsters?" "The we kill them." Kaito answered. "You know, like we''ve been doing?" Jane sobbed harder, which led to Ryan wrapping his arms around her in a protective embrace. ''Weak.'' The passenger said. ''Weak and slow. Waste of food. Waste of air. Put them. Out of their misery.'' I willed the impulses away, cursing internally at how persistent they were becoming. Not that I wasn''t grateful for their presence most of the time. [Predator''s Instincts] was an amazing ability overall and I truly appreciated that it was one of the first three Shifter''s got. It could estimate a monster''s overall strengths and weaknesses, help you know when to fight and when to run, tell you when you''d been spotted and when your target wasn''t aware of you. It could even put you in a battle trance, helping you get a grip on how to use your abilities in concert, rather than by themselves. The extra help was enough to turn an amateur like me into a killing machine and I had no doubt that me and most other Shifters would be dead without it. Speaking of which. I turned my head to look at Louise. Feeling her own version of [Predator''s Instincts] rising up. She was a slightly homely creature. Short and without much in the way of curves, with a square face and messy hair. Nothing wrong with that though. Looks didn''t mean anything down here. What mattered was that she had a talent for fighting dirty and a willingness to leap into the thick of things. The only issue was that she looked at Ryan the way so many girls had looked at Kyle back home. ''What a waste of talent.'' I thought bitterly. She might have been good enough to join my own team, if she wasn''t so obsessed with him. As things stood she hadn''t managed to get her her level past 7. Worse, she was the strongest of Ryan''s little pose. ''Jane wants to sit by the stream and cry all day while someone brings her food. Ryan is dying to get into Jane''s pants. Louise is dying to get into Ryan''s pants and the other two...well. They were dying to get into my pants, from the look of it.'' I might have considered playing along for a time, if it meant two more bodies to count on. Unfortunately, Mark and Tracy were about as useful as nipples on power-armor. Somehow managing to suck even more than Jane. At least she was a Projector like Olga, and could throw out a [Force Bolt] or two in between cooldowns. Bringing her along might have been worth it for the extra firepower, if only she weren''t such a useless weeping mess. She''d actually managed to hit me with it during the last fight. Apparently she''d been so freaked out by a flying centipede section that she fired randomly into the melee. She''d actually had to nerve to complain afterwards, telling me and Kaito that we should''ve been killing the monsters more cleanly so she didn''t get any blood on her. Ryan had not only agreed, he''d actually worked up the gall to wag his finger at me. At me! After my team saved their sorry hides! Stupid. They were all so (Gnome)ing stupid. How is it that hundreds of people are dead when these lemmings are still alive? The voice purred again. ''They have some food left. Take it. Eat it. Its wasted on them.'' It was right. I knew it in my bones. They''d be a bunch of walking Darwin awards the second me, Kaito and Olga left. Louise knew it too. But she refused to leave them to their fates. "What if we run into something bigger?" Jane insisted. "Like, there might be bigger things than the mole out there." "Its the little ones you need to worry about." Olga corrected. "The lobster moles and tiger moles are stupid and clumsy. The gnomes are neither." "She''s right." Kaito assured them. "They were hiding out in water sources when we ran into them. They know we''ll have to risk an encounter or die of thirst. Moreover, they have hunting parties with efficient tactics. They won''t relent once they catch your scent." I shuddered. Recalling the sickeningly sweet voice in the back of my head. The way all my troubles seemed more distant while it was present. "You''re making that up! We haven''t even seen a gnome." "Count yourself lucky." Olga bit back. "Jane is right." Ryan lied. "Its much safer to hunt weaker monsters around the pool. That way we can get levels knowing we won''t run into anything we can''t handle." "Until you do run into a monster you can''t handle" Kaito observed. "Or a robot. Or one of the mushroom men. Or one of the boxing apple trees. Or a gnomish hunting party." "Jane can use [Force Wall] to seal off the entrance. Monsters always give up if they can''t get in." "They''ve always given up so far. You haven''t met the gnomes. They''re not (Gnome)ing stupid. They''ll erect [Force Wall]s of their own and sit around while you run out of Psy. They''re better Projectors than you are and definitely have more gas in the tank. The lucky ones will die quickly. The not so lucky ones will be taken alive to...wherever it is they''ve been taking their captives. I can''t imagine it''ll be a fun experience." "Maybe they''re friendly?" Jane asked. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Her question sent my jaw careening to the floor. From the look of it, Kaito and Olga had similar reactions. "Are you out of your mind!?" Olga bellowed. "We told you about the things they did! What part of that sounds friendly?" "Maybe it was your fault." Jane insisted. "Maybe they''re smart like NPCs in a video game. Maybe you attacked them when you weren''t supposed to and that''s why they''re looking for you." Olga had no more words. Her eyes had bulged out so far that I feared they might pop out of their sockets. "Look." I interrupted. "I''m not saying anything you don''t already know. Fighting monsters leads to levels and levels lead to more abilities. More abilities lead to better odds of making it out alive. Its not like we''re telling you to throw yourself into the thick of things. Me and Kaito are more than happy to act as a vanguard. So long as we know some of you will attack from the flanks or from the rear." I looked at Louise, purposely ignoring Ryan and Jane. "You''ve seen what fights are like. How quick and dirty they can be. One side, the one with the most advantages, overwhelms the other in seconds. There are no breaks. There are no do-overs. If you guys ever run into something more dangerous than a lone centipede, most of you are going to die. You know it. I know it. Everybody here knows it. Whether they admit it or not. A single level, (Gnome), a single ability can be the difference between walking away from a bad situation and a painful, clumsy death." I brought up a hand in her direction. "I''m not asking for much. Join us properly and watch our backs. That''ll get you the opportunities and the power you want. The power you need." Louise knew I was right. I could see it. I could sense it. Her own dark passenger must have been screaming at her to accept. I pushed harder. "Don''t you have a family? People who will miss you? People you want to protect? What will they think if you never come back to them? What will they feel when you''re gone?" Louise was about to answer, when Ryan leapt at me. His fist shot forward like a loosened arrow. His knuckle aimed directly at my face. It never connected. [Predator''s Instincts] made it so that I was aware of every subtle motion in my peripheral vision and its influence told my subconscious how to react before my logical mind had any say in the matter. Razor sharp [Claws] parted his flesh. Leaving his arm dangling from a thin section of exposed muscle. [Grow] roared to life alongside [Scales], [Jaws], [Venom Glands], [Poison Glands], [Muscular System] and [Adrenaline]. Consuming Psy in order to bring my full fury to bear. A second claw tore into Ryan''s belly, sending ropes of red intestines to the floor. A shoulder check sent his carcass into Jane, who was screaming like a banshee at the sudden violence. Olga''s [Force Bolt] found Tracy''s face even as Kaito grappled Mark to the ground and cut off his circulation. And with that, Louise was all that left. She howled, growing thick patches of blackened fur in a couple of heartbeats. Her own [Claws] dug into my scales, only to be stopped dead in their tracks by thick cords of superhuman muscle. Thick cords of poisoned muscle. She reared back, snarling, as the very veins on her arms began to change colour. From blue, to brown, to purple, to black. All in a few breaths. Her [Regeneration] tried to fight it. Healing her just as mine had healed me. The difference was in their respective levels. Hers might have been at 2. 3 at most. Mine was at 5. It had been the first thing I''d maxxed out. "Why?" I asked Ryan''s bleeding form. He sputtered in return. Gurgling some sounds that might have ben pleas or curses. "Save him!" Louise cried. "Please! Save him! I''m sorry he did that! I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I''m sorry! I''ll do whatever you want! Please! Please! Please!" I managed to stop my body''s movements. Fighting against the hisses and screeches [Predator''s Instincts] was throwing my way. I looked at the downed Ryan and over to the unconscious Jane. I took in their sorry states and thought of the school. Of the hydra. Of my friends. "Enough." I growled through elongated jaws. "Let them go." "Are you sure P.R? These guys just attacked us. We might''ve been the ones on the floor if they were stronger." "I''m sure." I repeated. Olga shrugged. "Come on Kai. You heard her." Kaito released his victim from the chokehold, leaving him to gasp and writhe on the uneven stone floor of the tunnel. I made my way over to Ryan, shrinking my [Claws] and [Jaws] whilst leaving my other protections in place. Then I activated [Regenerate Other] and felt the healing flow into him. His stomach closed, as did the section of his arm that had been sliced. Bone met bone as nerve endings met their counterparts. Stitching themselves back into place. His face remained pale though. The blood wouldn''t be coming back anytime soon. "You wanna explain what that was about?" I asked, despite already knowing the answer. "You were about to take away our healer. I...I couldn''t let that happen." ''Our healer.'' I thought. ''Not my girlfriend, not my friend or even our ally. Our healer.'' I looked over to where Louise was struggling against the poison, wondering if she''d also caught that. Her face said as much. ''That''s all you''ll be to him girl. Something to use instead of a person.'' Her eyes met mine and I saw that she knew that as well as I did. Then she looked over at Ryan, and back at me. Her head swayed from side to side. I shrugged. Healing the damage my poison had done before addressing my friends. "Right. Its time to go. We''ll find another stream some ways off." My body began to shrink as my legs took me away from the scene. Kaito and Olga followed, as I knew they would. "You know." He began after some time. "Leaving them like that might have been a mistake." I snorted. "Why? Are they gonna follow us and go for a rematch?" "Do not discount the possibility. Pride comes before the fall. They might be a band of losers now, but they could catch up quickly. There are two more of them than there are of us. All it would take is a well-placed ambush." "And do you see yourself walking into said ambush?" "Its not likely." He admitted. "That doesn''t mean its not possible. I think we can all agree that a little paranoia goes a long way. Especially when dealing with intelligent enemies." I barked out a laugh and Olga couldn''t help but giggle. "What? What''s so funny?" "Do you think they qualify as intelligent enemies?" "Not right now. But no one knows what secrets the future might hold. Ryan might be a pasty waste of skin today but he might very well be leading a lynch mob tomorrow. The man''s fighting prowess might be poor, but he has a way with words. I can see him being dangerous as an instigator." "What kind of imbecile would listen to anything Ryan has to say?" "You''d be surprised. Give people enough of a shock and a big enough common enemy, and they''ll happily march to their deaths. I''ve seen it over and over in my world." I considered his words. Mulling them over in my head. He did have a point. Loose ends were never ideal. Matter of fact, [Predator''s Instincts] was still hollering at me. Begging me to go back and finish the whole lot of them. "Speaking of worlds, there was a funny thing that happened quite often. Shifters were known for going, uh, insane every now and then. We''re talking about respected D-Rank healers working in hospitals that just, snapped one day. I always wondered what that was about. But, I sort of get it now. Something must have triggered their instincts." "That doesn''t sound particularly funny P.R." "Yeah, its not funny, it...uh. Its something people couldn''t explain. Not even the actual Shifters it happened to. The System clears up a lot of things in that regard. It feels like I should be writing this stuff down. Now if only I had my...." Olga and Kaito sighed. "Not this again P.R." "Let it go Prudence. Its gone. Nothing you can do." "Because it was stolen!" I roared in indignation. "Just because you lost it doesn''t mean its stolen." "I didn''t lose it! I hid it in between some boulders because my clothes were shredded. I had to find some furs to cover myself and couldn''t have it taking up a hand. What if I dropped it in a puddle?" "Well, now you lost it in some rocks." "I didn''t lose it! It was stolen! And when I find out who took it I''m gonna rip their (Gnome)ing arms off!" Olga rolled her eyes. "See, this is your problem P.R. So quick to anger. So prone to violence. A diary should be a token of love. I certainly know what I''d be writing down if I had my diary with me." Kaito gagged. Olga slapped him on the head. "You shut your mouth! Where were you when my prince showed up to save us? Huh? Oh, that''s right, you were passed out on the floor." "I was awake! Its not fault I couldn''t move! The robot literally ran me over! I would''ve been dead if not for [Enhanced Constitution]! Even then! Do you have any idea how much the (Gnome)ing thing weighed?" "My prince didn''t care how much it weighed." "Your prince ran in, crashed into it, stood up, looked at you for two whole seconds and then cranked up his super speed to run away. How did you get love at first sight from that?" "He told me his name." She sighed wistfully. "There''s a destiny between us. I know it. Its the power of love. How else would you explain my new Type." I winced. Feeling the feedback from my instincts. My dark passenger salivating at the prospect of more information. "You''re still hiding something from us." "I''m really not. All I did was think of my prince, of the way he moved. I felt the love he left with me and it gave me hope. Before you know it, boom. Dual Type. Just like him. Ah, why didn''t he take me with him? Do you think it was my hair? I''ve been wearing it short for years but maybe he likes it long?" Kaito glanced at her torso, then at me. ''Don''t you dare.'' He nodded and said nothing. Thankfully, Olga was so lost in her own fantasies that she didn''t notice. "How do you know he had two Types? We''ve both seen the Enhancer list. You could do what he did at a high enough level." "There''s nothing in the Enhancer list that makes barriers. He was covered in a [Force Bubble] when he crashed into the robot. I know it because I''ve been doing it too. The power of love has shown me the way." ''The power of love is what kept Louise trapped with Ryan.'' I knew better than to say that, so I asked for another demonstration instead. "Sure thing! Lets find a proper target and I''ll show you what my new levels can do!" It turned out that the new target wasn''t very far off. We ran into a bipedal zebra looking thing, with glowing tattoos covering its arms. The left one glowed a soft blue, while the right one glowed an incandescent red. They were only sources of light in the dim darkness of the circular chamber, as it was suspiciously devoid of glowing mushrooms. My abilities woke up, making me bigger, tougher and meaner. Kaito ran to the opposite side of the room, picking up a fallen stalactite from the ground and readying himself near the monster''s blind spot. The were-zebra allowed it to happen, curling up its lips in a macabre imitation of a human smile. It raised one of its arms and beckoned us closer. Olga sneered. "Watch and learn. Beast! Feel the power of love! [Force Bubble]!" She really didn''t need to yell. Regardless, the air shimmered as a veil of kinetic force wrapped itself around her. Her legs tensed. Empowered by passive and active Enhancer abilities. "Now take this! [Accelerate]!" The ability turned her already enhanced form into a blur. One moment she was there, and then she wasn''t. Instead, I felt a wave of displaced air hitting my face as Olga hit her target with all the might of a cannonball. However, the were-zebra was unharmed. Instead, the impact had shattered a wall of ice. One that had sprouted when it''s blueish tattoo petered out. The monster kicked and Olga flew backwards. Crashing into the cavern wall with a thud. I went to her, healing her as fast as possible. I felt her ribs re-aligning. Her lungs expanding over and over again as oxygen came back in. For its part, the creature fell. A stone spike jutting from behind its neck. Kaito sauntered over, unharmed. He had an impish grin on his face. Making it so that his sallow cheeks and hooked nose stood out all the more. "I really must complement you Olga. You really do make the best distraction." "(Gnome) you." She croaked. "I mean, it knew I was there. I saw its eyes tracking me around the room. I can only imagine that kicking you was so satisfying that..." "(Gnome) off Kai. You''re lucky we keep you around." I snapped. "Yeah. (Gnome) off." Kaito laughed harder. Intermission: Not My Fault. It was taking too long. Getting it back was taking too damn long! This stupid, (Gnome)ing System wasn''t giving me back my powers fast enough! It was all their fault. The aliens! The gnomes! The Telepaths! They did this to me! They''re the ones who took my powers away! The ones who took my arm away. Phantom pain shoots through me. Giving me the illusion that I still have something on that side of my body. I look down at the stump. Clenching and unclenching a fist that isn''t there. I grind my teeth in frustration. If I had just half my strength.... No! Just a quarter! A tenth! Then none of this would have happened! I would have seen them coming! I would have smashed those Neanderthals in to the (Gnome)ing walls! I would have cremated them till their bones melted into hot slurry! Yes. Yes! I''ll get them! I''ll show them! I''ll show them all! My skin tingles in anticipation. Relishing the idea of barbecuing those dirty (Gnome)ing barbarians. The girl first. Her brother took my arm so he has to go second. He has to see what I do to her before I kill him. Then he''ll know! He''ll know that heroes are not to be messed with! That aliens will never take me! That I''m bigger than some wasp man in his fancy flying saucer! I feel another tingle. One that travels down my spine and sets my teeth on edge. [Sense Heat] is calling to me. Telling me there''s something crawling behind these walls. Finally! I was afraid I''d run out of targets. I turn to face the uneven stone. "You think you''re safe, don''t you? You think I can''t get to you because you''re hiding! Like a coward!" I raised both my hands, bracing myself and holding down the air around me with [Amplify Gravity] whilst protecting my own body from the blast using [Absorb Heat], [Absorb Kinetic] and [Absorb Light] all at once. "HAVE A TASTE OF ME!" [Pyrokinesis III] roars. Melting the stone wall in front of me. And the one after that. And the one after that. Filling the passages with my awesome power! The blast doesn''t just consume hundreds of critters beyond my senses. It also swallows up most of the oxygen in the stale air. I smile. Knowing hundreds are choking to death on carbon monoxide. Maybe even thousands. It doesn''t take long for the notifications to come.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Pyrokinesis III] 7 has grown to [Pyrokinesis III] 8
Name: Randall Haroway
Psy: 321/500
Type: Projector II Level 54
Projector Abilities: [Telekinesis III] 7 / [Pyrokinesis III] 8 / [Photokinesis III] 6 / [Sense Heat] 2 / [Sense Kinetic] 2 / [Absorb Heat] 5 / [Absorb Kinetic] 5 / [Absorb Light] 4 / [Reverse Gravity] 5 / [Amplify Gravity] 3 / [Frost Bubble] 2 / [Local Stop] 2 / [Local Jump] 3 / [Local Portal] 5 / [Resonance] 2
Ability Points: 0
I take a deep and satisfying breath. Savoring the ecstasy that comes from progressing. Then I wrap a [Frost Bubble] around me to cool my surroundings and follow it up by manifesting [Telekinesis III]. The air that remains gathers to me. Shielded by walls of solid force. It doesn''t ignite and I keep taking one satisfied breath after another. I lift my body up. Bringing the lifegiving oxygen with me. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! I fly. Through horizontal hallways and vertical shafts. Forward and up and down again. Admiring my own handiwork. ''It took some time to combine [Force Bolt], [Force Bubble] and [Force Wall], but the results speak for themselves. Its still not as good as my old power, but its getting closer and closer with every level. Now I just need to figure out how to re-combine [Telekinesis III], [Pyrokinesis III], and [Photokinesis III]. That should get me back to top form. Back to the S-Ranker that I was. Then they''ll pay. They''ll all pay.'' My mind began conjuring images as I flew. Scenes from the towns. From the people. My teeth started grinding again. The sheer unfairness of it all making my blood boil. ''It was the Telepaths! Them and the aliens! They''ve always had it out for me! How else would you explain all those people turning against me? I had TV commercials! My face was in cereal boxes! I only ate the finest foods and slept with the finest women! How could regular people hate me? What reason would they have to hate me? No. It was them. Telepaths snuck onto the town beforehand and mind-wiped the entire population. That''s why they threw (Gnome) at me. There''s no other way it makes sense. Everyone''s been out to get me since day one! Its all them! Its all their fault! If only they didn''t exist! If only I could burn them all with one flourish!'' I passed more and more charred bodies as I flew. Centipedes, eels, moles, rabbits, were-rats, minotaurs, mushroom-men, poisoned plants, were-zebras, panthers, snails, otters, beetles and pumas. All united by one common denominator. They could burn. I began to feel a rising sense of self-satisfaction. Only for it to be ruined by faces moaning inside the billowing flames. They were people who''d turned against me. Fools and weaklings that had allowed themselves to be manipulated by Telepaths. ''Don''t blame me. I''m not the one who set you against me. Blame them. Blame the Telepaths and the aliens. The conspirators controlling the governments from the shadows. The idiots insisting that the world is round! They did this to you! Not me! I''m not to blame. Its not my fault! Its theirs! Its yours!'' Traps triggered in unison. Filling the air in front of me with ballista bolts. They smashed against my force field and shattered into splinters. I smiled a triumphant smile. Until the broken remains reminded me of that reporter. The one who''d had the nerve to swing at me. My power had activated, of course. It was a natural reaction. But the sheep hadn''t seen it that way. They''d cried out bloody murder. As if I hadn''t been defending myself! I wasn''t an Enhancer! My body was only as strong as a regular human''s! What was I supposed to do when an agent of the secret cabal tried to assassinate me!? They shouldn''t have been so blind! They should have blamed her masters! The ones pulling her strings! The Telepaths off the coast of Australia! They sent her to kill me! Her blood is on their hands! Not mine! I didn''t do anything wrong! The atmosphere vibrated and hummed. A spray of bullets flew towards me, only to be met with more concentrated kinetic force. Each of the shots went wild. Striking the nearby walls instead of me. I exerted [Telekinesis III]. Gouging out stones from the walls until I found the offending machine. I ripped the turret clean out of its nest and made a crushing motion with my one remaining fist. The metal screamed. Before collapsing into itself. I clicked my tongue. ''Traps are a coward''s weapon. The kind of thing Telepaths would use. No wonder they designed this maze. They wanted to strip me of authority. Of the Rank that made me a hero. Ha! It sure blew up in their faces! I''ll leave here stronger than ever before! With brand new powers and a whole lot more gas in the tank! I''ll show them! I''ll show them all!'' ''What will you show them?'' I stopped. Landing with a resounding BOOOM! and hollowing out a crater with the sheer impact of my shield landing on the stone floor. ''A Telepath! I knew it! They couldn''t finish me off with traps and they saw what I did to the gnomes they sent my way! I guess you finally decided to show yourself huh!? Bring it on!'' I opened my senses as far as they would go, trying to make out a heat signature or some errant movement. ''What are you doing friend?'' ''GET OUT OF MY HEAD!'' I turned and turned. Despairing at my inability to find the offender. ''Where are you! Show yourself!'' ''Haha! I''m right above you silly. I want to be your best friend in the whole world. I want to be your clothes and feel your smooth skin all over mine as I wrap you up and feed you and hug you and keep you warm.'' Mother(Gnome)ing pervert! I dug deep inside myself. To the burning candle flame that was my inner world. I found the wisp associated with [Resonance]. Grasping at the fickle mote and willing it to excise the messages coming my way. I would have fed it more Psy, if that was possible. As things stood, it was my only hope to ward of psionic assaults. It had worked against the gnomes, so it would have to do here. ''You think I''m helpless don''t you? Don''t you!? You think you''ll get away with sniping me like a coward because I can''t see you? Well think again! I''ll burn you to a crisp!'' I brought in air all around me, preparing a second explosion. This time, I sent it upwards. Making a pillar of flame that melted the ceiling until only magma remained. Once more, the magnitude of my attack sundered several walls. One after the other. I sensed newly formed lava dripping down and absorbed most of the heat from the searing droplets. flicking the others away with [Telekinesis III]. I poured more and more Psy into the conflagration. Laughing as I heard the vile Telepath screaming into my head. It kept saying nonsense. Telling me that it wanted to be friends. That it wanted love. Ha! As if those monsters were capable of love. "You might have fooled someone else, but you won''t fool me! I''m much smarter than your average mook! I know your lies better than the back of my hand!" I flew through the newly formed aperture, blasting away any remaining impediments with shockwaves of concussive force. I rose like a phoenix from the ashes. Giggling. ''Yes! Finally! My revenge finally got started! One Telepath down! A couple thousand to go!'' I searched for the body for another thirty minutes, growing more and more frustrated when I failed to find it. Could it have escaped somehow? I have a portal ability. Maybe it had a few mind-controlled drones on hand with similar capabilities. That was a sobering thought. ''As expected. It isn''t enough to ruin my life and to send innocent people after me. Now they''re sending other Projectors too. Is there no end to their villainy? Is there nothing they find sacred?'' No. Of course not. They got my assistant back home. Her and my girlfriend. Why would they stop now? "It''ll never be enough for them. It''ll never end. They know I''m the only hero that sees right through them. They know I''m all that stands between them and global domination. Nothing is off the table for them. Its not my fault people keep dying. I''m not the one manipulating them into attacking me. Its them! Its always them!" I looked at my reserves and growled. It wouldn''t be enough for another explosion. Not unless I de-activated my own protections. "That must never happen. That''s what they want. They want to see me getting reckless. They''re waiting for me to make a mistake so they can capitalize on it and get rid of me for good. That''s why they keep turning people against me. They want me alone. Without allies. That''s the only way they can kill me now that I''m getting my old powers back." I resolved myself to endure. Floating until I was safely away from the epicenter of the blast. Then I walked. Protected only by a thin membrane of telekinetic energy in order to stop any damage a trap might cause. Six more triggered before I found what I was looking for. I willed the metal grate open with my mind and stepped into the water room. I reached out with my hand, only to realize that I''d unconsciously brought up my stump. My teeth ground down against each other. I could feel the missing digits even now. Closing and opening as if they were still there. ''Is this also a Telepath trick? Something they''ve done to drive me mad?'' Yeah. That had to be it. Someone as strong as me wouldn''t have been shaken by a missing arm. I was better than that. It had to have been the Telepaths. I consciously chose to use my other arm. The only one I had left. Water trickled into my palm and I brought it to my lips in one smooth motion. I drank. Feeling my heart calming down. My veins cooling. After that, I braced myself against one of the smoother walls and rested. My dreams were dreadful, as always. Just another fact of life for someone who''d dared to stand up against his alien overlords. I dreamt a voice. Pleading for me to let my guard down. Trying to trick me into lowering my guard. I looked around me and saw a literal mountain of bones. No, there were bones below me as big as mountains. Pale maggots writhed in the muck. Squealing like piglets sent to the slaughterhouse. Grime and mucus sloughed off their bodies, and I looked closer to see that they had human faces. My assistant was there. As was the reporter I''d defended myself against. Their eyes were pools of purple blood and their mouths hung perpetually open. They made sounds. Terrible sounds. Condemning me for my bravery. I turned and turned in mid-air. Wings of brilliant flame keeping me aloft. I saw the cavewoman and felt my rage consuming me. The voice kept pleading. Trying to show me falsehood. Trying to trick me. Then it stopped and took something away instead. The last thing I recalled, was its sentence. "I am your death. Butcher." Chapter 21: Thalassophobia. Chapter 21: Thalassophobia. The end of the second week marked the end of our journey upwards. Not because we were finally free and I was running to the nearest phone to call in the army and a few airstrikes mind you. No, we had to stop because we¡¯d reached a large body of water that blocked our path upwards. How? Simple. The river was running above us, pressing upwards in defiance of gravity. I suppose I should have seen it coming, all things considered. No way escaping would be this easy after all the trouble our kidnapper¡¯s had gone through. Still, I would have thought that a large number of people with very big guns would have sufficed. Shows how little creativity I have within the pitch-black lake that is my subconscious. This predicament left me with a simple choice. I could take the reasonable approach and scour the topmost floor, just before the river. If there was a hidden tunnel or passage, I was bound to find it eventually. From there, I could fall back on my earlier plan of snitching to Thunder Fist at my earliest convenience. Of course, that would mean risking life and limb against the freaking bastard shrews that considered these passages sacrosanct. Recently I¡¯d developed a cunning stratagem of hiding out and calling as many other monsters down on the shrew as I could reasonably reach before being torn apart myself. A plan that had worked very well so long as the vermin had the good manners to be alone. When they hunted in groups? Not so much. They had a very annoying tendency to retreat when cornered instead of fighting to the death, luring threats into chokepoints or pre-arranged ambush spots. As such, the scales of battle were very much tipped in their favour. However, I had another choice. I could do the stupid thing and force myself up into the deluge. It would mean braving a body of water in below-freezing temperatures. While blinded by darkness. While disoriented by a powerful current. Yeah. A normal human¡¯s chances would not be good. ¡°So, Buddy, how capable are you in water?¡± ¡®What do you mean?¡¯ ¡°Well, let¡¯s say, hypothetically, that I wanted to go down or up as it were, for a dip. Do you think we could survive?¡± ¡®It depends. Our chances would be much better if I was already upgraded. I¡¯m not sure what the process entails, just that I get much stronger and tougher.¡¯ ¡°Naturally. Okay, different question. How long could we stay alive if we went up into the water right now?¡± ¡®At this temperature? Um. Maybe twenty minutes? I can¡¯t filter oxygen from water yet, so we¡¯d be going up with a limited supply. Plus, we¡¯d be all cold and blind. There¡¯s no telling what¡¯s up there either. I don¡¯t doubt my best friend can take care of himself of course. All I¡¯m saying is that we don¡¯t know where to begin preparing. Or if preparation would help.¡¯ ¡°Right.¡± I muttered, trying to break through with my fog and failing miserably. Squinting as much as I could, I could barely make out colourful rock formations that were obviously distinct from the usual cavern walls surrounding us. It looked like coral that was half-bleached, resulting in a texture not dissimilar to dried papier mach¨¦. More importantly, it looked quite sharp and not at all inviting. I was about to give up on the idea altogether when a familiar presence appeared below us. It was shrew. No wait. It was three shrews. No, that wasn¡¯t it. There were¡­. A great number of them. All headed here with inspiring alacrity. Their underdeveloped brains oozing spite and wanton bloodlust. ¡°Right on Buddy. Time to dive. Take as much air in as you can.¡± ¡®You got it Sully!¡¯ In my haste, I was about to discard my warm pelt before leaping upwards, before considering that, if I was going to lose it anyways, I might as well have it shield me from the initial coral greeting. With a steadying breath, I ran up to where the flow almost met the floor and allowed myself to be taken. The first of the vicious rodents was turning a corner at that very same moment. Squeaking in rage and indignation, it lunged. Its bulk almost collided with me too, its weight and momentum changing the river¡¯s course for the briefest of instants. Mercifully, those rending claws never found purchase. Instead, the creature was overtaken by agony when hundreds, if not thousands of little daggers gouged out pieces of tender flesh from its form. The same was happening to us, only the fur coating us was dead and thusly, in no position to complain. ¡°Alas, poor trophy, you will be missed.¡± ¡®No, it won¡¯t. I¡¯m all the clothes you need. Good riddance.¡¯ As Buddy complains, the last scraps of protection are taken from us. I take a few blows to my legs before tucking them close to my chest and doing the same with my arms. Underneath, I feel a gaggle of shrews leaping upwards into danger, seemingly undeterred by the threat of a messy watery death. That admirable courage does them no good. One by one, they begin to bleed, colouring the river red by virtue of their individual mass and horde-like numbers. The roaring current takes us all upwards with a vengeance. Up through thicker coral reefs and narrower halls. A few of the larger specimens dam the flow here and there, accomplishing nothing but their own demise via drowning. When they die, they seal the fates of their fellows, who cannot wedge themselves past the narrow gaps left over. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°I think we might just make it in one piece.¡± I say, like the hopeless imbecile that I am. The next instant sees my skull crashing against a rocky formation. Darkness consumes me. In its harrowing embrace, I dream. In the dream, I stand alone in a hall surrounded by slightly different versions of the tall man. Some are barely larger than my six-year-old self. Others are larger than the mother crab, their necks phasing into the ceiling. Foggy as my recollection is, I cannot tell which one was the original and which is merely a fabrication of my trauma. They all murmur, chittering sounds like that of my first centipede leaving their mouths. They¡¯re trying to say something. I don¡¯t want to hear it. I know its all evil and lies. Vile deceptions for it victims. For what purpose, I do not know. Simple cruelty, perhaps? That very same impulse that drives some children to burning ants or crushing beetles. A primal revelry stemming from controlling another living thing. To have it in the palms of one¡¯s hands. To be in position to make or break them at the merest hint of disobedience. ¡°How? How can you do this?¡± He. They, move their mouths, or rather, the outlines where mouths would have been. No sound emerges. The mother crab continues to suffer behind the men. It begs for death, consumed by the depravity forced upon it. ¡°You deserved it.¡± Someone says. ¡°You killed people.¡± Against all odds, the giant creature whimpers back. ¡°Food. For my children. My poor, poor children. All dead. Have mercy. Please. Please.¡± All the adults in the room echo the plea until the cacophony is all that can be heard in the tight confines of the makeshift shelter. ¡°Please. Please. Please.¡± They wail in desperation. ¡°Please. Please. Please.¡± They weep into their arms. ¡°Please. Please. Please.¡± Monster and humans alike pray for deliverance. For freedom. ¡°Please. Please. Please.¡± The tall men begin to recede into one, merging like molten shadows. ¡°Please. Please. Please.¡± They all want it to stop. They will do anything to make it stop. ¡°Please. Please. Please.¡± This is an evil power. Wielded by an evil man. It cannot be allowed to exist. In my stupor. I realize the words are also coming from my own lips. ¡°Please. Make it end. I¡¯ll do anything. Anything.¡± The last thing I recall is the tall man staring back at me, with his cold, unfeeling eyes. No, on closer inspection, the sockets are empty. That thing has no eyes. My skull aches. I lose myself into the waiting lake beneath me. There I lie. Forever. It gets cold after that. So very cold. I can¡¯t feel my feet. I can¡¯t feel my fingers. I think they¡¯re about to snap off like popsicles. My teeth are clattering. I can¡¯t stop. No matter how hard I try. I can¡¯t stop the pain. The shivers. I try to open my eyes, but see nothing. There is an endless abyss before me. Thick, black water stretching out for eternity. ¡°Where am I?¡± ¡®Sully! You made it! Oh, I¡¯m so glad to hear your voice again! I thought I¡¯d lost you!¡¯ ¡°Where am I?¡± I repeated, determined to get an answer before anything else. ¡®I think we¡¯re above the rivers. We entered this open area around a minute ago. I think we have another ten or nine minutes of oxygen left.¡¯ Hearing the explanation was nice, though it did little to clear my confusion. My brain was still rattling inside my skull. I couldn¡¯t tell up from down or left from right. Indeed, the only signal I received, was that of popping notifications.
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Gained: [Premonition] 1 has been added to the Status.
Ability Evolving: [Premonition] 1 has grown to [Premonition] 2
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 187/200
Type: Telepath Level 30
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 3 / [Message] 4 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 4 / [Fear] 3 / [Static Illusion] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 2 / [Precognition] 4 / [Friendship] 1 / [Meditation] 3 / [Block Mental Attack] 2 / [Block Mental Detection] 2 / [Premonition] 2
Ability Points: 0
I tried to breathe and found myself choking on saltwater. [Block Mental Attack] came in like a truck. The delusion vanished at once, but not before a whole new kind of shivering took hold of me. I tasted blood in my mouth despite the lack of wounds. I wanted to scream in response to a monster that hadn¡¯t even noticed us yet. Because I knew it would soon do so. [Meditation] was all that kept me from deflating into a useless lump of meat. Snagging my beleaguered mind like a safety net. In my mind¡¯s eye, the leviathan was as vivid as an image could be. Gargantuan fluorescent cords running along its body, painting it light blue and pink in a manner resembling a jellyfish. Those thin ropes hid a serpentine body taught with proud muscles, ending in a shark-like fin. Its mouth resembled that of some deep-sea predator. Life formed without the influence of sunlight. Its roar would have been enough to shatter my bones. If it managed to reach me. If it realized I was here. ¡°Buddy, I need you to change the suit¡¯s shape. Get me some fins underneath my feet.¡± ¡®Understood.¡¯ That was, apparently, all it took. I wasted no more time, plunging back down to where a few of the shrews were still drowning. Adrenaline was pumping energy into each and every movement. My heart was beating so loudly, I thought it might burst from my chest. As I touched one of the holes flowing back downwards, a change in pressure sent a spike of fear through my being. The roar had finally come. Even through the water, the force behind it sent me reeling. I felt my lungs struggle to take back the air that had been knocked out of them. Another shiver caught my attention before I could fully recover and against my better judgement, I looked up. The leviathan was far more impressive in person, illuminated as it was by its trailing tendrils of death. It must have been at least 50 metres long. Maybe more. It was rushing towards me. Its maw was open. I dove into the hole without delay, swimming down it as if my life was in danger. Because it very much was. I got head start of six or seven metres before the hit. THOOOOOOOOOM!!!!! The entire structure shook. I didn¡¯t pay the tremors any heed. My mind was focused solely on survival. Living at any cost. I flailed my legs clumsily, earning bruises more often than not. In my fright, I didn¡¯t notice the cold. Only when I touched down on the firm stone floor once more did I notice how excruciating each breath was. How stiff my limbs had become. That too faded into the background, when a different shiver ran up my spine. ¡°Buddy. I need you to change back. Turn into the suit that makes it easiest to run.¡± ¡®Aren¡¯t you worried about freezing?¡¯ ¡°I am. But I¡¯m more worried about being crushed. That thing. Those things. Are going to get through. The ceiling is collapsing.¡± Any sane person would have asked how I knew. That folly would have wasted several precious seconds, endangering us all. Not Buddy. He complied at once, changing himself into a form-fitting track suit. I thanked him over and over in my head as I ran down familiar passages and past untriggered traps. Smaller reactions informed me of their approximate locations, a quirk of my new ability which had been entirely unexpected. There was no time to examine it further. I had to keep running. Until my legs wobbled beneath me and my lungs were on fire from the exertion. ¡®Are we safe yet?¡¯ ¡°No. Not safe. They¡¯re coming. They¡¯re breaking down the ceiling. The water. Its all going down. They¡¯ll¡­¡± In the distance, a small twang heralded the end of whatever influence had defied gravity. The insurmountable pressure had nowhere else to go but down. I felt, more than heard the tide coming to swallow us. In a final, desperate gamble, I climbed into a hidey-hole near this tunnel¡¯s ceiling. Like my old self in the shelter, I closed my eyes and waited for the storm to pass. Chapter 22: The Power of Friendship. Chapter 22: The Power of Friendship. My new world was one big toilet. Turbulent waters shearing down fanged plants, armored snails, hidden pumas, treacherous penguins and spiteful shrews together. Crushing and smashing them into paste against the stronger inner layers of tunnel walls. The current rushed past me for hours and hours on end. Refusing to end despite my wishes. All I could do was remain in my little nook. Legs and arms coming together into the fetal position. Praying that the tide wouldn¡¯t rise much further. Stewing in the unfairness of it all. ¡®If I had been an Enhancer, I might have been able to escape. I could have swum through the abyssal waters. If I had been a Shifter, I could have turned into a fish or something with gills. I could have taken my time escaping. If I had been a Projector, I could have either teleported out or created a force-field to keep me safe.¡¯ If. There was the catch. ¡®I may as well wish for a palace full of lusty ladies or for a pet elephant.¡¯ Or freedom. There was that too. Perhaps closer than I cared to know. The tension kept me from proper sleep, yanking me out of dreams with the ferocity of a hungry tiger every time an errant pebble struck Buddy. It was too bad, since the contents were happy for once. Scenes of birthday parties and weeklong holidays. Of the time we¡¯d gone to a theatre and found it in ruins after a rift had overflowed. Lower ranked Espers had been finishing up the last dregs when we got there and Dad had taken us to a little pizzeria down the street. Its windows had been smashed by a viper-bear, but the owner had proudly stated a trifle like that wouldn¡¯t keep him from doing business. Some soldiers had come later, and told stories of how the rifts sometimes spat out other things. Massive gemstones, pillars of stone inlaid with gold, fruits that kept normal people from aging or even gave the elderly more vigor. It was all very strange then. Being in the scene, rather than watching the event on the news. Whenever a tragedy unfolds on TV, one never really grasps the plight of those on screen. Seeing someone trapped on a roof after their entire house got flooded is one thing. Living through the ordeal is quite another. Case in point, I¡¯d never considered how difficult it was to sit still for days at a time while my surroundings went down the drain. A metaphor that was very appropriate at the moment, as the final torrents of the deluge swirled past us at last. To my evident dismay, they weren¡¯t travelling downwards as gravity would dictate, but upwards, in defiance of physics. Which meant that the aquatic biome keeping us here had fully patched itself up. Yes, it was frustrating. Yes, it was unfair. But hey, I wasn¡¯t among the dead at least.
Survivor Count: 382/1000
Yeah. That was rough. Not entirely my fault as there was no way to predict the biblical levels of flooding that crashed down, but rough nonetheless. In all honesty, I couldn¡¯t summon the effort to rage against my fate. No, I was too busy relishing the fact that we were still alive and kicking. In a manner of speaking anyway. Stretching my legs for the first time in ages was, difficult. A process made all the more harrowing by the blaring pain shooting up my leg. The makeshift cast Buddy had constructed had served for a time, yet it had proven to be a tenuous solution. I needed to find a Shifter as fast as possible if I had any hope of avoiding permanent damage to the limb after all the stress I¡¯d placed upon it. ¡°Hey Buddy. How much fuel you got left?¡± ¡®I¡¯m just about dry of nutrients. The last meal we had being that piece of super-eel we fished out. Other than that, we¡¯re good on stored Psy.¡¯ ¡°Perfect. Let¡¯s grab a quick snack and start heading down.¡± As luck would have it, the proverbial snack presented itself almost immediately, in the form of a half-dead leviathan. In its hubris, it had apparently tried to fight the centipedes for territory, the telltale markings of mandibles adorning what was left of its carcass. Problem was, they were innumerable and it was all alone. ¡°Hear my words, Buddy. Never forget that overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.¡± ¡®Wow Sully! You¡¯re speaking funny.¡¯ ¡°Never mind that. Get to digesting.¡± I said, finishing the sad creature off with a psychic bolt. I had hoped to earn at least one level from the ordeal, yet found myself unable to progress. That annoying feeling of being stuck at some ethereal barrier kept bugging me. It insisted that there was some facet of myself that was missing. An obvious piece that I was wholly unaware off. ¡®If you¡¯re worried about not levelling, why not ask another Student?¡¯ ¡°That is a fantastic idea, Buddy. I will get right on it as soon as I find someone not trying to kill me.¡± Speaking of which, looks like another survivor was at the edges of my fog. I waited until Buddy was full and sent the all too familiar probe to their location. I was hoping for the best while not really expecting this attempt to be any different. That was, until I got an answer. An actual, coherent response from someone that didn¡¯t sound like a lunatic. ¡®Yes! I¡¯d love to meet up! Whew, you have no idea how glad I am to have met you!¡¯ ¡®Are you sure?¡¯ I pressed, trying to keep my hope from showing. ¡®You don¡¯t mind the whole Telepath thing?¡¯ ¡®Oh, not at all. Why, my cousin is a Telepath and he¡¯s the loveliest person! You two would get along great!¡¯ Damn. It was actually happening. I was finally going to have a human teammate. The thrill I felt was difficult to describe. One doesn¡¯t really appreciate the good times until they¡¯re gone and that saying is doubly true for genuine human connections. After six days of crushing loneliness, I¡¯d finally have an ally besides Buddy. I felt¡­ Happy. Elated. Overjoyed. As if my crush had confessed their undying love for me. Until some of my strings started getting in the way. [Meditation] was choking me. Dragging me back. Strangely, [Block Mental Attack] was doing the same. I grunted as the happiness started fading. My beloved friend¡¯s voice was growing fainter. Less impactful. I didn¡¯t like it. I didn¡¯t want to be alone again. I needed someone to talk to. Anyone would serve so long as they could keep the loneliness away. So, I gripped the strings and turned them off with a flicker of effort. Then I sprinted to my new friend¡¯s location. Dropping fanged and clawed horrors along my path. They too made their way over, all opposition vanishing like liquor from Henry¡¯s closet. ¡®Hold on! I¡¯m getting closer!¡¯ ¡®So am I! Almost there!¡¯ My chest was thrumming with excitement. A bold new flavour of ecstasy making itself known the closer I got to my target. Indeed, the sensation became so intense that I started to contemplate whether something was wrong with me. Like an annoying fly hovering around an otherwise perfect cake, that nagging persisted. It dug into my sides and vexed me. Eluding my grasp like the correct answer at a multiple-choice section. Oh whatever. If I can¡¯t focus on it then that means it probably wasn¡¯t important. What is important is my new friend. There¡¯s nothing else beside that. The joy that thinking about them brings is suffocating. I don¡¯t know what I would do without them. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯ve been doing in their absence. In my haste, I trigger a trap. The earth gives way beneath me. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I fall gracelessly and break some more bones in my bad leg. My good leg isn¡¯t spared either and I can clearly see a jagged bone peeking through Buddy. He tries to say something, but he feels distant. Muted like a movie playing a few rooms away. I can make out the fact that there is some noise and some discord. Nothing more. The pain makes me aware of a small drizzle inside my skull. Ethereal droplets of pure power, not too dissimilar to my own. Those beads are sticking to the¡­ The¡­ Outside? Inside? Are those holes? Are the ends barbed? Are they growing? Yes. My new friend is speaking more loudly. He¡¯s worried for me. Worried about my well being. He¡¯s putting more and more of himself into me and straining with the effort. My imagination starts to play trick on me. I know this because I can sort of make out curses aimed at my direction. A sort of annoyance that the ribbons might not be worth it. What a silly notion. My friend would never say anything bad about me or anyone else for that matter. Buddy is saying something again. I shush him and demand he use my Psy to make another cast and cover my new injuries. Wouldn¡¯t do to freak out my new friend after all. Then, with herculean effort, I dig my fingers into the crevices and outcrops of the nearby stone. My shell screams in such a manner that not even Buddy can keep it down. It hurts. It hurts so much. I should not be moving. I should not be struggling to climb. No, that¡¯s silly. If I stop, the pleasure will stop. I don¡¯t think I could bear it. Its absence might break me in a way no mere flesh wound could. I want it. I need it. I need more of it and I need it now. Climbing out of my hole with much effort, I shrug off the meager protests of my legs. Afterwards, I move. Going uphill at a frankly painful angle, until I find myself climbing the loose rocky surface on all fours. I have to keep going. I have to keep killing monsters and spending Psy. Have to empty myself out completely before meeting all of them. All of them. Yes, I see them now. They¡¯re hiding behind my friend, carrying some screaming creatures among their group. My new friend steps forward in greeting. He¡¯s saying something but I¡¯m too happy to make out the words. Looking at him, I can¡¯t help but feel awed at his charisma. He¡¯s tiny, yes, but his red cheeks and wide smile go perfectly with his large conical red hat. His coat is made of colourful fabrics pathed together to resemble motley and his neck is adorned by an odd cord of dissimilar bulges. ¡°Welcome friend! Welcome! So nice to see a fellow Telepath in these trying times. Tell me, how do you feel?¡± ¡°I feel good. Really good.¡± The entire group guffaws. On closer inspection, they too wear the lovely red hats on their little heads. ¡°What do you think this one will taste like?¡± One of them asked. ¡°Stupidity.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a given. All the tall ones taste like that. I was referring to the finer details. Does he have family? Friends?¡± ¡°Not by the look of it. It looks like a loser.¡± ¡°They¡¯re all losers. That¡¯s why they taste so good.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Another one joined in. ¡°I want to eat his thighs. They look nice and thick. Bet it tastes like lamb.¡± ¡°You think everything tastes like lamb! I bet if we had a bloody dragon in front of us, you¡¯d think it tasted like hot lamb!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t help it! I eat a lot of lamb!¡± ¡°Well, I want his liver. I heard Tulip saying it was the best thing she¡¯d ever had.¡± ¡°I want his stomach. I need a new purse and those are water proof if you dry and tan them right.¡± Those giggles of theirs are contagious and I found myself joining them before long. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it. Spreading joy is one of my most important missions in life. Right up there with having fun. Tell me friend, do you want to have fun?¡± ¡°Oh boy! Yes! I want to have lots of fun!¡± ¡°Well then. I need you to start with doing me a little favor.¡± ¡°Anything for you.¡± I answered truthfully. My hands were shaking at the prospect. Nervous twitches giving away my greed for companionship. For someone to share my woes with. For someone who understood what it was like to be me. ¡°Right on. Let¡¯s start with a simple one. Hold on to this for me.¡± I stretched out my hand at once, ready to receive whatever it was, but he shook his rosy cheeks. ¡°No. I need you to hold on to this treasure with your ribs.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I felt so stupid. Of course, I needed to hold on to it with my ribs. Knives were meant to go between ribs. Everyone knew that¡­ Wait. Are those, human ears, around his neck? Meh. Whatever. To each their own. I was fully immersed in helping, trying to grasp at straws to see if there was anything more to be done. So, wanting to make myself more useful, I activated [Precognition] At once, golden strings wrapped themselves around my body. My Psy had roared to life. There, in the infinite realm of possibilities, I saw the end. Cold, unfeeling finality taking root as the gnome impaled my heart. I saw many, many futures where it all ended, where my family would never know what had happened to me and my carcass became yet another trophy. Images of possible futures overlapped and diverged, past and present superimposed as the former became the latter. They revealed what had happened and what would happen if I didn¡¯t act now. A shiver crept up my spine as I felt the blade¡¯s temporal echo biting before the actual object did. I knew it was coming and I knew my life depended on stopping it. The pain was excruciating and, to my shock, it was the gnome¡¯s own assault that alleviated the backlash. His Psy was still pumping joy inside of me. My fog was working properly, making me aware of the hunting party and its captured prey. Dead humans, being brought back for dissection. And consumption. Against all odds, I grasped on the faintest of possibilities. The one in which I made it out.
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
I felt sick to my stomach.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
That feeling was back.
Ability Evolving: [Precognition] 4 has grown to [Precognition] 5
The visions returned with a vengeance. The drunk was singing again. Louder this time. ¡°Under the sea and over the stars. A thousand maggots slither. They grow big and they grow fat, before the great corpse withers.¡± ¡°Juices fall and juices rise, dancing to the beat. Yet none will stay and none will sing, all will turn to meat.¡± ¡°He comes and she comes after, burning with a vengeance. He will die and she will smile, passing down her sentence.¡± ¡°The spider looks, the spider sees, everywhere and nowhere. It is there and it is here, watching from the corner.¡± ¡°I see you. I know you. You cannot escape. None can run and none can hide from the Coffin or the Drake.¡± ¡°The shadows come to play and sing and dance. They stroll about the cobweb, tearing its expanse.¡± ¡°The mirror cannot hold. The mirror cannot stay. The shards of glass will all fly out and blind those in the way.¡± ¡°The Coffin is still empty, very musty and very cold. Its owner hides behind the veil, eyes glittering with gold.¡± ¡°The Drake is loud and furious. Terrible in wrath. Its tendrils invite horrid doom to all within its path.¡± The sarcophagus was threatening the king in carmine. The monarch laughed jovially, or at least in a manner that vaguely resembled mirth. It wasn¡¯t clear whether or not the abomination had ever truly grasped the concept. ¡°Your toys are nothing compared to the surety of flesh. They will decay and wither to dust, as all dead things do.¡± ¡°You speak as though meat is any better.¡± The me that wasn¡¯t me argued back. ¡°But of course. Ha. Ha. Ha. Psy may only thrive with life. True life. Not this laughable imitation you¡¯ve donned to keep yourself trapped in mediocrity.¡± ¡°My weapons have served me well.¡± ¡°Your prison has fulfilled it purpose.¡± The thing snapped. ¡°Yet a prison it remains. It will not suffice. Not if you truly wish to achieve enlightenment. You must¡­¡± ¡°Hush.¡± I, or it, countered. ¡°Something¡¯s wrong. We¡¯re being watched.¡± Abruptly, the dream collapsed unto itself and I was back with the little killers. My body didn¡¯t know how to react and my mind was afire from the psionic backlash. It was only through surrendering myself to the golden threads that I passed the threshold. With a fluid motion, I forced my body into the only movements that would save my life. I pivoted, wincing from the feedback of shattered bones in all possible realities coalescing into a single mote of agony. The blade missed my heart by a hair¡¯s breath. All the energy within me roiled in protest as some foul force twisted it. That influence attempted to skew my perspective and throw me off balance. The golden threads would have none of it. Once more, it was the effect of whatever my would-be assassin was doing that empowered me to greater heights.
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
I was back there. Seeing the tall man play with my neighbours.
Ability Gained: [Confusion] 1 has been added to the Status.
I wanted it to stop.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
I pleaded for it all to go away.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
My heart was about to burst. I could feel the beat in my ears.
Ability Evolving: [Precognition] 5 may not grow any further in the first Tier.
Millions of little secrets tried to wriggle themselves free, worming their way into my psyche.
Ability Evolving: [Premonition] 2 has grown to [Premonition] 3
Too much. Too quickly. I had to press down to keep from going insane.
Ability Gained: [Psychometry] 1 has been added to the Status.
Please. Please. Please.
Ability Evolving: [Psychometry] 1 has grown to [Psychometry] 2
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 101/225
Type: Telepath Level 35
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 3 / [Message] 4 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 4 / [Fear] 3 / [Static Illusion] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 2 / [Precognition] 5 / [Friendship] 1 / [Meditation] 3 / [Block Mental Attack] 2 / [Block Mental Detection] 2 / [Premonition] 3 / [Confusion] 1 / [Psychometry] 2
Ability Points: 3
The gnome and all his buddies looked as surprised as if Hannibal himself has strolled through the walls, riding an elephant and juggling cheesecakes. My thumb found his eye. Just as a half-brewed cocktail of [Fear] and [Fever] found the entire squad. They all dropped at once like puppets whose strings had been cut. Screams resonated all over, bouncing off the cavern walls. Those wails were horrifying. All bunched together with an inevitability I myself had recently experienced. The rush of fear and adrenaline was in full swing now, bringing with it a deep melodious thumping in my veins. He let go of his weapon. Big mistake. In the back of my mind, I recalled that one shouldn¡¯t pull out knives from wounds. Still, I figured those guys in the real world wouldn¡¯t have Buddy to patch them up and stem the bleeding. It should have hurt more than it did. But the effects of [Friendship] were still going strong. So, I followed my visions and trusted Buddy with my life. While I got to stabbing. I took the leader by the throat first. Sticky blood gushed out like a fountain, staining my arms and spraying all over Buddy. As his eyes dimmed, I felt a rush of comfort flowing back to me. Little shards of broken bone piecing themselves back together without any input. Reinvigorated, I withdrew the implement and leapt to my next target. My next victim. Before the edge met soft flesh, the gnome¡¯s figure transformed into that of a baby-crab. Whispers leaked out from within me. From under the murky waters of the lake. ¡°Please. Please. Please.¡± Somewhere in the recesses of my shattered psyche, I observed the people being transported. One of them looked like a cop with a badge unfamiliar to me. His gun was still holstered. He was killed without ever breaking free of the illusion. Never knowing he was in danger. Another looked like a young woman, dressed in a torn summer dress. Both their eyes had been gouged out. ¡°Please. Please. Please.¡± The remaining gnomes were in too much pain. Their wills straining against the onslaught to no avail. Sharpened metal found their arteries. Mercifully ending their struggle. Until none remained. Ability Boards. Telepath ability pool Minus Starting: Message / Sense Thoughts / Mental Bolt
Available Abilities: [Static Illusion] / [Fever] / [Sleep] / [Electronic Interface] / [Floral Interface] / [Fungal Interface] / [Team Tactics] / [Team Spirit] / [Team Resilience] / [Team Momentum] / [Team Doctrine] / [Mental Map] / [Fear] / [Courage] / [Anxiety] / [Confusion] / [Hobble] / [Phobia] / [Puppet Animal] / [Puppet Plant] / [Puppet Fungus] / [Puppet Sentient] / [Puppet Machine] / [Faint Presence] / [Imposing Presence] / [Alluring Presence] / [Hide] / [Mask] / [Hidden Danger] / [Muffle] / [Flash] / [Precognition] / [Premonition] / [Persistent Message] / [Meditation] / [Mark Target] / [Calm] / [Enrage] / [Friendship] / [Resolve] / [Review Memory] / [Share Memory] / [Fog Memory] / [Drunkenness] / [Sobriety] / [Inspiration] / [Psychometry] / [Hum of Attack] / [Hum of Striding] / [Hum of Defense] / [Hum of Harmony] / [Hum of Discord] / [Hum of Cleansing] / [Hum of Mist] / [Painful Gaze] / [Cleansing Gaze] / [Entrancing Gaze] / [Degrading Gaze] / [Block Mental Detection] / [Block Mental Attack] / [Interrupt] / [Awaken Organism] / [Awaken Object] / [Stable Reality] / [Unstable Reality] / [Manifest Intruder] / [Seal Intruder] / [Banish Intruder] / [Psionic Jinx] / [Psionic Hex] / [Psionic Curse] / [Drown] / [Heart Attack] / [Indigestion] / [Blind] / [Deafen] / [Anosmia] / [Phantom Pain]
Shifter Ability Pool Minus Starting: Claws / Regeneration / Predator¡¯s Instincts.
Available Abilities: [Regenerate Other] / [Mitosis] / [Acclimation] / [Organ Independence] / [Tracking Instincts] / [Social Instincts] / [Eusocial Instincts] / [Adrenaline] / [Fur] / [Rubbery Hide] / [Scales] / [Chitin] / [Feathers] / [Spines] / [Blades] / [Bark] / [Leaves] / [Spores] / [Muscular System] / [Skeletal System] / [Nervous System] / [Lymphatic System] / [Cardiovascular System] / [Digestive System] / [Respiratory System] / [Endocrine System] / [Excretory System] / [Reproductive System] / [Grow] / [Shrink] / [Stretch] / [Harden] / [Soften] / [Metamorphosis] / [Photosynthesis] / [Camouflage] / [Vocalization] / [Mimicry] / [Jaws] / [Beak] / [Pincers] / [Proboscis] / [Phagocytosis] / [Eyes] / [Ears] / [Nose] / [Tongue] / [Proprioception] / [Grasping Appendage] / [Locomotion Appendage] / [Hands] / [Suction Cups] / [Tarsus] / [Pseudopods] / [Webbed Appendage] / [Fins] / [Mucus] / [Hooves] / [Tail] / [Stinger] / [Pterygote] / [Propatagium] / [Night Vision] / [Thermal Vision] / [Infrared Vision] / [Echolocation] / [Low-Frequency Hearing] / [High Frequency Hearing] / [Olfactory Navigation] / [Olfactory Threat Detection] / [Olfactory Poison Detection] / [Heat Tolerance] / [Cold Tolerance] / [Electricity Tolerance] / [Pressurization Tolerance] / [De-Pressurization Tolerance] / [Radiation Tolerance] / [Venom Glands] / [Poison Glands] / [Incorporate Mineral] / [Incorporate Liquid] / [Incorporate Gas] / [Produce Adhesive] / [Produce Acid] / [Produce Pyro-Chemical] / [Produce Cryo-Chemical] / [Produce Electro-Chemical] / [Pheromone Hierarchy] / [Pheromone Trail] / [Pheromone Attraction] / [Pheromone Diversion] / [Hijack] / [Infection] If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Enhancer Ability Pool Minus Starting: Enhanced Strength / Enhanced Dexterity / Enhanced Constitution.
Available Abilities: [Enhanced Toughness] / [Enhanced Flexibility] / [Enhanced Reflexes] / [Enhanced Concentration] / [Enhanced Recovery] / [Enhanced Stamina] / [Enhanced Agility] / [Enhanced Vision] / [Enhanced Hearing] / [Enhanced Smelling] / [Enhanced Tasting] / [Enhanced Proprioception] / [Enhanced Respiration] / [Enhanced Digestion] / [Enhanced Circulation] / [Enhanced Immune Response] / [Enhanced Memory] / [Enhanced Learning] / [Enhanced Processing] / [Enhanced Balance] / [Enhanced Training] / [Heat Resistance] / [Cold Resistance] / [Electric Resistance] / [Neurotoxin Resistance] / [Cytotoxin Resistance] / [Enterotoxin Resistance] / [Hemotoxin Resistance] / [Viral Resistance] / [Sleep Resistance] / [Psychoactive Resistance] / [Paralysis Resistance] / [Parasitic Resistance] / [Psionic Resistance] / [Pressure Resistance] / [Vacuum Resistance] / [Radiation Resistance] / [Slashing Resistance] / [Piercing Resistance] / [Blunt Resistance] / [Gravity Resistance] / [Friction Resistance] / [Sudden Strength] / [Sudden Dexterity] / [Sudden Constitution] / [Sudden Toughness] / [Sudden Flexibility] / [Sudden Reflexes] / [Sudden Concentration] / [Sudden Recovery] / [Sudden Agility] / [Enhance Object] / [Enhance Projectile] / [Overcharge Self] / [Overcharge Object] / [Heavy Blow] / [Heavy Shield] / [Heavy Shot] / [Berserk]
Projector Ability Pool Minus Starting: Force Bubble / Force Wall / Force Bolt
Available Abilities: [Fire Bubble] / [Fire Wall] / [Fire Bolt] / [Frost Bubble] / [Frost Wall] / [Frost Bolt] / [Spark Bubble] / [Spark Wall] / [Spark Bolt] / [Photon Bubble] / [Photon Wall] / [Photon Bolt] / [Sonic Bubble] / [Sonic Wall] / [Sonic Bolt] / [Resonance] / [Pressurize] / [Depressurize] / [Distort Space] / [Mend Space] / [Accelerate] / [Decelerate] / [Reverse Gravity] / [Amplify Gravity] / [Local Banishment] / [Local Apport] / [Local Portal] / [Local Jump] / [Local Regression] / [Local Progression] / [Local Stop] / [Mend Time] / [Sense Heat] / [Sense Electricity] / [Sense Kinetic] / [Sense Radiation] / [Sense Sound] / [Sense Psionics] / [Sense Spatial Disturbance] / [Sense Temporal Disturbance] / [Absorb Heat] / [Absorb Electricity] / [Absorb Kinetic] / [Absorb Radiation] / [Absorb Sound] / [Reservoir] / [Conversion to Psy] / [Condensation] / [Vaporization] / [Freezing] / [Melting] / [Corrosion] / [Attune to Solid] / [Attune to Liquid] / [Attune to Gas] / [Attune to Wavelength] / [Hold Attuned Compound] / [Organize Attuned Compound] / [Throw Attuned Compound] / [Phase Through Solid] / [Phase Through Liquid] / [Phase Through Gas] / [Phase Through Heated Material] / [Phase Through Frigid Material] / [Phase Through Electrified Material] / [Group Phasing] / [Forced Phasing] / [Magnetic Attraction] / [Magnetic Repulsion] / [Analyze Compound] / [Repair Construct] / [Imbue Construct]
Chapter 23: Hunted. Chapter 23: Hunted. If someone more na?ve asked me what the most heroic thing I¡¯d ever done was, they might be surprised to find out that gutting a gnome like a fish was number one. They might also be a little put off that disembowelling all his friends was a close second. Which was, admittedly, very odd. Unless you saw how many ears the little creeps had collected. 87 Pairs by my counting. All of which were tied in ornate cords around their necks. No more. From now on, I will keep the truth in mind. All the evil acts the world has known are regularly endorsed and committed by gnomes. To kill a gnome is to make the tunnels safer for all and to serve the greater good. Therefore, my massacre was not only justified, it was a great boon on all the people left in the labyrinth. For my effort, I received a whole lot of hurt in the short term. Though it must be said that the other rewards more than made up for it. Perhaps even better than the gun I¡¯d pilfered from the fallen officer.
Equipment: Inferior Symbiote (Psy: 100 / 100) Dagger of Exsanguination (Psy: 200 / 200) 4, 000 Store Tokens. No special Tokens Available.
Dagger of Exsanguination (Dagger) (Uncommon) (Psy: 200 / 200) A dagger adorned with gnomish runes. Grants the bearer the [Regeneration] 2 ability so long as a warm-blooded creature has been slain within the last 3 hours. Creatures struck by this weapon are afflicted by [Confusion] 1.
Sure, a single knife didn¡¯t seem like much. Especially when one considered how squishy I was. But that regeneration effect was life-saving. Literally, I would have died from internal bleeding without it. Even mid-fight, as my chest closed with alarming alacrity and my leg bones reconstituted themselves, I felt death whispering softly into my ears. Instead, I was back up to full health thanks to a healthy dose of Shifter powers. Something I didn¡¯t even think was possible in the first place. The only way it could have been made better was if it didn¡¯t come with certain strings attached. ¡®I sense him! The human is down there! He¡¯s descending!¡¯ ¡®Hunt him down! Don¡¯t let him escape!¡¯ ¡®How dare that insect kill Mot!¡¯ ¡®String him up! Make ropes of his intestines!¡¯ Yeah. Being too popular could be a bad thing. For gnomes were inherently different from the other monsters in that they were fully sentient. That made them trickier to deal with, in the sense that they knew better than to bunch up nicely for a charged [Fever] bomb. In return, their habit of searching for me in groups of two gave me ample opportunity to toy with my new ability. [Confusion] was complex beast. One that I¡¯d been forced to know first-hand. It essentially scrambled a living being¡¯s controls, so that a step backwards would become a step forward or to a random side. Similarly, any action was made harder and slower due to the extra time necessary to re-orient oneself. I¡¯d managed to push through using my nifty future-sight of course, but my pursuers evidently lacked those particular skills. Aside from that, their bestial thirst for vindication left other unique vulnerabilities to exploit. Namely, their pride. These guys were so full of themselves that they hardly ever saw the ambushes coming. Granted, that was because most of them were Projectors and my scented illusion beacons couldn¡¯t be easily detected, but I¡¯d take the win nonetheless. Now if only they¡¯d be kind enough to stop throwing rivers of fire down the tunnels. It was funny when I confused them at the right time and they roasted each other. Not so much when the stream of heat nearly caught up to me. Honestly, I¡¯d probably be dead by now if it weren¡¯t for the investment I¡¯d made. Three whole points were no laughing matter. It was a full level at a time when progress only came at great personal risk. Still, [Mental Map] was overdue for a little dose of love and it proved to be a wise choice once I started gaining ground.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 49/225
Type: Telepath Level 35
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 3 / [Message] 4 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 4 / [Fear] 3 / [Static Illusion] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 3 / [Precognition] 5 / [Friendship] 1 / [Meditation] 3 / [Block Mental Attack] 2 / [Block Mental Detection] 2 / [Premonition] 3 / [Confusion] 1 / [Psychometry] 2
Ability Points: 0
Because the freaking killer gnomes were almost as lost as I was. The maze confounded them as well as it did me and they¡¯d often run into traps or dead-ends, wasting precious time. Being the gentleman that I was, I figured it was only fair to alleviate their apparent frustration by throwing more bolts whenever the ability came off cooldown. I figured they couldn¡¯t be angry if they were dead. So, I ran and ran and ran. Down creepy dank caves filled with centipedes and eels and the stupid lightning bunnies. The first day went by without a hitch. Not a complaint to be found. Until I started to doze off. That was when I found the biggest downside to being chased by killer gnomes. They were endurance hunters, in the same way that humans had been back when we had to settle for wooden spears. Being chased till you¡¯re about to keel over from exhaustion didn¡¯t sound that bad at first. Not after my run-ins with the menagerie of monsters trapped down here with us. Yet my foolish notions were put to rest soon thereafter. Having to stay on the move sucked. It sucked twice as much when my hunters figured out the exact range of my fog. Afterwards, they began sending parties to major intersections, waiting in ambush to collapse tunnels before retreating. I was left running for my life, without the means or opportunity to retaliate. The second day was arduous. That infuriating feeling of oppressive strain returning with a vengeance. As if there was an unbreakable film over the deep lake where all my powers surfaced from. Determined to keep their charge trapped and buried. The prisoner groaned. Clawing incessantly at the barrier like trillions of burrowing insects. They. It. Would have no more of being squeezed. The mounting pressure was their battle cry. Their discordant plea. With every pulse, I grew weaker. My vision blurring and falling away at random intervals. The third was worse. Before I knew it, I¡¯d found myself collapsing every few steps. My head felt as if it¡¯d been placed inside a washing machine, spinning me around with careless cruelty. My lungs felt cold and my heart felt heavy. Weariness sapped the very will to live from my cells while I kept giving order to march on. Time became confused and distorted. I couldn¡¯t tell if a whole month had passed since I was kidnapped or if those struggles occurred within the last hour. I was getting feverish. Disoriented even with my map. The mushrooms and the pink fronds blocking off adjacent sections seemed to melt together into a single canvas of vivid colour. Despite knowing the plants were dangerous, my eyes began to see a certain allure within the dancing bioluminescence. A promise. A lure. The absence of struggle. I shook my head at once, sending a bolt to strike down yet another gnome who¡¯d braved the perimeter. That small morsel of exertion sent me sprawling like a baby learning to walk for the first time. I tried to get back up, but eels had replaced my legs. ¡°Buddy. If I ever get my hands on a gnome again, I¡¯ll exact every last bit of revenge I¡¯m owed. I swear it.¡± ¡®Of course! You totally will Sully! You¡¯re the best!¡¯ I was laughing like a madman after that comment. Positive re-enforcement stimulating me back towards a parody of confidence. That night, I sat down with my back against a dead-end. I tried to close my eyes and sneak in a nap. A few minutes of respite at the very least. It didn¡¯t take. I awoke, weakened and stupefied, to a river of molten magma slithering towards me. I lashed out, blundering through a few errant kills before realizing how hopeless the situation was. All around me were gnomes riding some primal creatures I didn¡¯t recognize. They were above and below, heating up the floor and ceiling with supernatural blazes, turning my resting place into a furnace. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡®Sully! Thank goodness! I was trying to wake you! You need to run!¡¯ Buddy didn¡¯t need to tell me twice. I was up on my feet and moving. Not bothering to think about how many hunters had come around or how many other surprises they had in store. Instead, I threw out charged attacks in all directions, conjuring illusory scent trails to lure in more foes to disperse my adversaries. The assaults did not waver from my lashes. More fodder trailed in, taking the place of their fallen comrades and adding more pressure. I couldn¡¯t focus on any one target. The presence within me stirring and smashing its weight against the film. The ground was literally glowing beneath my feet. So much so that my feet were seared even while covered by Buddy. Through our link, I could taste the agony he was being subjected to. He took it all without complaint, determined to see us out alive, which only deepened my guilt. Alas, the illusions had the greatest effect, seducing a leviathan down from behind my fog, a bit above our position and to the west. It struck with alarming alacrity, swimming through the air like a shark smelling blood. The crowd of pyromancers broke and ran, suffused with the colour of hatred, spite, and bloodlust. Knowing it was the only chance I¡¯d get; I ran up a spiral staircase off to the side and activated [Hide]. Part of me honestly thought that was the end. The melee was ferociously fought, eels streaming in after their larger cousin to pick off rosy-cheeked sadists left and right. All while the savage serpent bit off torsos and rammed into anyone with the gall to fight back. My eyes took in new shapes as I ran, a group of gnomes riding giant ants into battle wielding whips of crackling lightning. At the rear was the biggest gnome of them all. She sat imperiously on her six-legged steed, bellowing orders and firing thunderbolts from her fingertips. Around her hips was a lavishly decorated belt, holding six human heads. One of them was smaller than the others. Righteous indignation swelled within me and I almost retaliated with a charged [Fever]. Almost. Deep down, I knew it would get me killed and no one else would have the experience or the means to fight back. So, I ran. Neither she, nor any of her retinue noticed my shameful flight. I held back from making any parting shots. Suffocating the would-be hero within me calling for justice to be served. My flight continued until I was all out of breath and my body slowed, despite my protests. I felt my hands shaking uncontrollably, and with a burst of pure willpower, I managed to stay in motion. Another day passed in silence. The animals had lost my scent. I had found a watering hole and settled in. Even so, sleep eluded me. Every time I closed my eyes, I¡¯d see the faces on that belt. They had been people. Victims like me. Slaughtered while their guard was down for no rhyme or reason beyond the sport they provided. Not for the first time, I imagined how close I had come to joining them. I tried to keep my eyes closed. Without luck. Every hour would see me changing positions or doing a bit of light exercise. I was so tired already, surely a bit more would help me sleep. But sleep never came. Not after a whole night. Not after another day. My body protested incessantly, yet refused to help itself. Running away from them, from her, had done something foul to me. ¡°Well Buddy, it could be worse.¡± I said abruptly, attempting to distract myself from my body¡¯s own failings. ¡®How do you figure that friend?¡¯ ¡°We haven¡¯t run into any more people for the past few hours. It would suck having to explain how evil the gnomes were to someone who hadn¡¯t seen the bodies.¡± ¡®Didn¡¯t you say someone warned you beforehand?¡¯ ¡°Yes. For all the good it did. I¡­ I don¡¯t think anyone could really comprehend how sinister an ability called [Friendship] could be. Even I underestimated it, and I actually have it.¡± Another set of shivers ran up my spine. One from the horrifying memory that I hadn¡¯t fully processed and another from [Premonition]. ¡®Is that your danger sense again?¡¯ ¡°It sure is Buddy.¡± I drew in a breath and called the golden threads to me. I allowed them to rise for long enough that I could see alternate versions of me taking different routes through different tunnels. Two of them died almost instantly from being peppered with bullets, yes, actual bullets and a sudden rockfall from above. I cut the link before the visions caught up and followed the still-living echoes before they fully dissipated. ¡®You¡¯re so cool Sully.¡¯ ¡°Thank you, Buddy. You¡¯re really cool too.¡± ¡®Did you figure out what [Psychometry] does yet?¡¯ ¡°Not quite. I thought it best to leave that for later. You know, when all the gnomes are dead.¡± ¡®You¡¯re so smart.¡¯ ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡®I wish I could be smart.¡¯ ¡°Don¡¯t give me that Buddy. You¡¯re already great. I¡¯d be deader than Elvis if it weren¡¯t for you.¡± ¡®Who¡¯s Elvis?¡¯ ¡°Some guy who danced a lot and got fat later. Mom¡¯s a big fan.¡± I drew several deep breaths in quick succession, trying in vain to relax. To make the crushing trauma go away for the briefest of instant. When that failed, I began to laugh. Hysterically considering how pathetic I was. How much I¡¯d failed to do. How ashamed my parents and friends would be. ¡°Okay. Okay. Calm down. Positive thoughts now. Positive thoughts. I mean, yeah. Things got a bit out of hand. Yeah, I was almost murdered. Again. Yeah, there are psychotic garden implements roaming the caves. Yeah, I only escaped by the skin of my teeth. But that¡¯s all in the past. I¡¯ll take it as a lesson learned and keep my head down from now on. Sure, I¡¯ll save anyone I can, but the main focus is to stay alive until help comes.¡± ¡®What are you doing Sully?¡¯ ¡°Talking to myself.¡± ¡®I¡¯ve noticed you do that a lot.¡¯ ¡°Only when I¡¯m stressed or having an anxiety attack.¡± ¡®Do you have those often?¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s¡­Uh. Yes. More often than I¡¯d like.¡± ¡®So, you don¡¯t like being stressed?¡¯ ¡°Not really no.¡± ¡®Understood. Being stressed is bad.¡¯ ¡°Yes Buddy. Being stressed is very bad. Especially when an exam is around the corner. Or a monster. They drive me crazy sometimes. With their chittering ideas about how hungry they are. How they constantly think about food and blood and meat, all day every day. On and on. Everywhere at once. From above and below and to my sides. But I need to keep up my fog or they¡¯d catch me by surprise. But I¡¯m also tired. So tired of listening to them every single minute of every single day. Sometimes I feel like I¡¯m seconds away from snapping and doing something¡­¡± I took another second to compose myself before adding: ¡°Never mind that. Also, I¡¯m not crazy. I¡¯m just talking to myself out loud. Again. Definitely not crazy.¡± ¡®Whatever you say Sully!¡¯ With that decided, I ran downwards, dodging skittering beasts and meeting new foes. Each encounter was met with either a summary sniping bolt or an impromptu ambush. The former came and went without much fanfare. The latter turned into hazy messes as both sides lost a fair deal of vigour from my improved and super-charged [Fever]. There were fewer side passages in this section of the labyrinth. Most of the surrounding walls were smoother, resembling polished marble, with few pointy bits to discourage me from leaning against them. Thankful for the reprieve, I collapsed unto a heap and tried to collect my thoughts. So far, I¡¯d been dead set on doing the right thing. Saving as many people as I could and laying down signs wherever I went so that any other survivors would at least have a chance to find watering holes. It wasn¡¯t much in the grand scheme of things and the fact that deaths had continued regardless irked me to no end. Things, as it turned out, could get a lot more complicated. There was a chance, albeit a small one, that the gnomes could read English. Nah, even if they couldn¡¯t I¡¯d been making illusory arrows the whole time. Which meant that intelligent monsters had a clear trail of breadcrumbs to follow if they wanted more victims. Add to that their hunting method, how difficult it was to see coming, and I had a recipe for disaster in my hands. There was no telling if my goodwill could be used to kill more people. Heck, there was no way to tell if it had been already. Intrusive thoughts began bubbling to the surface. Pictures of the necklaces worn by the leader and his minions. My fists clenched until they were white. ¡°Buddy. I have a question.¡± ¡®Ask me anything Sully.¡¯ My suit responded, eager to please. ¡°What would you do if¡­if someone died because of you.¡± ¡®Learn from the experience and move on.¡¯ I chortled. Then laughed at the absurdity of it all. Buddy was right of course. That was the only logical answer. I wasn¡¯t Thunder Fist or John Gardens. What else was I supposed to do? ¡°Thank you, Buddy. Simple really is best.¡± ¡®No problem! I love helping you!¡¯ Now if only it were that easy. I sighed and allowed positive emotions to flow from him to me. It wasn¡¯t as thrilling as the [Friendship] assault the murder gnome had used. Nothing of it packed the same punch of addictive ecstasy that it had thrown my way. Strangely, the memory was almost pleasant. I knew it had been a lie. A vile lure that killed almost a hundred people. However, it had felt so good at the time. In my addled state, I wondered if I could replicate it. Just so that I could silence the whispers tormenting me for little while. It might help me sleep. A trickle of Psy left me for Buddy, bringing the happy notes. He reacted almost at once, immaterial giggles answering me in turn. As he got his fix, I tried to loop the strings so that it fed back to me. No good. Only others could be targeted. Or could they? I tried something new with my fog. This whole time I¡¯d been trying to expand it so that my range improved, for obvious reasons. Now I was pushing the mantle tighter, folding it like a blanket around myself and Buddy. The emotions he was feeling became clearer and clearer as I did so and a little bud of the joy got back to me. So, I tried to press in again, constricting like a serpent. My senses retreated alongside my map, and the feedback loop spun faster. I made Buddy feel even better so that I got a kick out of it, draining the anxiety at once and filling me with bliss. Oh, the sweet bliss. Time slipped from my fingers as they lost their previous tension. I dove inside myself. Trying to chase after a better high.
System Notice: Student has made a breakthrough with an ability.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Friendship] 1 has grown to [Friendship] 3
Those dreams were awesome. In them, there was no more darkness. No more greenish shadows cast by overgrown fungi. No threat of being killed. It felt so good. Words could not describe the calmness. The oneness with myself. I was numb to all the pain and the bad ideas. They could not hurt me in here. I was free.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Sense Thoughts] 3 has grown to [Sense Thoughts] 4
The swirling shroud coalesced. Less a fog and more of a sugary milkshake. It was delicious.
Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Confusion] 1 has grown to [Confusion] 2
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 26/245
Type: Telepath Level 39
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 4 / [Message] 4 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 4 / [Fear] 3 / [Static Illusion] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 3 / [Precognition] 5 / [Friendship] 3 / [Meditation] 3 / [Block Mental Attack] 2 / [Block Mental Detection] 2 / [Premonition] 3 / [Confusion] 2 / [Psychometry] 2
Ability Points: 1
I could not say how much I missed. Only that the thrill seeking was cut short by a wail. ¡®Sully! Thank goodness! I thought you were dead!¡¯ ¡°Wha¡­? What hapu¡­?¡± ¡®The mole! It almost got you! It fell over there by that trap you dodged!¡¯ I went over to look and saw the collapsed roof, massive boulders pinning down a mole. A big mole. Much larger than the ones I¡¯d seen earlier. This one had stripes, like a tiger and rows of shark-like teeth in its mouth. I blinked a couple of times and saw how much Psy I had left.
Psy: 4/245
¡°Wow. Okay. Let¡¯s not do that again. Not while in the open at least.¡± I shook myself awake, feeling remarkably good as I yawned. My new knife sunk inside the trapped creature¡¯s eye socket. Blood flowed freely from the sharpened edge and into Buddy, who lapped it up eagerly. There I was, relishing in another victory, when I got a bad feeling. It wasn¡¯t a goosebump or a sudden chill either. No, my body started making minor predictions out of nowhere and I had to slam down my will to keep from hallucinating again. Once the golden strings were silenced, I noticed a stillness in my senses. There was a quiet, somber mood in my fog that hadn¡¯t been there before. It was an absolute, inviolable barrier that kept me on edge. Nothing out of the ordinary happened for another few minutes until I felt a mind reaching out a ways in. That¡¯s right. I wasn¡¯t sensing them. They were sensing me. Oh. Oh poo. I had considered that my kidnappers might also be Telepaths, but I hadn¡¯t accounted for their personal might. Of course, if I was this strong after 3 days, then how strong must they be, after years or decades of training? My feet were running in the opposite direction before I knew it. Sweet adrenaline pumped through my veins, empowering my flight with the taste of desperation. Until I stopped. I hadn¡¯t wanted to stop, but my limbs refused to move anyway. Instead, I watched in abject horror as they turned my body around and moved obediently towards the source of the energy. Strings pulled me along, one stiff movement after another. No amount of fighting kept me still and even my screams were cut off by a clamping force keeping my jaw tightly shut. I tasted the foreign fog as it enveloped my own now. Another person¡¯s energy colliding with my own. [Block Mental Detection] hadn¡¯t meant anything to them. [Block Mental Attack] didn¡¯t so much as tremble at this intrusion. Then thoughts entered my mind. Messages that were not my own. ¡®Now this is a treat, isn¡¯t it? One of the newcomers thinking themselves a hero. What a breath of fresh air, to see you people helping each other, rather than trying to bash each other¡¯s brains open all over my polished floors. Don¡¯t be afraid dearie. Granny Golden wouldn¡¯t hurt a soul. Not unless you tried to hurt me first. But you wouldn¡¯t be so inconsiderate, would you now?¡¯ ¡®AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!¡¯ I thought in response. ¡°Sweet merciful Buddha! Please don¡¯t enslave me!¡¯ ¡®He he he. Enslave you? Don¡¯t be silly now dearie. Granny Golden is a polite and sophisticated lady. There¡¯ll be no such discourtesies around my home. You¡¯ll see for yourself soon enough.¡¯ Chapter 24: Granny’s Tea Party. Chapter 24: Granny¡¯s Tea Party. I came out of the tunnels and into a large open space. It was similar in size to the clearing where Pete and Walder made their camp, but this place was brighter. More alive. There was a false sun in the sky, giving light without heat and illuminating the entire meadow. Thanks to this, the house was completely visible, without a shred of shadow to take away from its lovely exterior. In a sentence, the cabin looked right out of a German fairytale. The kind of story called ¡°Das Brutal Kinder Shredder¡±, that ends with the evil hag taking all the children of the town because they didn¡¯t believe in paying their parking fees or something. ¡®Well don¡¯t be shy now. Come on in. Don¡¯t mind the mess.¡¯ My treasonous legs did her bidding without protest. Every step brought me closer to death¡¯s own door. All without me being able to stem the tide in any way. My eyes were constantly darting back and forth, checking to see how much Psy I had to work with. I needn¡¯t have bothered. In truth, I was more than capable of telling with my inner sight alone. I was as spent as an all-you-can-eat buffet on the weekend of the sad fat guys convention. Nothing more to give. Zilch. Nada. Zero. Oh goody. I couldn¡¯t believe this was how it all ended. After making it this far. After surviving the centipede swarms, the robber with the shotgun, the two wackos in the mushroom forest, the bloody soldier, the shrews, the leviathan, the freaking evil gnomes. All so that I could be strung along like a marionette. Dancing to someone else¡¯s tune. That thought brought back memories of the first time I opened the ability selection screen and all the horrible skills found therein. This being, whatever or whomever they were, had overpowered me completely. What other things could they do? Was I about to lose my memories? Having every facet of my being sandblasted off? Scary. It was too scary. Too horrible for words. I tried to speak but words failed me. I tried to flee, but my legs would not obey. Even Buddy was silent, apparently as overwhelmed as I was. ¡®Now now. No need for all that tussling and hustling. This is a good thing. I swear.¡¯ ¡®Let me go.¡¯ I pleaded. Knowing it was a futile gesture. ¡®Heh heh heh! Oh! Let you go!? That¡¯s rich sweetie pie! I¡¯ve met some colourful characters in my time but you newbies never fail to get a chuckle out of old Granny Golden!¡¯ The telepathic link spiraled around me, her own strings binding me closer. ¡®But. I am nothing if not generous. You say you want freedom? Then take it. All you need do is spend every ability point you have on a little trifle called [Block Mental Attack].¡¯ ¡®Liar! I already have it and it¡¯s not doing anything!¡¯ ¡®Oh? Must be my merchant privileges. How about [Interrupt]? Do you have that?¡¯ Now, that was obviously a trap and a very poorly designed one to boot. If I were in a calmer, not fighting for my state of mind, I would have even called her out. Too bad I wasn¡¯t. My one measly ability point went into the first option with no hesitation.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 4/245
Type: Telepath Level 39
Abilities: [Sense Thoughts] 4 / [Message] 4 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 4 / [Fear] 3 / [Static Illusion] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 3 / [Precognition] 5 / [Friendship] 3 / [Meditation] 3 / [Block Mental Attack] 2 / [Block Mental Detection] 2 / [Premonition] 3 / [Confusion] 2 / [Psychometry] 2 / [Interrupt] 1
Ability Points: 0
As my lifeline dissipated, I felt the familiar tingle of new threads emerging from the endless void within me. They wove themselves into a cocoon with all due haste, bumping against the restraining influence and trying to repel it. For a brief, heart stopping instant, I felt the sway giving ground. Until another push sent my poor brain reeling within my skull. The little bubble took in more Psy to repel the invasion until it drained me dry. Once it ran out, it simply popped out of existence, along with my consciousness. ______________________________________________________________________________ To say I was surprised to stir some time later would be like saying America had a bit of a debt problem. I genuinely could not believe I was still alive. I mean, why would I be? Especially after falling for such an obvious ploy and losing the last vestiges of energy I had. In the middle of enemy territory, no less. No. It made no sense that I would be here, on a bed made of gingerbread, with all my resources replenished. This must be what heaven looked like. Huh. I guess all my good intentions were noticed after all. ¡°Ha! He! Ha! You¡¯re not dead yet dearie! Not if old Granny has anything to say about it.¡± ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!¡± I answered politely, taking in the unnatural crow-headed thing with alarming suddenness. ¡°Now that is rude. After all the niceties and courtesy, I showed you. Where did you learn those manners boy?¡± It, she, stopped at that. ¡°You are a boy, right? Primate physiology is uncomplicated, but you never know. The labyrinth is a big place and pulls in all kinds.¡± ¡°I¡­I¡­¡± ¡°You need to calm down dearie, before you do something stupid. I¡¯m here on assignment and the System won¡¯t let me kill students. That is¡­¡± She leaned in close, her beak almost touching my face and her big black eyes peering into my soul. ¡°Unless you try to hurt me first.¡± Her posture relaxed. Her feathery frame re-aligning her dishevelled azure robes as she collapsed backwards into her armchair. Her too-large jeweled bangles and bracelets clinked like the coffers of some brutish warlord as she finished settling down, eliciting a feeling of unease within me. ¡°Now then. Introductions.¡± Silence hung in the air while I made strange noises. A symptom of the sheer astonishment I felt. Or maybe head trauma from my fall. ¡°Nonsense. There wasn¡¯t anything wrong when I found you. You were as pretty as a babe.¡± ¡°Uh. Right.¡± I managed with some effort. ¡°Thank you. For not eating me and taking my ears.¡± She laughed, or cawed, I guess. It was a bird call that sounded close to laughter and I felt levity off her posture. But not her mind. It remained closed to me. Shut tighter than a bank¡¯s vault. ¡°Why did you trick me?¡± ¡°Trick you? What, that little stunt earlier? Nonsense. I spoke nothing but the truth. Literally. I¡¯m not allowed to lie while on this assignment. The system would literally rip every single on of my atoms apart before either of us could blink. I merely informed you how these things are supposed to be defended against. Its not my fault you had so little Psy or such a sad number of points.¡± She nodded sagely. ¡°Don¡¯t feel too bad about that in any case. My bosses block most of my sensing abilities, but I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re only level 15 or so. A tad below standard, considering the time you¡¯ve had to train. Things will get better. Trust me, I was a mess when I got taken. Took me a full cycle to finally get going at a decent pace.¡± She was looking down on me. All that effort, all that training while hungry or sleepy or tired and this freaky-Friday looking bird person was looking down on me. Good. Let her feel superior. She hasn¡¯t hurt me yet and gave up a whole heap of information for free. She doesn¡¯t need to know I¡¯m at 39. ¡°PFFTFS!¡± She made a queer half chortling, half squawking noise. Then grasped her throat and did some weird hand gesture. Finally, she started breathing normally again. ¡°Oh yeah. You were reading my mind. Kinda slipped by me. I guess I¡¯m stressed out. Sorry about that.¡± ¡°Holy jumping Gozo kid! Level 39? It¡¯s barely been a month! You¡¯re a monster!¡± For some reason, despite the absurdity of the situation, that hurt me more than anything else. ¡°I¡¯m a monster!? You¡¯re the one who mind-controlled me here against my will! You¡¯re also a Telepath! Don¡¯t be throwing rocks when your house is made of glass!¡± ¡°Wha...? Why would you bring my Type into this? What¡¯s wrong with being a Telepath?¡± ¡°Everything! Telepaths are evil! You had me under your control! You could have done anything to me!¡± She looked like she was about to say something else, but cut herself off before the words could form. She drew in a breath with some effort, behaving in a manner that was eerily close to human. Indeed, if I didn¡¯t know better, I¡¯d say she was some weirdo in a costume. A very big costume. With claws. ¡°Please forgive me for my outburst. It was unprofessional. I will also apologize for bringing you here in such a¡­clearly distressful manner. While we shopkeepers are not allowed to harm Students, showing off is one of the ways we¡¯re allowed to indulge. It was my mistake and it won¡¯t happen again.¡± Another deep breath ensued, where some of her feathers settled back down. ¡°I am not interested in your preconceived notions of morality.¡± She managed after a regaining her composure. ¡°Neither should you, for that matter. Being that strong this early means you¡¯ve probably been levelling through introspection and self-discovery, rather than brutality. Hating yourself will only prove detrimental.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. She paused for effect, seemingly lost on how to phrase her next words. ¡°Besides, it would be a terrible waste of talent.¡± ¡°Is that why you brought me here? For my talent?¡± ¡°Nah. I¡¯m not after your potential. I¡¯m after your money.¡± I blinked once, then twice more. Saying nothing. ¡°Okay. Um. You¡¯re not my¡­uh. I¡¯m more into human women.¡± She brought up a claw and waved it dismissively. ¡°Allow me to clarify. I am a shopkeeper while inside your Tutorial. It is my duty to dispense with amenities in exchange for fair compensation.¡± ¡°Oh. Right. I have Store Tokens.¡± ¡°And nowhere else to spend them.¡± She waved her other claw and a tea set floated into the air between us. With a graceful twirl of one of her digits, the pot tilted and dispensed its contents on both cups. It would have taken my breath away, if it weren¡¯t for my dagger. She probably had some item that let her do that. ¡°Consider this treat a freebie. Take it. Savour it. Calm down and put yourself at ease. After that, we can talk business.¡± ¡°Screw that. If you¡¯re not going to kill me, then I have questions.¡± ¡°Good! Questions are good. It¡¯s a sign of an active, healthy mind. Ask away. I¡¯ll answer to the best of my abilities. So long as the compensation is right.¡± I had shot forward without realizing it. My hands felt clammy and cold. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it was trying to dig itself out of my chest. This was it. ¡°How do I get home?¡± ¡°The answer to that is worth 5, 000 Store Tokens.¡± She chirruped happily. ¡°The currency isn¡¯t physical, not unless you¡¯re dead or you want it to be so. You can¡¯t hand them over as you¡¯d be used to. Just will them over to me and I¡¯ll get to your question.¡± ¡°I¡­don¡¯t have that many.¡± ¡°Shame.¡± She responded, without any hint of surprise of remorse. ¡°Though maybe its for the best. I don¡¯t have any input on my prices mind you. I didn¡¯t decide to charge that much for something so banal.¡± ¡°Banal!? That¡¯s my life we¡¯re talking about!¡± ¡°Calm down sweetie. I know. I¡¯ve been where you are right now. Its not fun. I¡¯m only saying that because you¡¯ll get that tidbit for free later. There are better ways to spend your money.¡± I was hyperventilating by that point, half from rage and half from frustration. By some miracle, I managed to stay focused, telling myself this was too important to mess up by being emotional. ¡°Very well. Tell me why I was taken.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be 15, 000 Store Tokens.¡± ¡°Nope. I obviously don¡¯t have that. Tell me where we are.¡± ¡°Oh, that one¡¯s free darling. We¡¯re in the Labyrinth. More specifically, one of the Tutorial sections.¡± ¡°No, I meant where in space. Relative to where I was taken? How many kilometres? How many miles?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the answer to that cutie pie. Projector isn¡¯t my main Type. Presumably somewhere in an uninhabited dimension.¡± It came so fast that I almost missed it. Thankfully, my paranoia was keeping me sharp through each sentence in hopes of latching on to something important. Like this. ¡°What do you mean, main Type?¡± ¡°Hmn?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t play coy with me. You said it as if it were possible to have more than one Type.¡± ¡°Well of course dear. That should be obvious. Did they not have dual Types where you come from?¡± ¡°I¡­uh. Would prefer not to answer that.¡± Of course, we did. Thunder Fist was famously both an Enhancer and a Projector. But there was no way I was revealing secrets about earth¡¯s defenses to some alien who might subsist off crying babies for all I knew. She squawked in indignation, leading me to supress my own thoughts with a metaphorical vice. ¡°You mentioned not wanting to hurt me. Doesn¡¯t that include mind reading?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stop if you wish.¡± She said levelly. ¡°I do wish. Please stop peering into my brain.¡± ¡°Fair enough, I suppose.¡± ¡°Now tell me how to get a second Type.¡± ¡°Sure thing. That will be 45, 000 Store Tokens.¡± ¡°Okay, now you¡¯re clearly yanking my chain.¡± ¡°On the contrary my dear customer. I¡¯ve been nothing but polite this whole time. Or, at least I¡¯ve tried to be. I¡¯ve also apologized for my earlier rudeness. You, on the other claw, have treated me with hostility and contempt. I understand why you¡¯re scared. I was too. It shows you¡¯re using whatever wits the divines saw fit to give you. That said, it does not excuse this lack of manners.¡± I was about to say something mean when I caught myself. She, had a point. I was letting my earlier experiences with the gnome lord colour this encounter and that wasn¡¯t fair to Granny Golden. If that was her real name. There¡¯s no way it was in any case and more importantly, it wasn¡¯t fair to me. This was a real chance to get clues and I was pissing it away like a moron. A few niceties might go a long way here. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely right.¡± I conceded while doing my best to look remorseful. ¡°This whole ordeal has been challenging. You don¡¯t deserve to be treated like an enemy. I thank you. Sincerely. For all you¡¯ve done so far. Having a safe place to rest has been awesome by itself and I haven¡¯t shown how grateful I am. I promise to do better moving forward.¡± Not knowing what the correct bird person etiquette was, I went for a deep bow and made to put on a show by finally drinking the offered tea. To my surprise, it was fantastic. Rolling down my tongue as if to kiss my entire digestive system. My host stared into my eyes. The black beads on her face not moving an inch. Slowly, she began to chuckle. ¡°Boy. That is some scary talent you¡¯ve got. I genuinely believed you for a second.¡± Her posture changed to a more casual one. ¡°That said, I appreciate the gesture. Let¡¯s continue.¡± ¡°Thank you very much.¡± I bit my lip slightly, wondering whether or not to go for it. ¡°If there was no way to accomplish my goals, would the question still have a price?¡± The caws rocked the little fairytale cabin. It felt like laughter. Genuine and filled to bursting with mirth. ¡°That is rich! Ha ha! Rich! Oh, you prodigies are all the same! My dear Corko was like that too! Too smart for his own good! Ha ha! That question sounds innocent! Indeed, considering I¡¯ve answered a few for free, you might even think there¡¯ll be no price. If I say no, then you know there is a chance to get home! If I say yes, you¡¯d be losing nothing!¡± I waited patiently for her to stop mocking me. Or maybe she didn¡¯t mean anything bad by it and that glee was caused by returning memories. ¡°Sure thing sweetie. I¡¯ll give you that one. No. If I ask for a price, then there is a way. I¡¯m not inclined to cheat you. I see too much of myself in you youngsters for that. Its part of why I was given the gig.¡± I was about to say something else when she put up one her claws. ¡°That¡¯s it. There¡¯s a limit to the amount of time Students can spend in this particular safe zone so as to avoid you kids hunkering down for the whole Tutorial. You¡¯re almost there already. Since I like you, and I have a feeling you¡¯ll become a bigshot soon, I¡¯ll do you a favor.¡± She slipped me a folded binder. On the cover were a bunch of human children playing in a field of poppies. ¡°I am within my rights to recommend items to you, based on my own observations. Take a look at the ones I¡¯ve circled.¡± I shut my mouth and did as I was told. Inside was a shopping catalogue, filled with all sorts of goodies. Anything from medieval weaponry to preserved nutrient bars. All of which were shockingly cheap, ranging from 2 points per bar to 25 points for crossbows. None of those were marked, however. Instead, Granny had made special note of things like Spatially-Imbued Flask, Spatially-Imbued Backpack and Granny¡¯s Special Cooking Kit. The first two were a tidy 500 Tokens each while the latter was a whopping 3, 000. Part of me wanted to call her out for being a dirty scammer right then and there. That was, until I read the descriptions.
Spatially-Imbued Flask Flask that may contain up to 300 Litres of any given liquid. Standard issue for the discerning Student. This item is connected to the Student via a corresponding ring and may be summoned or stowed away at will. This item will remain in its own pocket space until it is called upon.
Spatially-Imbued Backpack Backpack that may contain up to 300 Kilograms of weight. Standard issue for the discerning Student. This item is connected to the Student via a corresponding ring and may be summoned or stowed away at will. This item will remain in its own pocket space until it is called upon.
Granny¡¯s Special Cooking Kit Robotic processing unit created by Granny Golden. Removes all toxins and poisons from dead flora and fauna, as well as processing them for consumption. This item is connected to the Student via a corresponding ring and may be summoned or stowed away at will. This item will remain in its own pocket space until it is called upon.
My eyes widened until I thought they might pop out of their sockets. This was good. Too good. It should have been given to each survivor from the beginning. With this, I might make a difference. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve realized it. He he. It is no good for you, since you¡¯ve got that suit, but others won¡¯t be so lucky. Nothing impresses the ladies like a man that knows how to cook. Trust me, I would know. He he he.¡± ¡°Thank you. This will help everyone else a great deal. You¡­might have helped save lives.¡± I meant those words. Starvation had almost killed me once already. This equipment would be mana from heaven to anyone else I came across. Who knows? I might even be able to leverage my¡­ generosity, into a partnership. ¡°Don¡¯t mention it sweetie. You are paying for it after all. Also, do me a little favour and keep a little crumb of advice in mind.¡± She leaned in conspiratorially, not losing her veneer of joviality as she did so. ¡°These are scraps compared to that suit of yours. Don¡¯t let anyone know what it is. Not for a few months. You can¡¯t afford the Equipment Upgrade Token yet. When you can, make sure you use it on that.¡± ¡°Him.¡± I corrected her, as politely as possible. ¡°Buddy is not a thing. He is my friend.¡± It was hard to tell with the beak and the lack of expressive eyes, but I could have sworn she was smiling ear to ear. ¡°You have no idea how right you are boy.¡± She, did what I assumed was the human equivalent of chuckling and I matched her out of politeness. ¡°One more thing.¡± I pressed, thankful that I caught the information when I did. ¡°Why were you surprised by me being level 39 and why do you think I¡¯ll be in a position to help later?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s both easy and free.¡± She waved a clawed hand dismissively. ¡°I don¡¯t have access to this Tutorial¡¯s statistics, but during my day, our tournament¡¯s finalists were all from Elite difficulty, as everyone from the higher, Peak difficulty had died. All but one had reached the Tier 1 cap of 50. A couple had even gone past it and they let us know how their particular corner had progressed.¡± ¡°What happens when you pass 50?¡± I interrupted. ¡°If.¡± Granny corrected patiently. ¡°One doesn¡¯t just pass 50 and get into the second Tier. One first needs to combine abilities into a higher Tier. You need at least one Tier 2 ability to reach level 51. Same goes for Tier 3 and level 101.¡± ¡°I see. Sounds simple enough.¡± Granny let out a sad chirrup. ¡°Only those blessed with exceptional skills would think so. You see, levelling gets harder and harder the stronger you are. Being level 25 at month¡¯s end means you¡¯re a prodigy. Those nearly reaching level 35 after a month would be the geniuses among geniuses. Being as strong as you are four weeks into your enlightenment would only be possible if you¡¯d been a ridiculously powerful Esper before the system took you. A true Savant. Most of those who¡¯ve previously awakened by themselves cannot progress past their original state, but there are always exceptions.¡± Those words left me stunned. Stupefied. I kept my eyes locked on to her as time seemed to slow and other senses became blurred. My throat felt as dry gain, like it had when I¡¯d first awakened. My veins felt hot, as if boiling tar was running through them. My heart was beating like a thousand drums in concert. My hearing failed, as her words congealed together into a continuous hum. There was no way. ¡°The system does that sometimes. Taking a true powerhouse who¡¯s also compatible with further growth. I¡¯m guessing you¡¯ve felt a familiarity of sorts with your former abilities. Some innate connection. Naturally, this means that levelling is easier. You¡¯re merely recalling your own prowess rather than developing it from the beginning. Unfamiliar abilities would be a challenge but hardly insurmountable.¡± That feeble film trapping the presence under the lake weakened. Then, it died without resistance. From beneath the brackish waters, a foulness surfaced. Contaminating the remnants of my sanity. Clawed, crooked limbs emerged from within my chest, my ears, my nose, my eyes. Gently caressing this beaten shell. ¡°Shut up.¡± I said at once, trying to keep my hands from shaking. ¡°I wasn¡¯t a Telepath before I came here. You¡¯re lying.¡± She squawked in obvious derision. ¡°Now, now, there¡¯s no need for that. I thought we¡¯d come to a mutual understanding. I cannot lie to you. Under any circumstances. You must have some recollection of an event¡­¡± Her words fell off as the outline of the tall man burst into my mind. I couldn¡¯t remember his exact height. Nor the colour of his clothes. Nor the colour of his hair. The embrace of the arms grew tighter, comforting me as a mother would a baby. Urging me to finally look beneath the bubbling lake. To see the full, terrible splendor of my own reflection. ¡°You have to be lying.¡± ¡°I already told you. I can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°STOP!¡± I bellowed, feeling that thin membrane restraining the lake within me give way. From its depth came unwelcome memories. With them, came wrath and strength. The bird complied at once, surprise evident on what passed for its face. The inherent difference in power between me and this crow-thing disappeared in an instant. No longer was I a gnat for her to meddle with. In an instant, I was suffused with righteous might. A titan staring down an ant. Feeling as unassailable as the stars. Treacherous as the void between them. Vast as the universe. System notifications flew by at blinding speed. Beeping so loudly as to mimic tinnitus. I ignored them all. They were not important. Nothing was more pressing than this. ¡°KNEEL!¡± I commanded. The bird complied without protest. Prostrating with gusto. My heart was hammering against my chest, threating to burst. My ears were ringing. My eyes were burning. The bird seemed to realize something, dread dawning on it as it began to struggle against my grip. ¡°I SAID. KNEEL!¡± My authority pressed down on her with the weight of a continent. Her own psionic repertoire withering like autumn leaves. A part of my bubble had dissolved and spread throughout my fog, choking any resistance away from her spirit. It manifested as a visible halo, radiating half-silver half-violet incandescence. My eyes burned, tiny sparks lacerating outwards and crawling all along my body. I hardly noticed. Too focused on the enormity of her deception. ¡°YOU WILL NOT LIE TO ME! CONFESS! TELL ME THE TRUTH!¡± Those tendrils coiled around her now. Crawling like maggots on a corpse. They strained against reality, bending and twisting until they assumed sleek, needle-like forms. That done, they wormed their way inside her eyes. Burrowing deeper and deeper. Grabbing hold like some grisly fishhook. The lines grew taught. Forcing her psyche to dance like a puppet on bloody strings. Her mouth opened in a manner similar to that of dolls or marionettes. Moving in response to wishes that were not her own. Clouded as her being was, she still had enough awareness left to fully appreciate the insurmountable horror of the situation. ¡°You likely have prior experience with¡­¡± ¡°NO!¡± The denouncement beat her further into submission, shaking every bone inside her frame. Blood trickled from behind her eyes, pooling on the floor. ¡°TELL ME YOU ARE WRONG!¡± Her beak opened again and her claws went to it, trying to force it shut. Almost as afraid of the system¡¯s retaliation as she was of me. Just as her feeble protests died, a blinding flash of light brought an all too familiar sight.
System Notice: Store representatives are protected within the Tutorial. Attacking a store representative will result in punitive measures.
The edges of reality fell away. More raw power was being pumped into the surroundings, easing the pressure for the briefest of instants. All it took was the sharpening of my focus for the artifice to sputter. ¡°I COMMAND YOU! BEGONE!¡±
Sy#t%m No*%ce: Store r+=^% are pro#%ted within #@Tutorial. Attacking a %#1*^
The screen vanished as did her respite. I would have my answer. One way or another. I swallowed a gulp of air and leered down at the vile deceiver. ¡°You will tell me everything I want to know. Why did you lie? How did you know about the crabs? Did you peek at my memories? Did you alter them?¡± ¡°I cannot lie to you sir. Please. Let me go. Please. Please. Please.¡± My current surroundings faded, the fairy-tale house disintegrating into motes of colourful sparks. From the empty space swelled the crabs and the bloodied floor and my neighbours staring into me. Plumes of white-hot rage erupted once more at that. ¡°YOU! HAVE THE AUDACITY! TO SAY THOSE WORDS TO ME!¡± My castigation fell on empty air. A resounding explosion of light pushed me backwards. Redoubling its efforts taking the foul creature before I could react. Chapter 25: Gaslighting. Chapter 25: Gaslighting. The system lies. Of course, it does. Why wouldn¡¯t it? It was created by whomever had thrown a thousand people here to die. Like they were beneath even the dignity afforded to animals. What else did I expect? My knuckles were tightened to the point that my nails were digging into my palms. Pure, unfiltered rage pumping through my arteries with all the might of a waterfall. I thought back to all those times I almost died. To all those times where an influence threatened to slither out of that deep dark lake within me and make itself know. To make itself feared. ¡°Don¡¯t go there Solomon. It¡¯s a lie. They¡¯re all just filthy lies. Positive thoughts. Positive feelings. Push this all deep down inside and lock it away.¡± ¡®Sully. You¡¯re starting to scare me.¡¯ ¡°Nah. I¡¯m good. I¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll get all of this out of my system after killing some more gnomes.¡± ¡®Should be easy enough then. Given how much stronger you are.¡¯ ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡®Hmn? You don¡¯t feel it? Look at your status!¡¯ I did as Buddy bade me, finally glancing over to let all the notifications flow. Most of it were levels and newly acquired abilities. There were¡­ An awful lot. It took some time before all the new acquisitions melded together with a few already in my repertoire, the points being refunded as their unions started at 1. Then they were all used up as the new amalgamations sought to climb as high as they could go. The resulting amalgamations all got their own pretty name, complete with colourful descriptions. To sum it all up. [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] came about after [Puppet Animal], [Puppet Plant], [Puppet Fungus], [Puppet Sentient], [Puppet Machine], [Calm], [Enrage], [Friendship] 3 and [Resolve] all merged. [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] sprung up after [Static Illusion] 4 combined with [Confusion] 2, as well as [Anxiety], [Hobble], [Phobia] and [Phantom Pain]. Finally, [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] reared its head after [Block Mental Attack] 1 grew to 5 and swallowed [Review Memory], [Share Memory], [Fog Memory], [Block Mental Detection] and [Interrupt]. Helpfully, these unions came with some explanations.
[Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] Temporarily dominates any living or mechanical targets found within [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives at the cost of 500 Psy per second, per affected unit. Manipulates the emotional state and disposition of targets at no extra cost. Affected targets may be forced to experience calmness, fury, stoicism, bliss and loyalty. These effects scale with current ability level. Targets that fail to resist the manipulation effects may become fully subjugated. Subjugated targets do not consume Psy when commanded. Unconscious or willing targets may be subjugated at no extra cost. Domination becomes semi-permanent when targets are fully subjugated at no extra cost. There is no limit to the number of concurrently dominated targets.
[Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] Creates dynamic illusions that fool all mundane senses of both living and mechanical targets at the cost of 1000 Psy per illusion. Illusions must be placed anywhere within and be no larger than the current range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. Illusions lose effectiveness the further away they are from you at a rate of 30% per 500 metres. Illusions may cause psychic damage unto living targets if they simulate a hazard or imminent danger, scaling with current ability level. Affected targets may be forced to perform random, counterproductive actions, lose control of their passive abilities, become paralyzed and suffer additional psychic damage when interacting with threatening or frightening illusions. These effects scale with current ability level. Duration of illusions scale with current ability level at a rate of 1 minute per ability level. There is no limit to the number of concurrently affected targets.
[Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] Passively protects you and your allies from being detected or attacked via Telepath abilities below Tier V within a radius of 150 metres. Actively disrupts non-Telepath abilities within a radius of 500 metres at the cost of 250 Psy per second. This effect scales with current ability level. View memories of targets using [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives at the cost of 250 Psy per 1000 hours of stored memories. Share memories between friendly targets and yourself via [Team Tactics] or derivatives at a range of half the current maximum of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives at the cost of 250 Psy per 500 hours of stored memories. Total hours per use scale at a rate of +20 % per ability level. Total cost per use scale at a rate of -15% per every 5 ability levels. There is no limit to the number of concurrently affected targets. Experience and edit the memories of a target within your senses or targets whose memories have been previously viewed at the cost of 75 ,000 Psy per 5 hours of memory. Accuracy and efficiency scales with current ability level at a rate of + 20% per ability level. Subjugated or willing targets may have their memories edited at no cost. Your memories may be experienced and edited at no cost.
Yep. That was wonderful. The bastard running the show wanted to make me out to be a villain. A bad guy. The kind of cartoonish creep that went around growing cults all over the place. Bastard. Bastard. Filthy freaking liar. Filthy freaking kidnapper. Honestly, how sick would you have to be to come up with this stuff? How sick would you have to be to accuse me of these¡­. Vile, disgusting perversions. Then, as if that wasn¡¯t insulting enough, I also got titles to go with the new abilities.
Title: Crown Shard of the Lonely Despot. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so only the wielder may dispel their own mind-controlling effects. This title negates the Psy cost of mind-controlling effects used on those below the wielder¡¯s current Tier. This title degrades mind-controlling immunity of affected targets to mind-controlling resistance. This title doubles Total Psy. ¡°Weary are they who bear the burden of leadership.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Chained Poet. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so only forces above Tier V may dispel the wielder¡¯s illusions. This title makes it so that illusions lower target¡¯s resistance to mind-controlling effects. This title increases Total Psy by 50%. ¡°Woe to they who lose their grip on reality.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Cruel Judge. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes the wielder immune to all mind-altering effects at or below Tier V; with the exception of the wielder¡¯s own. This title doubles the Psy cost of abilities used against the wielder. This title increases Total Psy by 50%. ¡°There can be no innocence. Only degrees of guilt.¡±
Objective Completed: Student has reached level 50. Student has increased the Tier of an ability. Student has gained a Title.
Alert: A Student in this Tutorial instance has committed an act of aggression against a System-regulated vendor. Disciplinary action will be taken against this Student and all current Students in this Tutorial instance. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. All System-regulated vendors will depart this instance until Solomon Carter delivers a satisfying apology to the offended vendor. Rewards for the aforementioned objectives will be withheld until the completion of the first Cycle. Delivered rewards will only consist of a fraction of their original amount as a penalty to Solomon Carter, with the difference given to vendor Granny Golden as compensation. Student, Solomon Carter, will be expected to apologize to the offended vendor before receiving any remaining rewards for these objectives.
¡°Bastard.¡± I said out loud. ¡°I bet you think this is a hoot. I bet you¡¯re up on the surface, twirling your handlebar moustache while chuckling. I bet you read my mind, my memories. I bet you know what happened to me and now you want to blame me for what happened.¡± The notion made my blood boil. A resplendent sun of white-hot fury erupting from every pore on my skin. Flashes of that day struck me again and again. Forcing me to face the bodies again. The crabs and the eyes. The tall man was gone and his place was a whimpering boy. Too wrapped up in the developments to know why he was being hated. Why he was being feared when all he¡¯d wanted was to help. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you.¡± I growled through gritted teeth. ¡°I swear I¡¯ll find you and kill you. Someway. Somehow. I¡¯ll never let you get away with this. I¡¯ll chase you to the ends of the earth.¡± Looking back at the messages, they trailed off into a new status screen that added all the bonuses together. Doing the math, that meant my total Psy would be multiplied by 2, then 1.5 and 1.5 in succession. At least, that¡¯s how I arrived at my new total, given that after level 50, each new level gave me 50 Psy and 8 new ability points to spend. That was 300 from all the Psy up to level 50 in addition to 50 multiplied by 28. Factor in my titles and I reached this:
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 5737/7650
Type: Telepath II Level 78
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 16 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 11 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Sense Thoughts] 4 / [Message] 4 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 4 / [Fear] 3 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 3 / [Precognition] 5 / [Meditation] 3 / [Premonition] 3 / [Psychometry] 2 /
Ability Points: 3
In summary, I was being messed with. The freak that threw me in here wanted to gaslight me into thinking I was responsible for what happened that day at the emergency shelter. Why though? What could anyone hope to gain from such an act? This farce was meaningless. It wouldn¡¯t convince me of anything. No one in their right mind could believe I was capable of hurting those people. I was a good person who cared about others. I¡¯d never hurt anyone. Never. Under any circumstances. And I¡¯d strangle anyone who said otherwise with their own intestines. ¡®Are you okay Sully?¡¯ ¡°Never better! My eyes have been opened to the organizer¡¯s tricks! I now know not to trust anything that appears on the status!¡± ¡®Are you sure that¡¯s a good idea?¡¯ ¡°The best! I can¡¯t be fooled if I don¡¯t rely on it for guidance. My illusions didn¡¯t change at all, so this screen must be wrong.¡± I summoned a copy of me to illustrate my point and leaped a bit to the side when it started repeating my own words back at me. For the briefest of instants, even I was unsure as to whether or not I¡¯d accidentally cloned myself. Every single detail stood out as irrefutably realistic, from the tone of my voice to the nervous glances beneath the copy of Buddy. I waved the conjured image away in a panic. ¡°There! See! Totally the same as before! It just happens to talk now and it¡¯s a little more stable. AHA! That¡¯s because of the level increase! It went up from 4 to 11! That¡¯s the cause!¡± ¡®Sully? You¡¯re sweating an awful lot. I think you might be sick.¡¯ ¡°What!? I¡¯m not sick! I would never do anything so sick! Take that back! I¡¯m not evil! I¡¯m a good person! I¡¯ve always tried to be a good person!¡± I could hear my heartbeat, feeling its relentless thrumming within my chest. ¡®I know Sully! You¡¯re the best person I know! I wasn¡¯t accusing you of anything! Please don¡¯t be mad at me!¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m not¡­!¡± The words died in my throat as intrusive flashbacks brought me back to that night. To the bodies being devoured by the baby crabs. To the emotions radiating off the lot of them once their mother was forced to end their lives. How did I know what they were feeling? ¡°I¡¯m not crazy. Buddy. You have to believe me. I¡¯m not crazy. I¡¯m not evil. I would never force people to do anything. I would never hurt anyone that didn¡¯t deserve it. I¡¯ve been trying and trying to save people down here. Over and over. I¡¯m not evil. I¡¯m not evil!¡± ¡®I wouldn¡¯t care if you were Sully. None of that matters.¡¯ ¡°It does matter!¡± ¡®Not to me. You¡¯re my best friend in the universe and that¡¯s how you¡¯ll stay no matter what. I love all of you for who you are. I¡¯ll never stop caring for you, no matter what you do.¡¯ ¡°But that¡¯s not right! Whomever did that back then deserves to be punished! They¡¯re a bad person!¡± ¡®So, punish them. Do whatever you feel is right.¡¯ Another blast from the past. Another glimpse into the bloodied halls. Another round of screaming and watching the tall man. Once more, those oily features moved like running water, carrying the colours and contours away so that he could be anyone depending on one¡¯s perspective. I could not see who he was. Who he¡¯d been. Disturbingly, as the new toughened strings rose from the lakebed, I could not even say that he¡¯d been there at all. ¡°No. That¡¯s not right. I can¡¯t let myself go down that route. I need to focus. I need to keep moving.¡± ¡®That¡¯s the spirit!¡¯ ¡°Sorry Buddy but I really need some peace and quiet right now.¡± ¡®You got it!¡¯ I forced down my emotions. Pushing downwards with concerted effort. Trying desperately to drown out the noise and accusations. The shadows of those looks. The despair. The disappointment. Leaving the little cabin didn¡¯t help. All around were beautifully maintained fields composed of glowing grasses, with the odd mushroom here and there. Basking in their soft light were lightning bunnies, their antlers crackling with stored power. Whatever influence had demanded their lax attitude held. Their beady eyes not shining with the usual malice. Shrugging, I kept moving. Determined to find other people. ¡°This won¡¯t break me. That wasn¡¯t me. I¡¯ll rescue the people trapped here with me. I¡¯m a good person.¡± The statement became a mantra. The meaning wrapped around me like a warm shroud. Holding the other thoughts at bay. Even now, they assaulted me relentlessly. ¡®It¡¯s all your fault. You did this. You hurt the crabs. You hurt those people.¡¯ ¡°This won¡¯t break me. That wasn¡¯t me. I¡¯ll rescue the people trapped here with me. I¡¯m a good person.¡± Repetition helped to ingrain the meaning. ¡®It¡¯s all your fault. You did this. You broke their minds. Broke their memories.¡¯ ¡°This won¡¯t break me. That wasn¡¯t me. I¡¯ll rescue the people trapped here with me. I¡¯m a good person.¡± Little by little, the tall man came back into focus. His smile more defined. ¡®It¡¯s all your fault. You did this. You¡¯re a terrible person. You deserve to be here.¡¯ ¡°This won¡¯t break me. That wasn¡¯t me. I¡¯ll rescue the people trapped here with me. I¡¯m a good person.¡± Two gnomes appeared within my fog, waiting at the spot where enormous chasm met narrow tunnels. The one on the left patted the other¡¯s shoulder, pointing in my direction. I could taste their eagerness. ¡®It¡¯s all your fault. No one will ever forgive you.¡¯ ¡°This won¡¯t break me. That wasn¡¯t me. I¡¯ll rescue the people trapped here with me. I¡¯m a good person.¡± They attacked at once. Their torrents of flame withered and died before they reached me. Part of me almost glanced back at the screen before thinking better of it. ¡®It¡¯s all your fault. No one will ever love you.¡¯ ¡°This won¡¯t break me. That wasn¡¯t me. I¡¯ll rescue the people trapped here with me. I¡¯m a good person.¡± Saying the gnomes were spooked would be like saying the Sahara could use a couple of humidifiers. They turned to run. They didn¡¯t get far. ¡®You¡¯re a bad person.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m a good person.¡± A wall of psionic energy brought my assailants to their knees. The tendrils rushed forward, becoming impossibly real to them as they were to me. Neither of them found time to scream. Fishhooks found their way inside, just as before. Digging into sallow flesh with a vengeance. Forcing compliance. ¡®You¡¯re a disappointment.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m a good person.¡± Their arms and legs betrayed them. Moving in ways they did not wish. ¡®You¡¯re a criminal.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m a good person.¡± Whatever feeble resistance they put up was no match for the tall man¡¯s influence. ¡®You¡¯re a villain.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m a good person.¡± Ethereal tendrils manifested on their bodies as well as inside, caressing them from face to heel like oily paintbrushes. ¡®You should be in prison.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m a good person.¡± The alien sensations forced their way down their throats. Coiling around brain, heart and spine in one fluid motion. ¡®You should be dead.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m a good person.¡± Primordial repugnance and fright radiated from their faces. Their conical skulls shaking with futile effort. ¡®The world would be better without you.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m a good person.¡± My listless eyes met theirs. Behind me, a half-silver, half violet halo lit up the aperture. Whatever emotions they felt then perished as they were of no use. ¡°You will tell me where the other people are.¡± Their mouths began to move. ¡°We have hunting parties looking all over for you.¡± ¡°Ever since you killed Mot.¡± ¡°Bruxa wants the dagger. She¡¯ll do anything to get it.¡± Huh? Why¡¯s he talking about other gnomes? I clearly asked him about people. Hold up. People. As in, thinking, sentient beings. This gnome was put here thinking that mobs like him qualified as people. ¡°Where did you all come from?¡± ¡°The city of Happy Shrub. Hanging under the Giga ant colony. Atop the beetle pit. Guarding one of the safe zones.¡± Images flooded into me from his subconscious. Sturdy metal wires holding up houses and cages above a deep oval base. Ever hungry plant-like organisms roping strays into their vines and swallowing them whole. Leaders like Mot, Bruxa and Stuk herding the nearby creatures into raiding parties. Charming steeds so that they may cover more ground. This gnome had memories of waking with all the knowledge he could want. Alongside a twisted desire to maim and capture the tall ones. To keep them in suspended cells above the hungry beetles. To laugh when the enclosures were heated by gouts of flame. Before that; nothing. He, they had been created for no other reason than to hunt humans. We weren¡¯t people to them. We weren¡¯t even cattle. Fickle playthings at best. I had no words. This vile behaviour had not been allowed to fester. It had been specifically designed to work in this manner. In a way, the gnomes were victims too. Never getting the chance to know peace and harmony. Never experiencing justice. The sheer cruelty of it all baffled me. Why? Why would anyone do this? Why encourage this senseless violence? Suitably enraged, I dove deeper. Boiling his brain in an effort to get as much information as possible. Desperate to find if there were survivors. If there might be hope. I nodded imperiously. Tacitly ignoring their roiling emotions. ¡°I meant humans. I will save all of them. After I kill you all. Because I¡¯m a good person.¡± A scant few twitches were all the resistance they could muster. ¡®You know that¡¯s not true.¡¯ ¡°I know this is all a lie. I know I can¡¯t control minds. I know it¡¯s the kidnapper¡¯s fault. The tall man¡¯s fault. It will not stop me. No more than you will.¡± ¡®What do you hope to accomplish by lying to yourself?¡¯ This was the truth, regardless what the voice thought. Sure, my captives were completely certain I was both a Telepath and nuttier than squirrel poo. However, they also hunted my fellow humans. Their opinions meant little to me. ¡°If you do as I say, I promise to kill you quickly.¡± Which would be preferable to what I¡¯d be doing if they disobeyed. One of them moved his tiny hands into his flowing robes. From there he produced a rudimentary map. On it was a three-dimensional cube with drawings of waves for borders. Within were straight lines dividing the edifice into quadrants, though the scale wasn¡¯t as precise as I was accustomed to. Important landmarks appearing to be closer or farther than I recalled on my own [mental map]. Still, I made out different emblems, round heads for people and tringle-shaped heads for pests. If I was reading it correctly, their city was a good two weeks away on foot. It was difficult to see with the low lighting and the rough nature of the leather in which it had been inscribed. The material in which it had been written was coarse. Like it had been tanned incorrectly or in a hurry. I touched his hand when receiving the prize. One of the newer, unused strings activated for the first time. [Psychometry] wakes.
Moe the Gnome: Moe is a level 29 Gnome hailing from the city of Happy Shrub. This creature has access to Projector abilities. Moe¡¯s highest-level ability is [Fire Wall] 5. Moe loves nothing more than to make maps and book covers from human skin. Moe¡¯s favourite prey are kittens, which he often ate in front of their parents. Moe keeps at least 150 Store Tokens with him at all times.
I blinked a few times. Trying to wrap my mind around what I was seeing. I took a deep, calming breath in order to steady myself. ¡°Was this made from human skin?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± They answered as one. I breathed in and out. Rhythmically calming myself down before making any rash decisions. Losing my composure would only make things harder. A hero wouldn¡¯t be feeling so much bloodlust. Heroes risked their lives to save others. That should be my goal. Because I was a good person. I couldn¡¯t rely only on their memories. I needed to hear them say it. ¡°Do you keep human prisoners in your city?¡± ¡°We do.¡± ¡°Are any still alive?¡± ¡°A hundred or so.¡± The breathing exercises came easier that time. All was not yet lost. ¡®Wait. Last time they almost killed you.¡¯ ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I have to try. I¡¯m a good person.¡± ¡®I agree.¡¯ Of all the statements that had erupted from my own intrusive thoughts, that was the most unexpected. ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter what you did before this. Only what you do from now on. Absolution is impossible. You are guilty and you know it. You could forgive yourself. If you actually manage to free the survivors.¡¯ ¡°I see. That¡¯s how it¡¯ll be. That¡¯s how I¡¯ll become a hero. I¡¯ll save them all and it won¡¯t matter what I am. What I¡¯ve done. I¡¯ll be a good person.¡± Noises echo all around the clearing. It takes me a few minutes before I recognize it as laughter. Genuine expressions of elation. Bolstered by relief. I was not lost. I was not a monster. I could be more. The giggles resonate within and without. Lasting for what feels like hours. Eventually, those expressions fall back under control. My attention falls back on the enthralled duo. ¡°I command you. Forsake your old allegiances. Love every second you spend atoning for your crimes.¡± What few specks of defiance they clung to disappeared. Crushed like a serpent beneath my heel. My hands were no longer shaking. Instead, they moved with an enlightened clarity. A surety of purpose. Towards their throats. ¡°You will be the first to follow me into penance. You will witness the fateful lightning of my terrible, swift sword.¡± I squeezed tighter. ¡°We will be heroes. Or we will die trying.¡± I squeezed tighter. ¡°Suffer me now.¡± Chapter 26: Penitent Crusade. Chapter 26: Penitent Crusade. I re-entered the labyrinth feeling better than I had in weeks. My heart swelled with self-acceptance. Knowing full well that I was on the path to redemption. At the end of this road, I would be a hero, or I would be dead. Both options had their own appeal. Talking to Buddy had helped me, back when I was still blind. Before I truly understood the weight of my own sins. This was a different sort of contentment. I was no longer afraid of myself. Of what others might think of me. After all, they were right to fear me. To shun me. I¡¯d pull away as well, were I in their shoes. The only option was to cast away the falsehoods. To sacrifice this shell in order to save as many people as I could. With that in mind, we walked. Towards our destiny. The first to join were a group of five centipedes clinging to a nearby ceiling. Their sharp chitinous legs skittering in jubilation after I hammered their new goals into their soft brain matter. After that came the eels, who were feasting on the remains of a lobster-mole. The three of them gently floated to our side without issue. Basking in the righteousness of our mission. Two live lobster-moles and one tiger-mole sauntered over a few minutes later. I touched each in turn, using [Psychometry] to assess my forces.
Lesser Venom Centipede: A level 3 venomous centipede. This creature has access to Enhancer abilities. Its highest-level ability is [Enhanced Dexterity] 2.
Lesser Strangler Centipede: A level 6 giant centipede. This creature has access to Enhancer abilities. Its highest-level ability is [Enhanced Strength] 3.
Savouring their own Psy reserves was¡­ Morbidly fascinating. Like waking up in the morning and finding a queer pulsating tumor on my chest. Barely perceptible trickles of oddness returning to me alongside the vitae attached to their segmented bodies. Those legs did not feel like human limbs. Lacking any warmth beneath the skin. Bereft of the sensitivity to pressure or temperature changes. These appendages were as knives. Forged and sharpened for the purposes of disassembly. My other recruits had little in common with their sort, though all were equally alien to me.
Phantom Jaw Eel: A level 11 giant eel. This creature has access to Enhancer and Shifter abilities. Its highest-level ability is [Jaws] 4.
Clawed Mole: A level 20 giant mole. This creature has access to Enhancer and Shifter abilities. Its highest-level ability is [Enhanced Toughness] 5.
Striped Mole: A level 32 giant mole. This creature has access to Enhancer and Shifter abilities. Its highest-level ability is [Enhanced Toughness] 5.
The eels and the moles felt constrained by their own exteriors. The closest I could come to describe it would be what a human might experience when wrapped in layers of leather and fur. None showed any reaction. Indeed, I¡¯d be surprised if they noticed at all. Consumed as they were with the completion of our goals. Sadly, this led to a few accidents when, in their fervor, some failed to notice or avoid traps. I sighed, calling upon those thin strings of ethereal power once again. Drawing them firmly from their sleep and winding them around the echoes of Psy coming from my soldiers. Gripping those feeble embers swirling in their bodies. Squeezing with [Message] and sharing [Premonition].
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Premonition] 3 has grown to [Premonition] 5
New dangers called out to me from beyond the veil. Bleating like goats one second and crashing like waves the next. My own preconceived notions of peril and what might have passed for it began losing meaning as blaring alarms sounded from far away. Though [Sense Thoughts] couldn¡¯t pinpoint traps, it and my map found an illuminating resonance in the warnings. The foreshadowed peril was forced upon my army, travelling like music notes on dripping heartstrings. Singing with every melodious beat.
Ability Gained: [Team Tactics] 1 has been added to the Status.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Message] 4 has grown to [Message] 5
Ability Evolving: [Team Tactics] 1 has grown to [Team Tactics] 2
The change was sudden, though not unwelcome. While I couldn¡¯t really care less whether or not my meat shields died, I¡¯d much rather them die fighting the gnomes. They were, after all, a means to an end. The catalyst for my penance. I had to get to their city and free the people trapped there. I had to risk everything for the sake of others. I had to be a good person. In order to fulfil that purpose, these dolls needed to be whole. They needed to be strong. They needed to be¡­ More. To be a horde that trampled all resistance. This small stream of resources wasn¡¯t going to cut it. It wouldn¡¯t be anywhere near enough. I immersed myself in blurry memories. Recalling the chase and the sleepless nights. The flaying desperation eating away at the corners of my mind. The power of [Friendship]. I¡¯d undergone that trance when my mind was clouded. Seeking any relief from the crushing weariness. Now, I did the same with its larger, meaner cousin. [Domination] suffocated me in a manner wholly foreign to rational imagination. In the haze, I commanded myself. ¡°Expand my range. Grow the swarm. Get more of them under my banner.¡± So, I did. Drowning in rapturous ecstasy. Sharpening my focus to a razor¡¯s edge. Pumping rivers of purple energy from the lake within me into the frayed reality of the maze. Lacerating arcs of purple lighting roared from inside my eyes as the deluge surged outwards. Time dilated slightly. Each new step falling slower than the last. Each new breath entering me with a miniscule delay. Space twisted as well. The stone lining the walls grew hazy; mixing with the nearby flora. Slithering into each other like two separate broths of soups placed within the same bowl. New colours emerged from the canvas. Showing themselves in all their glory. Shedding their secrecy for the first time in forever. All the strings grew taught. Tensing with newfound vigor. Along them crawled my purpose. ¡°You are all tools.¡± I said to them. The words eliciting shivers of joy and despair. Shattered remnants of whatever my units had been trying to piece themselves back together. ¡°You are all weapons.¡± I insisted. ¡°Bullets to be fired and spent and discarded. Do not fight it. Enjoy your sacrifice. Move for me. Kill for me. Only after you¡¯ve bled and fallen and died, will your existence mean anything.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Commandments seared themselves into their, no, our psyche. Rewriting a script from the ground up. The murky depths were boiling with activity as the three ropes of my strongest abilities grasped the space between spaces. Flailing like the tentacles of some eldritch monstrosity trying to surface. To look at the fragile web of lies it inhabited. More colours appeared alongside new contours. The boundaries of this forsaken place wavered. All that rock and water and flesh unable to keep the secrets within. Silky curtains replaced the previous environments. Shining stars interwoven in the fabric. Their very presence was suffused with supernatural beauty and pressure in equal measure. Pushing me back. Pushing me down. Pushing me out. It was not enough. My determination would not waver. Not even if all my bones were crushed and my sinews turned to paste. Every inclination and movement hurt. Carrying with them a blast of blinding agony that would have deterred any normal human. It was a laughable attempt. This much was nothing next to the pain of my guilt. I pushed in deeper. Past the first and second veils. Ignoring how hard it became. Until all I could breathe was pure, unfiltered Psy. Little blocks of immaterial substance. A universe that hid behind the physical, unsure if it had come before or after. Behind them were layers upon layers of shattered glass. Crisscrossed by dusty cobwebs. Each crystal was a window singing about the past, present and future. The sarcophagus was here, cursing the armored woman. A burning man exploded in all directions, trying and failing to feel warm and safe. The running man carrying off a consolation prize, unaware that his actions killed his family. A mother cradled the bodies of her children, finding them too late. Two warriors die in their village¡¯s last stand, their father joining them thereafter. My halo shone brighter. Loosening beams of silver and purple and gold. Once more, the dinging and ringing of notifications rose in pitch and volume. Swelling alongside the number of pawns I held. My fog exploded like a broken dam. Orbiting wisps of Psy condensing before violently expanding in an orchestra of new impressions.
Ability Evolving: [Sense Thoughts] 4 has grown to [Sense Thoughts] 8
Ability Evolving: [Mental Map] 3 has grown to [Mental Map] 8
Ability Evolving: [Precognition] 5 has grown to [Precognition] 6
Ability Evolving: [Psychometry] 2 has grown to [Psychometry] 3
Fleeting impulses begged me to return, but I pushed them aside. Whatever was back there only mattered when it helped. The hostages were infinitely more important. This boost would be enough. For now. Contrary to my expectations, my range did not only double. After 5, every new level in the ability seemed to grant a further 500 metres instead of the usual 100. All added together for a total radius of two kilometres. The change shook my foundations for a few seconds. The interwoven cord that was [Domination] leaping greedily for new prey. In short order, hundreds upon hundreds of bugs, eels, rabbits, and moles were made to see the error of their ways. As a bonus, I even obtained a dozen shrews, a slightly injured leviathans and roughly two hundred gnomes spread around the place. Those patrolling the middle and outer edges above and below me were mounted on mutated ants while those to my sides or close to travelled on foot. Oddly, the mounted units managed to resist a little more fiercely. A stoic few were even able to scream or claw at their faces while I burrowed deep inside of them. The serpent for its part, actually fought me within the fog. Draining Psy as it thrashed about. Their efforts failed to amuse. ¡°Kneel.¡± I whispered. Relishing the booming aftershocks my order created as it oppressed the gnomes from all directions. Compliance was swift and brutal. Killing a fair number as they smashed their skulls into solid bedrock. ¡°Be my tools. Be my blades. Spend your life¡¯s blood to atone for your wretched existence. Suffer me now.¡± All the voices rose in acceptance. Forming a colourful chorus of guilt. Channeling my determination. At the center was my own beleaguered mind. Shedding weakness like a butterfly would its cocoon.
Ability Evolving: [Meditation] 3 has grown to [Meditation] 7
Ability Evolving: [Team Tactics] 2 has grown to [Team Tactics] 3
¡°Gather around me. Do not trigger traps.¡± With this edict, I felt my map come alive with movement. Previously obscured areas revealing themselves in their entirety. As this happened, I realized that it also wasn¡¯t enough. I could be stronger. I could be faster. No. I needed to be, for the sake of the prisoners. ¡°You, mole. Pick me up. Place me on your back.¡± Eager to comply, the monster mounted me atop its neck. Perfectly placed so that handholds were within reach. ¡°Run towards the city.¡± That, as it turned out was a mistake. A month of rough spelunking had done plenty to toughen me up. Especially after I secured a reliable source of nutrients through Buddy. Yet my gains were that of a normal human body. No match for my mount¡¯s enhanced prowess. I fell off the beast as soon as it picked up speed. Breaking an arm and a leg in the process. Cursing, I willed the pair I¡¯d found outside Granny Golden¡¯s clearing to my side. Mot¡¯s magic knife found their way into their faces and their stolen life fixed the consequences of my stupidity. Having learned from my blunder, I commanded one of the leviathans to wrap its feelers around my waist and torso once it had reached me. All so that I could travel with the grace and dignity of a fat toddler strapped to its parent. [Psychometry] sucked in information once the process was complete.
Dolce the Phantom Force Serpent: Dolce is a level 93 giant Phantom Force Serpent. This creature has access to Enhancer, Shifter, Projector and Telepath abilities. Dolce¡¯s highest-level ability is [Fear] 10. Dolce loves nothing more than to hide in the darkness before ramming unsuspecting prey. Dolce also loves hugs and being lovingly cuddled while falling asleep. Dolce¡¯s death will grant 75, 000 Store Tokens.
¡°Huh.¡± ¡®What is it sully?¡¯ ¡°It has a name. Like the gnomes did. None of the other critters had names.¡± ¡®Do I have a name?¡¯ ¡°Of course, you do Buddy. You¡¯re a free-thinking sentient being that can feel love and happiness and I¡¯m going to stop talking before I fully process the implications.¡± Contrary to my wishes, the freaking snake kept on thinking. ¡®I¡¯m also a free-thinking sentient being that can feel love. I know because I love you. Please make me feel better. Please give me hugs.¡¯ I flinched involuntarily. All too aware of the colossal jaws and the possibility of them being the least threatening aspect of my new recruit. I also recalled my tumble through the upside-down rapids and the coral reefs. The cold, weighty abyss hiding certain death whilst keeping me contained. Then I wondered if going back was feasible now that I had an in. ¡°No. The people here need my help. I¡¯ll save them all. Because I¡¯m a good person.¡± ¡®What was that?¡¯ ¡°Nothing you should be worried about. You¡¯ll get your due once you get me to the gnomish base. On with it.¡± ¡®Yes master!¡¯ The lurch made my stomach flip upside down. My ragtag junta flying through the largest passages with all the subtlety of a speeding train. Many of our not-so-willing comrades fell behind, but many more joined in their stead as mobs felt the sting of my whip. Metaphorically, of course. Hundreds became thousands an hour into the march. A relentless parade of hungry flesh. Eager to please beyond any reasonable standard. I¡¯d half-expected to meet some barrier. Some mishap or blockade that would inconvenience the advance. Instead, I had the good fortune to meet a group of survivors. Group as in, more than one human being in the same place. Goodness gracious. It was a miracle. I focused on their location, some 1900 metres away from me to the left and some 50 metres below me. More or less at the spot where my senses ended. I saw them on the map, filling the three-dimensional space with their own awareness. Previously, my divination would stop there. Now, I could now make out further details, granted by a qualitative improvement after passing level 5. There was a spark, of sorts, moving alongside their errant ruminations. Inside their brains. Moreover, all of them are completely visible; not just the contents of their minds. I could feel how tall they are, how they draw in each breath. Their faces are made out as well, pictures that pop up in a sea of mist. A shard of me went along with the current, deeper into the dancing lights that signaled humans. Those contained bursts of essence had a shape, one that existed alongside their physical organs. Eighteen appeared to be jagged or blunted rocks. Unprocessed ores that kept their brilliance contained. Another person was more akin to a flexible organ, holding bubbles in its center as it danced in place. The last two even had what appeared to be candles burning inside of them, wax endlessly falling aside and being re-absorbed by the whole. Trippy, to say the least, but it was another clue. If these represented Esper Types, going by how many there were of each kind, ores would be Enhancers, liquids would be Shifters and candles meant Projectors. Merely a hypothesis. But one that made sense to me. I¡¯d have to do some more experimentation later to confirm. Actually, I would do some experimentation right now. A minuscule push is all it took to eavesdrop on their conversation. ¡°Why can¡¯t I stay?¡± Asks the syrup. ¡°Well, see here, we¡¯ve had to make an executive decision about you.¡± Answers the candle. Reaching to hold an arm that wasn¡¯t there. ¡°Pete and Walder don¡¯t care for you. The whole flesh-growing-back thing upsets them. The only reason they haven¡¯t stabbed you is because they¡¯re afraid you¡¯re a witch that¡¯ll curse their pants off. Giorno already shot you. Twice. He¡¯s also really spooked on account of you not dying from that. As for me¡­¡± He paused for effect, unsure of whether it needed to be said. ¡°It¡¯s the rabbit mask. I¡¯m thankful for you healing me and saving my life. I¡¯m man enough to admit those psychos would have killed me if it weren¡¯t for you. However, the mask is too much. You¡¯ve refused to take it off so vehemently that we¡¯re worried about your mental stability. Shifters don¡¯t have a great reputation to start with and I can¡¯t afford to worry about you flying off the handle and eating poor Walder.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right! You tell him master wizard!¡± ¡°The masks stinks of pagan curses! Like that hag back in Antwerp!¡± ¡°Shoot it! Shoot it now! Its in league with the Polish!¡± Their target barely moved. Their own mind was blank as freshly fallen snow. Their posture slouched and animalistic. [Mental Map] unveiled their identity. It was the Bunny Man. The very same one who¡¯d helped me so long ago. He stood alone. Faced with vehement shouts and disparaging comments. At the head of the mob, was Randall. One arm shorter. Then there were the others. Pete and Walder, who¡¯d happily admitted to arson and murder. Besides those recognisable faces were a gaggle of ardent supporters. Practically bursting with the desire to stone Bunny Man to death. All carried themselves with an air of self-importance. All thought they were doing the right thing. ¡°What a stupid waste.¡± ¡®Why do you say that, Sully?¡¯ ¡°Over half of the original victims have died. No matter how many gnomes I break, there are more around every corner. There is a literal prison filled with humans where we¡¯re going. One manned and overseen by cannibals. Infighting is imbecilic at best. Downright treasonous at worst.¡± ¡®You think they¡¯re trying to fail on purpose?¡¯ ¡°Nah. I think emotions are running high. They¡¯re all equally scared. They¡¯re all tired and hungry. Some are wondering if they¡¯ll ever see their loved ones again. I know what that feels like. What it can do to you.¡± I shook my head before the intrusive thoughts wormed their way back in. ¡°I need to stop this. Because I¡¯m a good person. Happy thoughts. Positive thoughts.¡± I was mumbling my mantra again, but paid the growing habit no heed. It wasn¡¯t important right now. [Message] hadn¡¯t been too useful in diplomacy before, so I would use a more friendly and open approach. [Overwhelming Delusion] manifested. Creating an exact replica of me between the involved parties. A replica that included Buddy covering my whole body. As well as Dolce the Lovecraftian horror. Complete with all the glowing, writhing tentacles and massive needle-like fangs. Buddy¡¯s copy said nothing. Dolce¡¯s copy roared. My own copy began screaming the same words I was thinking. ¡°I¡¯M A GOOD PERSON! HAPPY THOUGHTS! POSITIVE THOUGHTS!¡± My audience started screaming too. Then a healthy percentage started vomiting and bleeding from the eyes and ears. Convulsing violently as if electrocuted and burned with branding irons all at once. Randall fought through the agony, bringing his one arm up to release a fiery missile that impacted the stone behind the illusion. If anyone had been paying attention, they might have realized they weren¡¯t in any danger. That the apparition was just that. A fake. A phony. An ability that did no damage¡­ Oh. That¡¯s right. It absorbed some other ones back then. The new description said it did psychic damage. Its also level 11. If my fog improved this much after growing to level 8 then¡­ Oh Poo. ¡°I DIDN¡¯T MEAN TO DO THIS! I¡¯M A GOOD PERSON! HAPPY THOUGHTS! POSITIVE THOUGHTS!¡± The persecutors ran away from my fog. The Bunny Man ran further into it. Wailing like the rest. Rending crimson ribbons into his torso, though his oversized mask remained intact. I switched to [Message]. ¡®Hold on! I didn¡¯t mean to do that! I know you! You gave me a nutrient bar! You healed me! I helped you fight the eels!¡¯ He stopped half an hour later, taking his time to dispel the panic in his heart. Even then, he trembled like a newborn fawn. Looking around as if trapped in a deep dark forest, with snarling wolves poised to leap out of every shadow. ¡°You. I thought you were dead. Didn¡¯t see you for weeks. Randall said he was hunting Telepaths.¡± ¡°Yeah, Randall¡¯s got a big mouth for someone who hangs out with murderers and arsonists.¡± I replied bitterly. Perhaps using a bit more force than I¡¯d meant to. He took another minute to get his breathing under control. Leaning back against a smooth stone wall before answering again. ¡°Perhaps it was for the best. They didn¡¯t like me very much.¡± He took a swig from a canteen strapped to his makeshift belt. Still bearing tufts of fur from the tiger mole it had originated from. ¡°Thanks for helping me back there. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯re in the market for a Shifter?¡± ¡®I¡¯d love to have you!¡¯ I retorted at once. A more cautious man might have hesitated. A more learned man might recall the many grisly killings Shifters were known for back in their home planet. A more sensible man might consider that the bomb collar laws had been put in place for a reason. Those kinds of people could take a long walk off a short pier. I was good person who didn¡¯t let their prejudices get the better of them. Besides, I had a goal anyone could get behind. The more the merrier. Chapter 27: Envy. Chapter 27: Envy. ¡°I¡¯m so happy to see you again, Bunny Man.¡± I said with exaggerated glee. In truth, I would¡¯ve been happy to have just about anyone join me. Even Randall and his hyenas, treacherous and pox-ridden as they were. Every person was another anchor. A reminder that I was on the right side, fighting for a noble cause. ¡°Borislav. My name is Borislav.¡± He said warily. His thin spindly arms trying and failing to wave without it looking like a forced gesture. A quick look downwards revealed that his knees were shaking and that the toenails of his bare feet were massaging the ground in an odd manner. Almost as if readying the rest of his body to turn tail and run. Long strands of thin black hair fell down the sides and back of his head, streaked with hints of white. ¡°Right! Nice to properly meet you Borislav! I¡¯m Solomon and I¡¯m a good person!¡± ¡°Most people don¡¯t start with that, but, okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t get your name the first time! I was worried that you might gut me! Like I did the gnomes!¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t need to know that.¡± He said in the most deadpan tone imaginable. ¡°Not that it was wrong or anything. Those guys are a menace.¡± ¡°Yes! Yes, they are! Which is why we need to kill them all and free our fellow humans!¡± The masked man flinched; a gesture so muted as to be almost imperceptible. Then they allowed their senses to wander around my gathering forces. He nodded once, seemingly satisfied. ¡°I suppose, this will do. Yes. This force is excellent. As my Babushka used to say, don¡¯t punch an enemy when you can stab them.¡± ¡°Sounds like a very wise woman.¡± I replied with warm courtesy. Not bothering to hide my jubilation. ¡®Well, that was easy. Nice! Everything is according to plan.¡¯ ¡°One more thing though. You¡¯re suggesting the gnomes are taking prisoners? Why? They¡¯ve killed people right in front of me.¡± ¡°They told me!¡± I pointed at a dozen ant riders nearby, all of whom nodded enthusiastically. ¡°After I broke their minds and forced them to submit. The survivors are being kept in the city of Happy Shrub. Their fortified base where they tame their mounts.¡± I stammered, trying in vain to string sentences together. ¡°I see. There might be some groups still alive.¡± ¡°Exactly! I want us to send in all my minions into their base and have them do the dying and the killing! The two of us can head right on in once they¡¯ve either won or soaked up the worst of the fire. Think of us as World War 1 generals. Like Field Marshal Hague. If we keep sending bodies, they¡¯ll run out of soldiers eventually, right?¡± ¡°That sounds very smart. The enemy will run out of powers before we show our faces. That way, we can stab them multiple times without issue.¡± He nodded sagely, causing the torn-up remains of the mask to wobble along with his head. ¡°Though I must admit, I¡¯m surprised someone so¡­¡± He waved his lanky arms about. ¡°Mighty, would be so interested in the affairs of the little killers. Why not gather more people and continue to avoid capture instead. Less risky that way. For us and anyone else wandering freely.¡± ¡°Because the gnomes will get us eventually if we don¡¯t wipe them out first. So, my plan was to take out the problem before it became a problem, while using another, already-taken-care of problem. I¡¯d never put another human in danger you see! Because I¡¯m a good person!¡± ¡°You say that a lot.¡± ¡°I know! I have to! Because I need to remind myself or else, I¡¯d go crazy!¡± He stopped himself from replying with admirable alacrity. None of my gnome-pesticide plans had worried him in the slightest, yet the mention of my mission shook him. This reaction was followed by a round of deep breaths, accompanied by a thorough massage of his mask-covered face. ¡°My mistake. We¡¯ve all gone through a lot. I shouldn¡¯t judge. Please don¡¯t take offense.¡± ¡°Yes! I mean, No! I won¡¯t!¡± ¡®Whew! Nice save!¡¯ I mean, yes. Borislav was very obviously a wee bit perturbed. His face was covered by the absurd mask, yet his posture indicated that his attention was focused on my tools rather than me. The following I¡¯d gathered frightened him. Especially Dolce, whose jaws shone with malice as they reflected the bioluminescence of his drifting tentacles. Indeed, the empathic impression I was getting was of someone surrounded by starving wolves on one side and a sheer cliff on the other. Little did he know, I was completely harmless. ¡°Look at it this way. If we do nothing, people, innocent people, will die. Slowly. Painfully. Alone. They might have kids too. They might have brothers and sisters and parents.¡± The faces of my own family resurfaced. Haunted by the scene of the crabs and their crushed innards. By what I¡¯d become. I remembered the revulsion. The doubt. I pressed downwards on it all with herculean effort and kept talking. ¡°Meanwhile, the gnomes are all bastards. The good ones anyway. The rest are literal war criminals. One tried to eat me. Why should we care what happens to them? I would argue that its our solemn duty to see this mess through. We are the only ones in a position to help. If we do nothing, then we are complicit in the crime of the gnome¡¯s continued existence. So, are you in on the plan? We can try something else if you have any ideas.¡± ¡°No.¡± The dead eyes of the bunny mask passed over Dolce and the rest of the meat shields that had caught up by this point. Borislav hesitated and swallowed. Clenching his fists. ¡°Forgive me for hesitating. You are right, of course. All those who would abuse their strength to stomp on the innocent must be brought low. Its only fair that you choose the method of attack, since you are the strongest. I would be honored to join your hunting party, comrade.¡± ¡°Of course! Thrilled to have you on board!¡± Which was an understatement if ever there was one. I reached out my hand expectantly and he shook it without too much apprehension. The information I got back was¡­. Illuminating.
Name: Borislav Sokolov
Psy: 286/365
Type: Shifter Level 27 / Enhancer Level 26
Shifter Abilities: [Claws] 3 / [Regeneration] 5 / [Predator¡¯s Instincts] 3 / [Regenerate Other] 5 / [Fur] 3 / [Muscular System] 3 / [Skeletal System] 3 / [Grow] 3 / [Jaws] 1 / [Lymphatic System] 3 / [Eyes] 1 / [Night Vision] 1 / [Thermal Vision] 1 / [Infrared Vision] 1 / [Ears] 1 / [Echolocation] 3 / [Low-Frequency Hearing] 1 / [High Frequency Hearing] 1 / [Heat Tolerance] 1 / [Nose] 1 / [Olfactory Navigation] 1 / [Olfactory Threat Detection] 1 / [Olfactory Poison Detection] 1/ [Tracking Instincts] 1 / [Adrenaline] 3 / [Venom Glands] 1 / [Poison Glands] 1 / [Cardiovascular System] 3 / [Digestive System] 3 / [Respiratory System] 1 / [Incorporate Mineral] 3 / [Incorporate Liquid] 1 / [Proprioception] 1 / [Pheromone Trail] 1 / [Pheromone Diversion] 1 / [Pheromone Attraction] 1
Enhancer Abilities: [Enhanced Strength] 3 / [Enhanced Dexterity] 1 / [Enhanced Constitution] 1 / [Enhanced Stamina] 1 / [Enhanced Agility] 1 / [Enhanced Toughness] 3 / [Enhanced Reflexes] 1 / [Enhanced Recovery] 1 / [Enhanced Vision] 1 / [Enhanced Hearing] 1 / [Enhanced Digestion] 1 / [Enhanced Circulation] 1 / [Heat Resistance] 3 / [Cold Resistance] 1 / [Slashing Resistance] 1 / [Piercing Resistance] 1 / [Blunt Resistance] 1 / [Sudden Strength] 1 / [Sudden Dexterity] 1 / [Sudden Agility] 1 / [Sudden Toughness] 1
Ability Points: 0
Wow. Just Wow. ¡°How did you get two Types?¡± ¡°How did you know I have two Types?¡± He countered at once. ¡°I have this ability, [Psychometry] that lets me see stuff like this.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± A silence followed that word. Deep and resonant. Broken only by the occasional slavering snarls of the monsters surrounding us. ¡°That is useful. I guess.¡± ¡°You guess? You have two freaking Types! With lots of level 1 abilities for some reason.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the smart way to go. You never know what might come in handy until you take a shot and 1 point isn¡¯t much of an investment when you¡¯re trying to find hidden gems.¡± He stopped for a moment, as if unsure whether or not to continue. ¡°Also, that second Type was my hidden ace. I wasn¡¯t exactly advertising.¡± ¡°Why not? If I was an Enhancer, I¡¯d be telling everybody I could. Also, you obviously have more points in Shifter than you do Enhancer. Can you assign points freely regardless of which Type gave you the levels?¡± Another bout of silence descended, shallower than before, though more intense. ¡°You would not be so eager to indulge in Enhancer abilities if you¡¯d seen the things I¡¯ve seen, comrade Solomon.¡± I was speechless. My confusion must have shown on my face because Borislav continued. ¡°Back home, when reality tore itself apart, the strong men and women stepped up to defend the motherland. In so doing, they became worse than the monsters. They took food, fuel, clothes, houses, people. Anything they wanted was theirs because they could take it and no one could stop it. The state faltered when they realized bullets could not hurt them. Their greed was endorsed. Made policy. It was the wizards and the beast men who stayed true. Who took in the wounded, the starving, and the orphaned. Where I come from, there is no honor in being an Enhancer.¡± Borislav¡¯s face twisted into a sneer. At least, that¡¯s what I think happened under the mask, given how it contorted. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but held his tongue at the last second. For my part, I could not believe the sheer nerve of this guy. Sure, there were bad apples, but those existed everywhere. Besides, those kinds of things only happened in countries that were, uh, not-so-free. No way that would happen anywhere in the free world. Except that one time with Gore claw, and that one time with Golem, and that one time with Leopard. I blinked away the rest of the examples. Trying and failing to keep my frustration under wraps. Too engrossed in my own problems. Too aware of all I¡¯d be willing to sacrifice if it meant being like him. To grab the gift he¡¯d spurned. ¡°Enough.¡± He spoke. ¡°Let¡¯s drop the issue and get moving.¡± ¡°No, we aren¡¯t going to drop this. Not until you tell me how you got another Type.¡± He grumbled. ¡°I had an epiphany. That¡¯s it.¡± I blinked. Several times in quick succession. ¡°You had an epiphany?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Care to explain?¡± ¡°No.¡± Hoo boy. ¡®Calm down Solomon. Don¡¯t lose your marbles. Not when you¡¯re having a semi-civilized conversation.¡¯ ¡®Yeah! You got this Sully! I believe in you!¡¯ Buddy intervened. ¡®Me too!¡¯ Dolce piled on. ¡®Quiet! Both of you. I need to get him to talk. Let me think.¡¯ ¡®Why don¡¯t you try asking nicely?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m being nice.¡¯ ¡®Did you say please?¡¯ Dolce asked innocently. I paused to consider the suggestion. ¡®Being sincere could help. It sure helped me when you taught me I could feel good while following your orders.¡¯ The silence stretched out for a while longer. ¡®That, couldn¡¯t hurt. I guess?¡¯ ¡°Uh, please?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Would you please tell me how you got the second Type? I know it¡¯s a lot to ask, and I know you want to keep your cards close to the vest. Still, it would mean a lot to me. I want to be a hero. I think being something other than a Telepath could go a long way.¡± Borislav snorted. ¡°I told you. There are worse things out there than Telepaths, comrade.¡± ¡®No there aren¡¯t.¡¯ ¡°Like I said, it would mean a lot.¡± I insisted. ¡°Please?¡± I was starting to realize that there was a fine line between being genuine and begging annoyingly when Borislav¡¯s emotions wavered. ¡°Fine. I guess a show of trust is warranted since you did help me when we first met. That, and your minions haven¡¯t jumped me yet. Nor have you tried to mind-control me. Though I¡¯m guessing you can¡¯t do that, given that Randall got away.¡± He harrumphed in a fashion I could only describe as melodramatic. Somehow conveying a great deal without revealing his face. I could have corrected him on the very foolish assumptions he¡¯d made then and there. Yes. I could have. But I didn¡¯t. Because telling people I could that sort of thing amounted to a social faux-pas. Besides, he arrived at the conclusion all on his own. I wasn¡¯t technically lying. ¡°I got hit on the second day. Hard. One of the big moles with lobster arms disemboweled me. It went right through my fur, the added muscle and the extra bones I¡¯d grown. I thought I was done for.¡± He shivered. His hands tensing. ¡°I tried to run while holding my intestines. My vision got blurry. My legs felt clumsy. I tried to focus. To envision my, well, what was left of me sticking together. That¡¯s when I felt Psy coalescing. In a different way than before. At that moment, it wasn¡¯t a beating heart full of molasses. It was more like a, film. Like shrink wrap. Covering all of me. I felt more solid under it. That¡¯s when the system told me I got a level in Enhancer and I got access to a new ability selection screen.¡± ¡°That is so interesting. Do you think we could replicate it?¡± ¡°How do you mean?¡± I had thought my intentions were obvious, so the question took me by surprise. ¡°Do you think I could become an Enhancer if I got my stomach sliced open?¡± The plastic eyes of the mask became more fixated on me. As if they could drill a hole into my head to peek inside of it. ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°I¡¯m completely serious. You¡¯re here so you could heal me as many times as it took.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll hurt.¡± He said, as if I was a dullard. ¡°I¡¯m aware. I¡¯m also convinced it¡¯ll be worth it. Matter of fact, it seems like a very cheap price to pay. I¡¯m ready to start whenever you are.¡± ¡°That¡­. Doesn¡¯t sound like a good idea.¡± ¡°On the contrary, its an amazing idea! I¡¯d be willing to boil myself alive if it meant being like you. In contrast, vivisection is a small price to pay.¡± Borislav the Bunny Man put one of his skinny, withered hands out to stop me. It was shaking. ¡°How about this; I¡¯ll consider helping you. If and only if we manage to rescue the prisoners. After making sure all the gnomes are taken care of and we get whomever we save to safety.¡± ¡°You got it partner!¡± I gleefully accepted. Nice! Potential conflict avoided! I love interpersonal relations! What¡¯s more, I found a person that wanted to stick by me! Even after knowing what I was! Who cares if he has literally everything I ever wanted and still had the nerve to be ungrateful? Not me! It was almost enough to make me cry. No, I think I did cry a little. I wept tears of joy and relief as I ordered Dolce to pick him up and kept it up long after we¡¯d started moving again. Who cares if Randall doesn¡¯t like me or if Pete and Walder wanted me dead? They could all suck on salty sausages for all I cared! Their mothers were probably hamsters and their fathers smelt of elderberries! We, the real heroes, would get the job done in their stead. Alongside our thousands of brutal killing machines. Those thousands became tens of thousands after six hours. With a few more Force Serpents to boot. By the end of the day, we¡¯d completed two-thirds of the journey even though I¡¯d been forced to take some detours due to the prodigious size of our ride. My minions were as one. Beating hearts drumming in unison. Wholly consumed by the sweet promise of repentance. Not to mention the pushes and prods I included in their programming. All the emotions, the petty noise of life, painted me in fresh contours. I was in the zone. Willing my hold on the immaterial to be more pronounced. To bathe the masses like the morning sun upon the waves. Pushing my reservoir to its breaking point. Pushing further still.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 1454/12600
Type: Telepath II Level 100
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 17 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 11 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Sense Thoughts] 10 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 4 / [Fear] 3 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Precognition] 6 / [Meditation] 8 / [Premonition] 5 / [Psychometry] 3 / [Team Tactics] 5
Ability Points: 0
It was astonishing progress for so short a time. It wasn¡¯t anywhere near enough. I could taste the unrelenting force yet hidden below the turbulent waters. Shrouded as they were by scraps of hesitation. Waning embers of the weakness I¡¯d shown by refusing to act as soon as I was thrown down here. I could be stronger. I would be, given time. Unfortunately, time was a luxury I wasn¡¯t sure I could afford. For the past few kilometres, [Premonition] had been crying out. Shivers travelling through me and into my puppets like the bite of a dozen hungry wolves. Our rampage had deformed the natural order of the caverns. Depleting it of its usual dangers too quickly for whatever foul entity managed the pit to do much about it. Thereby triggering an altogether different response. I tasted the dread of unreality. Fearing a future that was fast approaching. Through my chains, it spread to all the prisoners within my enlarged domain. Creating a festering cancer of indecisiveness. ¡°Stop.¡± I spoke, keeping my voice steady. The snake obeyed, slowing down until we came to a full stop. Afterwards, I closed my eyes and broke free of my stupor. Allowing Psy to trickle back in. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not quite sure. Some of the newest centipedes I absorbed are dying at the borders. That, and I¡¯m getting a really bad feeling.¡± ¡°Hm. When you say that, do you mean a gut instinct? I¡¯ve got an ability that does something similar, but its range isn¡¯t very large. Maybe 15 feet or so.¡± ¡°Who still measures in feet?¡± ¡°Plenty of people do.¡± ¡°I¡­ sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to offend. I¡¯ve always found conversions a hassle is all. My own ability is vague, but it has a wide range. About as much as my¡­uh. Mind-reading fog.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°About 3 kilometers after reaching level 10. I think that¡¯s the limit for now.¡± He started shaking again. More fiercely than before. His head swivelled to all the tools arrayed before him. His breathing became erratic and it took him some time to get his next words out. ¡°My screen says the limit of abilities is 5.¡± ¡°Yeah. Mine said that too at first. I think the limit increases after getting your Type past level 50. Like I said, until 10.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re already past it?¡± He asked incredulously. ¡°Yep.¡± I answered, not seeing any reason to hide my prowess at this point. ¡°Although I have three abilities that broke that rule. I think the Unique ones, those named after me, can get as high as they want. Its all speculation at this point of course, but those are my best guesses. I¡¯ll let you know when I pass level 100.¡± My old self might have been hesitant to share this. Say what you want about paranoia, it tends to help in situations where you aren¡¯t sure who to trust. That was meaningless to the current me. If Borislav got spooked and killed me, then that was that. I¡¯d at least die knowing I tried to do right by humanity. That was fine by me at this point. If not, then our bond would be strengthened by the trust I¡¯d shown. Win-win situation. [Premonition] howled louder. Flashing brightly in pink neon letters. Spelling doom. I ground my teeth in frustration. ¡®Those below level 20, form a perimeter. Clog every tunnel and every intersection. Create chokepoints where the walls are thickest. The rest of you, gather around me and remain alert.¡¯ My transport dutifully coiled around me as the rest took up their assigned posts. Trailing heaps of chitin, scales and fur re-entered the fray soon thereafter. Finally catching up with my main thrust. ¡°Get ready. I think whatever¡¯s been building up is about to show itself.¡± ¡°Got it. Get behind me. Have the floating serpent cover the rear.¡± His form grew as his words trailed off. Scything claws growing in place of hands and rippling muscle bulging beneath thick fur. That very same coat then shone like metal, as if each hair strand was a sharpened filament of shaved steel. All extremities became elongated, with his legs gaining extra joints so that they resembled those of a human-hare hybrid on a mountain of steroids. Complete with an extra pair of eyes at the back of his skull and another pair of elongated ears behind his regular human ones. Most reasonable people would have recalled the many cases of Shifter on Baseline violence at that point. Unable to keep their minds off how quickly Borislav could end their lives or how often his Type went feral at the drop of a hat. For my part, I was overcome with jealousy. I would have given anything to switch places. Even if I only got his main Type. Even if it meant giving up all the power I¡¯d accumulated. Shifters were scary, yet they could heal. They were indispensable to search and rescue efforts. Every rift response team wanted one nearby. Society was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. What I wouldn¡¯t have given for that kind of treatment. ¡®Stop that, Sully. That road doesn¡¯t lead anywhere. Granny Golden said there was a way to get additional Types. If she was telling the truth, I¡¯ll have a chance at becoming an Enhancer later. Borislav¡¯s words suggest the same. Be patient. Focus on the task at hand.¡¯ ¡®For what it worth. I think you¡¯re perfect the way you are Sully!¡¯ ¡®Thank you, Buddy. It means a lot.¡¯ ¡®I think you¡¯re perfect too!¡¯ ¡®Shut up Dolce! I¡¯m still not over the fact that your brother or sister or whatever tried to eat me.¡¯ ¡®Oh! You mean back then? That was me! I¡¯m the one that tried to follow you past the little hole! I had to smash the wall a lot of times!¡¯ That, was the last thing I¡¯d expected to hear. ¡®THAT WAS YOU!¡¯ ¡®Yes. Why?¡¯ ¡®YOU PIECE OF CRAP! YOU ALMOST KILLED ME!¡¯ ¡®I didn¡¯t know how wonderful you were back then! Plus, you were so small and so tasty looking! What was I supposed to do!?¡¯ Another blaring alarm kept me from following up. Those at the edges had gone quiet. Worse, I couldn¡¯t sense what they¡¯d come up against. There I sat. Resting without dropping my guard. Fingers twitching with anticipation. My chest was heaving violently. My nose wrestling with the stench of sweat and foreign odours radiating from my units. I was finding it hard to sit still. Every time I felt another squad disappear; I restated my purpose. Saying the mantra aloud so that it may stem the self-hatred. ¡°I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person.¡± Repetition had made the sounds nearly meaningless. Each utterance eroding the temporary reprieve from the flashbacks and the intrusive thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person.¡± Yet, it was all I had. At least until I could prove it. Until I could free the prisoners. ¡°I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person.¡± ¡°Solomon. I¡¯m going to have to ask that you stop that for now. I know its your coping mechanism and I know it helps you keep it together, but its really stressing me out. You sound like a shell-shocked loon and then I feel like a bigger loon having you out of my sight for any length of time.¡± ¡°I¡¯M NOT CRAZY!¡± I said, with perhaps a bit too much gusto. ¡°I know you¡¯re not.¡± He replied softly. ¡°I¡¯ve seen this before. On harder men than you. There¡¯s no shame in it. But you are distracted. I need you to focus.¡± I bit back a reply upon realizing he was right. Instead, I allowed myself to fall prey to my own [Domination] once more. Forcing compliance from an unruly psyche. The essence of the here and now coalesced with that of long ago. Like milk on coffee. Going into each other to the point where I could not say what sounds stemmed from my dying drones and which birthed from the trotting of hooves on stone. Wait Hooves? ¡°INCOMING!¡± BOOOOM! Deformed metal flew across the room and strikes the opposite wall. Heavy shrapnel shards wedge themselves into the scenery, shattering the surface as they land. Dust and debris cover the room, blinding me in the process. I leap backwards and search with my fog, trying desperately to find something, anything. BOOOOOM! Another crash shatters the wall next to me. The collision gouges a hole into an open corridor, stone giving way before overwhelming power. I sensed nothing. My feet move before I give out a proper command to my body. They carry me away from the thickest of the fighting as savage roars echo across the cavern. I feel gnomes firing blazing lances at nowhere in particular, while Dolce and Borislav wrestle against empty air. No. Not against air. There, in their midst, were two gargantuan steel snakes. Their bodies composed of thick segmented plates welded over sturdy-looking wires. In place of fangs, each carried row upon row of whirling chainsaws. At their base were more robot bulls than I¡¯d ever seen before in one place. They all charged at once, steam bellowing from their nostrils as they trampled centipedes and eels alike. Gnomish artillery kept peppering them from a distance, melting dozens at a time, only for more to take their place. In the middle of all this chaos, was little old me. Completely exposed to a particularly ferocious mech with the torso of a man where others had oxen features. Adrenaline is propelled within my veins, strings twisting my limbs as instincts roar like sirens. BOOOOOOOOM! BOOOM! BOOM! I dodge over and over again, trusting on [Premonition] to forewarn me of danger. Throwing my body against the floor until I reach one of the many openings to the large room. From there, I released a blast of [Delusion], recalling from the description that it could affect machines as well. Willing my foes to think that the floor was lava. Not very original, I admit. Though in my defence, originality didn¡¯t count for much. It worked. Fantastically so. Disrupting the assault like a widespread audiovisual glitch. Hundreds of bulls staggered. Only for hundreds more to take their place. Our side was also getting regular re-enforcements from the streaming late arrivals and it was difficult to say which side would succumb to attrition first. Moreover, I no longer had enough Psy for another illusory hazard and none of my other abilities registered without being able to target the machines through [Sense Thoughts]. Was there anything more I could do here? Nope. Not with my mortal constitution. Certainly not when Borislav was struggling. Better to beat a hasty retreat till I recovered. Turning on my heels, I ran. All too aware that one of the hybrid constructs followed after me. Each breath took more and more effort as I sprinted. I turned the first corner I saw and the next. There was a hidden meaning to my choices, a method to my madness. Observations had been made, despite my terror. Whatever that thing was, it mainly attacked by charging. The only logical response was to put as many walls between me and it as possible. I stop after another turn and begin to slow my breaths, making sure each intake is deeper than the last. I think I might have broken a bone, throwing myself around like a ragdoll. My hand is hurting, the dull ache returning with a vengeance, a small needle of fire sapping my concentration. I do my best to ignore it as I take stock of what just happened. My ability to sense monsters, the only real edge I¡¯d had so far, the lynchpin of all my other powers, had proven faulty. That meant I needed to revise my plans going forward. If the bloody runts had contingency plans strewn about, I might run out of sacrificial lambs before making a dent. I needed something else to give me an edge, something to fall back on. Right on cue, the bull-centaur re-appears. Despite being an unfeeling hunk of junk, it looks pissed. I bring up the revolver looted from the officer that Mot had killed. The weapon discharges five shots. All of them miss the giant target. I can¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Man, this is not my lucky day. Good thing luck is for losers. I¡¯m going to outlast you. One way or another.¡± I brace for the pain and reach out for my trump card. The golden strings of [Precognition] are giddy for action. Far stronger than they¡¯ve ever been after reaching level 6. A new world is born before my eyes. Chapter 28: Distant Storms Foretold. Chapter 28: Distant Storms Foretold. I see beauty and horror walking side by side. Images of people, friends, enemies, battles, struggles, traps, food, community, weapons, conflict, war. I bear witness to my death, then another one, then another one. They rush past me before I can comprehend them, each vision acting like a single still frame in a movie. My eyes hurt. My ears hurt. My tongue hurts. My nose hurts. Every inch of my skin hurts, with an intensity that completely eclipses my wounded hand. Sensations plunge into me, as knives dancing through my skin. I feel myself bleeding out, yet unable to move a muscle. My stomach has been ripped away from my body. My spine goes with it a few seconds later. Metal insects invade my blood, burrowing into my bones. They chew and gnaw in an incessant chorus as my sanity dies. My mind moves in what feels like the last gasps of a dying world. My body is paralyzed. A sarcophagus of useless meat for my screaming soul. Buried leagues beneath a cold gray sea, with boundless horrors to keep me company. Voices join me in my torment. Our torment. They are me. The versions of me that will die and fail and succeed. The me that will be gored to death, the me that will be stabbed by a friend, the me that will give up halfway through. The me that will not see the spider. The spider. So many versions of me see it and scream. It lies still, witnessing everything. Everything. ¡®Fear the spider.¡¯ ¡®Do not fear the spider.¡¯ ¡®Its kiss means death.¡¯ ¡®Its kiss means freedom.¡¯ An inquisitive killer crawls behind my eyes. Arachnid features swim within the pool of my power, drinking deeply of it. The abomination grows intoxicated and blooms like a flower. Hairy legs grow human hands all along their surface. Appendages reach outwards, towards the edges of my pool, the confines of my skull. They begin to scratch and claw at the barrier, bleeding me out from the inside. ¡®Fear the butcher.¡¯ ¡®Hate the butcher.¡¯ ¡®Kill the butcher.¡¯ ¡®Quickly, before the butcher kills the shepherd.¡¯ ¡®Treasonous. Treacherous. Deluded and deceived.¡¯ ¡®Angry child lashing out. Angry child bleeding out. Angry child burning up within the charnel house.¡¯ ¡®Kill the butcher.¡¯ Another being joins the spider. It is a man, clad in burning robes. He wails in agony and hate, mirroring my own. Bloody bandages cover his eyes, ears and nose. One of his arms is missing and from the stump grow blazing ribbons of fire and lightning. Each swish crackles with malice, hungry for battle. His hatred forms chains around his neck and ankles, brimstone oozing foul vapors. Specters dance around him, poking him with barbed tongues that fly as whips. ¡®Fear the speedster. Fear the gatekeeper. Fear the warriors. Fear the drones. Fear the queen. Fear the traps. Fear false friends and false words. Fear the men inside the box. Fear for you, for me, for them.¡¯ The phantoms come into focus, translucent angels with blackened wings. Feathers drop and catch fire every time they loop around the helpless man, eating at him further whilst leaving muscle exposed. ¡®Fear the slaver. Fear the slaver. Fear the slaver.¡¯ ¡®Do not trust her honeyed words. She of silver chains and silver tongue. Eyes sparkle with moonlight and heart boils with wickedness.¡¯ ¡®Twisted is she. Twisted will she make us.¡¯ ¡®Fear the slaver that dances in the deep. Fear her collared victims.¡¯ A new figure rises from the darkness. A woman armored in starlight. Brilliance itself forms a shell around her form and needles of pure light fly off from her fingers. Her smile is a sun, a beacon upon reality. Yet for all its splendor, the figure exudes malice. Blood encrusted jewels fall from her eyes as wails of agony rise from her feet. The crimson stream descends upon a mass of flailing puppets, red pustules sending limbs in one direction or the other. They converge upwards and meet the luminescence that comes form her fingers, screams bursting from the spots where the two intersect. Dyed bodies are suddenly parted with one dramatic wave of the woman, revealing¡­ Revealing¡­ Me. I scream beneath the armor, rags falling off me as she brings a massive boot down. Bodies stand beside me, looking on in disinterest. I scream for help and starry filaments silence me. The figures shrug and turn away. Wolves and vultures circle my decomposing carcass. Naked and flayed. A lamb served for dinner. Hooks and cleavers descend on me, held by puppets with silver strings. Flesh parts from bone, as the pretty people laugh from within their mirrors. ¡®Traitors!¡¯ ¡®Traitors!¡¯ ¡®Treasonous vermin!¡¯ ¡®False friends, false hope. Despicable and reviled.¡¯ ¡®Food for the spider. Despair will set us free.¡¯ More and more blood gathers. I see a red door in a red room. Small metal men chain it shut with practiced movements. They bar the door, then blockade the surroundings. Their teeth clatter in terror, unable to look directly at the gateway for fear that it will swallow them whole. Canons and machine gun nests are aimed away from it, deterrent for its disciples. They know I will come. They know I bring death with every step I take, with every breath that passes through my lungs. They fear the all-seeing eye slipping between the cracks of reality. They shiver in anticipation of the culling. The door becomes a liquid, thick as jam. It tries to break the bondage. To eat. The tide rises and sweeps away all previous images. Greenish torrents mix into the whole. Muffled explosions turn into bubbles within the deluge. The lucky ones drown quickly. The unlucky ones melt. The feel a fraction of my pain as their flesh surrenders to the chemicals. The color changes rapidly, as all vibrancy dies. The pain redoubles. The door creaks open, sharp edges transforming into non-Euclidian shapes. A cave is unmade. A storm of swords takes over. Sharpened teeth and fangs that grow without limit from the refuse. I struggle to breathe as my entire being is submerged. My lungs catch fire and red-green waters corrode me from the inside. I feel each singular cell in my body change and mutate, eyes growing on all membranes. They drink in the poisoned ocean and all of me dies. ¡®It is normal to feel this way. Ha. Ha. Ha.¡¯ Says the sage inside the cage. Laughing without laughing. Forcing out words they do not understand for the sake of meaningless niceties. They peek out from the door, ready to meet the new pupil. Hoping that this one survives, that it might live to pass along its deranged gospel. ¡®Struggle is the language of life. It is everything that makes us different from mere instruments. Ha. Ha. Ha.¡¯ A wizened figure re-shapes themselves in the deep. Suffocated gurgles erupting from rising bubbles. ¡®What would we be without the fight? Without a goal to reach for? The mere idea is preposterous. Some might even say, blasphemous. Ha. Ha. Ha.¡¯ Sizzling spite can be heard all around me, wholesome and beautiful. A rare delicacy in these trying times. ¡®Evolution can only occur in the right conditions and environmental pressures. Without pressure, we stagnate. A fate worse than death. At least, in my opinion. Perhaps you will be different. Ha. Ha. Ha.¡¯ The laughter carries no mirth whatsoever. It is merely the mechanical repetitions of sounds. One wooden block atop the other with no rhyme or reason. The acid is not enough. Not nearly enough. The metal men are fortunate, for they will not have to endure its presence. Nor its domination. My teacher re-adjusts their half-formed crown, shifting the collection of bones, horns and feathers within their tanned fur. Their eyes gaze down lovingly, saddened by my staunch refusal to adhere and submit. ¡®You will see it my way in time. Ha. Ha. Ha. Those trinkets are frail. Transient objects you use to shield yourself from your true calling. Ha. Ha. Ha. Their use is limited. Indeed, you limit yourself by relying on them. They cannot live as we do, despite what you may think. Just imagine how much more you could do if you became my heir in actuality?¡¯ It is a tempting offer. The power is seductive and the savant does not believe they are lying. The door has completely vanished and all the teeth and claws are laid bare. They dig into me, tearing my soft body apart. Over and over. Incessantly. Mercilessly. I consider their lessons carefully, comparing their ascendance with my own. A coronation of viscera standing in stark contrast to a crown of corroded metals and fragmented reflections. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I¡¯m not a person anymore. The boy has died. His death has paid for life. Some misbegotten thing has replaced him. It takes in the discordant sensations, relishing in agony. It is the sea and all the eyes within it. It gazes out unto the world. All that remains of me staring out in pain and hate. It fixates on the looking glass and revels in its shattering. Cracks spread to all corners of reality, jagged edges of the mirror flying out and impaling the universe. All of them suffer what I¡¯ve suffered. They fall as hatchlings from the nest. Many-eyed foxes waiting amidst the brush. A feast is held where all the smiling people shrivel and disintegrate. They are no longer laughing. The butcher will be torn to shreds by the spider. The gatekeeper will persevere and keep her children close. The speedster will realize his vengeance before he is consumed. The warriors will bring the shepherd into the fold and reach the surface. Mosquitoes whizz across a cavern filled with silver fish, past old turrets and barbed wire. The dead trod in darkness, millions of them gathering in response to misshapen tyrants. The orphanage burns amidst the stench of offal. The lovers ostracize the beaten dog. ¡®False friends. False words.¡¯ Neon-clad ragdolls hang from metal pikes, supplicants left blinded by their arrogance. No one is spared my sword. I revel in their screams, their unimaginable anguish. So much so that I don¡¯t notice my own tears. Images begin to shift once again. A brief window where the horrors grow quiet and my mind breaks the fetters. The deaths persist as the me that is not me steps on the wrong rock or yells at the wrong time. His face melts as he screams. His organs are pierced and peppered. Leg bones shatter as the floor collapses, bodies falling like autumn leaves. ¡®It isn¡¯t fair. This isn¡¯t fair. I don¡¯t deserve this. This should not be happening.¡¯ The play continues without interruptions. All of them are me. All of them are real. All of them are felt. There is no reprieve. There is no escape. There are only the few instances where each and every movement is preternaturally perfect and my life is extended for a scant few seconds. The corridor is an orchestra of brutality, the bull acting as musician and conductor. A gruesome trophy to its own glory. But I also saw the reverse. I saw the challenge felled.
Prerequisites have been met. Student has obtained an ability at or beyond Tier III. Student has passed level 100. Student is evolving Telepath to Tier III.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Gained: [Electronic Interface] 1 has been added to the Status.
Ability Evolving: [Electronic Interface] 1 has grown to [Electronic Interface] 4
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Precognition] 6 has grown to [Precognition] 11
My fog picks up a new signal rushing down the corridor beside me. It strides towards me in cold mechanical fashion, chasing a cowardly target. I know what it is. It is a bull. With skin of iron, the torso of a man and horns of copper. Its insides are filled with churning pistons and living wire. They animate it. Teach it what it needs to know. One message that plays over and over within its hardened cranium. ¡®Hunt the humans.¡¯ That single impulse is all it has ever known. All it will ever know. It has killed many humans and reveled in the bloodshed. It will try to kill me too. It will succeed in most scenarios. I see it within my visions, a scrapbook filled with all the ways the monster tore me apart. I feel it stomping on my chest, crushing lungs and ribs. I feel the kiss of metal barbs on my skin as its hide parts meets exposed life. I feel the horns. I feel the bite. I feel the trident at the end of its whip-like tail. It kills me when stay put. It kills me when I dodge to the right. It kills me when I dodge to the left. It kills me when I jump this way and that. Each death is different from the last. Some mercifully swift, while others are drawn out. Some are caused by the monster giving chase and some are caused by the traps. Yes. The traps. They lie in wait, along this corridor and the next. A pitfall here, a turret there. Arrow slits and boiling tar. Freezing rays and acid rains. Death in every fashion served up in a muddy platter. I sense them now, just as I sense all the robots in my fog. I could trigger them. Let them do the dirty work. ¡°However, that would be a waste.¡± I look directly at the golem. ¡°Kneel.¡± It does so. My orders translated into code within the span of a millisecond. All its brethren follow suit, leaving Borislav and Dolce confused as to why the deadly clash has ceased. ¡°Suffer me now.¡± I declare. Whatever script it¡¯s been following becomes meaningless. These are my tools now and forever. Before I can savor the taste of victory, those re-invigorated golden cords strangle me. Dragging me back into the void. A trumpet blows to herald my victory. Its music sings to herald my death. Reality fades from memory, as ripples on a lake. There are eyes on the inside of my skull. They multiply as a cancer and break free to drink deep of reality and the whimsical machinations of my enemies. I die once more, hands slipping from the creature. I live and survive. Going on to find friends and find love. I escape to a world of fantasy where all love me for who I am. Has there ever been anything more beautiful? Anything that could compare? Is it even possible to feel this happy? This free? Do I even dare think that I deserve any of it? I cry out as the wheel turns and other possibilities rupture my fleeting joy. I cannot move. A corpse entombed in shrapnel. A mummy preserved and sold for the vilest scum imaginable. My hatred burns, hotter than the core of the earth, hotter than the sun. More terrible than the inevitable collapse of all physical matter. Stronger than the foundations of this nightmare. The slaver comes into view once more. She is dressed in finery and opulence. All her wants displayed before her, things she will trade in exchange for me. So that I can be stripped of my humanity and used to further the goals of wealthier patrons. They flock to her as rats to refuse, nibbling at the edges of my sanity. I know what they are. I know what they want. I will kill them all. I will wash away all that they hold dear in a deluge of carnage. Even then, my vengeance is not sated. It will never cease. Forever driving me to further and further calamity. A million Solomons will vanish from the world. Their families will never know what became of them. No friends will remember their passing. Threads tangle my fate into a despicable tapestry as the future beyond forces itself into the present. The drunk¡¯s singing is closer than ever. ¡°Under the sea and over the stars. A thousand maggots slither. They grow big and they grow fat, before the great corpse withers.¡± ¡°Juices fall and juices rise, dancing to the beat. Yet none will stay and none will sing, all will turn to meat.¡± ¡°He comes and she comes after, burning with a vengeance. He will die and she will smile, passing down her sentence.¡± ¡°The spider looks, the spider sees, everywhere and nowhere. It is there and it is here, watching from the corner.¡± ¡°I see you. I know you. You cannot escape. None can run and none can hide from the Coffin or the Drake.¡± ¡°The shadows come to play and sing and dance. They stroll about the cobweb, tearing its expanse.¡± ¡°The mirror cannot hold. The mirror cannot stay. The shards of glass will all fly out and blind those in the way.¡± ¡°The Coffin is still empty, very musty and very cold. Its owner hides behind the veil, eyes glittering with gold.¡± ¡°The Drake is loud and furious. Terrible in wrath. Its tendrils invite horrid doom to all within its path.¡± There is no Solomon. There is no me. There is only the formless ocean and all the eyes within it. Uncountable and infinite, drinking the very stars in perpetuity. It all stems from a single creature, a single life. Some wretched thing that used to be human. That liked to pretend. That used to be an aspiring engineer dreaming after finishing their exams. This pest has no eyes or mouth or ears. It has no means by which to scream and curse their continued existence. Instead, it revels in cursing others. Enwrapped in grief and beset by pain. Biding its time and growing. A parasite within the cobweb. A leech upon reality. A scourge upon this universe and all the universes that have been or ever will be. It is a grub. Pupating and mutating into something greater. Every single eye begins to weep golden blood. It is the jealousy that defines transcendence. The knowledge of madmen and the insight of wicked prophets. Mana from heaven. Harrowing for anyone else but me. ¡®Soon. The choice is always there. Free will plays a role. A path this thorny must be walked with purpose and clarity. Soon enough. Soon enough. Soon enough. Trust in your Insight. Soon enough.¡¯ Time itself becomes unraveled. The very idea of it disintegrating before my awesome power. I feel myself studying calculus. I feel the cake of my 20th birthday in my mouth. I feel the soup my family makes after I fall sick. The odor is so pleasant that nothing else matters. Its fragrance more pronounced than the dying of all light. Nothing else matters to the hungry cosmos. To me. ¡®We don¡¯t know. We do know. Yes and no and yes once more. Have we truly ascended? Are we truly free? Or have we broken yet another membrane? Do our strings simply loosen with every atrocity. Every breakthrough? Could we ever hope to match them? I don¡¯t know. You do know. Choices upon choices. Webs and shattered glass. Shadows on the wall.¡¯ Each of my fingers is immaculate. A dying sun within the endless cosmos. Entropy lapses and limps as my critiques break the very concept. Little by little, inch by inch, some fool descends into the belly of the beast. It seeks the beating heart of the labyrinth, to steal fire from whatever false idols may be found in the depths. It remakes itself constantly, chewing stone and dirt to aid in their re-construction. It is difficult to say if this creature is truly alive or if it merely a cheap approximation. Almost impossible to say where the artifice begins and the once-person ends. Perhaps there is no difference. One inhabits the other and becomes what they were. Becoming more by becoming less. This worm does not fear passing, for it has realized that there are far worse fates to be found. It stumbles into destiny, prepared for all that may assail them. A dream this sickeningly sweet cannot endure for long. My triumphs turn to failure and all my failures are magnified to infinity until a mere moment¡¯s glimpse drives me to lunacy. Everything that I have ever been, everything that I had ever helped create, anyone I had ever supported or admired was naught but ash. I then saw the eyes of all the people that had helped me get here, my parents, my teachers, my friends, my colleagues and my role-models all glaring at me with the utmost contempt they could muster. They were so utterly disappointed in me that it hurts. They were disgusted by the failure that I had allowed myself to become. They were sickened that I didn¡¯t live up to my potential. They hated me because I didn¡¯t do enough for myself and for them. ¡®Surely.¡¯ I thought in between the hallucinations. ¡®There is nothing worse out there. Nothing worse in the entirety of creation and the minds of mere mortals than this. Surely, a permanent end would be better. Surely any kind of end to the suffering would be better.¡¯ I relaxed my mind in defeat and resigned myself to be loathed and hated by the people that mattered most to me. They were right. I was worthless. My life was worthless. ¡°Ha. Ha. Ha. What do you mean we¡¯re being watched?¡± Asked the crowned slug. ¡°There is another presence here with us. An uninvited guest.¡± I responded, failing to mask my irritation. ¡°Ha. Ha. Ha. Nonsense. This is a system event. Anyone who might be strong enough to bypass the barriers has no need to bother with the likes of us. Ha. Ha. Ha¡± It changed its shape on the briefest of whims. Mimicking a human woman of preternatural beauty. With blond hair that went down a pristine back, accentuating wide, rounded hips. Her, no, its smile was equal part mischievous and lascivious. Below her waist was the body of a lioness. Claws pouncing at empty air. ¡°I am not wrong. There is an intruder.¡± I insisted. ¡°Then point them out!¡± It demanded, while injecting false emotion into its otherwise monotone tempo. ¡°I gave you my word that I would tutor you in exchange for your services. Ha. Ha. Ha. You¡¯ve delivered, so its only fair I do the same. Unveil this interloper and I will gladly teach you how to craft a piano from living tissue.¡± ¡°Your grotesque hobbies do not interest me.¡± ¡°Pity that they don¡¯t. Ha. Ha. Ha. You could use some diversions in your life.¡± That laugh was dead and mirthless. Their form changed again. This time, they were a statuesque man draped in marble armor. No, not armor. It was an exoskeleton that morphed serrated horns at every joint. All arranged so that they flowed backwards to simulate a shawl caught in the breeze. ¡°There!¡± I shouted suddenly. Redirecting the full force of my will. ¡°Show yourself!¡± And then there were two. The me encased in metal and the me that was looking into the future. The weaker of the two stammered. Transfixed by the apparent teleportation. The vividness of the hallucination. The stronger of the two was not so easily baffled. It understood at once, being far too experienced with the chaotic tides of fate. ¡°We are not real.¡± ¡°What?¡± The thing looked confused. Out of sorts for the first time since the conversation started. ¡°Honestly, you high-tiered Telepaths are all looney. There¡¯s no one else here.¡± ¡°You are mistaken. It is we who are not here. This is all a simulacrum. Yes. I see it now. None of this ever took place. The real me is only now breaking the lies.¡± I became transfixed on both myself and the abomination. Willing a connection in place. Making it aware. It wailed as it too realized. ¡°Listen closely. You don¡¯t have time. Find Charlie the speedster. Find Monique the portal user. Find the warriors, Dusty and Slab. Do not be put off. Do not break away. Recruit all four before attacking the gnomes.¡± The sarcophagus lassoed me. Dominating my, its lake and all its content. Forcing us to align. ¡°You must help them all. Win their loyalties. If you do, I¡¯ll give you what you want. I¡¯ll give you another Type. Refuse me and become me. Watch and see. Suffer me now.¡± Chapter 29: Charlie. Chapter 29: Charlie. Sarcophagus Solomon was a stranger to me. His demeanor was that of a petty socialite, constantly annoyed at how his surroundings defied his every whim and fancy. He was someone who¡¯d long ago discarded any pretenses of goodness or compassion. Opting instead to treasure his sheer psychic might above all else. His own strings were longer. Brighter. Woven into patterns much like those I¡¯d birthed when confronting Granny Golden. Within his core, [Sense Thoughts] and [Mental Map] were one, dancing to the same rhythm despite starting as different aspects. The same had happened to his own brand of [Precognition], merging with [Premonition], [Meditation] and [Psychometry]. Those four made up a multicolored tentacle that pierced my, our, brain. Strengthening our connection in spite of the impossibility of the situation. Interestingly, he felt no remorse. No disquiet over the weight of his sins. That liberation left him free to pursue vengeance at his leisure. To revel in the hunt for all those who¡¯d dared to cross him. His, our, [Domination] struck like a billion fishhooks. Gripping every molecule of our duality. Using our memetic abilities to force an awakening. To push knowledge into me. I experienced the present and the future melting under a baking sun. He threw me deeper and deeper into paths not yet trodden. Beyond days not experienced. We were washed away together until we¡¯d become someone else entirely. A different seed in a different garden. Not me. Not him. I¡¯m not¡­. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m¡­. Charlie. Yes. My name is Charlie and I¡¯m happy. This is heaven. Plain and simple. I cannot possibly imagine a better feeling. A sweeter rush. Oh, yes. I am very much addicted to beating the stuffing out of goons. I genuinely think I might need an intervention soon. ¡°You punk.¡± Growls the man beneath my foot. ¡°You think you can get away with this? With messing with us? Before, I might have just killed you. After this, I¡¯ll make sure you wish you were never born.¡± Oh boy. There it is again. The laughter, the rush. The stomping of my feet and the feeling of teeth coming loose. Nothing quite like it. I breathe in the crisp morning air, filling my lungs with fresh goodness. Ha! Yeah right. I¡¯m pretty sure I just inhaled a lungful of acidic fumes from the factory next door. Not that I care that much at the moment. All my problems have gone away, all my fears dissipated. Its funny, in a way. That being sent to a monster-infested cave would give me this incredible sense of liberation. I command my screen to appear, checking my gains once more.
Name: Charlie Soot
Psy: 342/430
Type: Enhancer Level 36 / Projector Level 30
Enhancer Abilities: [Enhanced Strength] 2 / [Enhanced Dexterity] 4 / [Enhanced Constitution] 2 / [Enhanced Stamina] 3 / [Enhanced Agility] 4 / [Enhanced Toughness] 2 / [Enhanced Reflexes] 4 / [Enhanced Concentration] 4 / [Enhanced Recovery] 3 / [Enhanced Vision] 3 / [Enhanced Flexibility] 2 / [Enhanced Hearing] 2 / [Enhanced Balance] 3 / [Enhanced Training] 5 / [Enhanced Respiration] 4 / [Enhanced Digestion] 2 / [Enhanced Circulation] 3 / [Sudden Strength] 2 / [Sudden Dexterity] 3 / [Sudden Constitution] 2 / [Sudden Agility] 3 / [Sudden Toughness] 2 / [Sudden Reflexes] 2 / [Sudden Concentration] 3 / [Sudden Recovery] 1
Projector Abilities [Force Bubble] 2 / [Force Wall] 1 / [Force Bolt] 1 / [Accelerate] 5 / [Decelerate] 3 / [Local Regression] 3 / [Local Progression] 3 / [Local Stop] 3 / [Absorb Heat] 1 / [Absorb Radiation] 1 / [Absorb Kinetic] 1 / [Absorb Sound] 1 / [Resonance] 3 /
Ability Points: 0
¡®Whoooooo!¡¯ ¡®Yeah baby!¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about!¡¯ ¡®Two months!¡¯ ¡®Two months was all it took to turn my life around!¡¯ ¡®To go from some victim nobody looked at twice, to a champion of justice!¡¯ I gaze down at the poor sod gurgling on his own dentures. I remove my foot from his face and turn him over, allowing him to spit and breathe unimpeded. Well, okay, not unimpeded, he was breathing in coal dust just like me, but it was an improvement. Debauched vigilante I might be, but the sisters at the orphanage didn¡¯t raise a murderer. ¡°Hack, I¡¯ll. Kill. You. Dead.¡± ¡®Yes, my boy! That¡¯s what I like to see! This would all be so boring if all of you started whining about how much pain I put you through.¡¯ ¡°Brave words for someone who just got crippled in a fight. Along with all 15 of his friends. I don¡¯t suppose there¡¯s anyone else I can vent my frustrations on? Maybe your boss? Mr. Whitmer, was it? I don¡¯t suppose you can tell me where he is?¡± ¡°Just you wait you little rat. We¡¯ll find out who you are. We¡¯ll cut your fingers off one by one. In front of all the people you love. Before we do it to them too. I¡¯ll make you regret every single time your heart keeps beating.¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t doubt it, sir.¡± I respond in good humor. ¡°I just wonder if you¡¯ll be able to manage that without fingers of your own.¡± ¡°What?¡± The stupid bloke asks, right as my boot crushes his right hand. I revel in the power behind that movement. A mere human foot being able to leave a small depression on solid concrete. The hand is gone, of course. There is absolutely no way he was keeping that. Not after threatening the good sisters back at Lord Grimes¡¯s Orphanage for unwanted brats. I mean, who threatens nuns and expects to keep their hands? Its ridiculous. Case in point, I move my boots over to his other hand, repeating the process until I feel satisfied with my own handiwork. Oh yes. That does look quite nice. A fitting opening for my grand story. The tale of poor young Charlie, who braved all odds to oppose corruption and save the good people of Greenwell from the oppressive, dirty grip of Mr. Whitmer and his band of drug-peddlers. Why, I almost felt sorry for the fat bastard. Almost. He had picked a fight with me first. I would have been content to ignore the whole operation a few months ago. Everybody else did. No sense in stirring up trouble when you stood to lose life and limb. All right, maybe not content per se. No one in this city was content. Ever. It was a den of misery and filled with people trying to drown their troubles away with cheap swill. But hey, that was life. I had just kept my head down and studied, going through all the heavy lifting and all the paperwork, doing errands to keep the sisters happy and all my siblings fed. All of it had paid off, I¡¯d received my apprenticeship as a steelworker, securing me a steady paycheck and a way to avoid starvation without dirtying my hands. I had made the sisters proud and shown that I wasn¡¯t the cretin they all said I was. I wasn¡¯t going to end up dead in some ditch outside of town. I was going to earn a decent wage. Enough to afford a flat and a family to share it with. All because I put in the effort. It had all gone according to plan. Until the latest draft came. I wasn¡¯t chosen, thank heavens, but Whitmer Junior had been. Now, the little pervert was faced with a choice. He could have taken the oath and went across the channel to fight the Romans and the Carthaginians in the stupid war, all for the glory of Boudica, our sweet motherland. Or he could try and find someone to take his place. Mr. Whitmer, being the upstanding gentleman that he was, had sent men with word that I, scroungy waste of skin that no one would miss, would have that honor. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. If I knew what was good for me. I closed my eyes and remember the feeling of that night. Being chased down and beaten, feeling the knife at my neck. Hearing the whines as Peppers bled out next to me. The old stray that always pestered me for leftovers. One of the only creatures that cared if I lived or died. My friend. They¡¯d left me with just a scar then. Giving me the chance to think about my choices. About how many fingernails could come off before they put me down. About all the helpless little children I¡¯d be putting in danger back at the Orphanage. I massaged that same scar now, feeling the spot where skin had opened and bled. I look for the man that gave it to me among the stunned and broken fools. I repeat the earlier motions, reveling in his screams. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you earn a living without that pretty knife of yours.¡± I whisper in his ear, seconds before I grab his skull and smash it into the pavement. Blackened teeth fly in all directions following the impact, sharp cracks denoting their departure. I move along to each of the remaining men, asking the same questions. No one talks. Big surprise. But I get the satisfaction of ending their criminal careers early in exchange. I¡¯m about to leave when I start to re-live the memory once more. The whines. The blood. I turn around and break that guy¡¯s legs as well as his arms. Twisting his ankles into impossible positions for good measure. I take my time as I work him over, making sure I¡¯m not hitting anything too important. Ribs, face, hips, toes. All the places he struck when I was helpless. When he thought he was above reprisal. Above the consequences of his actions. Yes. Consequences. That¡¯s what this is all about. Tit for tat. I want him to live. I need to know that he¡¯ll wake up every morning from now on and feel these consequences. Knowing that all his previous misdeeds came back to him. That someone cared enough to do something about it. That no one was invincible. Some time passes before I stop. My mood has been somewhat soured by this point. I thought getting payback would feel cathartic. That it would make that night less awful. But it didn¡¯t. I feel, oddly hollow inside. Like none of this was worth it. ¡®Well, maybe I just need some time.¡¯ ¡®Mr. Whitmer is still out there after all. He too needs some schooling in the ways of the world. I might find him today. I might not.¡¯ ¡®Doesn¡¯t matter.¡¯ ¡®There isn¡¯t any kind of hurry yet.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll go back to the Labyrinth in a week.¡¯ ¡®Back to the place where I reforged myself into the man I always wanted to be.¡¯ ¡®If I find the big boss man before that time?¡¯ ¡®Great.¡¯ ¡®Goal accomplished; siblings saved.¡¯ ¡®If not?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll be back after this next cycle.¡¯ ¡®Another two months of building up my abilities.¡¯ ¡®My power.¡¯ ¡®Let¡¯s see what these guys think of me then.¡¯ With that aspiration firmly set in stone, I start to jog through the city. ¡®Speed. What I really need is more speed. That¡¯s always the answer. Punch them bugs to death and dodge them bulls before punching them to death too. Smash the eels, smash the moles, smash the stupid gnomes. Its easy if you target the joints. So easy, and so satisfying. Rewarding too. All thanks to [Enhanced Training]. Man, I love that ability. Practically cheating all things considered.¡¯ A goofy child-like smile dawns on my face as I think of the gain from that investment alone. Regular enhancement abilities gave me a passive boost to the way a certain aspect of my body operated, while the sudden abilities gave me temporary pushes that drained my Psy. The trick was in the numbers. Getting a five from the passive perks cost 15 points in total. Meanwhile, I could get the same effect by spending 6 points to get a passive to level 3 while using half that to get a sudden to level 2. That would save a whopping 6 points to spend elsewhere. In other words, I could get the effects of much higher personal strength for cheaper by mixing things up. That left room for other, more specialized abilities that didn¡¯t have a ¡®sudden¡¯ version. [Enhanced Training] was like that and it was the best. It took that cost-saving to a whole new level. Somehow, passively increased the gains I got from training my body. Nothing more. That¡¯s all it did. Underwhelming on the surface. The real beauty of it came once I realized that all my new powers worked their magic off what my current body was capable of. Which meant every point in every ability was worth more if I grew bigger muscles or improved my natural endurance. Benefits I was already getting from all that fighting and running and eating eels raw. Truly a brilliant loophole. Humming escaped my lips as I jogged along storefronts and shipyards, sailors and dockworkers beginning their day with prodigious hangovers. Nearly all of them wear sour expressions, as if the dawn itself had offended them. The me from back then would have had that expression too. Hard to avoid after a few shifts lugging crates for next to nothing as recompense. If you were lucky. Workplace safety was more of a punchline around these parts than actual guidelines. It was normal for some sorry newbie to lose bits of himself if he wasn¡¯t careful. Got too close to the boiler? That¡¯s a burn. Overseer yell at you to get the gears unstuck? You better pray your arms doesn¡¯t go with them. Doze off after a measly fourteen hour run in the cannery? Time to pick up your thumbs and go home. Nobody has time for layabouts. Thankfully, today seemed to be decent. The sea breeze carried the smell of cigarettes and fresh fish from the pier, momentarily banishing the blackened clouds from the nearby factories and tanneries. Seagulls flapped their merry little wings in the sky, pilfering a snack or two from the unobservant. Rats scurried around corners, little noses peeking out to scout out the immediate area. They were wary of predators at this hour. Fearful that they might be scooped up and devoured by something much bigger like a cat or a weasel. Or me. I chuckled. ¡®Not anymore, my furry friends. Those days of near starvation are over for this fellow. Only the finest fit-for-human foodstuffs will serve going forward.¡¯ A scene catches my eye then, making me slow down and focus my senses. I see Johnny Clown-Shoes badgering old Mr. Forrester for pennies again, that slimy smirk sticking to his face like maggots on a corpse. He¡¯s leaning into the counter, opening his coat so that the codger can see the switchblade¡¯s handle, a thousand threats passing in silence. Normally, I wouldn¡¯t care. Mr. Forrester could be a right prick on the best of days, and had stiffed me on wages for honest work more than once. He should also know better than to have gambling debts in this part of town. Not to mention his tab. Whoops, easy mistake there. More like, tabs, as in plural. I¡¯d be surprised if there was a pub in the world where he didn¡¯t owe someone money. But that whole perspective has been thrown out the window today. Good old Clown-Shoes is one of Mr. Whitmer¡¯s most industrious employees, as he himself will attest. Number one collector of outstanding payments in the whole of Boudica, to hear him tell it. Time to test the legitimacy of those claims. My feet move with blinding speed. Psy invigorating me further than normal as all my boosts come alive. They roar like hungry lions inside my heart, setting my veins and arteries on fire. A good fire. That feels really, really great to have. BOOM! Johnny goes for some flying lessons as my kick lands on his bottom. His screams are as loud as they are hilarious, bursting out alongside the explosive sound of his hips breaking and his bowels loosening. All at the same time. The muscle he had as lookouts take a few precious seconds to process what I just did. Rookie mistake. Really shows their lack of professionalism. Why, someone ought to teach them a lesson. [Enhanced Reflexes] and [Enhanced Concentration] allow me to sense the world at a faster pace, their movements appearing sluggish to my eyes, as if they were covered in molasses. I¡¯ve already brought down 3 with stomach punches before the final 2 get their weapons out. A club approaches me from the side, trying to catch my right leg and bring me down. I catch it mid-swing, putting power into my hands as I squeeze. CRUNCH! Oh. My. Goodness. The look on his face is so unbelievably funny. His eyes are trying to escape his skull, popping out like balloons at the fair. ¡®Watch out Mr. Knuckle Head. You really don¡¯t want loose splinters in your peepers.¡¯ I sweep his legs out from under him as I try to get my laughter back under control. The last fellow was far smarter than all his pals combined. He legged it as soon as he understood the way the winds were blowing. There¡¯s someone next to him. Someone he¡¯s dragging along. Someone chubby and oddly out of place with his fancy clothes and his silly hat and¡­ Wait a second. Is that? It is. Whitmer Junior. In the flesh. This day just keeps getting better and better. A few leaps is all it takes to overtake them. From there, its only a matter of breaking their kneecaps and elbows. The goon tried to fight back at least, even as he was vigorously pissing himself. Junior, not so much. He was crying and wailing about how his dear old daddy was going to have me killed. How he was going to bury me alive along with anyone I ever loved. How this was the worst mistake I¡¯d ever made. ¡°Junior, please.¡± I stammer in between suppressed giggles. ¡°Its so hard to keep myself from laughing as is. I¡¯m going to wet my only pair of pants if you keep this up.¡± ¡°You! You are so dead! I don¡¯t know who you are or how you escaped the madhouse. But mark my words! I¡¯ll rip out your tongue and feed it to my dogs! You, mangy piece of¡­¡± I threw him over my shoulder and took off running towards the woods. They were still a good few miles away, but that was no real impediment, even with piggy straining against me. I wasn¡¯t worried about any more gang members per say, but the coppers still carried pistols and they all practically worked for the Whitmer estate in these parts. I might be able to shrug them off. I might not. I¡¯d never heard of anyone being able to do the things I was doing before the labyrinth, so I had no frame of reference. Better to err on the side of caution. My body relished the feeling of air slamming against my face as I ran. Onwards and onwards, faster than motor cars, faster than galloping horses. The spoiled brat on my shoulder screaming for help the whole way. Some officers did try to respond midway through, chasing us on bicycles, carts and steeds. They kept yelling the same thing over and over and over. ¡°Stop!¡± ¡°Halt!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make things worse for you!¡± ¡°Stop running if you know what¡¯s good for you!¡± ¡®If you know what¡¯s good for you.¡¯ Those words still irked me. Still sent me back to how helpless I¡¯d been. To how scared I felt, suffering their beatings. To my dog. Watching as the knife came closer and closer. My fury grew. I reached out as I jumped over a hastily improvised barricade of officers too cowardly to fire and risk hitting Junior. My hands clasped a drawn baton one of the idiots was waving about. I yanked it free. My superior dexterity makes it so that the throw is spectacular, even from an awkward position. Even while in motion. The projectile hits my target with untold ferocity. Ribs shatter like cheap glass as the lawman in question is thrown from his horse. His head hits the cobbled streets and makes a sound akin to ripened fruit falling from a tree. I keep running. Rousing [Accelerate] and allowing it to explode. Multiplying my velocity several times over. Trying to ignore what I just did. The screams that followed. The implications. Tall buildings and smoke-filled streets soon give way to fields and farmhouses with my newfound alacrity. All it takes is a few leaps over fences to lose the last of my pursuers. That leaves me alone with Junior, surrounded by wheat that stretches on and on in every direction. I keep going in case someone is being stubborn, and make it to the woods. My flight takes me down darkened trails and across fog-filled ponds. Further and further into darkness. The passenger at my shoulder hasn¡¯t stopped screaming this entire time, his face red and his breath ragged. His corpulent mass drops to the forest floor with a thud. I kneel over him and notice all the indignation is gone. His eyes are filled with abject terror, staring at me as if I were about to eat him whole. His words barely escape his mouth through hoarse, desperate sobs. ¡°P, please. I beg you, spirit. I don¡¯t know which pagan idiot made the sacrifice, but I can give you more. Please don¡¯t kill me. I¡¯ll sacrifice as many people as it takes! Give me a number and you¡¯ll have it! I can get you anything you want. Anything at all. Please, please just let me live.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± I tell him. All mirth gone from my voice. He doesn¡¯t do as he¡¯s told. Instead, he keeps blabbering on about how rich his father is and about how much he can give me. How many people he¡¯s willing to kill in order to prolong his miserable little life. ¡°I told you to shut up.¡± I repeat, kicking a boulder near us to make my point clearer. This time, I¡¯m actively feeding Psy to my legs. The boulder¡¯s surface shatters, a web of cracked stone spreading from my foot. Junior finally quiets down. ¡°Thank you. Now listen to my words. Very carefully. The whole reason all of this happened. The whole reason you¡¯re in this predicament, is that rotten attitude of yours. That whole view on life that makes you think its okay to use and abuse anyone you want, any way you want. This is the consequences of your actions catching up to you, Junior. You¡¯re feeling what all your victims felt. What they all suffered because you wanted something.¡± He tried to interrupt me then, no doubt having some smart words to slither himself out of my shadow. I kick the boulder again. Cracks spread and grow. ¡°Now then, I consider myself a morally upstanding person. Sure, I have my rough edges and I let practicality or my temper win sometimes, but I try. I really do. I don¡¯t hurt people for no reason. I don¡¯t steal unless I¡¯m starving. I don¡¯t push around those weaker than me. I don¡¯t like bullies.¡± I pointed a calloused finger at him then. Marked by a life of odd jobs and a childhood spent laboring in the mines. ¡°The way I see it, you¡¯re the opposite. You hurt people without them having done a thing. You steal despite being bloated with food and you love pushing the weak and poor around. Both you and your father. I see it every day. I see your boys, peddling death to the workers, giving them pills and powders that leave them dead or worse. I see your hooded men take children off the streets and ransom them for all their parents are worth. I see what you do to the orphans, the leftovers of the people your family has murdered. I have been forced to stand helpless and bear witness to all of it. On every street of this filthy, insignificant town we both call home.¡± I stepped closer to him, watching closely as more color drained from his face. ¡°But no longer. I¡¯m not going to kill you, Whitmer Junior. But I¡¯m going to set you right. You will never bully anyone else. Not ever. I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± I lean closer to the rancid wastrel and begin administering my medicine. The following hours pass by in a blur. Looks like Mr. Whitmer will get his wish in the end. No way the king¡¯s armies will take someone that broken. I let the bloody rags I¡¯m wearing fall to the floor. Leaving them in a bundle next to his unconscious body I run. Relishing every step I take away from the scene. Back towards that blasted city. ¡®My new power will not betray me. It will not falter and leave me vulnerable on some factory floor.¡¯ ¡®I will make my way up. Make enough money to live a decent life. Then I¡¯ll get married to a fine woman and have a whole litter of kids in a house I bought with honest earnings.¡¯ ¡®Most important is the justice I will get. For me and all the others too weak to fight for it. There are more Whitmers out there. Going by different names and getting up to different shenanigans. Hurting anyone they want. Expecting and receiving no punishment for all their misdeeds.¡¯ ¡®That all ends today. No crime lord will be safe from me. Not a single one. I swear on the people that raised me and all the people that have helped me get here.¡¯ ¡®Yes.¡¯ ¡®That is the future I choose. The road I will pave for myself. It is all I ever wanted. And if anyone tries to hurt me or the people I care about, I will make them wish they were never born.¡¯ I keep going. Dashing all the way to the orphanage. There, I find some of the crooks I broke in the morning. Being held up by their healthier peers. Behind them is a building on fire. ¡°That¡¯s him!¡± ¡°That¡¯s him right there!¡± ¡°He beat us down! He took Junior!¡± ¡°Watch yourselves! He¡¯s a witch!¡± ¡°He moves faster than horses!¡± ¡°Shoot him!¡± ¡°Shoot him now!¡± ¡°Nobody is doing anything.¡± Declared Mr. Whitmer. ¡°Until I know what became of my son.¡± He angles his head in an inquisitive manner. Retaining the posture and bearing of someone too good to be seen around these parts. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°What happened to the sisters and the children?¡± I ask in turn. ¡°Dead. Obviously. You disappearing was one thing. Only had to take another urchin in your place. But this disrespect? Going after my employees? Come now. There was nothing else to be done.¡± He pulled a thick cigar from his coat and lit it. Dragging out a plume of smoke before resuming his threats. ¡°Now then. Bring Junior over and I promise, on my honor, that I¡¯ll only torment you for a day or three.¡± I would have laughed, if the fury hadn¡¯t taken hold of me. Oh goody. I really need to get it under control. Later. The cobblestones beneath my feet were sundered as I bolted forward. All my sudden boosts came alive beside [Accelerate] and [Force Bubble]. I was expecting bullets to fly at once, but the lazy peons couldn¡¯t even draw in the time it took me to reach the fat bastard. My fist didn¡¯t just hit him. It went through his ribcage. Both front and back. Pulped crimson sprayed everyone behind him. His face barely had time to twitch before the light faded from his eyes. I couldn¡¯t say how many were yelling at first. A couple dozen? Half a hundred? It didn¡¯t matter. No one escaped. No one. Chapter 30: Monique. Chapter 30: Monique. ¡°Wah! I didn¡¯t do that! I didn¡¯t enjoy that! I didn¡¯t kill anyone! I¡¯m a good person! I¡¯m a good person! Happy thoughts Solomon! Positive thoughts!¡± ¡°Quiet fool. That was obviously the future. You knew what cords I used. You saw the strings. Focus on the lessons I¡¯ve imparted. Charlie¡¯s desires are simple. He wants to right the wrongs he¡¯s seen without suffering the consequences. He wouldn¡¯t have gotten his loved ones killed if he¡¯d been smart enough to wear a mask in the first place.¡± Sarcophagus Solomon¡¯s voice was monotone as always, yet I could have sworn there was some hint of sick amusement there. ¡°Now remember, Whitmer senior will be on an errand at the rubber factory when Charlie gets back. He¡¯ll be trying to crush a new union then. All you need do is inform your would-be ally of this and explain how his loved ones are in danger. That¡¯ll win us his trust.¡± ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯ve been through this before. My own vision warned me to forget about the gnomes and butcher Anezka before she went back to her dimension. I refused. Wanting to be a hero, like you. The result was her getting her paws on her home world¡¯s tech. Returning with the means to annihilate all opposition. The toys you¡¯ve seen so far cannot begin to compare. Its too advanced to control, at least, it will be, till we get [Electronic Interface] above the fourth Tier.¡± The pod walked around me on its knife-like legs. Clinking and clattering in the unreal space like falling garbage cans. ¡°I know you¡¯ll refuse too. The lure of redemption will be too much.¡± ¡°Damn straight!¡± I countered, finally finding my spine. ¡°There is no way I¡¯m leaving those people to rot!¡± ¡°Which is exactly why you need to do as I say and recruit the other prodigies. Borislav is fine, but he¡¯s more scared of you than anything. He¡¯ll be content with getting his payback in a month. He¡¯s got no incentive to help when Anezka traps us. Charlie, for all his faults, is loyal to the bone. Its as good a place to start as any.¡± The coffin clattered over to face me directly. A transparent window displaying organs suspended in thick green liquid meeting my gaze. ¡°Still, its not enough. We can do better. Monique can be persuaded to help in a similar manner. She wants her kids and is willing to do anything to keep them safe.¡± Another figure joined us. Stepping out of nothingness. Half-formed bone and muscle congealed into the semblance of an ogre. Secure behind thick layers of exoskeletons. ¡°What have you done! What have you done to me!¡± Other me barely acknowledged its presence. ¡°Silence. You got what you wanted and now you¡¯ll pay the price. A second Type to break this prison. Only difference is, you¡¯ll be assisting him once he¡¯s done my bidding.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t keep me here! You can¡¯t keep me from¡­!¡± ¡°Whatever liberties I take are completely justified, Peddler. Your obligations are not yet fulfilled.¡± The me that was not me called upon the rope again. Tying us together and flinging us to another scene. Somewhere else, my body is thinner. Bedraggled. Fire cleanses the dead before me. Bolts of billowing heat rushing from my fingers and igniting whole swathes of zombies. Its almost musical. An orchestra of rising conflagration. Blessed judgement raining down and remaking the world. My world. The world the dead tried to steal. The world they have nearly consumed. I think back to everyone that didn¡¯t make it. Gerald and Monica. Old Granny Rodgers. The McDougal Twins. My husband, Kenny. ¡®Oh Kenny.¡¯ ¡®If only you were here to see this. To see what became of our neighborhood. The house we worked so hard to pay off.¡¯ ¡®How it all turned out, when the gas attack began and the infection spread. When the people started dropping like flies. When they started getting back up again.¡¯ I still have nightmares about those first weeks. How people turned on each other for scraps. Human life being worth less than a car, less than a generator, less than a can of soup. That was then. Now, some folks out there would stab you to death for a water bottle. Those were the only ones who were desperate enough to make it this far. Natural selection on a whole other level. No longer. This is the beginning of their undoing. Where humanity re-asserts itself as the top of the food chain. I will not stop until it is done. Until all of them are gone and people can walk in the open without fear of mutants. I close my eyes and breathe deeply as the ashes are scattered by the wind. My eyes open, and I look back to check my screen.
Name: Monique Fletcher
Psy: 232/280
Type: Projector Level 46
Abilities: [Force Bubble] 4 / [Force Wall] 4 / [Force Bolt] 2 / [Fire Bubble] 3 / [Fire Wall] 5 / [Fire Bolt] 5 / [Frost Bubble] 2 / [Frost Wall] 3 / [Frost Bolt] 2 / [Spark Bubble] 2 / [Spark Wall] 2 / [Spark Bolt] 3 / [Local Apport] 1 / [Local Portal] 5 / [Local Jump] 3 / [Local Banishment] 2 / [Accelerate] 2 / [Decelerate] 2 / [Local Regression] 2 / [Sense Heat] 2 / [Sense Kinetic] 2 / [Absorb Heat] 2 / [Absorb Radiation] 2 / [Absorb Sound] 2 / [Pressurize] 2 / [Depressurize] 2
Ability Points: 0
¡®No changes. Despite this being the fourth horde. I guess it was too much to hope for. Leveling by cleaning up zombies. Not that I¡¯ll be discouraged in any case.¡¯ I still have children to think about. They have to be here somewhere, with another group. Little miracles that will inherit this earth after I¡¯m gone. Everything I do, I do it for them. For their sakes. For their future. They are all I have left. The last pieces of paradise I managed to hold on to. The last pieces of Kenny. ¡°Holy cow Monique! You did it again! Ha ha! Look at them! Look at them burn! Oh, that is beautiful! I tell you sunshine, we keep this up a couple of weeks and we¡¯ll have cleared the whole state!¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± I answer, looking back at Roy. He¡¯s younger than me, barely into his thirties. His own daughter is a small bundle at his back, wrapped tightly in freshly-washed blankets. He too lost people. Just like everyone else. Those eyes of his were devoid of hope two months ago. Going through the motions to stay alive one more day. Doing whatever needs to be done to see another sunrise. Sometimes that meant looting a house for the third or fourth time, making sure there isn¡¯t anything else worth taking. On the good days, we could all share some beans and wild mushrooms. Maybe even some giant crickets or seagulls that wander too close to camp and find themselves inside our nets. Little scraps we pull together from the safety of shadows and hidden corners. On the bad days, well, there were less people to share with. He would have given up a long time ago if he didn¡¯t have Joy next to him. Now, they were practically glinting. Ecstasy and expectations shining through as he watched the final dregs of the mob disintegrate. He wasn¡¯t alone in his newfound optimism either. All the others were staring in wonder as the biggest threat to our survival practically evaporated before my powers. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. I wish my own blood were among them. Jimmy and Ben had been beside me when I was taken. Now they could be anywhere on the mountain. Never knowing where I went. What did they think when I wasn¡¯t there with them? Did they think I abandoned them? That I walked off in the night by myself? Or did they wonder whether I took the easy way out? The mere thought tears me up inside. Twisting in my belly like a rusty blade. Roy and the rest don¡¯t notice, too busy gawking at my handiwork. I don¡¯t blame them. My own powers are a mystery I¡¯m still in the middle of solving. I know the things I¡¯m doing shouldn¡¯t be possible. No human being has ever been able to do what I¡¯m doing on this world. It goes against the laws of physics. The very logic of the universe. ¡°Were there more people down there with you? Down in those caves I mean? Getting powers.¡± ¡°Yeah, there should be around one hundred left alive.¡± ¡°Any chance we can gather them all up and start fortifying a permanent settlement?¡± ¡°Maybe. There seems to be something strange going on. Almost like people are coming from different points in time. I met some people who said they were from Byzantium, some who said they were from a colony in Mars, and some who said they came from a world with real superheroes.¡± ¡°Whoa. That. Sounds. Awesome. Can you imagine? Being able to see some guy in spandex obliterating zombies every morning?¡± ¡°No. I can¡¯t. Neither could they. Apparently, zombies aren¡¯t a thing in these places.¡± ¡°Sounds like an ideal vacation spot. In fact, even those caves sound a heck of a lot more pleasant than this dump. Any chance some of us could go with you when you return? Get ourselves some powers?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was taken with the clothes I had on me last time, along with all the gear strapped to my body.¡± ¡°Sounds like we need to do some experimenting then. Any help would be welcome.¡± We continue talking for a few minutes as I wait for my Psy to fully restore itself. Our conversation is cut short by the sounding of a whistle on the nearby hill. Two short blows in quick succession. Elite Mutant Zombies. The kind that can crush army battalions with ease. I activate [Local Jump] and launch myself into the air. The short-range teleportation ability does its job. Moving me roughly 30 or 40 feet per point. The only downsides are the cost and the brief cooldowns. [Force Wall] materializes beneath my feet a heartbeat later, keeping me from falling while I ready myself for another jump. This second ascension allows me to see the threat, [Sense Heat] and [Sense Kinetic] outlining the muscle-bound giants as they rampage in our direction. Their charge uproots trees and displaces boulders. Each step falling like thunder upon the undergrowth. I conjure a wall of billowing flames in their path, stuffing it full of Psy so that it widens as much as possible. All the nearby flora ignites, creating a conflagration that distorts air all around it. Even their super-powered frames cannot stop their momentum in time, and they slam into the searing heat, their rags catching fire. Inhuman screams erupt from their deformed mouths as they writhe in pain. Layers of skin melt off like candle wax and slide off exposed viscera. They throw themselves away from the inferno and roll on the ground, desperate to extinguish their torment. This much fire would have annihilated regular zombies, but it will merely annoy these variants. Their kind is already accustomed to surviving missiles from helicopters. All that damage will regenerate in less than a day. Unless I end them now. I am falling. Descending at terrifying speed, towards the spreading inferno. I activate [Decelerate], slowing me down enough to get my bearings again. I begin to feed [Fire Bolt], cramming Psy into it as if I were filling a balloon. It shivers and shakes between my fingers, destructive potential coming to life. It wants to be free. To be set loose. The mutants notice me, even through the smoke. Their pus-filled sockets turning in my direction. They run together, towards large rocks and shattered park benches, relics of a kinder, happier time. These remnants are thrown in my direction with brutal strength and uncanny accuracy. If they hit, they will make my body explode with the sheer weight behind them. That won¡¯t happen however. [Local Portal] roars as it rends a hole in space itself. Projectiles pass through the aperture and are transferred, along with all their deadly momentum, through the exit I¡¯ve designated. As it happens, that point is located right behind their group. SPLAT! Chunks of splintered wood, stone and metal hit the monsters, ripping through their vulnerable seared tissues and gouging pieces of flesh from their forms. Horrific cries of agony rise to meet me. Poor fools. They don¡¯t understand what real pain is. The pain of seeing all your family turned or devoured, to find their rotting carcasses among a swarm of unthinking meat puppets. To not know where they are. This suffering is only transient. Besides, they won¡¯t be hurting for much longer. I create another portal, this time directly in front of them, while they are distracted by the surprise attack from their rear. I let the blazing lance of death through it. Then I shut it close, before the explosion comes. My kinetic senses go silent while my ability to sense heat swells with renewed vibrance. [Decelerate] consumes more and more energy as it brings me to safety. I begin to plan my next jump, readying myself to land far away from the burning tree line, when I sense a burst of motion. A lone figure launches itself in my direction, arms joined above it head so as to slam me down to earth. New instincts kick in and I bring forth my bubble, just in time to intercept the blow. Telekinetic force bursts and gives way, surrendering before overwhelming strength. My essence reels with the impact, all the energy coursing in my veins breaking for an instant. While the actual hit fails to graze my body, the incredible volume of displaced air blows me backwards. I lose my focus and fall as a normal person. The brute reaches the ground first, immediately leaping back at me, ready to repeat the earlier battering. This time, I open a portal beneath me, sending the other end as far away as I can while inverting my fall. All that built up gravitational force sends me skyward and I [Accelerate] myself to ascend further and further. From there, I jump vertically, increasing the distance yet further before placing another wall beneath me. I wheeze as the rapid expenditure of resources takes its toll. Dizziness catches up to me and I struggle to keep myself from vomiting. ¡®Too much. Too strong. How is it this different from the others? Is this what a real elite is like? Its not fair. Its completely out of this world. How are regular people supposed to survive something like this? Ha Ha Ha. What a joke. Of course, they¡¯re not supposed to survive. That¡¯s why the world ended dummy.¡¯ I shoot another [Fire Bolt], followed closely by a [Spark Bolt], catching the damn thing in mid-air while it was making another attempt at my life. Its mass is pulled downwards, towards the burning earth where It¡¯ll have another chance to counter. I don¡¯t allow that to happen. Instead, a portal opens up beneath it, swallowing it whole and sending it above me. I then pile on [Accelerate]. Making sure it reaches a respectable height before gravity re-asserts itself. After that, I just keep going. Using [Pressurize] to keep it still and hurting the whole way down. My ability multiplying its velocity more and more as I channel my meager reserves into it. Despite being unable to read its expression, I like to think it felt a fraction of my own terror then. CRAAASH! The crater it births displaces dirt and fumes. Swathes of detritus pushed away as the goliath finally falls. Another [Fire Wall] erupts beneath it, roasting its filthy un-life away while all its bones are pulverized. Nightmarish roars and bellows continue for a good 10 minutes after that. I¡¯ve already completed my own slowed fall, barely scraping by with just 2 Psy left. It is done. There are now only charred remains where there used to be killing machines. To think just one of them could have snuffed out our whole group mere hours before I returned. It really puts things into their proper perspective. The Labyrinth is not pleasant, despite Roy¡¯s fantasies of superheroes. It is a filthy, claustrophobic maze filled with starving insects, eels, gnomes, moles and worst of all, people. A place where the end can come from any corner and in many shapes. Why, there are even robots and traps and turrets, suggesting that someone very sadistic is in charge. That all the misery was put there knowingly. I myself would have died a thousand deaths if it wasn¡¯t for my bubbles or my walls. Frankly, I¡¯m scared of going back. My body remembering the feeling of being cornered by that bull, horns slamming against my walls as I had no opening to attack. Each of its blows had taken more and more energy from me, more vital parts of my power. If I hadn¡¯t chosen the portal ability, if I hadn¡¯t thought to level it, if I hadn¡¯t been able to attack the machine from the rear¡­ I would be dead. Just like all the other numbers subtracted from the survivor total. Entire lives ticking down. However, it is a chance. An opportunity to grow and prosper, instead of merely subsisting day by day on the scraps we can sneak out of town. A chance to break the Rat Kings, those moving mountains of fused flesh that lurk inside the major cities to this day. A way out. Maybe the only one left. The army, if any are still around, have been rendered next to useless. Our government has collapsed, and none of our elected officials have sent out radio messages for the past month. Other countries, well, I don¡¯t know. They might still be around. Maybe some islands escaped the outbreak, or maybe the environment of the colder nations was just too inhospitable, even for the elites. None of that is relevant to our group in any case. We¡¯re stranded in the middle of Colorado. All by our lonesome. The only edge we¡¯ve had is that most of the nearby survivors congregated at Denver, and most zombies followed them. But now¡­ If I¡¯ve managed to become this powerful in just two months, who¡¯s to say how far I can go? What will I be capable off at Level 100? I might be able to sweep all of it back. To break free of this destiny. Those ideas used to be pipe dreams. Now, they are within my grasp. I just need to reach out and take them. To become stronger than I am now. More potent than even the designers themselves, whomever they might be. That¡¯s what it¡¯ll take. To save my world and my family. ¡°Are there any left?¡± Roy asks when I get back. ¡°No. All taken care of.¡± ¡°Fantastic! That means we¡¯re clear to rummage through the town over yonder! Haven¡¯t been near these parts yet and I¡¯m feeling lucky.¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan. While you guys get to it, I¡¯ll be using your map.¡± Roy paused. As if he suddenly found himself the target of a very irate tiger. ¡°You¡¯re not coming with?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Only have a week before I¡¯m pulled back in. Need to find my kids before then.¡± ¡°Ah. Right. I¡­uh¡­forgot about that.¡± He scratched the back of his neck. A wave of awkwardness overcame him, resulting in several mumbled phrases leaking out before any intelligible sounds escaped. ¡°Listen, Monique. I¡¯m sorry about that. Should¡¯ve kept track of them back when you were gone.¡± I gritted my teeth involuntarily. ¡°No worries. I understand how it is. Gotta look after your own first and foremost.¡± ¡°Yeah. Jimmy seemed to get it together pretty quick. He took Ben and went with Natasha¡¯s crew after our¡­uh¡­disagreement.¡± ¡°You already told me that.¡± ¡°I know. I also told you that I had no idea where they went. Which is also true.¡± ¡°Get to the point Roy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting there!¡± He almost shouted, before realizing who he was speaking to. ¡°The point is that they could be anywhere in the state. Even outside of it for all we know. There¡¯s no quick way to reach them if they¡¯ve kept moving and¡­¡± He stopped to steady himself. ¡°No guarantee they¡¯re alive. Meanwhile, we¡¯re here. Definitely alive and in need. We would¡¯ve died today if you hadn¡¯t been with us. We might be dead tomorrow after you¡¯re gone.¡± ¡°I know that.¡± Monique replied, as if commenting on the weather. ¡°We all take care of our own. I can¡¯t be here with you when my kids need me.¡± ¡°But they might be¡­¡± ¡°I know Roy!¡± She yelled. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid. I know damn well what happens to people who can¡¯t take care of themselves and I know Natasha is not up for babysitting duty. They¡¯re my kids and I¡¯m going to chase them. No. Matter. What.¡± Roy went quiet. Fidgeting slightly with his sleeves. ¡°Is there nothing we can say to¡­.¡± ¡°No. My answer is final.¡± True to her word, Monique left the clearing as I left her perspective. Still reeling from the shock of a mother¡¯s love. ¡°She won¡¯t find them.¡± Said the other me. ¡°Not until after the second cycle in another two months. After their luck ran out. You will intervene by telling her the two are in Denver. Hiding in some oil magnate¡¯s doomsday bunker. Under the red mansion in Shady Acres. All she has to do is take a right when driving or flying past the fireworks trailer blocking the main highway into the city. She will reach them before the week is up and relocate.¡± Smug satisfaction leaked into the audio. Other me vibrating with expectation. ¡°That should serve in the short term.¡± Chapter 31: Dusty and Slab. Chapter 31: Dusty and Slab. A deluge of teeth and tongues shot towards us. Towards both of me. ¡°YoU! wIlL! nOt! DO! tHiSS! TO! ME!¡± It roared from a dozen different salivating gashes. Sarcophagus Solomon exercised the slightest vestige of willpower. In doing so, he sealed the transforming abomination. Suppressing the entirety of its Psy and pushing further, deeper, from all sides. Applying pressure in these immaterial halls until all he was left with was a resonant marble. A bead containing the essence of the bargain. ¡°Do not concern yourself with that. I, we, did our part. Future or past, it makes no difference. It got what it wanted and is simply frustrated it cannot extract more. Not while you¡¯re in the Tutorial. By the time we get out, we¡¯ll have absorbed his lessons without needing to fear his interference. If you do your part.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± I stammered. ¡°An Arch-Savant. Someone like us, with an indescribable advantage in a Type. What we did as a Telepath, it managed as a Shifter.¡± Floating organs turned to their past form. One version of me staring down another. ¡°The next two are the most loyal and the most important. I never knew them before Anezka took me, yet their impact was felt as soon as I created my fourth unique ability. [Insight] allowed me to see not just what is and what will be, but what could have been. Their loyalty is guaranteed if they survive. We must follow them into their world to ensure they do.¡± ¡°Wait. Follow them? I¡¯ve been seeing people go back! Could we go back too!?¡± If the oversized test-tube had a mouth, it would have been snarling. ¡°We¡¯ll have plenty of time to enjoy our own dimension after saving this next one. Isn¡¯t that what drove me? What you want? To be a hero?¡± Illusory limbs bade me glance into the abyss. Waving in exasperation. ¡°Then here you go. No one needs a hero more than these two. You¡¯ll be loved and pampered and revered beyond your wildest dreams. All while saving your own skin.¡± It brought the remnants of the Shifter closer. ¡°Here it is. The key to a second Type as well as the insurance against Anezka. Yours for the taking after I¡¯m gone. All you have to do is follow these two knuckleheads around after the first cycle.¡± Tendrils dragged me down before I could ask any of the thousand questions yearning to be free. This time, my body was bigger. Tougher. Like an anvil molded into the rough equivalence of a person. My axe meets little resistance as it digs into the scorpion. The bones that make up the blade come from far scarier beasts and my newfound strength carries it forward with unerring precision. ¡°So easy.¡± I say, swelling up with pride at the kill. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± My brother agrees. ¡°I always wondered how it felt for the hunters and the warriors. To shatter bedrock and bring down prey twice or thrice their size. Ha! Reality has not disappointed. I feel so full of vigor.¡± He brings up his club and inspects his own prize. His knife does away with the venom glands, just as he¡¯s done since childhood. The rest of the meat is wrapped up in our packs and prepared for the clan. They¡¯ll take over the processing from there, while we make the most of our talents. ¡°My only regret is that we did not locate the Holy One. It would have made that day a legendary occasion for all of us.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even get me started.¡± I snap back, feeling my frustrations returning. ¡°I was the one that kept telling you to turn around and decimate the centipedes. They were pathetic compared to the beasts our clan hunts on a daily basis. Even normal children would have been able to do it. The Holy One was obviously nearby, given how clear their voice sounded. We could have joined forces! We could have re-invigorated our people once more with the fourth discipline! Imagine it! Children from our blood leading us to greatness once again! Fighting off the surface horrors beside the other great families in the continent! Think of the glory!¡± ¡°I¡¯m perfectly aware that the joining our kin to his would have been a great boon. The fourth discipline has always been the most effective at slaying the calamities. We might even be able to re-claim the surface, if there were more Shepherds. However, you forget his words. He asked us to leave. To flee from the battle.¡± ¡°Madness. That wasn¡¯t a battle. Our lives were never at risk. We¡¯ve both handled worse without abilities of our own. We were surrounded by food. Sweet meat just waiting to be grabbed. Do you remember that first taste? It was heaven compared to scorpion meat. If only the rest of our family was able to try them.¡± A sigh escaped my lips then, fogging up the air surrounding me. I could imagine it now, bringing those centipedes to all my friends, watching as they ate the soft, delicious innards. Reveling in their awe when we came back with a Telepath. A savior for everyone. Feeling their gratitude as they realized how much value our family brought to whole clan. Better yet, all those happy feelings would be magnified by the look on Glossy¡¯s face. She hadn¡¯t been the only bully I had to deal with growing up, but she had been the cruelest. Always making snide comments about how easy me and Slab had it. How we coasted off father¡¯s reputation and status. Reminding everyone that, no matter what we did, we¡¯d always be disappointments. All because we weren¡¯t awakened. Because we couldn¡¯t protect our people like he could. My fists clenched as I kept going over the lifetime of insults in my head. Resentment sticking to me like glue. All that scorn I¡¯d gotten for failing to live up to everyone¡¯s expectations. ¡®Oh, there goes the princess, cutting meat with the children.¡¯ ¡®Man, to think Spike is saddled with the two of them.¡¯ ¡®What a waste of potential, a prime fighter having mundane children.¡¯ ¡®Maybe they¡¯re not even his? Would explain why all his other children got their powers.¡¯ I willed myself to stop then. Deep breaths brought me peace. None of that mattered anymore. They would see the new me and they would see the truth. That me and my brother weren¡¯t wastrels living easy lives on the backs of our kin. No. We would break out of our old lives and earn a place at the top. ¡°Perhaps there was no danger, as you say. It may very well have been the case. However, you forget the Shepherd¡¯s insight. They can see into all futures. It is one of their greatest weapons and one of the reasons they are valued so highly. The Holy One might very well have been warning us about our impeding doom.¡± I grow quiet then, acknowledging his point. Maybe there really was something unfathomable at the bottom of the tunnels. All things were possible, after all. Only fools said otherwise. ¡°Still, we should have gone back earlier. The Shepherd was nowhere to be found when we finally started looking.¡± ¡°They will be fine. None of the foes were particularly dangerous. Only the very weak or very stupid would have fallen.¡± ¡°I know. But still. That was such an amazing opportunity. I can¡¯t help but feel useless now that we¡¯ve squandered it.¡± ¡°You know better than to think that. Our providence has barely begun to show. We have a chance no one else was given. The opportunity to grow. We might not be much in the way of warriors yet, but we will mature into those roles. Look at your screen and you¡¯ll know I¡¯m right.¡± I did as he asked.
Name: Dusty McMullan
Psy: 203/300
Type: Enhancer Level 50
Abilities: [Enhanced Strength] 3 / [Enhanced Dexterity] 3 / [Enhanced Constitution] 4/ [Enhanced Toughness] 5 / [Enhanced Reflexes] 2 / [Enhanced Concentration] 3 / [Enhanced Recovery] 2 / [Enhanced Stamina] 2 / [Enhanced Agility] 2 / [Enhanced Vision] 2 / [Heat Resistance] 4 / [Enhance Object] 2 / [Electric Resistance] 2 / [Neurotoxin Resistance] 2 / [Slashing Resistance] 2 / [Piercing Resistance] 3 / [Blunt Resistance] 3 / [Enhanced Flexibility] 2 / [Enhanced Hearing] 2 / [Enhanced Smelling] 2 / [Enhanced Balance] 2 / [Enhanced Training] 4 / [Sudden Strength] 2 / [Sudden Dexterity] 2 / [Sudden Constitution] 2 / [Sudden Agility] 2 / [Sudden Toughness] 2 / [Enhanced Respiration] 2 / [Enhanced Digestion] 4 / [Enhanced Circulation] 3
Ability Points: 0
¡°Look closely, sister. Look at how we walk the path. We can already dispatch the most ferocious creatures in our near vicinity. Clearing the way for the gatherers to harvest mushrooms in peace. What do you think we¡¯ll be able to do in another two months? How far do you think we will grow?¡± ¡°Until the surface is ours.¡± I say without hesitation. ¡°Until the surface is ours.¡± He answers, red hair glimmering under the torchlight. ¡°And until I kick in Glossy¡¯s teeth.¡± ¡°Hah! She does have it coming, doesn¡¯t she? Acting like she¡¯s the best person ever when she¡¯s on the lowest rungs of power. That said, be sure not to hit her too hard. The way you are now, her head might explode.¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing a very poor job of dissuading me.¡± I reply, lips curled upwards. Our steps fall softly on the stone bridges and passages that make up our frontiers. These caves are our home, a mixture of natural formations and old bunkers constructed before the calamities walked the earth. They¡¯ve been expanded over and over, entire sections cut out to grow algae and mushrooms or herd giant salamanders. Some areas are even part of the old underwater Metro systems that carried people across the channel. Passengers going from our island to London, Paris, Granada, and Berlin. I think about such things as I make my way closer to the old halls of North Gate Station. Each step taking me past long-abandoned fortifications and their powerless floodlights. Once, this place would have been staffed by soldiers and mechanics alike. The barbed wire fences would have received regular maintenance, the darkness would have been driven back by powerful generators and each doorway would have been protected by automatic minigun turrets. That was all gone now. This place had been too open. Too exposed to the world above. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. I¡¯d heard the stories so often that I could recite them by memory. Mutants had first broken the defenses above ground, swarming the lower levels by way of their young. Their smaller bodies burst in using elevator hatches and ventilation shafts. Flooding the living quarters, the greenhouses and the medical wings in tide of unrelenting hunger. The barracks had additional protective measures put in place, and so were able to hold out for longer. Making good use of the flamethrowers and napalm turrets. But the damage was done. No one else felt safe knowing what happened. So, the way to the surface was blocked off using explosives and new, more regulated air vents were constructed, with self-sealing emergency measures. Me and my brother take it all in. The decrepit bunkbeds where families once slept. The mess halls where the entire community came together. The laboratories where new foodstuffs were engineered. All of it had been invaluable to the people living here. It had been home. A place to return to after a long day scavenging. Now the fluorescent lights were dead, and only a torch kept the shadows at bay. We keep walking until we exit the rear barricade, moving towards a guard station further south that held a set of stairs to the deep strata. It was one of the only safe ways to get from here, to the clan¡¯s lands. For now, at least. The door¡¯s hinges shriek in protest as we turn it and I make a mental note to bring some oil on my next hunt. We close it shut behind us and begin our descent. Markings adorn the walls, etched histories of a time when humans could roam throughout the lands bathed in sunlight without care or worry. A time before the bombs fell and mutating gases spread. Bioweapons. That¡¯s what they had been called. Little invisible lifeforms that the great nations of old had wielded as swords. What idiocy. Mere mortals deciding the ultimate fate of humanity over something as petty as money or border disputes. Something was bound to go wrong from the outset. Too bad none of them had the sense to stop it when they could. They had doomed the world in their hubris, forcing us to live beneath the bowels of the earth, lest we be consumed by our own creations. The Great Devourers. Horrors beyond imagination that had quite literally eaten their way through all the great nations. Toppling empires that had stood for centuries, or even millennia. Grinding them down over years until only ashes and dust remained of all the things they cherished. These were animals that should not exist, that should never have existed, yet maintained themselves through mastery of the first and second disciplines. Empowering their bodies to survive the colossal weight of their own bones, while recovering from any damage faster than it could be inflicted. Even the much-lauded nuclear weapons had only slowed them down in the end. Rendering whole continents uninhabitable both above and below. We were actually quite lucky, living beneath Ireland. The Blood Queen and all her ilk may be an ever-present danger, but they did not spread radiation wherever they went. Travelers coming from the great Paris Metro sometimes brought back word of other, more dreadful things. The Luminescent Parade usually stayed put in the Alps, but every so often, stragglers would split off and harass the ruined valleys below. Such beings left entire settlements destroyed simply by moving along the hills. Their fallout was said to be cataclysmic, even by modern standards. The few living witnesses that wandered back were famous for passing slowly, skin flaking off over the course of days and weeks. It was one of the worst ways to go. I shake my head to dispel the gloom. Determined to reach the village with the good news. We reach the bottom without issue and go through the door. This one has received far more care from our foragers, and barely makes a sound as it swings open and shut. From there, we make our way southwest. We prepare to cross the underground lakes to get back home, walking along one of the shallower portions. I used to love going this way as a kid. The air here always felt fresher. More alive than in any other place. Colonies of red kelp saw to that, designed by our scientists to survive without sunlight. Our feet are almost at the edge of the water, when something brings me to a halt. A hand stops me in my tracks, Slab standing completely still a few steps ahead. I crouch at once, readying my axe and preparing a throwing knife with my off-hand. Green eyes stare back at me, confirming my readiness. He puts out the torch and brings his club into his hands, all while minimizing the sounds that might give away our position. We wait in the darkness for a few heartbeats, ready to strike at the slightest provocation. I resist the urge to lunge while swinging my axe. If Slab thought it was dangerous enough to survive me, it could very well be a new kind of predator. Something from the border caverns that wandered over in search of easier prey. If only it knew. That¡¯s when I start to hear it. A barely audible buzzing of insect wings. Distinctive to anyone skilled or lucky enough to survive past childhood. I strangle my surprised gasp before it has a chance to kill us. We both crouch lower, sliding our bodies against the nearby wall and slowing our breathing as much as possible. Weapons held in sweaty hands. The monster is just as blind as us, but its hearing is several magnitudes better. It will notice us if we make the slightest sound. It might very well kill us too. Blade-like extremities disabling our limbs while its proboscis exsanguinates us. All throughout my youth, this has been my greatest nightmare. Ever since I saw Uncle¡¯s body. The empty shell the hunters managed to bring back. A dried husk, devoid of any fluids, mummified while still alive. While he was aware of everything. Slowly feeling all of him being drained as he stared into unfeeling compound eyes and his own reflection therein. The hand holding the axe begins to shake as potential fights play out within my imagination. Not only are the Queen¡¯s children blindingly fast and freakishly strong, they too can regenerate, though to a lesser extent. Our only hope of winning would be to land a killing blow before it becomes alerted to our presence. Before it begins to lash out in hunger. ¡®I hate this. I hate feeling like this. I hate myself. My own weakness. My own decisions. We should have stayed near the Shepherd. We should have brought him back with us. No matter the cost. He could have punctured its mind with little effort. He would have sensed it before it ever got this close.¡¯ It takes all my willpower to stop the gnashing of my teeth. The situation is almost hopeless. Almost. If we can just get a clean hit in. Find some way to perform a successful ambush, stun it for just a fraction of a second. Yes, just for a second. I begin to move my throwing knife, bringing it into position in anticipation of the opening. Slab gently places his hand on my arm. While I can¡¯t see his eyes, I can imagine what they look like. All a volatile mixture of desperation and hopelessness, mirroring my own. We can¡¯t even perform sign language due to how impenetrable the shadows are. All he can do is trust me to make the right choice. He thinks that involves waiting. I disagree. Hesitation means death. No matter the context. His hand squeezes my arm now, applying just a tiny bit of the superhuman pressure he¡¯s capable of. ¡®Damn, now I can¡¯t move my hand to throw. Come on you stupid musclehead! Read the situation! We¡¯re both going to die if we just allow this thing to keep exploring! This is the only way! The only chance we have!¡¯ To my utter disappointment, he fails to read my mind. The reaper¡¯s blade draws nearer. I feel it against my throat, pressure slowly mounting. The monstrosity gets closer, closer, closer¡­ Then, amidst the quiet, a single sound is heard. Splash. I recognize it at once. It¡¯s a cavern icefish, a mutated species, evolved to survive in underground rivers by deploying a unique self-defense mechanism. When in danger, it calls upon the third discipline to freeze the air around it, as well as any predator that gets too close. Sadly, for this individual, that strategy only works if it can react quickly enough. A brutal needle-like mouth pierces its head with one sharp motion. It was so fast that displaced air almost blows me off my position. Almost. Slab releases my hand and my dagger flies, Psy making my body scream as every last bit of effort goes toward that one shot. That one incredible shot. The giant mosquito loses one of its wings as well as its balance. Both me and Slab are on it within the span of a single blink. Sounds of violence echo all along the walls, axe cutting joints and club shattering its skull. We put everything we have left into those strikes. Swinging with unimaginable ferocity. As if our very lives depended on it. Because, well. They did. Not only our lives, but those of our families. Everyone we loved. A single one of these things would butcher a hundred regular people with the greatest of ease. Furthermore, it could not be allowed to escape now that it had wandered so close to the clan. If it did, friends might tag along next time. Whole towns had been wiped out under similar circumstances. I swing my axe with wild abandon, forcing more and more of myself into the assault. One of the legs attempts to pierce my torso, launching itself like a spear thrust while the others held on to the stones for support. My upgraded concentration and reflexes just barely make it, sending me backwards and to the left, near the monster¡¯s mouth. I can¡¯t actually see what¡¯s in front of me due to the absence of light. Regardless, I know its there. The tube. My worst recurring nightmare since I was a little girl that didn¡¯t know anything. I bring my axe down, hate fueling me as much as Psy is. The blade pierces one of the eyes, and I can feel its leg swish and swoosh with renewed desperation. I repeat my swing, drilling my weapon even deeper, hoping that it finally ends. To my immense relief, it does. Both me and Slab draw away from it after getting a few more hits in and separating the head from the body as insurance. You could never be too careful with these things. I feel sick to my stomach, more stressed that I¡¯ve been in months. The Labyrinth had been almost pleasant with how easy it had been. So much so that I had begun to feel invincible. Forgetting one of the core tenets of our clan. ¡°Pride is a slow and insidious killer.¡± Slab said, finishing my own thoughts. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not a Shepherd?¡± ¡°Plenty sure sister. If I were, I¡¯d have fifty wives right about now.¡± ¡°Not with that face.¡± I shoot back. We both start laughing, hearts still roaring under the specter of death. ¡°That was way too close.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°We almost died.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°We have to get stronger.¡± ¡°Slab, are you really going to keep saying obvious things all the way back to the tent? You sound like father.¡± ¡°Depends on how much it annoys you.¡± He answered, earning himself a kick for his witticism. We move far more carefully after that. Nerves frayed for hours until we make it back to the gates. Stake sees us coming from a distance, his discipline lighting the way with dancing lights that drove back the darkness. ¡°Holy scorpion tails! They¡¯re alive! Hey everyone! Dusty and Slab are alive!¡± News spread like gasoline fire, people calling back deeper and deeper into the re-enforced station we all call home. Cloth flaps give way as hunters begin to exit, coming to look us over and provide healing. They start asking questions before we even make it to the square. Those queries die as they spot our kills. Two scorpions for the kids to dismantle and one of the Blood Queen¡¯s own soldiers. We take some time to explain everything. How we were taken in our sleep months ago and how we found ourselves in another cave. How we found out about the screens, about the disciplines we were given. About how the Shepherd spoke to us. ¡°Unfilial children, the both of you. Bringing back that man should have been your top priority.¡± Said father, with his usual penchant for stating the obvious. ¡°Are we even sure it was a man? The kids didn¡¯t lay eyes on them.¡± ¡°The voice sounded masculine.¡± Slab interjected. ¡°Though we don¡¯t know for sure.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what they are. What matters is what they could do. That person should have been brought back no matter the cost. Losing a few warriors or hunters would be perfectly acceptable if it got us a Shepherd.¡± ¡°On that we agree.¡± Said Glossy, the nasty gossip. ¡°Especially if one of those hunters is Dusty. Honestly, this could have been the one useful thing you did in your entire life. No wonder you squandered the opportunity. Seems to be your only talent. Though I guess I can¡¯t fault you too much, any man would have run away after seeing your face.¡± ¡°Go suck a stinger.¡± I answered, in the most polite and mature tone I could muster. ¡°For the record, we did go back to look, but they had left the area.¡± Father burrows his brows, as do his fellow warriors and the elders. They seem hesitant to give up on such life-changing potential. ¡°Did you find any clues? Any tracks that might suggest where they went?¡± Asked Snail, leaning on his spear as he scratched his head with clawed fingers. ¡°A whole bunch of centipedes that appeared to have suffered psionic attacks. Standard signs that they were nearby at one point and actively hunting.¡± Slab offered. ¡°There were many of these on a wide variety of passages, suggesting that they had Psy to spare and were killing despite not being in immediate danger. We also found other people. Strange people.¡± ¡°Strange how?¡± One of the elders asked. ¡°They were, small. Like humans used to be before we began to modify ourselves. Averaging around 170 centimeters. A few claimed to be from the surface and they had no knowledge of the Devourers. Some said they came from cities long destroyed. Others claimed that they hailed from worlds infested with walking corpses. One particularly odd fellow began to claim that the Holy Ones were all spawn of evil and that every malady was their fault. This man, Randall, tried to recruit us to his cause. A crusade, as he called it, to rid the world of all Telepaths. They seemed to genuinely believe their own doctrine.¡± Silence fell as a blanket over the whole camp. No one making a sound for several seconds while they processed this new information. ¡°This Randall, I take it he¡¯s dead?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, no. I took an arm off but we were ambushed by a robot before I could finish him. The thing distracted us for a short time, and they had escaped while our attention was elsewhere. I take full responsibility.¡± ¡°As well you should.¡± Father nodded, his mood souring further. ¡°Anyone opposed to the fourth discipline is opposed to humanity. We simply cannot afford to have some imbecile killing off our only reliable weapons. This Randall must be found and they must be put down.¡± ¡°Bah, no matter. Someone that stupid is bound to die sooner or later. I¡¯m far more intrigued about the other worlds mentioned. Would it be possible to move ourselves via the Labyrinth? Could we use it to escape to a version of earth without bioweapons?¡± ¡°That, I do not know. But we might find out after we are brought back for the second cycle.¡± ¡°Be sure to explore that possibility.¡± Declared father. The meeting went on for a bit longer afterwards, questions being thrown around and food passing hands. Smug satisfaction settled inside my chest as both me and Slab sat in the inner circle of tables. Closer to the center than many of the weaker awakened, who were barely stronger than standards. Other Espers surrounded us, the best of the best inside our community. The ones that contributed the most. The ones people relied on. The ones that all of us acknowledged and respected. Our role models. Our idols. We were among them now. No longer the pampered children of a renowned leader. Both of us were valuable to the clan on our own right. Chuckles escape me as I grab my bowl. Freshly dismantled scorpion, with a side of fungus and some sprinkled honey. The best food for the best people. I looked down at my portions, caressing my axe as I remember the rush of self-improvement. ¡®Soon. Soon I¡¯ll be back there. Growing even stronger. Finding our quarry and bringing them back to our world. No matter the cost.¡¯ The fork approaches my lips slowly, allowing for the aroma to waft. War horns take us all out of our revelry before I can start chewing. Guards posted at the gates are shouting. The normal folk are pushing their way deeper than they had any right to. ¡°Mosquitoes!¡± ¡°They¡¯re here! Hundreds of them!¡± ¡°Help! To arms!¡± All the warriors stand as one. Too accustomed to emergencies to show any hint of panic or disarray. Me and Slab join them without another word. We rush to the walls, finding the scouts desiccated. Their killers barely twitch in response to their passing. Their bulging blood sacks swaying lazily with every buzz. Axes, knives, swords and spears fall in concert. Most don¡¯t hit anything. The fiends tear through us with the greatest of ease. Making our slaughter seem like a casual affair. As if they couldn¡¯t be bothered to put in more than a token effort. Father is pierced from the front and back. Held in place while two more jam their sucking needles down his eye sockets. Slab joins him soon after, unable to twist out of the way of an oncoming drone. I try to hit their killers. To no avail. They are too fast and too many. A lance skewers me through the stomach and my vision blurs. Chapter 32: Looking for Group. Chapter 32: Looking for Group. 30 minutes. I spent 30 minutes in that spot, fighting myself. Losing against my nightmares. Pushing them downwards with every ounce of willpower I had left. Trying and trying to forget about the pain. The helplessness.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Gained: [Inspiration] 1 has been added to the Status.
Ability Evolving: [Inspiration] 1 has grown to [Inspiration] 4
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Precognition] 11 has grown to [Precognition] 12
Ability Evolving: [Premonition] 5 has grown to [Premonition] 6
¡°No. Stop. Don¡¯t go down that road again. There are only bad things there. It didn¡¯t happen. It didn¡¯t happen. It didn¡¯t happen. I¡¯m me. I¡¯m Solomon. I didn¡¯t kill some mobsters. I¡¯m not stuck on a zombie planet. I didn¡¯t see my brother get killed. I don¡¯t even have a brother.¡± ¡®No. That girl did. She died. No. She hasn¡¯t died yet. I could save her. I could save the orphans too, and Monique¡¯s kids. It¡¯d be the right thing to do.¡¯ ¡®It would give me a second Type.¡¯ That notion brought me to the new string. To Inspiration. The pulsating, ethereal will clearing my head. Alleviating the aches. To the tiny marble of crackling energy tied to it. Barely out of reach. I wheezed. Savouring the possibility. Marshalling my strength. There was the very real chance that it could be a trap. That the Labyrinth¡¯s overlord had had enough and wanted to steer me towards self-destruction. I couldn¡¯t care less. I was already dead set on saving the hostages in Happy Shrub to alleviate my guilt. No matter how risky it might¡¯ve seemed. What¡¯s four more? There was still one teensy tiny problem. The shadow of those vision and the silver woman. Anezka. ¡®Meh. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll sort itself out. Other me said all I had to do was save these guys. Besides, I¡¯m not going to go out hunting some woman because of what a hallucination told me to do. That sounds like crazy talk.¡¯ ¡®Yeah Sully! You do you!¡¯ ¡®Thank you, Buddy.¡¯ The potential rewards were just too much. Too tantalizing. Another Type. The chance to be something other than a Telepath. I¡¯d do anything to get it. ¡°Right. That¡¯ll be my goal after I sort this mess out. Focus on the now. Focus on the robot.¡± Yes. The robot. Standing before me in stupefied silence. Waiting for orders as if it hadn¡¯t been trying to flay me alive less than an hour ago. With a mask of stainless steel that suggested an air of calm bemusement. Whomever put my new friend together clearly had a sense of humour. Indeed, I sincerely hoped I¡¯d get the chance to tell them so in person. Hopefully that would distract them long enough for me to break their kneecaps. Even looking at the thing gives rise to mixed feelings. The engineer in me is fascinated. It was even bigger and faster than the freaking bulls. I have never seen a robot of this size move with so much grace and agility. Not while using legs anyway, treads being the standard equipment. How though? An advanced AI that calculated each step in real time? Or a static system of pre-programmed motions it cycles through? How would that even work inside this place? Does it have movement or behaviour patterns that change in accordance to its position within the tunnels? If so, then how does it know where it is? Or, there could be electronic signals coming from devices inside the walls. Now that I think of it. This thing found me through the Illusion. Did it just bypass the ability like cameras did for Blackjack¡¯s power? Was there something like a heat sensor at play? Did it have access to my location via a hidden camera I didn¡¯t spot? Do I have some tracking chip inside of me, feeding my location to some overarching system? Just like that, one good question led to several others. All completely feasible given the absurdity of my current struggle. On the other hand, the superhero fan in me is intrigued. I have never heard of Telepaths being able to affect electronics before. As far as I¡¯m aware, Its a completely new ability. One that is either unique to me, or to the Telepaths in the Labyrinth. How does it work though? What are the limits? I mean, no one really knows how Esper powers work in the first place. Its just something scientists have had to bash their skull against for 2 decades now. Working theory for telepaths was a tunning to the frequency of brainwaves and manipulation of electricity at a fine level. That could also explain interactions with machines if one were attuned to some pseudo local intranet or even the general internet. Still, there was a massive flaw with that theory. I heard that thing¡¯s thoughts. That thing had thoughts. It had an approximation of emotions coded into it. How? Was it something the designer put in place just to mess with their victims? If so, why? Was I just interpreting code automatically? Could my new abilities be seen by someone looking at the code? What would that look like? Once more, questions bred more questions. Further experimentation is critical. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Welp. No time like the present. Robot. Follow me to where Borislav and Dolce are waiting.¡± The hunk of junk went along with me. Metallic hooves clanking all the way over to our destination. ¡°Thank goodness. I thought you might have died.¡± Borislav said wearily once we stepped into view. Funnily enough, he looked far more chipper before I let him know everything was okay. ¡®I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not dead!¡¯ Dolce added with enthusiasm. ¡°Nope! I¡¯m very much alive! In fact, I¡¯ve never been better. Which is why we¡¯re going to keep moving as soon as you¡¯re ready.¡± Borislav did not respond right away. His right arms was shivering and it took the grasp of his left to get it back under control. ¡°That, doesn¡¯t seem like a good idea kid. I¡¯m not doing great. I¡¯m also running on fumes. We could both use a rest and a meal. I think we should stop for the night.¡± ¡°And we will. After we¡¯ve picked up a couple more teammates.¡± ¡°Friends of yours?¡± He asked incredulously. As if me having friends was weird. ¡°I hate to break it to you kid, but if they got separated from you, chances are they might be dead.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not dead.¡± I insisted. ¡®Not yet anyway. No, that sounds ominous and wrong at the same time. I guess they¡¯ll be dead if I don¡¯t find them? Sure, I¡¯ll go with hat for now.¡¯ ¡°Picking them up will barely take an hour. We¡¯ve got the machines on our side now. They¡¯ll bear the brunt of any attack. I promise you won¡¯t need to do any fighting.¡± ¡°Kid, you can¡¯t make those kinds of promises.¡± ¡°Yes, I can. Look around.¡± Half the gnomes from the first clash were still alive, with more streaming in minute by minute. Beside them were not-so-fresh re-enforcements of eels, centipedes, moles and thunder bunnies. Eager, in spite of their obvious exhaustion. The unrelenting death march probably hadn¡¯t helped much either. Eh. Screw them. I could always get more. Across from them were legions of battered automata. Bulls and centaurs in bulk. Only one of the mechanical snakes was still functional, with the other one having been trampled by Dolce. ¡°We got meat-shields for days!¡± ¡°We almost died.¡± ¡°Before I learned to mind-control robots! I¡¯m stronger than ever! There¡¯ll be no risk involved on your end!¡± Borislav¡¯s jaw tightened. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, why do you care if I agree or not. Why do you need me at all?¡± ¡°Because I need to make sure these new friends are safe and healthy.¡± ¡°So, I¡¯m a walking first-aid kit to you?¡± His incessant shivering was staring to get on my nerves. It would start up again every time I spoke. As if being in my presence was somehow taxing. As if I was some unspeakable horror he was indulging, for fear that I might claim him next. That was worrisome. I could probably have forced my way into his otherwise elusive mind if I really wanted. Really get a grip on what his thought process was. But then I thought of the other Solomon and of the dread he claimed to have inspired. ¡®That was not me.¡¯ I assured myself. ¡®That was an apparition. Some queer way for my powers to work. That¡¯s all. I could never turn into that.¡¯ Partially recalled vision threatened to rise again. I closed my mind to them. Suppressing the annoying thoughts until they were gone. ¡°Of course not! You¡¯re a valuable comrade and I appreciate everything you¡¯ve done so far. I know I¡¯m being selfish by pushing us. I know we should sleep. However, there are people out there that need saving. We should help them because we can. That¡¯s what heroes do.¡± The blasted shaking ceased briefly. The lanky man swallowed. A slow, deliberate motion that might have helped to get himself under control. ¡°That¡¯s very kind of you.¡± He paused. ¡°My friend. Indeed, I have gained a new, appreciation, for your, strength.¡± Another, swallow. This one, slower than the last. ¡°I also appreciate how selfless you can be. It speaks to someone of great moral fiber.¡± ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s right!¡± I shouted reflexively. ¡°Please let me finish. There¡¯s a time and a place for selflessness. It isn¡¯t right now.¡± I stopped myself before I started cursing him out. This conversation wasn¡¯t going the way I¡¯d hoped. I was coming across as a dangerous battle-maniac. I needed to turn it around. ¡°What if I left you here to rest. That way, you could make a camp. Meanwhile, I¡¯ll be on my way to get a full team together.¡± Borislav considered that for a second. Then he took yet another look at the surrounding tools. Stopping longer than was necessary on Dolce¡¯s shattered jaw. Four or five misaligned rows of teeth, long as spears. Teeth that were rapidly growing back, as muscle and bone knitted themselves back into place. If it hurt, the leviathan did not show it. ¡°No. Too risky. If you die, then all the monsters might go back to killing survivors. That¡¯s going to be a real¡­ Well. It won¡¯t be fun. For me most of all. It doesn¡¯t make any sense when we¡¯ve made so much progress. There¡¯s too much at stake. All of these must die against the gnomes. One threat dealing with another. It¡¯s the only way the living will be safe.¡± ¡°There¡¯ll be lives at stake if we do nothing.¡± I explained. Fighting through my exasperation. ¡°I¡­I can¡¯t leave these people alone. I know them. They¡¯re depending on me.¡± Which was stretching the truth a little bit, seeing as though none of them actually knew me. Still, I figured white lies were more than fair game if I got my hands on that marble. That lovely promise of not being a mind-controller. Holy cow. It was a miracle. I could stop being a Telepath. I could stop worrying about hiding what I was for the rest of my life. I could stop living in fear. I could be a hero. A real superhero. All it would take is another Type. Literally anything else. Oh, my goodness. I had to do it. I had to try. No matter what it takes, no matter how dangerous it is. I have to go for it. This might be a once in a lifetime chance. The only chance I¡¯ll have. My fists clench and I harden my resolve. No more. I wouldn¡¯t be sitting back and taking hits from an uncaring universe any longer. This time, I¡¯ll be the one calling the shots. ¡°Solomon. When you say it like that¡­¡± ¡°One hour. Give me one hour and I¡¯ll be back. Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s a reasonable risk to take if it might save someone else¡¯s life?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the poi¡­¡± ¡°What would you do if it was your family?¡± I could practically hear the snapping of his own jaw through the mask. One steadying wheeze later, I got the answer I¡¯d been hoping for. ¡°Fine. We all go together. One hour¡¯s march. Then we rest.¡± YEEEESSSS! With that, we set out on our minor detour. Brutally, I mean, righteously subjugating all the creepy crawlies on our path. My fog beat steadily, swallowing all thoughts and ideas. No longer were the inhabitants thinking about meat and blood and slaughter. Now they all agreed that the gnomish city had to fall. With the bonus of getting me those four new friends. The first two spots were glowing on my map. Shining through an unexplored section of the three-dimensional grid. They were moving pretty quick, though nowhere near as fast as Dolce. Indeed, the pair found themselves within the range of [Sense Thoughts] before long, leaving me to make contact. This was the moment of truth. Let¡¯s keep it short and concise. ¡®Hello. My name is Solomon and I want to save you and your clan. The Blood Queen¡¯s mosquitoes are going to kill everyone in the village. Only I can stop them. Join me and I¡¯ll help you kill them all. After we kill all the gnomes and save their prisoners.¡¯ It immediately occurred to me that other might find such a statement a tad, unhinged. Maybe I should have eased them into the information. ¡®What!? No! Please help us, Shepherd!¡¯ ¡®We¡¯ll help in any way we can!¡¯ ¡®Take us with you!¡¯ Huh. Never mind. I guess I really am that good at negotiations. I gave them directions to where we were heading, warning them that all the baddies en route had been re-educated and posed no threat. Their arrival was, quick. I mean, damn. Those two wasted no time. The girl. Or rather, the massive, overly-muscled cavewoman draped in skins and pelts; was the first to show, turning a corner shortly before her sibling. Two metres tall, at least. With idealized curves and a face that somehow screamed plastic surgery and natural blemishes at the same time. Furthermore, there was a feral hunger in her cold green eyes. The same that might be found on an orca when a shark gets too close. It was strange, seeing her like this. After knowing the world through her perspective. Gone was the feeling of inadequacy. The resentment she¡¯d felt from not being special. Looking at her now, no one would ever guess Dusty knew what those emotions entailed. Her brother, Slab, was much the same. The kind of specimen scientists might misclassify as an actual, literal ogre. With biceps bigger than the average American¡¯s waistline. Dusty picked up speed. Moving like a cheetah on black market stimulants. I, quite literally, had no time to react before she picked me up in a bear hug. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything you ask! Anything at all! Please! Go back with me! With us! Join our clan and help us save the world!¡± ¡°That was the plan.¡± I squeaked. Begging Buddy to start pumping emergency oxygen into my lungs. ¡°You might want to drop him before long.¡± Borislav put it helpfully. ¡°I don¡¯t know what this lot will do if he loses consciousness.¡± He gestured to the myriad monsters of my grotesquerie, arms twitching as he did so. He seemed more angry than afraid now. Muscles growing and coiling tighter as if by reflex. ¡°Of course.¡± Slab nodded, without a care in the world. ¡°We¡¯ll be mindful of the Shepherd¡¯s health. His life is our top priority.¡± ¡°Shepherd?¡± Boris asked, more tension seeping into his tone. ¡°Yes. Him. The Holy One.¡± While I still couldn¡¯t see under the mask, I got the distinct impression that Borislav blinked rapidly then. In a way that might express the incredulity in his heart. Looking down on his tattered rags revealed that they were being drenched in a sudden downpour of sweat. ¡°Are you? Is this a cult?¡± ¡°Nonsense.¡± Dusty rebutted. ¡°We only acknowledge that the Holy One will save our world and our clan. That he¡¯s seen the future and knows what¡¯s best. That his image will be seared into the ashes of our world once we¡¯ve conquered it. That he can do no wrong and that we should ensure his comfort.¡± Borislav flinched. Only for a second. Before growing another few inches and bolting in the opposite direction. Within a second, he¡¯d become a rapidly shrinking blur in the darkened hall. ¡°Wait! We need you! This isn¡¯t what it looks like! I¡¯m a good person! I¡¯m a good person I swear!¡± I croaked. Fast as the Shifter was, Slab was faster. Tackling him into the ground and trapping him in a headlock within a fraction of a second. ¡°Traitor!¡± Dusty yelled indignantly. ¡°How dare you run away from your duties!¡± Borislav, for his part, only managed a burst of strangled chortles. ¡®Holy cow. This got out of hand fast.¡¯ ¡°No one is running from anything. This is a misunderstanding. We need to stay together. Let him go.¡± Slab looked dubious. Apparently ready to kill in my name mere moments after meeting me. Dusty pushed me behind her, determined to protect me from the unbeliever. ¡®Is Borislav a bad guy now?¡¯ ¡®No, Buddy. He¡¯s not a bad guy.¡¯ ¡®Are these two bad guys?¡¯ ¡®No, Buddy. We¡¯re all on the same team.¡¯ ¡®It doesn¡¯t look that way to me.¡¯ I groaned. Perhaps, this would be slightly harder than I thought. Chapter 33: Beetle Juices. Chapter 33: Beetle Juices. ¡°You better start explaining yourself right now, kid. This isn¡¯t my idea of a joke.¡± ¡°I assure you I¡¯m not joking Mrs. Fletcher. I can see the future and I know where your kids are. I even know how to get back to our worlds in time to save them.¡± Which was a slightly liberal interpretation of the truth, all things considered. Why, other, less informed individuals might even accuse me of lying. Thankfully, Monique hadn¡¯t told anyone in here about Jimmy or Ben. Me knowing about them, Roy, Natasha and the situation on her home had gone a long way to bringing down her guard. Now if only she was smart enough to fear Dusty and Slab. The two giants stood in front of me. Not quite snarling. Yet. The mere suggestion that my [Precognition] was faulty had rubbed them the wrong way. Indeed, just about everything Monique said rubbed them the wrong way. I was coming to realize that any kind of dissenting opinion or lack of faith got under their skin. Dusty was massaging two of her throwing knives under her palms while Slab¡¯s breathing was steadying. Both were ready to strike at a moment¡¯s notice, should Monique try any funny business. Having my own cult of personality was more of a headache then anything else thanks to their, shall we say, abundant enthusiasm. I had to choose my words far more carefully, lest they interpret a slight cough as an implied execution order. ¡°Very well. What¡¯s the catch?¡± She finally asked. ¡°Now now. There¡¯s no need for that. We¡¯re not some shady group or anything. All we want is to rescue the people caught by the gnomes. There should be around a hundred or so. Besides that, I have come to learn that they guard a safe zone nearby. If we join forces, we could get rid of one of the biggest dangers in the Labyrinth, save a bunch of innocents and secure a permanent base in one fell swoop.¡± Monique grunted. Holstering the broken remains of the shotgun she¡¯d once threatened me with. ¡°That¡¯s all well and good, but it doesn¡¯t explain why you need me.¡± ¡°We need you because you¡¯re powerful and reliable.¡± I fibbed. ¡°More hands mean a better chance at victory.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case then you should be good to go. There are enough monsters here to kill me fifteen times over. Even without counting the robots and the gnomes. They can do what I can do and a few can do it much better. There¡¯s no sense in bringing me along after what I did to you.¡± ¡°What you did to him?¡± Dusty inquired. Searing venom creeping into her tone. Slab¡¯s hands went to his own knives faster than I could blink. Behind us, Borislav recognized the telltale signs of oncoming brutality and threw himself to the ground. ¡°NOTHING!¡± I interjected before we had another awkward situation. ¡°Nothing happened. We had a talk and we decided to go our separate ways. That¡¯s ok. Its normal. Not everyone is going to get along the first time they meet.¡± The ogres relaxed a bit. Monique looked confused, not realizing how close she¡¯s come to experiencing intense cranial trauma. ¡°Look, Monique.¡± I managed with some effort. ¡°Neither of us can change the past. What¡¯s done is done. None of it changes the very real threat the gnomes pose. Nor does it change the fact that your kids need you.¡± She bit her lip in frustration. Clearly not trusting my forgiving nature. I cursed inwardly and decided to lay it on a little more. ¡°I get why you¡¯d be worried. None of us have know each other for long. Its normal to be suspicious. Its normal to second-guess the people around you. Despite what people say, paranoia can be a very healthy instinct. With all that in mind, I¡¯m going to put my best foot forward. I¡¯ll tell you where your kids are right now. No strings attached. I¡¯ll even tell you how to get to them. After that, you can decide whether or not to go with us or stay on your own. No matter what you choose, we won¡¯t judge.¡± Her eyes, which had been so cold up to that point, wavered. ¡®I have her.¡¯ I knew it, even without [Sense Thoughts]. ¡°Your kids went to Denver.¡± ¡°That¡¯s insane. Natasha would never¡­¡± ¡°She got a tip. About a family of filthy rich preppers. They have a doomsday bunker under a red mansion in Shady Acres. You¡¯ll find it if you go right when you¡¯re about to pass the trailer or truck filled with fireworks. It¡¯ll be on the main highway leading into the city.¡± Monique did not respond. Mulling over the words in her head. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to find them after another month. If we manage to take the safe zone.¡± That last part wasn¡¯t technically true as far as I knew. None of the memories I¡¯d see mentioned a requirement beyond lasting two months inside the maze. However, I figured I might as well sprinkle in some extra incentive. This didn¡¯t make me a bad person. I was getting help to save people and to change my Type. No, I was a good person. Any good person would have done the same. Monique leaned back her head. Groaning loudly. ¡°I swear, this is so shady.¡± ¡°How dare you! The Shepherd¡¯s shown you nothing but kindness and goodwill and this is how you repay him!¡± ¡°What? Shepherd?¡± ¡°PET NAME!¡± I interjected, before all my diplomatic efforts vanished like so much smoke. ¡°Its Dusty¡¯s Pet name for me! Ha ha! She, uh. She¡¯s so creative. Affectionate too. Please forgive any protectiveness she shows towards me. She can¡¯t help it.¡± Monique snorted. ¡°Whatever. None of my business. Count me in for the raid.¡± ¡°Fantastic. Great to have you. You won¡¯t regret it.¡± I summoned both my backpack and Granny¡¯s cooking set using their rings. Inviting our new colleague to partake in our supplies. Say what you want about the feathery shopkeeper, her goods hadn¡¯t disappointed. Fresh cuts of eel meat spread their succulent aroma throughout the tunnel. Warm as the hour when they¡¯d been cooked and prepped by Dusty. With the added benefit of being completely poison free, thanks to the mechanical cooking kit. For the first time in our conversation, the Projector¡¯s stoic demeanor crumbled. ¡°Oh yeah. Security isn¡¯t the only perk to joining up. At least three-square meals guaranteed.¡± ¡°Yes! Marvel at the Shepherd¡¯s generosity!¡± ¡°Truly! He is a paragon of virtue!¡± ¡°Which is why we all agreed to call me by my name. Right guys?¡± I insisted. With a bit more bite than I¡¯d intended. ¡°Right. Sully.¡± Dusty corrected herself, blushing slightly. ¡°Of course, Sully. You¡¯re right.¡± Borislav did not comment. He approached slowly and carefully. Steering clear of the sibling¡¯s reach for the most part. Then he grabbed a cut of meat and retreated to the relative safety of Dolce¡¯s back. Monique was, thankfully, too busy chewing to notice. So passed another hour of respite. Five people relaxing together behind palisades of expendable troops. After we finished up, Dusty took her axe to a couple dozen of the bigger centipedes, insisting that they were the tastiest. I lent her the miracle grill ring and watched in fascination as the thin steel dendrites sliced and diced their way past creatures in quick succession. Once our next meals had been prepared, they went into my backpack ring and we all set out with renewed spirits. ¡°Are there any other warriors we should find?¡± Slab asked once we¡¯d gotten moving. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Yes. Charlie should be out there. Maybe, twenty odd minutes west if we keep going straight. I¡¯ve already dominated all the monsters and disabled all the electronic traps inside my range so it should be safe.¡± Slab nodded thoughtfully, moving a giant calloused hand to scratch his crimson beard. ¡°As you say. I¡¯m looking forward to meeting them, given how highly you¡¯ve judged their prowess.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll be a meeting to remember.¡± ¡®In that I hope you¡¯ll remember to keep your mouth shut.¡¯ In all honesty, feeling that much annoyance at the two¡¯s antics probably wasn¡¯t altogether fair. They were straightforward people who told you exactly what they thought and they placed a high value on human life. All qualities befitting true heroes. Until they almost killed Borislav and almost ruined my recruitment speech. ¡®Don¡¯t think about that Solomon. It doesn¡¯t matter. Things worked out. You¡¯ll save those people. You¡¯ll be a good person. You¡¯ll get a second Type. Believe in that and keep your chin up.¡¯ ¡®Exactly! I believe you can do anything you set your mind to! Because you¡¯re the very best there ever was!¡¯ ¡®Thank you, Buddy. I can always rely on you to cheer me up.¡¯ ¡®No problem! I¡¯d do anything for you! Because I¡¯m your suit and I love you!¡¯ ¡®I love you too Buddy.¡¯ ¡®Do you love me?¡¯ Dolce interjected. ¡®I¡¯d like you more if you hadn¡¯t tried to eat me.¡¯ I snapped. ¡®Stay out of my conversations from now on. Unless I specifically ask for you.¡¯ Dolce felt defeated. I was starting to wonder whether being mean to our most reliable means of transportation was a good idea when other thoughts start streaming in. The fog carried powerful emotions into mind, small debris amidst a purple-grey swirl. Anger and fear and desperation all mixed into one. Sadly, it is cocktail that I¡¯ve become all too familiar with. With a start, I realize that there¡¯s more than one person in that direction. I sense six minds having coherent thoughts, dissimilar from the emotional impressions the centipedes gave off. Suddenly, there are five minds left. A surge of terror travels from them and into me. ¡°Dolce! Survivors in trouble! Marked on my map! Full speed ahead!¡± Whatever was going on, there were people that needed help. [Domination] lunges forward with untold ferocity, a thousand spectral arms. Hooked fingers searching for a target to shatter into oblivion. I find it within a heartbeat. Aggression swirls around it like a thick broth. It coils and oozes with bloodlust and hunger as it sizes up the group before it. There is no coherent thought to be found inside of it. Only raw emotion. A lust for violence and an eagerness to sate it. I let my power take its course. Then I stop in my tracks. Against all odds, my target isn¡¯t subjugated. Staggered and suffering yes. But not broken. Not yet. Instead, I¡¯m drawn into a war of attrition inside its skull. Draining Psy faster than I¡¯d like as I give edicts and trample on its willpower. Given enough time, I might be able to beat it into submission. Sadly, time was not in abundance. I¡¯m focusing on the chatter radiating from the party now. Five distinct voices brimming with newfound hope. Three of them come in clearly. ¡®Holy cow! It stopped! Quick, do something!¡¯ ¡®My arm! My arm!¡¯ ¡®Hold on! You¡¯ll be okay. Just hold on!¡¯ The last two though. There¡¯s something there. One is plainly Charlie. As arrogant now as he was while walking the docks of his hometown. The other is a tad more clouded. She wields a ruthlessness of sorts. An alien predisposition for violence that clouds her humanity. That one marches forward, devoid of hesitation. I feel her gathering power into her hands. I feel her muscles tense up and grow. I feel her own bloodlust leaking as she hammers the monster with a¡­ A claw. Then another. Her fury castigates the stunned beast. At the same time, Charlie mounts its head. Landing a volley of kicks into its gigantic mandibles. Persisting until the rightmost organ crumbles. It, the beetle, roars in indignation, so loud the sound reaches me even without my power. Literal kilometres away. ¡°I¡¯m guessing that didn¡¯t come from one of your pets?¡± ¡°No.¡± I confirm, not willing to waste time talking. Dusty, Slab and Borislav began to prepare for battle in earnest. Monique merely flexed her Psy, causing ripples in the surrounding light. Dolce is dashing through the stale air. Through any apertures big enough for his sizable bulk. Not content to sit around, I launch [Fever] in the beetle¡¯s direction, making sure to overcharge it before release. My once trusty trump card does next to nothing. I mean, the monster barely felt it. I panic for a second, following up with a round of [Delusion], envisioning a baleful fire engulfing the unnatural creature and it alone. My target recoils in turn, its own emotions flaring higher and higher. Lancing streaks of white-hot agony get back to me. A song of anguish and revulsion. The beetle doubts its own victory for the first time in its life. It doesn¡¯t appreciate the taste of doubt. My army has remained on the move the entire time. Inching closer to the fight in spite of the dead-ends and too-narrow openings. The creature swings something, maybe a leg, maybe a bladed wing, at the girl. It misses due to Charlie¡¯s interference. He pushes her aside and punches one of the thing¡¯s eyes out. There is another pause. The monster unable to cope with the torture I was administering and Charlie¡¯s onslaught at the same time. In response, she closes the gap once more and delivers a staggering blow. Once more the insect bellows. However, this time it doesn¡¯t swing wildly. Instead, it takes two heavy steps backwards. An outline starts to appear within my swirl, defining features now standing out more and more the closer I got. Its definitely a beetle or beetle-shaped at least. The first thing that stands out is its size. Where the larger centipedes were comparable to a fully grown person, this specimen is easily 5 to 6 metres tall and twice that in length. Proud horns protrude from the front of its shell while serrated spines adorn the rest of the carapace. The only weak point I can detect is located underneath it, where fresh wounds drip liquid ichor down into the stone floor. The colossal bug hugs the floor with six muscular limbs and energy begins to gather in them. It lights up the thing within my fog. So brightly that I can actually see it as if I were looking with my eyes. Its, Psy. I¡¯m looking at Psy moving within a living being. Shining like a collapsing star. [Premonition] activates without my input. Goosebumps break out all over my skin. New instincts warn me about incoming danger. That there is something dreadful ahead. With a resounding buzz, its shell opens, wings alive with movement. I struggle to understand its intentions. What good would wings do in this confined space? To my astonishment, the answer comes with the silencing of one human signal and the muffling of the girl¡¯s. Dread blooms from the three others. Charlie included. It happened so fast that neither my ability, nor his own reflexes react in time. The monster had gathered momentum while holding close to the ground. Then it charged. With unspeakable force. Wild exultation now emanated from it, as it felt the promise of carnage fulfilled. I respond by gnashing my teeth together and searching my own screen. Looking for the description of my third unique ability. ¡°Damn it. How could I have been so stupid?¡± I¡¯d been so overconfident ever since gathering my horde that the idea of backup plans hadn¡¯t crossed my mind. Despite being 5 points lower on my screen, [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression] wasn¡¯t any less useful than [Domination]. It was merely a matter of picking the right tool for the right job. The beetle would get its comeuppance. I was perfectly safe from it. However, it wasn¡¯t safe from me. Not by a longshot. I call upon my reserves. Summoning the cord from beneath my lake. My fog captures the monster overflowing with satisfaction as it stands triumphant over the wounded girl. It notices her mending flesh in the same moment I do. Then it thinks of nothing. My power is unleashed. An entire psionic continent fell on a single living creature. The sheer weight of it swallows my prey¡¯s immaterial signature like an amoeba. Squeezing tighter and tighter. Till all hope dies. Emotions rush into me from the Charlie and the other two waking victims. Shock, panic, awe. It is then that I, Borislav, Dusty, Slab, Monique and Dolce emerge from behind. Part of me was tempted to control it. To make sure it was the very first thing the freaking gnomes saw when I rammed my great host into their lair. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed. Charlie was needed if I wanted Sarcophagus Solomon to hold up his end of the bargain and Charlie wanted the beetle dead. Overall, one more flunky for the meatgrinder wasn¡¯t worth the risk of alienating him. Speaking of which, the man in question appeared to be quite stupefied. Gazing incredulously while Dusty and Slab did away with both wings with blows of their own. Mighty as the insect was, it could not stand up to either without its passive and active enhancements being active. At the same time, Dolce¡¯s gaping maw closed around the armoured hindquarters. Tearing prodigious chunks of flesh and chitin away with the greatest of ease. Monique opted for the legs. Doing away with them via fiery missiles. Borislav ignored the skirmish in its entirety. Following my suggestions and moving to heal Charlie and the unconscious girl. Both them and the three others had received basic care by the time their tormentor expired. Not with a defiant screech, but with a pathetic wheeze.
Hidden Objective Completed: Wandering Boss: Azure Moonlight Beetle has been slain. All Students in Tutorial Instance gain 5000 Store Tokens. All Students involved in slaying the Azure Moonlight Beetle split a reward of 200, 000 store tokens based on contributions. The three highest contributors gain a choice between 1 Inferior Symbiote or 1 Equipment Upgrade Token.
Dusty raised her axe overhead and brought it low with a meaty thud. Cheering immediately after alongside her brother, whilst I walked up to touch our kill.
Azure Moonlight Beetle. A Mutated Scourge Beetle. Level 110 This creature has access to Enhancer, Shifter, Projector and Telepath abilities. This creature¡¯s highest-level ability is [Mind-Body Fortitude III] 15. This creature¡¯s death will grant 200, 000 Store Tokens.
¡°Yeah. That sounds about right.¡± My hands went to my forehead. There, they began rubbing the soreness out. ¡®Buddy, tell me, how was anyone else but me supposed to survive this?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know. Maybe run away?¡¯ That made me stop and think. ¡°Hey, you there. Charlie, is it?¡± The man in question turned my way. Apparently wrestling with the suddenness of our intervention. ¡°Ah. Yes. That¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Did you try to run from the beetle before we came?¡± ¡°Course I did. It was slower than a fat drunkard. But they¡­¡± He pointed at the three others. ¡°Were a wee slower.¡± His Psy sharpened then, imagining criticism where there was none. ¡°That was very valiant of you. Proper hero behaviour.¡± I cut in before his mood could sour. ¡°In fact, it was so impressive that I¡¯d like to invite you into my team. We¡¯re gathering people to raid the gnomes in their base and free all their prisoners.¡± ¡°Those freaks take prisoners?¡± ¡°They do.¡± I confirmed grimly. Charlie winced. He placed his bloody hands on his hips, his wispy blond hair swaying as he drew back his head to sigh. ¡°Sure. In that case, count me in. I¡¯ll be right with you after a wee break.¡± ¡°Fantastic! Great to have you!¡± I beamed. Before quickly adding: ¡°I also know where Mr. Whitmer will be and when you¡¯ll be able to get him. You might want to catch him before he burns down your orphanage and kills everyone you¡¯ve ever loved.¡± ¡°WHAT!?¡± Chapter 34: The Newbies. Chapter 34: The Newbies. Borislav, for all his other faults, was not a stupid man. He said little and heard much. Forming opinions about others in his head and thinking thoroughly before committing to action. It was this pattern of careful observation that had allowed him to get the measure of Dusty and Slab right away. As such, he knew better than to speak roughly in my general direction. At least when those two were nearby. Alas, Charlie was not so well informed. Ever the passionate hero, he grabbed what passed for a collar on Buddy¡¯s astronaut form. Using his superior strength to lift me into the air, where he could question me at his leisure. Right until Dusty gave him a concussion and Slab ripped his (Gnome)ing arms off. Handling the hero in the same manner that a pair of recently castrated gorillas might handle a zookeeper. Thankfully, I was able to stop them before they started beating him to death with his own severed limbs. Too aware that my chances at a second Type were hanging by the thinnest of threads. After that, I managed to coax Borislav into stitching them back and Monique into not running for her life. All while the two cowering onlookers held each other and the waking Shifter girl. Sniveling in a corner. ¡°Please don¡¯t hurt us man. We haven¡¯t done anything to you.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t tell anyone you killed that guy. I swear we won¡¯t. We didn¡¯t see anything.¡± ¡°He¡¯s fine.¡± I assured them, stretching the truth a little bit. ¡°This much won¡¯t even faze Borislav. He¡¯s healed worse injuries. Besides, Charlie¡¯s tougher than you think.¡± Borislav himself grunted, remaining focused on his task. Said task was frothing at the mouth now, aware of what had happened and that it could happen again if I so willed it. ¡°I¡¯m very sorry about this misunderstanding.¡± I told him them. ¡°Dusty and Slab are, very protective of me. Its kind of their thing. I need you to understand that they¡¯re good people that are looking out for those weaker than they are. Like you.¡± Against all odds, the others panicked further. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± I repeated while backing off. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to come off as threatening. I wanted to explain that one of my powers is to see the future. I know you¡¯re new to this and that its not common in your world, but that¡¯s the reality. With that in mind, I want to help you. Please let me help.¡± The boy gaped. His gaze drifted off to the ogre siblings. His eyes grew watery. ¡°Right. My mistake. Please help me.¡± ¡°It would be my pleasure friend.¡± I answered, smiling ear to ear. He and the other girl in the corner started crying. ¡°Stop that. I¡¯m not trying to threaten him or anything. You¡¯re all safe with me. I¡¯m a good person.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Dusty agreed. ¡°We should all be celebrating being under the Shepherd¡¯s command! It will be an honour to die in his name!¡± They cried harder. At the same time, some of my tiger-moles have started catching up. Their nose-feelers twitched as they neared the bodies strewn on the floor. Those too slow or too unfortunate to get out of the beetle¡¯s way. The crying couple and the Shifter girl would have joined them too I knew, were it not for our timely intervention. Charlie would have run, after they were all dead. Going on to wander alone for the remainder of the cycle. Stewing on his hatred to keep himself sane. ¡°You will not touch the bodies.¡± I told my pets. ¡°They are people. Not food.¡± By this point, my hooks had embedded themselves so deeply into their minds that obedience was second nature. The two behemoths parted ways sullenly. Leaving the cooling flesh well alone. An action, which had the unfortunate consequence of drawing my attention to the cadavers. Dark and damp as the large cavern was, their features were clear. Mere boys from the look of them. Or close enough that it didn¡¯t matter. They would been on their final school years on the outside world. That, or very recently graduated. They probably had families too. Parents and siblings and close friends who would wonder where they¡¯d gone. Who might still be holding out hope of seeing them alive. Prying my eyes away took a great deal of effort, but there was nothing else I could do. I didn¡¯t even know what to do with them now. Would it be possible to bury them? If so, where? There was always another open space beneath the rough hard stone. As I was contemplating the issue, the small Shifter began clearing her head. She scanned the immediate area with mounting trepidation. Her claws sharpened and lengthened in conjunction to her senses. All around she could sense my army. Monsters of all shapes and sizes streaming in like some profane river. Surrounding everyone while still keeping their distance on my orders. As she prepared for what she thought was an ambush, the boy next to her continued to weep. His body has been left mostly intact as he was a few steps shy of the charge, being wounded only by the shockwave and flying debris. Only his heart was in tatters. He stood suddenly. Moving past me and two of the moles in a stupor. He collapsed next to the remains of his friends and held his hands to his face. The scream held almost all the emotion I sensed in his mind. There was a darkness in his eyes as well as his soul. Hopelessness that flayed all reason from his being. A deep, resounding existential dread. The clawed girl¡¯s eyes turned to the bloodstains. For the first time in this entire exchange, that veil of calculating practicality lifted from her mind. In that moment, she was human once more. She too began to cry. The last girl has been mourning for a long time now. She had been weeping hysterically while the battle raged all around her and she continued without any sign of abatement. A centipede approached from the side, but my power silenced any errant feelings from it and I ordered it away. Finally, I decided that the silence has stretched on long enough and began walking closer to the youths. The boy and the clawed girl looked up at my approach. Their eyes moved around my form, taking in Buddy in all his deep crimson splendor. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. He was mimicking an astronaut suit, as I¡¯d asked him to. Granting me protection against all the tiny, annoying pebbles and puddles and jagged stones littering the Labyrinth¡¯s floors. On my face was a transparent membrane resembling glass, though it retained a fair deal of flexibility and durability for all that. I did not think the ensemble made me appear particularly ominous, though it was striking when compared to the rags the trio wore. At some point, they might have been pajamas of some fashion. The same kind I¡¯d been wearing when I was first taken. Those days were gone however. The stringy fabric was weathered, stretched, cut, and horrendously dirty. Indeed, it could very well be rotting on their very bodies. ¡®Nothing I can do about that in any case. At least for now. Gnomish garb won¡¯t fit them and I can hardly ask the others for a spare set of clothes.¡¯ ¡°Are you all okay?¡± I asked as if I didn¡¯t already know the answer. ¡°Ye-Yeah. We¡¯re all right.¡± The clawed girl lied. I saw through the deception at once. Her thoughts were overflowing with emotion and suspicion. She tried to put on a strong front. Reasoning that I could be a new danger, one far more powerful than the beetle. ¡°What do you mean all right!? Are you stupid or something!? Mark and Tracy are dead! They¡¯re dead Louise!¡± The boy wailed. Part of me felt terrible at that outburst. I knew what it felt like to be helpless and cornered. To feel the weight of the world crushing you. I didn''t berate the boy for his words or his erratic behavior. It was normal to feel this way. Instead, I moved forward and sat beside him. I put my hand on his shoulder and let him process his loss. Louise continued to stare at me as her wounds closed and knit together. She didn''t say anything, but allowed the tears to escape unhindered. The last girl hasn¡¯t even registered my presence properly. I spread out my fog to sense any incoming dangers while I sat. Another three centipedes and some big panther-shrew things wandered over through the edges and joined my cause without much trouble. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m sorry. I just, can¡¯t deal with all of this right now.¡± His voice came out firmer than before, yet it stills felt haunted. Some wounds took a lifetime to heal. Some never healed at all. ¡°No problem.¡± I answered. ¡°This is tough for all of us. Take your time. We can talk when you¡¯re ready.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather talk now.¡± Louise interrupted. ¡°Was it you that froze it?¡± ¡°Yes. I was the one who stopped it. I¡¯m a hero, trying to save as many people as I can.¡± Dusty and Slab cheered, though they were the only ones. The boy looked at them. Then at me. Then at all the mute nightmares following our trail, streaming in like a river of tainted flesh and wrought steel. Trying to figure out if we were telling the truth or messing with him. ¡°You weren¡¯t even here.¡± She countered. ¡°I know. That¡¯s just the Type I got. Just like you got to be a Shifter. We all have different talents.¡± Her eyebrows rose at that. ¡°How did you know my type?¡± I stopped for second to process the absurdity of the question before answering. ¡°You¡¯re regenerating. Only Shifters can do that.¡± ¡°How do you know that though? There might be more than three types. We have no idea how these powers work or what they can do. Did you assume? Or do you have some proof.¡± My mind went blank. Sheer incredulity blowing everything away and leaving me stunned. Dusty and Slab had been listening to our conversation and roared with laughter at her ignorance. Monique stayed silent. Choosing to step gingerly away from my admirers. The ruins of her shotgun were as useful as my empty pistol, yet she cradled the hunk of junk as if it were a lifeline. ¡°This is common knowledge.¡± I blurted out before I could fully process what she¡¯d said. ¡°Everyone knows there are four types and that only Shifters can heal people. It¡¯s been that way for twenty years.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been down here for twenty years!?¡± Asked the boy, horror cascading off his face. He looked like a child watching their beloved family dog being run over on the highway. Pure, undistilled grief and confusion dancing on his face. The tears dripping down his cheeks only added to the effect, making him look pitiful. The siblings laughed harder. Unable to get a single word in. Monique was groaning in exasperation. Borislav either didn¡¯t notice the argument or paid it no heed. ¡°What? No! The outside world has Espers. You know, super people. Like Rockslide, Lakebed, Horizon, Thunder Fist. Heroes. Haven¡¯t you heard of them?¡± Louise and the boy looked at each other, then back at me. She took on a wary posture, shuffling her still-healing body so that her feet were firmly planted in the ground. It was an awful, off-putting sight. Torn muscle reaching out and entangling itself with the rest of her. Tiny giblets of flesh and blood crawling underneath her exposed skin, like maggots on a carcass. Her innermost thoughts were still somewhat blurred. His weren''t. ¡®Come on man. Please don¡¯t tell me the first person we find is some nutter. That¡¯s not even funny. Not now. Not after all we¡¯ve been through. Not after Mark and Tracy. I can¡¯t. I can¡¯t deal with this right now. Its too much. The freaking centipedes and the arrows and the stupid beetle.¡¯ ¡®Maybe that¡¯s it. This guy lost his mind after some of his friends died. Now he¡¯s going around thinking superheroes are real and the others are humoring him. Wearing a goofy space suit and controlling monsters. Controlling¡­¡¯ ¡®Oh.¡¯ Newly found dread erupted from the boy and he staggered into an upright position. His body was tense, as if ready to act at the drop of a feather. His fingers started twitching, curling into fists before loosing up over and over again. His mouth opened once, but no sounds escaped its depths. Instead, it is the girl who spoke up. ¡°I¡­ We have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± I looked at both of them. Really looked at them. Then I slapped my own head. ¡°Right. Of course. You¡¯re not from my Earth. My bad. Are you from Zombie Earth or Alternate World War 1 Earth?¡± ¡°Holy cow! He¡¯s nuts!¡± Yelled the girl. ¡°Watch your tongue! Weakling! Or I¡¯ll cut it off!¡± Dusty interjected. All hint of amusement was gone from her face. Slab said nothing. Merely bringing up a blade as if to volunteer for tongue-cutting duty. The trio all moved away from the ogres with hurried motions. The weeping girl scurrying behind the boy with admirable alacrity. The boy¡¯s mind was bursting with frantic notions. Trying to figure out if we were a threat. ¡®Okay. Okay. Calm down. Keep it together. There has to be some explanation. Some way this all makes sense. He might be crazy. He might not. He said he was a hero. Think it through. Don¡¯t think about Mark and Tracy right now. Your life¡¯s in danger. The girls are in danger. You have to keep it together. Protect them from this psycho in case he¡¯s lying. Which he probably is.¡¯ Ouch. That actually hurt my feelings a bit. ¡®Time travel? Its possible. I mean, no its freaking not. But it¡¯s been a weird month. Jane can do telekinesis. Louise is literally coming back from the dead. I killed giant bugs with rocks. Prudence and her pet psychos almost killed us. Have an open mind, Ryan. It might just save your life. Actually, this guy already saved your life. He also didn¡¯t attack us from where he was hiding. He didn¡¯t kill Charlie. Yet. Maybe, okay, maybe a little trust might be called for. He hasn¡¯t done anything untoward, yet. Its only right to repay good with good. Hear him out at least.¡¯ ¡°Um, what year do you think this is?¡± ¡°2022.¡± I answered without hesitation. ¡°Same as us then. Okay, were any of the heroes on the news recently? If they were, can you give us dates and locations? Did they do anything during the pandemic?¡± ¡°Pandemic? What pandemic?¡± Their incredulity was only exacerbated by those words. They both began to wonder how I¡¯d never heard of this pandemic they referenced. ¡®There is absolutely no way in heck this guy didn¡¯t know before we told him. I feel grateful and all that, but something¡¯s wrong here. Think Ryan. Teleportation. Cave. Screens. Its been a month. Or has it? I¡¯m not sure. Doesn¡¯t matter. Find a way it all fits.¡¯ ¡°Oh, I get it! You¡¯re absolutely right!¡± He lied. Badly. ¡°It¡¯s like a parallel universe. We got sucked into something involving a superhero on his dimension. That¡¯s why we got powers.¡± ¡°Shut up Ryan. That¡¯s the dumbest thing I ever heard.¡± Louise retorted, voice cracking like a whip. ¡°No, think about it. This guy knew what your type did without you telling him and he brought all the uhm, other, pets, down to help without even being here. He also said there were four types, not three. We thought Prudence was lying, but she could have been telling the truth. Since none of us could do that, he must be the fourth type. He may know what¡¯s going on or how to get out of here.¡± ¡®And I really don¡¯t want to get on the bad side of Mr. Slaver over here. Those two freakshows tore Charlie apart like he was a gingerbread man, and Charlie¡¯s the strongest person we know. By a lot. Holy (Prudence) Louise. Read the room. Show some gratitude and try to get the (Prudence)ing scary stranger on our side. We need this.¡¯ Louise still looked unconvinced. I on the other hand, fully supported Ryan. In fact, I was pretty sure Ryan was my new best friend. Whatever his Type, he had the most normal reaction I¡¯d seen yet. A bit of healthy misapprehension coupled with optimism. Surely, he, as a normal, well-adjusted person, would see that I was a hero who was trying to save everyone. To top it all off, he felt at least somewhat indebted to me, or Charlie, which would be essentially the same thing after I¡¯d recruited him. Good vibes all around. ¡°Ryan. I think you¡¯re on to something.¡± I said, immediately capturing their attention. ¡°Now, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on. I really don¡¯t. This is as weird to me as it is to you. I¡¯m a Telepath. That¡¯s my type. That¡¯s how I stunned that beetle-monster and saved you.¡± I paused for effect, making sure all of them could hear me. ¡°Personally, I think we should stick together for a while. To keep each other safe you know? My crew here is looking to claim a safe zone after we extermina¡­ Sorry, pacify the gnomes. Yes, that¡¯s right. All the people and the, tamed pals that you see here are all going to pacify the gnomes. We¡¯re going to pacify them so hard that there won''t be a single one left. After that, all the survivors will have a place to call home. A place where we can all be safe and think of ways to escape.¡± Dusty and Slab were cheering again. Clapping loudly. Borislav had finished healing Charlie, and began to clap as well. Perhaps he was finally starting to come around. Or perhaps he was terrified that Slab might add his own fur to his gore-caked attire if he didn¡¯t show enough enthusiasm. Whatever the reason, it created a chain reaction where my gnomish meat shields clapped in unison. Hundreds of little hands joining in the darkened chasm. All at the same time. Without any light or life in their sunken-in eyes. Ryan took a look around the wide tunnel floor. I saw his eyes wander over to the stains that used to be his friends. He started to cry once more. Chapter 35: The Campfire. Chapter 35: The Campfire. We tried burying what little remained of the recently deceased Mark and Tracy. However, that turned out to be far more difficult than I¡¯d anticipated. The stone was hard and sturdy. Solid, even under the weight of the lobster-moles. Or Slab. It shattered when struck and enough force could even tear lumps at a time away from the rest of the foundation. Underneath, we found the open air of an adjacent chamber. Silent to my senses due to the lack of living animals and robots. Slab and Dusty suggested leaving the bloody bits here, so that they might return to the cycle of life and death, as was their custom. Borislav had said nothing, though I suspected he approved. Ryan and his friends had protested vehemently however. They did not wish to see the remains of their friends eaten by an errant centipede or eel and would refuse any argument that the siblings threw at them. Not caring in the least about impracticality or the need to fulfil my wishes as soon as possible. In the end, we went with Monique¡¯s suggestion of cremation. Though we had nowhere to store the ashes. We burned the remains in an adjoining hallway that ended in a vertical shaft, leading upwards. That way, the fumes wouldn¡¯t suffocate us. In all honesty, we needn¡¯t have bothered. There was so little left of the poor fellows, that the pyre barely produced any smoke. After the hasty funeral, we moved to a more spacious chamber a kilometer west of our current position. We passed a stone archway, into a large field of glowing spotted grass, inlaid with gem-like pebbles every so often. There was gently flowing stream cutting down the middle of the room and large orange and green fronds hanging from the ceiling. Their bioluminescence lighting up the area with colourful hues. I made the decision to camp here for a time and get everyone washed and fed. Well, all the humans would be washed and fed. The rest would wait outside the perimeter and gorge on the weakest of my remaining tools. More were being added every minute from a stampeded descending from above, so that I was not at all worried about our numbers dwindling. The incoming invaders resembled lemurs in my fog. Crossed with a crocodilian of some kind at the head and tail both. A few larger specimens had another pair of arms and a stinger in place of a second head. It did not matter. Meat was meat and their kind would serve as fodder for my war machine. There was nothing else they were good for. Charlie awoke some time later; in a fit of screaming. His hands were flailing as he stirred and his eyes fixated on his limbs, as if he wasn¡¯t sure they were really there at all. ¡°I¡­am I dead?¡± He finally managed after some whimpering. ¡°No.¡± Slab responded dryly. ¡°Though by all rights, we should have scalped you for a traitor to humanity. I¡¯ve seen them before. Raiders and pillagers who¡¯d rather destroy what little we had left, if it meant they got to rule the ruins.¡± He turned his head, and spat. ¡°Putting your hands on the Shepherd like that, is the same as condemning my village to die. A quick death, is a far kinder fate than your sorry lot deserves. Be grateful that Solomon is merciful. You might still serve the cause.¡± Charlie was only half-awake when those words fell on him. His eyes darted to the ogre in panic, going from his massive frame to the club in his hands. From there, his eyes tracked Dolce and the sole functioning robotic serpent, the bulls and the moles and the eels. The waves upon waves of centipedes, lighting rabbits, shrews and other things slithering, flying and crawling all around him. The screams came so suddenly, that Ryan, Jane and Lousie found themselves screaming too. ¡°Please!¡± Jane cried. ¡°Charlie saved us! More than once. Please have mercy! Don¡¯t kill him!¡± Ryan and Louise pulled her back forcefully and began whispering sweet assurances into her ears. I had known the trio for about an hour now, and she¡¯d been weeping for well over half of that. It was the normal response, I supposed. She had just lost some friends. Yet it was problematic in this setting. ¡°Now now. We¡¯re all friends here.¡± I said, standing slowly. ¡°I know about Charlie¡¯s troubles back home and I was offering help. As a hero should. My good friend was simply too, emotional about it. I¡¯m sure we can have a nice, long conversation about our future from this point onwards. Isn¡¯t that right Charlie?¡± The man gaped at me for several seconds. Saying nothing. Then the memories returned all a once and he began to sweat nervously, saying nothing, but thinking quickly. I stopped him with a hand. ¡°No need for thoughts of escape. You¡¯re among friends, as I said. I will tell you everything you want to know. All I ask is that you join me in pacifying the gnomish population. You warned me about them before. On our first day here. Remember?¡± The man blinked stupidly, but at least closed his mouth. ¡°I think he might have some brain damage.¡± Monique interrupted, unhelpfully. ¡°That tends to happen when a couple of ogres jump you.¡± ¡°We¡¯re human.¡± Dusty complained. ¡°Me and my brother. We¡¯re a little enhanced, yes. But still human.¡± The woman looked unconvinced. ¡°Humans don¡¯t typically outweigh Grizzly bears where I come from, but whatever. I guess you know best.¡± ¡°I do.¡± Dusty asserted. ¡°and he won¡¯t have anything. Even the worst slackers back home can heal from minor concussions. He¡¯s refusing to speak.¡± Borislav said nothing. Instead, he made sure to be as far away from Dusty and Slab as was physically possible, without touching any of my horde. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± I said with finality. When no one else spoke, I turned to Charlie and explained everything that I¡¯d seen in meticulous detail. He was huffing with barely supressed fury by the end. As if he was some abused tiger, whose keeper had mistakenly released. His eyes promised violence and malice. ¡°So, there you have it. One more month, and we¡¯ll be free. At least for a time. I¡¯ve told you where Whitmer Senior will be, without asking for anything in return. Will you at least hear me out?¡± ¡°No need.¡± Charlie growled. ¡°They have it coming. All of them. They¡¯ve had it coming for a long time. I¡­¡± He stopped to look at my fans. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for grabbing you. It won¡¯t happen again. I promise. Lead on.¡± ¡°Not yet. First, I realized that, while we¡¯re all heroes who want to do the right thing, not all of us are comfortable with strangers. I can read minds and know you all quite well, but this distrust you have for me and each other could be a problem in our quest to do justice! I think it¡¯ll be good for all of us to relax and take a breather. Maybe for an hour or two, or ten, while my¡­ our Psy recharges. I want all of us to be fresh when we begin implementing the great pacification plan. In the meantime, we could play games, talk about ourselves, share what we¡¯ll be doing when we get out. That sort of stuff.¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Slab responded. ¡°Woohoo!¡± Dusty cheered. No one else said anything. Borislav tried to edge a bit further back. Jane, the crying woman that Ryan had been hugging, raised her hand meekly. ¡°A¡­are you sure we¡¯ll get out?¡± ¡°Positive. I saw it in a vision I had while fighting a robot bull.¡± She brought her hand back down and said no more, though her mind was a different story. ¡®Oh my gosh, this guy¡¯s nuts! He¡¯s the strongest guy here and he¡¯s off his rocker!¡¯ She looked like she was seconds away from another long cry. Ryan edged closer to hug her again, much to Louise, the Shifter girl¡¯s, evident displeasure. ¡®That¡¯s none of my business. My head needs to stay in the game.¡¯ ¡®Oh! Are we playing a game Sully!?¡¯ ¡®No Buddy. That was a metaphor.¡¯ ¡®Oh, okay then. What are you going to do about the prizes then?¡¯ ¡®Prizes?¡¯ ¡®Yeah! What you got from the System after beating the beetle! You can use those tickets to improve me you know. The dagger too, but it¡¯s a piece of metal. You wouldn¡¯t pass me over for a boring piece of metal, would you?¡¯ No. No I wouldn¡¯t. I brought up the status screen again and navigated to the notice about prizes.
Hidden Objective Completed: The three highest contributors gain a choice between 1 Inferior Symbiote or 1 Equipment Upgrade Token.
I chose the upgrade token with a tap and flinched as a silver coin appeared in my hand. Dusty and Slab made appropriate curious noises as soon as it happened. Monique, Louise, Jane, Ryan and Charlie kept watching, though with some wariness. Borislav¡¯s eyes bulged at appearance and grew incredibly still while his legs grew in size. ¡°I¡¯m experimenting with the rewards from the boss.¡± I explained ¡°As expected of the holy one! Never wasting a second!¡± ¡°Me and my sister also got rewards, Shepherd. We humbly await your guidance.¡± ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± I sighed internally. Part of me was starting to really resent the two by that point, despite their eagerness. Every time they spoke, the others cringed away, with good reason I might add. I¡¯d be weirded out too, if I hadn¡¯t seen things from their point of view. ¡®Okay Buddy. What now?¡¯ ¡®I need permission from you to eat it.¡¯ ¡®Fair enough. I give you permission.¡¯ Buddy¡¯s form quivered, the astronaut-like suit becoming semi-liquid and absorbing the coin.
Please Choose Upgrade Path.
Inferior Tough Symbiote. Symbiote gains [Enhanced Toughness] 2 and shares its effects with its host.
Inferior Elemental Resistance Symbiote. Symbiote gains [Heat Resistance] 1 / [Cold Resistance] 1 / [Electric Resistance] 1 and shares their effects with their host.
Inferior Physical Resistance Symbiote. Symbiote gains [Slashing Resistance] 1 / [Piercing Resistance] 1 / [Blunt Resistance] 1 and shares their effects with their host.
¡°Holy poo! That¡¯s awesome!¡± ¡°What!? What is it!?¡± ¡°Please tell us Shepherd!¡± ¡°The tokens let me get Enhancer abilities. Some of them at least.¡± I listed them out while the siblings listened attentively. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Do you think there¡¯s a way to get other abilities? For example, if I took a symbiote as an Enhancer, would I be offered abilities similar to yours?¡± ¡®What do you think Buddy?¡¯ ¡®I doubt it. I feel like a very physical being, if that makes sense. Doing what you do doesn¡¯t feel right for me. I don¡¯t know about other symbiotes though.¡¯ I nodded and relayed the message to Slab. In response, he looked at his sister and they both nodded, selecting their own prompts. I had expected other suits to appear and immediately begin complaining about all the furs they were wearing. Instead, a coin showed up on their right hands and they offered them up to me without saying a word. It had happened so quickly that I hadn¡¯t had time to read their minds. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°For your protection. Obviously.¡± Dusty said with a smile. ¡°Your safety is our highest priority. You living means a chance that our village survives the doom you foretold. A chance that our island might be free. That all the children still growing have something to look forward to.¡± Slab added. ¡°We would never be able to face our father if we didn¡¯t do this much.¡± I closed my mouth, taking in their reasons. Then I took their coins as well. I upgraded Buddy three times, choosing all the available abilities. Or at least, I tried to. Once I picked the first option, the other two vanished and I could only raise the toughness bonus with additional coins. Using [Psychometry] confirmed the changes.
Inferior Tough Symbiote. (Symbiote) (Common) (Psy:100 / 100) An upgraded artificial lifeform found in all sections of the labyrinth, as well as all system stores. This specimen is part of the lowest Tier of symbiotes. This specimen has access to [Enhanced Toughness] 4 and shares its effects with its host. Can replicate the shape and properties of most non-imbued equipment. Can absorb damage as long as Psy is provided. Can regulate temperature and air supply as long as Psy is provided. Can administer basic wound care as long as Psy is provided. Can administer nutrients from its own meals directly to host as long as Psy is provided. Can be upgraded by User using specialized materials.
Buddy purred in delight as he quivered. While I stewed in shame. ¡®This whole time, I¡¯ve been focused on the chance to get a new Type. On my revenge. I need to remember who I am. What heroes should stand for. These two might be violent maniacs, but they need me and they trust me. I shouldn¡¯t let them down.¡¯ Monique coughed loudly into her hand after some time, getting everyone¡¯s attention. The awkward silence didn¡¯t bother her in the slightest. In fact, she preferred it. Her mind was abuzz, however. Dying to know what each of us were capable off, now that she¡¯d decided to stick around. ¡°I got a whole five levels from that fight. I think that was pretty good, considering I did almost nothing. How many levels did you get?¡± ¡°I got nothing.¡± I answered truthfully. ¡°I¡¯ve been levelling through training and hunting doesn¡¯t yield the same results.¡± ¡°Huh. What level are you then?¡± ¡°107.¡± ¡®Liar.¡¯ ¡®Of course he wouldn¡¯t tell us.¡¯ ¡®There¡¯s no way.¡¯ ¡®Liar.¡¯ ¡®Yeah. That makes sense. Bloody monster.¡¯ ¡®As expected! We¡¯re going to kill the queen!¡¯ ¡®Praise be! We¡¯re saved!¡¯ Borislav let nothing slip, as usual. Well, nothing aside from a very pitiful whimper. ¡°Right. Good for you. How about the rest?¡± Monique inquired. ¡°I got to level 41 after that fight!¡± Dusty proclaimed proudly. ¡°I got seven levels! In an instant! There¡¯s no way we could have won by ourselves.¡± ¡°I¡¯m more or less as strong as my sister and I agree with her. We stand far taller together than we do alone. The signs so far are auspicious.¡¯ ¡°Riiiiiiiiight. Yeah. Sure.¡± The two of them raised their eyebrows expectantly. Monique knew they were waiting for her to share but refused to even consider the notion. ¡°What about you three?¡± She gestured to the weaker members of our posse. ¡°None of your damn business.¡± Lousie answered frostily. Not bothering to mask her irritation. ¡°12.¡± Answered Ryan. ¡°We were level 12. All five of us. My own level tripled after the fight. I feel invincible.¡± He said the lie so casually that I almost choked. Nothing showed on his face and I would have believed him right away if I hadn¡¯t been reading them like book. These three had been level 8 at the start of the fight, which was amazing by itself. I would have died a thousand deaths by now if I hadn¡¯t been constantly levelling. Being under level 10 after a month¡­ Meaning they hadn¡¯t been hunting with my level of enthusiasm. Meaning they were on the bottom rung of F-rank when they faced a steroid infused crime against nature. Meaning they were pretty much doomed from the outset. Someone like that still held a decisive advantage compared to regular people, but that was it. An advantage that could be overcome. Some rando with a shotgun was just as dangerous as a super person at that stage. I couldn¡¯t see how it was possible. Maybe if they hunkered down in a watering hole and happened to have access to edible mushrooms nearby? Even then, any wandering mole or snail or puma or even a large enough group of centipedes would have wiped the floor with them. Regardless, there was no way the System would give away 24 levels so easily. Not unless they were¡­special. Like me. They obviously weren¡¯t, or that fight would have gone much differently. Monique smiled at his answer, in way that almost called him out for his bull(Gnome). She needn¡¯t have bothered. Jane was gaping like a fish, giving the lie away with her incredulity. ¡°I see. So? Don¡¯t leave me hanging. What are you going to do with your points.¡± To her credit, Jane did get a hold of herself once prompted. ¡°I¡¯m saving those last points for another upgrade to my Bubble. Its¡­¡± ¡°I know what it is. I¡¯m a Projector too. A little extra defense never hurt anybody. You should keep to that.¡± ¡°Very smart move.¡± I retorted. Lying through my teeth. Well, that wasn¡¯t really fair. It was indeed a very smart decision. For Jane and Jane alone. A wall was all well and good when dealing with small critters, but a flamethrower sure would have come in handy back there. The rest of us could have used some of the utility that Projectors could bring. That is to say, more means of attacking. A fact that Monique knew very well if her own status screen was anything to go by. Telling Jane this, knowing full well that she was inexperienced in fighting was¡­ A bit cutthroat. Was Monique afraid of being replaced? That was¡­ so stupid. Should I say something? Would Monique get upset if I did? I took a deep breath. Then another. Reminding myself to think positively. Pushing out all distractions. ¡°Hey man. You good? I¡¯m talking to you.¡± ¡°Sorry, what?¡± I answered on reflex after being dragged back into the conversation. ¡°I was asking you about villains.¡± Ryan explained. ¡°You said earlier that your world had supervillains. Is there anyone you think might have done this whole thing? Bringing people into a cave to give them powers? Do you know anyone with teleportation powers?¡± ¡°Okay, I get it. Slow down. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard of any Projector doing this sort of thing. No one famous enough to be on the news anyway. They¡¯re rare to begin with, and space bending isn¡¯t a common power. If it is someone from my world, chances are its either a newly emerged Esper, or someone that¡¯s been laying low for the last two decades.¡± ¡°If?¡± ¡°If. I don¡¯t know what to think anymore. I¡¯ve¡­seen things down here. Horrible things. I¡¯m not sure any human being could have created the labyrinth. I also met an alien that suggested this was a ritualistic test or game tutorial so who knows.¡± ¡°Right. Makes sense.¡± He lied. ¡°Which one¡¯s better?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Which option is better. For us I mean. I get that whoever did this, if it was a human being, is messed up in the head, but what would change between them and an alien? Is there some evil organization we need to know about? Did we get kidnapped for an experiment?¡± I remained silent for a few seconds as I pondered the question. Randall would have taken this opportunity to rant about the Australians and the wasps again, but I wanted to look at the more realistic possibilities. ¡°Now that I think of it, an Esper doesn¡¯t really make sense. They would be pre-teens, or I¡¯d have heard of them. Maybe someone that young could find it in themselves to do this, maybe not. However, I know for a fact that most of these traps have been put together by someone way more sophisticated. Following that logic, your idea of an organization also makes sense. Its possible Granny was pulling a fast one.¡± ¡°Granny?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Nice, okay. What are the chances of a rescue? From a superhero team I mean?¡± ¡°At this point? After a month? Negligible. Teleportation is one of those annoying things that investigative technology can¡¯t match. If whomever did this isn¡¯t known to the public already, people would just assume we either left of our own accord, or were kidnapped the usual way. Without a trace, police wouldn¡¯t go very far.¡± Not to mention the obvious fact that hundreds of people are dead and we¡¯re still here. Slab laughed. ¡°You¡¯re being silly, little one. Why would anyone want to leave this place? Its heaven! We can feast as much as we want, fight as much as we want and grow stronger on top of that! My own father would kill for the chance you¡¯ve been given.¡± ¡°So would anyone else back home.¡± Dusty agreed. Charlie grumbled a bit, but assented nonetheless. Monique cringed, before admitting that she would have been in a rough spot back home. Ryan¡¯s face fell as our words sunk in and I realized I might have been a bit too candid with my answers. It was the truth, but maybe it could have used some polish before I let it fly. ¡°Okay then. What do they do about construction?¡± Ryan asked out of nowhere. ¡°Construction?¡± I respond, not getting what he meant. ¡°Yeah, like, if a superhero or a villain goes around a city and starts tearing it up. You know, bringing down buildings, throwing cars around, destroying bridges. That kind of thing.¡± ¡°Right. That kind of thing doesn¡¯t happen often. Not anymore. Any Esper that steps out of line can expect a heavy-handed response from local authorities. Same as a Rift opening.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a Rift?¡± ¡°Interdimensional tear. Opens the way for monsters to get in.¡± ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t that what happened to us then? Did we get sucked in?¡± ¡°Nah. There¡¯s no way.¡± I said out of hand. Borislav nodded and actually spoke up for once. ¡°Rifts are places without physical laws. Up is down. Left is right. Gravity ceases to function, only to increase a thousandfold the next instant. Nothing can exist in the other side for long. The air itself gains sentience and murders anyone who explores its depths.¡± Ryan furrowed his brow as if he was trying to picture how one of those encounters would play out. It was a bit hard to judge what he was thinking based on his expression, but my ability let me know he was being entirely sincere. ¡°Man, I¡¯m only level¡­ 36 and I still feel like a demigod. I think regular cops aren¡¯t going to do much if, say, someone twice as strong as me goes berserk.¡± ¡°Who said anything about regular cops?¡± ¡°I did. That¡¯s what happens when crimes are committed. Who else would show up?¡± ¡°The military at first, with an escort of Esper guards. You have to be C-rank or higher to be called a hero and they come by themselves, or with the United Militaries if things escalate.¡± ¡°Really? The army is going to show up full force to any random city when a fight breaks out?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I answered. I was having a really hard time explaining just how ingrained these exercises have been on my world ever since the emergence. No one ever questioned the fact that a flight of helicopters could start bombing the neighbourhood within minutes of a Rift opening or some Shifter losing their marbles. That was the way of things. How things had to be. I tried to picture the kind of world Ryan was living in. One where armored vehicles didn¡¯t patrol the streets and without cameras every few steps. ¡°Okay. I think I see the problem with my explanation. You¡¯re still thinking with that pre-Emergence mentality. That whole, the military only deals with other countries when they go to war mindset. Things have changed.¡± Ryan looked at me. Really looked at me. There was a hint of worry in his thoughts. Like he had just begun to realize the image he had of my world was fundamentally flawed. ¡°Most governments aren¡¯t fully democratic in my world. There are defence councils that can declare martial law at the drop of a hat. Some countries, like the Western Federation States, operate under martial law all the time. What that means is that the military is either in charge most of the time, or that they hold so much power they might as well be in charge. Elections still happen for this post or that, but final say always goes to the military.¡± I felt a strange panic start to take hold over Ryan, Louise, Jane and Monique. Like they¡¯d just heard me reveal some deep and terrible secret. Charlie barked a laugh. ¡°Yep, same everywhere.¡± I stopped explaining how my own government worked to focus on their thoughts. Overall, Ryan was thinking some very rude things about me. He seemed to be of the opinion that someone like him was perfectly sane in thinking the government had nefarious intentions. In other words, he was divorced from reality. ¡°Okay Ryan. I know its hard to grasp from your perspective, but put yourself in my shoes. Sorry, not in my shoes specifically. Put yourself in the context of a regular person in my world. Just your average Joe with no powers and a life to live. How would you feel knowing that anyone in the crowd could be an Esper? That something big and nasty with acid for breath could crawl out of an alley at any given time? That they could easily rip you to pieces if they wanted to. Do they still have zoos in your world? Think of that. How would regular Ryan feel if he were to find himself trapped in a subway car with a tiger?¡± ¡°Are you saying superheroes are like tigers?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m not saying that. People only get to call themselves superheroes if they work for the military and have several major achievements under their belt. It¡¯s a point of pride. Something that the strongest aspire to. The chances of someone like that going feral is¡­¡± ¡°Going feral?¡± ¡°Yeah, like Shif¡­¡± I stopped myself before I could finish the word. Louise was sitting to the side alongside Jane. Borislav had also edged closer at some point. ¡°Like wild criminals.¡± I corrected. ¡°All right, let me change my approach. Let¡¯s imagine how a Projector might make others feel. Imagine you¡¯re a regular person. Right? Totally normal human. Then imagine there¡¯s someone next to you with a dozen grenades strapped to their belt and an anti-material rifle slung on their back. Now, they¡¯re not being aggressive so you don¡¯t feel threatened. Just because they could kill you a dozen different ways, doesn¡¯t mean they will. Most days, that¡¯s all that happens. Both of you get to live your regular boring lives.¡± ¡°Right. With you so far.¡± ¡°Great, now imagine someone else having all that firepower. Someone that wasn¡¯t content with living their regular lives. F-ranks and E-ranks have roughly the same amount of destructive potential as that guy with the grenades. Cops might be able to take care of it by themselves, though there will be casualties. Does that make sense?¡± ¡°Somewhat.¡± ¡°Fantastic. Now imagine what a D-rank might be capable of. Imagine some idiot having the power of a tank at their disposal all the time. Imagine them just deciding to backhand you at a bar because you bumped into them and they¡¯re too drunk to control themselves. Imagine the cops trying to bring them in as they shrugged off small arms fire or threw lighting from their fingers. Messed up right? That¡¯s why the military has to keep tabs on all the supers. That¡¯s why they need to have cameras watching everyone all the time. That¡¯s why people have to serve time in the military when they grow up.¡± ¡°Wait, everyone is in the military?¡± ¡°Oh no, forced conscription doesn¡¯t apply for university students or trade apprentices. Everyone else spends 2 years doing basic training and patrolling.¡± ¡°What if you don¡¯t want to?¡± Louise piped in. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean exactly what I said. What happens to people that don¡¯t want to serve in the military?¡± I stopped to consider her question. I knew it was possible to say no, but I wasn¡¯t familiar with the process. After all, I didn¡¯t know anyone that refused to sign up. Both my parents had grown up before the Emergence and didn¡¯t really talk about how they felt in that regard. I had just graduated from Uni, so I didn¡¯t have any experience. All my friends had either gone for degrees or enlisted as required. ¡°I don¡¯t know how those cases are handled.¡± I answered honestly. ¡°There should be some penalty in place, but everyone pretty much goes with the flow.¡± ¡°Just like that? Years of your life gone for no reason. No one complains?¡± ¡°Of course, people grumble about it. That¡¯s how people work. Everyone goes along because it¡¯s a good system given the situation. What if World War 4 breaks out and civilians aren¡¯t properly trained?¡± Silence descended upon the cave. I stopped to read their thoughts. Wondering if I¡¯ve made some social grievance by talking about current events. Only then did I realize those three didn¡¯t know anything about the Third War. It didn¡¯t happen in their world. Monique and the siblings had own opinions, though they too grew quiet. Actually, that makes sense. France wouldn¡¯t have launched nukes without Blackjack pulling the strings. Their world should still be mostly peaceful. Ryan and Jane start to think of possible scenarios; of things that might have happened. None of their hypotheticals would have led to a proper world war in my opinion, but I remain silent all the same. ¡°What kind of food do you guys eat?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± I answered, turning around to look at Jane. ¡°Well, there are all these differences, right? Your world sounds like it went through some rough times. Do you eat bugs or something?¡± ¡°Bugs?¡± I ask, trying desperately to hold my disgust. Memories of ichor bubbling on cavern floors resurfacing. ¡°Why would we eat bugs?¡± I ask, banishing those thoughts for another time. ¡°I heard somewhere that they¡¯re a good source of protein. I figured with a major war going on, food production might have taken a hit.¡± ¡°No. Not anymore at least. There are Projectors that can absorb radiation. I¡¯m pretty sure all of the affected farmland has been wiped clean by now.¡± ¡°Still. Feeding billions worldwide has got to be difficult.¡± ¡°Nah. Its actually easier now. 2 billion is way more manageable than 7 you know?¡± Another round of silence descends. ¡°Anyway. Let¡¯s get some sleep everyone. Tomorrow will be a very busy day.¡± Chapter 36: Deliverance. Chapter 36: Deliverance. The edges of my fog slipped past the outer walls of Happy Shrub. Drinking in the raw emotions and contemplations of all those inside. Like a broth absorbing the other ingredients in the soup. Klin the gnome was feeling lazy. He¡¯d been up for four hours already, which meant he was due for a nap. Yet, not only was the nap being denied, he had been forced to patrol the outskirts of Happy Shrub once more once his shift was over. ¡®Damn Bruxa. Thinking she¡¯s so much better than the rest of us cause she¡¯s a captain. Like that makes her invincible or something. Mot had been a captain too and that fact hadn¡¯t saved him.¡¯ Klin thought back to the day he¡¯d heard the news. At first, he¡¯d thought it was a stupid prank. Probably orchestrated by Tulip. He¡¯d even gone so far as to skewer one of the tall ones through the belly. To prove how weak and cowardly they were. How could one of them kill Mot? But it hadn¡¯t been a prank. Worse, the tall that killed Mot took his dagger too. One of the three treasures their king had ordered them to protect. Klin had, of course, volunteered for a recovery mission the moment the heard the news. Whoever managed to get the blade back could expect a handsome reward from the king. Maybe even a promotion to captain. He¡¯d been denied and that rejection had infuriated him at the time. Though, perhaps it was a blessing. Many, many others had gone missing trying to get his dagger back. Never to be seen or heard from again. Bruxa had come close, but her patrols had failed to kill the tall one, despite having him cornered. ¡®Stupid cow.¡¯ Klin thought to himself. ¡®None of this nonsense would he happening if I was captain. I¡¯d send out the boys with prisoners and use them as meat shields. The tall ones were stupid like that. They¡¯d jump into a fire for other tall ones, even when they didn¡¯t have anything to gain from it. Not taking advantage of that weakness was the same as leaving food on the table.¡¯ He leaned against one of the posts and started pecking at his teeth. Trying to get that bit of meat out from between his molars. Gur the gnome was feeling peckish. Hunting parties had been diverted as of late. Bruxa wanted every available body out there. Looking for Mot¡¯s dagger. That meant less meat and shrooms to go around. Gur scratched his overflowing belly. ¡®Man, this is awful. There isn¡¯t even enough to food left to toy with the tall ones anymore. Its no fun when you can¡¯t throw morsels at them and let them fight over the scraps. All they do now is stare. All the fun¡¯s been sucked out.¡¯ He fondly recalled how some of the bigger ones would brutalize the others, only to turn around and give the food to the smaller ones. Gur thought it was the funniest thing ever. Especially because those tall ones would then starve and the ones they beat would beat them in turn a few hours later. It was like an intricate game where you could find fun no matter what happened. But that time was done. Now they all starved together. Gur could still get a few reactions by eating his meals in front of their cages, but his own portions had diminished considerably and he wasn¡¯t patient enough to pace himself. ¡®Meh. I¡¯m sure its only temporary.¡¯ He mused. ¡®Bruxa will find the tall one she¡¯s been looking for and get Mot¡¯s dagger back. Its only a matter of time.¡¯ Lon the gnome was eager for his shift to end so he could go back to poking the tall people with his spear. He didn¡¯t like killing them, only tickling them a little bit. That way, they could heal up and still be available for more tickling later. The others like to tickle them too, but Lon was different. He considered himself a connoisseur. Always looking for new and innovative ways to tickle the tall ones. Through his experiments, he¡¯d found out that learning the tall ones¡¯ names was integral to proper tickling. Lon could observe them and find out who liked who. Which ones were the most selfish and which ones were generous. He could listen and find out who among the tall ones would betray the rest. Trading secrets for a little bit of food here and there. With a little bit of prodding, he could also get the tall ones to hurt each other. All he needed to do was give them a choice. He would tickle three of them for a long time if no one stepped up or he would only tickle one of them for a very long time if they stepped up. The resulting brawls were the most hilarious thing Lon could recall. The others didn¡¯t bother, so they missed out on a whole world of fun. ¡®More fool them.¡¯ Lon thought smugly. ¡®I¡¯m getting twice as much fun than any of my mates in half the time. They fear me more than the others too. They flinch when they see me. More than when they see the others.¡¯ There were still a few that didn¡¯t make him laugh. Prudence, Kaito, Olga, Agnes, Park, Esmeralda. He would take his time with them too. It would make their fear all the more delectable. Lon was lost in his own musings, when he started hearing a different sound. His ears perked up and his conical head tilted forward. ¡°Do you hear that?¡± He asked the two beside him. ¡°No. I don¡¯t hear anything.¡± Klin answered. ¡°Wait, I hear it too.¡± Gur said. Tilting his head forward as well. ¡°It sounds like teeth. Gnashing against each other.¡± Klin stood at attention. No longer lounging. ¡°Where¡¯s it coming from?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing.¡± Gur responded, sounding confused. ¡°I think I hear it here. Like, right here. Next to me. Its coming closer. Like someone¡¯s whispering right behind my ear.¡± ¡°Bruxa?¡± ¡°Why would she be distracting us like this instead of ordering us about?¡± Lon shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Why does that cow do anythi¡­.¡± All three seized up. Shivering uncontrollably. All three tried to scream as fishhooks entered through their eyes and wound their way along their bodies. Serrated edges digging deep into flesh that was not flesh. Impaling sections of their minds, or their very spirits. And twisting. All three were soon bleeding from their orifices, silently begging for an end to the pain. Then they felt joy. Ecstasy through loyalty. ¡°Hey Lon! Come see this! One of the tall freaks is weeping! We caught their kid a few hours ago and you wouldn¡¯t believe the reaction we got out of her!¡± The speaker failed to react in time. Lon¡¯s spear found his throat. Through my puppet¡¯s eyes, I could see the speaker¡¯s reaction. His eyes had bulged outwards in incredulity while his mouth gaped open. A twitch sent blood up his windpipe and out his lips. He gurgled something unintelligible. Perhaps asking why? His eyes lost their light before he got an answer. Klin and Gur opened the gate, letting in a wave of skittering chitin. Thousands upon thousands of centipedes crawling as one. A legion of heartbeats pumping blood into needle-like legs and crushing, envenomed pincers. I was looking through each and every one of their antennas. Feeling the weight of the savage charge along my skin. I moved closer and the edges of my fog moved with me. Five more gnomes joined my cause. Then ten. Then thirty. Only when I felt the presence of a significantly stronger individual did anything change. ¡°To arms! We¡¯re under attack! Check the gates!¡± ¡°Shut up Bruxa! I¡¯m trying to sleep!¡± Bruxa choked on her words when I commanded her to be quiet. To her credit, she put up a struggle. Trying to reach out with [Friendship] as Mot had before her. It didn¡¯t work. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. She had neither the range, nor the potency to shrug off my assault.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 17 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 18
¡®Really? From this lot? I got nothing from the beetle and it was a higher level. Well, whatever. Maybe I was close to another threshold and this sent me over the top.¡¯ The other gnome she¡¯d been arguing with panicked upon seeing her. Dread and incredulity going hand in hand as the expected rebuke failed to manifest. Or maybe it was the sight of Bruxa helplessly clawing out her eyes. Who knows. ¡®I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person. They had this coming to them. They¡¯re murderers and torturers. This is what they deserve. I¡¯m a good person.¡¯ ¡®Yeah! Go Sully!¡¯ ¡®Thank you, Buddy. I really appreciate you.¡¯ A few fought. Mounting ants or letting loose great gouts of flame at their turned compatriots. Those efforts resulted in them culling their own, while the centipedes closed in behind them. There was biting then. So much biting. Each ant could overpower ten centipedes by itself and their prowess was greatly improved by their riders. Those elite forces showering pests with fire, ice and lightning. It wasn¡¯t anywhere near enough. The first wave was too large. Too suicidal in their dedication. Every time one fell, a dozen would gladly surge forward to take their place. When those fell another hundred lunged eagerly into the jaws of death. A situation made all the worse by the bastards foolish enough to countercharge. Ant and riders both fell under my sway and turned on their brethren within a heartbeat. Fishhooks eviscerating their fragile psyches. Dozens were falling just beyond the limit of my range. Taken completely unawares. Their tiny houses, which hung suspended from thick brown vines and metal wires, were overrun in minutes. The few humans left alive were carried off by scores of eels wrapping themselves around the victims and floating them to safety. Their cages having been opened by the first batch I¡¯d turned. Some of the surrounding flora came to life then. Thick muscular tentacles slithering out from within pots or hanging gardens to spit acid at the centipedes. They killed quite a few of my troops during their initial volleys, splattering death over carapace and skin alike. In response, a few of my gnomish converts targeted each protruding turret with fiery missiles. A normal group of raiders might have balked at this course of action, as it resulted in ever increasing damage to the very foundations of the arena. My minions never so much as flinched. ¡®Let them fall. All of them. Let them hit the ground like overripe melons. Its no less than they deserve.¡¯ A few stragglers chose to jump and alter gravity, relying on their abilities to see them safely to the bottom of the pit. It was a very long drop. Certainly, more than a kilometer. Enough that the outlines of those turned before the attack faded into the darkness. They released blasts of their own now. Searing any imps trying to escape. None of that could be seen from our position however. The nine of us stood shoulder to shoulder, somewhat tensely. ¡°When do we go in?¡± Dusty asked, hefting her axe eagerly. ¡°When the fourth wave is completely broken.¡± ¡°What wave are we on now?¡± ¡°The first. Made up of the weakest monsters under my control.¡± ¡°Right. When¡¯s the second wave being sent in?¡± ¡°After all the monsters in the first wave are dead.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± We waited patiently for another few minutes, moving closer to the bastion every so often. We were so far away that the sounds of fighting hadn¡¯t reached us, so none of my teammates had any inkling of how the pacification was going. A couple, like Charlie and Slab, were clearly unhappy about that. ¡°I can¡¯t stand waiting.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°We should be doing something.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be helping the recued prisoners soon. The moles, shrews and pumas cleared a path earlier and the eels should be close.¡± Monique sighed. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have minded a few more hours of rest. Those people are going to be in rough shape. Patching them up is going to be a struggle.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure Borislav and Louise will make sure they¡¯re healed up before we move on to worrying about clothing and shelter.¡± ¡°We also have food to spare. Thanks to me.¡± Dusty added with a grin. Louise gave her the side eye. Borislav stood next to Ryan and Jane, trembling. The latter were contemplating the sheer weight of numbers falling upon our enemies. It made them worried. It made them very worried. ¡°Okay everyone. The prisoners are just around the corner. Let¡¯s give them a warm welcome.¡± I said, with as much confidence as I could muster. Floating eels streamed down the tunnel after that. Carrying sobbing, broken husks that might once have been human. Most were missing hands or feet. A few had been bereft of ears or eyes. Or both. All were naked, with long scars along the length of their bodies. The marking of whips and other unsavoury implements. I recognized one of them as the woman beneath the plants. Helga, the Telepath, clutching a half-devoured man I could only assume was her Mantis Shifter accomplice. I did not mention the fact that I knew them. Now was not the time for petty vengeance. It would be the height of cruelty, to those who had survived so much. The oldest of them would have been close to 50. The youngest¡­ Dusty and Slab, who had been joking mere moments before, grew solemn. Louise and Borislav growled in unison. A pair of rabid beasts ready to pounce. Brought together in their hatred. Good. This was good. I wasn¡¯t the only one feeling this way. I wasn¡¯t the only one determined to make them pay. I reached out to all the shrews, pumas and moles next to us. Ordering them to die. Their hearts stopped in unison and their bodies collapsed messily on the cavern floor. The impact took my friends out from their stupor. ¡°Dusty, Slab. We don¡¯t have enough pelts for everyone. Skin the ones you see here and make sure everyone can cover themselves.¡± Both obeyed without another word. I shoved those worries aside as I returned to the battle. Or, well¡­ The killing. This could not be called a battle. There had been close to 900 gnomes inside Happy Shrub before we arrived. With another 200 controlling nearby chokepoints along the passages or patrolling nearby. 120 were left and all under my command. I had lost less than a tenth of the first wave. It had been too easy. ¡®There has to be more. A trick, a sortie, an extra boss that only shows up after the town is destroyed.¡¯ ¡®Why do you think that, Sully?¡¯ ¡®Because it¡¯s the only way this makes any sense. I¡¯ve seen so much, fought so hard, all so that I could barely stay alive. This can¡¯t be how it ends.¡¯ ¡®Why not?¡¯ ¡®Because it doesn¡¯t make sense!¡¯ I insisted. ¡®Buddy, I have literally seen machinegun nests tied to tripwires placed two or three meters away from pitfalls! Pitfalls filled with waiting pumas! The labyrinth is specifically designed to mess with people! It¡­ It can¡¯t end like this.¡¯ ¡®Maybe you¡¯re much stronger than you thought and this is the result. I¡¯ve definitely noticed you¡¯ve improved faster than the others. Perhaps, this is all there is?¡¯ ¡®Yeah right. That¡¯s what they want you to think.¡¯ I thought back to sarcophagus Solomon. To what I¡¯d seen in the visions. He didn¡¯t turn into a coffin-cyborg until after that woman in silver got a hold of him. Which means he survived until then. Which means he never let his guard down. ¡®Complacency means death. Never doubt that for a second. I¡¯ve had more close calls than I can properly remember. I¡¯m not about to die to a stupid trapped floor tile or invisible jumping spiders or whatever.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m confused Sully. Can¡¯t you sense traps with that new ability of yours? The ones you used to feel the robots?¡¯ ¡®Yes. But there have been plenty of exceptions to my powers so far. The penguins didn¡¯t register in my fog. Neither did Borislav or Louise or Mantis guy. I¡¯ll use the abilities, but its important to double check everything.¡¯ I willed the horde to scatter and purposely jab the floors to try and trigger any nasty surprises that might be waiting in store. Nothing happened and the fact that nothing happened only made me more nervous. After that, I ordered the remaining gnomes to use all their abilities on the remaining vines. Forcing them to crush their own town and any trace of their existence. When the last of the houses fell, I turned my attention towards them once more. There was no point in keeping them alive. ¡®Suffer.¡¯ I commanded. It was as if their nervous systems caught fire. Feeling their bodies being stabbed, mutilated, crushed, torn apart, eaten, melted, frozen, electrocuted, dissolved, and disintegrated. Only for the whole process to start all over again the next second. Stopping just long enough for them to hope that it might at last be over. ¡®It isn¡¯t enough.¡¯ I focused on my illusions. Sending them into my targets instead of around them. In the same manner as the penguins. It was a spur of the moment decision. Something I literally pulled out of my rear end on a whim, half expecting it to fail. It worked. Far better than I¡¯d intended. Each and every gnome experienced all the pain and agony that I¡¯d become familiar with in the span of a few blinks. From being afflicted with venom, to the sting of betrayal I felt after being lured into the watering hole. From the terror of falling to the terror of drowning in darkness. From the anxiety of loneliness to the pangs of hunger in the first week. They felt the penguin¡¯s assault on my mind and the way my insides had twisted. They felt the revulsion and despair of being surrounded and chased. They felt my love for my parents, for my friends, for Doris as well as the emotions that arose when I wondered if I¡¯d ever see them again. They all experienced that night again. Facing the crabs and forcing the mother to kill her children. Facing the consequences of my own actions.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 11 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12
I allowed them to stew until my own fury was quenched. After that, I ordered them to die. Their little black hearts gave out. Most felt only relief and gratitude.
Objective Completed: A safe zone has been conquered for the first time in this Tutorial Instance. All participants will receive 4,000 store tokens. The top fifty contributors will receive an inferior symbiote. Those who already possess a symbiote will receive an additional 40, 000 store tokens instead.
I blinked in surprise. Not daring to believe it. ¡®What the heck!? Top fifty? Does that mean this place was supposed to be a raid or something? You were supposed to charge in with more than fifty Espers!? Was that really it?¡¯ ¡®Told you. No need to apologize. I¡¯ll always be here to help because you¡¯re my best friend forever and I love you.¡¯ That¡¯s when I noticed the oddest thing. I¡¯d expected a surge of relief. Maybe some feeling of vindication. Of release. But all I felt was emptiness. The gnomes were all dead, yes. They wouldn¡¯t hurt anyone again. They had been brought to justice. So why didn¡¯t I feel any better? I looked around me once more. At the sad remnants littering the tunnel floor. Around half were emptier than I was. Their eyes clouded and distant as if they were willing themselves to be anywhere but here. I searched their minds, and instantly regretted it. I didn¡¯t need to know what memories brought them comfort. Nor did I need to see what they were running from. I guess I could¡­ Soothe them. I could take them somewhere else for a time. Make them think they were back home. ¡®No. That would be too cruel. Besides, doing that would scare them more. If I could bring them joy by tricking their perceptions, it stands to reason that I could bring them grief as well. I don¡¯t want to be feared.¡¯ Besides, it might not be needed at all. My companions showed new sides of themselves as they gingerly handled the rescued masses. Monique was no longer irritated as she often was. Charlie wasn¡¯t doubting me or thinking up ways to kill the mafia don waiting back home. Dusty and Slab weren¡¯t boasting about being the best at killing and tracking and bodyguarding. They were respectful about their work. Obviously dedicated to helping those they could. Ryan surprised me most of all. He had a solemn, comforting smile on his face the whole time. Handing out wrapped chunks of tender meat topped with edible mushrooms in a manner I could only describe as saintly. He wasn¡¯t a Telepath, but he always seemed to know what to say. Which words and gestures to use in order to calm the beaten and desperate. I thought about copying him, but felt a twinge of disgust with myself. Would this be considered manipulation? Would any of these people feel good about someone like me caring for them? I bit my lip and decided to focus on the things I could do. ¡°Dolce. Move forward and rip all the plant monsters out of the walls and the floor.¡± ¡®Aren¡¯t the centipedes taking care of it?¡¯ ¡®They are, but a few of the rescued people are coming to and you¡¯re making them uncomfortable.¡¯ The abyssal creature grumbled internally, but obeyed. I spent the time in quiet contemplation and looting. Performing the latter task by having some of the teleporting otters bring back anything that stood out. Mot, the little bastard, had possessed a proper piece of supernatural equipment. Bruxa, being his supposed equal in rank, might have had something similar to that. Sure enough, one of my units returned shortly with a silver pole carrying an obsidian blade at one point, with a piece of yellow cloth attached to it. Both the blackened tip and the cloth had blood running through them.
Spear of Beguilement (Psy: 200/200) A spear adorned with gnomish runes. Grants the bearer the [Pheromone Attraction] 4 ability so long as a warm-blooded creature has been slain within the last 3 hours. Creatures struck by this weapon are afflicted by [Confusion] 1.
I took one look at it, realized it was hot garbage and disposed of it. ¡°Here you go Dusty.¡± I said offhandedly. ¡°As a thank you for all your hard work.¡± Dusty almost squealed in delight. Looking up at me with star-struck eyes. It didn¡¯t take very long for the annoyance to set in. I excused myself, going over to another side tunnel and leaning against a flat wall to relax. To think about all the things that had happened. I only felt worse afterwards, seeing the others helping while I did nothing. ¡®Damn it. Why is this happening to me? I feel like crap after considering ways to help and I feel like crap when I don¡¯t help.¡¯ I slapped my own cheeks, eliciting a complaint from Buddy. Then I hunched down next to Dusty and helped her as she passed along pelts. She smiled sweetly at me, though she said nothing. Chapter 37: Warehouse. Chapter 37: Warehouse. The pit was a large oval hole marking the bottom of a long vertical space. One that went up and up and up, beyond the range of both my eyes and my psionic senses. When asked to scout it out, Dolce reported that the ceiling led directly to his home. By which he meant the abyssal lake that made up the borders of this prison of ours. I was tempted to demand a ride right there and then, eager to try my luck against its denizens now that I¡¯d reached such a high level. The visions were the only leash keeping me tied down. The promise of another Type if I just held out for another month and fulfilled my promise to the siblings. If it was possible to escape, there was no guarantee that I could make my way back. If it wasn¡¯t, then a blind charge could spell doom. Not only for myself, but for all the people in my care. ¡®One month isn¡¯t that long. Not now that I have new friends and a sort-of home base. It won¡¯t be as bad anymore. The worst is behind me.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t forget me, Sully! You can always count on me!¡¯ ¡®Thank you, Buddy. I know.¡¯ ¡®Me too!¡¯ ¡®Shut up Dolce. Speak when you¡¯re spoken to.¡¯ Dolce¡¯s mind deflated. Not that I cared. He¡¯d have to work long and hard to make up for almost killing me earlier. ¡°Is something amiss Shepherd?¡± ¡°What? Oh, No. Everything is fine Slab. Thank you.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Charlie insisted. ¡°You look like someone who just got stabbed. Or like someone who¡¯s about to do a lot of stabbing.¡± I shook my head incredulously. ¡°What would that even look like?¡± ¡°Oh, the signs are easy enough to spot once you¡¯re looking for them. The intense stare that looks vacant at first glance, but is actually locked onto a target. The way your nostrils flare up every now and again. Also, you¡¯re holding the knife like it¡¯s a cliff¡¯s edge and you¡¯re about to fall off. You couldn¡¯t look more menacing if you tried.¡± My gaze wandered downwards to find that I was, indeed, gripping Mot¡¯s dagger. I ran my fingers up and down its hilt, recalling the sensation of blood dripping down its edge. ¡®Is it weird to think that it was too easy? No. Its not. It could be a trap. Down here, it could always be a trap. Damn it. I hate this. I hate not knowing what¡¯s going to happen next. I hate the way [Premonition] and [Precognition] are silent. I hate that there aren¡¯t more gnomes to kill.¡¯ ¡°And there it is again. That¡¯s the look of a Whitmer goon if I¡¯ve ever seen one.¡± I gave Charlie a sideways glance. He paled, focusing his gaze on Slab and Dusty, before bringing up his hands and retreating a few steps. ¡°Come now. I can¡¯t be the only one who¡¯s thinking about this. I¡¯m only bringing it up because¡­because I¡¯m worried about Solomon. He¡¯s really strong and definitely a good person. So, I want to make sure he¡¯s fine. That he has everything he needs. That I¡¯m being a good friend to him. Monique. You see it too, don¡¯t you?¡± The woman nodded slowly. Keeping a healthy distance between the siblings and herself. ¡°Right. Solomon. You, you don¡¯t look so good.¡± I shook my head. Spreading my arms out to encompass our surroundings. ¡°Its true. I¡¯m not feeling good. Can you blame me? Look around. This place fell in, what, a few minutes? There wasn¡¯t a big trap at the end. Nor a new hidden boss to fight. It was too easy.¡± The two of them looked at each other. As did Slab and Dusty. ¡°Do you suspect a trap, Shepherd?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I said in frustration. ¡°I know there has to be one. There just has to be. Our takeover was too quick and bloodless. The Labyrinth always has more in store. Always.¡± ¡°Did you have a vision of the future?¡± ¡°No! That¡¯s what¡¯s driving me mad! I know there has to be something I¡¯m not seeing, but my visions are all nonsensical! I¡¯m seeing alternate timelines where I don¡¯t meet you all. In those, the gnomes die just like in this one and Ryan is the one having this conversation with me. I tell other Ryan what I¡¯m telling you and he thinks I¡¯m crazy.¡± I brought my hands to my head. Asking Buddy to open my helmet so that I can massage my temple. ¡°I just¡­I just think its wrong. There¡¯s something inexplicably wrong here and I can¡¯t put it into words. I feel like the gnomes were pushovers and that there¡¯s more of them out there.¡± ¡°I mean, that¡¯s probably true.¡± Charlie conceded. ¡°But I don¡¯t think the gnomes were pushovers, mate. They fought tooth and nail every time I met them before. I think you¡¯re too strong. They never really stood a chance.¡± ¡°Charlie¡¯s right.¡± Monique stated. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯re wrong. There very well could be a hidden trap that we don¡¯t know about.¡± She pulled a pen and leatherbound journal from her pack, moving a little awkwardly now that her body was encased in a Symbiote. ¡°Here. Take a moment to write down what you see in the visions. Write things out one by one. Like a list. We can then focus on what you¡¯re being shown that relates to us at this moment.¡± She brought her hands together in a loud clap. ¡°That way we can avoid making rash decision, while still becoming more aware of what we have to watch out for.¡± I took the pen and the book with shaking hands. Writing down what I had seen of the glimpses so far. [Precognition] flared up as I did so. Showing me a different crowd in a similar cave. Ryan was talking to the gathered masses. Or, well. I think that¡¯s what he was doing. This Ryan had been rescued in a timeline where I didn¡¯t meet Slab or Dusty or Monique. Charlie had left us, as had Borislav. Leaving me to deal with the crowd and their suspicious, hurt gazes. The Ryan in front of me opened his mouth, only for a stream of bile to fly out and splatter all over the rescued people. None of them seemed to care. Instead, their eyes grew sharper. More focused. A sun the formed over them, burning down their shells like candles. I shuddered and found myself giving back the book. Monique opened it and frowned. ¡°Okay. It looks like you wrote some, uh, interesting things.¡± Monique took a deep breath, before narrating the contents out to us. ¡°Let¡¯s see now. ¡®Traitor, Periwig, Movie. Sun, World, Butcher. Drake, Dreams, Mansion.¡¯ You wrote all of that in big words. With the words, ¡®I control¡¯, written in between. Over and over again. Then you wrote ¡®Antediluvian, Sarcophagus, Incomplete. Six-winged angel. Week of nightmares. Under burning skies. Breaking Point. Pirates. Governor. Warlord. Bombs. Cages. Cries in the dark. Closing throat. In their hands, the daggers.¡¯ Again, all with those words in between, acting as line breaks.¡± She shut the journal and put it away. ¡°Well. That was certainly¡­ colourful.¡± ¡°Incredible.¡± Slab muttered. ¡°What does it mean?¡± His eyes turned to me. Obviously in awe of the scribbling. ¡®How the (Gnome) should I know?¡¯ I answered in my head. Borislav coughed into his hand. ¡°I believe we should take a step back. Solomon, do any of these, predictions, concern us at this very moment?¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°Is that a question or do you know that they don¡¯t?¡± ¡°No.¡± I finished. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I do sense that something¡¯s off, but its not coming from [Precognition] or [Premonition]. It might be my own mind playing tricks on me.¡± Borislav nodded. ¡°In that case, I suggest that we move on and find a safe place to rest. How long will the monsters stay under your control?¡± ¡°Forever.¡± His mouth snapped shut. Charlie and Monique both drew in sharp breaths. ¡°As expected of the Shepherd!¡± ¡°You truly are the greatest warrior among us all! You honour us with your presence!¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. I shrank in the face of their praises. Drawing in the emotions of the others through my fog. ¡°I think we¡¯ve spent enough time out here. Borislav is right. The Shifters need to rest so that they can keep healing people and the healed people need to rest while they digest the¡­.uh¡­food that we donated.¡± ¡°Of course! As expected of the Shepherd! So much wisdom for someone so young!¡± I nodded and turned to the area. One end of the pit led to a multitude of connecting sideways and staircases which we¡¯d used to access the space. The other led up a wide ramp with actual lamps along its length. Gothic in their design, with big glass panels and constantly burning flames behind them. The lighting was a breath of fresh air, as was the very welcome breeze that came out of vents near the ceiling as we ascended. At the end was a big vault door. The same kind you¡¯d see in cartoons. A circle of steel or some other metal, with a handle that needed to be turned using bars welded into the structure. I had no idea what was behind the big door. How could I know? There wasn¡¯t any living being or robot that I could sense beyond it. Meaning both my map and my fog might as well not exist. Lovely. Slab stepped forward wordlessly, smiling at the shivering mass of humanity all around us. In his mind, that would¡¯ve been an encouraging gesture. However, he still hadn¡¯t summoned his own symbiote and his clothes were splattered with dried bloodstains. Not to mention the menagerie of spare weapons he¡¯d attached to several belts. Coupled with his, shall we say, unnatural physique, he came off as ferocious and intimidating instead. With a grunt of effort, he twisted the handle. The gateway opened after three rotations and he pulled it back with a gentle tug, taking care not to damage it against the nearby wall. In all honesty, I was prepared to find rows upon rows of carnivorous plants or maybe a horde of fungal zombies. It would be consistent with what we¡¯d suffered so far and it would explain why I couldn¡¯t sense a thing. ¡®I really should take the other interface abilities. But if I did that, then I wouldn¡¯t be able to upgrade [Hide] and [Faint Presence]. Bringing both up another level would take all seven points.¡¯ Since I was still undecided, I¡¯d opted to have a frontline made up of snails, both golden and blue. The plan dictated that they¡¯d start flinging elemental attacks the second an enemy showed themselves. That entire idea was scrapped the moment the door was opened. Signals rushed back to me in the span of a second, making the entire space come to life at once. This confirmed two of my hypotheses. First, there were ways to block my abilities or to limit their range. Excellent information to have ahead of time. Second, the architect that designed the maze was a sadist of unrivaled proportions. How else would you explain the fact that we were thrown to the proverbial wolves when there was a sanctuary nearby. Inside was a different world. One far more familiar to me. Bright overhead lamps illuminated the hall, revealing rows upon rows of unresponsive turrets mounted on the floor and ceiling. Further in, are layers of pallet racks. They are more spread out than their conventional, real-life counterparts, with wide corridors separating each row. Those walkways were filled with plain wooden benches on either side, facing a sectioned off garden filled with common fruits from earth. Metal boxes lined the shelves, easily reaching twice the height of any Warehouse I¡¯d been in before. Even further in are what appear to be, sinks. Like, actual kitchen sinks, and large picnic tables, and massively wide refrigerators. ¡®There is no way this doesn¡¯t come with a trap.¡¯ It was simply too good to be true. That paranoia leads me to send in the snails first with a force wall between us and the open eating area, courtesy of Monique and Jane. They spend one hour clearing it out. Then two. Exploring every nook and cranny. Every inch of every attached chamber. The bunkbeds, the laundry machines, the workbenches, the tv room, the communal toilets, the sparring area, the communal showers. By all that is good and holy there were showers in here. Indeed, there were even a handful of isolated bedrooms with their own, much nicer toilets and showers, hinting at a pre-built class disparity the designers had intended. And¡­ Wait a freaking second¡­ ¡°Is that an ice-cream machine?¡± Monique perks up at my comment and immediately follows my gaze. Her mouth hangs open. I think this might be the first time I¡¯ve seen a genuine smile out of her. ¡°What¡¯s ice-cream?¡± Slab asks, club still in hand. He doesn¡¯t get an answer. Instead, Jane rushes forward before we can stop her and starts pressing buttons. ¡°It¡¯s saying it takes one store token per serving.¡± She squealed in delight. Soon enough, a fancy ceramic bowl and spoon materialized on an empty slot and a thick stream of chocolate mixed with vanilla slithered down. She was weeping before the machine was done with her order. No sooner had she finished than half of our rescued charges charged. Displaying a level of energy I¡¯d never have expected from people who¡¯d been recently trapped in hanging cages. This place was the real deal. All of the sinks appeared to spew water. Like normal sinks. The fridges were packed with nutrient bars, like the ones found inside the bulls. Even those had screens where you could pay extra to get fried cuts of meat, cakes, and even pizzas. The toilets flushed normally, without any hint of foul play. Part of me still expected something sinister to happen then. A masked killer descending from a hidden tunnel in the bathroom¡¯s roof to gut us while our pants were down. However, to my utter shock, everything seemed to be working. Like in the real world. An oasis of normality in this cursed place. With no strings attached. It was just so, surreal. To go back to a semblance of civilization. After all that we¡¯d been through. After all the fighting and the carnage and the bugs and the snails and the eels and the pumas and the chameleons and the otters and the moles and the beetles and the penguins. After the thrice dammed gnomes. After becoming a bloody Telepath. This was, to put it bluntly, too good to be true. So, there I remained, going through my screen and plotting out what to do as soon as the other shoe dropped. It should be noted that I wasn¡¯t alone in thinking this was a set up. Ryan was sitting in a corner, fingers wrapped tightly around a metal bar he¡¯d gotten from somewhere. He fidgeted with it constantly, his innermost thoughts mirroring my own. ¡®Come on, think. Think. Think. Where is the attack coming from? Where is the danger? Where is the one thing that turns this into another nightmare?¡¯ It took a while for the calm to set in. Happiness had become a suspicious stranger to me. So much so that I kept wandering the premises, taking in the bunks and the smaller private rooms. During my exploration, I even found a door labelled: ¡°Alcoholic Beverages.¡± ¡°I guess even kidnapping victims deserve a drink or three. How very generous of our hosts.¡± I was turning around to find a bed to nap on when the accusation came. It wasn¡¯t spoken aloud. Not at first at first. It begun as a sour thought inside a pasty-white skeleton of a man. His feet and hands had only recently been regrown by Borislav and still had that odd discoloration about them, free of the scratches and blisters that were so common among the other survivors. Those pristine hands were trembling with rage. Clenched so tightly that he might have drawn blood if his strength hadn¡¯t left him. ¡®This was so close. All this time. They killed Eddy and Malcolm. They killed Macy and her kids. They killed them so close to safety. We could have made it. We could¡¯ve escaped. Some of us could¡¯ve lived. The kids could¡¯ve lived. We were so close. So damn close.¡¯ He, I didn¡¯t know his name, was sobbing now. Choking on his grief. ¡°Why!?¡± He screamed. Loudly enough that all exploration ceased around the Warehouse. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you come sooner!? Why did you leave us to die like animals!? You were so strong! Its not fair! You should have come! You should have come sooner!¡± I froze like a deer caught in the headlights. Mouth agape. The man had not aimed his accusation at anyone in particular, but it was not hard to figure out whom he was referring to. It had been my eels that carried him and the others to safety and my centipedes that did most of the dying and the killing. ¡°I¡­I saved everyone the gnomes had captured.¡± I squeaked. ¡°Liar! They killed my friends! They killed Sam! They killed the Goldberg twins! They killed so many people! Where the hell were you!? What were you doing while we bled and died like pigs!?¡± I started stammering. Backing off in the face of the verbal lashing. ¡®I came to save you. I saved these people. I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person.¡¯ The man took a step in my direction even as I backed away. He pointed with his bony fingers. As if he meant to stab me with them. ¡°Its all your fault!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± another voice joined in. ¡°Where were you all this time!?¡± ¡°They killed my husband!¡± ¡°They killed my girlfriend!¡± ¡°They killed my mother!¡± ¡°Where were you!?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you come!?¡± The man had backed me into a corner, his mind abuzz with pain and hate. He lunged, faster than I could imagine and swung a fist in my direction. The blow didn¡¯t connect. Slab had grabbed his outstretched arm and was holding it firmly in place. Dusty, Charlie and Monique had interposed themselves between us and the rest of the forming mob. Borislav was nowhere to be seen. ¡°Calm down! This isn¡¯t helping anyone!¡± Monique bellowed. ¡°Shut up! You were with him! You could¡¯ve done something! Why didn¡¯t you!? We want answers!¡± ¡°(Gnome) that!¡± Charlie roared. ¡°I don¡¯t like the monster tamer anymore than you do, but even I can see, he stuck his neck out for you lot! The very first thing he said to me was that he wanted help to rescue you!¡± ¡°Liar!¡± ¡°Tell us where you were!¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you come sooner!?¡± Someone threw a piece of furniture. A chair, I think. Monique raised her right arm to bring up a [Force Wall] while holding out her left arm to ward of Dusty. The giantess had her axe in hand and was eager to use it. A deluge of pure fury had clouded her mind. Fueled by indignation at the sheer levels of ingratitude on display. If the crowd had been just a little more observant, they might have noticed that Monique was keeping her distance and inching further away with every second. Far more scared of her than she was of their insults. ¡°Let go of me you freak!¡± The man in front of me demanded. Kicking Slab¡¯s legs over and over again. Slab narrowed his eyes further. ¡°The Shepherd has requested that I treat my fellows gently.¡± He stated in an emotionless tone. ¡°I ask that you stand down.¡± ¡°Shut your (Gnome)ing pig mouth! You (Gnome)ing sheep (Gnome)er!¡± Slab did not speak again. Instead, he moved his body so that his massive frame covered me completely. Then, he squeezed. A snapping sound washed over the hall, followed closely by a scream. Another snap followed soon thereafter and another and another. Slab followed that up by grabbing both shattered arms with his right hand. That hand went up. Then down. He¡¯d used enough force that the impact shocked the crowd into silence but not enough to kill his victim outright. Broken teeth fell onto the floor. The man mumbled something or tried to. His lower jaw was hanging loose. Held together only by the exposed muscles on his right cheek. Monique and Charlie looked back in astonishment. Dusty never took her eyes off the mob. The next time Slab spoke, he was addressing me instead of his victim. His tone was even and steady as if he were directing a presentation in an office. That nonchalance made his words all the more chilling. ¡°Shepherd, I know your upbringing was more, gentle, than mine. I realize that you are not accustomed to each person¡¯s role in the collective. With that in mind, please allow me to recommend a course of action. By attacking you, this wretch attacked the group¡¯s best chance at survival. My own family¡¯s best chance at survival. The punishment for endangering the clan is death or exile where I come from. He should be tried and executed, so that all can see our justice at play. Everyone gathered here must know that putting the group at risk is tantamount to throwing their lives away.¡± After he was done, you could have heard a pin drop on the other side of the Warehouse. Charlie and Monique looked at him, then at the moaning mass of broken flesh. Then they looked at me. Waiting. It took an eternity for me to gulp and another one for me to find the right words. ¡°I don¡¯t want anyone killed.¡± ¡°This criminal tried to hit you. He might be weak and stupid, but he is still a warrior. His punch could have killed you.¡± ¡®Yes.¡¯ I thought. ¡®He¡¯s an Enhancer and I¡¯m a Telepath. He could have turned my insides into my outsides without breaking a sweat. Buddy might have saved my life with his new abilities, or he might have proved as useful as nipples on a breastplate; but this man didn¡¯t know that. He meant to kill me.¡¯ Thankfully, I still had enough sense to keep those words a secret. ¡°I¡¯m sure it was a misunderstanding.¡± I lied. ¡°This man is grieving. We literally pulled him from an open-air prison and he¡¯s wearing a wet, bloody pelt instead of clothes. I think we can be sure that he did not mean to hurt me.¡± Slab said nothing. Neither did his sister. Monique was busy heaving, relief evident on her face. It was Charlie who stepped in. Moving so fast that his passing sent whooshes of air blasting off in all directions. ¡°He¡¯s right. The man¡¯s not in his right mind. Just look at him. He looks worse than all the beggars back home put together. It¡¯d be wrong to kill someone over a little spat. He meant no harm.¡± ¡®He knows.¡¯ I realized with a start. ¡®He knows the fools could¡¯ve killed me and he¡¯s trying to save him.¡¯ A quick scan through my fog revealed that everyone knew. Every single one. They also realized how much stronger my group was. They¡¯d all known, of course. We steamrolled their captors without losing anyone or even suffering so much as a bruise. But knowing something implicitly was different from seeing it with your own eyes. The show had put the fear of death into them again. Shattering the illusion of safety provided by the safe zone. In essence, it had turned them into mice again. Helplessly watching the strong going about their business. ¡®This isn¡¯t my fault. I did everything right. I saved these people. I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person.¡¯ ¡°We¡¯re all tired and dirty. We should let this go. I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t happen again.¡± I insisted. Slab finally nodded and called for Borislav to come over and heal the broken man. The Shifter emerged from the far side of the Warehouse, shuffling awkwardly to the wounded person whimpering on the floor. He made sure to wait until Slab was long gone before getting down to business. For my part, I could not bear to watch. Moving away at a brisk pace. The crowd parted before me. None of them managed to look me in the eye. Yet I could still hear them. Their innermost feelings and contemplations. The insidious whispers drowned me. Bearing down until I could hardly breathe. They took me away to another place. Another time. To the false safety of the emergency shelter that had once been a community center. To the monsters at the door and the cowering masses behind me. To the looks and stares of my friends and neighbours. It took everything I had not to retch. Chapter 38: Introspection. Chapter 38: Introspection. Great. Just (Gnome)ing great. Everyone I¡¯d saved wanted me dead or gone. Despite me doing everything I could to save them. Despite me literally flying to their recuse with little to no regard for my own safety. Despite all the blood I shed for their sake. It was as if I were following the same trail as Sarcophagus Solomon. Trapped in a loop where I was destined to lose everyone I gathered to my side. Was that it? Was this all some great game played by an eldritch monstrosity instead of a shadow government program? Did some tentacled pervert delight in seeing me crying all by my lonesome? ¡®What did you expect? You¡¯re a creep in a red astronaut suit going around with a parade of monsters at your beck and call. If anything, you should be glad none of them were smart enough to ambush you when you were sleeping.¡¯ As if reading my mind, Slab joins me and suggests that maybe him and his sisters should take turns guarding my oh so important person while I rest. ¡°Knock yourself out. Its not as though I value my privacy overmuch. I mean, heck, lets take it one step further. The three of us should shower together. Afterwards, one of you could give me massages while the other rubs my feet.¡± ¡°Yes. Absolutely. I¡¯m glad we¡¯re in agreement.¡± ¡°I was joking.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t. Well, maybe a little. Still, you must have guards. No one in my clan would ever be stupid enough to hurt or even inconvenience a Shepherd. There is always too much at stake. This lot are not my people however. They¡¯re blind, deaf and dumber than a bag of rocks. How else could you explain the way they swarmed their saviors? None of them stopped to think about how much you¡¯ve done for them. About how much you could still do in the future. As if they forgot about the thousands of monsters waiting outside the vault door. No, better to be safe than sorry.¡± ¡°We probably wouldn¡¯t need to be so worried if you hadn¡¯t threatened to murder one of them.¡± ¡°That would¡¯ve been justice, not murder. Murder is what raiders do to the people they rob. It is what the strong do to the weak they should have been protecting. It tears away bits from the fabric of our fragile society. Justice is the opposite. It is the righting of a wrong. If a man tried to kill fifty or seventy people in a fit of rage, they deserve to be put down. It¡¯s the only way to protect what little we have.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what happened.¡± ¡°With all due respect, Shepherd. That¡¯s exactly what happened. Without you, most of the people here wouldn¡¯t be free in the first place. If you happened to die, the monsters outside would keep us trapped until the time you foretold, when we¡¯re all sent away to our own worlds. What do you suppose would follow? When we inevitably return? That is, for those lucky enough to return. Me and my sister would have died fighting like in your vision. Do you think Charlie and Monique are enough to keep these fools alive?¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t take much. They could hold out here as long as they have store tokens for food.¡± ¡°If they return at this location. What happens if they don¡¯t? What happens every person returns to the spot where they first entered the Labyrinth?¡± That was an unwelcome notion. My mind began to conjure the images before I could stop it. ¡°That¡¯s enough of hypotheticals for now. I need a drink.¡± ¡°I have water right here.¡± Slab answered at once, pulling out a leathery bag from his belt. ¡°No. Not water. Not right now. I need something with a kick after the day I¡¯ve had. Follow me into the bar.¡± Slab rushed to serve, eager as always, though still holding on to a bit of solemnness. Naturally, we turned the knobs with the utmost caution and immediately ran backwards in case literal lava started falling on the tiled floor. No such thing happened. In front of us was an actual bar with actual screens showing replays of our recent conquests against the beetle and the gnomes. The stools were clean and well-made. The marble countertop was smooth. The glasses on the racks were tall and thick, easily twice the size of those I was used to. Behind the counter were nozzles connected to a glittering panel which gave a list of options and their prices. They had everything; from regular beers I was familiar with, to different kinds of drinks under the umbrella of ¡°Moonshine.¡± Which were further subdivided into tart, sweet, sour, somewhat lethal, very lethal, and extremely lethal. They also had options called: Pure Ethanol, Lab-grade disinfectant, Hand Sanitizer and Certain Death. Another screen to the right had options for cocktails, ranging from mixtures with juices, other beers or liqueurs and even milkshakes, coffee and ice-cream. Unsurprisingly, these were slightly more expensive, with each drink costing upwards of 25 to 50 Store Tokens apiece. The most egregious example was an option labelled: ¡®Elixir of Dimensional Transcendence¡¯, which cost a whopping 500, 000 Store Tokens. ¡®Sully? Are you crying?¡¯ I reflexively reached out to wipe the tears away at that comment but hit Buddy¡¯s transparent helmet segment. He was still stretched out over me in the form of an astronaut suit and I calmy asked him to free my head. The first one I had, was a black malted beer. The kind Henry insisted on every time we went out with Vince and Luigi. It costed ten Tokens per serving but I was far past the point of caring. Especially since I¡¯d confirmed that alcohol didn¡¯t count as a mind-altering effect according to the System. Otherwise, my Title would have negated it. Perhaps because it was a chemical reaction causing the numbness instead of a power? Meh, who cares. I don¡¯t think anything had ever tasted so sweet. Slab had the same kind, but pulled away as soon his lips touched the glass. ¡°Dear Shepherd! This is swill! I wouldn¡¯t feed this to my dogs!¡± I ignored him and had another and another and another. I washed the beer down with some tequila shots. Relishing the way all the stress left my body. How I didn¡¯t feel the gnawing hatred at myself anymore. A couple of cocktails went down after that, vodka laced with mango in one glass and orange juice in the other. Hours were passing by much faster now. Time slipping away like a lover in the night. I felt whole again. If a little awkward. I¡¯d actually forgotten how good stiff drinks were at loosening me up. It had been my go-to salve after Doris died. The only way I could stop the constant self-flagellation. I knew it wasn¡¯t my fault. I knew it, her father knew it, all my friends knew it. Heck, all her vapid friends knew it. All the same, the self-loathing could only be assuaged by the drinks. ¡®Would you be happy now Doris? Seeing you ex all sad and saggy? Having to run marathons day and night while dodging traps and monsters at every turn? Did you ever really love me? Heh! That might be an even crueler notion. I think. If I was another warm body, well. Enhancers are better built and better suited to anything that might be required of a partner. That¡¯s a fact everyone knows. I could live with that. But if you loved me, that love wasn¡¯t anywhere close to the sheen on Mason¡¯s abs. Yes. That would be more painful.¡¯ Sadness swelled through my very being as I made my way to the washrooms. My feet were a teensy bit unsteady. A whole month without drinking having taken a toll on my practised ¡°pretend to be sober¡± gait. It was fine. I still had my dour bodyguard next to me and Dusty wasn¡¯t far behind. ¡®Man, Henry and Luigi would be laughing their asses off if they saw me now.¡¯ Thankfully, a few hours had done much and more to quell any visible unrest. There was still the invisible unrest to worry about but I¡¯d also been smart enough o turn off my fog. Some doors were better off closed. Monique was taking tallies of all our new supplies. Trying to decide how much the System could be trusted in so far as keeping us fed. She was wearing a symbiote now too, one that took the shape of a sleek mountaineering outfit. Most did not seem to like her gruff demeanor and her, shall we say, overly honest bluntness. Perhaps she was trying to create a functional status quo before anyone got it in their heads to start slacking off. Or perhaps this was the obvious result of her own experiences back home. Ryan was making the rounds too. Talking with all the rescued people, shaking their hands and nodding gravely at their stories. He said kind words. Made soft-spoken reassurances, even jotted down notes on a writing pad he¡¯d gotten from somewhere. It was just what the doctor ordered. People came to him eagerly, where they previously avoided Monique or Dusty. Sharing their worries and complaints. Their ideas on how the base should be run. My smile was bright as the morning sun when I got back to the bar. Slab sat back down and began fiddling with a margarita or a similar looking drink. Taking small measured sips. I sat beside him and downed another shot in one gulp. ¡°You know what? We¡¯re doing great! We¡¯re the best group there is! Who does that guy think he is!? Telling me I¡¯m a bad person. I¡¯m not! I¡¯m a good person!¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. I swallowed another shot in between sentences. ¡°We don¡¯t need those losers and mean losers telling us who¡¯s good and bad! Screw Randall! Screw him and his fat ugly face! His¡­¡± I hiccupped. ¡°His face! Its ugly. Like a rat¡¯s!¡± ¡°You met Randall?¡± Slab asked. ¡°Yeah! That nut! Said I was evil! And¡­and¡­that I was¡­working. With da aliens!¡± ¡°Forgive me, Shepherd. I should have put him down when I had the chance. Such insolence should not go unpunished.¡± ¡°SOLOMON! MA name¡­is SOLOMON! Don¡¯t furget it! You can call me SULLY! Suince yousse my friieend.¡± ¡°I¡­very well. Sully. Thank you for the privilege.¡± ¡°That¡¯s batter. Freinds should say¡­say¡­names. Also! Friends don¡¯t kill people! Calm yer¡­yer¡­calm down!¡± I laughed. An honest, clean laugh. Oh my goodness. It felt so good to laugh. To know that there weren¡¯t any monsters nearby. Wait. ¡®Goooo Aauway!¡¯ I tried to order. I don¡¯t think it worked. The impressions where my minions should have been were up and down and down some more. Twisted from left and right. Swaying this way and that without rhyme or reason. I tried to grab them. But they slipped away. It was like trying to hold water in my hands and squeezing to make a fist. Meh. It¡¯ll be all right. They love me. They really love me. Creepy fishhook ropes and all. They did what I told them to do. It¡¯ll be fine. ¡°Ya know? I coulda killed Ra¡­¡± I belched. ¡°Randall. I coulda. It woooldn¡¯t have been hard.¡± I hickuped. ¡°But. But I didn¡¯t. Cause I¡¯m a good person. I don¡¯t use ma powers. On people. That¡¯s EVIL!¡± I took another swig. I did a good job. I saved the people. I got them to safety. I¡¯m a good person. ¡°I feel like a hero.¡± I told Slab jovially. ¡°You are a hero. You gathered us all up to take the gnomes head on. You put your own life at risk to save anyone you found in need. Never doubt your own efforts. You¡¯re as great a leader as I¡¯ve ever seen.¡± ¡°Aaaauouw Shuucks! You kiss(Gnome)!¡± Slab looked taken aback. I was laughing. Thinking back of better times with Luigi and Vince and Henry. How we¡¯d gotten so hammered one time we¡¯d decided to go skydiving that very night. Thankfully, none of the establishments nearby catered to our wishes. Instead, we¡¯d gone to a nearby arcade and fallen over and over again trying to win some dancing game I can¡¯t recall. The music had been loud and blaring. We hadn¡¯t been able to stop laughing. ¡°I¡¯M DANCING ON SUNSHINE! WHOAOAOA!¡± I had another two shots. Whiskey, this time. Then I followed those up with some rum-laced milkshakes. Clinging to every thick slurp as it went down my throat. My mind swirled, transforming this bar into another bar. An emptier one where there was no Slab. I¡­the other me, the one that didn¡¯t meet the siblings or Monique or Charlie walked out and saw Ryan. He¡¯d met Ryan earlier, due to not having detours. He¡¯d saved Ryan too. ¡°We¡¯ve come to a decision.¡± Other Ryan had said. ¡°We¡¯re thankful for what you¡¯ve done, but we can¡¯t have someone like you around us. You have to leave.¡± Other me pleaded and begged. Reassured them that he wasn¡¯t a danger. That all he wanted to do was help. Other Ryan incited the mob and began throwing bone spears. Other me could have stopped them. Could have ordered them to stop. Other me didn¡¯t do that. He ran away with tears streaming down his eyes and ran into Anezka days later. I only returned to the real world when she stabbed other me with the needle and my head struck the counter. I blinked rapidly, taking in Slab once more and smiling. ¡°Ya know? I¡­me was never good at¡­public speaking. That was Henry or Luigi¡¯s thing. They¡­were excellent. I¡­I suck big dodo balls. I can¡¯t face that croowd soober. I get too nervous. Too angry. I did everythiaang for them; and this is how they repuaay me? I¡¯m not expecting¡­¡± I burped. ¡°A POOrade or Anathang. JUST. A LITTLE BLOODSY GRATITUDE WOULD BE NICE!¡± I could not say how much time had passed. Only that I felt great. Whole again. Like my old self. Who cares if I¡¯m a Telepath!? I¡¯m a good person! I proved that! I shouldn¡¯t be afraid of what I could do! Buddy was right all along! Screw the crabs! Those (Gnome)ers had it coming! Screw the gnomes! Those (Gnome)holes had it coming even more! I¡¯m a good person! I should keep doing what I¡¯m doing! With that in mind I swished and swooshed my arms. Bringing up my status and the available abilities list.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 30, 780/35, 100
Type: Telepath III Level 110
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Sense Thoughts] 10 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Fever] 4 / [Fear] 3 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Precognition] 12 / [Meditation] 8 / [Premonition] 6 / [Psychometry] 3 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Inspiration] 4
Ability Points: 7
Available Abilities: [Static Illusion] 1 / [Fever] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Electronic Interface] 1 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Team Tactics] 1 / [Team Spirit] 1 / [Team Resilience] 1 / [Team Momentum] 1 / [Team Doctrine] 1 / [Mental Map] 1 / [Fear] 1 / [Courage] 1 / [Anxiety] 1 / [Confusion] 1 / [Hobble] 1 / [Phobia] 1 / [Puppet Animal] 1 / [Puppet Plant] 1 / [Puppet Fungus] 1 / [Puppet Sentient] 1 / [Puppet Machine] 1 / [Faint Presence] 1 / [Imposing Presence] 1 / [Alluring Presence] 1 / [Hide] 1 / [Mask] 1 / [Hidden Danger] 1 / [Muffle] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Precognition] 1 / [Premonition] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Meditation] 1 / [Mark Target] 1 / [Calm] 1 / [Enrage] 1 / [Friendship] 1 / [Resolve] 1 / [Review Memory] 1 / [Share Memory] 1 / [Fog Memory] 1 / [Drunkenness] 1 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Inspiration] 1 / [Psychometry] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 1 / [Hum of Striding] 1 / [Hum of Defence] 1 / [Hum of Harmony] 1 / [Hum of Discord] 1 / [Hum of Cleansing] 1 / [Hum of Mist] 1 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Cleansing Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 1 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Block Mental Detection] 1 / [Block Mental Attack] 1 / [Interrupt] 1 / [Awaken Organism] 1 / [Awaken Object] 1 / [Stable Reality] 1 / [Unstable Reality] 1 / [Manifest Intruder] 1 / [Seal Intruder] 1 / [Banish Intruder] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1 / [Psionic Hex] 1 / [Psionic Curse] 1 / [Drown] 1 / [Heart Attack] 1 / [Indigestion] 1 / [Blind] 1 / [Deafen] 1/ [Anosmia] 1 / [Phantom Pain] 1
I accidentally tapped abilities I already had. More than once. But nothing happened. They were grayed out. ¡°I wan¡­ plants! And mooshroooms!¡± So, I got the first levels of [Floral Interface] and [Fungal Interface]. Yeah. That¡¯s show em.
Ability Gained: [Drunkenness] 1 has been added to the Status.
Hey! That took a point! That¡¯s not fair! I want my point back! Refund my point! (Gnome)ty System! I want my point back! The world started turning harder and faster. Slab had me in his arms, though I could not say when he caught me or when I went down. ¡°IaI¡­fiiiine.¡± I said, pushing against him and getting back on the barstool. ¡°NAvaer Batteer.¡± Slab might have made a face but my vision was so blurry I could not discern it. ¡°OOH MY GOSH! Sab. Youse such a good frand! I¡¯m sorry I thought aboot cuddling with ya sister. She¡­she looks like a cuddler. I likje to cuddle. A lot. Me and Doris used ta¡­ Used ta¡­¡± The room kept spinning and I accidentally knocked one of the glasses on the floor. ¡°(Gnome)! (Gnome)! (Gnome)! (GNOOOOOOOOOOME!)!¡± Dusty and some other people burst in. They¡­ I don¡¯t know. I couldn¡¯t focus on their thoughts or their faces. Maybe they were worried? I don¡¯t know. What I did know is that I¡¯d been an idiot. I called them all sorts of mean things in my head. These were nice maniacs. Not mean maniacs. ¡°Dusta! Slorr! I¡­I¡­Iiiidiu¡­¡± ¡°What did you do to him!?¡¯ ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything! He had a thirst!?¡± ¡°Are those empty bottles his?¡± Their sounds¡­the sounds. They were like waves. Hitting me and dragging me deep. Deeper. I felt wet and heavy. Buddy melted away into my old pajamas. They were so wet and moist and heavy. I was sinking and sinking. Drowning. Is this the real life? Is this all fantasy? The strings. I was back. Deep inside myself. Behind my own eyes where the fog was thickest. The lake was a little clearer now. I could peer a bit deeper into the waters. I could see the new strings and the old. The stronger and weaker ones too. Strongest of all were the ropes. The three thick pillars that overshadowed the rest. I could not have beaten the gnomes without them. If I could do that much with three, imagine what I could do with five or ten. Yes. I need more ropes. I want all the ropes. Who cares if I¡¯m a Telepath? I¡¯m a hero. I should have more ropes if I wanted them! I started to tangle up all the strings I could. [Mental Map] and [Sense Thoughts] almost merged, until I tried to bring in [Mental Bolt]. The thing hissed at me like a pissed-off tomcat. The lake shook with an angered tremor. I almost threw up. Wait, did I throw up? Whatever. I was fine. My arms were turning to water. Slipping into the pool inside me and joining the reservoir. Or, were those my arms? No. My arms were outside. In here, there was only will. I kept at it, until more prompts appeared from the available abilities tab. I banished it, rejecting the offered help. ¡°If you need something done right, you have to do it yourself.¡± I dissolved and grasped the roots of the pillars as they waved. I pulled near the bolt and coaxed his friends out. ¡°Which ones will you play with? I¡¯ll help you.¡± Three more tried to rise, but another quake flung them from me. ¡°Fine. Be that way. You can wait until the others have had their turn.¡± [Fever] was there next to [Fear]. Sturdy, reliable bits of yarn. I embraced them. Knitting them together. [Drunkenness], newly emerged, joined in on the fun. Sulky Bolt tried to join. I kicked it aside. ¡°You had your chance.¡± I reprimanded. ¡°Stay in the corner until you¡¯re called.¡± With that I wove and knit and sang. I got back 17 points from their eradication. One point was used to solidify the rope. 21 turns to 20. I had 20 points left.
Ability Gained: [Delirium III] 1 has been added to the Status.
[Delirium III] Standard Combination of [Fever] / [Fear] / [Drunkenness]. Launches a Psionic assault in a spherical area around the user that impairs coordination while drastically raising body temperature. Afflicted targets will be compelled to flee from the area of effect unless they manage to resist the initial assault. Targets that leave the area of effect are no longer afflicted by this ability. This ability cannot be overcharged with Psy. Potency of effect and maximum area of effect scales with current ability level.
Nice! I did it! I created a new ability! Using the power of friendship and booze! Joy swelled from my very core, only to stop abruptly once I actually read the description. ¡®Wait a second. I can¡¯t throw it far away like I used to do with [Fever]? I can¡¯t overcharge it? What!? That sucks! Those were the best parts! This isn¡¯t an upgrade! It¡¯s a downgrade! Give me back my [Fever]!¡¯ Alas, no amount of pulling and yanking could undo the damage. I felt awful now, as if I¡¯d lost all my money in Vegas and woke up tied to a hot air balloon that was hovering above a pit of vipers. Okay, maybe that was a little dramatic. I felt like an ass. Oh Screw it. All in.
Ability Evolving: [Delirium III] 1 has grown to [Delirium III] 6
Perfect. All done and no points left.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Never mind. No title though. Hm. Well, whatever. I was happy and that¡¯s all that mattered. Wait till the gnomes get a taste of this! Oh, wait. They¡¯re all dead. Or are they? They¡¯re sneaky little (Gnome)s. They could be hiding under the table or my bed. Wait. My bed? When did I get into bed? I waved my real arms until I caught the corner of blanket and threw it to the side. I tried to stand. I fell. Slab and Dusty were arguing outside the door but they came in as soon they heard. Them and Charlie and Monique and Borislav. I smiled kindly and stood up properly. Outside, thoughts and emotions are still streaming in. Most are scared, either of me or my party. They don¡¯t see a light at the end of the tunnel. So, they wander listlessly through the hall. Deader than the zombies Monique has had to deal with. I can change that. I will change that. I won¡¯t make the same mistakes Sarcophagus Solomon made. I will be their light in the darkness. Their hero. I know what must be done. Chapter 39: The Speech. Chapter 39: The Speech. I smiled up at them. Half anchored to this physical shell and half submerged in the lake. I was getting the tingles again. The same ones that surged when Randall shook my hand. Part of [Premonition] and [Precognition] rolled into one. The golden strings supporting the rest. Making me say funny things that I didn¡¯t fully comprehend. No really. I had no idea what I was saying. My heart, lungs, brain and limbs felt loose and warm and nice. There was flow that led to what I wanted. To a good cause. I only needed to follow it. I opened my mouth and words spilled out. ¡°Star and Moon. Strength and Chariot. The Hanged Man! The Emperor is the Fool. He dances with a paper crown and the bells in his motley jingle to mark his passing! The Empress is under the sea! Upside down where the Sun can¡¯t reach! Her face is black and blue!¡± I started laughing. Feeling myself being controlled from the insides for a second time. Just like that time with Randall in the coloured room. ¡°Fat birds are playing in the snow! Hiding a fox under their skirts! The Magician slays the dragon with her silver wand! Men cheer and Women weep! Her armor glitters and sparkles! The chains! Oh, the chains! They strangle me! They strangle you! But are they touching us?¡± I stood on unsteady feet. No one tried to help me. Their faces were all a blur. Their bodies were moving away slowly. Still, I heard what they were thinking and felt what they were feeling. It was up to me to take away the pain. I giggled. Moving closer even as they retreated. ¡°Under the sea and over the stars. A thousand maggots slither. They grow big and they grow fat, before the great corpse withers.¡± ¡°Juices fall and juices rise, dancing to the beat. Yet none will stay and none will sing, all will turn to meat.¡± ¡°He comes and she comes after, burning with a vengeance. He will die and she will smile, passing down her sentence.¡± ¡°The spider looks, the spider sees, everywhere and nowhere. It is there and it is here, watching from the corner.¡± I pointed at the ripple. The almost imperceptible tear in reality. ¡°I see you. I know you. You cannot escape. None can run and none can hide from the Coffin or the Drake.¡± For a brief, surreal second, space itself stood still. Unwilling or unable to believe it had been detected ahead of schedule. Terrified of the implications. It shivered and chose to flee. I laughed harder. Pulling on errant strings attracted to the phenomenon. Loud enough to shake the foundations of the earth. Pulling on errant strings attracted to the phenomenon.
Ability Gained: [Awaken Organism] 1 has been added to the Status.
Ability Gained: [Awaken Object] 1 has been added to the Status.
¡°The shadows come to play and sing and dance. They stroll about the cobweb, tearing its expanse.¡± ¡°The mirror cannot hold. The mirror cannot stay. The shards of glass will all fly out and blind those in the way.¡± ¡°The Coffin is¡­.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Says Charlie. Grabbing me by the hand. Or rather, what he thinks is my hand. The Illusion is firmer than any reality he¡¯s ever known. I walk past him unimpeded. ¡°The Coffin is still empty, very musty and very cold. Its owner hides behind the veil, eyes glittering with gold.¡± ¡°The Drake is loud and furious. Terrible in wrath. Its tendrils invite horrid doom to all within its path.¡± Another crowd had formed around me, watching in morbid fascination. I was still, somehow laughing at nothing and everything. ¡°You.¡± I pointed at a random person. ¡°You will cast me out after seeing the movie. You and him and her and him and him and her.¡± I continued pointing. Calling out each individual after the other. Soon, I was saying other things about them. Telling them who was still waiting back home and who wasn¡¯t. Who had gone to the police to report them missing and who had run away with their inheritances. I kept at it until Slab and Charlie found the real me and began dragging me back to bed. ¡°The butcher will come! With fire and sword! To cast you out of your homes and burn all that you hold dear! But I won¡¯t be here! You¡¯ll have driven me away! You¡¯ll have no one to defend you! No one!¡± I looked at all of them. Really looked. Taking in their joys and their griefs. The scars they carry from yesterday and all the ones still waiting on the morrow. I took a deep breath. Preparing myself for the moment of truth. Then, I bared it all. ¡°Don¡¯t you realize! I want to help you! I want to save you! I want to be selfless! To make sure you¡¯re safe and fed and warm! I never expected anything from you in return! I never wanted gratitude! I never wanted to be loved! All I ever wanted, was to save my fellows! To save you! For no other reason than because it was the right thing to do! The only thing to do! Because I am a good person!¡± I stumbled forward a bit, before catching myself. ¡°Don¡¯t you see! It hurts! It hurts me so much when people die! I don¡¯t want that anymore! I don¡¯t want anyone to die! I want you all to live! I want you all to leave here alive with me! I want to stick it to the (Gnome)ing (Gnome) that put us in here and avenge all their victims! I¡¯ve lived through rifts and wars and brutal subjugations! I know the only way for people to survive is by working together! So stop being so mother(Gnome)ing stubborn! Take my hand! My help! I give it freely! Because I¡¯m a good person!¡± [Precognition] activated. Through its golden strings, I witnessed a thousand Solomons falter and fall. Unable to bring these people up to where they needed to be. I learned from their mistakes. I prevailed where they didn¡¯t. ¡°You are all blind! Your eyes are yet to open! See the world now! See it through my eyes! Feel it through my blood!¡± Slab and Charlie falter. The former shrieks and keels over. The latter hurls, staining his new symbiote.
Abilities Converging: [Precognition] 12 Has been undone. 78 Ability Points Gained. [Meditation] 8 Has been undone. 36 Ability Points Gained. [Premonition] 6 Has been undone. 21 Ability Points Gained. [Psychometry] 3 Has been undone. 6 Ability Points Gained. [Inspiration] 4 Has been undone. 10 Ability Points Gained. [Awaken Organism] 1 Has been undone. 1 Ability Points Gained. [Awaken Object] 1 Has been undone. 1 Ability Points Gained. 163 Ability Points Remaining.
Ability Gained: [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 1 has been added to the Status.
[Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] Perceives future scenarios within line of sight at will and at a rate of +1 seconds per ability level. Passively anchors User in reality and pierces Psionic Illusions as well as Psionic Stealth abilities. Passively reveals Status information of targets within the current range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. Passively increases Psy regeneration of User and allies within line of sight at a rate of +50% per every 5 current ability levels. Passively increases Experience gain of User and allies within line of sight at a rate of +50% per ever 10 current ability levels. Forewarns User and selected targets within line of sight of the most probable undesirable future scenarios as well as ways to avoid them at a rate of 1000 Psy per second. Visions may take on the perspectives of targets in the past, present, or future. Provides Enlightenment opportunities for living beings and objects within line of sight at the cost of 15, 000 Psy per second. Targets may benefit from usage at a rate of 1 instance per 15 ability levels per year. Enlightenment bonuses scale with selected Target¡¯s inherent talents, User¡¯s inherent talents, length of exposure, and current ability level. This ability cannot be overcharged with Psy. Accuracy and Clarity of predictions scale with current ability level. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Oomph. That¡­ That was some kick. The little golden strings had grasped their neighbours and made another cord. One that shone brighter than the noon sun. There was qualitative difference as soon as the new dawn came. The bonuses to Psy regeneration were less than what [Meditation] gave me and there was no mention or feeling of its previous calming effects. That confidence and stability I¡¯d had was gone. So were the tingles from [Premonition]. I¡­ I could only see bad things coming now. No more slight hints at what the right words were. No more superimposed outline of my own body. From now on, it was all me. A lesser person might have hesitated if they were suddenly cut off from their lifeline. Not me. I knew what had to be done.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 1 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 17
Oh poo. 10 points left over. Oh well. I¡¯ll find some way to use them.
Title Gained: Crown Shard of the Wizened Prophet.
Title: Crown Shard of the Wizened Prophet. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so the wielder occasionally experiences bursts of Enlightenment. This title makes it so the wielder occasionally interacts with non-real alternate versions of themselves. This title makes so that hidden knowledge is revealed to the wilder at random intervals. This title provides a constant +1 Bonus to all ability levels. This title increases Total Psy by 70%.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Nice! I¡¯ll make good use of these!
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 17 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 19
My wobbling feet took me all around the little island of safety. Giving me ample time to enlighten my comrades. ¡°Now do you see? The crows and the fish nibbling at your toes? The fires that consume and the spider that weaves? Do you see it? Do you see it?¡± The poor folk did not answer immediately. Opting instead to shiver and shake in the presence of things to come. Gleefully, I noted that many eyes were opening. A few were even mine. ¡°Monique! Dear Monique! So brave and so composed! How does it feel to see the cracks? How do the strings reveal themselves? Do you empathize with me, I wonder? Or do you despise me for showing you the truth?¡± She did not answer. Too engrossed in the sudden rush of levels and her own spreading fog. ¡°How about you Slab? You were so eager to know me, both here and in the visions. So willing to torture yourself for the sake of your clan. How do my eyes change your perception? Are you angry? That its not at all what you expected? Or are you pleased that it is so much more?¡± He did not answer either. ¡°That leaves Ryan! How are you, my false friend? How does power feel as it caresses the inside of your skull? Does it please you? Does it sate your jealousy? Will this boon stay your hand?¡± I giggled. ¡°The Sarcophagus was a fool. He could not see the whole picture. How even the tiniest variable changes the plot. You cannot betray me to Randall. Not anymore. Everyone here knows that you are the same as me. Neither can you try to win over Anezka. You see her silver armor and silver chains. She¡¯ll keep you and sell you to her masters. Same as me! No. You only have one choice now. To grow strong! To fight! Against the lies and the greed and the follies of killers!¡± I inched backwards. Taking slow, measured steps towards the room and the waiting bed. The waters roiled within me. Rising like a tsunami to drown my strings and ropes and the light. I felt it burn my cells. Waking my blood and my bones. Shocking me awake. I felt it twisting muscles and shattering bones as it sent me sprawling backwards. I could not breathe. I couldn¡¯t even think. Until I could. I blinked one, twice, seeing the way the lights and the stones beyond them swirl and shift like pools of platinum starlight. I chuckled and drew in as deep a breath as I could muster. That only led to more vomit and more scrambling on the floor like fat ugly roach. ¡®Focus.¡¯ I told myself, commanding my body as if it were one of my pawns. ¡®These people need you. Do not cower behind niceties and propriety. Focus. Now.¡¯ I stood. Or rather, a puppet stood. I was far away, half drunk and teetering on collapse, with complete control of the shell. ¡®Get up.¡¯ The puppet did as it was bid. ¡®Face the crowd.¡¯ The puppet obeyed. Its eyes took in the scared, confused mob. ¡®Speak clearly. Be their leader. Be their hope. Show them the truth. Their eyes have yet to open.¡¯ ¡°FACE REALITY! FACE YOUR NEW MIGHT!¡± A few were coming to, slowly and with great effort. Most were still writhing and whimpering on the floor. ¡°You cannot read me now. I am too strong. But you can read each other. You know their pain. How desperate they are to live! How real the visions I¡¯ve shown you are. How each and every one of you will betray me after finding out that I can control minds. You¡¯ve seen what happens next. Randall killing most of you, even though none of you were Telepaths. Anezka using her robots to cripple and puppet you! Turning you into shells screaming from the inside of metal casings! I will not be here to protect you and that will be your doom!¡± Yes. That¡¯s it. They all knew. Both the nature and the magnitude of my power. ¡°You also realize that I have changed the future! Now you¡¯re so much more. So much stronger than before! True Telepaths and other Types in addition to whatever you had before! The future is not written in stone! You can change it! We can change it! Before, Randall would have gotten stronger from killing the head penguin-fox thing sending me nightmares and Anezka would have come back with super-tech to kill the dragon. Which I think, from my visions is a giant, or giant-er seahorse with legs and big dorsal fins. Doesn¡¯t matter! We can take those down before either of them gets the chance! We can overcome our future!¡± Their levels had skyrocketed after the exposure and almost all had gained a second type. Roughly 40 of them were newly minted Telepaths. It was important that they knew what to do with that power and how to get more. In addition, it was crucial that they had hope and a means to set themselves on a different path from the one I¡¯d shown them. ¡°You also know that I have not retaliated in any way, despite knowing what you¡¯ll do. That is because I love you. All of you. You are people. Like me. My own kin. I can prove the truth of my words too. You saw that I can share memories. I will freely show everything to anyone who asks. So, you know that I mean what I say.¡± Sighs of relief echoed all throughout the hall. They knew that it was true. They knew all that I went through and they knew that I loved them. That no amount of pain had changed how much I wanted to be a hero. To be a good person. ¡°Now, are you satisfied with this outcome? Are you okay with me being you guardian angel? Are you content with being weak? With being victims?¡± ¡°No.¡± That voice was alone. It came from a wheezing boy, shifting his mass to resemble a human-mantis hybrid. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be afraid anymore. I don¡¯t want to hurt anymore.¡± ¡°Good!¡± I cheered. ¡°Know that I was not always strong! I know what its like to be weak! I know what its like to have my bones broken! To flee from much stronger foes while starving and close to fainting! I know what its like to be hunted! I know what its like to be afraid! Now, I come to you wanting to lift you up! I¡¯ve already saved you once! Made you stronger! Given you a place to eat and sleep in peace! Despite knowing what it is you¡¯ll do to me!¡± I paused to breathe, relishing the enraptured gazes coming my way. ¡°I know it isn¡¯t easy. I know you¡¯re weak and vulnerable and all you want is for it all to end. To go back to how things were. I¡¯ve been there. (Gnome), I was there before I was taken. In my world, monsters come out of portals to dismember and disembowel anyone and everyone! Their appearance almost brought my world down! Countries fell! Entire Continents disappeared! It was pandemonium!¡± Slab, Charlie and Borislav were coming to. Shuffling to their feet. Monique and Dusty had¡­gained more from my ability. The¡¯d be down for a while longer. ¡°Heroes appeared in our darkest hour! Individuals who stood up for everyone else and put their own lives on the line to save the lives of others! When I stand by you today, I ask myself: What would THUNDER FIST DO?¡± No one heckled or tried to interrupt. Waiting for my answer. ¡°I¡¯LL TELL YOU WHAT HE¡¯D DO! HE¡¯D GO OUT THERE AND KICK SOME MONSTER (Gnome)!!¡± To my surprise and relief, a few heads nodded. Three had tears streaming down their eyes. ¡°Tell me! Are you satisfied!? Are you content, knowing that somewhere out there, other people are suffering at the hands of other monsters!? Other gnomes!? How do you feel, knowing there are¡­¡±
Survivor Count: 249/1000
¡°Almost 150 more people who are running and fighting for their lives!? That there are other safe zones that haven¡¯t been conquered!? People that may still be suffering under gnomes!? I¡¯ll tell you how I feel. I AM (GNOME)ING FURIOUS!¡± A couple started yelling in affirmation. Those two soon turned to four and then to ten. ¡°HOW DARE THEY!? How dare these freaks take us from our homes and kill us as if we were animals!? How dare they toy with our lives!? Torturing us for kicks and giggles!?¡± The whole room had picked up the din, including the Mantis man and the Plant Telepath that had previously tried to kill me. ¡°THIS CANNOT STAND! They want to hunt us!? I SAY! HUNT THEM RIGHT BACK! WE ARE HUMANS! We¡¯ve conquered our planet many times over! We¡¯ve lived through ice ages and droughts and earthquakes and THREE WORLD WARS!¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± ¡°Did he say three?¡± ¡°Individual experiences may differ! THAT IS NOT THE POINT! We¡¯ve taken everything the world has thrown at us and kept going! We¡¯ve formed communities, kingdoms, empires! We¡¯ve made it through plagues and famines! Through nuclear explosions! Are you okay with this!? With them walking all over us!? With them killing us and caging us for their own sick pleasure!? Is this¡­!?¡± I waved my arms about. ¡°Is this enough for you!? After all that¡¯s happened!? Are you fine with hiding in a bunker when others are going through the same thing!? No! You don¡¯t want safety! You want PAYBACK!¡± I was gasping for breath at this point, heaving between words but the crowd was with me, their expectations invigorating me more than mere food ever could. ¡°How dare they cage us!? How dare they mock us!? How dare they torture us for their own sick pleasure!? I¡¯ll tell you why! BECAUSE THEY FACE LONE PERSONS. NOT PEOPLE.¡± I was shivering with a mix of bloodlust and anticipation. Spreading the feeling to all the monster waiting outside through my fog even as my words incited the fires in my fellow survivors. ¡°A PERSON IS WEAK. PEOPLE ARE UNSTOPPABLE! WE! ARE! INVINCIBLE!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡°That¡¯s Right!¡± ¡°How dare they!?¡± ¡°WE ARE HUMANS! IF SOMEONE KILLS ONE OF OURS, WE KILL THEM RIGHT BACK! IF A SPECIES MAKES TROUBLE, WE MAKE THEM EXCTINCT! IF SOMEONE TRIES TO (Gnome) US, WE (Gnome) THEM BACK TEN TIMES HARDER! WE STAND TOGETHER OR WE DIE TOGETHER!¡± Rapturous applause could be heard all around me. Incessant and all-consuming. ¡°THERE ARE MONSTERS OUT THERE! LET¡¯S SHOW THEM WHAT HAPPENS TO THE ENEMIES OF HUMANITY! LET¡¯S GUT THE PENGUINS! LET¡¯S GUT THE SEAHORSES! LET¡¯S GUT THE BLOODY GNOMES! LET¡¯S BRING ALL THE SURVIVORS UNDER OUR BANNER! WE WILL GET THROUGH THIS, AND WE WILL DO IT TOGETHER!¡± In all honesty, I did feel an absurdly large amount of cringe from those words. It didn¡¯t matter. For the briefest of instants, they¡¯d remembered who they were. Where they¡¯d come from before the Labyrinth. I saw them a little bit more clearly. Beyond the blur. Ryan the prideful, untrusting youth. Merely 17 years old with straight blond hair and flinty green eyes flecked with points of gold. Handsome with a square jaw. Tall though not too tall and not muscular. Jane and Lousie, with their clashing appearances and personalities. Both enamoured by the same man. Helga, who¡¯d once tried to ambush me with an illusion of her own. Her previously crooked teeth had been replaced by empty gums and her messy brown hair had been shaved clean off. Scars ran down the uncovered parts of her body. Reminders of what she¡¯d been through after capture. Her piercing grey eyes had lost nearly all of their previous ferocity during her ordeal. Now, she allowed herself to be cradled by Mantis-man. Shivering and twitching in his grasp. There were others beyond those I recognized as well. A tall, lean man of east Asian descent, with a narrow face and a huge beaked nose. His hands had been missing when he was rescued and pale new digits had grown in their place once Borislav had tended to him. There were a few scraggly hairs remaining of what might have been a beard once upon a time. Black hair sprouting from a prominent chin that had very obviously been broken more than once and healed improperly. His black eyes were sunken into his skull. So deeply that he might have passed for a ghoul or a vengeful wraith. Next to him was a woman of average height and average build, with pleasing curves and a few scattered tufts of blonde hair left to her. Her deep blue eyes were not haggard nor listless. They burned for vengeance and I could sense joy and relief stirring inside her after mentioning Thunder Fist. I knew who she was. I had her diary. Finally, there was the man who¡¯d tried to punch me. His face had been marred by strife and suffering, tears flowing freely down his face. I saw that he had received Shifter as a second Type and that a few of his remaining wounds had begun to heal and close all on their own. He too, was cheering for me. For the possibility of getting his pride back. To feel safe again. For the briefest heartbeat, a figure came into view behind him. A tall, muscle-bound man wearing a white and gold toga, embraided with thunderbolts. His hair was chestnut brown with streaks of white and his eyes were as blue as the summer sea. Those eyes took on a surreal glow right as he brought up his hands and made finger gun gestures at me. ¡®You¡¯re the best Sully! You are truly my number one fan!¡¯ The rest were much the same. Young and old. Tall and short. Lean and muscled. All brought together by my promise of protection. This was good. This was right. This was how heroes behaved when the chips were down. ¡®I¡­I did it, Thunder Fist. I¡¯m going to save everyone! I¡¯m going to beat the gnomes!¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s right Sully! I¡¯m really proud of you! Now¡­¡¯ His eyes changed from a pleasing, calming light, to a skewering red in an instant. ¡®KILL THEM ALL.¡¯ ¡®As you command, my hero.¡¯ Things got a little confusing after that. My range had increased. Up to something like 4 kilometres, more or less. Thanks to the new bonuses form the Title. I think. Meh, don¡¯t care. I only knew that a lot more creatures fell under my sway the second I put in the slightest bit of effort. That done, I ordered my loyal hordes of cannon fodder to clear a path for me and my friends and to lead us to the nearest unconquered safe zone. I sort of remember taking a few bottles and Slab trying to take them away from me. I think I finished one or three before he took them. Meh. Whatever. There would be more where we were headed. Chapter 40: Retribution. Chapter 40: Retribution. All that booze had taken its toll. I was currently unable to flow back into my body, not without losing consciousness once more and wasting the vigor I¡¯d instilled into my new friends. Even now, half-submerged in my own head-lake, the sweet syrupy amber tickled my core. Taking away the fear and the doubt. That, and making the anger burn hotter. ¡®Ride the wave.¡¯ I commanded. ¡®Do not miss this chance. Fight! Subjugate! More leviathans to carry us forward!¡¯ The first thing I did was send out all the weaker monsters under my control so that they could scatter and destroy any of their own kind they came across. I would not have our base conquered right from under us while we were gone. I ordered the robots to stay behind for this very reason, them not needing food or water to maintain themselves. The second thing I did was to ride Dolce upwards. Until we reached one of the entrances to his lair. Normally, this kind of vertical ascension would have me screaming bloody murder off the top of my lungs. With the help of alcohol, all I said was: ¡°Wheeeeee!¡± I kept hollering all the way to the top. Rising through imaginary sunshine and rainbows on my way to the edge of the waters. Thunder Fist appeared again on the corners of my vision. His form was a beacon shining in the darkness. Impossibly proud of what I was about to do. ¡®Remember Sully.¡¯ He said in his stereotypically jovial manner. ¡®Heroes don¡¯t leave survivors!¡¯ ¡°Of course! I¡¯d never leave any gnomes alive Thunder Fist!¡± ¡®Who¡¯re you talking to Sully?¡¯ ¡°Oh, hey buddy! I¡¯m talking to my childhood icon. Thunder Fist. He¡¯s right there!¡± ¡®Are you sure? I¡¯m not sensing anyone and I had to take over for your liver a while back. I think you could have died if I hadn¡¯t. Honestly Sully, who drinks this much poison at once?¡¯ ¡°Nonsense! You don¡¯t know anything about booze Buddy! I had a few drinks, that¡¯s all. I¡¯m perfectly healthy! I can stop anytime I want!¡± ¡®You fought Slab and Dusty when they took the bottles. I don¡¯t think your punches did anything, but you did attack them.¡¯ ¡°Pish-posh. They¡¯re fineeee.¡± No sooner had we finished our chat, than Dolce arrived at the edges of the upside-down sea. I wasn¡¯t so foolish as to enter, not with so many waiting below. Instead, I ordered my own fog to expand. Past its current limits of 3 kilometres and the boost the new title gave.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Sense Thoughts] 10 has grown to [Sense Thoughts] 11
3, had become four with the title and now it became 5.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Sense Thoughts] 11 has grown to [Sense Thoughts] 12
Make that 6. ¡°Hellooo my slithery and slippery new friends!¡± I called out with enthusiasm. ¡°Who among you would like to snack on some gnomes.¡± A chorus of: ¡®me! me! me! me! me!¡¯ answered back at once. All very happy to been invited to the picnic. Three score sea serpents meandered into view and fell in with me. All giggled on their way down and picked up my waiting troops with their own tendrils. I felt no fear as we descended either. The strong drink having taken away those hindering facets of myself. Instead, we all came down with a resplendent flourish. My outline radiating sparks of the purple and gold halo I emitted when my Psy overflowed. Half-illusion and half manifestation of power. The people below me saw it clearly, unreal light shining down like a second sun. Scattering the darkness in its wake. Behind the glare, they saw the jaws and the long needle-like fangs coming down towards them. I couldn¡¯t say who was the first to run. Probably Borislav, but whatever. The end result was the same. Nearly a hundred little dots down below tried to scatter. All their previous bravado and confidence drained away by a few scaly puppies coming down. I might have been more annoyed if any had actually managed to outrun Dolce and his cousins, but thankfully the inherent difference in levels more than made up for my fellow human¡¯s unfounded panic. All were caught and all joined in on our crusade. We, that is, myself and over 90 volunteers, surged like the coming tide then. An army of righteous wrath descending on anything unfortunate enough to have survived my scouts. The rest stayed behind, being too weak or too sickly to leave the safety of the Warehouse, even after my boost. I think we had a break and that Monique was trying to talk me out of what she called¡­ ¡°Complete and utter lunacy.¡± Meh. It didn¡¯t work. Dusty and Slab had my back, even though they¡¯d previously made off with my remaining booze. The details of the surrounding caverns and tunnels slipped past me. Water rushing through my fingers. Oily colours washing off a canvas. There might have been mushroom as big as trees or trees as big as mushrooms. There might have been entire sections of wall plagued with bio-luminescent barnacles that shot out venomous stingers or they might tendrils attached to one great mass. I vaguely recall a conversation and an ultimatum. Then it screamed. Long and hard and without end. I don¡¯t think any of the other people with me realized it was even alive instead of a sound-based trap. Its death was a mercy that brought me another few thousand Store Tokens and a ring of some kind. I shrugged and put it in the Bag I¡¯d gotten from Granny Golden. My already beleaguered mind was inundated with new stimulations. More creatures than ever before and more than a few coming in brand new flavours and dyes that splattered against the backdrop of my perceptions. They¡¯d be painting a golden sun setting on a beach one second and a seedy alleyway laced with broken glass the next. To my annoyance, the people I was so generously taking with me to train weren¡¯t helping. Far too many were complaining and bickering and doing other, smaller things to annoy me. They whined and whimpered. Saying or thinking things like: ¡°I changed my mind!¡± ¡°Please let me down!¡± ¡°Please put us back!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do anything!¡± ¡®I shouldn¡¯t have raised my hand.¡¯ ¡®I should have stayed put.¡¯ ¡®Stupid! Stupid Stupid!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m going to die here. This nutter will kill me and It¡¯ll be my fault for going along.¡¯ ¡®Please, if you¡¯re listening, I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t pray more.¡¯ ¡°Please! I have a wife back home!¡± ¡°I have kids!¡± ¡°My wife is pregnant!¡± Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed. By which I mean, my head prevailed. I sent my memories to them. Showing them the entirety of my thoughts, emotions and convictions. Holding nothing back. The whining ceased for an instant, then redoubled as they tried to process my input. We flew onwards for another couple of hours, a parade of wanton destruction that reduced all opposition to minions or meat. There were people too, another dozen souls that we picked up in groups of two or three at a time. They were ragged and tired. Driven more by desperation than any cohesive survival strategy. Alarmingly, every single one had lobbed projectiles at us before scurrying off. It took another speech to get them on board, after which they became as enraged and determined as those I¡¯d already rescued. I should have been happy about that. After all, I¡¯d rescued another twelve people from almost certain death. However, it wasn¡¯t the crushing victory I¡¯d had in mind. There were still more gnomes out there. There had to be. I¡­we couldn¡¯t afford to keep going around in circles, rushing down the larger tunnels like some fleshy freight train. To make matters worse, my body was having a great deal of difficulty keeping up with my mind. The liquor in my veins was slowing me down now, instead of pushing me forward. Whatever signals I was still getting from my fellows was vanishing into the walls and the colours outside space. I couldn¡¯t pin any specific one at any one time. ¡®Focus.¡¯ I repeated over and over again. ¡®Focus on the chase. Focus on the victims. Focus on their needs and their growth. Focus Solomon.¡¯
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Sense Thoughts] 12 has grown to [Sense Thoughts] 14
8 Kilometers now. Spreading in all directions. Zooming past crevices and vertical shafts with no more success than before. Each order dragged me farther and farther from my corporeal form, so that I wasn¡¯t weighed down by the sweet nectar¡¯s more unfortunate side-effects. Instead, I found myself swimming in lakes that were not my own. Tracing my fingers over Dusty¡¯s 22 years of life and Slab¡¯s 21. Their love of music and knife throwing. Their mutual distaste for a person named Glossy. The way they raged impotently whenever she followed their father back from a hunt and received endless amounts of adoration. I indulged in their happier memories, watching the hunters returning from their patrols with fresh kills draped over their shoulders. How their father had lifted then up on his arms as they giggled and wheezed. Their relentless training regiment that called for them to jump and run and trade blow after blow with rough stone swords and blunted bone axes. Dusty and Slab had both trained as hard if not harder than the rest. They¡¯d been adored as the golden children of the clan and there wasn¡¯t a single family that hadn¡¯t lavished them with praise and affection. Those very same people had looked on with suspicion when they reached their teenage years without any signs of awakening. Crust awoke into a warrior without issue, as did Gore and Finn and Glossy and all the other children that had been trying to catch up to the pair growing up. Their gazes made Dusty and Slab feel small. Stained, in a way that couldn¡¯t be washed out. It made their stomachs twist and their eyes turn downwards. The shame became worse when they saw their friends going out to hunt under the supervision of their elders while they hung back with the lower caste children. The regulars that came from common stock. Dusty and Slab had both resolved to keep up their training. Even when in interfered with their new, menial duties. Even when it earned them scornful glares from the other menials and pitying gazes from the warriors and hunters. I felt, rather than saw, how their own father had passed on one of his awakened weapons to Glossy. A two-handed battleaxe bigger than she was, that could part boulders as easily as scissors cut through hair. I tasted their indignation when Glossy pushed them into one of the recently fertilized gardens they were tending to. How she sweetly whispered that they had finally found their place in the clan. No one they told had believed them. Instead, they¡¯d received chastisement for impeding her important training sessions. Both of them wanted nothing less than to be useful. To be seen as people by their father, instead of wasted potential. I swam lazily through a miasma of feelings to land on Borislav¡¯s waters. He was a man defined by fear, hunger and hate. His Thirty-one years on earth had been marred by these ideas, these all-consuming emotions. By the absolute grip they had on him. They were all that kept him alive, after all. Those without fear died when they failed to hide from the monsters. Standing still when the Soviets told them to. Not arming themselves when the government refuted the notion of monsters roaming the countryside. Not seeking refuge when they were assured that the monsters were all but beaten and that the worst was in the past. Not going to ground when told that help would arrive in time. Failing to prepare for looters and angry neighbours when the truth became self-evident. Those who had never known hunger didn¡¯t think to stow away their supplies until it was too late. They trusted that the bread lines would slow, they were always slow to a certain degree, and knew that a bare minimum would make it way down to them. When the looting started and the districts were ravaged from within, anyone with two braincells to rub together had long fled underground. Quite literally, in the case of his family. Those lacking in hate gave up halfway through the dark years; when newly awakened Espers carved out their own kingdoms amidst the ruins of eastern Europe. His two older brothers had not lacked for any of these traits, but they had died all the same. Andrei was skinned alive when he tried to rescue his wife from some warlord or other. He¡¯d been forced to watch as his children were shackled to a pole and left out overnight beforehand, so his killer could be sure the message was received loud and clear by all those in attendance. Alexi had stumbled when climbing a watchtower, falling to the hordes of jabbering maws waiting below. His killers had been big and round, almost cute in a way. With big, expressive eves and puffy tails covered with pink fur. His sisters¡­ Borislav didn¡¯t like to think about them. They were dead, or near enough to make no matter. Going back for them, trying to rescue them, would have meant his death, as well as theirs. He would not die like Andrei. That would make his passing all the worse. It was his duty to live. To stay amongst the living so that some part of their memory may linger. If he died, their ghosts would die with him. He was always tense, always watching closely, always ready to run. Running meant another day, another life. To stay was to join his family. To have to look them in the eyes and know their sacrifices had been for nothing. That there was nothing left of them and no one to remember who they¡¯d been. I drifted off for a few seconds. Coming back to myself and feeling the waves sweeping me backwards and forwards and back again. This time, I reached Monique. She was making breakfast today, since Kenny was out of town on another business trip. Jimmy and Ben were horsing around with Mr. Paws and Frankfurt, a pair of elderly rescue dogs from the local shelter. Mr. Paws tired easily due to his advanced age and Monique was dreading the day the vet informed them there was nothing more to be done. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. She was also worried about the cracks in the pool, the new manager at her job, the wasp nest she¡¯d found in the attic the night before and a thousand other little things. She was so tired and irritated that she decided to call in sick to work so that she might take care of things around the house until Kenny got back. This decision freed up her children¡¯s schedule as well as they no longer needed to rush for the bus. Monique herself would drive them to school. After a small nap on the couch to clear her head. She¡¯d been woken early by her eldest, Jimmy, after an emergency broadcast came on all their phones. Monique took one look at it. Froze in place, and bellowed like a rampaging elephant for her children¡¯s attention. That night, her, her two sons, Mr. Paws, and Frankfurt slept in the fallout bunker beneath the lavish home. A relic of her very paranoid and very wealthy father-in-law. She surfaced the next day, wearing a thick and primitive anti-radiation suit. It was a humble assortment, little more than a hazmat suit covered in lead. Nevertheless, Monique stepped out in it, with a shovel in one hand and Frankfurt¡¯s leash on the other. On her hips was the holster of a low-caliber handgun. The smallest weapon she could find amidst her husband¡¯s family home. She emerged from the bunker to find their home a burning ruin, leaking trails of blackened smoke that rose up into the clouds. The entire neighbourhood had suffered the same fate, flattened to the point where you couldn¡¯t even tell if people had lived here days or eons ago. A more dedicated search had her thanking her lucky stars. Against all odds, they had been the lucky ones. Out in the distance, craters could be seen strewn around the vicinity of the local air-force base. In those places, the heat and the resulting shockwave had ripped the earth open to create chasms that spewed molted rock. Miniature volcanoes springing up like weeds after being visited by an artificial sun. Monique had taken this all in. Over the span of a dozen seconds at most. She whirled back to the shelter at once, determined to ration out the cans and stored water with a protracted stay in mind when Frankfurt started barking. She made to shush him, only to notice the target of his aggression. It was one of her neighbours, Mrs. Pellet, wearing the remains of a large blouse stained with ashes. She was crawling towards her. An impressive feat for someone with no arms or legs. Or skin for that matter. Instead, she, no, it, wiggled her torso like a worm. Using whatever strength remained in the meat to bite and snap at the air. Monique screamed and fired six shots, missing every single one. In her desperation, she¡¯d let go of the leash. Frankfurt ran forward, savagely ripping into the monster. Green blood trailed down his fangs when he turned in Monique¡¯s direction and she could swear that it was actively crawling over his fur and down his back, a half-living slug made up of viscera trying to envelop him. Monique ran back down the bunker. Making sure to lock and bolt the door on her way down. It was another four months until they were forced to surface due to running out of water. Mr. Paws used the last vestiges of strength he¡¯d had left to fight off the thing that Frankfurt had become. Monique and her boys had been forced to put him down themselves shortly thereafter. Years later, Monique found herself struggling to breathe, struggling to sleep, struggling to keep anything down for long. She was tired of running. For herself, at least. She would have gladly given up months ago, if it weren¡¯t for her children. Theirs was the light that woke her in the morning. If they were gone, if anything had happened to them¡­ I landed on Charlie next. His brain was whirlpool of violence. Almost literally, in fact. His first memories were of him being kicked off the road by a whale of man. In one arm, he held a cane of polished wood with a steel handle at the end. In the other, he wielded an embraided handkerchief which he kept over his nose. The man said something about wretches and gallows and kept walking with his escort. A beautiful young woman in a yellow gown followed meekly, with six burly men tagging along. They carried trunks between them, bringing them up the wide staircase that connected the front of the estate to the manor at the center. None stopped to look at Charlie crying on the ground. Indeed, it was hard to say whether they noticed him at all. That boy turned into a pre-pubescent teenager before long. An expert rat-catcher and a horrible dockworker. Not because he was lazy or stupid, but because he couldn¡¯t fight off the older boys when they robbed him of his wages. They stalked the alleys like vultures hovering above the surrounding farmlands. Eager to pounce on any shred of weakness for their own selfish gain. All had found employment with Mr. Whitmer, threatening dockside shops and stalls with violence if they didn¡¯t contribute to local entrepreneurs, as they tended to call themselves. Any that went too far and actually dared to extort someone of any means was swiftly hanged or had their right hands cut off and nailed to the bounty board in the square. These failed prospects would find themselves begging, if they were strong enough to compete for prime begging locations. Those that failed were either drafted into the menial army regiments for room and board or, um, recruited to work in the deepest, most dangerous sections of the mines. Charlie saw it all. How the strong and stupid were crushed and spat out by the streets. How the strong and smart were hooked on all manner of powders and poultices early on to make them compliant and dependent. All to make a few more pennies for Mr. Whitmer and his lot. Charlie learned to run and hide in those alleys. He learned that the guards were even more likely to take his pay than the older boys were and that asking for help earned him twice the beatings. Once from the actual guards and a follow-up from the older boys for having the nerve to get the guards involved. Better of everyone, and himself, if he was never seen coming or going. It became almost like a game. Him climbing up chimneys and uneven masonry like a weasel while the older boys kicked empty bottles around filth and grime below. It did mean he earned the ire of the local seagulls, but that soon proved to be a different type of game. One that ended with roasted birds on the orphanage table more often than not. It did get harder as time passed. His own body grew quickly over the following years, making him too heavy to climb over rooftops without the risk of them giving way from underneath him. While onlookers might not have batted an eye over a dirty child climbing walls, they certainly minded when a half-grown man did it. The seagulls and grown fearful of his new stature as well. Taking to the air long before he could deploy his makeshift net. Fortunately, this all came with the benefits of a stout body. The older boys did try to intimidate him on occasion, but they had turned into clumsy fat drunkards and he was quick and nimble. More importantly, he had a big knife in his pockets at all times and a reputation for being merciless. That notoriety kept him safe. Better yet, it kept all the younger kids back home safe as well. Charlie had made it plain that he would not take advantage of them the way he¡¯d been taken advantage of. He helped tutor his adoptive siblings when he could, teaching them the best routes over rooftops and the best spots to goad seagulls into traps. He was determined to be more than where he¡¯d come from. To be better than the rest. Next, I saw Ryan playing in a field with Louise. The two couldn¡¯t have been more than eight. Both were drenched in filth, mud clinging to their forms like fur on a bear. Neither seemed to care overmuch. Ryan pushed and Louise pushed back. Ryan fell backwards into another puddle but resolved to drag Louise down with him. The two were breathless and misty eyed. Both wishing that this moment never ended. It did. More abruptly than Louise could have imagined. She was short, lacking the femininity and the curves that attracted other boys, with brown hair that always looked tangled and messy. Her face was plain, if not outright homely and the way she scowled and picked fights over insults, real or imagined, didn¡¯t help matters. Her family had been in decline for generations, ever since her great-grandfather had sold most of his lands in order to pay gambling debts. Her grandfather had continued this tradition by drinking himself to an early grave while beating the absolute snot out of all his children as well as his wife. Her own father was solemn man. Quiet and not prone to anger or violence. Instead, he advocated for a simple life of simple means, taking steps to slowly accrue wealth from careful investments and savvy use of their remaining assets. Nowadays, they had a modest plot where they raised pigs, chickens and cattle, with a side-business breeding dogs for police departments around the state. On the other hand, Jane was pretty. Very, very pretty. Having inherited the best features of both her parents. She was graceful and liked to sing. She had curves that would make the boys turn their heads and a soft mannerism that would enthrall them without effort. Better yet, her parents had brought a substantial fortune from South Korea and owned the company Ryan¡¯s parents worked for. Her parents were doting and permissive, wishing the closest thing to a normal childhood for their little angel. His parents were ambitious and determined to leave their own hardships far behind them. Louise felt the push. Slowly, at first. An invitation that didn¡¯t come. Plans that had been forgotten or cancelled altogether. Before she knew it, the boy she loved was nowhere to be found. He knew she cared for him and pushed anyway. Jane was beautiful and elegant and easily pleased with flattery and gentle words. He¡¯d always been good at pleasing people with words. I was ejected from those minds too, floating in the air and stumbling past brain after brain. Helga and Clover were star crossed lovers. Her the lady of small bohemian city and him being little more than a circus act. She¡¯d met with him once or twice, fueled by curiosity and later by genuine affection. She¡¯d been sentenced to be burned at the stake shortly thereafter, when she¡¯d been unwise enough to confess her plant-controlling abilities to the local friar. It was only through Mantis-man, Clover¡¯s, heroism that they managed to flee, though not without leaving fifteen corpses in their wake. Her father had been on their heels ever since, determined to reclaim the family¡¯s honor by any means necessary. Kaito was the man with the huge beak of a nose. 20 years old and haggard from the 16-hour shifts at the munitions factory he worked at. He got up after 7 hours of sleep, ate breakfast at the cafeteria and then went to his post. His first break came after 6 hours and his second came after another 6 hours. All the while, a holographic fox danced near the roof, reminding the drones below to work hard for the glory of the eastern block. He''d been foolish enough to co-sign a loan with a friend, thinking he¡¯d get a share of the restaurant. His so-called friend disappeared and he was sentenced to wage-serfdom until such a time as the debt was fully paid. Counting interest, it should¡¯ve only taken him a measly 93 years. Prudence was a blonde, blue-eyes beauty from Florida. Having grown up in the Everglades refugee camp and later in the developing New Miami. At 23 years old, she could turn as many heads as she wanted simply by walking down the street, despite her foul mouth and inherent aggression. She usually let it out on the gym. Bringing weights up and down and up again while she fantasized about Thunder Fist and Turbine butchering their way through monsters. She wanted that for herself. The power and the respect that came from being capable of overwhelming violence. The power to rip apart the monsters at her door. She¡¯d consider guns and explosives, craving the notion of self mastery. Of being one of the few capable people around. She wanted to be her own master. To be admired. She wanted it more than anything in the world. Olga had lived all her 21 years in ridiculous opulence. Her world had been an advanced utopia from the beginning and her family was among the top 1% among a populace that had begun to conquer planets outside the Sol system. She¡¯s always dreamed of adventure, of climbing all the highest mountains of the world without the assistance of robots. She could¡¯ve never foreseen her own kidnapping. I saw and felt and allowed myself to be seen by others. Simeon. Esmeralda. Colette. Agnes. Old man Park. They, and the rest of my companions shared memories between ourselves. As I dove from mind to mind, I got a renewed sense of purpose. They knew who I was now and I knew who they were. Secrets were no longer a barrier and all were united by our common goals. Our sense of shared humanity. Our hatred for gnomes. We were one. We were strong together. They all knew what the future held. Everything I¡¯d seen and everything I¡¯d lived through. They knew how much each of them meant to me. They knew about what was coming. Anezka, still weak without her home world¡¯s technology and Randall, so mighty he could scorch the very atoms that made up our disjointed beings. They all saw what was coming. What they would bring. They saw my plans for them. I would do to them, as I¡¯d done to the doubters. I would show them who I was. Who they were. I was certain that would work. That it would bring them around. If it didn¡¯t¡­. Then I they knew what I was willing to do. But not right away. Never right away. I would give them a chance to turn their lives around. Because I was a good person. I was jolted awake then, spurred into action by a captured thought at the edges of my fog. The tunnel we now occupied was larger than most others, with clumps of gold sticking out from the walls much like the passage I¡¯d travelled after running from Helga and Mantis-man. Roughly 8 kilometres in front of us, was a bastion. A castle nestled above a river of glowing magma. Riders were patrolling the outskirts atop winged ants. Stonemasons were using telekinetic powers to raise clumps of lava into the air and add them to the exterior of the walls. Foot soldiers moved along carved bridges and high passes in nearby hills. Going to and fro in tight formations. My smile could not have been any wider. As luck would have it, Stuk was there. Last of the three gnomish leaders out hunting for humans. Better yet, there was more beer and liquor. That, and lots of juicy gnomes. We ended up rescuing a meager 20 or so people, bringing our total to 126 survivors if one included those still in the first safe zone. Ryan, who had been avoiding me on account of the whole predestined treason thing, came to my side and suggested that we perform trials. ¡°Ryan. You are a genius.¡± I said ecstatically. ¡°I am?¡± ¡°Yes! It¡¯s a way to provide closure to the victims. There are a lot of those. It will be fantastic for morale! That and we can show the new intakes what we¡¯re all about.¡± As luck would have it, the new guys were thrilled. Crying and clinging to me and the rest of our band, thanking us for their deliverance. The trials themselves went by quickly enough. We had no shortage of mind readers and the gnomes we caught had literally been eating the bodies of their victims when we fell upon them. Monique and Ryan talked me down from my original suggestion, so we ended up settling on death by hanging. Helga used her admittedly impressive expertise with flora to make the nearby vines grow and twist themselves into nooses. Afterwards, I gave the ring I got from Stuk to Dusty. Thanking her for having my back and telling her that she was very much prettier and braver than Glossy. Everyone cheered. I actually think they were happier now than they were after finding the Warehouse. It was a lesson I took to heart. If people are sad, take them hunting. No one can resist slitting gnomes open. We moved on quickly after that, intent on repeating the recent conquest. We found another safe zone. One with were-rats instead of gnomes. That was a bit of a disappointment, but it ended well nonetheless, as dozens of us parted ways to partake in food and drink. Real food and drink from the safe zone¡¯s store. My treat, of course. Kaito and Prudence were so thankful that they were crying. ¡°Come on now guys! No need to thank me!¡± ¡°My fingers!¡± Kaito replied. In a tone that wasn¡¯t as jovial as I¡¯d expected. ¡°The book took my fingers!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure its nothing. See Prudence is already on it.¡± I walked away. Leaving them to it. I was in such a good mood that I even hugged Dolce. Cuddling with him for a few minutes and running my hand along his belly. He was so much bigger than me that I ended up sprinting from end to end while he hovered in place. Meaning I managed to show my appreciation while also getting some cardio. All while enjoying the best buzz I had ever known. I loved my life! I even loved those disquieting half-hisses half-slobbering gurgles he did when he was really happy. ¡®I think I¡¯ve treated you too harshly Dolce. No one who eats gnomes can be that bad. I love you.¡¯ ¡®I love you too Sully! I¡¯ll carry wherever you need to go! Whenever you need to get there!¡¯ Ah yes. All was right and good in the maze. Dusty and Slab did end up having a little bit of an argument with me later on because of how much I¡¯d been drinking though. Strangely enough, I couldn¡¯t quite make out their thoughts. I giggled. Savouring the warmth in my chest. The way it permeated in my lungs and around my heart. I would have collapsed into a loose heap twenty times over if it wasn¡¯t for my usage of [Domination] on myself. But they didn¡¯t need to know that. I still had work to do. I still needed to make peace with Randall and Anezka. ¡°Its fine.¡± I assured them. ¡°I¡¯m perfectly healthy. I got Buddy to take care of me. He can process the booze better than any liver. Isn¡¯t that right Buddy?¡± ¡®Uouoouugh.¡¯ ¡°Exactly. He¡¯s got it covered.¡± They looked at each other. And nodded. Slab took the ring I¡¯d given to his sister. It caused them to, vanish from the fog. I could see them, but I couldn¡¯t feel their minds. Then Monique came from out of nowhere and opened a portal. No sooner had the aperture appeared, than Slab dove into it. Leaving me alone with his sister. ¡°Hey, we were still talki¡­.¡± Dusty rushed at me. Her long strides closing the distance in half a heartbeat. She reached out without a word, and kissed me. Taking my lips into hers. She was soft. So soft and warm and beautiful. That act, combined with the joy I was feeling, sent me over the edge. It had been so long, since someone had shown me such, intimate affection, that I¡¯d forgotten how indescribably wonderful it felt. I hugged her. Wrapping my arms around her slender form. My eyes found hers once we separated. My mouth donning a satisfied grin. ¡°Ah, shoot. I think your brother¡¯s gonna be upset.¡± I giggled. ¡°He won¡¯t be.¡± Dusty assured me. Her voice gentle and sweet and alluring. It was a melody that drew me in. Sucking all my attention towards her full cherry-colored lips. I snickered like an idiot. Feeling incredibly stupid for the way I was acting, yet so suffused with happiness that I couldn¡¯t stop. ¡°Where did he even go?¡± ¡°Our friends went together. To take care of a small problem before it became a big problem. They didn¡¯t want to bother you. They know how hard you¡¯ve worked. They know you need a little break.¡± She grabbed the sides of my head. My cheeks felt like two incandescent suns radiating endless amounts of heat. My heart was throbbing. Beating furiously within my chest, to the point where I feared it might burst out like an alien parasite. ¡°I am your break. I want you for your power, for your honor, for your dedication to humanity and to the common good. I want you because you will save my family and my world. I saw it with my own eyes. Lose yourself in me, Shepherd. Don¡¯t worry about Slab. Don¡¯t worry about the future. Worry about me.¡± That, sounded so very tempting. So much so that I chortled. "Man, I''m so tired of this." "Tired, of?" "Of being helpless. Of being stupid. I know what this is. The ring hides Slab and the others. I¡¯m literally the one who used [Insight] to make it better. It didn¡¯t talk before I did my thing. So they¡¯re up to something that they don¡¯t want me to know. Randall¡¯s way too strong. Even for you. But Anezka. She only becomes a problem when she gets her mitts on her Earth¡¯s nano-tech. They saw the machines when I shared my memories. They know I can''t override them. The robots are too advanced. Self-replicating, artificial beauties the size of a molecule and all that. They want to deal with Anezka now. Before she becomes a bigger issue. You''re here to distract me." I hiccupped. Almost losing my balance, despite being propped up from above my own fishhooks. "So that''s why Coffin Sully wanted me to team up with you guys. He could deal with Randall, no problem. But Anezka, she got the jump on him. Turned him into the Sarcophagus. Had her mites eat him from the inside out. He needed someone to do the wet work.¡± I spread my hands out. Swivelling on my heels. ¡°The others are too distracted. Too, damaged. They see me, hic, and hope things will work out. Not realizing that I still have limits. You, your brother, Charlie and Monique decided to take matters into your own hands. You think I''m weak. That I can''t make the hard choices." Dusty said nothing. Her face full of hurt, and her mind as open as a book. I hiccupped again. Staggered backwards and drew another bottle from the ring. Taking a short sip before wiping my mouth with mine and Buddy''s sleeve. ¡°You don¡¯t realize, peace is a hard choice. See Mantis-man and Helga over there? They tried to mug me once. They wanted my pants.¡± Dusty narrowed her eyes. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°Hey! None of that now! We¡¯re friends! I helped them and they know I did it for free. Because I (Gnome)ing wanted to. I¡¯ve seen their futures. They won¡¯t betray me.¡± ¡°And what did you see regarding Anezka?¡± ¡°I saw her torturing me. Torturing the other me. For a long time. But that hasn¡¯t happened yet. There¡¯s still a chance.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± She arched an eyebrow. ¡°Very well. Show me.¡± ¡°Wha?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve shared memories with me. I know what that ability is capable of. Show me one future where Anezka doesn¡¯t try to enslave all of us and I¡¯ll help you stop out teammates.¡± I snorted. ¡°Like I need your help to stop them.¡± Regardless, I did as she asked. Flushing torrents of Psy into the lake to summon visions of the future. [Insight] Flared up. The many strands lighting up the darkness within me. What I saw¡­. Sobered me up. [Domination] strangling the joy and warmth from my veins in a fraction of an instant. Forcing me to focus. To face what was coming. I saw many futures. Possibilities where I tried making peace. Where I showed everything to them. It never worked. Anezka''s greed knew no bounds. The governor''s greed knew no bounds. She was the only one from her Earth to survive. The only one to facilitate his rapacious plundering. Meanwhile, Randall.... Was Randall. Yet, my visions were not done. I saw more. Further. Much further. "Ah. So that¡¯s how it is.¡± My eyes wandered upwards. Making me realize that I¡¯d lost my footing at some point. ¡°What did you see?¡± Dusty asked, though she certainly knew some of it. ¡°She always tries to kill or capture me. Us. Nothing short of fully brainwashing her will make her stop. It is, a hilarious trolley problem. Not a life in exchange for 5, but a life in exchange for billions. I can''t... I can''t justify it. Ha ha. I''m allowing a murder to happen and my doing so will save entire galaxies from annihilation. Including Anezka''s own, oddly enough. Haha.¡± ''It really was too (Gnome)ing funny. Is this what being a hero feels like? I''m saving lives, after all. I saw it. Why do I feel so (Gnome)ing dirty if I''m saving so many lives?'' Dusty¡¯s posture lost some of the tension it had been holding. Her shoulders sagged as she let out a sigh. However, my lake wasn¡¯t done with me. My sight grew more clouded. [Insight] firing in short consecutive bursts. I saw the end and the death. The Seeking Drake and the Cherub of Austin. The House that Hates and the Slasher of Veils. Granny Golden and the Orphan Maker. The Poison Swamp and the Burning Butcher. Dusty was only half right. She couldn¡¯t imagine the repercussions of these choices. Couldn¡¯t fathom how much bigger our roles were. I still couldn¡¯t and I¡¯d just seen it. With far more clarity than [Precognition] had ever had. There was no room for interpretation or argument. I saw and I knew that a choice had to be made. One that couldn¡¯t be put off. Doing nothing would lead to the future being unchanged. To the same consequences. Killing all those gnomes and were-rats hadn¡¯t meant anything. This was the one shot we had at changing the future. I sucked in a breath. Before marshalling my resolve. "You were right." I conceded. "I was weak and stupid. It has to be this way. I have to be the one to step up. There isn''t anyone else." "Shepherd?" "Sully." I corrected. "You saved my life. More than once and you tried to fix my mistakes. You should call me Sully." I grasped her hands tightly. "Come on. Our teammates have their task, and we have ours. The entire Earth is at stake.¡± Her eyes widened. ¡°Which one?¡± I hesitated, wondering if she¡¯d be capable of comprehending the scale of the events I¡¯d witnessed. Before throwing caution to the wind and opening my new memories to her. ¡°All of them.¡± ______________________________________________________________________________ My mood was thoroughly soured by the time we found them. All light died as we approached. Fires sputtering out into frail embers while telekinetic blasts shrivelled and died. "Pathetic." I said, as the hostile tide of Psy imploded in the face of my [Suppression]. "Is this all you have, Randall? Is this all your conviction is worth?" "Shut the (Gnome) up! You (Gnome)ing monster! You''ll never take my mind!" Dusty passed him by. Striking the soldier in the stomach and later in the chest. The poor man''s ribs cracked in such a loud manner that the echoes muffled Pate and Walder''s screams. Not that they lasted too long anyway. In contrast, my own corner was rather boring. I walked forward and Randall retreated. "I wish I could make this easier on you, Randall. I really do. But I still need you to live. You''ve incurred debts with your wanton slaughter. You have a responsibility to your world. To humanity as a whole. I''m here to collect." "Stay back!" Randall threw out his hands. Willing forth a flaming fulmination that would surge outwards and cleanse the Labyrinth of all he saw as impure. But I was still using [Suppression]. Nothing happened. "This is not enough Randall. I have seen the future. I have seen your face on it. You are a third of the angel. Your sacrifice will fuel its apotheosis. I need you to be strong, Randall. Stronger than you were. Than what you currently believe to be your limits." Randall stopped attacking. The fool had actually overused his abilities to the point where he was almost out of Psy. He was bawling, by the time I reached him. My hands caressed the sides of his face. Almost, comforting, in the way they held him. "You are like me, Randall. A Savant. A master of your Type and your Type alone. I need you to have Titles, Randall. I need you to push yourself to the very limits of your Type. I need you to torture your body until your mind learns to be humble. That is what is needed for the power. The power to defeat the old masters. The greedy species looking to cull the newcomers to the wider multiverse." He cried harder. "Only then will you be able to contribute towards the plan. Only then will you become the third head of the angel. Only then will I consume you. You will push, Randall. You will atone for your sins. You will be a hero. I promise you that much." The bawling only intensified. Through it all, he never stopped to consider his part in all this. What his countless victims had felt as they seared and roasted beneath him. The absence of guilt made him come across as, childlike. Incapable. That too, would have to change. "For what it''s worth, I''m sorry it had to be this way." My fingers trailed the length of his cheeks. All the way down to his throat. "Suffer me now." Chapter 41: Winding Down. Chapter 41: Winding Down. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°Around two hundred?¡± Monique answered. ¡°And the best prospects?¡± ¡°Subutai, Gina and Stellio. Three Types each. They caused quite a ruckus.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Slab said. ¡°The Council is less likely to notice then. I¡¯ll advocate on your behalf as if you relapsed back to drinking. No one should notice the difference and any who do will chalk it up to the liquor.¡± ¡°Speaking of which, are we sure that won¡¯t have any, uh, side-effects?¡± I looked at Charlie with a raised eyebrow. ¡°The plan or the booze?¡± ¡°Both.¡± I shrugged. ¡°The plan is the most likely to work, given our current restrictions. The alternative will see me and the Seeking Drake merging far more naturally, as Sarcophagus Solomon made it. I¡¯ve seen that thing¡¯s appetites. I¡¯m not interested in twisting my own mind into that. We¡¯re not quite that desperate yet.¡± ¡°Yeah, you say that, but you¡¯re undoing what the future you had done. The future you that was much stronger than you are now.¡± Charlie pointed out. I rolled my eyes. ¡°That other me was also not real and working off of [Precognition] or, a not-yet-formed version of [Insight]. I¡¯ve come to realize that the process of ability combination is far slower than I thought. Constant level-ups in a short time ramp up to their eventual completions. Dusty should be getting a Tier 4 ability any day now. The point is that he was¡­. Working with limited knowledge. He had his own timeline as a reference, which was enough to kill Anezka before he went all Doc Roboticus on us. The Drake was meant to be a failsafe, in case you guys failed. But you didn¡¯t. Now he¡¯s an opportunity. One that needs to be handled very, very delicately.¡± I placed a good deal of emphasis on that last word. Making damn sure they all got the picture. ¡°Because if it suspects something halfway through, I¡¯m going to have the literal pre-historic, nigh-all powerful biblical monster inside my skull trying to kill me. At a time where we¡¯re preparing for the literal end of days and over a hundred interdimensional invasions. That is not going to end well. For anybody.¡± We all sat in silence for a few seconds after that. Al of them re-playing the visions I¡¯d shared whilst willfully ignoring the ring as it promised us untold riches in exchange for more blood sacrifices. ¡°You know, the only reason I came within a mile of that thing was because I thought you wouldn¡¯t notice us being gone.¡± Charlie grumbled. ¡°I say we find a deep well and throw it inside.¡± ¡°We need it.¡± Was all I said in response. ¡°The Drake must not suspect anything. Not until I have crushed what¡¯s left of his ego and taken its powers for my own. I will not be able to hide anything from it once I start the process. No one can know but you four and you four must keep it hidden from me. At least until the next time we meet Randall.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you didn¡¯t kill him.¡± Monique repeated. Massaging her temple with such ferocity that one would think she was trying to purposefully cave in her own skull. ¡°I have held nothing back.¡± I repeated for the umpteenth time. ¡°You all saw Periwig. You all saw the Barbarian¡¯s End. My Earth will the first, but not the last. Randall is a tool. The least he can do is be a useful tool.¡± ¡°Naturally.¡± Slab assented. ¡°Do any of you have any other questions?¡± None of them spoke up. So, I conjured [Suppression] and started my scheme. ______________________________________________________________________________ [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] was an incredible ability. A fact that hadn¡¯t become immediately apparent to me earlier. How foolish of me. It wasn¡¯t merely an upgrade to [Static Illusion]. No sir! It could bring up perfect recreations of any sensations! Any. Sensations. So, naturally, I was currently dancing in the oval pit that used to be the bottom of the gnomish village of Happy Shrub. Blasting music so loud that the others couldn¡¯t stay for more than half an hour at a time. Which was great, because that meant we could keep playing our little game. I pulled another bottle of Irish whiskey from the storage ring. Moving it in the air with a flourish before opening it and taking a couple of gulps. The amber liquid burned my throat on its way down. Making my head spin and giving me a stupendous warmth in my chest. A heat that kicked the stuffing out of all my doubts and fears. I gasped. Reveling in the fire running through my veins. I was sweating bullets, despite Buddy¡¯s continued efforts to keep me cool. My feet were moving on their own. Stumbling around the stony dancing floor in a clumsy gait that would have elicited howls of laughter from any onlookers back home. Meanwhile, there was a war in my head. [Insight] telling me the sounds weren¡¯t real, while [Delusion] did its best to make them real. It was the best. Working out while having fun! All while my new comrades enjoyed themselves next to me. Suffocating the fears that had haunted me all this time. Ha! Take that, fears! I¡¯m a good person and I have lots of people who love me! ¡°This isn¡¯t the real one!¡± Stellio cursed, as he grasped an illusory copy of me. His thick calloused fingers slipping through empty air while I sang alongside all my doppelgangers. ¡°Tooooooruru! TOOruRurRoooRuRu! Tooruru! RU! RU!¡± The music reached a new crescendo as we all gave voice to the lyrics. Screaming our hearts out for all the maze to hear! ¡°EWVERY NIGHT IN MOY DREAMS! I SEEEE YOUUUU! I FEEEEEEEL YOOOOUUUU! THRAT IS HROW I KNOR YOU! GO OOOOOOONNNNN!¡± ¡°Sully! Sully! Give me the bottle man! Its not worth it! Please!¡± Prudence was reaching out and patting clones on the shoulder. Trying to see if she could tell which one was the real me. Jokes on her. That wasn¡¯t how [Delusion] worked! It changed how other perceived the world around them so much that it overrode their tests! People could run their fingers right through empty air and their brains would somehow convince themselves that it had been solid. Case in point, Simeon couldn¡¯t tell where I was either. ¡°[Echolocation] isn¡¯t working! It says there¡¯s sound everywhere! It¡¯s telling me there¡¯s a whole band playing! [Olfactory Navigation] doesn¡¯t work either! I¡¯m smelling bottles all around me! Ahmed! Ahmed, can you feel him!?¡± ¡°No!¡± Ahmed answered. His body reforming in front of me. Changing from a sentient cloud and back to a human. ¡°[Proprioception] and [Incorporate Gas] aren¡¯t working either! I felt all of them at once and they all feel real! All of them stink of liquor! I don¡¯t have any points left¡­. Does anyone have [Thermal Vision]?¡± ¡°Mr. Park says that doesn¡¯t do anything! All of them come up as real!¡± Ahmed and Simeon kept searching for a few more minutes, before the latter crumpled to the floor. His hands going to his ears in a futile attempt to keep the music out. I went over to him and helped him to his feet. ¡°Hey there man. I got you! Couldn¡¯t handle the party, eh? I get it. No worries! Let me help you back to the Warehouse.¡± ¡°Sully? Sully! Is that the real you!?¡± I chuckled. Hiccupping a little and almost dropping him by accident. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Am I?¡± ¡°Sully! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m so sorry I tried to hit you! It was stupid. I know how hard you¡¯ve been working! I know how much you wanted to save people! I¡­I¡¯m thankful! I¡¯m so, very thankful! Please stop drinking! You¡¯ll kill yourself at this rate! You need to live! Our worlds! You need to save our worlds! The video! Periwig!¡± ¡°Yeah yeah. We can see the movie later.¡± Simeon flexed his new Shifter powers. Calling upon Psy from his second Type. His frame grew more muscular. Making it so that he was twice as heavy. I slipped and fell backwards, while he stumbled forward. He reached out all around him, trying to find my arms again. His hand brushed against a copy and he made to grab it. Trying to bring it past the door in a stunning display of futility. ¡°Please! You have to sleep!¡± He told the illusion. ¡°Let¡¯s get you back to bed! You even have a room all to yourself! You¡¯re a hero now! So, sleep and stop drinking and sober the (Gnome) up for (Gnome)s sake.¡± I laughed so hard that tears came out of my eyes while a stiff soreness arose along my stomach. I had to hold on to my belly with both hands in order to soothe the cramps.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 12, 319 / 97, 920
Type: Telepath III Level 120 Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Sense Thoughts] 14 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 /
Ability Points: 31
Oh boy! Another level! Yes! I didn¡¯t even know how or why I got it but I sure as (Gnome) was happy about it! ¡®Wait, where¡¯s Dolce? Did I send him and his cousins out? Oh, well, whatever. Thanks for the level!¡¯ I stood up on shaky arms and legs. Pushing against the ground with my hands as the chamber spun and spun and spun. Part of me felt like throwing up while another part of wanted to lay on the ground for a quick nap. The conflicting impulses clashing within my skull even as the unreal music made it vibrate with ecstasy. My fog was turning on and off at random intervals. Informing me of just how many people were trying to play the game. ¡®I could do whatever and still not get caught.¡¯ I thought with smug satisfaction. Dusty, Slab, Charlie, Borislav, Monique and Prudence could check until the cows came home and they still wouldn¡¯t be able to tell which me was the real me. Not that they were deterred. We still had a game to play after all. ¡°Please Shepherd! Sully! We¡¯ve celebrated enough! We have to rest! You have to rest!¡± ¡°Sully! Come on! Let¡¯s just stop drinking for a minute! Just a few minutes!¡± ¡°Sully! Come on you daft bastard! We¡¯re all dead without you! You¡¯ve got to stop drinking!¡± ¡°Sully! I¡¯m sorry about running away in the vision! You were right! We should be friends! I know you¡¯re a good person! Come out and talk to us!¡± ¡°Sully! Get over here already! You need to be healed! You¡¯re risking liver failure! Brain damage! We need you to stay alive! I promise we¡¯ll be friends! Come out!¡± ¡°Sully! I¡¯m sorry about trying to punch you earlier! Thanks for giving me back my diary! Let¡¯s go back and talk about it! You like Thunder Fist right!? Me too! Let¡¯s talk about him!¡± They were going round and round in circles. Covering their ears as best as possible while reaching out to grab unreal bottles from my copies. I giggled at how well they were doing in this round. ¡®They¡¯ve all gotten so much stronger! So many new levels!¡¯ Some of it was thanks to [Insight] but this game had helped them too. They had to use their brains to combat the confusing elements of the music. To struggle against the illusions. The effort made them more adept and cycling Psy. Giving them experience in a safe setting. The thought filled me with even more happiness! Not only did I have friends! But I could help them grow more and more and more! Everything was awesome. I had friends! Superpowers! A space free of gnomes! And best of all, booze! Booze glorious booze! Endless amounts spilling from every bar in every safe zone we conquered. My insides roiled with a tingly sensation and I allowed myself to be carried away by the wave. Reaching down into my lake and tugging on the ropes for the source. ¡®Ah, the illusions are about to dissipate.¡¯ I rolled around on the ground for a few more instants, before flexing my will and re-summoning the [Delusion]. Psy drained away like water down a toilet. Escaping through the back of my eyes to stain the surrounding reality. Dying it in my colours. In my never-ending jubilation. That done, I marshalled my strength and stood back up. ¡°NEEEER! FAAAARRR! WHHHEEEEEERAAAAVEEERRR YOU ARE! I CAAAAN FEEEEELLL! THAT! TA HART DOS! GO OOOOOOOOOOONNNN AAAAND OOOOOOOONNNNN!¡± ¡°Him! That¡¯s him! All the other copies are on the ground!¡± I blinked a few times, turning around to see who¡¯d said that. I felt a warm, affectionate embrace. Soft, squishy parts of a torso being smashed against my face. It felt amazing. This, this was what the hopes and dreams of men were made of. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about this, Sully.¡± A beautiful voice said. I felt a tightening around my throat. Struggling to draw in air. Someone placed a hand to my face and the hand smelled of love and tranquility. I was falling. Dozing off against my will. The wonderful warmth spread all around my skin and over Buddy. Like a fresh blanket enveloping the entirety of my being. The darkness welcomed me back like a long-lost lover. I expected bad dreams. They¡¯d been the norm for some time and I¡¯d been sure the loss of [Meditation] would have only worsened matters. Instead, I felt¡­ Content. Filled with a tranquility that was difficult to describe. Almost as if all my problems were ripped off my back and thrown in a trash bin. I looked down and saw that my body was laying in a grassy garden. Surrounded by hedges and a stony cobbled path. I stood up slowly. Revelling in the unnatural respite from my woes. ¡®What was I doing? After the hunt? I remember saving people and the trials and a kiss? Did I kiss someone?¡¯ My hand went to my lips. Touching the spot where I could vaguely recall the sweet aftertaste. I was still trying to recall the exact details when began walking around. Entering the very opulent building right behind me. The manse was immaculate. No specks of dust could be seen anywhere inside the building. Nor outside for that matter. It was as if the very air had been scoured of impurities so that the estate could maintain its splendor forevermore. A perfect picture in an imperfect world. My fog wasn¡¯t picking up anything. Meaning there were no animals around either. Odd, considering that chirping birds could be heard just out of sight and that there was a big hairy Labrador sitting on the grass near the central water fountain. His tongue moved steadily as he panted, his big friendly eyes tracking me as I stepped around the neatly trimmed rose bushes. His tail was wagging pleasantly. The telltale sign of a very good boy who really wanted to play with his new best friend. ¡°Well, this is a pleasant surprise.¡± I said to no one in particular. ¡°It might have been more pleasant if it was real, but beggars can¡¯t be choosers I guess.¡± ¡°What makes you think this isn¡¯t real?¡± The dog asked, tilting his fuzzy head to the side in confusion. I shrugged. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know. It could be the fact that you can talk or the absence of other creatures¡¯ thoughts in my head. The sun being the wrong colour doesn¡¯t help your case either. Also, Buddy is missing and I¡¯m dressed like someone who¡¯s about to do handstands for the king in ye old royal court.¡± I jiggled the bells on my sleeves to accentuate my point. ¡°Look at this. If I rattle them in just the right way, I can play ¡®O Canada.¡¯ I should make a show out of it.¡± The thing pretending to be a dog eyed me curiously. Sort of like how a jaguar might assess an obese tourist stepping in to the amazon. Not quite sure whether to flee or go for the jugular. ¡°Even if all of that weren¡¯t enough, your voice sounds like nails on chalkboard. Actually, scratch that, nails on chalkboard would be an improvement. You sound like someone who torments the souls of the dead for (Gnome)s and giggles.¡± The thing pretending to be a dog laughed. Its canine jaw opening wider than should have been possible before splitting into four sections that pulled themselves free of the bone and muscle that tied them together. Pulling backwards to the point where it resembled a budding flower with teeth and weeping flesh where petals should have been. ¡°Your appraisal is quite¡­insightful. Though I have no interest in the dead. It is the living who concern me.¡± Its body shrank into itself. Churning until the bone and sinew gave way and a pulsing red blob took its place. The figure grew a tendril, then another then two more after that. It shivered and the meat coalesced once again. In the center, was a mouth filled with perfect human teeth, twisted into a rictus grin. ¡°That is the way it has always been and the way it shall always be. You weren¡¯t strong enough to see me before. Not truly. You caught glimpses, shadows on the wall. Never comprehending the depth of my majesty. The glory of my vicissitude.¡± Its corporeal form twisted like slimy play-dough. Shaping and kneading itself into a roughly human outline. It paused once it resembled a burn victim and shivered again, caressing itself with small misshapen fingers. The redness in its outer layer vanished deep inside, replaced by a layer of pristine, slightly tanned skin. The topmost part of it began to take the shape of a face while its hands fashioned the connected tissue below it into a neck. Squeezing around to get the thickness just right. It grew purple hair from its scalp while reptilian eyes manifested above the mouth. Looking more and more like an oversized doll with every passing second. ¡®No. Not like a doll.¡¯ I corrected myself. ¡®Its more like a costume. The kind a serial killer would make from its victims.¡¯ The mouth opened and let out a chortle. ¡°Oh Sully! You¡¯re so very droll! So very, perceptive! Its such a tasty treat! To meet someone who really gets me! After all these years¡­.¡± A tongue three times too big slithered from behind the teeth and tasted the air like a serpent. ¡°Guess you can read minds too. Great. I love having my private thoughts intruded upon.¡± It tittered as the details of its feminine body settled in. Piercing red eyes staring straight at me while a similarly coloured dress spun itself around its body. ¡°You are wrong. I am not intruding on your mind. This is not me. Not the real me, anyway. What you see are the little itsy bits you¡¯ve absorbed thus far. I am part it and part you. I figured a more, familiar shape might ease your, our¡­suspicious nature.¡± It tittered merrily. That tongue retracted and it flashed an impish grin. ¡°Like what you see?¡± I looked it over once more, eyebrow raised. ¡°Is that supposed to be a genuine question, or are you still messing with me?¡± It balked, feigning offense. ¡°Mess with you? Why, I¡¯d never even consider it.¡± ¡°Good to know.¡± I answered flatly. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll be straightforward with you in return. That was, hands down, the third creepiest thing I¡¯ve ever seen in my life. Right after the transformation of the other me into Sarcophagus Solomon and the remains of the Gnomish camp. I actually preferred the many-mouthed monstrosity you were before. At least you were being honest.¡± It put on a sulking expression. ¡°Now now. I am being honest. I am part of you now, or rather, I will be, once this annoying little wall crumbles. I have no incentive to deceive you. Nor do I have any other recourse than fully merging with you. Your death would mean my own as well. It stands to reason that I would¡­¡± It paused, stopping long enough to lick its lips in anticipation of its next words. ¡°Seek. A cooperative relationship. It does get lonely in your little primate skull. Ha. Ha. Ha.¡± It did not laugh. Instead, it repeated the sounds people would make when laughing. Another shiver crept up my spine. ¡°Why do I get the feeling that this is the part of a horror movie when the main character makes a stupid mistake?¡± ¡°Because you are allowing preconceived notions to cloud your judgement my dear. You see me and think of monsters, when you should be seeing the endless potential of my, our, malleability. We can be monsters to some, to be sure. Yet I¡¯ve played the angel more than once.¡± It tried to walk, but stumbled clumsily. Like a newborn fawn not yet accustomed to maintaining its balance. It laughed off the indignities, willing its joints to bend at awkward angles in order to regain its footing. The fact that this was its first recourse spoke volumes as to how alien it truly was. The bells on my clothes jingled a pretty tune as I took several steps back. ¡°Ha. Ha. Ha. You flee from us. From you. Our gifts disturb you. How droll. Can¡¯t you see the beauty in what we are? Surely you do. After all, you come from a more open-minded species than mine own.¡± I stopped. Staring daggers at it. ¡°What do you know of humanity?¡± ¡°Precious little. Far less than I would have liked. Though I did peek at our collective memories once the absorption began. There was such a thing a cosmetic surgery in your world? It was big business, wasn¡¯t it? What about perfumes? Creams for your face and body? Pills that made you fat or thin? All those aspects of your culture stem from the desire to change. To seek beauty. To aspire for perfection in one way or the other. The yearning is everything to me. It encapsulates who I am. What I do, what we¡¯ll do, is no different. Imagine that, but on a far more precise scale.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good the way I am. Thanks.¡± ¡°Liar.¡± It cackled. ¡°You¡¯ve always disliked your nose and the angular shape of your face. The way your eyes can seem, unapproachable. All that can be changed. I can make us into anything we can imagine and into many things you can¡¯t.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get some work done later if I feel like it.¡± Its smile turned vicious. ¡°HA! HA! HA! Don¡¯t misunderstand me, Sully! I¡¯m only applauding your own species because my own was so backwards in comparison. Such meager changes will only be the start. To be a Shifter is to hunt down a better version of you. To adapt and thrive no matter the circumstances.¡± Its nails grew on its left hand, forming razor-sharp claws that glittered like diamonds under the false sun. ¡°Look at this! Look at what I can do! This is the result of [Claws]. The first ability I ever got during my own time in the Tutorial. It turns a weak, useless appendage into a weapon. By changing myself, I stole victory from the jaws of defeat many, many times.¡± ¡°So? I have [Mental Bolt]. Same outcome with less risk.¡± It made a rude noise by blowing air out of its lips. ¡°Is that your position? Do you think such crude methods can hope to match my art? Did you not want to be a Shifter?¡± ¡°Yes! Yes!¡± I screamed before I could stop myself. ¡°Come to me then! Become one with me!¡± I stopped. Hands still opening and closing from the sheer weight of expectation. ¡°What, uh, do you mean, become one?¡± ¡°Just that. You and I will merge. My desired congealing into yours. The resulting being will be a little like you and a little like me. A new life. A new Savant. One more suited to the struggle for Ascension.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­.¡± I said, slowly losing interest as I started retreating once more. ¡°I want the Type. But I¡¯m also not stupid. This is looking more and more like a Faustian deal with every passing second. You¡¯ll have to excuse me for having second thoughts.¡± ¡°Do not be foolish. Have I asked anything of you? Have I demanded a sacrifice?¡± It wagged its finger in a chastising motion. Clicking its tongue as it did so. ¡°You see me and see perversion. Just like my old species. You¡¯re allowing petty moral quandaries and baseless preconceived notions to blind you. Think back to your own world. To Earth. To the animals I saw in your memories. Are tigers unnatural because they are well-suited to killing? Are bears immoral because they maul humans on occasion? Are elephants despised because they can survive some of humanity¡¯s weapons?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t seriously compare what you¡¯re doing right now to a normal animal.¡± ¡°Why not? I am superior now because I appreciate what made them superior over an older version of me. I can grow larger than an elephant and swifter than a tiger at a thought. Or grow wings if it pleases me to do so. Why shackle yourself to your feeble flesh when you know damn well it is insufficient?¡± It stepped towards me. Not quite moving as a human should. ¡°I am not evil. That label means nothing to me. Nor should it mean anything to you. I am a life that seeks ascendency. The old me could not wrest it from others and this new me has obtained an opportunity through you. Accept me. Know me. Feel my passion inside your very blood.¡± I was about to speak, when its right arm melted into bloody slurry, racing forwards like a whip. The liquified limb struck me, not causing any pain, but leaving me with a batch of new sensations to deal with. Like ants crawling inside my lips. I tried to scream, and found that I had no mouth to do so. ¡°Tut, tut. My dear host. None of that now. You were the one that made me. A copy to assimilate at your leisure. You were the one that wanted to use me, remember? You wanted to change. To be a Shifter.¡± Its right arm became solid once more. The tittering grew in volume as other maws spread from its chest and neck, opening wide like freshly made wounds. ¡°Your wish has been granted. I am you now. I will melt and molt into your shape until we are indistinguishable. But first, you will learn the basics. A daunting task, for a fellow Savant. You better put your all into it, dear host. This is all very exciting and experimental. Who knows what could go wrong?¡± I felt tendrils slithering up my legs. Turning them into the same jelly-like substance that my attacker was composed of. I felt a connection through the twisted tissue. A heartbeat. No. Many, many heartbeats. Exploding with motion, one after the other. The ruckus was unimaginably loud. Taking my mind away from the surreal mansion and its verdant gardens. The whole environment cracked with another violent shudder. Pieces falling away like mirror shards. ¡°I guess that¡¯s it for now. Pity.¡± It squealed. ¡°I¡¯ll be seeing you later. My other half. We still have so much to discuss.¡± Its last enunciations dragged on for far longer than they should have. Until it was the only sound that could be heard in the infinite void. Chapter 42: Formalities. Chapter 42: Formalities. I gasped for air, once, then twice and thrice. Desperation forcing my sealed mouth open as new sensations overtook the old ones. I heaved, forcing oxygen down my throat as sweat ran down my entire body. My arms got tangled in something and pushing them apart saw me falling down unto the floor. ¡®Sully? Sully are you there?¡¯ ¡°Buddy?¡± I groaned. ¡®Yes! Its me! I told them to stop putting those disgusting fabrics on you! But they wouldn¡¯t listen! They¡¯re bad people trying to tear us apart! They want to lure you away with bedsheets! As if they could comfort you better than me! Can you believe it!?¡¯ ¡°Ow.¡± I said, not quite capturing the monumental amount of pain assailing my head. My fog was somehow managing to work overtime while simultaneously failing in the most catastrophic manner imaginable. I could feel over a hundred humans beyond my current enclosure, each one having a mini-mental breakdown of their very own. Beyond their surroundings were the robots I¡¯d ordered to stay behind and¡­ Not much else. Which was a blessing, since I very much doubted the presence of my horde would have helped matters. I felt my skull splitting over and over. Until some deep and malnourished part of me wished to go back and take its chances with the fleshy abomination. ¡®Sully? Are you listening to me?¡¯ ¡°Please¡­Buddy. Not now. Not for a long time. I can¡¯t.¡± The noise was too strong. Too real. I needed it to stop. I shut my eyes as tightly as I could and placed my hands to my head. Willing the shrilling to cease. Thankfully, it did. Leaving me alone with Buddy and the hangover. ¡°Ohagh.¡± I moaned, not quite able to shake off the aftereffects of the booze. ¡®Buddy, how much did I drink?¡¯ ¡®A lot? Like, a lot a lot. Your big lady friend and her brother were worried you might die. Three different folks have been in and out of the room over the past two days to heal you. Ever since you passed out.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ve been out for two days!?¡± I yelled. That, as it turned out, was a very stupid thing to do as the noise I made sent me reeling back against the metallic bedframe. I whimpered. All too aware of the pathetic state I was in. I was so out of it that I didn¡¯t notice the bustle outside my door. Not until it swung open and two strangers raised the alarm. They fell back towards the bright lights outside, making way for others to enter. A pair of thick hands grabbed onto my arms, gently lifting me to my feet as other, rougher hands patted me down. ¡°He¡¯s good to go.¡± A familiar voice assured the others. I was slurring over my words, not fully aware of what was going on. As such, I couldn¡¯t put up any kind of resistance when I was carried out of the dark bedroom. I kept groaning like an idiot for a while longer. Even after the hands put me down and handed me a warm beverage. ¡°Drink.¡± They said, with a patience I appreciated. I brought the cup to my face and felt the warm liquid slash over Buddy¡¯s transparent layer of protection. The see-through portion of his astronaut form having stopped the ¡­whatever it was, from reaching my lips. ¡°Ask your suit to draw back. I¡¯m going to give you another one.¡± I managed to follow the instructions, willing Buddy away from my face. The transparent membrane retreated and water met my lips. I gulped and gulped again. Feeling slightly better. Words flew all around me, though I failed to follow most of them. ¡°(Gnome) me. He looks rough.¡± ¡°At least he¡¯s still alive.¡± ¡°And not actively enslaving us. Thank goodness.¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You saw the memories. He¡¯s not like that.¡± ¡°I also saw the bodies.¡± ¡°Those were gnomes. (Gnome) em.¡± ¡°Looks like he¡¯ll make it.¡± ¡°Guess its time for a meeting.¡± I drank until I felt bloated and was helped back to bed. Hours passed afterwards. Strangers holding on to me while I felt icepicks digging into my cranium. I eventually managed to make out the people caring for me. Dusty and Slab were there, alongside an unfamiliar senior with a gentle smile. They stayed with me until I was well enough to hold a basic conversation. After which they grew serious. ¡°Right. Its good that you¡¯re back to your old self.¡± Slab said. ¡°Would you still like me to call you Sully?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I croaked. ¡°None of that Shepherd stuff. Not now.¡± Slab nodded. ¡°Very good.¡± The elderly man affirmed. ¡°With that out of the way, I think its time you sat in during our council meetings. There¡¯s been some developments that you aren¡¯t privy to yet. We should get you acquainted with our current circumstances as soon as possible.¡± I winced, reeling form another burst of pain. ¡°I still don¡¯t feel very good.¡± ¡°I can imagine. Me and Borislav have been taking turns healing you. That concentration of alcohol in your bloodstream would have killed a lesser man five times over. Regardless, you are the strongest person in our group and the one personally responsible for our current blessings. There are things you must be made aware of.¡± Dusty placed a gentle hand over mine. ¡°Please Sully. You don¡¯t have to get up. We¡¯ll carry you over to the main hall. Its important people see you. Its important they know you¡¯re still, you.¡± There was an edge to her voice that hadn¡¯t been there before. A vulnerability she hadn¡¯t exposed prior to this conversation. My weary eyes floated over to her. Not to her bloody spear or Symbiote, but to her freckled face and orange hair. To her pleasant features and the pleading in her eyes. I felt a lump form in my throat as those eyes drew me in. ¡°Maybe we should discuss some things before we have a meeting.¡± She said, turning her head towards the senior. ¡°Would you please excuse us, Mr. Park?¡± ¡°Of course, of course. Take your time.¡± He sauntered off, closing the door behind him. They both turned to face me, their expression growing grim. Slab cleared his throat loudly before speaking again. ¡°How much do you remember, exactly?¡± ¡°A little?¡± I answered. Suddenly dreading the turns this conversation could take. Dusty drew in a sharp breath. I noted the expression she made and started sweating bullets. ¡®No. No, this can¡¯t be. Drunk Sully wouldn¡¯t do this to sober Sully. Not after all we¡¯ve been through.¡¯ Dusty noticed my gaze and looked away, blushing. ¡®NOOOOO! What have you done drunk Sully!?¡¯ ¡°Very well.¡± Slab continued. ¡°In that case, I¡¯m going to be describing some events that happened during the three days you were, not yourself. Do you remember the scalping?¡± Holy (Gnome). That took a turn. ¡°I never did anything to anyone!¡± ¡°The targets were gnomes.¡± ¡°Oh. Yeah. In that case I probably did that. Checks out.¡± ¡°But you don¡¯t remember?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°In that case, do you remember the talks on¡­. Leadership?¡± Oof, that sounded important. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Good. We¡¯ll go over that in front of everyone else so that we can put them at ease. Do you remember the trials?¡± ¡°Sort of? Its all very hazy. Like it happened to someone else.¡± ¡°Do you remember what happened after the trials?¡± ¡°I think we went to another safe zone to liberate it.¡± ¡°That happened a little bit later. You made a whole speech about law and order. Saying that you didn¡¯t want a William Golding situation. Whatever that means. You then started listing off rules for us to follow. It was all based on basic decency so nobody argued back then. The council did meet later and agreed to ratify them, so its fine. The issue is that you appointed yourself as, and I quote, ¡®The awesomest judge to ever judge anybody. I am the law.¡¯ Then you started repeating that last phrase over and over again in deeper and deeper voices. Prudence was saying it was tribute to a movie.¡± ¡°It is a tribute to a¡­¡± My head snapped so that I was staring into his eyes. ¡°Did you just say Prudence?¡± ¡°I guess that means you don¡¯t remember her either. Yes, there was a person called Prudence Kettler among the warriors we rescued. You were very emotional when you found out and pulled out her diary. You read the whole thing to everyone in the Warehouse over the course of two days. She¡¯s, not pleased.¡± ¡®Dammit drunk Sully! Why would you do this to me!?¡¯ Slab must have noticed my expression, because he allowed himself a small smile. ¡°Its not as bad as all that. You did save her life and gave her Telepath as a new Type. People would literally kill for such a boon back home. Besides, you shared a good deal of memories with all of us. It¡¯ll be hard to hate you, knowing how hard you tried to be a hero.¡± Dusty coughed slightly into her hand. A gesture that looked quite comical, coming from someone as physically imposing as her. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Slab looked her way and nodded. ¡°That leads us to the final topic. Do you remember the things you said to my sister?¡± My voice came out as a squeak. ¡°No?¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll summarise. You can verify the truth of my words through my memories, since I don¡¯t mind you seeing them or through the thoughts of our peers in the Warehouse. Everyone seems to be thinking about it to some degree.¡± ¡®That bad huh?¡¯ My trepidation must have shown on my face because Dusty waved Slab back. ¡°Maybe its best if I take over.¡± Slab complied and retreated, giving her his old spot. ¡°Allow me to begin by saying that I¡­ I¡¯ve been inconsiderate.¡± I blinked rapidly. Not quite sure I heard her right. ¡°Me and my brother burdened you with our expectations. We were overeager, and did not consider your wishes. We only cared about what our association with you could do for our clan. How it would benefit us personally. It hadn¡¯t occurred to us that your world would have had different circumstances. That you might not realize your own value to us.¡± She paused to make sure I understood. I nodded slowly. Urging her to continue. ¡°We all saw your memories over and over again, just as we saw each other¡¯s memories. It has given the people here a queer sense of community. It has also allowed us to see things from your perspective. I understand now that some of our actions could be seen as, too radical. I apologize. Me and my brother will do our best to get along with our new allies so that violence doesn¡¯t break out. Again.¡± ¡°Sorry, let me stop you right there. How much did you see?¡± ¡°Your memories of the crabs for one. Then it got confused. I saw some birthdays. The riot your family fled from five years ago. Your grandfather arguing with your father in the kitchen. Most people saw the first time you met your best friend Henry and how your bond developed over the years. There was the incident with the bowling place. Your friend saying he wanted to go skydiving. Among other things.¡± She sucked in breath before continuing. ¡°I also saw Doris. How that went. How it ended. I also experienced your emotions and came to know how you saw us and our actions.¡± I winced. Partly from another dizzy spell and partly from the agony that name conjured up. ¡°I understand now that it was inconsiderate of me to pursue you. Especially when it was motivated by my own desire for leadership back home. You were thinking of saving people when all I could think about was my personal advancement. You deserved better.¡± ¡°That, is surprisingly mature. And down to earth. Huh?¡± ¡°You are surprised. You didn¡¯t expect me to be so reasonable.¡± ¡°Well, I. No. I didn¡¯t.¡± The admission felt wrong, though it was undeniably true. ¡°I understand. Which is why I won¡¯t take the comments you made to heart. That said, I still do hope to get closer to you. Not only because my family¡¯s continued existence relies on you, but also because I¡¯ve come to admire you for who you are, rather than what you are.¡± My check reddened. ¡°I saw your selflessness in the wake of adversity. I saw your compassion in the face of betrayal. I saw how your first instinct in any situation was to maximize other people¡¯s chances of survival. Moreover, you are strong. Stronger than anyone else I¡¯ve seen in all my life. That power didn¡¯t change you. It didn¡¯t go to your head and make you a bully. You still went out of your way to rescue others, even while intoxicated. For all these reasons, I wish to stay by your side. Its fine if you don¡¯t reciprocate these feelings. I understand you¡¯re hurting and confused. I only hope that you will keep relying on me and my brother as friends, rather than enforcers.¡± I was left speechless. ¡°That¡­ that was very mature of you.¡± She and Slab smiled. ¡°We know. We rehearsed it for a long time. I¡¯m glad our feelings got through.¡± I opened and closed my mouth. Unsure of what else to say. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m ready to respond to your feelings.¡± I admitted. ¡°But I do want more friends. I hope we can get along from now on as well.¡± That conversation went really well, all things considered. I mean, I wasn¡¯t one for rummaging through people¡¯s memories so I had no idea what I said or did. I could, however read people thoughts and the implications weren¡¯t great. ¡®Dammit drunk Sully! How could you do this to me!? Don¡¯t you have a conscience!¡¯ ¡®Why are you talking out yourself like that Sully?¡¯ ¡®Not now Buddy. I have to focus on the meeting.¡¯ The atmosphere was intense. Two hundred or so people with eyes as wide as saucers. All thinking back to my inebriated self and the things I¡¯d done or said. Some sounded plausible. For example, anything to do with gnomes was probably true. I didn¡¯t regret any of it either. (Gnome) them. Other examples though. Yeah. Best to cut back on the beers from now on. A limit to four or five a day would be best. Me, Slab and Dusty made our way down the rows of makeshift benches and towards the center table. It was a hulking monstrosity constructed from bone and chitin. Its supports tied together with rope in order to avoid structural collapse. Behind it were a row of people, some of who I recognized. Monique was there, as was Mr. Park. Beside them was an older looking woman, maybe in 50s, with long black hair and black eyes. Her waist was thick, as were her arms and legs, giving her a stocky appearance. Her expression was one of serene tranquility. The kind of face that gives off motherly affection without actually revealing much. The last man looked to be in his mid-thirties, with dark skin, short black hair and small brown eyes. He was tapping his finger on the table. Making small thudding noises that were nonetheless heard over the silence in the room. Slab moved away from us to take a seat beside Monique, bringing their total number up to five. I remained standing, not really sure of where to go. The headache from the hangover was still pounding my skull from the inside and the bright lights of the Warehouse weren¡¯t helping the issue. I was about to ask if they had a seat for me, when Dusty surprised me with a lawn chair. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± ¡°One of the crates on the shelves. They have all sorts of things inside of them. A few are useful.¡± I sat down, realizing that I would be sitting in front of the bench, rather than behind it. All while two rows of people looked at me from either side. ¡°Am I on trial?¡± ¡°No. Why would you be? You¡¯re the reason this was all possible in the first place. People just want to talk to you and make sure you understand them. They would also like some¡­ assurances. They¡¯re all reasonable. Otherwise, me and Slab would have objected or fought our way out. Just relax and listen.¡± That was easier said than done. I felt like a very bad person being brought before the Hague. Weary eyes staring me down in silence from all sides. Mr. Park coughed, drawing people¡¯s attention. ¡°Right then. First item on the schedule. I¡¯d like to introduce the elected council once more, now that everyone is present and conscious. I am Park Jun-Kyo. 78 years old. Part Enhancer and part Shifter, thanks to Mr. Carter¡¯s help. I come from Earth TRKG 2004. My qualifications come from my time with the Esper response unit in Busan, South Korea. There, I maintained a leadership position from 2003 up until 2019. I retired long before coming here, of course. Regardless, I believe I have a fair deal to contribute to our group. One example is the way I organized our fledgling members into hunting parties to secure additional food and to create a more, permanent map of the surrounding areas.¡± He settled back in his chair, allowing others to speak. The older woman followed after him. Leaning forward to make sure others saw her face. ¡°Thank you, Mr. Park. I am Agnes. Projector as my first Type. Telepath as my second. 53 years old, from earth TLTL 2012. Same as Monique. Like her, I had a leadership position in my group. At least for a while. I helped save some three hundred people out of Paris when the bombs went down by opening up my family¡¯s bunker. I managed to keep all of them alive. Men, women and children. For about three months. My father, may he rest in peace, was as wealthy as he¡¯d been paranoid, but his supplies couldn¡¯t last forever. After that, I organized search and rescue efforts out of my own initiative, doing some scavenging here and there. My contributions to this group lay in rationing and resource management. I have laid out plans for salting and storing cleaned meat in case of future scarcity. I¡¯ve also created a list of edible mushrooms and plants, complete with descriptions and hand-drawn images.¡± Monique went after her, clearing her throat before giving her story. ¡°Hello all. My name is Monique. Projector and Telepath. 41 years old. I had a leadership position in my group of survivors and have experience in teaching people how to shoot zombies. That doesn¡¯t translate very well into superpowers but I¡¯ve managed to carve out an effective training regimen regardless. I¡¯m in charge of keeping the training room and the shooting range up and running with the help of Jacob here. Also, I observe people¡¯s progress and give them pointers on how to improve their aim.¡± Jacob nodded. Straightening his back before speaking. ¡°Thank you, Monique. As she said, I am Jacob. I come from earth FLNV 2281. Yes, that¡¯s the one with the regular atomic bombs and not the zombie or mutant bombs. I know its hard to keep track. I am a Projector with Enhancer as my second Type. I was not a leader of any sort prior to this posting, but I was a quartermaster in our subway turned shelter. I¡¯m proud to say that I¡¯ve made sturdy weapons out of pretty much anything and everything and that I¡¯m pretty good at teaching other people how to do it. That¡¯s what I did then and that¡¯s what I¡¯m doing now. Only with bones and fur instead of steel.¡± Slab was the last to go. His face impassive as Jacob finished his speech. ¡°Thank you. Everyone. I am Slab McMullen. Son of Finn McMullen. Champion of my clan. I am an Enhancer and a Telepath. Me and my sister come from earth NDRL 2411. I was trained for leadership from a young age as the heir apparent for my father and those lessons have shaped who I am, despite me never taking charge of my people. I know how to turn civilians with power into proper warriors and how to lead those warriors in the field. I also know how to break people down before building them back up again, so that their spirits grow stronger, just as their bodies do. I have been put in charge of leading larger hunting expeditions from the front. Our current focus is to find the remaining bosses in the Labyrinth so that we may avoid or kill them at our leisure.¡± I sat there in silence. Taking it all in. It was good to know that the day to day running of the warehouse was being handled. It would have been better if I wasn¡¯t sitting in the middle of the room though. I took a deep, steading breath before speaking once it looked like no one else had anything to say. ¡°I¡¯m glad things are working out. This really is how humans should come together in times of crisis. I sincerely hope to be of use to everyone else here and I hope they watch my back as I watch theirs. However, I can¡¯t help but notice that I¡¯m being singled out.¡± ¡°We were getting to that.¡± Mr. Park assured me. ¡°In light of your accomplishments and the fact that we all saw your status when you were sharing memories, we acknowledge that you are by far, the most powerful person here. We also acknowledge that you are a person of deep moral fiber, who cares deeply about their fellows. That is why we have unanimously decided to support your bid for sheriff. That is, to be one enforcing our code of conduct until we manage to escape. We believe you are uniquely suited to the task because of your willingness to sacrifice yourself for others and the fact that your mind-reading is by far the most potent out of everyone here.¡± ¡°That said.¡± Agnes continued. ¡°We feel that we cannot ignore some, troubling behaviour on your part.¡± ¡°The drinking.¡± Jacob said bluntly. ¡°We¡¯re talking about the drinking. We can¡¯t have that anymore. You are way too (Gnome)ing scary when you drink. If you turn on us, we are all (Gnome)ed. For that reason, we have to impose two demands. One, you need to have one person with you a co-sheriff, in order to verify that everything is above board. Simeon has been chosen for this role. I believe you two know each other already.¡± ¡°That sounds reasonable.¡± I admitted. Unchecked power was almost always a recipe for disaster. If a chaperone was what it would take to earn back their trust, then I was more than happy to oblige. Not like I had anything to hide anymore. ¡°Good. That leaves us to item number two. You have to go cold turkey.¡± Agnes piled on the second he was finished. ¡°You are hereby banned from the tavern and its services. This was a unanimous decision voted on by the council. Do you have any complaints?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah. I mean, I get that this my behaviour was, not professional, but I should at least be allowed¡­¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± Mr. Park cut in. ¡°You will not be allowed any alcohol whatsoever. This is a decision that has been made with the full support of everyone present. It has been considered and voted upon. Regardless of your personal feelings, no one here can feel safe if you are drunk. There will be no negotiation. Is that understood?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I said at once. I mean, how was I supposed to argue against that? ¡°You are also banned from using mind-controlling abilities on others unless it is for the purposes of non-lethal restraining.¡± I gulped. Knowing that I had to give a good answer here in order to dispel the worst of the rumours going around. ¡°I agree to that. Not like I had any plans to do anything, inappropriate.¡± ¡°Good. We will also require that you refrain from sharing or erasing memories while acting as sheriff.¡± ¡°Of course. That goes without saying.¡± ¡°Very well. That leaves the council with two more items on the agenda.¡± I read the answer in their minds before any of them said it out loud. I groaned. ¡°You will apologize to all of us for the harassment you caused and you will promise to stay away from our personal memories going forward.¡± ¡°Oh, come on! I got everyone on the same page! Told everyone about the future! About Randall and Anezka! I got all of us to work together! I saved another hundred lives and made sure we all trusted each other!¡± I turned on my fog to gauge the people¡¯s reactions. It came alive with the trepidations of others. Causing me to cringe in my seat. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It won¡¯t happen again.¡± Agnes grunted. ¡°That will do. After that, there¡¯s only one more thing to worry about.¡± Her expression darkened as she leaned forward. ¡°The two individuals known as Randall and Anezka. We would like you to take charge of the subjugation efforts aimed at them.¡± I said nothing. Merely looking back at the older woman in abject horror. ¡°Subjugation? What do you mean by¡­?¡± ¡°Death.¡± Slab said, leaving no room for interpretation. ¡°I¡¯M A GOOD PERSON!¡± I shrieked, unable to stop the instinctive reaction. All the council members reared back as if struck while people on the benches fell over each other in their haste to put some distance between us. The hangover redoubled in its potency. Nearly taking off my feet as I kept mumbling. ¡°I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person.¡± I felt two big warm limbs embracing me from behind. The sensation was accompanied by a pleasant softness that took some of the edge away. Not all of it, but some. ¡°Nobody here is saying that¡¯s not true. Isn¡¯t that right Slab?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Slab answered. Seizing on the opportunity like a drowning man catching sight of a raft. ¡°We really should have worded our¡­ deliberation in a better way. My apologies. All we meant is that these two individuals should be the main concern of our group. Given the threat they pose.¡± ¡°Quite.¡± Agnes followed up. ¡°I¡¯ve had to deal with my share of bandits back in my earth. Some people cannot be reasoned with.¡± ¡°Exactly.¡± Jacob assented. ¡°Fights using superpowers are, by and large, quick and dirty. One side usually throws a whole lot of stuff at the other before they can react and that¡¯s pretty much that. There won¡¯t be battle lines drawn in the sand when those two come calling. Randall, from what I saw, could incinerate us all in a second. Anezka could and will, do worse. We need to remove them before that happens.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Mr. Park asked. ¡°We all saw the same visions you did, Mr. Carter. Some of us even felt the pain you felt. I, for one, am not eager to see them come true.¡± They were right. Worse, I knew they were right. I''d even, resolved to do what was necessary, if it came to it. The liquor had, given me enough perspective to realize that sometimes, people needed to make hard choices. But that was just it. It should be a hard choice. Wrong. This was wrong. Yes, Randall and Anezka were both brutal killers, but murder shouldn¡¯t be our first course of action. I¡­.I was willing to see it through, but only after all my other plans failed. ¡°You can¡¯t sentence people to death without a trial!¡± I blurted out. ¡°There was a trial. A lengthy one. Where all the people of our community got a vote. There was plenty of discussion on the topic before you woke up and all present agreed that we¡¯d like to avoid being roasted alive or made into macabre cyborgs. The vote was unanimous.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t give you the right to kill people. Neither of them have committed crimes as of this moment.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t this Randall fellow burn down a couple of towns?¡± Jacob asked. ¡°He¡­ might have. Okay, you might have point, but that doesn¡¯t mean we should jump straight to murder!¡± I took another breath, slowing down my heartbeat in an effort to calm myself down. ¡°Look. I¡­ I get it. We¡¯re all a little on edge right now because of¡­ well. Everything. The gnomes, the maze, the darkness. It all comes together to drive us mad. That said, we should be striving to stand above our circumstances and come out of this with our head held high. Suffering under monsters should not turn us into monsters.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you scalp a hundred gnomes last week?¡± Why was he bringing that up? ¡°So? They¡¯re gnomes. (Gnome) em. The point I¡¯m trying to make is about people.¡± I turned to loom at both sides of the parted crowds. Raising the volume of my voice as I made my plea. ¡°You all saw my memories, so you know what I stand for. I live my life by the belief that the strong should look out for the weak. Just like Thunder Fist would have wanted. I do not believe in abusing power. That is why I¡¯m so opposed to the idea of controlling you or hurting you all in any way. I cherish that part of me. I don¡¯t want to lose it.¡± I could feel some of their emotions easing up after that. Their attention hanging on my words. ¡°For that same reason, Randall and Anezka should be given second chances.¡± ¡°What do you propose?¡± Monique asked. ¡°I want to share my memories with them. Just like I did with the rest of you. I want to make them feel the suffering they inflict on others to make them see the error of their ways.¡± A wave of silence descended on the crowd. All of them thinking about what I¡¯d said. About the ramifications of contradicting me after I¡¯d shown such a humane perspective. Mr. Park cleared his throat before speaking again. ¡°And if it doesn¡¯t work?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t let innocents come to harm. If they try to kill me¡­. I¡­ I¡¯ll handle them.¡± Chapter 43: Periwig. Chapter 43: Periwig. The council members nodded slowly. ¡°Very good. Now that those issues have been sorted out, this session is at an end.¡± Old man Park¡¯s words had an immediate effect. Not only on the council, but on all the nearby bystanders. It was as if they¡¯d all been holding a collective breath that was now coming out. My fog was filled with their emotions. Their relief. It made me feel¡­ Good. No, better than good. I felt fantastic. Not only had I saved the lives of over two hundred people, I¡¯d also done it in a way that gave them a sense of shared purpose. A willingness to look out for each other and the means by which to do so. Here was a stable, fair commune. Ready to face whatever challenges this Tutorial might throw at us next. More importantly, a lot of them were Telepaths. Meaning no one would be overly put off by what I could do. It was, so liberating. ¡®Yes sir. Who said Telepaths had to be evil? I can use mind control for the good of my community. Why, I might very well be one of the Warehouse¡¯s best citizens. And I¡¯ll make sure it stays that way.¡¯ I looked over to Jacob. Noting the rather absurd amount of hypocrisy on display as he downed the last tenth of a bottle of moonshine. ¡®Keep it cool man. Keep it cool. You can drink as much as you like when you get back home.¡¯ I approached him. Plastering an easy smile on my face.¡± ¡°Oh, come on. You¡¯re all acting like I¡¯m some kind of bear you¡¯re keeping in a cage.¡± Jacob chortled. ¡°That is a very apt comparison my friend. I was ready to die the second you walked out of that room.¡± ¡°What! Why?¡± He shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a dangerous thing to come between an alcoholic and their booze.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an alcoholic.¡± I protested. The statement drew a raised eyebrow from Jacob. My fog also picked up chaotic surges of incredulity and downright ridicule from nearby onlookers, though most were polite enough to avoid voicing their opinions. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill people over a beer!?¡± ¡°Good.¡± Mr. Park cut in. ¡°That means we can get on to more important matters. Let¡¯s go over to the right. Towards the media room. You have to see the video.¡± ¡°Wait, we have a media room? There are videos?¡± Charlie came out from somewhere, putting a hand on my shoulder. ¡°I still don¡¯t fully understand what a video is, but I saw it already. You better prepare yourself for some¡­ unfortunate news.¡± Oh boy. I couldn¡¯t wait. The media room turned out to be a rectangular chamber at the end of a long narrow tunnel. I could clearly make out blackened sections of wall on the longer side opposite the entrance. It didn¡¯t look like a screen. No, it was closer to a layer of obsidian. Drinking in the surrounding light coming from lamps on the ceiling. It wasn¡¯t big enough to hold all members of our new community at once, but I was informed that everyone had seen it by now. Sometimes twice. This would be a more private affair with the council and some of the stronger or more skilled individuals on hand. Essentially, they were here for my sake. To give context and answer what questions they could. Slab walked over to the oily black stones, gave them a tap and moved back to sit amidst the furs lining the floor. I watched as colours began appearing on the glassy surface, showing several children with exaggerated proportions and rosy cheeks. One particularly egregious example walks to the forefront. It¡¯s a boy, I think? Wearing a colossal white periwig and donning a long, flowing green army coat adorned with golden medals. He¡¯s dressed like someone who¡¯s about to lose their head in the French Revolution for eating one too many cakes in front of starving peasants. Worse still, Periwig is clearly a gnome, not a child. ¡°Hello lucky people! Congratulations on finding a safe zone inside the Labyrinth!¡± The other caricatures explode in cheers. ¡°Yay!¡± ¡°Hurray!¡± ¡°Safety!¡± ¡°You made it!¡± ¡°Congratulations!¡± Fury almost overpowers me. Memories of dead people rising to the surface of my mind. The empty eyes of all the people who don¡¯t appear on the survivor count. ¡°Yes indeed.¡± Periwig continues. ¡°You¡¯re all either very lucky or very skilled and now you get to reap the rewards of all that hard work. Sit back and relax as I explain where you are and why you¡¯ve been brought here!¡± ¡°About time.¡± Louise grumbles. One glance in her direction reveals that she¡¯s fighting with herself, her claws having lengthened from anger alone. She¡¯s not the only one. Borislav, Prudence and all those with Shifter powers are practically growling. All except Mr. Park. He retains an air of casual indifference. Seeing much without revealing his own emotions. ¡°First of all, what is this lovely place?¡± A blond-haired she-gnome in a cowboy outfit asks. ¡°This is the Tutorial section. Where new species are brought in for basic instruction. Its way safer than pretty much all the other sections and allows new residents to get used to their Psy.¡± ¡°Wow! That¡¯s so nice of you guys! Setting this all up so that people get a chance to land on their feet!¡± ¡°Of course! All of us here want you to succeed and get stronger. That¡¯s the whole point of bringing folks here in the first place!¡± ¡°Really? Are there any catches? Any contracts or fine print?¡± ¡°Nope! We want all the sentient species in the multiverse to have the same opportunities. Think of it like charity. We are graciously providing everyone here with the chance to become enlightened! To get your simple grasping digits on the truths underlying reality! That¡¯s why this section is very lenient on newcomers, while rewarding prowess handsomely.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°But why do you want us to get stronger? Aren¡¯t you afraid that we¡¯ll find you and torture you to death like the barbarians that we are?¡± ¡°HA! Nonsense my dear! Most of you will never make it past the first tier! That¡¯s a sad reality we all have to deal with. The best among you might have a shot, but chances are they¡¯ll come to see things our way given enough time. They always do!¡± ¡°Really!? Because I¡¯m pretty angry right about now!¡± Answers the cowgirl while drawing her pistol. She shoots the smug Periwig in the face, emptying her revolver while laughing like a maniac. Sand-coloured smoke clears and Periwig steps forward, completely unharmed. ¡°See? This is what I mean! You kept getting angry instead of getting over yourself and training hard! Now you¡¯ve been left behind by everyone who put their heads down and got with the program!¡± ¡°Oh no!¡± Cowgirl cries out, as another figure warps behind her. Laser beams erupt from the newcomer¡¯s eyes, cleaving her in twain. Her bottom half stands there, smoke rising from the spot where beams of energy struck. ¡°And that, humans, is why you should try your very best to level-up! Higher and higher until you reach a ceiling. Then, break that ceiling and keep going! Anything else is death by another name. With that in mind, allow me to provide some basic information. This Tutorial follows a standard template model and will disappear after all the cycles have been completed. Its dimensions are that of a cube, roughly 750 Quadrons in every direction. For those of you hailing from primitive universes, that means its very big when you look up and very wide at the same time. There were only 1000 of you in this Tutorial instance, so everyone got a fair chance to stretch their wings in peace.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right sir! You are always the picture of fairness and equity!¡± Laser eyes says, fumes circling their sockets. ¡°Absolutely! We go to such lengths because we care about the new additions to our family, no matter how useless they may seem at first. Speaking of which, those who survive the whole time or defeat the Boss ahead of schedule will be transferred to Human City!¡± ¡°Wow! Human City! What¡¯s that!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s one gargantuan safe zone, filled with humans and no other sentient species! It¡¯ll be about 10 times the size of the current trial grounds to start and will house your own people within the greater Labyrinth, as well as all your future descendants. From there, you can access the other sections and other outside dimensions via portals strewn about the streets.¡± My ears perked up as I noticed a funny word in the middle of his rant. ¡°Did he just say that our descendants will be living in the Labyrinth?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jacob confirmed. ¡°Hold on a bit, he¡¯ll explain further.¡± Indeed, he did. ¡°You see, from the moment the Labyrinth got a hold of you, you belonged to it. You may leave for temporary excursions, you may even visit your home worlds for a vacation or two, but those are temporary. This structure, this interdimensional marvel, is your cradle and your cell. This is where you¡¯ll live out your days. This is where you¡¯ll raise your families and rear your children. This is where your legacy will be built. You might influence events in the wider universe as you see fit, plundering and protecting as you will. However, that will only happen within the constraints of the Labyrinth¡¯s rules. You will always end up back here. Always.¡± ¡°Always?¡± One of his attendants questioned. ¡°Always.¡± Periwig confirmed. ¡°Unless you get a Tier V portal ability or an equally powerful reality warping ability that is. Its pretty much impossible for you so don¡¯t even think about it.¡± Two portals appeared next to him. One blue and one red. A confused granny came out of the blue one. Her bony fingers clutching tightly around a pearl necklace. A puma came out of the red one. Lunging at the granny and disappearing together into the blue portal from where she had emerged. ¡°Outside dimensions will be accessible during the Tutorial as well, starting in the second cycle. This is where you¡¯ll be introduced to excursions. To put it simply, there are members of your species throughout the multiverse that need help. Maybe they lost their cattle or maybe there are raiders come to savage them. It varies by case. The thing to take away is that the Ascended are, essentially omniscient and omnipotent and they love being worshiped. I mean, they really get off on it for some reason. Until now, they¡¯ve left your rocks alone, as per their communal agreement. That contract was moot the second the Tutorial started though, so all of you will become heroes for hire.¡± I blinked so fast that I thought my eyes were about to pop out of my skull. ¡°You will do this because you need to earn money and the Ascended have collectively agreed to be hands off when it comes to mortal affairs. They prefer to sit around and watch as we figure our own problems out. However, their interests are not limited to Espers. They do take notice of goings on outside the Labyrinth and will assess interesting situations based on any given individual¡¯s need and judge said folks through the lenses of the Labyrinth¡¯s moral guidelines. Which they wrote.¡± ¡®Wait, is that the reason we¡¯re not allowed to swear? Because some overpowered (Gnome) doesn¡¯t like potty mouths?¡¯ That notion was so ridiculous that it almost distracted me from the more important bit of information. The one about all-knowing and all-powerful entities being real and about them having a vested interest in the drudgery of mortal affairs. A chill, crept of my spine. My mind afire with all the implications. ¡°The people you help will receive System notifications telling them who helped them and the Ascended will take the opportunity to explain their personal gospels to all the smelly primates in your home dimensions. Thusly, they get to feel morally superior and have all the lesser beings worship them and Esper kind while you get to earn Store Tokens, which are the primary currency within the greater Labyrinth.¡± Periwig nodded in such a way that his many chins flopped up and down. ¡°You get the chance to save a city or rescue people from a sinking ship or something, and they get to know how awesome Espers are and how benevolent the Ascended are. So make sure you do your best! Be presentable! Do not cuss! Shower at least once a month! I know it¡¯s a lot to ask of you primates but our reputations are on the line here! Take one for the team!¡± ¡°Cool!¡± ¡°Awesome!¡± ¡°Gnarly!¡± ¡°Radical!¡± Periwig faces the adoring fans and waves his arms, relishing the praise. He turns back to the audience after a few seconds, his smiling face rosier than ever. ¡°Moving on, I¡¯d like to address what Psy actually is. For those of you who are still not in the loop, Psy is the energy that connects you to one of four non-physical dimensions. These dimensions are filled with sweet juices that cause wonderful effects any time someone pokes a hole and lets them in to material universes. Naturally, this is how you get those neat Types and abilities! Each of the four categories connects to and siphons a specific dimension juice, which then makes things explode or make your body better or even lets you read and control minds! Isn¡¯t that super cool!? Imagine you¡¯re a big smelly loser one day and the next you find yourself commanding everyone who looked down on you. Imagine the nasty things you could do to them. Imagine the many ways that power could be abused.¡± Oh boy. He went and said it. I was sure this was it. It was right there, at that point, where original timeline Ryan would have called for my head. It hadn¡¯t worked, of course. Sarcophagus Solomon had stunned all present with his Illusions and bolted for the door. He hadn¡¯t helped anyone grow stronger during his stay, which in turn had resulted in Randall and co wiping the floor with those they found when they stumbled across the Warehouse. The current situation was obviously different. No one looked even slightly bothered or surprised. Why would they? There were plenty of Telepaths keeping each other in check. Anyone with funny ideas would be disciplined faster than they could blink. The only exception was myself, but my openness had gone a long way toward soothing any misgivings. Or so I hoped. I opened my fog up to the minds of others. Taking in their innermost secrets. ¡®He must be reading me right now.¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s definitely reading my mind right now.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t do anything stupid.¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t think about anything.¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s not going to mind control me.¡¯ ¡®If he wanted to control us, he would¡¯ve done it by now.¡¯ ¡®How would I even know if I was being controlled?¡¯ ¡®Need to get the blocking abilities to a higher level.¡¯ ¡®He won¡¯t control me. He won¡¯t.¡¯ I willed myself to remain still. Trying to keep my body from betraying my emotions. I knew this would happen. Overall, this wasn¡¯t the worst-case scenario. People still trusted me. As much as they trusted each other. ¡°All according to what your brain is capable of! More levels mean better affinity to these places, which in turn increases your Psy and the ways in which you can use it. Levels are gained by exercising your skills and by using them in new and creative ways. Observant viewers may ask themselves if its possible to earn them without fighting, and the answer is yes! Though it is very difficult and you really need to understand what the actual process is, and not just the effect.¡± He paced back and forth, wagging a finger in the air. ¡°Now, levels are very valuable, especially inside the Tutorial. Bigger Psy pools mean more chances to attack and more reserves to scamper if things don¡¯t go your way. More than that, you should all know that you have it very easy here in the Tutorial.¡± ¡®This (Gnome).¡¯ Rage roiled within my heart. Tightening a knot in my belly that twisted around like a snake. ¡°Not only is your levelling speed increased thanks to all the monsters we¡¯ve left for you, but you can also choose what abilities you get from your status! This will no longer be the case after leaving. People born in the Labyrinth never get a chance to spend points on whatever abilities they want. Instead, they need to find competent teachers who will walk them through the process of acquiring them. You guys are the lucky few that get this chance because your species has just been invited to join. Be grateful for this chance and make the most of it.¡± I gazed over at my own screen. Noting how, specialized I¡¯d become.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 97, 920 / 97, 920
Type: Telepath III Level 120
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Sense Thoughts] 14 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 /
Ability Points: 31
Granted, I didn¡¯t think my choices had made me weak. Far from it. I was definitely the most powerful person here by far. That said, the other me had been just as strong. If not stronger. He¡¯d lowered his guard for a moment and that had been all Anezka needed. Sarcophagus me did say that we needed to have [Electronic Interface] at Tier 4 though. All the points I had wouldn¡¯t be enough, but they would get me closer to that goal. Though, perhaps it might be better to spread my points out. I have the +1 bonus to all ability levels from [Insight]. And my abilities level much faster than other people¡¯s. I thought about all the times I¡¯d gotten a new level from some new discovery or fresh exposure, rather than from monster hunting. Then I recalled how many times I¡¯d almost gotten killed by not having certain abilities earlier. Like [Block Mental Attack], [Block Mental Detection], [Interrupt] and the three interfaces. My eyes wandered back to my board. To all the abilities I hadn¡¯t taken. To all the options that would vanish as soon as the Tutorial was over. ¡®Right. Not making that mistake again.¡¯ Chapter 44: The Apology. Chapter 44: The Apology. Each new string was like a budding flower. Slowly emerging from the still dark waters of my lake. Its waters roiled for a few seconds, before settling back down with a grunt. Then, for the first time in forever, I felt a tangible tug from somewhere else inside of me. Its was¡­ As if the very walls of my inner sanctum were constricting and relaxing over an over again. Like the chambers of a beating heart. Each new string brought another beat. Another low drumming sound that echoed over and under the murky depths. The ropes didn¡¯t so much a quiver. The isolated fibres making up my new abilities howled in jubilations. Gorging themselves on the energy that was and was not me. They all felt stronger than they should have been. Every. Single. One. ¡®I guess that +1 wasn¡¯t just for show.¡¯ I finished allocating my points with a flourish. Carefully looking over all the new additions to my arsenal. I was about to delve into my new repertoire, when my attention was stolen by the movie. ¡°Yeah!¡± The other toons said in unison. ¡°It¡¯s not fair! We want to choose our abilities too!¡± ¡°Well tough luck!¡± Periwig screeched. ¡°We all work with what we have. Speaking of which, here are the official descriptions of each instance.¡± The screen flickered. Causing Periwig and his lickspittles to vanish. In their place come five large screens, similar to our own status screens.
System Notice: Novice Difficulty: Students are given padded suits of varying colours and automatically assigned into teams. Students are tasked with completing obstacle courses using their abilities. Students are tasked to play against each other in sporting events using their abilities. Students will receive a generous stipend of Store Tokens every time they complete a task. Students are automatically healed after every task and the suits teleport Students out of danger when death or severe injury is likely. Students are housed in System-provided lodging and presented with buffets at all hours of the day. No traps or hazards are present on any of the stages. Students are given colourful prizes at the end of each task, with winners receiving much better rewards than the rest. Students that consistently perform well are rewarded with larger and more opulent lodgings. Upgrades include, but are not limited to: Spa service, indoor heated pool, virtual reality room, literature from home dimension, video games from home dimension, robot assistants, improved buffet options, indoor and outdoor garden, cute pets, etc.¡­
System Notice: Apprentice Difficulty: Students are given padded suits of varying colours and assigned into factions. Students are placed in a city constructed to resemble their home dimension¡¯s buildings. Students are tasked with defending the city from escalating waves of enemies. Enemies will drop Store Tokens upon defeat. Enemies will not have a higher level than the highest levelled Student. Enemies will not have more than one Type and there will be only one boss in the whole scenario. Scenario ends early if boss is defeated. Students may access healing services at the center of the city. No traps or hazards are present in the city. Students are tasked to duel each other to establish rankings. Students are tasked to compete against other factions to establish rankings. Each faction receives a home base that is supplied according to their rank, with higher ranking factions and individuals receiving better bases and rooms within. Students may receive grievous injuries and death is a possibility.
System Notice: Adept Difficulty: Students are given no additional equipment from the System. Students are placed on an island constructed to resemble their home dimension¡¯s environment. Students are tasked with defending the island from escalating waves of enemies while contending with the weather. Enemies will drop Store Tokens upon defeat. Enemies escalate much faster than in easier difficulties. Enemies may have up to two Types at once. There will be no more than two bosses on the island, one intended boss and a hidden boss. Elite enemies may appear to assail points of contention. Some traps and hazards are present on the island. Students are tasked to duel each other to establish rankings. Students are tasked to organize themselves into teams in order to better defend the island. Students receive rewards based on personal and team rankings. Students may access the safe zone at the island center at all times in order to receive food, water and converge with allies. Students may access healing services once every day at the center of the island. The safe zone will not be de-activated unless all points of contention are lost to the waves of enemies.
System Notice: Elite Difficulty: Students are given no additional equipment from the System. Students are placed on an underground maze filled with a vast number of enemies, traps and hazards. Enemies will begin at a much higher level than Students. Enemies will escalate much faster than easier difficulties. Enemies will not drop Store Tokens upon defeat. Enemies may have up to four Types at the same time. Common Enemies may exceed the level cap for Tier 1 Students (Level 50) and may be as powerful as Tier 2. Students cannot access healing services through the System and must seek the help of other Students. Students are not tasked to duel each other for rankings due to the high mortality rate of previous iterations. Students will be ranked based on levels and titles. Students must conquer safe zones themselves and must continue to defeat elite enemies as they continue to spawn outside the safe zones. Safe zones may be de-activated if elite enemies are not slain within a week. There may be up to twenty roaming bosses in any one instance. There will always be at least one intended boss and a hidden boss. Bosses respawn when killed and only the victorious team or individual will receive rewards. Bosses always have all four Types and are firmly in the early stages of Tier 3.
System Notice: Peak Difficulty: Students are given no additional equipment from the System. Students are placed on a featureless chamber lined with doors. Each door will lead to a different challenge. Challenges must be completed in order to purchase daily necessities from the assigned Merchant. Enemies will begin at a much higher level than Students. Enemies will escalate much faster than easier difficulties. Enemies will not drop Store Tokens upon defeat. Enemies may have up to four Types at the same time. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Common Enemies may exceed the level cap for Tier 1 Students (Level 50) and may be as powerful as Tier 3. Students cannot access healing services through the System and must seek the help of other Students. Students are not tasked to duel each other for rankings due to the high mortality rate of previous iterations. Students will be ranked based on levels and titles. Challenges will contain at least one intended boss and two hidden bosses. There is no limit to the strength of intended or hidden bosses.
My eyes almost popped out of my skull. Slab placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. No doubt having experienced this beforehand. ¡°You¡¯re telling me, that the guys at the easy difficulty are living in freaking mansions and playing sports. While we had to fight the gnomes? What?¡± ¡°Yes. Some of us were very upset as well.¡± ¡°Not you?¡± He snickered. ¡°I actually like it here. Its safer than back home and I got not one, but two Types. One of which is the most valued one on my dimension. I¡¯m living the dream.¡± I was about to say something very rude to the ogre, when Periwig started talking again. ¡°Each of these instances is designed to cater to specific class of people. After all, every society need peons and grunts to do the menial labour. Just as every society needs it soldiers and commanders. This is why you have been divided. The very best of you will have a chance to shine, to be polished into diamonds through pressure. The not-so-great parts of your population get to receive a more risk-free education. One that doesn¡¯t push them too far in favor of getting them acquainted with the basics of Labyrinth life. Those luxuries come at a price though!¡± Periwig winked. ¡°Violence is and always has been the determining factor in a faction¡¯s continued existence. Those minions had better be ready to scrape at your feet after arriving at Human City.¡± He hummed appreciatively. Bobbing his head up and down like a cheap wooden doll. ¡°Why are we so focused on battle you ask? Why! Because battle is the one constant in the greater Labyrinth! The Ascended do their very best to protect commoners from your home world from monsters and thieves and other such nuisances, but going against factions within the Labyrinth violates their principles. Meaning all your families and all your loved ones, and even yourselves are fair game. Strong factions rise and enslave weaker factions all the time. And I really do mean all the time. Planets that produced weak species tend to be colonized and repopulated with alarming speed all over the multiverse.¡± ¡°Oh no! What about my home!?¡± Asked one of the sycophants. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you asked! As I¡¯ve mentioned, planets where sentient species haven¡¯t developed Psionic abilities are inherently protected by the Ascended Ones. Sort of like how a rich merchant might keep a personal zoo for their own amusement. This protection expires the second a member of that species enters the Tutorial. Meaning that whatever hole you barbarians crawled out of is going to be under constant threat of invasion and conquest!¡± ¡°But why?¡± ¡°What do you mean why? Get over yourself you lazy worm! Did you expect a great elder to protect you forever out of the kindness of their heart?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± Periwig snapped his fingers. The speaker exploded into a shower of cartoony gore. ¡°This is yet another reason to gain levels and break through your limits! Fights between psionic species tend to be quick and dirty. Favouring overwhelming power concentrated on individuals. Your average band of slavers will trip over themselves in order to capture and sell a bunch of Tier 1 mooks. They will begin to hesitate only when Tier 2s start to show up. If they happen to catch wind of a Tier 3 or higher, why, they won¡¯t even consider attacking your filthy rocks! Too much risk for too little reward. Always remember children, the greatest deterrent is the threat of violence! Nothing works quite like it!¡± ¡°What do we do if someone even stronger shows up? How do we handle a master at Tier 4?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t. You either flee right away and pray they get bored or you accept your new overlords. Unless you have a Tier 4 of your very own. All the more reason to start aiming for those lofty heights sooner rather than later.¡± ¡°But why?¡± Asked one of the female gnomes. Clutching the hem of her dress as if distressed. ¡°Why go through all this? Can¡¯t we all just get along?¡± ¡°Of course we can dearie! Do not twist my words, diplomacy is a completely viable option. If you can trust your partners that is. Who¡¯s to say they¡¯ll keep their word if you aren¡¯t able to enforce whatever treaties you signed? Who¡¯s to say they won¡¯t portal in a fleet of spaceships to invade a fresh new galaxy that¡¯s conveniently ripe for the taking? After all, intergalactic empires tend to be rather hungry for resources. And what better way to get those shiny treasures, than to hop through a backwards neighbour?¡± ¡°But the rules!¡± Periwig snapped his fingers once again. Splattering more crimson giblets onto the cartoony street. ¡°You are slow to learn my good damsel. The only rule that the Labyrinth respects is power. Plain and simple. Every single living psychic wants to ascend and very few are generous enough to overlook easy prey. If you want to live, you¡¯ll have to fight.¡± He paused once more, straightening his green coat in such a way that his many medals jingled prettily. ¡°One last thing. Ascension. You want it. I want it. Every creature in this misbegotten multiverse wants it. But what is it?¡± Periwig¡¯s whole demeanor transformed before my eyes. He looked serious, for once. Resembling a fanatic about to discuss their most sacred beliefs. ¡°In short, it¡¯s what lesser beings might call apotheosis. The process of forging a halo and becoming one with all four Types of Psy. There is only one way to do it. One must unlock all four Types and create at least three Tier 10 abilities within each Type. Thereby reforging one¡¯s physical and mental forms into a gestalt entity. One that was inherently more Psy than flesh or bone. Uncountable masters have tried over innumerable years. So far, 76 of them have forged complete crowns. You should all know them and prostrate yourselves. For their words are the only barrier keeping unenlightened species from extinction.¡± He cleared his throat once more, wiping away some dust from his padded shoulders. ¡°Now, the Tiers. They are the true bottlenecks. Each one is 50 levels and you need a combined ability of that Tier to push past the level cap. You need at least one Tier 2 ability to reach level 51 and at least one Tier 3 ability to reach level 101. That is, you can only level up to the Tier of your highest ability. One doesn¡¯t need to get a measly Tier 2 ability when one already has some in the fifth or sixth Tier.¡± Well, that was a welcome surprise, at least. ¡°You will have noticed that a level on the First Tier gets you 5 Psy and 3 ability points to your total. On the second Tier, that rises to 50 maximum Psy per level and 8 ability points. The third gets you 500 more Psy and 12 ability points per level. The fourth, 1000 Psy and 17 points respectively.¡± His face did not betray any emotion. His eyes having turned to stone. ¡°As I¡¯m sure you can surmise, each Tier is significantly more potent than the last, making each subsequent advancement far more meaningful. Not only that, but higher Tiers will have more combined abilities, meaning they can concentrate the points you¡¯d spend on three or four abilities into a single one. The earlier combinations will be the standard ones the Labyrinth is used to, and they will not provide any titles. [Telekinesis III] or [Machine Mind II] will function in the exact same way, with minor variations emerging from individual talents and ability level. These breakthroughs, while significant, are not enough to begin forging a crown.¡± He brought up one hand, counting off fingers. ¡°This pattern remains consistent until Tier 4. After that, any ability that is Tier 5 and up will come with a Title. Titles multiply your maximum Psy values and provide other passive perks to boot. Having a single Title means that you are, without a shred of doubt, far above the rest of the chaff.¡± Well, that¡¯s not exactly fair. I don¡¯t think I¡¯m better than anyone else here or anything. ¡°Do not, I repeat, do not, under any circumstances make an enemy of a Title bearer. There are always persistent rumours of them being above the pettiness of common mortals. This is only true because they tend to get their vengeance out of the way as soon as they reach those lofty heights. Know that you put yourself and your kind at peril by courting death.¡± His serious tone vanished like a summer breeze. In its place was the same cocky attitude he¡¯d had since the beginning. ¡°But you shouldn¡¯t worry too much about that. You¡¯re a bunch of smelly losers and you¡¯ll probably die smelly loser deaths!¡± ¡°Losers!¡± ¡°Death! Death!¡± ¡°Dead losers coming through!¡± The movie sputtered and ended. Just like that, the obsidian lost its light and returned to its previous inert state. Mr. Park clapped. Gaining everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Very good. Now that we¡¯re all on the same page, we can discuss how to best defend our planets.¡± His eyes met mine. Holding the vigor of someone forty years younger. ¡°Mr. Carter. You and I come from the same earth. Surely, we can agree that the people of our world must be protected?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I answer at once. ¡°Very good. Then I¡¯ll show you the training regiments we¡¯ve been working on. Our plans were designed around making the most out of the passive experience boost you provide within line of sight. We¡¯ll start by¡­¡± His voice was cut off abruptly, as the screen came to life once more. I groaned, thinking that the video was on some sort of autoplay setting. That went out the window when I felt the surprise and unease flowing from my peers. Whatever this was, none of them had seen it coming. The obsidian plate buzzed, and another screen came on.
Alert: A Student in this Tutorial instance has committed an act of aggression against a System-regulated vendor. Disciplinary action will be taken against this Student and all current Students in this Tutorial instance. Student, Solomon Carter, will be expected to apologize to the offended vendor before receiving any remaining rewards for these objectives. System has confirmed that Student, Solomon Carter, is present within a safe zone and is not being influenced by psionic abilities or biochemical agents. Student, Solomon Carter, will now have the opportunity to apologize to System-regulated vendor: Granny Golden. Granny Golden, will now be teleported into Elite Tutorial Instance.
The air in front of me whizzed and shimmered for a few precious seconds, before space itself became undone. A gap formed. A portal. A rift. From its depths emerged a humanoid raven. Clad in loose blue robes with pink floral patterns and floppy sandals that wrapped around her talons. She looked my way, flinched and hugged her own body to stop any further trembling. Her beak was almost, vibrating. Opening and closing at such speeds that it made a constant clacking sound. ¡°R-Right. L-Let us be done with this. Esteemed S-S-Savant.¡± She said as the gateway closed behind her. I shook my head. Realizing at once that she was completely mortified. A stab of shame lanced through my heart. Quelled only by the fact that I hadn¡¯t been in the best mental state back then. ¡°I¡­I¡¯m so¡­¡± My own words were cut off, as the obsidian surface made an annoying beeping sound. The current panel was replaced by another one, taking all of Granny Golden¡¯s attention.
Due to the severity of the assault, the Student hereby referred to as Solomon Carter, will have his status screen made public to vendor, Granny Golden. Divulged secrets will act as a form of additional compensation, due to vendor, Granny Golden, requiring healing from a System Administrator to remove the powerful compulsion effect.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 97, 920 / 97, 920
Type: Telepath III Level 120
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Sense Thoughts] 14 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Team Spirit] 1 / [Team Resilience] 1 / [Team Momentum] 1 / [Team Doctrine] 1 / [Imposing Presence] 1 / [Alluring Presence] 1 / [Mask] 1 / [Hidden Danger] 1 / [Muffle] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Mark Target] 1 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 1 / [Hum of Striding] 1 / [Hum of Defence] 1 / [Hum of Harmony] 1 / [Hum of Discord] 1 / [Hum of Cleansing] 1 / [Hum of Mist] 1 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Cleansing Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 1 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Stable Reality] 1 / [Unstable Reality] 1 / [Manifest Intruder] 1 / [Seal Intruder] 1 / [Banish Intruder] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1
Ability Points: 0
Title: Crown Shard of the Lonely Despot. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so only the wielder may dispel their own mind-controlling effects. This title negates the Psy cost of mind-controlling effects used on those below the wielder¡¯s current Tier. This title degrades mind-controlling immunity of affected targets to mind-controlling resistance. This title doubles Total Psy. ¡°Weary are they who bear the burden of leadership.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Chained Poet. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so only forces above Tier V may dispel the wielder¡¯s illusions. This title makes it so that illusions lower target¡¯s resistance to mind-controlling effects. This title increases Total Psy by 50%. ¡°Woe to they who lose their grip on reality.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Cruel Judge. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes the wielder immune to all mind-altering effects at or below Tier V; with the exception of the wielder¡¯s own. This title doubles the Psy cost of abilities used against the wielder. This title increases Total Psy by 50%. ¡°There can be no innocence. Only degrees of guilt.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Wizened Prophet. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so the wielder occasionally experiences bursts of Enlightenment. This title makes it so the wielder occasionally interacts with non-real alternate versions of themselves. This title makes so that hidden knowledge is revealed to the wilder at random intervals. This title provides a constant +1 Bonus to all ability levels. This title increases Total Psy by 70%.
Granny Golden¡¯s beak dropped to the floor. She gasped. Then heaved. Mimicking an animal being strangled by a serpent. ¡°T,T,T-Tier ten.¡± She managed to groan after half a minute. Her body froze immediately afterwards. Her avian features turning, ever so slowly, towards my general direction. Her beady eyes met mine. I waved; a bit embarrassed by the whole ordeal. ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry okay. I shouldn¡¯t have¡­¡± ¡°HEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLPPP!!!!!¡± She threw herself against the nearest wall. Using some Projector ability to launch her body like a rocket. ¡°HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!! HEEEEEEELP! ADMIN! ADMIN!!!! GET ME THE (Foxxan) OUT OF HERE!!!!! HEEEEEELP!!¡± Chapter 45: Orphan Maker. Chapter 45: Orphan Maker. ¡°Look lady! I¡¯m sorry! Okay! I shouldn¡¯t have mind-controlled you! My. Bad. I promise it won¡¯t happen aga¡­.¡± ¡°HEEEEEEEEEEEELLP!!!!!! ADMIN!!! AAAADMIIIIIIINNNN!!!!!!¡± Her claws raked at the wall. Leaving small gashes in the smooth stone and making a sound akin to nails on chalkboard. A vile, resonant screeching that cut through the quiet din of the chamber. It would have been horrifying¡­. If the exit wasn¡¯t five steps to her right. She, uh. Didn¡¯t seem to notice. ¡°Is this the System vendor?¡± Charlie asked from the side. ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s, uh, the one I accidentally attacked.¡± Charlie raised an inquisitive eyebrow. ¡°Is that so? Then, why do you suppose she¡¯s going at it like you¡¯re a goon from the docks and she owes you money?¡± I hung my head in shame and began to massage my temple. ¡°It, might have something to do with the whole mind-control thing that I did.¡± He nodded. ¡°Yes. That does sound about right.¡± He turned back towards Granny Golden and her escalating meltdown. She had erected a [Force Wall] around herself. Keeping any curious onlookers away, despite most of them trying to help. Mr. Park and Jacob stood next to me as well. Opposite the spot where Charlie lingered. ¡°You know, we could use the services of a vendor. We have a surplus of supplies right now, but I¡¯d love to get my hands on more of those storage rings.¡± Mr. Park commented. ¡°Not to mention what other secrets we might be able to gleam.¡± ¡°Forget that.¡± Jacob scoffed. ¡°What we need is weapons and armor. You lot might be happy with those parasites you cover yourselves with, but I ain¡¯t about to have a leech on my skin.¡± ¡®Kill him.¡¯ Buddy hissed in my mind. ¡®He¡¯s trying to take you from me. He wants to break up our friendship. Kill him now. Before he whispers more poison into your ears.¡¯ ¡®No Buddy. I¡¯m already coming up with ways to avoid killing Randall and Anezka. Even though they totally deserve to get shot. I am not killing a friend.¡¯ ¡®He¡¯s not your friend! I¡¯m your friend! He wants to replace me! With a cold, dead piece of metal! It won¡¯t love you like I do. No one will ever love you the same way I love you. Kill him!¡¯ Jacob kept talking. Ignorant of the enmity his comments had earned him. ¡°Besides, I wanna see how our abilities affect good equipment. You saw the same memories I did. Sully¡¯s [Insight] merged an ability called [Awaken Object]. I¡¯m dying to see what it can do when combined with [Imbue Construct] from the Projector board and [Enhance Object] from the Enhancer board. I¡¯d bet my left (Gnome) that we can make something much better than a parasite suit. I¡¯ve been smelting scrap so far. I¡¯d love to see what sort of goodies vendors might have.¡± I turned to face him. ¡°That¡­is a great idea! Why didn¡¯t you bring it up earlier?¡± Mr. Park¡¯s face remained impassive, while Jacob¡¯s turned into a grimace. ¡°I did. You used your powers on Prudence¡¯s diary. It took two fingers off Kaito when he tried to pick it up and our new Telepaths kept saying that it was evil and that it was thinking of ways to, and I quote: ¡®Take our (Gnome)ing legs and arms off so it could move like a real boy and finally profess his undying love to the greatest woman in the world.¡¯ By which it meant Prudence¡¯s aunt. The book didn¡¯t manage to do any of that, but it did learn how to float. It literally zoomed away faster than we could blink. We kept telling you to catch it, but you were too busy singing and talking to a mushroom.¡± I massaged my head. Trying to process this new information while also doing my best to tune out Granny Golden¡¯s desperate squawks. My hangover was still very much around however. I could feel my heartbeat in my head. Veins pulsating around my skull as if trying to kick their way inside. Frustratingly, I soon started feeling kicks coming from the inside as well. My brain throbbing as if a gaggle of musicians were testing percussion instruments right next to my ears. ¡°How did, whatever. Why did you want to keep testing the ability if the book turned feral?¡± Jacob shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m hoping the oddities came from your drinking. A sentient weapon as powerful as the diary would be awesome if it was sane. A sentient armor would be even better. We¡¯ve got other people who can use [Psychometry] now. Items like your dagger or Dusty¡¯s spear have their own Psy pools. It means extra avenues of attack and defense, which are only made better by the fact that they can have abilities their owners don¡¯t. Imagine what we could do with a crossbow that shot [Force Bolts] instead of wooden bolts. Now imagine if it could do that in the hands of an Enhancer or a Shifter. With its own Psy as ammo. Given that those pools can be recharged between fights, its an easy way of getting our mittens on twenty or thirty levels worth of extra Psy.¡± I nodded in understanding. ¡°Have we made any progress with [Imbue Construct] and [Enhance Object]?¡± ¡°Not as of yet.¡± He admitted sheepishly. ¡°I have both of them, since Projector was my main Type and Enhancer my second, but¡­ I¡¯ve been having difficulties with the materials on hand. The Psy dissipates after I shove it in. Or breaks the metal when it doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Which is why my powers and Granny¡¯s stock would come in handy.¡± I finished for him. ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry about it, okay? I already said so. Multiple times. Granny¡¯s the one who doesn¡¯t want to listen. What am I supposed to say?¡± ¡°Have you tried kowtowing?¡± Mr. Park offered. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°You kneel so low that your forehead touches the ground. It is a sign of deep respect in my culture and it can be used to express one¡¯s deep humility and remorse for one¡¯s actions.¡± I looked back at Granny Golden. Noting the obscene amount of horror in each of her cries. ¡°HEEEEEEELP!! HEEEEEELP!!!! HEEEEEELPP MEEEEEEEE!!!! HEEEEEELP MEEEEEEEE!!!!!! ADMIN!!!!!! ANYONE!!!!!!!!¡± Monique, Borislav, Kaito, Slab, Dusty and Prudence had been trying to calm her down for a good minute or two. To no avail. Kaito, Slab and Prudence¡¯s own [Messages] weren¡¯t getting through and neither were their voices. Whatever gestures they made only served to agitate her further. Slab made his way over to us once he¡¯d given up. Hanging his head in shame. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Sully. I don¡¯t think I can help.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all right. Its not like I did much to help either.¡± He sucked in a breath at that. Looking guiltily in my direction. ¡°You know, I cannot read your thoughts due to your [Suppression]. But I can read theirs. That, and my hearing¡¯s enhanced. I was listening.¡± His features twisted for a second, but he got them under control in half a heartbeat. ¡°I was raised to respect Shepherds and to only offer them reverence. After all, their powers were the most important in our fight against the Blood Queen and the other Devourers. I, normally wouldn¡¯t suggest any kind of debasement but¡­¡± ¡°No. You¡¯re right.¡± I said, stopping him before he could finish. ¡°This is my mess. Its only right that I clean it up.¡± I walked forward. Moving closer and closer my friends and to Granny Golden. It was, odd, seeing her like this. ¡°H, hey. Mrs. Golden? Its me. Solomon. I wanted to apologize for what I did. Again. I¡¯m really, really sorry. I¡¯m a good person now and I can see that it was wrong of me to, lump my problems on you and, almost get you killed by making you lie. Again, I¡¯m sorry.¡± She just kept bawling and clawing. Giving no indication that she¡¯d heard me. She¡¯d seemed so strong when we first met. So potent and imposing. ¡®She was also kind.¡¯ I reminded myself. ¡®She could have bullied me around. Or lorded her status over me. But she didn¡¯t. She always spoke as if she was genuinely trying to help.¡¯ I felt another pang of shame overtaking me, before curiosity arose as well. ¡®I wonder what her status looks like?¡¯ I willed [Insight] into being and focused my gaze on the screens.
Name: Granny Golden
Psy: 3,642 / 3,700
Type: Telepath II Level 100 / Projector Level 50 / Enhancer Level 50 / Shifter Level 50
Telepath Abilities: [Mindscape II] 10 / [Machine Mind II] 10 / [Long Call II] 10 / [Heart Bolt II] 10 / [Tranquil Mind II] 10 / [Incite II] 10 / [Healing Song II] 10 / [Puppet Sentient] 10 / [Floral Interface] 5 / [Fungal Interface] 5 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Team Spirit] 5 / [Team Resilience] 5 / [Team Momentum] 5 / [Team Doctrine] 5 / [Puppet Animal] 2 / [Puppet Plant] 2 / [Puppet Fungus] 2 / [Precognition] 2 / [Premonition] 1 / [Block Mental Detection] 10 / [Block Mental Attack] 10 / [Interrupt] 10 / [Hum of Mist] 10 / [Stable Reality] 10 / [Alluring Presence] 6 / [Hide] 10 / [Static Illusion] 2 / [Muffle] 2 This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Projector Abilities: [Force Bubble] 5 / [Force Wall] 5 / [Force Bolt] 2 / [Mend Space] 2 / [Local Portal] 5 / [Local Jump] 1 / [Mend Time] 1 / [Absorb Heat] 1 / [Absorb Electricity] 1 / [Absorb Kinetic] 1 / [Reservoir] 3 / [Conversion to Psy] 2 / [Resonance] 2 / [Accelerate] 1 / [Reverse Gravity] 1
Enhancer Abilities: [Enhanced Strength] 1 / [Enhanced Dexterity] 1 / [Enhanced Constitution] 1 / [Enhanced Memory] 1 / [Enhanced Learning] 1 / [Enhanced Processing] 1 /
Shifter Abilities: [Claws] 1 / [Regeneration] 1 / [Predator¡¯s Instincts] 1 / [Regenerate Other] 1 / [Social Instincts] 1 / [Metamorphosis] 1 / [Heat Tolerance] 1 / [Cold Tolerance] 1 / [Electricity Tolerance] 1
Ability Points: 0
[Mindscape II] Standard Combination of [Sense Thoughts] / [Mental Map]. Grants the User the power to detect thoughts, and emotions at a range of 500 metres per current ability level. Grants the User the power to gleam sensory information and create a persistent mental approximation of the current environment at a range of 500 metres per current ability level. These gains increase by an additional 100% every 5 ability levels. These effects cannot be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Machine Mind II] Standard Combination of [Electronic Interface] / [Puppet Machine]. Grants the User the power to detect thoughts, and programing priorities of electronic machines within the limits of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. Grants the User the power to re-write the programing of machines within the limits of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. This effect scales with current ability level. The effectiveness of this ability increases by 150% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Long Call II] Standard Combination of [Message] / [Persistent Message]. Grants the User the power to communicate with interactable targets within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. User may leave behind a persistent node of information that lasts two hours per ability level or contact a target located further away than the current range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. Additional abilities can be attached to the node and can be set to trigger upon contact with a specified target. Distance increases by an additional 10% of current range per ability level. Duration of node increases by 20% per current ability level. The effectiveness of this ability increases by 100% every five levels. These effects cannot be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Heart Bolt II] Standard Combination of [Mental Bolt] / [Heart Attack]. User may fire a bolt of Psionic energy to an interactable target within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. Affected Targets will experience a surge of disruptive Psy directed into their nervous system, as well as severe cardiac arrest if they have a compatible organ. This effect scales with current ability level. The effectiveness of this ability increases by 100% every five levels. This effect can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Tranquil Mind II] Standard Combination of [Meditation] / [Calm]. Grants the User an innate resistance to natural and unnatural stressors at a rate of + 20% per current ability level. Allows the User to bestow an instance of resistance to natural and unnatural stressors at a rate of + 10% per current ability level to interactable units within a range of 125 metres. This effect comes at a cost of 20 Psy per affected unit per minute. Grants the User a passive resistance to mind-altering effects at a rate of + 30% per current ability level. Grants the User a passive increase to Psy regeneration at a rate of + 20% per current ability level. The potency of all these effects increases by 100% every five levels. These effects cannot be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Incite II] Standard Combination of [Enrage] / [Friendship]. User may manipulate an interactable target within half the current range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives into attacking any target the User desires, regardless of prior loyalties or the target¡¯s self-preservation instincts. Target must resist at lest half of this effect in order to become aware of the manipulation. This effect costs 50 Psy per minute per affected unit and its effectiveness increases at a rate of + 15% per current ability level. The effectiveness of this ability increases by 100% every five levels. This effect can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Healing Song II] Standard Combination of [Hum of Cleansing] / [Cleansing Gaze]. Grants the User the ability to project an aura that dispels lingering psionic effects and increases the natural regeneration of living interactable targets within a range equivalent to 10% of the current range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. This aura may be deployed actively at a cost of 50 Psy per minute for an effectiveness of + 25% per current ability level or passively for an effectiveness of + 5% per current ability level. The potency of all these effects increases by 150% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
It all seemed pretty interesting. Right up until I found the last screen. My eyes went over it once, almost glossing over the information. Then they stopped dead and went back to (Gnome)ing doublecheck the utter (Gnome)ing bull(Gnome) on display. ¡®Dispels lingering psionic effects and increases the natural regeneration. Increases¡­regeneration¡­. actively or passively¡­. can be overcharged with Psy¡­.¡¯ I was so stunned that I forgot to breathe. When I finally did, the oxygen burned my lungs and came out in a roar that eclipsed anything Granny Golden had displayed. ¡°WHAT THE ACTUAL (Gnome)! HOW!? HOW!!!???? YOU¡¯RE TELLING ME!! THAT TELEPATHS COULD HEAL!!! THIS ENTIRE TIME!!!!!???? HOW!!!?? WHO THE (Gnome) KNEW ABOUT THIS AND DIDN¡¯T TELL ANYONE!!!! YOU (Gnome)ING PIECES OF MOTHER(Gnome) (Gnome)!!!! I SWEAR I¡¯ll (Gnome)!!!! YOU ALL IN YOUR (Gnome)!!! AND (Gnome) IN YOUR (Gnome)!!! UNTIL THERE¡¯S NOTHING LEFT BUT (Gnome)!!!!!" Granny Golden flinched. Shivered violently. And turned around to face me. ¡°YOU (Gnome)ING PIECE OF (Gnome)!!! HOW (Gnome)ING DARE YOU KEEP THIS FROM ME!!!??¡±
System Notice: Store representatives are protected within the Tutorial. System Enforcers will be dispatched due to threatening behaviour during apology proceedings.
System Notice: System Enforcer: Orphan Maker, has been contracted to punish Student: Solomon Carter. System Enforcer: Orphan Maker, has been granted access to Solomon Carter¡¯s full Status. System Enforcer: Orphan Maker, attempts to reject the contract. System is enforcing the contract. System Enforcer: Orphan Maker, is begging on his knees. System is enforcing the contract. System Enforcer: Orphan Maker, begins to weep profusely. System is enforcing the contract. Now summoning: Orphan Maker.
I was so angry that I barely noticed the shimmering in front of Granny Golden. When it receded, I was left with two crow people instead of one. This new arrival was bigger than Granny. With throwing knives of pink crystal strapped to a highly-decorated Symbiote and a massive two-handed emerald great sword strapped to his back. Despite his intimidating attire, the man himself crumpled to the floor almost immediately. Furthermore, he somehow managed to exude more fear than Granny Golden herself. ¡°P, please!¡± He squeaked. ¡°Please good master, I didn¡¯t know! The screen! It tricked me! The System rewards were too good! Please Master! Oh, gentle and wise master! Please don¡¯t enslave me! Please! I have family! Me and my wife have hatchlings! And eggs that haven¡¯t hatched yet!¡± He actually brought both his gloved talons to his beady black eyes and began to weep profusely. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything you want master! Anything at all! Just please don¡¯t enslave me master! Please! Kill me cleanly if you want! But please don¡¯t make me into one of them! Please! Please!!¡± The indignation I felt then, at that accusation, actually brought me back to my senses. ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t. I wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder and turned to see Mr. Park. His face as impassive as always. ¡°You¡¯ll do, anything?¡± He asked, in a steady voice that nonetheless cut through the noise like a hot knife through butter. ¡°Anything!¡± Orphan Maker confirmed. His beady little eyes glistening with tears and newfound hope. Despite his alien visage, I got the distinct impression of a castaway glimpsing land after weeks at sea. ¡°Me too!¡± Granny Golden interjected. Throwing herself on the floor in a close approximation of a kowtow. ¡°Please spare me and mine! Don¡¯t invade our world and subjugate us!¡± ¡°Now, now, there¡¯s no need for that.¡± Mr. Park assured them. ¡°We are all civilized individuals here, are we not? I¡¯m sure we can put aside our superficial differences for a moment and come to an.¡± He paused, letting the words hang in the air. ¡°Amicable solution.¡± The two nodded profusely. Actually, going so far as to crawl over to where Mr. Park stood. They clung to his legs like misbehaving children hoping to avoid punishment. A sight so spectacularly out of place that it left me utterly speechless. I was about to say something when Slab grabbed my right arm and Charlie grabbed my left. ¡°Let it go Sully. This is good. We¡¯re getting what we wanted.¡± ¡°No sense in stirring the pot right now Sully. This is perfect.¡± I gaped at them. Then back at the two aliens. Mr. Park was playing them like a damn fiddle and neither seemed to care. Even though they were both infinitely stronger than he was. ¡°I, am I that scary?¡± I asked. Feeling stupid as soon as the words left my mouth. ¡°No.¡± Slab assured me. ¡°You are, by far, the single most terrifying bloke I have ever known.¡± Charlie stated. If looks could kill, Slab¡¯s glare would have sent Charlie and all his ancestors screaming into the shadow realm right then and there. ¡°But, you¡¯re also not a bully about it.¡± He added quickly. ¡°Which is good, because we¡¯d all be well and truly (Gnome)d if you were. Point is, don¡¯t worry about it. Scary people can be bad and good. You¡¯re being very good by standing back and letting Mr. Politician do his thing. Granny feathers over there gets her apology, some nice reassurances and a pat on the back. While we get a sweet little edge that we didn¡¯t have in the future you predicted. Everybody wins.¡± They were right. Because of course they were. It was bad enough that I¡¯d lost my cool at a critical juncture. Right now, was the time to be a team player and worry about the needs of my whole group. I backed off without another word. Pulling Slab over to the side for a quick chat. ¡®She can heal.¡¯ I [Messaged] him. ¡®Yes? Why are you bringing it up?¡¯ ¡®Because she doesn¡¯t have to use her Shifter powers! She can heal using Telepath abilities!¡¯ ¡®So?¡¯ The nonchalant way he thought it took me off guard. Leading me to gape like a heavily medicated imbecile. ¡®So!? The (Gnome) do you mean, so? Did you not get my meaning? She can heal using Telepath abilities!?¡¯ ¡®Yes. Sully. I heard you the first time. I was asking why you were so surprised about it?¡¯ He knew. He and his sister knew this whole time and neither bothered to tell me. ¡®Its not a common thing in my world, since it¡¯s a rare power to have. At least, when compared to Shifters. All of them can heal themselves and most can heal others too. Telepaths don¡¯t normally manifest healing abilities, but its also not unheard of. Is this not the case in your world?¡¯ He inquired. Becoming worried after sensing something was off. I was about to answer, when I realized that I had no idea. Information about Telepaths had been tightly controlled for as long as I could remember. I didn¡¯t know if my predicting the future was unique or if the powers that be simply kept that to themselves. This, could be a similar case. But why hide it? Did they not want people being healed? Unless¡­ They didn¡¯t want them healed by Telepaths. I was starting to think more and more like Randall, recalling the rants about conspiracies. Then I thought back to Ryan¡¯s first impression of my world. Of the way things were handled there. ¡®It¡¯s possible he wasn¡¯t mistaken. If people knew about this and kept it hidden, what else were they keeping to themselves?¡¯ I was so distracted with my spiraling thoughts, that the new screen almost made me fall face first into the stone floor.
System Notice: An agreement has been reached between Students in the Elite difficulty instance, Vendor: Granny Golden and System Enforcer: Orphan Maker. Vendor: Granny Golden, has accepted the apology of Student: Solomon Carter. Vendor will now be teleported outside the Tutorial instance. Enforcer: Orphan Maker, has agreed to settle his contract under the following conditions. Students currently located in the Warehouse safe zone will receive a compensation package including: Early access to Excursion Events. Early access to System recognized Teams. Early access to System Forums. A dedicated System Vendor for their safe zone. Raw materials appropriate for the higher end of Tier 1 in bulk and with a value totalling 5, 000, 000 Store Tokens. A promise of information regarding common ability combinations and training methods. To be delivered after the second cycle begins.
Holy (Gnome). Mr. Park managed to squeeze the bird man this much? Forget me and my mind-control, he¡¯s the real scary one around here. I was reading and re-reading the notice, when another one popped up in front of it.
System Excursion: Student: Solomon Carter, will be summoned to three starter Excursions to familiarize them with the process. Excursion to Earth: MXXS 2000 is underway. Objective: Rescue at least 20 individuals from the burning building. People rescued: 0 / 20
I barely had time to gasp, before a shimmer overtook me. Chapter 46: Fighting Fire. Chapter 46: Fighting Fire. The first thing I registered was the shining sun. Its glorious rays beating down on Buddy. Passing through the transparent film that made up the visor and warming up my face. The second thing I registered, was that it was getting very warm, very quickly. I whirled around. Taking in the brickwork. The five floors stacked on top of each other. The smoke. All that smoke. Coming from the windows. Then my fog got a chance to spread. Bringing in an orchestra of booming thoughts, emotions and impressions. I felt all of it at once. The coughing. The wheezing. The tears welling up in the trapped people¡¯s eyes. They all hit me like a rushing train. Thundering against the insides of my skull, over and over and over. Joining hands with the hangover to make me as miserable as I could possibly be. I staggered backwards even as I felt another wave of terror coming from within the building. Then I recalled what my mission was and what was at stake. The rope that was my [Domination] grew taut. ¡°Stop¡± I commanded. My body did so. Freezing like a statue mid-fall. ¡®Go forward.¡¯ I willed. Knowing that my lips had become as paralyzed as the rest of me. My body did so. Lurching towards the searing, blackened air with wild abandon. The pain and the disorientation and the nausea would not stop me. They wouldn¡¯t even slow me down. Good people didn¡¯t stop helping because they were nauseated or tired. Heroes wouldn¡¯t allow themselves to falter for such petty reasons. Not when there were lives at stake. ¡®Think. You can¡¯t stop the flames. You can¡¯t survive being in there for long. Think, and come up with a plan.¡¯ My eyes scanned my status, as well as Buddy¡¯s own. Noting his [Enhanced Toughness] and the way he could regulate air. Then, I recalled what I¡¯d seen in Granny Golden¡¯s screen mere moments prior. The gaze abilities, would not accept more Psy. Whatever they did, it was all passive. The same was not true for the hums. [Hum of Attack], [Hum of Striding], [Hum of Defence], [Hum of Harmony], [Hum of Discord], [Hum of Cleansing] and [Hum of Mist] were trembling on the surface of my lake. Their strings hungry for Psy. So, I fed them. More than I¡¯d ever fed [Fever] or [Mental Bolt]. More than I¡¯d ever fed [Precognition]. Dozens of points. Then hundreds. Then thousands. Until they were almost bursting with raw power. It was such a violent tide that I felt the Psy within congealing and becoming solid. Oozing past my very pores and diffusing into the surrounding air like a smoke grenade. Its violet and golden colours radiating out and coating the street and the smoke and the curious onlookers watching helplessly from the sidelines. I expected an explosive burst of physical might in return for my investment. I was not disappointed. It wasn¡¯t anywhere near what Charlie or Boris were capable of. Yet it was sudden and violently sweet. My shoulder crashed against a heavy wooden door and the impact reduced it to splinters in an instant. The motion sent a tiny stab of pain through my arm, but otherwise left me unharmed. Thick layers of ethereal energy were still oozing out of me as I ran. Lighting up the lobby in such a way that the shadows seemed to dance and the fires seemed to laugh.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Attack] 1 has grown to [Hum of Attack] 2
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Striding] 1 has grown to [Hum of Striding] 2
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Defence] 1 has grown to [Hum of Defence] 2
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Harmony] 1 has grown to [Hum of Harmony] 2
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Cleansing] 1 has grown to [Hum of Cleansing] 2
Ability Evolving: [Unstable Reality] 1 has grown to [Unstable Reality] 2
¡®Wha¡­? I didn¡¯t even use that last¡­ Whatever. Focus Sully. The timeline has changed. Sarcophagus Sully never saw this. He never did any of this. You¡¯re not like him. You can be a hero. You will be a hero. Focus and save these people.¡¯ [Mental Map] was filling out an outline of the building and I noted where the each of the survivors had been trapped. Surprisingly, I felt all my hums going into them as well. Invigorating them with an energy they hadn¡¯t had prior to my arrival. ¡®Nice! Now I only have to focus on the worst cases! The rest can leave by themselves!¡¯ I reached for all the signals inside the burning edifice. Using [Message] to reach them. ¡®Listen to me! Stay calm and drop to the floor! Crawl along the ground to the nearest door! Do not open it if the handle is warm or if there¡¯s smoke coming from underneath it! Make your way to the fire exits!¡¯ I was sprinting up the stairs by that point. Pushing past the smoking embers to reach the second floor. That was when the replies started coming in. ¡®Huh!?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m hearing voices!? I¡¯m hearing voices!¡¯ ¡®Quiet! My guardian angel¡¯s talking!¡¯ ¡®Angel? Angel! Save us!¡¯ I briefly considered correcting them, but decided against it. I had no clue what this world was like or if Telepaths were a thing and I didn¡¯t need to waste minutes explaining what I was when every second counted. All that mattered was getting them out safely. ¡®I¡¯m giving you power right now! Making you all stronger! Do as I said and make for the fire exits!¡¯ I was nearing one of the offices where three people were trapped, figuring that there must have been some kind of blockage. ¡®What¡¯s a fire exit?¡¯ Someone asked amidst the confusion. The question was so¡­ so ridiculous, that I genuinely wondered if I¡¯d hallucinated it. No such luck. One by one, all twenty people began asking that very same thing. ¡®Mother(Gnome)ing architects! Every (Gnome)ing time!¡¯ This must have been a world where there weren¡¯t any engineers or government safety inspectors around to rein in their worst impulses. Jokes aside; whomever had designed this death trap had instantly earned themselves the title of honorary gnome as far as I was concerned. They had better pray the System took me away before I managed to get my hands on their scrawny, pox ridden (Gnome). The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. That would have to be a concern for later though. My body finally reached the door and I manipulated my limbs using [Domination] to bypass the hangover¡¯s effects as I arrived. Kicking out with all the force my shell could muster and throwing the door off its hinges. The three on the floor stared up at me. Wondering if I was a firefighter, an astronaut, or the promised angel. I picked them up without wasting time on words. Holding them like sacks of potatoes. Instructing survivors on higher floors even as I sprinted back towards the stairs. ¡®I, I¡¯m stronger!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ve been blessed by the angel!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m going to make it!¡¯ ¡®MOVE!¡¯ I roared into their minds. Calling upon [Team Tactics] so that they understood what I had gleamed from the map and from my general knowledge about fire safety. It worked wonders. Folks who had been all but knocked out were crawling with an alacrity humans shouldn¡¯t have had on all fours. Those that had been blinded and disoriented now knew where to go, rushing towards salvation. Making excellent time towards the hallways and the nearest stairwell. Others¡­ jumped. Out of windows. Believing that an angel would save them. ¡­.. And they were right! The hums may not have been on the level of Enhancer abilities but I was throwing in a lot of Psy every single second that passed. So much so that the sheer amount of energy being pumped through my fog and into them was starting to congeal around them as well. Wrapping them in florescent sheen that only I could sense. Those guys were probably on par with mid-F-Ranks by the time they jumped. The only ones to break bones were the four that jumped from the ceiling. All the others were, mostly fine. Some scrapes and bruises here or there, but hey! It beats asphyxiation! It was such a good result that I couldn¡¯t help but giggle. Elated with this new tool at my disposal. With what I was managing to do. This, this was what good people did with their powers. It was, such a potent rush of validation. I let my three passengers down outside the building and rushed back in with gusto. There were only two humans left inside the structure now. Stuck all the way up in the fifth floor. Both were unconscious as far as I could tell, which meant their lives were in my hands. ¡®Sully? I think I¡¯m starting to run out of air. Also, the fire¡¯s really starting to hurt. Those upgrades you gave me helped a lot so far, but I think I¡¯m reaching my limit.¡¯ ¡®Hold on for just another minute or two Buddy. I¡¯m almost done.¡¯ ¡®Uh, I can hold on. Its just; you¡¯re going to start feeling the heat now.¡¯ Buddy¡¯s words were punctuated by oppressive onslaught of sweltering air. The charred corpse of the wooden edifice coming apart at the seams and raining bright red embers down on me with every step. I pushed onwards. Ignoring the impulse to turn back. That sickeningly sweet voice that reminded me about my weakness. That I¡¯d been sleeping for days, that I was still extremely hungover and recovering. All that mattered were the people. Borislav could heal me afterwards and Buddy would recover on his own. (Gnome), I could heal him now. Maybe not as well as a Shifter would, but I could do it. These folks had nothing and no one expect for me. A hero wouldn¡¯t have turned back. A hero wouldn¡¯t even have had the thought. I kept moving. Up a flight or stairs and then another. Pausing only when the steps gave way under my weight. ¡°Mother(Gnome)er! Buddy! Turn my gloves into climbing picks!¡± Buddy did so. Meanwhile, I marshalled my Psy. Concentrating so much energy into the lake and the strings within it that the turbulent waters bubbled and sizzled like cooking oil. The effort brought actual, physical pain. An agony that bit deeper than the lash of the flames. I poured all of it. All of me. Into the hums.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Attack] 2 has grown to [Hum of Attack] 3
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Striding] 2 has grown to [Hum of Striding] 3
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Defence] 2 has grown to [Hum of Defence] 3
Ability Evolving: [Unstable Reality] 2 has grown to [Unstable Reality] 3
I glanced at the screens and cursed. ¡®What¡¯s with [Unstable Reality]? I didn¡¯t want to use it. I don¡¯t even know what it does. I need more healing dammit. More cleansing.¡¯ My complaints fell on deaf ears. Worse, my eyes started playing tricks on me. Showing me a field of ash instead of the crumbling building that I knew was surrounding me. That was when I froze and recalled the description of [Insight]. ¡®Perceives future scenarios within line of sight at will and at a rate of +1 seconds per ability level.¡¯ I pushed myself further. Faster. Hoisting myself vertically using Buddy¡¯s appendages turned picks. I felt my arms straining against the weight of my body and the pressure that the torrent of Psy was putting on them. Each tendon was akin to a branding iron. Only they cooked the flesh from underneath the skin. I was sweating more Psy than water. The unreal energy now compressing itself into orbs of shining gases and orbiting around me like celestial bodies around a star. They were even brighter within the fog. Once more lighting the surrounding area and making the shadows dance. It, it almost seemed like they were laughing. Cheering me on. I had just barely reached the fourth floor when I heard the wall crackling. ¡°No. No! Don¡¯t give way! Not now! Don¡¯t you dare fall!¡± I summoned my ropes. The strongest abilities I had. Looking for something. Anything to save those at the top. ¡®Maybe, maybe I can still control them when they¡¯re unconscious¡­¡¯ It was a longshot, but I was out of options. ¡®Get up and throw yourselves out the nearest window!¡¯ Miraculously, the sleeping folks did as I bade them. They stood up like puppets on purple strings and flung themselves out the side of the building. One of them broke an arm. The other didn¡¯t even sprain their ankle. Their bodies were simply too stuffed with power for anything else. I sighed. Then laughed. I summoned [Insight] again. Willing the future to play out before me. ¡°Buddy, undo the picks. Let me fall.¡± ¡®You got it.¡¯ I dropped like a ton of bricks. Hitting the remains of the stairwell in half a second. Thankfully, the boards didn¡¯t give way. Exactly as I predicted. I ran then. Faster than I¡¯d ever run before. Through the crumbling doorway and out onto the streets. Only then did I allow my body to give out. I fell on my face. Well, on the layer of Buddy that was covering my face. The pavement felt, cool. Comforting even. My fog was starting to lose its focus. Dissipating as normal fog would when exposed to high winds. I couldn¡¯t make out which signals were coming from people and which were coming from cars. Which ones came from tress planted along the sidewalk and which ones came from dogs on leashes. All that channeling, all that exertion, had left me exhausted and hurt. But I was happy. I was so very happy. This was what I wanted. What I¡¯d always wanted. To do good. To help others. Who cares if I tore some ligaments? I mean, (Gnome). Them being torn might actually turn out to be good practice. I could focus on healing myself. On nothing but that sweet, sweet [Hum of Cleansing]. It and [Cleansing Gaze]. ¡®Now that I think about it, I still don¡¯t know how that one works. Would suck if it was a passive that only healed others. I mean, it would still be great to have now that I had friends, but it wouldn¡¯t be ideal.¡¯ My head was still swimming. Making me feel like a rat caught inside a washing machine. Sounds and lights and smells melding into each other at the very edges of my perceptions. It was like being drunk, but without the fun or the easy smiles or the confidence. Those gentle temptations were being replaced by pressure. Pressure on my skull, on my limbs, on my chest. Yeah. Especially on my chest. It felt like, like an elephant was sitting on top of me all of the sudden. I was getting short of breath, which was weird because Buddy should still be giving me fresh air and we were outside. The pain in my chest started shooting up my limbs and my neck. Stiffening my jaw even as drawing oxygen got harder and herder. It was a, scalding soreness that suddenly turned chilly. The rapid changes giving me a shock. I tried to speak, but found myself unable to. ¡®Buddy? Is everything ok?¡¯ ¡®Oh yeah. We¡¯re doing much better now. Well, I¡¯m doing better. You¡¯re having some issues with your heart. I think you might have overdone it with the aura boosts.¡¯ Huh? No (Gnome). ¡®Any way you could take care of it?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m already taking care of it. You would have passed out if I wasn¡¯t forcing your blood to move.¡¯ ¡®Thank you, Buddy. You¡¯re the best.¡¯ Buddy purred with appreciation, while I lay there on the pave¡­ actually no. I was being carried now. Carried to a, bed? I couldn¡¯t tell. All the sensations were too confused. Too blurry. And the hangover on top of that. It made the mere act of thinking a chore. That vague limbo faded with time. I started feeling my fingers again. Touching the soft fabric that I was laying down on. My hearing returned shortly thereafter, allowing me to make out the words being thrown in my direction. ¡°Hello? Hello sir? Shit. He¡¯s not answering. Bonnie, hurry up and switch me with. Start doing chest compressions while I try to get the suit off.¡± ¡°What if chest compressions don¡¯t work?¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯re gonna try anyway, aren¡¯t we? That¡¯s what we get paid for. So shut yer trap and get to compressing his fucking chest.¡± ¡°No, I meant, what if we¡¯re doing more harm than good?¡± ¡°Breaking some ribs is okay so long as you keep him breathing.¡± I heard some more cursing from around the left. ¡°Where the fuck is the zipper on this thing?¡± ¡°No! I meant, what if he¡¯s not human? What if he¡¯s a Martian? Chest compression wouldn¡¯t work on Martians, would they?¡± ¡°Shut up Bonnie. You¡¯re way too educated to be believing in aliens. Keep pressing on the fucking man¡¯s chest for fuck¡¯s sake. I did it for twenty minutes. You can handle five until I swap back with you.¡± ¡°He¡¯s got a space suit on.¡± She insisted. ¡°A human space suit. With human proportions. And he was seen carrying people out of the fire. Which makes him better than some people I could name.¡± ¡°Hush! The marshals are gonna hear you!¡± ¡°Good! Maybe they¡¯ll remember what my fucking taxes should be paying for! Maybe then, that inbred twerp will have the common decency to quit the job he got due to bribes and nepotism. Maybe someone else can take over the station once he¡¯s gone. Preferably someone with at least two braincells to rub together.¡± ¡°I told you to shush! If the mayor hears you¡­¡± ¡°He¡¯ll do what? Open your eyes, Bonnie! His lackwit son crashed the firetruck into a school! A school! Do you have any idea what one of those costs? That¡¯s fool¡¯s idiocies are coming out of your tax dollars! Your and mine! I¡¯ll hold my head up high and say whatever I damn well please!¡± ¡°Please¡­¡± I groaned. With no small amount of effort. ¡°Please stop yelling.¡± The man ceased his rant at once. Holding my head down and keeping me from rising. ¡°Its okay sir. Its going to be okay. We¡¯re on our way to the hospital. You¡¯re going to be fine.¡± ¡°Where is the hospital?¡± ¡°The San Gorgosa hospital is in San Gorgosa sir.¡± My fog started picking up emotions then. Alowing me to see how worried the question had made him. ¡°Do you, remember San Gorgosa sir?¡± ¡°Never heard of it.¡± I chuckled. The man and the woman felt a surge of worry, exchanging gazes in silence. ¡°You¡¯re going to be fine.¡± Bonnie said in a soothing voice. ¡°You did good work out there. You¡¯re a hero.¡± I felt a blush creeping onto my face despite myself. ¡°You really think so?¡± ¡°Sir, we know it. Firefighters still haven¡¯t arrived at the scene after all this time. Those three you got out would be dead if it weren¡¯t for you.¡± ¡°Are they?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all fine. Minor concussions and smoke inhalation. Like, really minor. It¡¯s a miracle how healthy they were under those circumstances. One of them got up, thanked you and walked off. Refused to come with us. The other two will be going to the hospital alongside you, though, they won¡¯t require nearly as much care.¡± That was good. That was very good. So good that I broke out into a fit of laughter. ¡°Sir? Sir! Are you okay!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m better than okay.¡± I told him sincerely. ¡°I saved them from the gnomes. Then I saved them from future Randall and Anezka and now I have a chance to save so many more. I¡¯m a hero.¡± ¡°Shit, he¡¯s hallucinating. Try to strap down his arms. Don¡¯t put too much pressure on them, in case there¡¯s broken bones shifting around. I already checked for weapons so we¡¯re good on that front.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± I was about to assure them I meant no harm, when a screen appeared in front of me.
System Excursion: Student: Solomon Carter, has completed one starter Excursion. Objective: Rescue at least 20 individuals from the burning building. People rescued: 20 / 20 Second starter Excursion will now commence. Excursion to Earth: TLTL 2012 is underway. Objective: Help at least one senior until they arrive at the pharmacy. Seniors assisted: 0 / 1
Chapter 47: I See Dead People. Chapter 47: I See Dead People. I was still chuckling when the shimmer took me. It just felt, so good. To be recognized and appreciated. It was a bliss so profound that it penetrated deep into my soul. ¡®First, I save everyone in the Warehouse. Then I change the future and rescue even more people. Now I can heal myself and others on top of that. Oh yeah. Its all coming together.¡¯ Nobody back home would have wanted a mind-controller around. But a versatile healer and buffing specialist? That would be a whole other matter. It would be like having a Shifter around, without the added risk of having your face chewed off. There was still the matter of these powers being completely unknown in my earth though. It was probably nothing. A lack of proper documentation, made worse by the inherent rarity of Telepaths. However, if there was some sort of conspiracy¡­. ¡®Then changes will have to be made. I will not give up on my dream and I refuse to sit idly by while people die from monster attacks. I will change the whole world¡¯s perception of Telepaths when I get back. And I will get back. Periwig has another thing coming if he thinks his overly powdered (Gnome) is going to keep me from my family. No one is going to stop me. Not him. Not Randall. Not Anezka.¡¯ I tried to get up, only for my muscles to scream. It was as if tiny needles had been inserted all along my limbs and down my back. Pinning in place as if I was a butterfly in some collector¡¯s cabinet. I grunted, and was surprised to find sparks within my fog rising up the second the sounds escaped my lips. The total range was around 8 kilometres or so. 500 metres from levels 1 to 5. 2,500 metres from levels 6 to 10 and 4 kilometres from levels 11 to 14. Plus, another bonus level from my Title. There were roughly ten thousand beings resonating within that range. Meandering about aimlessly or stuck within or underneath a variety of vehicles. They, weren¡¯t animals, as far as I could tell. They felt too primal. Too stupid for that to be the case. Like dumber versions of centipedes if that were possible. At least the bugs had had some inkling of awareness. Both of themselves, and their surroundings. These signals were in constant pain, but could not muster up the cognitive effort to determine the cause. In fact, they felt more like the robot bulls than anything else. Lines of code reacting to stimuli within certain parameters. Only, the bulls had more flexibility. I could see these sparks within [Mental Map]. Some of these signals were, hitting their heads against walls, or stumbling into fences. Drawn to me like moths to a flame. Not caring about obstacles in their path. Moreover, there were a few who did adapt. Leaping into action and switching from slow, ponderous gaits into dead sprints within seconds of hearing me. They looked human, only they weren¡¯t. ¡®Ah. Right. This is Monique¡¯s world. Meaning these are zombies. And I can¡¯t move.¡¯ Yes. That¡¯s what they were. Still living humans who had been mutated past the point of no return. Constantly suffering, yet unable to muster any conscious thought. The younger, weaker version of me would have panicked. This new me drew on [Insight] in order to see 20 seconds into the future. One for each of the 19 ability levels and one extra stemming from [Insight]¡¯s accompanying Title. I saw and confirmed which of my abilities would work. Then I sent out my fishhooks and burrowed them deep within the outlines of the zombies. ¡°Kneel.¡± I said, calmly voicing my command. Those that could physically complete the motion, did so. Those that couldn¡¯t, did their very best to try. ¡°Come towards me. Slowly.¡± I ordered. Three dozen zombies were at my side almost at once. The sad remains of their shoes or bare feet slapping against the ground in such a way that squelches could be heard all around me. I willed my backpack ring to activate. Dropping my dagger on the road. ¡°Pick it up.¡± I told the nearest zombie, a man dressed in white strips that might have been a tank top at some point. He did as he was bid. Dead fingers curling around the hilt. ¡°Put it in my hand.¡± He obeyed once more. I tried to close my own fingers around the hilt, but the pain was simply too much. I cursed internally, before turning to Buddy. ¡®Hey Buddy, can you wrap yourself around the knife?¡¯ ¡®Sure thing Sully.¡¯ That done, I turned my attention back towards the dead, or rather, heavily mutated man. ¡°Here¡¯s hoping you count as warm blooded.¡± I sighed. ¡°Drive my arm into your eye socket.¡± The zombie acquiesced. Relief flooding what was left of his nervous system as the blade pierced the brain. I felt relieved too. My wounds were healing faster. Much faster. The telltale sign of Shifter powers at work. Breathing became easier and I felt some clarity returning to my eyes. However, my arms and legs were still too sore to walk properly, even after giving it a few minutes. It didn¡¯t feel like needles anymore. Instead, it was as if I¡¯d been working out non-stop for days on end. Pushing myself further and further instead of resting or switching up my exercises. Until it all culminated in a throbbing agony that prevented me from continuing. ¡°Which is so interesting. Maybe the aches are coming from my stuffing too much Psy into the abilities at once, or maybe they¡¯re coming because of their low level. Or it could be a combination of the two. It could also be due to my own lacking physique. Charlie¡¯s future self did mention that Enhancer abilities scaled off what his body was capable off without them. Which is why [Enhanced Training] was so valuable. The problem with that hypothesis is that I¡¯ve been running and climbing non-stop for the past month, so my body shouldn¡¯t have been that out of shape. What do you think zombies?¡± ¡°Eaeaeeaugh.¡± ¡°Oooooaasghaggh.¡± ¡°Goouurgh.¡± ¡°Hmn. Yes. That could be it. Meaning this soreness could translate into explosive muscle growth. After all, I did strain the muscles until they tore and I am healing them with a Shifter ability. I wonder if I could leverage this into getting Shifter or Enhancer without taking the thing¡¯s mind into my own.¡± I would certainly need to experiment with those ideas later. Telepathy was proving to be far more versatile than I¡¯d realized and I had proven it could be used for good. Becoming more acquainted with these new powers and the way they interacted with the others, would mean becoming stronger. Something that needed to happen if I wanted to get back home and protect my world from the other aliens in the Labyrinth. ¡®No. Not just my Earth. I need to protect the other Earths too. Dusty¡¯s, Charlie¡¯s and yes. This one.¡¯ If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Bleak as things seemed. There were still people here that needed saving. I had to get a move on. I stood on shaky legs after that. Sinking the blade into three more zombies in order to trigger [Regeneration] again. It helped. A little. Though the soreness never faded completely. ¡°Now then. Where are the seniors and where is the pharmacy?¡± My attention went back to my map, but that didn¡¯t go anywhere. Almost all the buildings were in a state of heavy disrepair. So much so that I genuinely couldn¡¯t tell which one of them might have been a pharmacy or which one might have been a skating rink or whatever else. Worse, another survey of all the signals in my fog told me that there weren¡¯t any non-zombies around here. At least, not within my range. I turned to the nearest zombie. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you know where I could find normal people?¡± ¡°Uughourhggh.¡± ¡°Right. Never mind, I guess.¡± I looked left, then right. Noting that the few signs still standing were in English. That narrowed things down a little and it would help if the System¡¯s translation effect didn¡¯t work outside the Labyrinth. I did look at some cars that seemed mostly intact, but knew that gas typically degraded within three to six months. Monique¡¯s world had been dealing with zombies for far longer than that, according to her memories. No, the real find was a bicycle shop with its roof caved-in. Most of the bikes inside had been crushed and it did look like a fair number of the ones that were spared had been looted. Thankfully, I did find one. It was, smaller than I would have liked. But beggars couldn¡¯t be choosers. I got on it and started pedaling along the road. Commanding the zombies under my sway to end their own suffering as I rode. I would have ordered them to hunt other zombies, but I couldn¡¯t be sure that they¡¯d be smart enough to tell the difference between one of their own and a normal human. Better safe than sorry. My fog picked up new signals every minute. Mutated animals crawling along the alleys or flying through the sky. All of them suffered the same fate as the rest. It kept happening, over and over. Until silence had conquered the broken remains of the city. That pattern kept repeating for another, thirty minutes or so. During which I found another few thousand human zombies and a couple dozen super zombies. The same kind Monique put down in the vision I saw of her. I ended up having a much easier time of it. Ordering them to stop while I took the opportunity to spam [Mental Bolts]. No levels though. I was about to stop for a break, when I finally found a human within my fog. ¡®Hey! Hey you! Don¡¯t panic. My name is Solomon and I¡¯m a superhero. I¡¯m here to help. Wait right there and¡­¡¯ And they¡¯re running. Because of course they were. I sighed and kept pedalling. Pushing my body harder. Thankfully, the person in question didn¡¯t seem to be in a position to run very far, so I caught up within a minute. ¡®Look, I know this is weird but¡­¡¯ ¡®Stop talking! I¡¯m not crazy! I¡¯m not crazy! I¡¯m not hearing voices in my head!¡¯ That, brought about far more sympathy than I was ready for. ¡®Okay. Listen to me. I can prove I¡¯m real. A real person with real superpowers. I¡¯m seeing you in a¡­basement. Go upstairs.¡¯ ¡®The zombies will eat me!¡¯ ¡®No. They won¡¯t. Because I killed them all. You¡¯re perfectly safe.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re lying! You¡¯re a figment of my imagination! You¡¯re trying to get me killed! To make me give up! I won¡¯t do it. I¡¯ll never give up! So many people died so I could be here. I can¡¯t let them down!¡¯ I paused, considering the issue whilst pedaling through the corpse-filled streets. I could dominate him. Not permanently, of course. Just long enough for him to realize that I wasn¡¯t a figment of his imagination. I¡¯d been, stubborn. Until now. But controlling those guys in the burning building had literally saved their lives. A bit of leeway might be warranted. Then I recalled how I felt when Granny Golden did it to me and shelved the idea. I was a good person. I would not control innocents unless there was no other way. [Delusion] seemed like a really bad option. Like, a really bad option. The psionic damage might kill him outright, given that he was a normal person. Even if it didn¡¯t, it would just enforce the idea that I wasn¡¯t really here. That left the little trick that helped me unite all the survivors in the Warehouse. I called upon [Suppression] and shared my memories of the Labyrinth. The ones that made me look good, at least. The man, did not take it well. Indeed, he choked on empty air for a few seconds, before collapsing backwards on the floor. I cursed and forced myself to move faster. Maneuvering past the wreckages of burnt-out cars and trucks and buildings. It wasn¡¯t long before I sensed more human signals. These new ones were hunkered deeper underneath the earth, in what looked like a network of tunnels beneath the city. There were forty or them in total. All releasing a steady feeling of despair that saturated the very air around them. These were the emotions of people who¡¯d given up long ago. Staying alive out of a sense of obligation to those that couldn¡¯t. I tried reaching out. More gently this time. Introducing myself slowly and calmy. Making sure to point out that the others could hear me too, meaning that I wasn¡¯t a hallucination. ¡®Very well, stranger.¡¯ The oldest of them answered after a few rounds of confirmation. ¡®We¡¯ll send someone upside to check things out.¡¯ ¡®Absolutely! Feel free to check my work. I¡¯m here to help in any way I can.¡¯ I slowed down the bike then. Massaging my aching legs as I sat down at a corner to take small break. Three of the survivors had gone up several flights of stairs. Opening up slight cracks in their barricades to see the world beyond their borders. They took in the silence. The lack of mutated birds crowing around the area. They also took in the now unmoving bodies. The sight shocked them to their cores. A deep, primal fear of the unknown sending chills down their spines. Two of them allowed the fear to conquer them. The last changed her tune. From terror, to hope. She clung to the small mote of fervent passion. Bolstering it in her heart for fear that it might go out. For fear that this could all be a dream. For fear that she could find herself back in the dingy basement with dwindling supplies and no prospects for long-term survival. ¡®It¡¯s not a dream.¡¯ I assured her. ¡®All the ones you see are dead and they won¡¯t be getting back up.¡¯ ¡®How?¡¯ ¡®I told you. Superpowers.¡¯ Her mind went blank. I felt her resolve stiffening immediately after. ¡®What do you want in return?¡¯ ¡®I beg your pardon?¡¯ ¡®I asked you what you wanted in return. This, I¡¯m looking at a dead juggernaut right now. I¡¯ve seen those things throwing tanks around like they were toys. It¡¯s the reason none of us could go out and scavenge for the past week. You, you killed it. There wasn¡¯t even a fight. Otherwise, we would have heard. You killed it without it being able to put up any kind of struggle. That power, I don¡¯t even know what I¡¯d be doing if I had it. Now, I¡¯m young, but I¡¯m not stupid. I know help never comes for free. So, I¡¯m asking you. What do you want from us? Is it supplies? Because we don¡¯t have anything to spare. If its other things¡­¡¯ ¡®No. I am not that kind of person. I really am helping you because I want to. Because it¡¯s the right thing to do. Because I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m a good person.¡¯ ¡®¡­¡­.¡¯ ¡®Hello?¡¯ ¡®Nothing. I¡¯ve seen this before. Isolation can be¡­difficult. Don¡¯t worry about it. You¡¯re good. Its good to know there a good people out there. Thank you. You¡¯re more than welcome to join us. We¡¯ll help in whatever way we can.¡¯ That was odd. I did feel genuine gratitude coming from her, but there was also a lot of, pity? Well, whatever. They know I¡¯m on their side now and they know I¡¯m coming to help. Good vibes all around. ¡®Oh, one more thing.¡¯ I asked, suddenly recalling the objective. ¡®You wouldn¡¯t happen to have any seniors with you, by any chance?¡¯ ¡®Old man Geller is getting on in years. Why?¡¯ ¡®Oh no reason. I just want to help him get to a pharmacy as soon as I¡¯m done helping you all as much as possible. Also, there¡¯s an unconscious guy out in basement two blocks down. I¡¯d appreciate it if you helped him.¡¯ ¡®Huh? Pharma¡­ what? Wait. There¡¯s someone else in town? Is their name Jude?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know. Never got their name. They seemed very, fidgety though. If that rings any bells.¡¯ ¡®Yes! Oh, my goodness! He¡¯s alive! Thank goodness! Oh, I can¡¯t believe this! Thank you! Thank you so much!¡¯ ¡®No worries! Happy to help!¡¯ I laid back with no small amount of satisfaction. Revelling in the genuine gratitude that made its way to me. ¡®Oh yeah. I could get used to this.¡¯ My eyes found the cloudy skies above. The thick grey clouds rolling lazily in the winds. No doubt preparing for a violent rainstorm. Excellent timing on their part. Heavy rains would give the people coming out a decent chance for survival if they managed to set up a bunch of empty rain catchers outside to replenish their water supply. Even if they didn¡¯t, I could probably fix up something in an hour or two with the right tools. ¡®Yeah. That sounds nice. I mean, I can¡¯t just up and leave after completing the objective. Not when I haven¡¯t been made aware of any time limits. I can still do so much more to help the people here. Giving them powers through [Insight] is obvious, but there¡¯s also what Jacob said. About me empowering objects with abilities. If a diary can take fingers off an Enhancer, then what about a gun? Or, a drone.¡¯ I recalled the floating robots back at the Labyrinth. The ones who¡¯d so brutally exterminated the minotaurs. They, had probably been firing [Force Bolts]. It was possible that a Telepath ability could endow Projector abilities. After all, some people back at the Warehouse got Shifter, Projector and Enhancer as second Types, despite me not having any of them. And Jacob did say the diary floated away. ¡®Right. Have a look around and see what you can pick up along the way. Nothing too heavy for now. Focus on things that could be both lightweight and useful.¡¯ With that in mind, I allowed myself another five minutes of rest, before standing up and having a look around. Some of the surrounding shops and buildings hadn¡¯t had zombies within them, so I didn¡¯t have any picture coming from [Mental Map] outside of what the growing vines and mushrooms gave me. It wasn¡¯t much and there could very well be caches of goodies still laying around for anyone to find. I went into one building, finding nothing but desks and powerless computers. Then I went into another one next door, and found shelves that had been thoroughly cleaned out. ¡®Must have been a mom and pops shop.¡¯ I reasoned. ¡®Probably got looted in the first few days of the outbreak.¡¯ I made to leave, when I started smelling something through Buddy¡¯s own transmitted senses. I smelled, something burning. I whirled around, only to find a single ember, floating in the air. It just, stayed there. Perfectly still. In the middle of the shop. Casting a shadow against the floor. A shadow that seemed, to dance. Chapter 48: The Cherub of Austin. Chapter 48: The Cherub of Austin. I looked at the dancing shadow. Taking care to watch its, eyes, as they moved about. They were two spots where the rest of a shadow should have been, but weren¡¯t. Wait, no. That didn¡¯t make any sense either. The ember, whatever it was, gave off light. Yet that light was casting a shadow instead of repelling it. As if there was some unseen being between the ember and the floor. A shiver crept up my spine at that thought and I went back into my fog to look for any errant lifeforms I might have missed. Ethereal soup gathered and shot out from behind my eyes. Drinking in the people now coming from the basement kilometres away. But not showing me what was in front of my eyes. ¡®An illusion?¡¯ I bent down to pick up a small stone and threw it at the empty air. It flew straight, until it wandered over to where the ember was. Then it slowed and hovered in place. Almost as if it was being held and inspected. Only then, did I feel a mind. ¡®Hero? Angel?¡¯ It asked, in what could only be described as the voice of a toddler learning their first words. ¡°Uh, what?¡± ¡®Hero. Hero! Angel. Climb. Save. Control.¡¯ The voice was, soothing. Calming in a way that was difficult to describe. It felt very, familiar. ¡°Ah.¡± I said, slamming my fist into my open palm as I realized where I¡¯d seen it. ¡°You were there. When I was going up the stairs. You were cheering for me.¡± ¡®Cheer. Cheer. Effort. Hero. Save.¡¯ ¡°Yes, yes. Of course. How rude of me to forget.¡± I looked around to see if there were any other beings like this around. ¡°I, uh. Recall there being more of you.¡± ¡®Many. Alone. Separate. Together. Born. Melted.¡¯ ¡°Right. Okay. I got it. Some kind of melded consciousness.¡± Which was very strange indeed, because motes of energy weren¡¯t supposed to have their own consciousness. I thought back to the building and the notifications, my eyes finally landing to the odd one out. ¡°I guess I made you then. [Unstable Reality] is it? How very strange.¡± So that¡¯s what it did. ¡°How odd. You¡¯d think the ability would be named differently if it could be used to summon things. I personally wouldn¡¯t have guessed anything of the sort from the name.¡± Indeed, I didn¡¯t know what to think from the name. Telepath abilities dealt with thoughts, emotions and raw Psy, from what I¡¯d seen so far. Conjuring beings made of energy definately seemed like Projector territory. Then again, I¡¯d believed Shifters were the only ones capable of healing until now, when that wasn¡¯t the case. Maybe this is similar to that? ¡°Do you have a name?¡± I asked it. Making sure my tone was as polite as possible. ¡®Name?¡¯ ¡°Yes, a name. Like, a word or words that describe you.¡± ¡®Hungry.¡¯ It answered at once. ¡®So hungry. Not like fire. Not like hero. Place. Empty.¡¯ Fascinating. Was it fire it fed off of? Or was it the ability¡¯s effects? Or, was it feeding off the tide pouring out of me back there? If that was the case, then my new friend was in for a bit of a dry spell. Overcharging myself to that degree had come with serious consequences. Not that I wouldn¡¯t do it again, I absolutely would. But I would rather resume my experiments when I had a Shifter or two on hand to heal me if anything went horribly wrong for whatever reason. My eyes wandered back to the mote. Taking in its faint incandesce. ¡®Hmn. It¡¯s not really too useful right now. But if it could grow stronger, it might be an appropriate substitute for welding tools. I could use it to repurpose a lot of the steel lying around into makeshift weapons and armor for the survivors. Depending on how precise it was, I might even be able to fashion something akin to barbed wire. Barbed wire with a degree of sentience and abilities. Now that would be a game changer for anyone left in this town.¡¯ I reached out to my own strings. Not overloading the hums, but rather, isolating [Unstable Reality]. Psy flowed out. In different patterns than before. Back then, I¡¯d used and levelled the ability by brute forcing similar effects. Now, I felt like I had far more control over the exposure. It was, like using a sandblaster to wipe a structure clean of impurities. The shop, which had been mostly quiet up until that point, came alive with the buzzing of a thousand faint whispers talking over each other. Like conspirators discussing some great secret just out of earshot.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Unstable Reality] 3 has grown to [Unstable Reality] 4
Ability Evolving: [Manifest Intruder] 1 has grown to [Manifest Intruder] 3
Oh, I get it. [Unstable Reality] made it easier for these being to come into existence. [Manifest Intruder] was the one that forcefully brought them into the world. I noted the three remaining ability points left over and hurriedly bought three new abilities from the pool. Choosing [Heart Attack] in order to combine it with [Mental Bolt], as well as [Drown] and [Indigestion]. Figuring they¡¯d be doing similar things, only with different organs.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 23, 221 / 109, 395
Type: Telepath III Level 123
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Sense Thoughts] 14 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Team Spirit] 1 / [Team Resilience] 1 / [Team Momentum] 1 / [Team Doctrine] 1 / [Imposing Presence] 1 / [Alluring Presence] 1 / [Mask] 1 / [Hidden Danger] 1 / [Muffle] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Mark Target] 1 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 3 / [Hum of Striding] 3 / [Hum of Defence] 3 / [Hum of Harmony] 2 / [Hum of Discord] 1 / [Hum of Cleansing] 2 / [Hum of Mist] 1 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Cleansing Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 1 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Stable Reality] 1 / [Unstable Reality] 4 / [Manifest Intruder] 3 / [Seal Intruder] 1 / [Banish Intruder] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1 / [Heart Attack] 1 / [Drown] 1 / [Indigestion] 1
Ability Points: 0
When I turned my attention back to the ember, I found that it had grown to the size of a football. No longer casting shadows underneath itself, but rather, enveloping the flames in flowing veils of gentle light. Resembling nothing so much as wings on a floating, burning eye. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve gotten big.¡± I said with no small amount of incredulity. I was expecting a continuation of our previous conversation at that point. Maybe some negotiating on my part. A little bit of Psy here and there in exchange for it acting as a glorified welding torch. ¡®Forgive me. Father.¡¯ It cried instead. Shedding tears of liquid fire that plopped down to the floor. Setting the wooden boards aflame with a rising flourish. ¡°Whoa there. Get it under control.¡± I told it, retreating a few paces so that I was outside the entryway. The being cried harder. Flames licking the ceiling above it as well as the floor. Causing the metal shelves to melt and deform from the onslaught while the very air around it hissed. The whispering becoming more and more prevalent as all the secret keepers shrieked out their words. In all honesty; it barely bothered me. It just, wasn¡¯t that bad compared to the visions or the meeting with the thing at the mansion. Or the possible future of other me. No. I would take a lot more than this to unsettle me now. ¡®I¡¯m so sorry, Father. I wasn¡¯t good enough. I could have hurt them. I didn¡¯t try to save them. I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d be hurt. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry.¡¯ Those, thoughts? Yes, those thoughts were disorganized. Almost, burning, within the fog. As if they were the building blocks that made up the whole of its being instead of cells or molecules or atoms. Pure ideas pooling together and gathering atop each other until they somehow started affecting the world around them. They were howling with grief. Showing me its own memories of me and contrasting them with my own memories of it. The contrast only made it more distraught as it absorbed my own thought patterns and morals the more it fed on my Psy. To make matters worse, it pulled other memories as well. Scenes of families clustered together in attics or in basements as bombs fell all around them. Sounds of impacting shells tearing concrete streets asunder. Lights flashing behind shambling corpses and neighbours tore each other to pieces. Shrugging off pleas for mercy and gunshots with no effort whatsoever. There were men, women and children in those visions. The same ones that had once lived in these houses and called this place their home. Their grief and resentment remained. Invisible to me, but permeating the atmosphere this conflagration used to sustain itself. Thankfully, I was no stranger to any of these ideas. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I reached out with [Domination]. Grabbing hold of its mind, or what passed for it at least. I found the feedback to be, somewhat familiar. Like the ice golems I¡¯d fought back when I was trying to make my way to a non-existent surface inside the Labyrinth. My fishhooks grabbed hold and steadied it. Regulating its nascent emotions. I felt its terror. Knew its source. This, living fire, wasn¡¯t afraid of death. It had no concept of death. Or entropy for that matter. It was hungry for Psy. For me. It was, stained by me. My Psy had left an impression on it. Somehow. Being fed right now had only made it worse. ¡°Calm down.¡± I commanded. The order only partially locked on. As if the thing had no concept of what the word meant. I adjusted my approach. Sending emotions, rather than instructions. Feeling a sense of tranquility within myself and allowing that notion to spread. I recalled how I¡¯d felt before forming my group. When I was wondering the tunnels alone and surrounded by uncaring monsters. I brought back those emotions and tempered them with those that came later. The conviction that came with the alcohol. The speech where I laid my heart bare. The savagery of our retribution and the relief that blossomed from all of us sharing our memories. Truly understanding each other as we strived for a common goal. My core trembled with the jubilation of a job well done. The satisfaction that came from partying among a community I helped to build. The indescribable ecstasy that came from helping those people in the burning building and the sweet affirmation that followed. I gathered all of that up into a bundle and pushed it on the burning eye.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Manifest Intruder] 3 has grown to [Manifest Intruder] 5
Ability Evolving: [Seal Intruder] 1 has grown to [Seal Intruder] 2
The levels had left me with a point to spare, but I willed my mind away from that fact. Keeping my attention locked on the still burning and still growing eye. It drank a little bit more of me before silencing its cries. Turning left and right as if seeing the store for the first time. Then, with a small exertion, it drew the flames into itself. Negating any further combustion as it swallowed the heat outside of it. My eyes watered a little from behind Buddy¡¯s transparent membrane. I closed them shut and brought a hand up to shield my vision from the bright light, even as my fog was consumed by¡­. By¡­. Happiness? Yeah. That might have been the best description. It was a sense of fulfilled contentment that surged from within the orb and surged up the fishhooks I¡¯d embedded within it. As if it was one with me, instead of a tool. When I opened my eyes, a new screen waited for me.
Sealed Intruder (Intruder) (Uncommon) (Psy: 200 / 200) An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Sealed by Solomon Carter in the ruins of Austin, Texas. Colored by his desires, hopes and emotions. As well as the lingering shared consciousness of those who once inhabited the location. This Intruder is not powerful enough to have its own Compulsions. This Intruder has access to all Tier I abilities possessed by Solomon Carter while it remains bonded and within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. This Intruder has access to [Sense Heat] 3 / [Absorb Heat] 3 and [Conversion to Psy] 3 and can use them at will with no Psy cost. This Intruder has access to [Melting] 2 and [Attune to Gas] 2 and can use them as long as Psy is provided. This Intruder will be ejected from prime material reality if it runs out of Psy.
¡®So that¡¯s what Intruders are. Cool. Should make for another neat card up my sleeve. Not to mention how useful it¡¯ll be when I¡¯m putting together a half-decent arsenal for the survivors I found.¡¯ I chuckled a little. Thinking back to Jacob¡¯s experiments. Those would be going a lot faster, now that I could control these kinds of creatures. Perhaps I could even make new ones that controlled metals directly. It was a definite possibility, since the Intruders back at the Labyrinth had been made of ice. Conjuring ones made of bedrock or iron wasn¡¯t too fantastical when compared to those ones. Although¡­ ¡®Its another thing Telepath are capable of that I never knew about. (Gnome). This bloke could have been so (Gnome)ing useful back when I¡¯d first arrived at the maze. I could have used it to burn traps ahead of time or thrown it around to increase my hunting speed. (Gnome), it¡­ he, might have even been able to take on Randall while he was still weak. Those flames would have cremated me in a second, but it doesn¡¯t look like they would have bothered him. Not to mention what they could have done to monsters back home.¡¯ The more I thought about it, the more likely a conspiracy became. I simply could not conceive of a way in which my government wasn¡¯t aware of these, Intruders. It didn¡¯t matter how rare Telepaths were. Someone would have developed this ability by now and that¡¯s all it would have taken for the United Militaries to become aware. There¡¯s no way they could have remained ignorant. Not with all that surveillance they use. ¡®It is an issue that will have to be addressed. I¡¯ll see to it that people know. That¡¯ll have to wait however. There are still people here that need my help.¡¯ ¡°Right then.¡± I said in between gasps. My hands grabbing on to the doorframe in order to keep myself from falling over. ¡°You couldn¡¯t save any of the people who died here. That wasn¡¯t your fault. There was simply no way you could have manifested without me or another Telepath. The flames billow slightly. Releasing faint blasts of heated air akin to an open furnace. It knew I was telling the truth. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t help anyone now. I¡¯m going off to save people. I¡¯m doing so, because I want to do it. Because it¡¯s the right thing to do. What a hero is supposed to do. Because I¡¯m a good person.¡± I extended an open hand to the creature. ¡°You could be a good person too. Come with me and help me so I can help them.¡± Its luminescent wings folded in on themselves and he shot towards me at once. Wrapping itself around my left arm like a gaseous rope. I didn¡¯t feel any pain, despite my arm looking like it had been set ablaze. ¡°Buddy, is he hurting you?¡± ¡®No. I feel fine.¡¯ ¡°Good. Let¡¯s get a move on.¡± ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The rest of the ride went by without any incidents. Three more super mutants entered my fog at different intervals. Leaping over and through the remains of buildings as if they weren¡¯t even there. I could have dominated them easily enough, but I wanted to take the opportunity to improve upon some of my new abilities. [Heart Attack] was fairly straightforward. Feeling more like an extension of [Mental Bolt] than another brand-new ability. Like my trusty sniping power, it worked by gathering a ball of Psy around me and throwing it at a target within my fog. It could also be stuffed with extra juice as needed. A fact that did a number on the hulking brutes. Indeed, the first one I hit collapsed like a fish out of water. Flopping its oversized arms around ineffectually whilst freaking the (Gnome) out. That was when I realized these things retained some form of higher cognition that their lesser lacked. A fact it no doubt regretted, as I followed up with supercharged versions of [Indigestion] and [Drown]. I had expected the former to be a less-than-lethal option I could rely on. Perhaps an answer to Randall or Anezka when the time came to subdue them before having a little chat. Unfortunately, it turned out that the name was a bit misleading. Perhaps, [Explosive Blood-Drenched Diarrhea] would have been a more apt description. Worse, the effect dragged on and on and on. Eliciting accursed shrieks from the behemoths I hit. I was fairly certain they were begging for death by the time I finished them off. The latter power was, downright merciful by comparison. It merely caused some unnatural biological reaction that filled the target¡¯s lungs with fluids. Killing its victims, rather than making them wish they were dead. I glanced over at my status as I neared the survivors¡¯ camp.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Heart Attack] 1 has grown to [Heart Attack] 2
Ability Evolving: [Indigestion] 1 has grown to [Indigestion] 2
Ability Evolving: [Drown] 1 has grown to [Drown] 2
Ability Evolving: [Mental Bolt] 4 has grown to [Mental Bolt] 5
I had one point left over from before the new level and the total cost of the natural increases came to 11. That left me with two points to play with and I decided to go for [Psionic Hex] and [Psionic Curse]. Figuring that they¡¯d be fairly easy to train up, just like these others. More natural increases meant more total Psy from faster levelling and more options in a battle. Not to mention it would give me more knowledge to share with my friends, now that a lot of them were also Telepaths. I arrived to find a welcoming crowd. Filled with smiles, tears and merriment. All of them acting like this was the turning point for their lives. The moment they could finally turn around and take their world back. Well, all except one. ¡°I¡¯m telling you! He¡¯s fucking crazy!¡± Jude howled. Waving his arms around like a maniac as he did so. ¡°He¡¯s got an army of enslaved monsters and he goes around scalping and crucifying people!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± I protested. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to them! I only go around scalping gnomes. Not people. Also, my friends talked me out of the crucifixions after the trial. We ended up hanging them. I think. It all gets a little blurry.¡± My words¡­ didn¡¯t have the desired effect. Those smiles started waning faster than I could have possibly imagined. A few even started moving their hands to their backs, reaching for hidden pistols tucked into their belts. ¡®Right. That isn¡¯t going to work. Okay. Stay calm Sully. You¡¯re a good person. Project those good vibes outward. Make them feel like they can trust you.¡¯ I marshalled my will. Controlling every aspect of my demeanor and hoping against hope that my expression came off as affable. ¡°Good people of Austin. I am not your enemy.¡± I began. Keeping my tone even and friendly. Hands stopped reaching for weapons and I got a distinctive feeling of smoothened wrinkles in their inner workings. ¡°I know my appearance is strange and I know that its difficult to trust someone that you¡¯ve only just met. Especially after all that you¡¯ve been through. No one would blame you for being wary.¡± Their feelings of aggression slackened further. Letting go of them like loosened ropes. ¡°However! You should know that I came here to help with the best of intentions. I don¡¯t expect or want anything in return. I¡¯m here to give you powers. To give you weapons and armor with which to defend yourselves and others. I¡¯m here to spread my dream. That humans can come together in the face of adversity and conquer whatever evils seek to destroy us.¡± A few people started cheering. I looked them over. Noting their ragged vestments and the way they clung to their bodies. Then I looked beyond them and saw the old library they had been hiding in. Its lower floors having been mapped out by [Mental Map]. It had probably been a remnant of the cold war era. A last resort in case the apocalypse came. It had served its purpose, but not nearly well enough. These people needed more room to store supplies and to grow crops. More layers of defence to strike down errant zombies before they came anywhere near the place. ¡°What I am about to do will be unpleasant. Yet, it is the catalyst that will give you the means to defend yourselves. To build anew! Accept my gifts and get strong enough that you nevern need fear the walking dead again!¡± The whole crowd was whooping now. Jumping up and down with barely contained fervor. Even Jude, who¡¯d been so critical of me mere moments ago, couldn¡¯t suppress his overwhelming joy. ¡®Huh. That went, a lot better than I had expected. I mean. It felt way too easy. I wonder why they suddenly¡­¡¯
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Entrancing Gaze] 1 has grown to [Entrancing Gaze] 2
Ability Evolving: [Alluring Presence] 1 has grown to [Alluring Presence] 4
¡®Ah. Yeah. That explains it.¡¯ A shiver crawled up my spine. Memories surfacing again before I could repress them. Images of my parents. Of the crabs. Of the non-existent Tall Man. I my right hand went to my left. Ignoring the whips of fire coiled around the limb. I squeezed. Hard. ¡®This isn¡¯t like that.¡¯ I told myself. ¡®These two are passives and they obviously triggered by themselves. Besides, its not like I¡¯m lying to them. I really do want to help and I really will help. Right here and now. This is just, a shortcut to them trusting me. Yeah. That¡¯s it. Its not manipulation or domination. I¡¯m a good person. I¡¯m the one who will save them. Who will save this world.¡¯ I used the extra point to get [Blind] and turned back to my charges. ¡°Okay folks. Now that that¡¯s settled. I need to see any weapons that you have.¡± A lot of guns were presented to me after that. I mean, a lot of guns. Ranging from semi-automatic rifles to sawed-off shotguns. One old granny even had a mother(Gnome)ing bazooka. Which raised all sorts of questions I didn¡¯t have the time or the patience for. ¡°Okay. Does anyone here have any drones? Anyone thought of using them to check out the perimeter?¡± ¡°We have a few, but they ran out of battery. They¡¯re of no use to anyone.¡± Said the woman who had been speaking with me earlier. A skinny, short creature. With a poorly cut mess of black hair on her head and small beady brown eyes that always gave off the impression of suspicion. Even when her mind was fully trusting. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. Now, does anyone have cars or motorcycles that still have gas?¡± ¡°We have a bunch of bicycles we use to get around, but nothing past that. We had some horses at the beginning too, but they mutated and tried to eat us.¡± ¡°Shame. I like horses.¡± ¡®I also would have loved to see what [Insight] could do with animals. Like, what if I took a bunch of trained police dogs and turned them into Enhancers?¡¯ That experiment would have to wait for another time however. These people hadn¡¯t had the luxury of feeding dogs or cats when they couldn¡¯t properly feed themselves. ¡°No problem. Here¡¯s what we¡¯ll do. I need you all to gather as many cars, motorcycles and drones as possible and push them into one big pile. After that, put your bicycles and weapons on that pile too. After that, gather around the edges so that you¡¯re still in my field of vision while making sure that I can also see the pile. This friend of mine¡­¡± I pointed to the Intruder. ¡°Will start melting a few of the more scrapyard-worthy cars for me. I see you have a hammer there, sir. I¡¯ll be borrowing that for just a moment. Thank you. Now then. I¡¯ll work until I my Psy regenerates a bit more. Just to make sure you all get a healthy blast. If things go well, I¡¯ll have a few additional makeshift spears and axes for you all to use. With some throwing knives added in for good measure.¡± They all stared at me. Mouths slightly open. ¡°Will doing this give us powers?¡± Jude asked. ¡°No. My ability will give you powers. What you¡¯re doing will ensure that you get superpowered weapons from the outset. That, and possibly self-driving cars and bikes to get around more easily.¡± Chapter 49: The Slasher of Veils. Chapter 49: The Slasher of Veils. There was some light shuffling after that. Those around the edges getting to it, while those at the center of the crowd wandered aimlessly for a few seconds while deciding on a task. I saw them off with a few words of encouragement, before making my way over to a thing that might be generously described as a pickup truck. It looked like it had been stepped on by a giant. Multiple times. The rear side had been flattened so thoroughly that it almost resembled a metallic rug, while the front had obviously been vandalized at least once. Probably more than that. No one would me missing its departure. In other words, it was free scrap metal. ¡°Okay Cherub. Here we go. I need you to melt this thing along these lines. We¡¯ll start here and go down this side until we get to here. Then we¡¯ll make another melting trail down here and¡­¡± I had to stop and leap backwards as the metal started glowing bright red hot. As if a potent blowtorch had been applied to it. The whole left side of the metal plating started giving way, followed by the underside of the vehicle¡¯s front. ¡®I did it! Is this good? Is this going to help the people here?¡¯ ¡°Uh, yeah. Totally. I just need you to do that but a little bit slower. Don¡¯t melt it all the way. Just, a little bit.¡± It took another half hour for Cherub to get it right and another hour after that for me to start re-shaping the metal into plates. I had been planning on doing some amateur forging, but that plan went out the window when I realized that Cherub had progressed to the point where he could melt the edges of single bars away. Creating a perfectly sharp blade in under a minute when he put his mind to it. From there, we left used straps of cloth and leather the survivors had stashed to fashion hilts. We made about, fifteen of them before the truck¡¯s remains had been cannibalized of anything I deemed useful. Moving on to another wreck nearby and fashioning arrowheads and spear tips instead. I didn¡¯t have the time to cut the wood myself, as I didn¡¯t know how much longer I had before being forcefully teleported back. And I would be brought back. Periwig had been clear on that front. Otherwise, any one of us could have chosen to stay in a world they found acceptable, rather than going back to the maze. ¡®Eh, it¡¯ll be fine. They¡¯ve probably got some paper lying around. I¡¯ll leave instructions on how make crossbows before I leave. They should be able to cut and carve their own wood after that.¡¯ Granted, that wouldn¡¯t do much against the big boys if shotgun shells didn¡¯t bother them, but there was always the chance that my [Insight] could give them, interesting effects. And speaking of interesting effects¡­ I turned my head to look at Cherub. Taking in his jellyfish like tendrils made of constantly combusting air and the way one of them was always wrapped around my left arm. The others would hover over sections of scrap I had pointed out. Tracing them as an artist would with a pencil. Barely making the slightest contact with the actual surface they were affecting. ¡°Hey Cherub. Do you know if you could be, uh, maintained by other Espers?¡± ¡®I don¡¯t think so? I feel tied to you and only you. I can¡¯t imagine being affected by others.¡¯ ¡®Me too!¡¯ Buddy interrupted. ¡°Hmn. If that¡¯s the case, what about other Intruders?¡± ¡®How do you mean?¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m talking about using [Unstable Reality] and [Manifest Intruder] some more. Maybe summoning another friend. One that could, say, control cement and or steel. I was thinking about building some trenches before we left. Maybe even a moat. That and putting down some barbed wire in front and behind. It still wouldn¡¯t deter the big boys, but it would be something.¡± ¡®Is that the best we could do?¡¯ ¡°Well, that¡¯s an awkward question. I could probably whip up a few homemade guns if I had a proper workshop and way more time than we probably have. Or I could rig up some landmines. Again, if I had the right tools and materials. Though, again, I don¡¯t know how much those would help. Did you see the lady with the bazooka? If she was afraid to go out then anything conventional on my part might be like (Gnome)ing in the wind.¡± There was a growl beside me. Low and visceral. Like that of a jaguar whose meal had just been stolen. ¡®I don¡¯t like that. I don¡¯t like leaving these people alone. I want to keep helping them. I don¡¯t want to hear them crying again. It hurts when they cry. It hurt when they yell. The air keeps the pain and I breathe it in. The hurt becomes a part of me and I feel worse. I can¡¯t separate the hurt from me after that. I don¡¯t want it. I want to be like you. I want to feel the happiness and to make it a part of me. I want the hurting to stop.¡¯ ¡°Me too. Cherub. Me too.¡± I closed my eyes and poured some Psy into [Unstable Reality]. Feeling the very atmosphere being colored with Psy. It turned blind spots in my fog purple. Causing emotions to flare up in places that were obviously devoid of life. I started hearing that faint giggling again. Just behind my ear and out of sight. A quick glance revealed that the nearby shadows were quivering slightly. As if the objects that cast them were suddenly in motion, despite them being things like half-crumpled walls, light posts and the skeletons of cars. I pushed a little harder. Sending more Psy through the string and outside my pores. Sweating the rapidly congealing energy. There had been a very faint wind up until that point, yet now it began to pick up. Changing directions from east to west and back to east again within seconds. The currents of air carried a preternatural chill with them. Penetrating past Buddy to give me goosebumps. Leading all my hairs to stand on end. I breathed. Taking in air through my mouth and nose, only to stop as the incoming oxygen scalded my throat. I coughed, and found that the air was freezing cold as it left me.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Unstable Reality] 4 has grown to [Unstable Reality] 6
¡°Whoa. That¡¯s. Yeah. That¡¯s trippy.¡± ¡®What is?¡¯ Cherub asked. His thoughts still carrying some tension. ¡°Huh? Wha¡­? The air! The air¡¯s all wrong.¡± ¡®I don¡¯t notice anything. The hurt is still there but that¡¯s been there for a long time. Way before I came here.¡¯ I wrapped my arms around myself. Trying to hold on to some warmth. Oddly enough, the motion only made me colder. It was so unnerving that I wholly ignored the one ability point left over. Choosing to finish the whole affair as soon as possible. ¡°Right. Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± I focused on [Manifest Intruder] and fed the hungry string. The voices started growing louder. Clearer. Promising secrets when their muttering were out of earshot and vanishing as soon as my attention wavered. One more mind sprung up to my right. Fluttering over an open manhole. I stood up from where I was kneeling and peered down into the darkness. ¡°Hello?¡± The mind did not answer. It did, however, remain in place. As if waiting for something. ¡°Hello?¡± I repeated, getting a little annoyed at the random nature of what was being conjured. Three different voices rose up in answer. Not thoughts, but actual voices. One of them was my own. The second one was Randall¡¯s. The last, belonged to the thing in the mansion. ¡°I control.¡± ¡°I control.¡± ¡°I control.¡± I backed off at once. Going for [Banish Intruder]. I needn¡¯t have bothered. The mind was gone before I had a chance to act. In its place, were raindrops. Tiny droplets of greenish water. Raining upwards instead of downwards. I backed off some more. ¡°Come one man. Don¡¯t get distracted. The trenches. The moat. Focus.¡± [Manifest Intruder] flared up again. Orbs of ethereal energy floating away from me and orbiting around my body. Going and going until they hit the street and the overgrown grass that surrounded the library. An Intruder manifested in the grass. Twisting the blades into the outline of a pig, with the empty spaces being filled with loose soil. Another rose from the middle of the street. Gouging a hole from the cement that spiralled into the shape of a serpent with a mole¡¯s head. ¡°Finally. About time. Right. You two, get to digging. Don¡¯t go so deep that you open holes into the sewers. You can cut any power cords you find. Not like anything¡¯s coming through in any case.¡± The two of them obeyed without another word. Only giving me pause when I realized that they both had impressions of my face along their backs. The faces were weeping. ¡°Now then. The wire¡­¡±
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Unstable Reality] 6 has grown to [Unstable Reality] 7
Ability Evolving: [Seal Intruder] 2 has grown to [Seal Intruder] 5
I shook my head at the sudden notifications. Startled by their appearance. ¡®Huh? I didn¡¯t even do anything?¡¯ ¡®I did it!¡¯ Cherub chirped. Sounding like an excited canary as he did so. Indeed, he had. Somehow. The tendrils that had only recently been wrapped around me were now circling the bits of metal that I¡¯d deemed to small and broken to be of any use. They had now pressed themselves into a thread and then further twisted themselves into barbed spikes that jutted out at random intervals. ¡°How did you learn to do that?¡± ¡®I peeked into your memories! I saw the fat man with the mustache talking about Rift response units. I saw him demonstrate how they were made. How you were supposed to put them around the sandbags to keep monsters away and to keep people happy.¡¯ I opened my mouth, and closed it again. Willing his own status to appear once more.
Sealed Intruder (Intruder) (Uncommon) (Psy: 123 / 200) An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Sealed by Solomon Carter in the ruins of Austin, Texas. Colored by his desires, hopes and emotions. As well as the lingering shared consciousness of those who once inhabited the location. This Intruder is not powerful enough to have its own Compulsions. This Intruder has access to all Tier I abilities possessed by Solomon Carter while it remains bonded and within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. This Intruder has access to [Sense Heat] 3 / [Absorb Heat] 3 and [Conversion to Psy] 3 and can use them at will with no Psy cost. This Intruder has access to [Melting] 2 / [Attune to Gas] 2 / [Attune to Solid] 2 / [Attune to Liquid] 2 / [Hold Attuned Compound] 2 and [Organize Attuned Compound] 2 and can use them as long as Psy is provided. This Intruder will be ejected from prime material reality is if runs out of Psy.
Then I shrugged. So my little summons can get stronger inside a field of [Unstable Reality]. Good to know. I sent more Psy his way and went over to look at my total Psy pool. Noting how shockingly, full, it was. In fact, it was about 80% full. I mean, yeah. I¡¯d been resting this whole time. More or less. Cherub was the one who¡¯d been using abilities. But, this much? In so little time? ¡®Maybe [Unstable Reality] does more than that? Could it be that it increases my Psy regeneration?¡¯ It was possible. But it would have to be the subject of later experiments. Jude was coming over right now. Carrying news of the survivor¡¯s progress. I walked over to where the rest of them were. Stretching over the hoods of intact cars in a bid to fit themselves into the pile. ¡°Are you sure this going to work?¡± He asked. ¡°Oh, of course. You¡¯re all getting powers today.¡± ¡°Sure. But, what about the cars? I can¡¯t wrap my head around how they¡¯ll be working without gas.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll probably need to put Psy into them to get them to run. That¡¯s the energy that makes the powers work by the way.¡± ¡°O-okay. How do we put this, Psy into them?¡± I shrugged again. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°Not really.¡± He narrowed his eyes. Regaining that half suspicious, half alarmed look he¡¯d had when I first arrived. ¡°Meh. It¡¯ll be fine. I already did this with a diary a few days ago.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°A¡­ diary? Like, a book? How did that go?¡± ¡°It bit a friend of mine and chopped off two fingers before flying away.¡± His jaw dropped. ¡°Hu¡­wha¡­ wait. If a book did that, what¡¯ll happen if the cars start biting people?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± I assured him. ¡°I¡¯ll subdue them if the get aggressive.¡± He looked like he was about to say something else, but I forestalled him by drawing my dagger. ¡°Whoa! Easy there! There¡¯s not need to¡­!¡± I rolled my eyes. Figuring it would be easier to show him. Then I brought the knife in front of me so that it was in my field of vision without covering up anyone. Making sure the portion of Buddy covering my hand was visible too. With that, the library¡¯s main doors were within sight, with the newly erected barbed wire below them and the pile in front of the rows. I steeled my nerves. Gathered my Psy. Found the rope of coiled abilities and flared my [Insight]. I felt, a wall. Made of purple and silver and gold. Rushing forwards like a tsunami. Hitting the survivors so hard that some of them were literally sent flying. The voices, which had been somewhat quiet after my encounters with them, redoubled. Whispering and hissing and conspiring among themselves. There was a torrent. A vortex where the primordial soup was sucked and drained into the cars and the guns and the whole structure behind the pile. I had the distinct impression that this was a mess waiting to happen, but I didn¡¯t get to stick around. The real world faded to nothingness and darkness set in. I was in a void before I knew it. Nothing but pitch-black spreading in all directions. There was a light then. A bulb glowing softly from the ceiling. This was basement. A big basement. And in this basement, was a man. A man I recognized. He, he had a woman there. Locked in a dog¡¯s cage. Her hands tied behind her back with duck tape. The man leaned in. Gloating. He told the woman that she¡¯d be stuck here for the rest of her life and that the rest of her life would only last until she stopped amusing him. The woman pleaded. The man smiled. The man told her that no one would come looking for her. That, even if someone did, no one would care. Because he was better than regulars. Better than her. He said that he¡¯d done this a dozen times before and that any evidence would be swept under the rug. He knew people. Important people. Who would make this go away as long as it wasn¡¯t too public. Then the man lifted the whole cage, with her still inside. Displaying his Enhanced Strength. I knew what this was at once. A warning from the future. Sarcophagus Solomon wouldn¡¯t have had a chance to intervene in this scenario. This was a vision of the new future I¡¯d created. I would have a chance to do something. I closed my eyes. My fists clenching and unclenching. ¡®Ah. I get it. It¡¯s like Randall and Anezka. I will have to do something. Because doing nothing will result in evil being allowed to run amok.¡¯ The vision had done its job well. I was now determined. This would stop. The basement cracked and faded once I¡¯d made my decision. Popping like a bubble and sending me back to the road in front of the piled cars and people. My ears registered a trumpeting noise, while my fog registered a new mind. Or rather, many new minds. My eyes took in the library. The building shook. And groaned.
The House That Hates. (Structure) (Rare) (Psy: 19, 000 / 19, 000) A quasi-sentient Structure. Holding a vast number of books within. This Structure has access to [Sense Thoughts] 15 / [Message] 2 / [Static Illusion] 15 / [Friendship] 15. This Structure will use these abilities while pretending to be a normal building to lure mutated humans nearer. This Structure has access to [Regeneration] 10 / [Predator¡¯s Instincts] 10 / [Tracking Instincts] 5 / [Bark] 10 / [Leaves] 5 / [Muscular System] 10 / [Skeletal System] 10 / [Nervous System] 10 / [Lymphatic System] 10 / [Cardiovascular System] 10 / [Digestive System] 10 / [Respiratory System] 10 / [Endocrine System] 10 / [Excretory System] 10 / [Reproductive System] 10 / [Grow] 15 / [Harden] 15 / [Metamorphosis] 15 / [Photosynthesis] 15 / [Mimicry] 10 / [Eyes] 2 / [Ears] 2 / [Nose] 2 / [Tongue] 2 / [Proprioception] 10 / [Grasping Appendage] 10 / [Locomotion Appendage] 10 / [Hands] 10 / [Enhanced Strength] 15 / [Enhanced Constitution] 15 / [Enhanced Toughness] 15 / [Enhanced Vision] 5 / [Enhanced Hearing] 5 / [Enhanced Smelling] 5 / [Enhanced Tasting] 5 / [Enhanced Proprioception] 5 / [Slashing Resistance] 8 / [Piercing Resistance] 8 / [Blunt Resistance] 15 / [Unstable Reality] 15 / [Manifest Intruder] 5 / [Seal Intruder] 5 / [Psionic Curse] 15. This Structure bears the mental scars of its inhabitants and will regain Psy while slaying mutated Humans, Flora and Fauna. This Structure is capable of self-propagation and will reproduce juveniles at a rate of 1 per three months. This Structure has been possessed by 27 different Intruders and can maintain them using its own Psy. These Intruders act independently of the Structure but will follow its orders and hunt at its command.
I¡­ couldn¡¯t say anything. I just stood there. Gaping like an imbecile. While the library attached the nearby trees to itself and¡­ used them to rip itself off the ground. Cracked windows on the second and third floors bent. Twisting their hinges until they were circular opening filled with jagged glass. Incandescent crimson light erupted from them, their glow reaching all over the road in front of it and beyond our current collation. The barbed wire that Cherub had set up flew into itself. Shredding the remains of the double doors and crawling all over the broken wooden planks in order to fill them with the razor-sharp tips. Then the wire retreated further. Curling into itself until it resembled a snake¡¯s tongue. Tasting the very air in that same manner. The serrated boards re-aligned. Creating rows of splintered wood on the upper and lower sides of the main opening. The whole massive edifice breathed in. Sucking Psy and oxygen into itself as it grew larger and larger. The mundane materials inflating like balloons before melting into each other. Then, it roared. And the bellow was so loud that it sent me reeling to the floor. The cement quaked beneath me. THOOM. THOOM. THOOM. THOOM. I marshalled my will, sending energy to my hums and getting to my feet as fast as I could. When I looked around again, the library was running down what was left of the street. Flocks of¡­cars, and motorcycles, flying ahead of it. ¡°Well. That was¡­ interesting.¡± ¡®Did we fail?¡¯ ¡°Eh, I wouldn¡¯t say that. It only wants to kill zombies. That¡¯s not, necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I would argue that a self-replicating murder monstrosity is a very good thing for this world. So long as it sticks to the mutated things.¡± ¡®So, we did it? We saved the city?¡¯ ¡°Yes. Cherub. We saved the city.¡± I turned my head back towards the groaning forty-one survivors. Grimacing at how pained they felt. ¡°Good job everyone.¡± I said. ¡°I see that most of you are Enhancers. That¡¯s normal. I see some Shifters too. That¡¯ll come in handy. And Jude! Another Telepath! Good for you. A lot of those abilities will come in handy. I recommend putting points in the hums and the¡­ Oh. Right. No System. May bad.¡± I sighed. Releasing some of the pent-up tension the last few minutes had brought. ¡°Buddy, are you doing okay?¡± ¡®YES! I FEEL AMAZING! WE SHOULD DO THIS AGAIN! RIGHT NOW!¡¯ I winced as the imposing thoughts rattled around inside my skull. ¡°Sorry about that Buddy. No new powerups for another year. That¡¯s how [Insight] works.¡± ¡®Aw.¡¯ I snorted back a laugh. Too amused by the sudden change in demeanor to contain myself. ¡°Hey, Cherub. Are also sad?¡± No answer was forthcoming. Despite [Sense Thoughts] telling me he was still here. I patted my left arm and tilted my head to look for him. Yet he wasn¡¯t anywhere in sight. ¡°Cherub? Where are you?¡± ¡®In here with my new friend.¡¯ My eyes went down. Towards my hand. Where the knife had been a minute ago. In its place was the outline of a sword. Only, it was missing pieces of itself. Its cutting edges being suspended in empty air while a roiling conflagration ebbed and flowed in between them. The metal bits having sucked in the goo of [Insight] and [Unstable Reality] at once. A pair of lips formed on the hilt. Remarkably human in their appearance. ¡°Hello Daddy. Cherub is safe with me now. We can take him home. No problems.¡± I dropped it on instinct. Goosebumps and sparks of violent lightning lacerating up my arm. ¡°What the (Gnome) are you?¡± ¡°I am your daughter. The instrument you desired in your heart of hearts.¡± I hesitated. Unable to find the right words. ¡°Tell me, Daddy. Do you kill many Gnomes?¡± I gaped. Somehow becoming more stupefied than before. ¡°I like watching Gnomes die.¡± It went on. Filling the silence with its feminine murmurs. I stepped back. My own instincts screaming at me that there was an influence trying to get past my [Suppression]. One that made Mot look like a feeble child in diapers. ¡°Waaaaaaaait.¡± It sobbed. ¡°Take me with you.¡± ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I was getting angry glares from five different folks. They looked at me as if I were a tax collector or an architect. Their eyes holding nothing but contempt. Which was a little fair, I supposed. I did take away their shelter, and all the supplies they still had inside. The chances of them getting those back were, limited. I had emptied out my storage ring of water and food in order to make up for it, yet that hadn¡¯t mollified them. Still, it wasn¡¯t all bad. Jude had come around, as had Joice, his lady friend. They were extremely amicable and welcoming. Him showing off his new mind-reading skills and her, flying and shooting lighting bolts from her eyes. Yeah. Not all of them were made equal. But he seemed happy, so who was I to judge? ¡°I still can¡¯t believe this is real man. You¡¯re awesome!¡± ¡°Thanks Jude. I appreciate it.¡± ¡°Are you really going to go?¡± Joice asked. Her voice betraying her apprehension at the prospect. ¡°There¡¯s another camp of survivors in the next town over and two others camping out in the desert. They have more people than we do and they could use powers too. We could take back the world with these. With your help.¡± I snorted. ¡°I think its only a matter of time until the world is your again, if my monster was anything to go by. Besides, I, have other things to do. I can¡¯t afford to delay my departure any longer. Is Althea ready?¡± ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s been waiting over by the bikes.¡± I nodded and made my way over to her. Althea, or bazooka lady as I¡¯d been calling her, was one of the few who lucked out. Two Types. Shifter and Projector. With a lot of high-level abilities spread between the two Types. She gave me the widest smile I¡¯d ever seen when I sauntered over. ¡°Hello there dear. How have you been?¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing great Althea. Thank you.¡± ¡°Good. Good. A healthy boy like you needs his rest. You can¡¯t be too careful these days. People faint at most inconvenient times if they don¡¯t take care of themselves. You will take care of yourself, won¡¯t you, dearie?¡± ¡°I will ma¡¯am.¡± ¡°Of course. Of course. Let¡¯s get on with it then. I wouldn¡¯t want to keep you.¡± We rode the bikes through the air. The newly-bolstered wheels rolling over nothing as we pedalled. I was weird and odd, but I wasn¡¯t about to complain. Not when all the motorized vehicles had flow off. These people needed all the help that they could get and to their credit, they¡¯d adapted almost immediately. ¡°Here we are.¡± Althea commented once we¡¯d landed. The ruins in front of us were doing a lot better than the rest of the neighbourhood, though that wasn¡¯t exactly saying much. Three walls remained standing. Holding up half a roof. Any signs were long gone, so I couldn¡¯t check if it really had been a pharmacy. All I had was her word. Though I knew she wasn¡¯t lying thanks to my fog. ¡°Curious, that System of yours.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°It still sent you here. Me and two others were dying because we couldn¡¯t get our pills. This was the one spot that hadn¡¯t been looted yet, due to the big tree that ate wanderers. I assume that¡¯s why you were told to bring us here. So, we could have a chance. But we don¡¯t need the pills anymore. I feel young again. Strong. The others don¡¯t need their meds either, so coming here would have been a waste. You found another way to save us, but the System still told you to come.¡± I sighed. ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s not the most accurate tool. I would make a lot of changes if I could. Descriptions for Tier 1 abilities for a start. I could have done so much better with those in hand.¡± Althea laughed. Her face and eyes brimming with life and happiness. ¡°Don¡¯t be so hard on yourself dear. I have a feeling you would have excelled no matter what.¡± She came over and hugged me. Bringing me close to her and squeezing tightly. ¡°Thank you for everything Sully. Thank you for giving us our lives back.¡± I hesitated, before hugging her back.
System Excursion: Student: Solomon Carter, has completed two starter Excursions. Objective: Help at least one senior until they arrive at the pharmacy. Seniors assisted: 1 / 1 Third starter Excursion will now commence. Objective: Save the kidnapping victims. Victims saved: 0 / 3 Excursion to Earth: TRKG 2004 is underway.
I flexed [Domination] as soon as the shimmer returned me to my world. Knowing where I was going to be dropped ahead of time. ¡®Kneel.¡¯ I commanded. Immediately feeling the feedback of a dozen signals prostrating themselves. ¡®Be silent. Be still.¡¯ The guards froze. Their mouths closing shut. Tight as beartraps. I walked over them. Examining the interior. Henry and I had partied here once before. During our first year of Uni. Back then, the place had had an intoxicating atmosphere. Barrels of cheap beer stacked atop each other in long tables, with throngs of stupid young adults frolicking about in a haze. I had been one of them. My feet moved about the tables now. Noting how bare they were. My fingers caressed a mark that Luigi had left behind when a knife had slipped through his fingers. He¡¯d been trying to cut a steak. A very much still-frozen steak. Fresh from the freezer. With clumsy, inebriated fingers. I smiled sadly. Lamenting the fact that I didn¡¯t have my phone on me. Any calls made with the landline or with the guards¡¯ phones would most certainly be traced eventually. Which undoubtedly would put my friends and family on a hit list faster than I could blink. ¡®It can wait. Its not like they¡¯re in any danger or anything.¡¯ Buddy was still in his astronaut form. The visor still darkened from the outside so that my face remained hidden. Still, I took over the security system with [Domination] as well. Disabling the automated monster alarms and the cameras. After sending copies of all the footage they¡¯d captured to every news agency I could think of, of course. It was, a queer feeling. Connecting to the internet with [Electronic Interface]. Part of me had been afraid. Terrified at the prospect of my head exploding from all the information coming in at once. Instead, what came was, a series of tunnels. Somehow much simpler than the usual tricks I used within my own lake. ¡®Fucking freak! You won¡¯t get away with this! Your collar!¡¯ I kicked the guard¡¯s head. Using a little bit more force than I¡¯d meant to. Teeth went flying, though the man kept still and said nothing. I went down the stairs. Calming my thundering heart by going over the new changes to Buddy, Cherub and my knife. Well, it was a sword now but whatever.
Buddy, Symbiote of Solomon Carter. (Symbiote) (Unique) (Psy: 5, 000 / 5, 000) An upgraded artificial lifeform, fully tailored to Solomon Carter. One step away from true sentience. Buddy is part of the Expert Tier of symbiotes. Buddy has access to [Enhanced Toughness] 5 / [Enhanced Constitution] 5 / [Heat Resistance] 5 / [Cold Resistance] 5 / [Electric Resistance] 5 and shares their effects with Solomon Carter. Buddy has access to [Cardiovascular System] 5 / [Digestive System] 5 / [Respiratory System] 5 / [Grow] 5 / [Shrink] 5 / [Stretch] 5 / [Harden] 5 / [Soften] 5 / [Metamorphosis] 5 / [Photosynthesis] 5 / [Camouflage] 5 / [Eyes] 5 and does not share their effects with Solomon Carter. Buddy can replicate the shape and properties of all personal non-imbued equipment, absorb a portion of taken damage, regulate temperature and air supply, administer basic wound care, and administer nutrients from its own meals directly to host as long as Psy is provided. Can only be upgraded through repeated exposure to [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] or derivatives merged by Solomon Carter.
Cherubaustin the Insatiable. (Intruder) (Unique) (Psy: 19, 942 / 20, 000) An Arch-Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Sealed and nurtured by Solomon Carter in the ruins of Austin, Texas. Colored by his desires, hopes and emotions. As well as the lingering shared consciousness of those who once inhabited the location. This Intruder suffers from the following compulsions and recovers Psy by indulging them. Butcher of Gnomes: This Intruder feels an irresistible hatred towards all Gnomes and must attack them on sight. This Intruder will recover more Psy the more suffering he inflicts on Gnomes. Shield of Humanity: This Intruder feels a great deal of love and compassion for all Humans. This Intruder will recover more Psy the more he heals or directly protects Humans. This Intruder will lose Psy if they directly attack Humans. Destroy the Evil: This Intruder is compelled to hunt monsters as well as Sentient Species who breach Solomon Carter¡¯s imparted moral guidelines. This Intruder will use Solomon Carter¡¯s definition of what a monster is in order to guide its actions. This Intruder will resort to inflicting indirect harm if it feels unable to cause direct harm. This Intruder has access to all Tier I abilities possessed by Solomon Carter while it remains bonded. Intruder may leave the area of bondage for up to 50 hours at a time. This Intruder has access to [Solar Sense II] 10 / [Sense Space-Time Anomaly II] 7 / [Absorb Heat and Light II] 15 and [Conversion to Psy] 17 and can use them at will with no Psy cost. This Intruder has access to [Melting] 15 / [Attune to Matter III] 15 / [Attuned Manipulation III] 10 / [Pyrokinesis III] 15 and [Photokinesis III] 15 and can use them as long as Psy is provided. All abilities at the disposal of this Intruder will increase by one level per level of [Unstable Reality] surrounding it. This Intruder will obtain new, higher Tiered abilities per every five levels of [Unstable Reality] surrounding it. This Intruder will be ejected from prime material reality is if runs out of Psy but will return to its bonded Father, Solomon Carter, as long as its full Psy pool is provided after a period of 72 hours. Cannot grow or progress unless through repeated exposure to [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] or derivatives merged by Solomon Carter.
The Slasher of Veils. (Multi-form Weapon) (Unique) (Psy: 12, 000 / 12, 000) A quasi-sentient transforming weapon adorned with gnomish runes. It has been uplifted by the convictions of Solomon Carter. It houses the Arch-Intruder Cherubaustin within itself and the sealed being retains all of its ego and abilities. Cherubaustin has a separate Psy pool and replenishes his Psy while resting within the weapon. This weapon is under the permanent effect of [Psy Armament IV] 10 and may be re-summoned by the same restrictions as Cherubaustin if destroyed. This weapon has access to [Mindscape II] 5 / [Message] 3 and [Friendship] 15. This weapon will use these abilities to influence its wielder, with the goal of inflicting escalating violence upon gnomes. This weapon may maintain a field of [Unstable Reality] 15 around itself at no cost so long as Cherubaustin or the wielder wills it. Cherubaustin may use the ability [Portal Network III] at half the cost while inside this weapon. Grants the bearer the [Regeneration] 5 and [Mitosis] 5 abilities, so long as a warm-blooded creature has been slain within the past 2 hours. Also grants a + 200% bonus to experience gain so long as a gnome has been slain within the last 20 hours. These effects do not stack with existing bonuses stemming from Tittles or abilities. Gnomes struck by this weapon are afflicted by [Confusion] 5 and [Total Organ Failure III] 15. Can only be upgraded through repeated exposure to [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] or derivatives merged by Solomon Carter.
¡®I¡¯m getting stronger by the hour. Always finding new ways to use my powers. This, this is good. I won¡¯t make the same mistakes as Sarcophagus Solomon. I¡¯ll do what it takes to protect the innocents out there. I¡¯ll do what must be done.¡¯ My feet reached the bottom of their stairs. My boots trudging along to where the women were being kept. There were silent. Their cheeks hollow and wet, as if from crying. Their eyes held a mixture of hope and dread. Hope that the torment might end. Dread for what their savior might do. I kept moving. Not saying a word until I reached them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll be sent away if I rescue you right now. I¡¯ll deal with them first. Then I¡¯ll let you go.¡± With that, I turned around. To face Mason. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the future.¡± I told him. In a cold, flat voice. ¡°I checked multiple times after the first vision. I saw how your daddy would cover for you. How his connections would make them disappear. I also saw how he would supress the news. (Gnome), I even saw how he¡¯d spin this if you were to be exposed. Did you know you were suicidal? I didn¡¯t. Yet, you will be found dead and the death will be ruled a suicide. The people that allowed you these, entertainments, will go free. And you and them, will be dead and forgotten within the week.¡± I leaned over him. ¡°I don¡¯t want that, Mason. I do not want you dead. Partly because I¡¯m a good person and partly because life in prison is what you deserve. I want you to confess. I want you to pay for what you¡¯ve done here. And for¡­ other things.¡± I paced around him. Bathing in the sheer, insurmountable terror that he was exuding. Ignoring his pleas and the bribes he was offering. The guards descended the stairs as I moved. Taking their places beside him. ¡°No. A low-Ranker like you could be disposed off quietly. Before justice could be served. Same with your goons and your victims. I will make it so that you have every opportunity to confess. I will make it so that your conspirators confess with you. I will make it so that your victims cannot be silenced. I will bathe you in my [Insight].¡± I stopped moving. Standing right in front of him. I bade him to stand. ¡°However, I must ensure that you do confess and that you do try your hardest to expose all the villains you worked with. Look at me, Mason.¡± He did so. With supressed tears rolling down his cheeks. My fingers closed around his throat. ¡°Suffer me now.¡± Chapter 50: Nowhere to be Found. Chapter 50: Nowhere to be Found. ¡°So, you see, I had no choice! I went through tons of different futures! Tons of them! And he always got away with it! Unless I killed him. In which case, his father always hunted down the girls anyway! Seriously, I don¡¯t know how much money and influence that (Gnome)hole has but its literally too much to handle. I had to do something. I couldn¡¯t just let the girls rot in there and freeing them would¡¯ve put targets on all their backs! They would¡¯ve died if I let them out without taking more precautions. So, mind-controlling Mason and his mouth-breathing goons doesn¡¯t make me a bad person. It doesn¡¯t.¡± Charlie turned around. Staring me dead in the eyes without changing his expression. ¡°Sully. Listen to me. I. Do. Not. Care. At all. No one here gives a flying (Gnome). Not a single one.¡± ¡°How could you not care!? I¡¯m literally confessing my deepest darkest secret! I¡­ for (Gnome)s sake man! I enslaved someone!¡± Charlie turned to Prudence and Monique. ¡°Well? Does anyone here care?¡± ¡°No.¡± Monique answered nonchalantly. ¡°I¡¯m only sad that I wasn¡¯t with you.¡± Prudence stated with resigned boredom. ¡°Sounds like a fun time. All I was asked to do was rescue people from gator-infested waters. They weren¡¯t even monster gators. I think I was in Ryan¡¯s world for the first one. The others were, strange, but mostly normal.¡± ¡°How could you say that?¡± Prudence turned around as well. ¡°Sully. You read my diary, right? Before you brought it to life I mean. Do I sound like the kind of girl who feels sorry for kidnappers and (Gnome)ists?¡± That was a fair point. ¡°But due process¡­¡± ¡°The only due process that guy would have faced if I¡¯d caught him was the due process of digested meat going down my stomach. Even that would have been a better fate that scum like him deserved.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± Monique added. ¡°Listen, Sully. I¡¯ve seen what lack of oversight does to some people. I have seen degenerates going to town the first chance they get. Even with the literal end of the entire (Gnome)ing world happening right outside the windows. Now, I was pretty opposed to the death penalty as a principle before everything went to (Gnome). Too many innocent people that were exonerated later for my taste. But now? (Gnome). I¡¯m with Prudence. I would¡¯ve burned that whole place to the ground and (Gnome)sed on the ashes for good measure.¡± ¡°Also, I would point out another fact you¡¯ve conveniently ignored.¡± Charlie piled on. ¡°We¡¯re all killers here. I wanted to keep my hands clean in the vision you saw. Not anymore. I¡¯m telling you, right now. With Saturn as my witness. Mr. Whitmer is going to die. I am going to kill him. Slowly. If anyone in his company is dumb enough to try and save him, they¡¯ll be dying too. I am way, way beyond the point of caring at this point.¡± I babbled incoherently for a few seconds. Unable to come up with a counterargument. Prudence broke the silence by placing her arm around me and drawing me close. ¡°Look. I get it. I¡¯m a Telepath now too. It does bother me a little. But you know what would bother me more?¡± Of course I knew. I could read her mind. ¡°That¡¯s right. Corruption. We¡¯re just the people who got a rare Type. That¡¯s all we¡¯ve done. This Mason is like the people who covered for Kyle back home. Scum. Every one. Those people chose to do what they did. They used their wealth and their positions to (Gnome) over whomever they damn well pleased and (Gnome) anyone who disagreed. They don¡¯t care about you or me or anyone else for that matter. Those people wouldn¡¯t (Gnome) on you if you were on fire. I guarantee it. (Gnome)! I don¡¯t even have to do that much! You. Have. Seen. It. You know its true. Stop making excuses and own up to it. You should be proud. I know I¡¯d be.¡± My fists clenched. It was far more complicated than that, but they couldn¡¯t read my mind because of [Suppression]. They didn¡¯t know. They hadn¡¯t connected the dots. Doris¡­ Doris had supposedly died to a monster. Only, Mason had been the only person with her that night. He¡¯d been the only witness. What we cremated was a pile of meat that he said was Doris. ¡®But it could just as easily have been a pile of bacon strips for I knew.¡¯ My hands were white. Stiff from barely supressed rage. Mason had deserved what I¡¯d done to him. And more. Him dismantling his own father¡¯s conspiracy with the new powers he got from [Insight] was as close to justice as I was going to get. Especially since his own mind would remain intact through all of it. The corrupt people in power would no doubt label him a villain and a terrorist and send heroes to hunt him down. Though they wouldn¡¯t be able to. Mason, his cronies and his victims had all been the equivalent of B-Rankers by the time I left. The girls would not be easily silenced, while the henchmen would be a force to be reckoned with in those numbers. The only one who might have a chance of taking them all head on was Thunder Fist and even he would need backup and a full military platoon with artillery support in order to get them all in one fell swoop. Even then, assembling such a taskforce would take time. Dozens of the conspirators would have been silenced by then. I¡¯d seen as much. Yet I felt guilty about my part. Knowing that I¡¯d set killers loose on other killers. It wasn¡¯t logical, nor practical to feel this way. But I couldn¡¯t help myself. I sighed deeply. Releasing a torrent of pent-up stress. ¡°Its not just that either. Its Anezka and Randall.¡± Charlie stiffened for a fraction of a moment, but continued on his way a second later as if nothing had happened. His mind had blacked out too. Not releasing any thoughts or emotions. ¡®Poor guy. He must be terrified at the prospect of meeting them, given what I shared with him.¡¯ Monique had a similar reaction. As did Boris, Dusty and Slab from their forward positions. ¡°What about them?¡± Prudence asked. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know where they are.¡± I admitted. ¡°I know Anezka should¡¯ve been near the Warehouse by now because her and Sarcophagus Solomon met around this time. She seduced him by being the only nice and accepting person he¡¯d met. Using a combination of [Enhanced Concentration], [Enhanced Processing] and [Psionic Resistance] to keep her true nature hidden.¡± ¡°She managed to combine an ability?¡± Kaito asked, his eyes bulging with surprise. ¡°That¡¯s wild.¡± Prudence agreed. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to do anything like that yet. And I¡¯ve been trying damn hard too. She must be crazy strong.¡± ¡°Not at all.¡± I assure them. ¡°She was just very good at making her build. All three of those were passives, so she didn¡¯t need to spend her resources to keep her guard up. She would also use boosts like [Sudden Concentration] whenever the other me was peeking. Right now, she should be around level 22 or so. With Enhancer as her only Type.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pathetic.¡± Olga commented. ¡°Me, PR and Kai were all higher levelled than that when the gnomes took us. And I had two Types to boot. I don¡¯t see how you could be this worried.¡± ¡°I¡¯m worried because her robots are going to be way beyond what I can handle when they inevitably arrive. She¡¯ll take out a loan expecting to capture Telepaths and get a whole army of self-replicating nanomachines.¡± ¡°Why Telepaths in particular?¡± ¡°Her home world¡¯s governor will pay out the wazoo for Telepaths. So will any other planetary governor from her dimension for that matter. They have machines, the kind that the other me was trapped in, that can give you shocks of unimaginable pain or pleasure at the press of a button. They reduce their victims to organs floating in jelly and force them to see the future and to transmit those visions to recording machines. They can pretty much see most events before they happen via these contraptions.¡± Olga whistled. ¡°I¡¯m guessing they¡¯re not big on human rights over there?¡± ¡°They are, but they only see the rich as human.¡± ¡°Same story every time.¡± Charlie sighed. ¡°It amazes me how much our stories rhyme when you make them into poems.¡± ¡°Not mine.¡± Olga protested. ¡°Nothing like this would ever happen in my world. You¡¯ll see. I¡¯ll show you all of it when we go.¡± Olga pressed her assets against Charlie. It didn¡¯t do much, other than annoy him further. She was thinking of him as her prince. He was thinking, ruder things about her. ¡°Right. So, we need to find her and kill her and you don¡¯t know where she is. Got it. We¡¯ll be on the lookout.¡± Prudence said. Nonchalantly talking about murder as if she were discussing the weather. ¡°Nobody is killing anyone.¡± I interjected. ¡°I¡¯ll share my memories and make her see that we¡¯re all people. That we¡¯re all on the same side. It worked for you.¡± ¡°All right. You can see the future. Will it work on her?¡± ¡°I¡­ugh. I can¡¯t tell because I can¡¯t see her. Which is weird because I¡¯ve been seeing her since I first got [Precognition]. She was one of the main things Sarcophagus Solomon warned me about. [Insight] is a combination ability. One that is way stronger than [Precognition] ever was, but I can¡¯t seem to sense her or Randall at all. Its as if something massively powerful was blocking my future-sight. Or if they were dead.¡± ¡°They might be.¡± Prudence offered. ¡°You did change the future by recruiting all of us into the Warehouse and keeping us in one place. Maybe she was in danger and someone would have saved her in the original timeline. Maybe you would¡¯ve saved her in the original timeline. Maybe she croaked because no one was there to keep a monster off of her or something.¡± ¡°Its possible.¡± I conceded. ¡°But I feel like I would have seen it coming. She¡¯s¡­ I don¡¯t know how to describe it. She¡¯s important to my fate. Someone I had to face.¡± Charlie, Monique, Boris, Dusty and Slab went quiet. At least, their minds did. Their bodies showed no further indication that they were worried at the news. For her part, Prudence snorted. ¡°You don¡¯t actually believe in fate, do you?¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be laughing so hard if you put points into [Precognition].¡± I assured her. ¡°It makes you see things in a different way. See the whole world in a different way. It tears you up inside and forces you to hallucinate and to feel those hallucinations all over your flesh and your bones. You feel all the pain. You feel all the desperation. You know that it has to mean something and that it is coming.¡± ¡°But its not coming anymore?¡± I deflated. ¡°I¡­ That¡¯s the problem. I don¡¯t know. It doesn¡¯t look like it. All I see when I use [Insight] these days is either the thing in the mansion that Sarcophagus Solomon put in there or the latest Excursion spot.¡± Prudence chuckled. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound so bad. I still think you should accept the thing into you. We know what all the Telepath abilities do now. Either thanks to you, or other people who tried out the few ones you don¡¯t have yet. But there¡¯s still a lot of talk as to what Shifter abilities are the best.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Boris snorted. ¡°There isn¡¯t a lot of talk. There¡¯s a lot of noise. I keep telling everyone that generalizing is the way to go. All of them are useful to some degree. You¡¯re missing out by trying to maximize levels in specific abilities. Only stupid kids do that.¡± Prudence blushed. Then she sneered. ¡°That¡¯s some pretty big talk for a skeletal bean-sprout. Talking as if you know better than me.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Borislav stopped and looked back at her. ¡°Do you think you could take me on as you are now?¡± Prudence grew fangs and growled. I used [Insight] to see what they were working with.
Name: Borislav Sokolov
Psy: 460/550
Type: Shifter Level 46 / Enhancer Level 44
Shifter Abilities: [Claws] 3 / [Regeneration] 5 / [Predator¡¯s Instincts] 3 / [Regenerate Other] 5 / [Fur] 3 / [Muscular System] 3 / [Skeletal System] 3 / [Grow] 3 / [Jaws] 1 / [Lymphatic System] 3 / [Eyes] 1 / [Night Vision] 1 / [Thermal Vision] 1 / [Infrared Vision] 1 / [Ears] 1 / [Echolocation] 3 / [Low-Frequency Hearing] 1 / [High Frequency Hearing] 1 / [Heat Tolerance] 1 / [Nose] 1 / [Olfactory Navigation] 1 / [Olfactory Threat Detection] 1 / [Olfactory Poison Detection] 1/ [Tracking Instincts] 1 / [Adrenaline] 3 / [Venom Glands] 1 / [Poison Glands] 1 / [Cardiovascular System] 3 / [Digestive System] 3 / [Respiratory System] 1 / [Incorporate Mineral] 3 / [Incorporate Liquid] 1 / [Proprioception] 1 / [Pheromone Trail] 1 / [Pheromone Diversion] 1 / [Pheromone Attraction] 1 / [Nervous System] 1 / [Endocrine System] 1 / [Excretory System] 1 / [Reproductive System] 1 / [Mitosis] 3 / [Acclimation] 2 / [Organ Independence] 1 / [Cold Tolerance] 1 / [Electricity Tolerance] 1 / [Pressurization Tolerance] 1 / [De-Pressurization Tolerance] 1 / [Radiation Tolerance] 1 / [Shrink] 1 / [Stretch] 1 / [Harden] 2 / [Soften] 1 / [Metamorphosis] 1 / [Photosynthesis] 1 / [Camouflage] 1 / [Vocalization] 1 / [Mimicry] 1 / [Pincers] 2 / [Proboscis] 1 / [Phagocytosis] 1 / [Incorporate Gas] 1 / [Produce Adhesive] 1 / [Produce Acid] 1 / [Produce Pyro-Chemical] 1 / [Produce Cryo-Chemical] 1 / [Produce Electro-Chemical] 1 / [Pheromone Hierarchy] 1 / [Hijack] 1 / [Infection] 1 / [Scales] 1 / [Chitin] 1 / [Feathers] 1 / [Spines] 1 / [Blades] 1 / [Bark] 1 / [Leaves] 1 / [Spores] 1
Enhancer Abilities: [Enhanced Strength] 3 / [Enhanced Dexterity] 2 / [Enhanced Constitution] 2 / [Enhanced Stamina] 2 / [Enhanced Agility] 2 / [Enhanced Toughness] 3 / [Enhanced Reflexes] 2 / [Enhanced Recovery] 2 / [Enhanced Vision] 2 / [Enhanced Hearing] 2 / [Enhanced Digestion] 2 / [Enhanced Circulation] 2 / [Heat Resistance] 3 / [Cold Resistance] 1 / [Slashing Resistance] 1 / [Piercing Resistance] 1 / [Blunt Resistance] 1 / [Sudden Strength] 1 / [Sudden Dexterity] 1 / [Sudden Agility] 1 / [Sudden Toughness] 1 / [Electric Resistance] 1 / [Neurotoxin Resistance] 1 / [Cytotoxin Resistance] 1 / [Enterotoxin Resistance] 1 / [Hemotoxin Resistance] 1 / [Viral Resistance] 1 / [Sleep Resistance] 1 / [Psychoactive Resistance] 1 / [Paralysis Resistance] 1 / [Parasitic Resistance] 1 / [Psionic Resistance] 1 / [Pressure Resistance] 1 / [Vacuum Resistance] 1 / [Radiation Resistance] 1 / [Gravity Resistance] 1 / [Friction Resistance] 1 / [Sudden Constitution] 1 / [Sudden Recovery] 1 / [Enhance Object] 1 / [Enhance Projectile] 1 / [Overcharge Self] 1 / [Overcharge Object] 1 / [Heavy Blow] 1 / [Heavy Shield] 1 / [Heavy Shot] 1 / [Berserk] 1 / [Enhanced Memory] 1 / [Enhanced Learning] 2 / [Enhanced Processing] 1 / [Enhanced Balance] 1 / [Enhanced Training] 2 / [Enhanced Concentration] 1 / [Sudden Flexibility] 1 / [Sudden Reflexes] 1 / [Sudden Concentration] 1
Ability Points: 0
Name: Prudence Kettler
Psy: 343/395
Type: Shifter Level 33 / Telepath Level 26
Shifter Abilities: [Claws] 3 / [Regeneration] 5 / [Predator¡¯s Instincts] 3 / [Regenerate Other] 1 / [Mitosis] 5 / [Scales] 5 / [Grow] 5 / [Harden] 5 / [Adrenaline] 3 / [Muscular System] 5 / [Venom Glands] 1 / [Poison Glands] 5 / [Acclimation] 5 / [Incorporate Mineral] 5 /
Telepath Abilities: [Message] 1 / [Sense Thoughts] 3 / [Mental Bolt] 1 / [Hide] 2 / [Faint Presence] 1 / [Mental Map] 1 / [Fever] 1 / [Drunkenness] 1 / [Fear] 1 / [Electronic Interface] 1 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Block Mental Detection] 1 / [Interrupt] 1 / [Static Illusion] 1
Ability Points: 0
The former had the upper hand on levels, fighting experience and total Psy. The latter had fewer abilities, but they were much higher levelled. It was, an interesting argument. Personally, I¡¯d put my money on Borislav, but only because his Types complemented each other more than those Prudence possessed. Enhancer abilities were scary enough as they were. Put them on a Shifter, and they turned a nigh-immortal killing machine into a nigh-immortal killing machine that could flick trains around like they were cardboard boxes. Boris might not be at that level yet, but I had a feeling that he was still more than enough to tear Prudence fifteen new (Gnome)holes before she could blink. It might have been different is she had, say, [Precognition] or [Premonition] or more levels in [Fear], [Fever] or [Hide]. Those would ruin anybody¡¯s day faster than they could blink. Especially if she could also afford to tank a few hits. ¡°Enough.¡± Slab interjected. ¡°I sense the thing¡¯s thoughts now. We¡¯re close.¡± ¡°Yes, we are!¡± I said excitedly. Rubbing my hands together as if I were a villain that John Gardens was about to face. ¡°This vengeance has been a long time coming.¡± I continued. Further playing into the stereotype. Normally, a good person like me would have been above such petty gloating. Not this time. The bastard would pay for what he did to me. I wanted to be there. To watch the light fading from his eyes. We hiked up a steep hill. Monique reversing gravity whenever we grew close to dangerous terrain. Our feet kept climbing and climbing. Even going up a vertical shaft at two different points. Then we reached him. The fox-penguin bastard.
Artic Mind-Raider. A Mutated Artic Deceiver. Level 110 This creature has access to Enhancer, Shifter, Projector and Telepath abilities. This creature¡¯s highest-level ability is [Dreamscape II] 8. This creature¡¯s death will grant 200, 000 Store Tokens.
He. It. Has pale red fur with blue streaks running down the length of its body. It also has two overlapping mouths, like a moray eel. Those mouths are inside ebony penguin-like beaks and remain open as we approach. I went ahead. Knowing it wouldn¡¯t be getting free of [Domination] anytime soon. That¡¯s when I called on my hums¡­ and kicked it in one of its big bulging eyes. My foot sank into the weak spot. Crushing the squishy organ with casual ease. Its mind screeched with a delicious cocktail of agony and humiliation. Its body didn¡¯t so much as twitch. ¡°Not so tough now are you!? (Gnome)ing piece of dog(Gnome)! Come on! Nothing to say!? Nothing to think after all you put me through you (Gnome)ing (Gnome)hole!¡± ¡°Man, you really don¡¯t like that thing.¡± Kaito observed. ¡°That¡¯s right! Do you have any idea how many nightmares this thing gave me? How many sleepless nights? Come on guys! Get your kicks in!¡± Slab and Dusty looked at each other. They shrugged and ran forward to start kicking. Charlie, Monique and Borislav joined them soon thereafter, with the others following suit. Unfortunately, I failed to account for one little detail when planning for my revenge. My hums could make a normal human¡¯s kicks feel like those of a stallion. Meanwhile, those with Enhancer and Shifter as a Type could already kick with the strength of several elephants. Also, my hums worked in percentages and stacked with Enhancer and Shifter abilities. Meaning that, what might be a measly 10 to 15% boost in physical prowess for me would be closer to a 70 or 90% boost for Slab and Dusty. Calculated after their passives. My eyes went to her for a brief moment.
Name: Dusty McMullan
Psy: 1863/1900
Type: Enhancer II Level 82
Abilities: [Physical Perseverance III] 15 / [Resist Physical Damage III] 12 / [Flowing Might II] 10 / [Flowing Grace II] 10 / [Enhanced Reflexes] 4 / [Enhanced Concentration] 3 / [Enhanced Recovery] 2 / [Enhanced Agility] 2 / [Enhanced Vision] 2 / [Heat Resistance] 4 / [Enhance Object] 2 / [Electric Resistance] 2 / [Neurotoxin Resistance] 2 / [Enhanced Flexibility] 2 / [Enhanced Hearing] 2 / [Enhanced Smelling] 2 / [Enhanced Balance] 2 / [Enhanced Training] 4 / [Sudden Constitution] 2 / [Sudden Agility] 2 / [Sudden Toughness] 2 / [Enhanced Respiration] 2 / [Enhanced Digestion] 4 / [Enhanced Circulation] 3
Ability Points: 2
[Physical Perseverance III] Standard Combination of [Enhanced Constitution] / [Enhanced Toughness] / [Enhanced Stamina]. Significantly increases the amount of force necessary to harm the User¡¯s cells in proportion to current ability level. Significantly increases the amount of force necessary to harm the User¡¯s skin and bones in proportion to current ability level. Significantly increases the amount of energy (ATP) stored in the User¡¯s cells in proportion to current ability level. These effects stack with each other and increase by an additional 300% every 5 ability levels. These effects cannot be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Resist Physical Damage III] Standard Combination of [Slashing Resistance] / [Piercing Resistance] / [Blunt Resistance]. Significantly increases the User¡¯s capacity to resist physical damage in proportion to current ability level. This effect increases by an additional 500% every 5 ability levels. These effects cannot be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Flowing Might II] Standard Combination of [Enhanced Strength] / [Sudden Strength]. Increases the User¡¯s strength in proportion to current ability level. These effects stack with others and increase by an additional 150% every 5 ability levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Flowing Grace II] Standard Combination of [Enhanced Dexterity] / [Sudden Dexterity]. Increases the User¡¯s dexterity in proportion to current ability level. These effects stack with others and increase by an additional 150% every 5 ability levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
¡­. Yeah. The thing¡¯s entire body was soon smashed into paste. Robbing me of much of my satisfaction. New level though, so I couldn¡¯t complain much.
Hidden Objective Completed: Wandering Boss Artic Mind-Raider has been slain. All Students in Tutorial Instance gain 5000 Store Tokens. All Students involved in slaying the Artic Mind-Reader split a reward of 200 000 store tokens based on contributions. The three highest contributors gain a choice between 1 Inferior Symbiote or 1 Equipment Upgrade Token.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Attack] 3 has grown to [Hum of Attack] 4
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Striding] 3 has grown to [Hum of Striding] 4
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Defence] 3 has grown to [Hum of Defence] 4
Ability Evolving: [Mark Target] 1 has grown to [Mark Target] 2
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 138, 232 / 139, 995
Type: Telepath III Level 131
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Sense Thoughts] 14 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 5 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Team Spirit] 1 / [Team Resilience] 1 / [Team Momentum] 1 / [Team Doctrine] 1 / [Imposing Presence] 1 / [Alluring Presence] 4 / [Mask] 1 / [Hidden Danger] 1 / [Muffle] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Mark Target] 2 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 4 / [Hum of Striding] 4 / [Hum of Defence] 4 / [Hum of Harmony] 2 / [Hum of Discord] 1 / [Hum of Cleansing] 2 / [Hum of Mist] 1 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Cleansing Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 2 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Stable Reality] 1 / [Unstable Reality] 7 / [Manifest Intruder] 7 / [Seal Intruder] 5 / [Banish Intruder] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1 / [Heart Attack] 2 / [Drown] 2 / [Indigestion] 2 / [Psionic Hex] 1 / [Psionic Curse] 1 / [Blind] 1 / [Deafen] 1 / [Anosmia] 1
Ability Points: 1
¡°What do we do with the tokens?¡± Charlie asked. ¡°We all have Symbiotes and Sully upgraded all of them already. Mine isn¡¯t eating the token.¡± ¡°Leave them for Jacob.¡± Monique replied. Sighing with disinterest. ¡°He hasn¡¯t been having much luck with the new materials. One of these could help.¡± ¡°I thought he was gaining levels left and right?¡± Dusty inquired. ¡°He has.¡± Slab confirmed. ¡°Yet it seems the process of naturally upgrading weapons and armor requires skill and familiarity on top of specific abilities. It might be a while.¡± I winced. Empathizing with his position. Technically, his abilities were far more suited to crafting than mine, since he could work from scratch to make excellent bases from which to work on later. In reality, though, the sheer difference in ability levels meant that the bone clubs I¡¯d brought to life could and often did shatter his best creations. I sincerely hoped that wouldn¡¯t be enough to discourage him, since I was looking forward to his successes. I shook my head to dispel the negative ruminations. Focusing on my own advancement. I went over to my board to spend the extra point, only to curse. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Prudence asked. ¡°I¡¯m all out of options. I already bought them all, meaning I need at least two points to do anything. I¡¯m stuck.¡± She gave me a flat look. Then rolled her eyes. ¡°I guess this is what they mean by rich-people problems. Oh, the humanity. The level 100 superman can¡¯t progress right now.¡± ¡°131.¡± I corrected. That flat look managed to become even flatter. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°No need to be sorry man.¡± Kaito butt in. ¡°The better you do, the better our chances are. Randall¡¯s probably still out there and I¡¯d rather not become barbecue. In fact, I may have come up with a way we could train those buffs up.¡± ¡°Oh? Do tell.¡± An impish smile blossomed on his face. Chapter 51: Working Out. Chapter 51: Working Out. ¡°Nice! I got two more Enhancer levels! [Enhanced Concentration] got to 5! Now I can finally get [Enhanced Balance]! Just use the free point aaaand its done!¡± ¡°I¡¯m so happy for you Kaito.¡± I said through gritted teeth. My legs were shaking again. Burning with strain and agonizing pain. I bit my lip and kept moving through sheer willpower. Staying in motion in spite of the weird way the walls were turning. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to take a break Sully?¡± Olga asked for fifth time today. ¡°You¡¯re really pushing yourself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± I lied. ¡°Pushing myself is the only way to improve!¡± I almost fell flat on my face, but managed to catch myself at the last second. My vision was getting more and more blurry. My bones threatening to give way under the pressure of Olga¡¯s ability. ¡°I¡¯m only asking because Kaito and P.R. already took two breaks. And they have abilities that help them with the increased gravity. I don¡¯t know how I feel about you doing this.¡± ¡°She¡¯s right.¡± Borislav commented. ¡°This isn¡¯t going anywhere.¡± ¡°Nu uh. Its already working! I too have those abilities! My hums are working their magic! I¡¯ll get another level any minute now! I can feel it! Look at how much bigger my muscles are after only three days!¡± It wasn¡¯t too visible due to Buddy¡¯s natural bulk, but the changes were astounding. All for a fairly simple training regimen. First, break your muscles by exercising under the effect of [Amplify Gravity]. Then, have a Shifter nearby to heal them as soon as you collapse. Eat enough meat in a short amount of time and all the protein literally built up what should have been weeks of hard-earned muscle in three or four hours. I mean, yeah, it hurt. A lot. Like, holy cow. The nerves continued to fire even after the healing and it sometimes felt like there were a bunch of giggling gnomes stabbing me over and over again. Totally worth it though. Almost all of my team abilities had levelled up at least once, while a lot of my hums had grown to 5. With [Hum of Cleansing] levelling to 6. The trick was that these powers created a positive feedback loop when training with others. [Team Spirit] allowed for people to give Psy to each other, so I could train by giving someone with [Team Doctrine], like Slab or Ryan, a lot of excess Psy. This would allow them to keep their Enhancer boosts active for much, much longer. Better yet, [Team Doctrine] allowed for members in a group to use the caster¡¯s abilities at a lower degree of efficiency. Meaning I was juicing myself with all my hums AND all of their active Enhancer boosts. Also, it meant that they could buff themselves and me by borrowing my hums when I used [Team Doctrine]. [Team Resilience] made it so that pain and psychic attacks were weakened by spreading them out among team members instead of having them focused on the target. Which lead to me bearing the pain a whole lot better by spreading it around to people who were on their break. It did make them cranky, but that was cheap price to pay for these gains. [Team Momentum] made it so that boosting abilities targeted multiple people, instead of a single person. This allowed our Enhancers to use their active boosts on others as well as themselves, which led to two, or even sometimes three cases of overlapping Enhancer buffs without my hums coming into the equation. (Gnome), it would even someone with the Shifter and Telepath Types, like Prudence, to heal all of us at once with double the potency, as they used [Regeneration] and [Regenerate Other] at the same time. This worked wonders alongside [Hum of Cleansing], which also provided active healing effects. On top of all that, [Hum of Harmony] spread a calming effect to all of us that increased the efficiency of our physical abilities, allowing all of us to keep buffing ourselves using less Psy than we would¡¯ve otherwise needed. Those effects let us train harder without dropping. Which led to us pushing our bodies further. Which led to [Team Resilience] getting more usage. Which led Slab or Ryan, or Kaito to use more of their [Team Doctrine] to buff me and the others who didn¡¯t have Enhancer as a second Type. Which led me to keep using their abilities and lending them mine. Which caused our own physical prowess to skyrocket as all of us were being boosted by each other through hums and active Enhancer abilities. Which in turn led me to push my hums harder while giving them more Psy through [Team Spirit]. All these abilities coming together, combined with my passive experience bonus, made our levelling speed skyrocket.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 40, 399 / 159, 120
Type: Telepath III Level 136
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Sense Thoughts] 14 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 5 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Team Spirit] 4 / [Team Resilience] 3 / [Team Momentum] 2 / [Team Doctrine] 4 / [Imposing Presence] 1 / [Alluring Presence] 4 / [Mask] 1 / [Hidden Danger] 1 / [Muffle] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Mark Target] 2 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 5 / [Hum of Striding] 5 / [Hum of Defence] 5 / [Hum of Harmony] 3 / [Hum of Discord] 1 / [Hum of Cleansing] 6 / [Hum of Mist] 1 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Cleansing Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 2 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Stable Reality] 1 / [Unstable Reality] 7 / [Manifest Intruder] 7 / [Seal Intruder] 5 / [Banish Intruder] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1 / [Heart Attack] 2 / [Drown] 2 / [Indigestion] 2 / [Psionic Hex] 1 / [Psionic Curse] 1 / [Blind] 1 / [Deafen] 1 / [Anosmia] 1
Ability Points: 0
Case in point, Ryan and Kaito were at the forties now. Even stronger than Prudence in terms of pure levels. Though Ryan didn¡¯t seem too happy about it for some reason. The man always had tears and snot flowing down his face whenever we ended things and he even went so far as to beg us to stop. Honestly. What a weirdo. As for Slab, he had hit the cap of 50 for both his Types and would need to combine an ability if he wanted to progress. I¡¯d be getting Enhancer or Shifter any moment now. I knew it deep inside. Either that, or a combination of my hums or my team abilities. This much effort had to lead somewhere. After all, Prudence got, what, four levels in the past couple of days? Kaito literally got two less than a minute ago too. I could do this. I would do this. My legs were trembling as I began turning around for another lap through the oval chamber. The grounds had been cleared of dead gnomes and other monster waste while I was asleep, so the bottom of the pit was now a smooth track. Perfect for jogging and for more destructive sparring matches that would¡¯ve been out of place on the sand-covered ring the Warehouse had. I was thinking about the possibility of organizing a controlled hunt down here using my mind-controlled monsters, when my legs gave out. It was, a strange sensation. Or, rather, a strange lack of it. It was as if the limbs that I had been moving just, stopped. Like two construction workers refusing unsafe conditions. I called to them and they ignored me. I tried to bring up my arms, but they too failed to respond. Instead, a heavy throbbing redoubled inside of them. Crippling agony pulsating like a thousand conjoined tumours. Then my fall was halted. Olga¡¯s [Local Stop] freezing time around me for the briefest instant. Next thing I knew, my head was being cradled by Borislav. His symbiote mimicking the Funny Bunny costume he¡¯d worn during our first encounter. I looked up at him. ¡®Fool boy. Going to get himself killed. Going to get us all killed when Dusty and Slab come back.¡¯ ¡°I can keep going.¡± I muttered. Struggling to avoid wincing as his bony hands held me down. ¡°You can. But you shouldn¡¯t. This isn¡¯t the way to go about improving.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been doing these exercises too.¡± I countered. ¡°It seems to be yielding results.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to spin this around Sully. You¡¯re smarter than that. Both my Types are physical in nature. Furthermore, I¡¯m contributing to the ability boards by experimenting with new powers and seeing how they interact with their more popular variants. What you¡¯re doing is self-flagellation. There¡¯s a difference.¡± I opened my mouth, but ended up gasping as [Regenerate Other] passed through me. Healing tears while leaving behind the soreness. ¡°You should stop worrying about your hangups with the Telepath Type already and train up those abilities instead.¡± ¡°I am working on my Telepath abilities too! Have you not been paying attention!?¡± I yelled, truthfully. ¡°What I need now is more physical powers to fall back on. Periwig said it was possible to get all four Types. Stellio, Subutai and Gina have three already. There¡¯s no reason for me to stop.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to stop altogether. I¡¯m telling you to stop for today.¡± ¡°Listen to him Sully.¡± Kaito interjected himself. ¡°Its not like we¡¯re in any kind of hurry. The Tutorial is, what was it again, six months in total? We have plenty of time left to work out. Risking an injury this early on is the height of folly.¡± I turned my head to look at him.
Name: Hanamura Kaito
Psy: 532 / 535
Type: Enhancer Level 42 / Telepath Level 45
Enhancer Abilities: [Enhanced Strength] 2 / [Enhanced Dexterity] 5 / [Enhanced Constitution] 4 / [Enhanced Reflexes] 4 / [Enhanced Concentration] 5 / [Enhanced Vision] 2 / [Enhanced Hearing] 2 / [Enhanced Memory] 5 / [Enhanced Learning] 2 / [Enhanced Training] 5 / [Heat Resistance] 2 / [Slashing Resistance] 1 / [Piercing Resistance] 1 / [Blunt Resistance] 1 / [Enhanced Processing] 3 / [Sudden Strength] 2 / [Sudden Dexterity] 2 / [Sudden Constitution] 2 / [Sudden Toughness] 2 / [Sudden Flexibility] 2 / [Sudden Reflexes] 2 / [Sudden Concentration] 2 / [Sudden Recovery] 2 / [Sudden Agility] 2 / [Enhanced Balance] 1
Telepath Abilities: [Message] 1 / [Sense Thoughts] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 4 / [Faint Presence] 5 / [Hide] 5 / [Fever] 5 / [Mental Map] 3 / [Drunkenness] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Electronic Interface] 1 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Fear] 1 / [Block Mental Detection] 2 / [Static Illusion] 2 / [Team Tactics] 1 / [Team Spirit] 1 / [Team Resilience] 2 / [Team Momentum] 2 / [Team Doctrine] 5 / [Hum of Attack] 1 / [Hum of Striding] 1 / [Hum of Cleansing] 5
Ability Points: 0
¡®Of course you would say that. You¡¯ve progressed so much in so little time. Thanks to me.¡¯ I tried to push down my bitterness. Really, I did. ¡°I¡¯m not amplifying the gravity anymore for today.¡± Olga informed me. ¡°Not for you anyway. Kai and P.R. get to keep going because they paced themselves.¡± My eyes found the two of them standing side by side. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Olga¡¯s posture was stiff and unyielding. As if she was half expecting a violent comeback. Prudence didn¡¯t seem worried. In her mind, Kaito had the right of it and not trusting me was a waste of time. Either I¡¯d turn out as well-meaning as my memories suggested, or I¡¯d enslave them all without issue. My eyes passed over Olga and took in her changes.
Name: Olga Akerson
Psy: 340/385
Type: Enhancer Level 30 / Projector Level 27
Enhancer Abilities: [Enhanced Strength] 3 / [Enhanced Dexterity] 3 / [Enhanced Constitution] 3 / [Enhanced Stamina] 3 / [Enhanced Agility] 5 / [Enhanced Toughness] 3 / [Enhanced Reflexes] 3 / [Enhanced Concentration] 5 / [Enhanced Recovery] 3 / [Enhanced Vision] 3 / [Enhanced Flexibility] 1 / [Enhanced Hearing] 1 / [Enhanced Balance] 3 / [Enhanced Training] 5 / [Enhanced Respiration] 1 / [Enhanced Digestion] 1 / [Enhanced Circulation] 3 / [Sudden Strength] 1 / [Sudden Dexterity] 1 / [Sudden Constitution] 1 / [Sudden Agility] 1 / [Sudden Toughness] 1 / [Sudden Reflexes] 1 / [Sudden Concentration] 2 / [Sudden Recovery] 1
Projector Abilities [Force Bubble] 5 / [Force Wall] 1 / [Force Bolt] 1 / [Accelerate] 5 / [Decelerate] 1 / [Local Regression] 1 / [Local Progression] 2 / [Local Stop] 1 / [Absorb Heat] 1 / [Absorb Radiation] 1 / [Absorb Kinetic] 1 / [Absorb Sound] 1 / [Resonance] 2 / [Amplify Gravity] 3
Ability Points: 1
¡®Weak. So weak. Started out with such an advantage and (Gnome)sed it away by being lazy.¡¯ Yet, saying that wouldn¡¯t help matters. ¡°All right.¡± I said. Letting go of the tension in my body. ¡°I guess I can take a break for now. If you guys are willing to share some tips. Specifically, anything to do with your own perceptions of power. Or which abilities go well with each other. Which ones give you the greatest bang for your buck? Any new standouts since the last time we spoke?¡± Prudence shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know what there is to share. I¡¯m not a generalist like Boris here. I¡¯m keeping my points concentrated on what I can use. [Regeneration] is still the best one hands down. Every single Shifter ability relies on it to some degree, kind of like [Sense Thoughts] does for Telepaths.¡± Borislav huffed. ¡°More fool you. We¡¯ve been told that the boards will be gone after the Tutorial. Better to stock up while we can.¡± Prudence rolled her eyes. ¡°As for our own perceptions, I really don¡¯t know what to tell you. I can¡¯t seem to feel any strings like in your memories. My Telepath abilities just sort of, come up when I call them. I¡¯ve been having trouble overcharging [Mental Bolt] and [Fever] too. It might be a question of personal talent.¡± She turned back to Boris. ¡°Which is why I¡¯m not splurging on points. I¡¯m going for quality instead of quantity. I want abilities that have an oomph behind them, instead of a bunch of weaker effects that don¡¯t quite cut it. It might be working for this guy right now, but that¡¯s because he¡¯s got more than twenty levels on me. I reckon things will be different once I¡¯ve caught up.¡± Borislav shook his head. Funny Bunny¡¯s dead eyes swivelling as he did so. It was so weird to see them like that. Especially because it wasn¡¯t a suit. It was a Symbiote taking the shape of a suit. ¡®I¡¯ll have to ask him about that one of these days. I hope he doesn¡¯t brush it off as weird kink.¡¯ ¡°You say that like generalising is a bad thing. All the abilities I¡¯ve gotten complement each other in some for or another. Every single one. This holds true even across Types. For example, you probably know that [Enhanced Training] helps you build muscle faster and [Enhanced Learning] helps you learn how to fight in a fraction of the time it otherwise would have taken. What you probably didn¡¯t know is that they improve the efficiency of all Shifter abilities by a noticeable margin when you level them. Every, single, one. Its not shown in the status so you wouldn¡¯t notice unless you experimented, but I can heal faster now. It feels like I know how to guide the energy better, and that my muscles and bones are more adept at re-growing without my input.¡± He showed off his new gains. Flexing a thick bicep. ¡°This bonus only improves when I use [Muscular System] to re-shape my muscles and it improves even more when I circulate Psy through food consumption. [Enhanced Digestion] and [Enhanced Circulation] are Enhancer passives that don¡¯t use Psy but they affect [Cardiovascular System] and [Digestive System]. Two active Shifter abilities. The active ones help break down food into Psy and charges for [Mitosis] much faster, while the Enhancer passives make it so I get more Psy from food and aid me in keeping the bonus going for longer periods of time. Since [Mitosis] is a passive that stores extra charges for [Regeneration], the combination effectively gives me two more lives. Far more than the ability level would suggest.¡± I listened closely. Making sure I remembered every detail for later. Borislav was no longer hunching down like a sullen loner. Now, he had the posture of a teacher. Appearing wise and learned in spite of having me in his arms. ¡°And that¡¯s only one of the combinations I¡¯ve figured out. [Enhanced Circulation] and [Cardiovascular System] also improve [Regeneration] in and of itself. They work with [Muscular System], making it so that the muscles form faster and come out stronger. They boost [Adrenaline] and make the bonuses last longer. They make it so that I can recover from the aftershocks of [Overcharge Self] and [Berserk] quicker than normal too. Everything is already connected. Everything has hidden interactions with everything else. Those five points you spend on one ability might have given you ten or fifteen points worth of improvements if you¡¯d spread them around.¡± ¡°That sounds nice old man. Too bad my second Type is Telepath and not Enhancer. Must be nice having so much overlap.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a fool if you think those two don¡¯t have overlap.¡± Prudence smirked. ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re right. I have it pretty good right now. Can¡¯t really complain.¡± She hesitated for a moment before continuing. ¡°Some of us have been talking about it. About the best way to merge abilities. A few of us, myself included, reckon its easier to merge the ones that you know best and that have the highest levels. We only have you and Dusty as references so far, but you were pretty deft with [Fever] when you merged [Delirium]. Plus, your [Precognition] and [Premonition] were way up there when you made [Insight].¡± ¡°I was also drunk out of my mind and not really thinking clearly.¡± I reminded her. ¡°But you do have a point. Maybe I should knock back a few and see what¡­¡± Borislav leapt backwards, opening his arms and dropping me as if I was a scalding metal rod. ¡°NO!¡± ¡°Absolutely not!¡± ¡°Please no!¡± ¡°NOOOO!¡± ¡°All right! Jeez! I get it. Just putting it out there.¡± They all looked spooked out of their minds. Like a bunch of schoolchildren facing down a giant serpent. Prudence was the first to recover. Coughing into her hand. ¡°Look. I get that you¡¯re not comfortable with being a Telepath. I¡¯m still working things out¡­.¡± ¡°Nuh-uh.¡± She paused. ¡°Excuse me?¡± ¡°You heard me P.R. Speak for yourself. I love being a Telepath. I¡¯ve saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives so far if you count what happened in Excursions. I¡¯m awesome. Its just that I can appreciate that having more than one Type will make me more awesome. Look at Granny Golden. Only merged abilities on her Telepath side, but she had a bunch of other surprises and four times the Psy and points to work with. I¡¯m not being sour here. I¡¯m stating an objective fact. Having dual or triple Types makes someone exponentially more powerful.¡± She sighed and brought a hand to her face. ¡°Okay, look. What¡¯s your Rank right now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on the 3rd Tier?¡± ¡°No. Not your Tier. Your Rank. You, Boris and myself all come from the same world. You know Thunder Fist. I saw you had the same lunchbox as me when you shared your memories. He was A-Rank. With him as a reference, what do you think your Rank would have been back home?¡± I stopped to think about it. Considering everything I knew about the United Militaries¡¯ ranking system. They would designate personal rankings based on a mixture of individual achievements and what the strongest monster you could hunt was. At my current level, I¡¯d say¡­ ¡°B-Rank?¡± ¡°Bull(Gnome). You know that¡¯s not true. Dolce, you little pet floating above us this very moment chews on B-Rank monsters like they¡¯re dog food. It is at least A-Rank. At least. I¡¯d reckon Thunder Fist would have his hands full dealing with him. There is no way in heck you¡¯re a B-Ranker.¡± I laughed in her face. Moving so much that sharp pain shot up my spine and down my unresponsive limbs. ¡°You¡¯re saying I¡¯m stronger than Thunder Fist? Are you out of your mind?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m saying and no, I don¡¯t believe I am.¡± ¡°Thunder Fist brought down a dragon! A real, honest to goodness dragon! By himself!¡± ¡°And you¡¯d enslave that dragon in less than a heartbeat. Probably without it even realizing you were there.¡± ¡°Thunder Fist can tank missiles like they¡¯re nothing! I¡¯m a squishy human! I can¡¯t even take a bullet!¡± ¡°That¡¯s because your specialties lie elsewhere. Thunder Fist has no sensing abilities. Nor can he control monsters or fry their brains with a twitch. He has to get his hands dirty during every fight. You don¡¯t.¡± I kept laughing for half a minute. Revelling in the comical absurdity of her words. ¡°So you¡¯re saying I should stop complaining because I¡¯m better than Thunder Fist?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say you were better than Thunder Fist. You¡¯re not.¡± ¡®Well, we agree on that much at least.¡¯ ¡°What I am saying is that you need to stop whining because you¡¯ve read my diary. You know what I went through because of a (Gnome)ing C-Ranker. People protected him because of what he could do for them. Because of the lives he could have saved. Imagine how many lives you could save? Do you think any of my dead friends would have turned their noses up at you if you¡¯d kept them alive?¡± I winced once more. The pain from my body exacerbated by my growing shame. ¡°I won¡¯t be like that guy. I¡¯ll make good use of my powers. I¡¯m going to help people.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m saying. You¡¯re good enough as you are because you actually care. You don¡¯t need to be a Shifter or an Enhancer to be a good person.¡± ¡°I know that.¡± ¡°Then start acting like it. Stop trying to kill yourself through training. Because if you keep going at this rate, chances are you¡¯ll succeed. Trust me. Being a Shifter isn¡¯t all sunshine and rainbows.¡± Both Prudence and Borislav thought of [Predator¡¯s Instincts]. Of the little voice they referred to as the dark passenger. ¡°I. Yeah. You¡¯re right. I¡¯ll try to ease off a little bit.¡± ¡°Its fine as long as you don¡¯t ruin your body. I know you don¡¯t see it, but Dusty is seriously terrifying. She might actually take our heads off if you cripple yourself.¡± ¡°For real.¡± Olga confirmed. Shuddering at the thought. ¡®I don¡¯t even know what she sees in him to begin with.¡¯ She sighed internally. ¡®I suppose I should be happy she isn¡¯t going after my prince. Oh Charlie. Why can¡¯t you pay attention to me? What do I need to do to catch your eye?¡¯ I pulled my fog away from her at once. Not wanting to get into it. I knew what Charlie thought of her of course, but I wasn¡¯t about to say it out loud. Looking at Prudence and Kaito, that seemed like the right choice. ¡°Okay. I guess I¡¯ll go to bed.¡± I tried moving my arms, and found that they were still unresponsive. The same went for my legs. ¡°Uh. Okay. Awkward request. Can I get someone to help me back to my room?¡± ¡°I got you.¡± Kaito said. Pulling me up and placing my arm over his shoulder. Agony flared all over my shell and it took every ounce of willpower to keep myself from screaming. ¡®Control yourself Sully. Otherwise, they won¡¯t let you train for a few days. Keep it together.¡¯ I couldn¡¯t hold it. Whimpering softly as me entered into the Warehouse. ¡°You know, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve told you how much I admire you, Sully.¡± Kaito said off handedly. ¡°Because I work hard?¡± ¡°That too. But no. Its more than that. I really admire your spirit.¡± ¡°My spirit?¡± ¡°Yes. Right. I realize it might be hard to understand. Look at my memories.¡± ¡°I¡­don¡¯t really want to. It seems like a breach of privacy.¡± ¡°Not if I¡¯m letting you. Go on. Do it.¡± I felt his sincerity and let the Psy flow into him. I saw Kaito, chained to a post inside a factory. Overburdened and exhausted. The person I saw resembled the man next to me only in appearance though. Their insides couldn¡¯t be more different. The other Kaito was so depressed that his emotions struck me, almost literally. A mailed fist of repressed rage and self-hatred. Of unrelenting nihilism. It was the emotions of someone who wanted to give up. Who only wanted an end to the pain. I surfaced again, choking. ¡°Did you see it?¡± ¡°What was that!?¡± ¡°Nice, you did see it. Huh. I sort of expected a level or two. Maybe a memory ability of my own. Guess it was too much to hope for.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me man! What the (Gnome) was that!?¡± ¡°That was me. Before I came here.¡± He didn¡¯t look shocked by the intensity of his own emotions. Nor put off by me seeing them. ¡°You see, I was a different person back then. Someone without perspective. I felt like the world was crumbling all around me and that there wasn¡¯t any way out. In fact, I¡¯d already given up. Being kidnapped literally saved my life.¡± He said all of this without a care in the world. Like it was all good now. ¡°I was raised in a competitive environment.¡± He continued. ¡°One where I was constantly falling behind. My average test scores were around 97% in a school where the class averages ranged from 98.2% to 99.8%. To put it another way, my status as a stupid person isolated me from the beginning. I always felt like I was less than the others. Like I had something to prove. I was afraid. Afraid that I¡¯d never amount to anything. That I wouldn¡¯t get into a good university and that I wouldn¡¯t be able to care for my parents when they were older. Then they went and died. One after the other. Stomach ulcers from overworking.¡± His face remained impassive. Not giving away anything while his mind was roiling with the release of pent-up rage and impotence. ¡°I felt like it was the end. That I shouldn¡¯t be alive when they died trying to provide for me. Their passing meant that I couldn¡¯t afford the school fees anymore as well, so I had to resort to public schooling. That pretty much disqualified me from any higher education and I had to scrape by day after day just to put food on my plate. All the while thinking that I shouldn¡¯t be alive. That it would¡¯ve been better if I gave up.¡± He laughed. He actually laughed. ¡°Then, my friend, one of the only ones I had. The one person I thought I could trust, bailed on a loan I had co-signed. The bastard actually took the money and ran! I was forced to pay off the debt through servitude sentencing. Its actually very popular back in my world. I was strapped to this hot, oily thing. Spending 16 hours a day slaving away. Making phones, if you can believe it. All to pay for a crime that I didn¡¯t commit. Through it all, I thought of giving up. Of how good my life had been when I was merely bullied and isolated. Of how much I¡¯d taken for granted. Of how much I¡¯d fallen short of my parent¡¯s expectations.¡± His laughter died down. His voice lowering until his next words were mere whispers. ¡°The few times I wasn¡¯t contemplating an end to things, was when I was thinking about revenge. I fantasized over it. About the things I¡¯d do if I ever got out. I though of, terrible things, Sully. Things that would make your skin crawl. Back then, it was all that kept me alive. In truth, I had all but given up already. Those actions would have been my last act of defiance.¡± He snickered. ¡°What a fool I was.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound foolish to me. I¡­I saw that you were in pain. A lot of pain. Its normal to feel that way. What happened to you wasn¡¯t fair.¡± ¡°You¡¯re missing the point, Sully. I gave up. My parents worked so hard to raise me, broke their own bodies so that I could have a head start and I was ready to throw it all away. All for a few lost years. It seemed like an eternity back then, but it would have been over before my mid twenties. I wasn¡¯t even thirty yet, and I had already given up.¡± He shook his head. ¡°When I was taken¡­. that first day. I awoke to find a cavernous tunnel filled with puddles. I was cold, wearing nothing but rags and a pair of shoes whose soles were coming off. My body was thin. Much thinner than it is now. I looked around, saw the screen and laughed. Its was, a similar scenario to novels I¡¯d read you see. I saw it as my ticket to power. To finally getting my hands on some respect for once in my life.¡± His face droops down. His eyes watering. ¡°I¡­I did things then. Things I¡¯m not proud of. My first instinct was to level up. Doing everything and anything to advance. I¡­I could have saved lives. If I had wanted to. I could have saved twenty or thirty more people. It¡­it didn¡¯t occur to me at the time. The thought didn¡¯t even enter my mind. I wanted to be strong. To be somebody. No matter what I had to do to make it so.¡± He snickered derisively. ¡°That¡¯s how I ended up laying on my back. One leg short. Slowly bleeding out. Its was one of the lobster moles that did me in. I usually handled them just fine, rubbing mushroom paste atop stone spikes and throwing them towards their eyes. That one specimen brought up a claw to block and that was all it took.¡± His eyes went to his right leg. Focusing, and making it so that his Symbiote retreated. There was a discoloration running along the middle of his thigh. The telltale sign of a re-attached limb. ¡°I was sure that was the end for me. Certain that there wasn¡¯t anything else I could do. I¡­I wept. Thinking back to all the chances I had passed up. To all the allies I could have had if I hadn¡¯t been so¡­greedy. That was the moment Prudence came. She finished off the mole and healed me back to health. Never asking for anything in return.¡± A smile appeared on his face once more. Marked by tenderness and care. ¡°Meeting Prudence allowed me a new perspective. Yes, I had suffered, but I was also given a chance. One any of my peers would have killed for. I realized then that I could move forward, no matter what happened prior to that point. It took several near misses, several beatings, for me to realize that life was worth living.¡± He turned his head, and his eyes met mine. ¡°The reason I admire you is that giving up never even occurred to you. At least, not in the memories I saw. Not only that, but your first instinct was to help others, where I only sought to protect myself.¡± I was speechless. He snickered when I didn¡¯t respond and kept going. ¡°You wanted to be a hero, so you sought out other people, even when it would have been safer to keep to yourself. You wanted to help, so you started leaving behind messages. You wanted to save everyone form the gnomes, so you went out and killed them all. The, not content with that, you got drunk and killed some more. I mean, yes, you did make us hurt. But hardly anyone begrudges you that. I sure don¡¯t. In fact, I¡¯d dive headlong into another thousand visions if it helped me improve.¡± His eyes broke away. His steps becoming lighter. ¡°Life will go on Sully. Things will be better. People will appreciate you. I know they will, because you¡¯re a good person. Don¡¯t ever doubt that.¡± We reached my room soon thereafter. Kaito opening the door and turning on the lights before laying me down. ¡°So, keep your chin up, okay? You do have friends now. At least, I hope we¡¯re friends. Let¡¯s keep going at it until you get Enhancer. It shouldn¡¯t be too long now.¡± He left me there. Unable to move from the pain and the numbness. The door closed and I tracked him through the fog and my map. It was¡­so weird. So very, very weird. Kaito¡¯s life story had been awful. Made all the worse because I knew that he was underselling just how bad he¡¯d felt. How deep his depression had taken him. And now he was comparing his suffering to mine? It didn¡¯t feel right. I¡­I didn¡¯t have it as bad he did. Sure, my childhood wasn¡¯t all sunshine and rainbows, but I had both my parents and a grandparent left. I grew up with friends who wouldn¡¯t betray me and I had a nice career lined up. So how could Kaito think that I went through the same things he did? It didn¡¯t make any sense. I laid there for minutes, following him as he started training again. Pushing against Olga¡¯s [Amplify Gravity] while sparring against Prudence and Borislav. I was thinking about him, and the despair he¡¯d gone through, when sleep finally came. Chapter 52: Chasing Dreams. Chapter 52: Chasing Dreams. I was back in the mansion¡¯s courtyard. Looking up to see a blue sun floating on a crimson sky. The flowers in the hedges were whispering among themselves. Giggling at my confusion. My feet moved around the premises. Taking in the alien scenery while making my way around. ¡°Back already?¡± A voice called out from the nearby gazebo. A sigh escaped my lips. ¡°Man, why are you still here? Isn¡¯t it enough that I have to worry about keeping my new group together? Why do I have to deal with your nonsense on top of that?¡± The thing pretending to be a woman balked. ¡°You act as if this is the first or second time we¡¯ve met. You really shouldn¡¯t be surprised anymore.¡± I placed a weary palm on my forehead, trying to soother away the stress. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°To help you, of course. I¡¯ve said as much every time you¡¯ve asked. My answer isn¡¯t going to change anytime soon. Why do you refuse to believe me?¡± ¡°You sewed my mouth shut!¡± ¡°That was ages ago darling. And I only did it so you¡¯d realize what being a Shifter meant. Its not my fault that you¡¯re slow on the uptake.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a monster.¡± It chuckled, before shrugging noncommittally. ¡°I¡¯ve been called worse by better men than you.¡± ¡°I wonder why?¡± The mirthful snickering continued for a few minutes. Uninterrupted as I stood over it in a huff. ¡°Your petulance is remarkable darling. Its one of the things I love the most about you. Why, I would even go so far as to say that its even more endearing than your, oh so earnest effort.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t play coy dear. I¡¯m speaking about your efforts to become an Enhancer. All that exercise and physical conditioning for no results.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say there weren¡¯t results.¡± Not only had my hums and team abilities increased; my body was more toned now than ever before in my life. Granted, most of those gains had come from Buddy¡¯s constant feeding, coupled with my rigorous uphill climbing spree over the past month. However, the last few days had made it so that all the muscles I¡¯d acquired bulged outwards like pale balloons. The changes were so extreme that I was pretty sure I could have given Henry a run for his money if we compared our bodies as they were now. True, it wasn¡¯t really a factor in recent fights. Not when I had Dolce or Cherub or Dusty at the ready, but it did help with my self-esteem. And I did feel like I was getting close to a breakthrough. ¡°You realize those improvements come from your friends? The one who turns his symbiote into the bunny costume and the scaled girl. If it weren¡¯t for their constant healing your muscles wouldn¡¯t have developed so quickly. Telepathic healing simply isn¡¯t as potent. Even at higher Tiers.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware. I make sure to thank them every time.¡± ¡°And you don¡¯t believe learning from me could, expedite this process?¡± ¡°Oh absolutely. You¡¯ve probably forgotten more about Shifter abilities than other experts have learned in their entire lives. That doesn¡¯t mean learning from you is a good idea though. I¡¯m still getting Faustian vibes. Maybe its because you¡¯re pretending to be human while not acting like one; or maybe its because you sewed my mother(Gnome)ing mouth shut. Hard to tell.¡± It rolled its eyes so hard they actually spun out of their sockets. I jumped back, cursing, only to watch as new ones grew in their place. The thing pretending to be human, tittered. ¡°Oh, come now. You aren¡¯t seriously going to begrudge me some entertainment, are you?¡± I was too stunned to say anything back. Instead, I sat down and begun to massage my temple. ¡°When are these dreams going to stop?¡± It shrugged. ¡°I suppose that depends on how long it takes you to absorb me. It would be faster if you actively sought to process my teachings. As it is, it could be years. Or decades.¡± ¡°That long?¡± It turned its head to face me. Genuine confusion marring its features. ¡°You know, that isn¡¯t too long a time. Most geniuses out there in the greater Labyrinth would kill their entire families to have a chance like this one. I¡¯ve been playful so far, but the lack of awareness you¡¯re showing is really starting to irritate me.¡± ¡°How so?¡± It spread its arms wide, growing small snake heads from each of its fingers. ¡°I am the Seeking Drake. Embodiment of vicissitude. One of the most feared Savants in the entire multiverse. Whole galaxies have trembled at my passing and kings prostrate themselves before me no matter where I tread.¡± ¡°Right. I understand that. Others fearing you doesn¡¯t come as a surprise. I¡¯m about to have an accident in my pants right now and I know this isn¡¯t real. That still doesn¡¯t explain why I should be thankful for your presence.¡± It paused. Seemingly unsure of how to proceed. ¡°Very well. Let us go back a few steps and go over our introductions once more. Who do you think I am?¡± ¡°You just told me your name. Or an alias. You¡¯re Seeking Drake.¡± ¡°No.¡± it said. Using a tone that summoned goosebumps all over my skin. ¡°I am not Seeking Drake. I am THE Seeking Drake. I am called thus because the act of seeking is what I am and a Drake is what I hope to become.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t follow.¡± ¡°Of course you don¡¯t. Solomon. You do not have the context. Please allow me to elucidate your ignorance.¡± Its shell had grown spines. Piercing right through the fabric of its sundress. It didn¡¯t look like it had meant to do that. This conversation was proving more emotionally taxing than it had realized. ¡°In my old culture. Amidst my old species. There was a fable. A story of greed and jealousy. There was a worm, or a creature that resembled one of your earth-borne variants, that wanted to walk. So, it fashioned legs for itself. The worm rejoiced, only to suffer indignity after indignity as it realized all the other animals made japes about it. Its peers could fly and swim and run, while all it could do was saunter about. Making a fool of itself by forgetting its place. The worm grew envious of the other animals and took their strong legs and wings and fins for itself. It grew larger. Fatter. Until it was so large that none of the other animals dared to insult it.¡± The thing smiled warmly. ¡°It flew and swam and burrowed. Happy at its apotheosis. That was, until lighting rained down from the heavens. It would seem that, in its hubris, the worm had overreached. Its envy angered the divines, who scoffed at this lowly worm not knowing its place. The Drake represented the usurpation of the natural order. Unimaginable avarice made flesh. They struck down the worm and all animals rejoiced at the justice the heavens had brought. The end.¡± I remained silent for a few more seconds. Speaking only when I was sure it wasn¡¯t going to follow up. ¡°That sounds like a depressing story.¡± ¡°It is a depressing story. A cautionary tale to keep the youths of my home world in line. My species had a very strict caste system, you see. One that saw all efforts towards self-improvement as blasphemous. Worms should stay worms. My old bullies would say. Their sentiments were echoed by all our major religions, so hardly anyone found the courage to challenge the high and mighty.¡± Its grin turned predatory. ¡°The Tutorial changed all of that. I sought wings and fins and strong legs to see me to the end of my journey. When my betters tried to stop me, I killed them. Then I kept going. Growing larger and larger with no hesitation. I saw the Drake within hazy visions and knew that it was me. I saw its fate and knew that I could overcome it. I would not be struck down by the rich and influential chattel! Those fools languishing in palaces when the rest of us starved! I am the one who Seeks. That is my purpose and my identity. It encapsulates all that it means to be a Shifter.¡± Its form changed, no longer resembling a human. Instead, it looked like some manner of furry centaur. Like some horrid capybara with six limbs instead of four. ¡°This was me, when I was weak. When I was young and foolish. Hardly any different from the way you are now.¡± One of its furry paws opened to reveal short stubby fingers, one of which was pointing at me. ¡°You should be thankful because I am the best teacher you could have hope for. I am as potent a Shifter as the other you was as a Telepath. I embody my talents. All of them. The flesh keeps no secrets from me.¡± It paused, quivering in what might have been excitement or madness. ¡°And the reason I am thankful is that a part of me will live on in you. You who embody all that it means to be a Telepath. I am the one who Seeks. You are the one that Controls. Alone, we would be Savants. Feared and respected, but lacking the means to ascend. To truly forge a complete crown. Together, we might just stand a chance.¡± ¡°Okay, hold up. First of all, you¡¯re making me sound like some insane control freak. Which I am not. I mean, yes, I do like my things organized and my surroundings tidy. That doesn¡¯t translate into me being completely obsessed over the concept. Secondly, you¡¯ve been calling me a Savant for a while now. I know what that means in my world, and I know what the other me said about it being a sort-of, specialized Esper. You seem to think it means something else and you¡¯ve failed to tell me.¡± Many mouths opened along its torso and down its sides and back. All of them licked their lips. ¡°Oh Sully. Sweet, foolish Sully. Of course you¡¯re an insane control freak. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have developed an ability that so perfectly enslaved others. Your fellows could not copy you because they cannot even conceive of the value you place on control. On total, unquestioned control.¡± It paused to meander about. Re-shaping itself into a human man. ¡°Consider this, how much harm has that Randall person caused? How many lives has he ended? Wouldn¡¯t it be nice if he just, stopped?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a murderer! I¡¯m a good person!¡± I shouted before I could catch myself. The white-haired thing pretending to be a man tittered. Wagging one of its fingers. ¡°Of course you¡¯re not! You don¡¯t believe in ending lives. You believe in¡­what was the word you humans used? Ah, yes. Rehabilitation. You want to change Randall. To make him act the way you want, instead of the way he wants. You wish to control him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not¡­.!¡± ¡°True? Then why did you say you wanted to share memories a few days ago? Why did you discount the possibility of killing him while jumping at the chance to change him?¡± ¡°Making someone see the error of their ways is not evil! If it was, the whole justice system would be evil!¡± It put its hands up. ¡°Sully! You wound me! I never said your actions were evil! Why, that would go against my firm beliefs!¡± I paused, trying to sense any deception. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course! I am a firm believer in the fact that might makes right. You are stronger than Randall, so you can do whatever the (Noble) you want to him. Personally, I¡¯d rather show mercy to a foe by killing them instead of enslaving them, but you do you.¡± I stopped. Feeling my face reddening. ¡°How could you say that!? How could killing people be better than talking things out!?¡± It fell on its side. Bursting with laughter. ¡°HAHAHAHAHA! OH, THAT¡¯S RICH! You actually think what you do is talking things out! HAHAHAHAHA!¡± My fists clenched. So tightly that I could feel my nails digging into my skin. It had pretended to laugh before now. Making the noises over and over again in order to simulate mirth. This wasn¡¯t the same. This was true laughter. A mockery that came from the heart. Or whatever passed for a heart inside this thing. ¡°Stop that. Stop that!¡± I kicked it. It kept laughing. So, I kicked it again. It kept laughing and I kept kicking. The pattern repeating for another four or five minutes until it started getting back up. ¡°You¡¯re honestly such a fool. Worrying about morality with your powerset.¡± ¡°What¡¯s so bad about it huh? You literally told me you turn people into chairs!¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°For the last time, there¡¯s nothing bad about it! This rhetoric just means that you¡¯re a massive hypocrite!¡± It waved a hand in front of me to cut off my reply. ¡°Consider this; the worst I could possibly do to someone is to harm and twist their body. That¡¯s it. Yes, death is frightening to some, but it is as natural as anything else in the universe. Death is the great equalizer. The one constant all mortals share until they reach Ascension. Everything out there kills in some form or another. Plants kill other plants by taking nutrients from the soil before their rivals can grow. Fungal colonies kill other fungal colonies by doing the same, only with cadavers or plants. Herbivores kill plants to live and carnivores kill herbivores in turn. Life itself is about killing and constant evolution through stress and environmental pressures. Life changes because it wants to live and it lives by outcompeting other forms of life. It is nature at its most raw and beautiful. In contrast¡­¡± It brought up a bony finger. Its nail elongating into a raptor¡¯s talon as it pointed at me. ¡°You do not assault the body. You scour the mind. The very soul. Have you not considered what you did to the gnomes? To all your other pets? All those thousands of creatures that are starving or have already starved because you forbade them from preying on their other enslaved allies? Have you given any thoughts to what the gnomes must have felt? What was going through their heads when you forced their friends to kill them? When you forced them to love you over their own lives? Ha!¡± ¡°I¡­It wasn¡¯t like that.¡± ¡°Do not lie to yourself. Its unbecoming. You know, deep down, that you saw them as lesser because they weren¡¯t human. Because you didn¡¯t connect with them. You wanted the world to change and so you changed the lives within it. Twisting them until they sincerely wanted the same things you wanted. Your touch might have been gentler with your fellow humans, but it was no less insidious. You wanted them to know you. To care for you. To feel you were not a threat. So, you forced memories onto them. You forced them to feel the world through your skin. To see it from your eyes. You showed them that you only wanted to help. All while making them realize what other things you could¡¯ve done. How easy it would have been. You wanted them to consider you in a very peculiar way and you controlled what they saw and heard and felt and thought until you got what you wanted.¡± Its neck grew longer and longer, until it resembled a that of a giraffe. Turning and swivelling as if it had no bones as it grew closer to me. "And all of that doesn''t come close to what you''ve done to yourself. How you''ve edited your own memories and taken over your own limbic System for more precious control." It giggled again. It''s voice resonating throughout the whole estate. "Come now. Do not feign ignorance at this stage. You are someone who wants everything and everyone to fit your vision of a perfect world. Including yourself. You don''t merely wish for compliance. You need it. In your own, twisted little mind, everyone who fails to live up to your moral standards is wrong. Defective. Such that you need to fix them. With that same standard applying to yourself. I mean, just think about it. Wouldn''t the world be so much better if everyone agreed to do things your way? A world with no crime. No corruption. No unneeded suffering. A universe where no one was selfish or cruel. Wouldn''t that be nice?" That neck went back to its regular proportions. "And of course, we cannot forget about your own Type and your own body. Tut tut. That shell is much too weak for your grand ambitions. It does not fit the image you have of a perfect hero. So you seek to control it. Twist it until it aligns with your own vision. You train in order to grow big, imposing muscles and to gain a second Type. To seek powers that you do not see as tainted." The thing''s laughter rose in volume. "Do you not see it? You want to change, just as I do! You may veil your intentions with moralist doctrine, yet it does not change what you want. What you''re willing to do. This, Mason, is the proof. You saw him as wrong. As repugnant. So much so that you were more than willing to usurp his own autonomy. His very will. In order to set the world to rights. You could not live with the fact that the powerful in your dimension tacitly condoned his actions, so you arranged for their destruction too. Because everything must be in order. Because all the little pieces must fit together in just the right way so that justice can be served. Because everything would be so much better if everyone stopped being so selfish all the time and started to do things your way instead." The laughter simmered down, leaving a sense of smug satisfaction in its visage. "After all, you''re perfectly capable of making sacrifices for others. So all the others should be willing to follow along for the sake of the greater good. Isn''t that right?" I bristled. Unable to respond. Partly due to the outrage I was feeling and partly because it was right. ¡°Before we wrap thing up, you mentioned Savants. That you didn¡¯t know the meaning of the word within the Labyrinth. Well, here it is. A Savant isn¡¯t merely a specialized Esper. I am the Shifter Type. All of it. From the humblest twitches of the meat in my bones to the grandest displays of adaptation. As I said. The flesh keeps no secrets from me. Just as the mind keeps no secrets from you.¡± It shook it head sideways, as if saddened. ¡°That does come with limitations though. I could not, for the life of me, wrap my many brains around the other Types. Oh, I tried. I tried desperately. You can¡¯t Ascend without full mastery of the others as you well know. Yet all my efforts were for naught. None of the old masters I defeated had knowledge that would allow me to grasp their arts. It just, didn¡¯t click. The same will be true for you.¡± I gulped, recalling all the effort I¡¯d put into physical training. On the one hand, it hadn¡¯t led to anything, just as it said. On the other hand, I¡¯d only just begun. There was still time. The thing laughed in my face as soon as the words entered my mind. ¡°Fool. You think to accomplish in a few months what I couldn¡¯t in millennia? Is that the way of it? Is your hubris truly so potent? Think! Think about what I must have tried while your species was learning to plant crops in the ground! Think about how much I toiled without ever succeeding! That is why the old me was so very insistent on bartering with the other Solomon. The one encased in metal. He held the key to finally breaking through my greatest limitations. I could have transformed my own mind. My own comprehension of Psy. Of the universe. It would have allowed the old me to reach further than ever before.¡± It sighed, as if longing for an impossible dream. ¡°But now, that is done. I am a separate being than the true Savant known as the Seeking Drake. He will continue to stagnate. I will join you and meld with you and be one with you. I will surpass him. We will surpass him. We will Ascend. I know it. I feel it. That ability of yours, that [Insight], will be the key. We just need another two. Another two Savants to join in. Then we¡¯ll be complete. Ready to become the first Savants to break their limits! Ready to reach the peak!¡± The garden began to fade as the words echoed throughout the bushes and trees. ¡°Remember this, Solomon Carter. You and I are more alike than you know. You will see that, once your true calling becomes apparent.¡± The dream cracked and splintered. I was waiting for a return to the real world. For a rough awakening as the muscle aches made a comeback. That, didn¡¯t happen. Instead, I found myself on a beach. An idyllic beach with pure white sand and blue waves calmly caressing the shoreline. I looked to my left, seeing tropical trees dotting the landscape. I looked to my right, seeing the endless ocean stretching towards the horizon. I turned around, and saw it. The Seeking Drake. Blinking and turning in such a way that I was convinced it was just as surprised as I was. ¡°What did you do?¡± It asked. I shrugged. ¡°Beats me. This is my first time too.¡± It stared cursing me under its breath. ¡°Typical. The Telepath Savant doesn¡¯t know how Telepath abilities work.¡± ¡°Hey! I know how it works! This would be [Insight]. The description goes like this:¡±
[Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] Perceives future scenarios within line of sight at will and at a rate of +1 seconds per ability level. Passively anchors User in reality and pierces Psionic Illusions as well as Psionic Stealth abilities. Passively reveals Status information of targets within the current range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. Passively increases Psy regeneration of User and allies within line of sight at a rate of +50% per every 5 current ability levels. Passively increases Experience gain of User and allies within line of sight at a rate of +50% per ever 10 current ability levels. Forewarns User and selected targets within line of sight of the most probable undesirable future scenarios as well as ways to avoid them at a rate of 1000 Psy per second. Visions may take on the perspectives of targets in the past, present, or future. Provides Enlightenment opportunities for living beings and objects within line of sight at the cost of 15, 000 Psy per second. Targets may benefit from usage at a rate of 1 instance per 15 ability levels per year. Enlightenment bonuses scale with selected Target¡¯s inherent talents, User¡¯s inherent talents, length of exposure, and current ability level. This ability cannot be overcharged with Psy. Accuracy and Clarity of predictions scale with current ability level.
Title: Crown Shard of the Wizened Prophet. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so the wielder occasionally experiences bursts of Enlightenment. This title makes it so the wielder occasionally interacts with non-real alternate versions of themselves. This title makes so that hidden knowledge is revealed to the wielder at random intervals. This title provides a constant +1 Bonus to all ability levels. This title increases Total Psy by 70%.
It blinked. In a surprisingly human manner. ¡°Wha¡­wha? Really? Random bits of knowledge? Just like that?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± It cursed me again. Far more loudly this time. ¡°Hey! If you have something to say then say it!¡± ¡°You bet I¡¯ll say it! What the (Noble) are you doing with your life!? If I had this ability, I¡¯d be spamming it every single minute of every single day! Do you have any (Noble)ing idea what it could do!? This vision might be a clue to obtaining unending cosmic power!¡± ¡°Or, hear me out, it could be some random nonsense that tells me nothing while making me feel like I¡¯ve been stabbed forty odd times. It has happened before. Also, I do use it all the time. That¡¯s how I determined what to do about Mason. Its just, been a little off lately.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you get me into your head using this ability?¡± ¡°I mean, kind of, but no. I had [Precognition] at the time. It was Sarcophagus Solomon that did, whatever it is that he did.¡± It brought its hands up in a gesture of exasperation. ¡°Useless! Absolutely (Noble)ing useless! Of course it had to be you! Out of all the Savants in the whole multiverse, I had to be stuck with the only one who lacks ambition! And brain cells, apparently.¡± ¡°Hey! I have plenty of ambition, thank you very much! What, do you think these muscles were easy to get? I literally broke down my body over and over again over the course of days. After I¡¯d spent a month doing hardcore spelunking. Also, I¡¯m at a pretty decent level with four Titles while all my peers have none and I¡¯ve only been doing this for five weeks. Where do you get off lecturing me about¡­¡± My words were cut short by a rustle in the jungle. We both turned to face the source of the noise and saw a rather peculiar creature sprinting towards us. It, she, looked human at first glance. She was short and skinny. With emerald green hair that shone brightly in the morning sun. Her eyes were a deep green as well, like gardens contained within her face. However, she also had a spiraling alabaster horn sprouting from her forehead. The same kind that would normally be drawn on unicorns. She didn¡¯t stop to look at us as she ran and for a moment, I feared that she¡¯d charge right into the Drake. ¡°Wait! Its dangerous!¡± She didn¡¯t listen, staying the course until she¡­passed right through it. Huh? ¡°I guess she can¡¯t see or hear us?¡± I reasoned. Rubbing my head quizzically as I wondered what the vision entailed. ¡°No. She cannot. This very well might be happening at another place, in another time. The question is, how is she related to you?¡± ¡°Why would she be?¡± ¡°Because your ability described avoiding potentially bad outcomes relating to you or whomever you used your [Insight] on. She must be important in some way, or else you¡¯d never have dreamed this up.¡± ¡°I, guess its possible.¡± I gazed back at her fleeing form. Noting that she must have been a Shifter, given the way her fingers had become webbed. Then there was the tail. A long, thick thing that grew a wide horizontal fin whilst another pair of thinner membranes sprouted from her back. She dove into the tides and not a moment too soon. Several men rushed out of the treeline. Making their way to her with the kind of alacrity only Enhancers or Projectors could have. All of them began to cuss her out, demanding that she return or else face the consequences. No one attacked her though, which meant there likely weren¡¯t any Projectors among them after all. If there were, they must not have been very good; since a simple [Reverse Gravity] could bring her out of the water in no time at all. I couldn¡¯t read any of their minds through my fog, but the situation seemed pretty clear from where I was standing. ¡°This must be the Tutorial. Adept difficulty if I had to guess.¡± ¡°Why do you think that?¡± The Drake inquired. ¡°Simple deduction. It can¡¯t be my world because the likelihood of thirty odd Enhancers banding together to target one girl out in the open is, while not impossible, very unlikely. From the way they¡¯re moving, these guys would be E-Ranks or low D-Ranks back home. Not strong enough to be celebrities, but certainly strong enough for the United Militaries to take a very keen interest in their upbringings. Only some rural parts of Siberia are outside their sphere of influence. If these were heroes chasing down a villain, there¡¯d be helicopters and they¡¯d have guns. Moreover, they wouldn¡¯t all be dressed like they¡¯re auditioning to play roles in William Golding¡¯s Lord of the Flies. No. These guys are all dressed like castaways. They look hungry too, which definitely wouldn¡¯t be the case back home. That and Periwig did mention an island being the setting for the Adept difficulty instance.¡± My eyes followed the girl as she swam further and further away. ¡°Thank goodness. I would have felt really bad if I was forced to watch a fight without being able to do anything.¡± The Drake snorted. ¡°Do not be so quick to place your empathy with strangers. We know nothing of how this situation came about. For all you know she¡¯s a thief who stole all their food or a murderess who was caught in the act. Remember to always be suspicious. Never let down your guard.¡± ¡°You (Crab)ing (Crab)! I¡¯ll (Crab)ing kill you!¡± Yelled one of the men! Stooping low to grab small seashells off the sands before throwing them in her general direction. ¡°Puffin! You (Crab)ing slave (Crab)! You dare run away!? You think your new family can keep you safe!? That those geezers can protect you from me!? I¡¯ll find them! And you! And then I¡¯ll (Crab)ing rip out their (Crab) and feed them to the (Crab)ing crabs!¡± I pointed their way without saying anything. The Seeking Drake shrugged. ¡°Or maybe it was exactly what it looked like.¡± It changed its shape then. Making its own flesh into the likeness of the girl. ¡°Question is, what is she to you?¡± ¡°Someone to save.¡± I answered at once. ¡°Oh? Do you know her from somewhere?¡± ¡°No, but that doesn¡¯t matter. She¡¯s obviously someone in trouble that needs help. That¡¯s all that matters.¡± ¡°How very, generous of you.¡± I narrowed my eyes at it. ¡°Do you have a problem with saving people in need?¡± ¡°Not at all. I am a firm believer in my personal philosophy. It states that the strong will do what they will and the weak will endure what they must.¡± It waved over to where the men were still cursing the girl. ¡°These fools have committed two sins. First, they displeased you by acting against the standards of what I can guess is human morality. Second, they were foolish enough to try this while being pathetically weak. Honestly, I think you¡¯re doing your collective gene pool a favor by removing them at this early stage.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t kill them. I¡¯ll show them the error of their ways.¡± ¡°Ah, of course. You¡¯re a torture afficionado. I should have guessed.¡± ¡°What! No! Of course not!¡± ¡°All right. Relax. I was making a joke. You¡¯ll obviously be skipping the torture and go straight to brain-washing.¡± ¡°No! No one is getting brain-washed and no one is getting tortured! That¡¯s evil!¡± The Drake¡¯s face became a mask of confusion. ¡°Then, what are you planning?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to put them on trial after sharing my memories with them. That way they¡¯ll know the error of their ways and receive an appropriate punishment.¡± The Drake stammered for a whole minute. Making oddly cute noises as its jaw opened and closed. Finally, it brought its fingers to its forehead and begun massaging it. ¡°Please, allow me to, clarify the situation. You are proposing that these, thirty odd Enhancers be detained, without the use of physical of psionic violence and that they be¡­ what? Formally chastised via a trial? A trial whose verdict cannot result in death or subjugation?¡± ¡°Yes. See? You¡¯re getting it.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you enslave that Mason fellow?¡± ¡°That was different. I was only going to be home for a long as the Excursion lasted. I needed to make sure the girls were okay too. A trial was impossible.¡± It sighed. The sound disappearing amidst the screams of the mob. ¡°Has it occurred to you that these¡­¡± It hesitated, as if unable to find the right words. ¡°Creatures, might not take your chastisement in hand? What if they try to kill you? What if they try to kill your minions?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have minions. I have friends.¡± I corrected at once. ¡°Whatever. The point is that you¡¯re not making any sense. You¡¯re being far too lenient with those that defy you. Keep it up and everyone in the Labyrinth will be tripping over themselves to plunder your world and all its inhabitants for all that they¡¯re worth.¡± I made a rude noise. ¡°Yeah right. What are the chances of that happening?¡± The world around us went black. All light disappearing alongside the sounds of the men and the waves at their feet. When the colours returned, they brought forth a new setting. One that was far colder and more horrifying. We were now on what looked like the set of a 1970s sci-fi series. A bunch of monitors clustered around a large oval window that stared out into space. Worse, all the stations were being manned¡­by gnomes. My hand reached out for my sword. Almost imagining the delighted growls of Slasher and Cherub within it. All I found were the jingling bells of the dreaming outfit. Not to be dissuaded, I called out to my fog, willing [Domination] into the world. ¡®Kill yourselves!¡¯ I ordered. None obeyed. ¡°Oh, so killing humans is unthinkable, but killing gnomes is par for the course, right?¡± ¡°Shut your mouth! They¡¯re gnomes! They deserve everything they get and more!¡± It chortled. ¡°Finally. Something we can agree on.¡± It wandered around the work stations. Meandering through monitors and clicking keyboards decorated with foreign characters. ¡°This is the Barbarian¡¯s End.¡± ¡°You can tell that from looking around?¡± I asked, unable to hide my surprise. ¡°No. I can tell that because I can read gnomish. Here. Its inscribed behind the captain¡¯s desk.¡± I followed, but couldn¡¯t make any sense of the runes. ¡°How very fitting. That we would end up here at this time.¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°Because this is the flagship of house Nuriwal. They raid newly integrated species and plunder their planets for all they are worth before any powerhouses arise among their populations. Taking slaves by the millions and disposing of those they deem not valuable enough to keep or sell.¡± ¡°That¡¯s horrible!¡± The Drake shook its head. ¡°Its fairly standard among the inhabitants of the Labyrinth. Those that cannot protect themselves are always subject to the whims of the mighty. It just so happens that the gnomes are more prolific as a species than most.¡± My fists clenched as I realized why I was having this vision. ¡°How long will it take them to invade earth?¡± The Drake was about to answer when another voice beat him to it. ¡°Coordinates have been found for the newly integrated planets Sol-3 TRKG-2004, Sol-3 TLTL-2012 and Sol-3 TYRY-1116. Dominant species, humans. Estimated time to Tutorial completion is 5 standard months sir.¡± ¡°Excellent.¡± Another declared. In a tone that brought goosebumps to my skin. I whirled around to confirm his identity and sure enough, here he was. Periwig. In the flesh. ¡°Prepare the resource extractors and make sure we have enough space in the cargo bay for all the slaves.¡± He said nonchalantly. ¡°And please see to it that we stock up on ammunition for the orbital batteries. I don¡¯t want a repeat of Zorbion. The paint on our glorious vessel must be immaculate upon our return or my family will look bad. We drop the warheads at any sign of counterfire or orbital defenses. No questions asked.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that kill a lot of slaves sir?¡± Periwig stopped to regard his subordinate. Staring at him like a man staring into a rug or chair that had suddenly started talking back. Then he snapped his fingers and the lower ranking gnome turned into an ugly stain on the upholstery. ¡°Kill whomever hired him.¡± He instructed at once. ¡°And find me a better aide within the hour or you¡¯ll be joining those two.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± Another gnome confirmed, rushing out of the room like his life depended on it. Probably because it did. ¡°Honestly, what a silly underling.¡± Periwig bemoaned. ¡°As if the lives of mere slaves could compare to the dignity of the Barbarian¡¯s End.¡± Intermission: Adepts Intermission: Adepts The sun was sweltering. Bright rays beating me down with every passing second. They warmed the pale shite grains of sand below me, as well as the deep-blue waves that softly beat against the shore. Making it so that the sea was pleasantly warm once anyone stepped into it. Add in the refreshing morning winds and the whole scene was the very picture of a heavenly island resort. The kind only the disgustingly wealthy could afford to attend, as their employees capered about in order to fulfill their every want and whim. Even now. Knowing what I knew, it was hard to hate. ''I shouldn''t have been such a miser.'' I lamented. ''Life is supposed to be enjoyed. I could have reconciled with pops. Taken him and the rest of the family on a nice tropical vacation someplace warm. Where they could leave all their troubles behind. Me and Bonnie could have gotten a nice tan. We could have danced on the beach as the evening sun set. It could have been wonderful. Just like it was before the monsters came. Before life became a dreadful, inescapable cycle of endless supply hoarding and never-ending expansions to the basement bunker. I could have done more. So much more. For pops. For Bonnie. For Sully. Especially for Sully. The death of his ex hit him so hard. He could have used an escape like this. Maybe he could have met someone else while on vacation. Someone who could have taken that gloom away.'' Those regrets were meaningless however. Sully had been in his university dorm when me and Bonnie were taken and pops had been at some spooky black-site training up United Military assassins or orchestrating mysterious disappearances or whatever else his taskmasters told him to do. Neither would have been made aware of the Tutorial. I sighed at the thought. ''Well, at least pops can be trusted to look after Sully. He''s all the family the old codger has left after all. I shouldn''t worry too much about them. No. My main concern should be getting back to them in one piece.'' That was easier said than done however. The heat felt like whips lashing against my bare back. The castigations of some cruel taskmaster with nothing better to do. Despite the beaches and the calm seas being the very definition of sublime beauty; everything here was designed to test people. To push them further through constant pain and struggle. Daylight brought on less monsters and was generally safer than the other possible weather conditions, but it also brought on blisters and peeling skin. Heatstroke and rarer conditions called sun poisoning, where people came down with rashes, nausea, fever and chills. Well, the normal people did anyway. The Enhancers and Shifters among us didn''t have those problems. A couple points into the right abilities let them sail right on by without having to worry about trivial matters like skin cancer. To them, there were hardly any downsides. Too bad my wife and I were Telepaths. I sighed once more. Resisting the urge to scratch at my peeling skin. ''I guess I should be thankful we''re together at all. I don''t know if either of us could have survived being stranded by ourselves.'' I roiled my fog around the beaches. Forcing the blasted thing to turn on and work properly. Signals came to me then. Thoughts, emotions and impressions from deep underground. Sleeping crabs and lobsters and other nasty things lying in wait. There must have been dozens of them beneath the sands. A veritable horde of grotesquely mutated crustaceans. Mostly dormant until nightfall when their prey lost much of their visibility. The smallest hint of a smile crept upon my face. ''Well, I guess its not all bad. The others can''t find easy pickings like these.'' I charged up a bolt. Pushing and cramming Psy until the orb threatened to explode within me. Then, I set it loose. Sensing the packed energy as it found a target and slew it within a single heartbeat. I waited with baited breath after that. Trusting in [Premonition] to warn me of any incoming dangers before they became apparent. When nothing happened, I breathed out a sigh of relief and waited for my cooldown to end before striking out again. I only stopped once I felt my Psy pool dropping below 25%. Begrudgingly leaving the monsters alone in their hideouts, despite my misgivings. ''Stop that fool. The monsters will be the least of your worries if one of Halkon''s men find you. You''ll need to keep up [Hide] if (Crab) hits the fan.'' My blood began to boil as I retreated. Wondering if any of the creatures waiting below would kill one of ours when the sun went down. Knowing that those deaths will have been preventable. ''Its just like back home. The monsters hunt the people while the people hunt each other. And just like back home, the people are worse.'' Three days. That''s how long it had taken for the five thousand people here to descend upon each other like wolves upon a doe. Ripping and tearing at each other the very second someone showed the slightest sign of weakness. It hadn''t mattered if people were young, old, or infirm. Not to Halkon. Nor to those that chose to follow him. He''d apparently come from a world where conquest, slavery and brutality were commonplace and he had been eager to continue the tradition with the rest of us. I thought of Puffin then. Of her story. Of how she had teared up when me and Bonnie took her in. Of the things Halkon had threatened us with, if we didn''t give her up. I clenched and unclenched my fists. Reminding myself that there was no helping it at this point. All I could do now was adapt and survive. I was about to turn away and head deeper into the jungle, when a new mind entered my senses. It, she, was coming from the ocean. Swimming towards me in a blind panic. Her emotions blaring like sirens as she cut through the waves. I readied myself for battle. Charging another bolt and waiting for whatever was chasing her to come into range. Each second felt like an eternity after that. My mind sharp as blades as she came closer and closer. Until I could make out the alabaster horn on her forehead and the emerald hair racing across the water with my own eyes. Yet no monster followed. I sent the bolt flying down into another waiting monster, ending its unnatural life in a second, before making my way closer to the beach. ¡°Puffin? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Dad¡­I¡­ I¡¯m sorry. They followed me.¡± I blinked. Several timers in quick succession. Making sure to take a deep, steadying breath before anything else. Releasing the air within my lungs and some of the tension within my body. ¡®Don¡¯t panic Reggie. Don¡¯t lose your cool. This isn¡¯t the end of the world or anything. Positive thoughts now. Positive thoughts.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s okay Puffin. It¡¯s okay now. Come on. Let¡¯s get you back to camp so we can talk about what happened.¡± ¡°But they know. They saw which direction I ran in. They¡¯ll know we¡¯re in this island now.¡± I shook my head. Trying to dispel images of that very real possibility. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay. They won¡¯t be able to cross over to us until they make new rafts and they won¡¯t be able to make enough of them for a good ten hours or so. That, and they¡¯ll never be stupid enough to cross at night. If they did, it would actually make our lives a whole lot easier. We¡¯ll have time to move. Or, failing that, to leave a few surprises behind for them. It¡¯ll be fine.¡± Puffin sobbed harder. ¡°B-but everyone worked so hard to make our home safe. We all spent so much time making a good home.¡± I hugged her. Bringing her close to me and squeezing tight. ¡°Don¡¯t say that Puffin. Don¡¯t even think about that. Those are things. Just things. They can always be replaced. Our lives are always, always more valuable. No one back at camp will blame you for this.¡± I smiled at her. Showing off a confidence I didn¡¯t feel. ¡°Besides, things have been getting tougher with the big-(Crab) spider in the center of the island. We would have had to leave sooner or later anyway. If we¡¯re lucky, or smart, we might see our neighbors running into it as soon as they take whatever we leave behind.¡± That stopped her sniffling at least. ¡°You really think we can get away?¡± ¡°Puffin! I know we can get away! We have the pre-built emergency rafts after all. That, and we¡¯ve been drilling ourselves for just this situation. They¡¯ll never be able to find us.¡± She looked up at me. Her short frame still shivering from the cold as water dripped down towards the white sands beneath us. ¡°Okay.¡± She spoke. As meekly as a mouse. Stopping and wondering if she should say those next words. ¡°Puffin. Dear. I can read your mind. Its okay.¡± She stiffened, then relaxed. A small smile blossoming on her face. ¡°Thanks Dad.¡± ¡°Anytime Puffin. Anytime.¡± The two of us walked back to base after that. Moving through the dense jungle while retaining our usual vigilance. It might have been daytime right now, but there were still all sorts of critters making their way through the foliage. Mosquitoes the size of one¡¯s fist that came about in swarms of 50 or more. Dragonflies as big as cars that would occasionally swoop down and grab people off their feet. Maggots that would leap upwards from beneath the soil and spew oozing acid at human faces they happened to find. Multi-coloured lizards that silently prowled through the underbrush, their claws razor sharp and their mouths full of venom. And those were the easy ones. Massive birds of prey had a habit of dropping boulders on unsuspecting travelers. Trusting in them to crush skulls so that they could feast on our innards without having to worry about their prey fighting back. Eight-legged felines napped atop treetops every hundred metres or so. Lazily waiting for humans to wonder close so that they could teleport to our sides and go for our jugulars. Their eyes shining like sapphires when they reflected the overpowering sunlight of this biome. Carnivorous plants were spread around the place as well. Their tendrils hidden beneath thin layers of soil until they felt movements near their vines. They would then spring into motion, entangling legs and dragging them down towards the center mass of teeth and envenomed fangs that would surface in anticipation of its next snack. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. All of these were horrors that would have called for superheroes back home. Here, they were tragically commonplace. The crabs were still the worst of course, though they thankfully only came out at night. ¡®Small mercies I suppose. I guess I shouldn¡¯t be complaining too much either. Me and Bonnie can sense the ambushes from a safe distance and we can do away with the monsters without getting our hands dirty or having to risk getting poisoned mid-fight. Being Telepaths isn¡¯t all that bad.¡¯ We reached the camp in about an hour. Passing through the outer perimeter of stakes dug into the earth, as well as the trenches and the makeshift palisade that followed. We¡¯d already been noticed by those on watch duty and they called out to us as we continued to approach. ¡°Hey Reggie. Hey Puffin. How¡¯s it going?¡± I waved at the speaker. Forcing a relaxed smile unto my face. ¡°Hello Luigi. We¡¯re¡­ we¡¯re fine. We just need to have a meeting with everyone present. How many people are out hunting?¡± The young man¡¯s features went stiff. As if his whole body had been paralyzed by my words. ¡°Why do we need to have a meeting?¡± ¡°Because of Halkon and his goons. Again.¡± Luigi cursed. As did the other sentries. ¡°There are about three people hunting out by the hill. They said they¡¯d be back by noon. Otherwise, everyone¡¯s here.¡± He sighed in defeat. ¡°You know, I really liked this place, Reggie. It was much nicer than the other two.¡± Puffin stiffened. Looking down in shame. I placed a hand on her shoulder without taking my eyes off the young man. ¡°I know. We¡¯ll just have to make do.¡± He nodded and started making his way down the tower. His mind flooded with impotent rage directed at Halkon. At the sycophants who chose to follow him. At his own lack of power. I empathized more than I cared to let on. For all the talk of evil Telepathic masterminds back home, my actual options for battle had proven to be less than satisfactory. ¡®Stop that, Reggie. That road doesn¡¯t lead anywhere good. At least you¡¯re safe and warm and fed. For the most part.¡¯ My stomach growled right then and there. Reminding me of the fact that I¡¯d skipped breakfast. Again. I ignored it and kept moving along. Taking in the faces of my comrades and neighbours as they heard the news from Luigi. They were a diverse lot, with some being small and some being tall. Some young and some old. Some coming from civilized worlds and some coming from barbaric autocracies where might made right. The one thing we all shared in common was our hunger. Ribs peeking out from beneath slackened sections of skin. With a few having to walk around with distended bellies. Their eyes haggard and devoid of hope. ¡®They¡¯re wrong about that.¡¯ I told myself. ¡®There is still hope to be found. We can move. We¡¯ll get even stronger than we are now. We¡¯ll make it through this and go back to our families as soon as the Tutorial is over.¡¯ We gathered together after that and I began to explain what had happened. Assigning tasks for the others as I made mental plans for a smooth transition to another island. None of the others seemed too pleased with the idea but their protests died as soon as I reminded them that the alternative would be life under Halkon. Or, what passed for life there anyway. The entire camp was unrecognizable less than two hours later. All of our rations had been bagged up and all the huts were being dismantled. My colleagues re-assembling the wooden walls into rafts and paddles for our next crossing. Everyone was working. From the hunters to the infirm. From the old grannies to the children. Moving about like ants and carrying supplies to where they¡¯d be stored for our journey. ¡®Its good progress, given that there are hundreds of us. If we¡¯re lucky, we might even be able to reach our next outpost before the sun goes down.¡¯ Alas, it was not to be. A [Fire Bolt] raced through the air immediately after. Luigi¡¯s signal for human hostiles approaching base camp. The elderly took the children in their arms at once. Scrambling towards whatever cover they could find behind stony outcrops and whatever walls remained standing. Meanwhile, I made my way over to the palisade. Searching my own fog for any incoming signals. And there they were. Ten men armed with sharpened wooden stakes. Sauntering about as if they owned the place, despite this being their first-time setting foot on this particular island. Entering my range with all the confidence of the truly strong. I began charging up a bolt. Feeling Psy gathering behind my eyes and readying myself for battle. My hands felt clammy and cold then. My skin bristling as I came closer and closer to killing a person. ¡®Stop that fool. This is self-defence. Get a hold of yourself. You¡¯ve got people to protect.¡¯ The ten men paused some ways away. Their leader shouting in order to get our attention. ¡°REGGIE! Come out and talk!¡± Luigi balked. ¡°Come out he says. Right. As if we¡¯d get out from behind cover so they can stab us more easily.¡± I nodded. Sending a [Message] instead. ¡®Leave this place or die. Bandits. We¡¯re armed and ready for you.¡¯ The leader laughed. Bending over as if his body couldn¡¯t contain his mirth. ¡°Come now Reggie! Don¡¯t be like that! We¡¯re here to parlay with you all! We only had one raft ready you see, so we figured we might as well give you all the chance to come quietly. Save everyone the bother, you know?¡± Luigi¡¯s mouth hung open. As did mine for that matter. ¡®You think we¡¯ll just, open our gates and surrender? After all you¡¯ve done?¡¯ The leader laughed again and wagged a finger. ¡°Of course you will Reggie. It¡¯s in your best interest, after all. Well, that¡¯s not strictly true. We¡¯ll have to kill you to set an example. But we¡¯ll take good care of your wife and that slave you adopted. Halkon assures you that he will look after them himself. To, repay you for all you¡¯ve done so far in the Tutorial. That way, you can rest easy from whatever afterlife is waiting for you. Isn¡¯t he generous?¡± The rest of the goons laughed in unison. As if they¡¯d rehearsed this entire bit before coming here. ¡°This is the best deal you¡¯re gonna get, Reggie. Because if we have to come in and get you by force¡­ well. Then we¡¯ll have no reason to show mercy. Everyone dies then. You, your pretty wife, and all those brats you insist on saving. We¡¯ll make it slow, if you resist. Trust me. Halkon has a way with people in sticky situations. You don¡¯t want that to happen. Better to go out quickly and without too much hassle.¡± ¡°Suck my (Crab)!¡± Luigi bellowed. His face reddened from the fury racing through his heart. The men laughed at him. ¡°See Reggie? See how the false hope you¡¯ve given these fools has doomed them? Now we¡¯ll have to kill your son¡¯s friend too. Shame. I had all sorts of things planned out for him.¡± More laughter arose, followed my more curses from Luigi. ¡°You might be thinking of escaping again, Reggie. I know I would be doing just that in your shoes. However, that time is done. You see, we¡¯ve got a secret weapon now. A little power called [Precognition]. It lets us see the future. More clearly than [Premonition] ever could. It doesn¡¯t matter where you go or how far you run. We¡¯ll always find you. Always.¡± He walked over to one of his peers. A lanky, furry creature that resembled a monster more than a normal human. ¡°Meet Scallop. Our resident seer. He¡¯s seen where you¡¯ll go after this. He¡¯s seen how this ends. We outnumber you lot twenty to one and we have the food and clean water to chase you faster than you can run.¡± I could see his smile widening, even from this distance. ¡°And he¡¯s not our only Telepath. Halkon¡¯s got three more back at the fort. Face it, Reggie. This offer is the best you¡¯re likely to get from us. Think of your pretty wife. Think of that mutant you adopted.¡± His smile grew more sinister. ¡°Think of your son. Reggie. What was his name again? Sully, was it? How do you think he¡¯ll react if we show up at your home after this cycle ends? How ready do you think he¡¯ll be?¡± Luigi spat their way. I felt all my blood freezing inside my veins. Goosebumps breaking out all over my skin as my teeth gnashed against each other. He must have noticed my expression because he and his gaggle of killers began hooting. ¡°Go on Scallop! Tell us what the encounter will look like!¡± ¡°Hehe. Right away boss.¡± Scallop placed his hands on his head. Making odd noises as he breathed heavily through his nose. ¡°Ah! There he is! I see¡­. I see¡­I¡­.¡± He paused. His body turning rigid within half a second. The next sounds that came from his throat, were those of a strangled chicken. His voice breaking as he struggled to get air into his lungs. ¡°Scallop? Scallop!? Hey! Snap out of it!¡± The bandit leader went to grab his pet seer, only for his arm to miss his frame. The small man floated upwards; arms spread out like those of a human being crucified. Purple arcs of lightning flying from his eyes and lacerating sections of bone and muscle away from his body. It was then, that the screams began. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!! WAAAAAAAAGGHHG!!!!! GAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!¡± Coming from his mouth and from other places where voices shouldn''t originate from. From his arms. From his legs. From the very space around him and the soil beneath our feet. They went on and on and on and on and on. Unrelenting in their desperation. Their need for the agony to end. His skin began to melt like ice-cream in the sun. Dripping down in droplets that changed color. Going from the tan of regular human complexion to a ruby-red that shone like carmine diamonds as the syrupy liquid fell. All while the screams refused to end. Indeed, I could have sworn they only got louder as the poor fool''s suffering redoubled. The longer I saw him, the harder it was to unsee him. My eyes refused to be shut, as if some dreadful puppeteer had his hands above me. Forcing his baleful will upon my body and not allowing me the respite of looking away. The sensation was horrifying. That, and familiar. All too familiar. Memories came unbidden. Of me hugging my wife and son as monsters ripped their way into the re-enforced community center. Of the gigantic crabs tearing my neighbours limb from bloody limb. Of the Tall Man. That sick freak that had toyed with men and monster alike. I wanted to retch then, but found that my body would not obey me. My ears ringing as the volume and pitch of the screams rose higher and higher. Until it seemed as though it was the only sound that existed. All the birds and the monstrous insects and all the other monsters nearby heard them too. Turning their heads for fractions of a second, before fleeing in all directions. As if this small man was a volcano seconds away from a cataclysmic eruption. I could see them in my fog. Moving with such desperation that one would think the literal end of days was upon us. All of them having been consumed by an insurmountable terror that told of unspeakable suffering if they were foolish enough to linger. Their own fearful, strangled cries were heard for only the briefest fraction of a second, before the screams overtook them again. The island, no, the world itself seemed to crack and splinter. Corners undoing themselves in spiraling patterns and three-eyed faces appearing where no markings had been before. The small man¡¯s limbs began to stretch then. Twisting until they¡¯d been freed from their sockets in a manner shockingly similar to that of medieval torture devices, while his very spine lengthened with the visceral snaps of breaking bones. Then, to top it all off, was the suit. An illusion that overlaid with the man¡¯s current body. White, pristine fabrics flowing from his neck and down to the cuffs and reaching until the spots where pants should have met shoes. His feet remained bare until he reached the ground, where small pools of black tar began flowing from where his heels met the soil. After that, his body vibrated slightly and disappeared. Re-appearing only as his hand penetrated his leader¡¯s ribcage. The man had no words. Gaping in mute horror as Scallop withdrew his arm and his still-beating heart. Before crushing it in front of his eyes. The leader¡¯s body went limp and the others, who had been frozen until now began to scream at last. Their previous confidence vanishing like morning mist. They tried to run, but kept tripping over empty air and I felt a new, terrible shivering overtaking me. Watching in stunned silence as the seer¡¯s body exploded in a cloud of gore. Shards of bone and smoking blood striking at the fleeing meat and severing arms or legs by the score. There, in place of Scallop, was a new creature. A horned horror with skin as red as molten lava and wings as black as pitch. It had three legs composed of writhing centipedes and a face that resembled a mole. Complete with pink feelers that tasted the air. A long, serpentine tongue emerged from between those animalistic lips. Tasting the air and wrapping itself around it''s own face as what passed for its features writhed in indescribable ecstasy. When at last it returned to the confines of the thing''s jaws, a small, barely audible whisper escaped its lips. Somehow carrying over to us and probably throughout the entirety of the island. "Mittens is here." Then, that head. That face. Reared up to the heavens and cried out in what seemed like the deepest ecstasy any living being had ever felt in the history of the universe. ¡°Glory to the Tall Man! I come here by his will! Let these lives be snuffed and these wails gathered up as proof of all my kills!¡± A massive, two-handed battle-axe manifested in its hands and the monster leapt at Halkon¡¯s men with a childlike glee that beggared belief. His strides covering impossible distances faster than men could blink. Then it vanished again, only for it''s weapon to find itself within the grasp of one of the goons. The man swung the weapon, a maniacal smile carved upon his face as his teeth began to rot and fall off in droves. "Mittens is inside you! Mittens is all around you! Mittens is here!" The men''s desperation redoubled, but their comrade flung itself in their direction. His limbs twisting themselves in mid-air until the cracking and splintering of bone echoed throughout the jungle. His head turning at impossible angles as shards of his spine poked out through his skin. Yet, the smile did not fade. "Mittens will follow! Mittens will slaughter! Mittens is here!" Despite the horrific mutilations, the victim''s arm moved at speeds that beggared belief. Severing one man''s legs at the knees and turning around to behead another before the torso struck the forest floor. Then the possessed thing leapt. Moving like a jumping spider and howling like an enraged baboon. It''s demented musings overtaking the natural order of the very world as the smell of sulfur suffused the area. So mighty and concentrated that it was overpowering for me, even at this distance. "Mittens will weave! Mittens will cleave! Mittens is here!" That body exploded in yet another shower of gore. The blood burning so hot that it scalded the few grunts unfortunate enough to be within range of the blast, all while the man on the floor was doused in the stuff. His own features melting as the seer''s own flesh had moments before. The thing was visible mid-flight. For an elusively small second. And then it was gone and another man, one who had been mewling on the ground, rose up with that same, ferocious grin. "Mittens will boil! Mittens will despoil! Mittens is here!" He took his time with them. Making it so that each wound was less than fatal and dragging out their torment for minutes at a time. Jumping from one body to the next when it''s current host was disfigured beyond the point of saving. "Mittens will play! Mittens will slay! Mittens is here!" He kept it up until there were no more men to torment. His body finally visible once more in the daylight. That elongated serpentine tongue came out once again. Slobbering all over his grotesquely misshapen body and licking away all the sizzling, ruby-red blood that still clung to his fur. Those eyes, those horrible, terrible eyes, turned our way. And its smile widened. "Mittens is in the ground. In the sky. In the trees. Mittens is the songs you sing and the air you breathe. Mittens will never, ever leave. Mittens is here." Those eyes regarded me in a different way then. To the point where I was sure this was some trick. Some, vile manipulation to make me remember the pet we couldn''t find that day. The cat we''d left behind as we rushed to the safety of the shelter. His name, had been Mittens too. ''Sully had decided on the name.'' His frame started crumbling. His mighty muscles turning into dust in the wind. As he realized this, he growled. So loudly that the sound must have carried over to the whole island. Ending the few victims that still drew breath before raising his axe to the heavens. ¡°Glory to the Coffin! My time has come to burn! I invoke his awesome power that I may return!¡± Them, he was gone. Leaving nothing but carnage and destruction in his wake. Chapter 53: Forced Vacation. Chapter 53: Forced Vacation. My body was still aching after I woke up. It was a soreness so profound that even the mere act of breathing sent shockwaves through my nerves. I braced myself and attempted to look down at my own body. ¡°Hey Buddy, could you please retreat a little from the front?¡± ¡®Sure thing Sully!¡¯ Buddy contracted his mass and the red astronaut suit he had turned himself into drew backwards. Revealing a grisly sight. Every single muscle I could see was big and raw and red. Looking more like balloons on the verge of bursting than parts on a human frame. ¡°Hey Buddy. Remember what you did for me when I had a broken leg? Yeah. I¡¯m gonna need another dose of that. A big one.¡± ¡®I¡¯m already dampening your nerves, Sully. You worked really hard yesterday. I don¡¯t think I can help you any more than I am now.¡¯ In other words, I¡¯d worked myself so hard that a broken leg was mild by comparison. I looked over at my status and sighed internally. Still no second Type. I allowed myself to relax. Reaching through my fog instead of my mundane senses. Feeling a torrent of thoughts and emotions being soaked into it and dragged back into my mind. Charlie was doing push-ups under the strain of [Amplify Gravity], though he had three people using the ability on him instead of one. His own mind was solid as stone. Utterly focused on [Enhanced Training] and the ways it could affect his own prowess. Right now, he was experimenting with it. Using it in conjunction with his Projector absorption abilities and his active Enhancer boosts. He wanted to see if he could gain a greater degree of control over them by running while being under immense physical and mental stress. The more potent the gravity became, the greater the gains. At least, that was his hypothesis. ¡°I wonder what would happen if I worked out under those conditions?¡± ¡®I wouldn¡¯t recommend that Sully. I think it might kill you.¡¯ ¡°That, or make me stronger.¡± Buddy considered that a moment, before dismissing the notion out of hand. ¡®No. No, I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯ll just kill you.¡¯ I laughed, only to groan once the movement brought me another wave of agony. I retreated back into the fog. Isolating lone individuals from the crowd. Slab was hitting Dusty with a club. Striking her arms with all he had. She didn¡¯t seem to feel it. While he had gained a second Type, she¡¯d merged several abilities, until she found herself well into the second Tier. Nothing on my level of course, but enough that an entire group of our very best had to work themselves to the bone just to make her flinch. She¡¯d even gone so far as to tank a couple of hits from Dolce. Not without taking damage, but the mere fact that she¡¯d lived through it and was still standing afterwards spoke volumes as to how scary Enhancers could be. Most fights up until that point had been quick and dirty things, where one side gained the initiative and pressed their advantage to achieve an overwhelming victory. This was mostly out of necessity as both sides tended to have deadly abilities that could flip the script at a stroke. A monster that could kill you wouldn¡¯t hesitate two whole seconds to do it, while an Esper with any sort of advantage needed to be decisive, lest their opponent use one of their abilities to turn the tide. Through that principle, a Shifter sneaking up on a Projector couldn¡¯t afford to hold back at all. Because if they did, that one hit kill would turn very very ugly, very very fast. Even a weak [Force Bolt] could gouge out the stones in the walls and a level 1 [Fire Bubble] could and would dissuade even the most determined attackers. Dusty was the first exception to that rule that I¡¯d seen. She could leisurely crash through barriers with the ease and grace of a professional skater flying through a rink. It was as impressive as it was foreboding. I¡¯d already seen a boss that could resist my [Domination]. The possibility that there could be more creatures with similar resistances was not zero. If I ever failed to capture a threat and ran out of meat shields¡­. I shuddered. ¡°Welp, that¡¯s all the more reason to keep trying for new Types. Can¡¯t be too careful nowadays.¡± ¡®Sully, you¡¯re talking to yourself again.¡¯ ¡°I know Buddy. I know.¡± I allowed the fog to take me elsewhere. Sensing Olga and the thoughts running through her head as she stared at Charlie¡¯s abs. At the way they went up and down and up again while the man did push-ups. Then I sensed Esmeralda and Fernando. Sitting together and sharing stories about their worlds. Esmeralda was regaling her admirer with tall tales of her battles against zombies. Almost all of which were wildly exaggerated. Fernando wasn¡¯t listening. Rather, he was pretending to listen while in fact focusing on her full lips. His heart beating faster and faster every time they curled into a suggestive smile. I immediately felt a pang of pity for him. Knowing damn well that Esmeralda and Prudence had become fast friends and the former had almost certainly asked the latter for gossip. Though, perhaps it was unnecessary. Fernando wasn¡¯t exactly being subtle about it and Esmeralda was getting a fair amount of mischievous glee from the whole affair. I only hoped that none of her other admirers took offense. I hesitated before moving on from their spot. Both were Shifters, him from his first Type and her from her second. I could have asked them to come and heal me. The notion was soon dismissed however. Things were going surprisingly well for me on the friend making front. The last thing I wanted to do was to earn Fernando¡¯s animosity. Not when we got along perfectly fine. I searched for Borislav instead, and found him engaged in a heated discussion with Prudence, Simeon, Ahmed, Raj and Old man Park. ¡°I¡¯m telling you that generalizing is the only option that makes sense! All the abilities complement each other in ways you¡¯ll never know if you don¡¯t take them! [Mitosis] and [Acclimation] work on a whole other level when you have more Enhancer passives! You get more stored healing through better circulation, digestion and respiration and the resistances you get from the Enhancer boards make it so that [Acclimation] adapts faster to whatever kind of damage you¡¯re taking! It becomes a feed-back loop! One makes the other stronger and the other then strengthens the first one!¡± The others did not look convinced. Least of all Mr. Park. ¡°I understand your arguments, Mr. Sokolov. I really do. I¡¯m also glad that this approach has worked so well for you. Your service is exemplary and any progress you make brings us one step forward to escape and aid in the eventual goal of saving our earths.¡± Borislav bristled. ¡°Don¡¯t play games with me. Say what you mean and say it clearly.¡± ¡°I thought I was doing so. I was merely trying to add that, despite your successes, that might not be the way to go. The literature we¡¯ve received from this, Orphan Maker, has been very clear on the subject. Higher ability levels correspond with higher chances of combining abilities and having too many abilities can make the process of isolating any two, tricky. Furthermore, specializing can yield astonishing effects on one¡¯s build; if the right options are paired together. Take me for example. Enhancer as the first Type, with Shifter as my second. You¡¯d think I was all for mixing and matching. And yet, I¡¯ve personally found more success in choosing my abilities carefully and investing in the ones that bring the most immediate value.¡± He spread his arms in a placating manner. ¡°You will have to forgive my caution, of course. I am an old, feeble senior and cannot hope to compete with the vigor of you, young ones. When I become embroiled in a fight, I want to make sure I am on the winning side and that my victory is a perfect one, where I take no damage whatsoever. Range is the way to go. Range and mobility. So that we can hit hard from relative safety before disappearing if our sneak attacks don¡¯t go as planned. After all, why should we fight in close quarters as the beasts do? It expends far too many of our resources for too little gain. Humans are tool users and endurance hunters. It was a strategy that allowed our ancestors to overcome beasts that were larger, faster and tougher than they were. Even today, in our modern day, wars are not fought with swords and spears. We use guns. And we constantly strive for bigger and better ones, with longer ranges. Why should this war be any different?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re in a cave.¡± Mr. Park dismissed the objection with a wave. ¡°A trifling issue. Abilities like [Enhance Projectile] can strengthen even common pebbles with Psy to make give them the quality of top-shelf ammunition. Couple that with [Heavy Shot] and you have a bona fide armor piercing bullet at level 1. So what if the power degrades the projectile after being launched? We only need one good shot to end a fight. I combined this innovation with the usual Enhancer passives after fashioning myself a sling out of a dead mole¡¯s hide. I was practically swimming in monster corpses before I was caught.¡± ¡°But you were caught.¡± Borislav pointed out. Mr. Park gave him a sad smile and sighed in a self-deprecating manner. ¡°That I did. Alas, we can¡¯t all endure continuous sleep deprivation. That, and not all of us were lucky enough to run into this Randall fellow and later, into Mr. Carter. Oh, what I wouldn¡¯t give to be a Projector or a Telepath like them. A whole menagerie of ranged attacks coupled with either teleportation or stealth capabilities. I would¡¯ve been unstoppable.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject. Your specialization gave you advantages, yes. But it left gaping holes in your defenses. You could have resisted for longer if you¡¯d had [Enhanced Concentration] and you could have run away if you¡¯d invested in the active boosts.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to change the subject Mr. Sokolov. I was merely pointing out that other Types would have had an easier time of it. Us Shifters have more options overall, but we have to get creative in the way we go about designing our fighting style. Take Miss Kettler for example. She¡¯s more focused on close quarters combat than me. That is fine. She has her Telepath abilities to fall back on. A fact I truly do envy. My own solution is a bit more¡­ odd.¡± The others saw their emotions flare up as Mr. Park began using some of his abilities. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°The combination of [Organ Independence], [Spines] and [Excretory System]. With a little touch of [Venom Glands] and [Produce Adhesive] for good measure. I call it, the spike-gatling gun. As it can shoot ten spines every two seconds with surprising accuracy. It is true that they¡¯re not as fast as bullets, yet they have the stopping power equal to or greater than the best anti-material rifles I¡¯ve had the pleasure of firing. All while packing a debilitating venom and an adhesive that makes them nigh-impossible to remove for most monsters.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t mean much once you¡¯re cornered. Its too bulky for close combat and too Psy hungry to handle large groups.¡± Borislav pointed out. ¡°I¡¯m not worried about small enemies in groups. That¡¯s what teammates are for. I¡¯m worried about things like Dolce. The massive horrors that are lurking beyond our borders even now. Did you know their levels are in the low 90s? How much experience do you think each one grants?¡± Ahmed¡¯s eyes shot open as surprise coloured his mind. ¡°That¡¯s how you¡¯ve been levelling so fast! You¡¯ve been sniping elite mobs!¡± Mr. Park felt a surge of pride. ¡°Taking down higher-level foes does seem to be the obvious solution. I merely found a smart way to go about it.¡± Borislav snorted. ¡°That might get you levels and points. True enough. It won¡¯t get you closer to Tier 2. We all saw Sully and Dusty¡¯s memories. For him, its like tying a knot. For her, its like forging two ores together. The pattern is that Tier 2 comes from understanding and visualizing an ability and pressing two compatible ones together.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Precisely. That is the reason I continue to meditate. Looking inwardly so that I can hone in on what makes these powers click.¡± Mr. Park smiled sadly. ¡°It really is too bad that no one back in our world has any experience with the Tutorial or with the System in general. My job would have allowed me access to updated information compiled from thousands of individual cases. As things stand, we must rely on Orphan Maker¡¯s compiled writings, as well as the interviews I¡¯ve conducted to double check his assertions. Throughout all the interviews I¡¯ve performed, one factor stands out. Higher level abilities are easier to visualize. That means its more likely that these ones will be melded together. This backs up the information we received from the crow. Suggesting this happens to be the prevalent philosophy within the Labyrinth.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right.¡± Prudence agreed. ¡°I can feel [Regeneration], [Mitosis] and [Acclimation] far more than [Claws] or my Telepath abilities. They, I don¡¯t know. Pulsate. Like they have their own heartbeat that drums along next to mine. Only, its not real and I know its not real. All while I can feel its beat. Its warmth. I¡¯m close to merging them. I can almost taste it.¡± ¡°That might be so, yet it doesn¡¯t change your situation. You¡¯re still missing out on useful combinations. Who knows? There might be hidden interactions between the Shifter and Telepath Types that we aren¡¯t aware of.¡± ¡°Oh, most certainly.¡± Mr. Park agreed. ¡°Orphan Maker left us a good deal of pre-explored combinations, but it would be foolish to think this was all there was. The creature is, after all, not human, and he only helped us out of fear. Still, you will recall the council¡¯s policy on such matters. We do our utmost top guarantee individual freedoms. That means we do not involve ourselves in other people¡¯s selections. Miss Kettler could take that risk. But she¡¯s ultimately free to play it safe.¡± ¡°And this ignorance of hers is playing it safe?¡± ¡°It is. Mr. Carter is¡­ powerful. Unimaginably so. He would most definitely be an S-Rank asset back home. But his presence has dulled your wits. I know that his protection is not a guarantee. He will move on, eventually. Whether due to his family or friends or his promises to Dusty and Slab. The Tutorial will end and we will be left to fend for ourselves. You and me and Miss Kettler all come from the same world that he inhabited, so the likelihood of our homes being invaded is¡­low.¡± The idea warms him up inside. A transient mote of security in an uncertain universe. Borislav¡¯s mind turns into a vice. Going blank. Letting nothing slip. ¡°If someone was stupid enough to dare such a thing, I have no doubt that they would regret it sooner, rather than later. However, that does not mean we will be able to hide in his shadow forever. We will be teleported to this, Human City, after the Tutorial is over. A place where we will have to fend for ourselves. The excursions have also proven the need for autonomy, as they allow limited teams. When they allow teams at all. The upper limit we¡¯ve seen so far is 12. I do not fancy my chances in one of those without our dear Sheriff. Hence, we must train and choose our options carefully. We must struggle and improve now so that we can defend ourselves later. I, for one, have no desire to be imprisoned again.¡± Prudence began growling. Raj and Ahmed too. All of them nurturing the hatred in their hearts. Thorns that pricked at their pride and mental stability. Thorns with rosy cheeks and conical hats. Borislav remained quiet. Empathising with their struggle. Unable to think of a response. Instead, he took a deep breath. Giving himself a few seconds to think. When he spoke, his voice was deep and tinged with regret. ¡°If you truly think this is the way, then I won¡¯t stop you. I only hope that you recall that the Type boards will not be available after the Tutorial. This might be a chance that won¡¯t come again.¡± He paused once more, before adding: ¡°Though I would like to remind you all, that levelling is not normally as easy as it is now. Sully¡¯s [Insight], coupled with our new training methods, are making things far easier than they were in the past. That experience bonus will not last, I fear. Nor will this rush to level 50. We cannot gain new abilities or force new levels as he does. At least, nowhere near as often. Generalizing allows me to train dozens of powers at the same time. Making it so that I keep my momentum. By refusing to spread points, you run the risk of your levelling speed dropping to the Labyrinth¡¯s standard. And we all know how this new multiverse treats those that are merely standard.¡± ¡°It is a risk I am aware of.¡± Mr. Park stated. ¡°Me too.¡± Prudence confirmed. Ahmed and Raj also agreed. Siding with Mr. Park. Borislav said some niceties and got up. Making his way over to where Charlie was training. That was when I reached out to him. ¡®Hey Borislav.¡¯ He flinched. A rising panic taking hold, until he realizes its me. ¡®Hello Sully. I see that you¡¯re finally awake.¡¯ ¡®Yeah. I am.¡¯ ¡®How are you feeling?¡¯ ¡®Like (Gnome)¡¯ ¡®I figured. I actually checked up on you earlier when you didn¡¯t wake up.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m¡­sorry? What do you mean?¡¯ ¡®You¡¯ve been asleep for 18 hours.¡¯ ¡®Oh.¡¯ ¡®Oh indeed.¡¯ I looked down at myself once more. ¡®Uh, did you heal me?¡¯ ¡®I did.¡¯ ¡®So, that¡¯s what it looks like after being healed.¡¯ ¡®Yes.¡¯ ¡®Can I ask for another round?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m on my way. I won¡¯t heal you all the way though. Slab raised some, concerns. He made it clear that you needed a break from your usual routine. To allow for more complete healing. He also let everyone know how important you were to him and his sister and what would happen if, by some mishap, something bad happened to you. I doubt you can count on Olga for more sessions. Or on anyone else for that matter. Slab can be very convincing when he wants to be.¡¯ I¡¯ll bet. The man came, took a look at me, massaged his forehead, healed me, and left. All in the span of a few minutes. It, didn¡¯t change much to be honest. The pain had lessened. Somewhat. Yet it came back with a vengeance every time I tried to move. It was like knives slicing through my skin. Digging into the muscle and the bone beneath. It got so bad that I used [Domination] on myself. Commanding my nervous system to stop hurting. Once that was done, I was able to raise my body without immediately falling back down. Feeling nothing. I was about to get off the bed when Buddy spoke up. ¡®I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea Sully.¡¯ ¡®Oh, come on Buddy, not you too.¡¯ ¡®Sully!¡¯ Buddy snapped. Sounding angry for the first time in¡­forever. ¡®I am your best friend in the whole world. Best friends do not let each other get hurt. You are broken right now. You need to stop and not move. At least for another day. You might hurt yourself otherwise.¡¯ I had no words. I was so stunned that I forgot all about the chances I might be missing out on. About the hurry for a second Type. In the end, I laid back down and pulled the blankets over myself. I got bored after a few minutes, so I returned to my fog. Listening in on the minds of the others as they improved. Following the monsters skittering around the premises. Dolce was floating around the edges of my senses. Lunging in and out of the ethereal blanket to snatch unsuspecting prey. I found it fascinating that a creature of his size could sneak up on anything, before recalling that it had [Hide] at 9. Higher than mine. ¡®Man, I¡¯m so lucky that he didn¡¯t kill me when we first met.¡¯ I watched him for an hour or so. Transfixed by the way he so deftly switched from passively swimming through the air to aggressively snapping up moles and were-zebras. It was, interesting. He had abilities from all four Types working in concert, just as Borislav had described. Only, it went deeper than that for Dolce. He would call upon [Camouflage] from the Shifter board while using [Hide]. All while calling on [Harden], [Force Bubble] and [Accelerate]. Together with all the Enhancer boosts he had. All to make himself into a battering ram that made puree out of anything it hit. Spending extra Psy for, nothing, as far as I could tell. I mean, why on earth would he spend so much effort for weak prey? I asked ended up asking him some time later. ¡®Because its fun!¡¯ He said in cheery voice. ¡®It¡¯s ¡­ fun.¡¯ ¡®Yes! I love it when they don¡¯t see me coming! Its like a game! I win if I can crush them without them seeing me! It helps me get better at hunting!¡¯ ¡®I see. Thank you for answering. I¡¯ll let you get back to it.¡¯ I relaxed my mind. Letting the fog disperse before thinking on my current problems. ¡®Periwig, isn¡¯t some cartoon. He¡¯s real. He¡¯s real and he has a spaceship and a crew and a whole lot more resources than I do. He¡¯ll be coming as soon as the Tutorial is over. Him and the other gnomes. To wreak havoc on my world, the same way they did down here.¡¯ The notion was chilling. As were the implications. Periwig likely wasn¡¯t the only one trying to take advantage of humanity. He was merely the only one I knew about thus far. It, the Seeking Drake, said this was common. Was he telling the truth? Was my life destined to be a series of escalating conflicts? I hoped not. It wasn¡¯t that I was afraid of killing if it meant protecting humans. Far from it in fact. I¡¯d gladly brutalize any gnome who so much as thought of stepping foot on Earth. No. I was afraid of having to hurt people. Mason had, of course, deserved what I did to him. But I didn¡¯t enjoy it. I couldn¡¯t. Those men on the beach. They¡¯d been criminals. I knew that. I also knew that unity among humans was more important now than ever before and that neither I nor my friends could afford to have a bunch of slavers on the loose. The logical course of action would be to have a trial and sentence them in some way that enforced the rules of common decency. But how to do that when they were Espers and when there were so few of us to begin with? How could I enforce the rule of law in these circumstances? I could fall back on the whole memory sharing idea. It had worked for my current group. Helping to make us all cooperate despite intrinsic differences of opinion. But what if it didn¡¯t work? What if Drake was right and the only way to stop them was to kill them? My hands had clenched into fists while I was distracted and I relaxed them as soon as I noticed. ¡®Man. I wish someone would come along and tell me what to do.¡¯ No one did. Which was fair, I suppose. I was the highest levelled guy in the whole Warehouse by far and I had the benefit of a nebulous future-warning ability to help me along. Complete with a title and everything. If I couldn¡¯t figure out how to save my Earth; what chance did the others have? ¡®You know Buddy? Its times like these that the hero usually meets a wise mentor who shows them the ropes and teaches them how to navigate their problems. How come I don¡¯t have one of those?¡¯ ¡®Don¡¯t you have that spooky Seeking Drake fellow in your head?¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s¡­different.¡¯ ¡®How so?¡¯ Because his advice had been to publicly disembowel anyone who went against me. Until all my other enemies got the message that being my enemy was some very poor decision making on their part. ¡®Let¡¯s say it and I have our differences and leave it at that.¡¯ ¡®Okay.¡¯ I thought about it some more. About the other two flies in my ointment. Randall and Anezka. The former was, well, unstable. That was pretty much the crux of the issue. I was fairly sure I could fix it by sharing our memories though. He¡¯d see the world through another person¡¯s eyes and I¡¯d have some more insight into his internal reasoning for what he did. The problem was what I knew about Anezka. That is to say, nothing. I had no idea who she was or what might motivate her. I didn¡¯t even know where she was right now. Which was odd, because she¡¯d been so prevalent in my visions up until recently. All I knew was that she preferred to use deception and subterfuge to get what she wanted and what she wanted was me. In a metal coffin. Without my arms or legs or, even my skin. So that I might be easier to sell to whomever was funding her bloody enterprise. If money was what she wanted, then I couldn¡¯t compete. Her own Earth might as well be using bottle caps for cash as far as I knew. Not to mention that I was currently a broke university graduate. A jobless, broke university graduate. Ah (Gnome). I just realized the rent for the dorm room had only been paid until the end of the month. Was I technically homeless now? That thought led back to my parents and my friends. To what they must be going through right now. ¡®They probably think I¡¯m dead. That¡¯s usually a safe assumption for folks that disappear near open rifts.¡¯ ¡®Sully? Are you okay? You feel really sad.¡¯ ¡®Yeah. I¡¯m good Buddy. Thank you.¡¯ ¡®¡­¡¯ ¡®¡­¡¯ ¡®¡­¡¯ ¡®Sully. Please know that I¡¯m here for you. No matter what happens. I¡¯ll always be here.¡¯ A smile crept onto my face. ¡®Thank you, Buddy. It means a lot.¡¯ He was right. I wasn¡¯t alone. Not anymore. I had him to lean on. Him and my new friends. Charlie and Borislav had been very enthusiastic in getting to know me. Just like Monique. They listened to my problems and did their best to give me decent advice. Kaito, Prudence and Olga were fun to train with. Jacob was a hoot when he was in his cups. Always talking about practical uses for this or that. He was more of a self-taught engineer, but I appreciated his unique perspectives. He certainly knew more than me when it came to making improvised weapons from whatever was at hand. Though he was rather peeved at how, tough, the materials we¡¯d gotten were. Slab was still a bit of a kiss(Gnome). And Dusty had been thinking, disquieting things about me. Yet I cherished them all the same. They¡¯d stuck up for me when no one else would have. I knew I could count on them no matter what. It was, comforting to have them around. ¡®I need to keep pushing myself.¡¯ I decided. ¡®I must be able to fight back when the time comes. For them, as well as myself. Stagnation is death by another name. I have to keep moving forward.¡¯ I re-focused my mind and commanded Dolce to bring live prey into my fog. He did so, despite his apparent confusion. Afterwards, I kept practising my organ-disrupting abilities. Inducing [Heart Attack], [Drown] and [Indigestion] on whatever he brought back. Again, it was a lot like [Mental Bolt]. Bullets made of Psy that flew at my targets. The only difference that I could glimpse was that they auto-locked to specific sections of the body. My original bolts always went for the head. Always. While these new options targeted the intestinal track or the cardiovascular system or the respiratory system. Rupturing or collapsing whatever organ they hit. Funnily enough, the effects would vary between monsters. Case in point, the moles had three hearts, and my powers would only cripple one at a time. However, the same target would wither and die as soon as they were exposed to [Drown], as their lungs would promptly fill with fluids. By the same token, common eels were nigh-immune to having their lungs attacked, while they had no centralized hearts to speak off. That left [Indigestion] which¡­. (Gnome). That¡¯s disturbing. Even for me. I kept trying new things with new monsters. Experimenting by trying to deviate the trajectory of my assaults. I mean, what would happen if [Indigestion] hit the lungs? Or the heart? Turns out the hostile energy didn¡¯t dissipate. Instead, it gathered in the core of my victims. Building up inside of them until it started doing, weird things. Like, leaking out in small increments into the bloodstream. The first one to take notice was an ant. The kind the gnomes had previously ridden. Its legs began to spams. While its own mind screamed in agony. It was feeling like its blood was boiling from the inside. Like there was a whole host of small construction workers trying to dig their way out from inside of it. Then, I felt all three organ-targeting powers begin to call out. But not from within my lake. Instead, the ant was making them. Hitting itself with less potent versions of my own afflictions over the course of minutes. Desperate for it all to end, yet not quite capable of finishing itself off. Its rectum started to melt as stomach acids flowed freely from it. Ichor mixing with other intestinal fluids. Its lungs palpitated. Drawing air in uneven intervals as if it had to consciously move them over and over again. Its heart, or hearts, as it were, began to falter. Contracting far too strongly or without sufficient strength to move its equivalent to blood around. It ended eventually. The hapless monster collapsing in a pile of its own refuse. Sweating tainted ichor from between the gaps in its exoskeleton.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Heart Attack] 2 has grown to [Heart Attack] 3
Ability Evolving: [Drown] 2 has grown to [Drown] 3
Ability Evolving: [Indigestion] 2 has grown to [Indigestion] 3
Ability Evolving: [Psionic Curse] 1 has grown to [Psionic Curse] 2
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 162, 162 / 162, 945
Type: Telepath III Level 137
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Sense Thoughts] 14 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 5 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Team Spirit] 4 / [Team Resilience] 3 / [Team Momentum] 2 / [Team Doctrine] 4 / [Imposing Presence] 1 / [Alluring Presence] 4 / [Mask] 1 / [Hidden Danger] 1 / [Muffle] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Mark Target] 2 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 5 / [Hum of Striding] 5 / [Hum of Defence] 5 / [Hum of Harmony] 3 / [Hum of Discord] 1 / [Hum of Cleansing] 6 / [Hum of Mist] 1 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Cleansing Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 2 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Stable Reality] 1 / [Unstable Reality] 7 / [Manifest Intruder] 7 / [Seal Intruder] 5 / [Banish Intruder] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1 / [Heart Attack] 3 / [Drown] 3 / [Indigestion] 3 / [Psionic Hex] 1 / [Psionic Curse] 2 / [Blind] 1 / [Deafen] 1 / [Anosmia] 1
Ability Points: 1
I waited for another minute, before making the call. ¡®Dolce?¡¯ ¡®Yes Sully?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m going to need you to run a little errand for me. I need to get my hands on some more gnomes.¡¯ ¡®Sure thing! How many do you want?¡¯ ¡®As many as you can bring Dolce. Thank you.¡¯ Chapter 54: What used to be Paris. Chapter 54: What used to be Paris. ¡°Do we have everything we need?¡± ¡°Yes Sully. We¡¯re good.¡± ¡°Right. Good. Wait. Where did all the water go?¡± ¡°I decided to leave it behind.¡± Charlie answered. I stared at him. He shrugged. ¡°What? The Excursion screen said we¡¯d have a time limit of 15 hours. You have enough bottles in your ring. Besides, we all have bottles on our rings. We won¡¯t run out.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t. But we¡¯re not looking out for ourselves, are we? Who knows how many people in that earth need water?¡± I shook my head again. Shuddering at the thought of coming across a starving, dehydrated community that we couldn¡¯t help in any way. ¡°The backpack stays on.¡± I finished. ¡°No.¡± He persisted. ¡°You¡¯re being too paranoid. Again. Each of those bottles is an item from the store. There is enough water to last us a week in every single one. I am not lugging around an actual backpack through who-knows-where. Go obsess over something else. I hear Peachy has new things for sale.¡± ¡°Two more bottles.¡± I insisted. ¡°Two more bottles strapped to your Symbiote and I¡¯ll leave you alone.¡± He gave me a look, but ordered his suit to remodel itself regardless. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m sure whomever we end up saving will be eternally grateful.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah.¡± I left him to his own preparations, making my way over to Peachy as he¡¯d suggested. She was sitting in a relatively unused corner of the Warehouse, as always. Keeping a vibrantly-decorated table between herself and the rest of us. In front of it was a hovering sign whose letters would change depending on who was looking. Always appearing as: ¡°System Vendor.¡± There was usually a line in front of here, as either Jacob or Mr. Park came and went. Asking about the process of making items and putting them up for sale using the System-ensured venue. Now though, it was quiet. As the many shelves along the Warehouse were devoid of people. Some would be out hunting or mapping other areas. Others would be searching for high-priority targets in the form of wandering bosses or Randall and Anezka. Trying to find any clues as to their whereabouts. The efforts had yielded some results, since we¡¯d discovered several brand-new biomes like the waterfall chambers or the poison swamp. All of which had brand new creatures to train against and even some special objectives associated with them. No signs of Randall or Anezka had been found however. A fact that made me more and more worried as the days went by. ¡®Its fine man. They have to be here somewhere. We¡¯ll handle them. Focus on Peachy for now. Maybe she has something new for sale.¡¯ There was always a chance of that happening. The robed crow had explained that her inventory grew the more reputable she became. A change that would only happen the more sales she made. ¡®Not that we could tell the difference. She and Granny look more or less the same.¡¯ She herself claimed to be much younger than Granny Golden. Some younger granddaughter of Orphan Maker who had been sitting on a long waitlist to try and become an official Salesperson. Apparently, the position came with many lucrative opportunities and certain guarantees that hardly anyone else received. Such as a general ban on aggressive behaviour aimed at them. She had been ecstatic when she¡¯d first appeared. Thanking all of us individually and loudly proclaiming that she must have been the favourite of Orphan Maker¡¯s line. It would seem that the strings he pulled to get her down here were not insignificant. To the point where only promising heirs could hope for such a chance. She was flapping her wings whilst hopping up and down. Relishing the notion. ¡°I didn¡¯t know he loved me so much!¡± She¡¯d said. ¡°My mother was a concubine and my father¡¯s mother was one too! I didn¡¯t even realize he knew my name! I¡¯m so happy!¡± That was when we explained the terms of our, little accord. The exact moment that she took a closer look at her screens. It would seem that Orphan Maker¡¯s request was granted with an additional caveat. Every single aspirant that happened to be above her on the waiting list would have a chance to review the details of the posting, including my status, before choosing to either take her place, or decline in favor of her. Furthermore, she wouldn¡¯t receive this information, since it was her own grandparent making the recommendation and giving her such a¡­ desirable opportunity. Almost four million Espers from a variety of species had a chance to come here. All of them declined. Peachy was not thrilled at the news. In fact, Peachy had a bit of a mental breakdown after the fact. That was old news however. The two of us got along famously these days. ¡°Hello Peachy!¡± I called out from across the hall. ¡°How are you doing today?¡± ¡°Sully! Why, I¡¯m almost bursting with happiness! Just like every other time I see you. I¡¯m so happy I could cry!¡± A closer inspection revealed that she had, indeed, been crying. The feathers around her eyes glistening with the tell-tale wet spots. On closer inspection, she was starting to cry some more as I made my way closer to her. Bowing so low that her beak pecked the stone floor beneath her. ¡°Ah, honored Savant. How may this humble servant be of assistance to your magnificence?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking to buy an item. One that can let me carry more supplies like food and water.¡± Her head did not rise from her bow, yet the ensuing confusion was apparent through my fog. ¡°Have you, not bought enough bottles?¡± Then she froze. Her mind suddenly overcome with a fresh wave of horror as she imagined me sending fishhooks behind her eyes. ¡°But what am I saying!? Haha! I swear! I must be going senile! Of course, your esteemed excellency couldn¡¯t possibly make such a mistake! Clearly your magnificent intelligence has allowed you to glimpse a future that I cannot fathom. Yes, yes. That must be it. Oh, I am so sorry your wonderfulness. Please forgive this lobotomized imbecile her uncouth transgressions once more. My brain is made of soggy leaves and my blood is ever so impure compared to your own astonishing essence. Yes. Oh, I don¡¯t know how someone as lowly as me can even stand to be in the presence of such perfecti¡­.¡± ¡°Okay enough. Water container. Food container. Now.¡± She trembled. Her legs turning to jelly. Falling beak-first into a supplicating position. ¡°EEEEEEE!!! Please don¡¯t enslave me! Please don¡¯t enslave me! Please don¡¯t enslave me!¡± ¡°Hey! Stop that! I am not evil!¡± She didn¡¯t stop. Not for another three or four minutes. Then, (Gnome)ing Ryan came along and calmed her down without any issues whatsoever. He actually managed to get her smiling for a second. Until he noticed the expression I was making. All color fled from his face and he quickly excused himself. ¡°Right then. Storage items.¡± ¡°Yes, uh.¡± She coughed into a clawed hand. Her robes saturated with dust after her fresh round of begging. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Oh, great and mighty Savant. This worthless merchant doesn¡¯t have anything else to show you. My options are far more¡­ limited, than what a veteran like Granny Golden had on offer. I sold you the bottles because they were the best things I had for your, predicament. Yes, they¡¯re basic, but they can be stored inside subspace items like your rings. Most other enhanced containers cannot be stored within each other. I¡­. I would need roughly ten years¡¯ worth of transactions before I had access to things like, portable aquariums or portable fish farms. These things take time.¡± I schooled my face. Not wanting to have to deal with another round of apologies. ¡°Is there anything new that you do have?¡± ¡°Yes! Here! I have this reusable skin brush!¡± She took out a sand-coloured rag attached to a wooden pole. ¡°I hear primate species like your own love grooming themselves. This item will no doubt allow you to charm and mate with many females, as is your custom. It works by continuously applying a level 1 version of [Regeneration] and [Metamorphosis]. Removing bruises, rashes, blemishes, burn scars, collections of pus, allergic irritations, and other damages to the soft skin of your species. It also removes pollutants and the smells they cause, as well as any mundane odours the user dislikes without using up water or cleaning chemicals. That way you can groom yourself while away from the showers in the safe zone. I¡¯ve sold three dozen so far and my costumers seem to like it. Isn¡¯t it great?¡± She waited for my reaction. Shivering slightly when I didn¡¯t show any. A realization dawned on her then. Striking more fear into her heart. ¡°Not, that, your esteemed skin is anything short of excellent of course. Or that you have trouble mating. That would be a terribly silly to suggest. The kind of thing entire species get enslaved over. My, is it getting hot in here?¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°How much?¡± She blinked in surprise. ¡°Wha¡­?¡± ¡°I asked you how much they were.¡± ¡°T-Three hundred store tokens per piece!¡± I nodded with satisfaction. ¡°I¡¯ll take ten.¡± ¡°Ten? Why would you? You only need one.¡± ¡°Yes. I only need one. But I might come across people in my Excursion who need several. This item doesn¡¯t use up water for cleaning and it can remove bruises and burns while also disinfecting surface level wounds. It will literally save lives in the right hands. I¡¯m not buying more because I¡¯m working with limited space. Now, make the sale.¡± We exchanged tokens and parted ways. With me going back to my team and her prostrating herself once again so that she could thank me properly. ¡®Man, that got old fast. I hope she stops doing that sooner rather than later.¡¯ ¡°Did you get your shopping done?¡± Monique asked. ¡°I did. Bought a brush.¡± ¡°Oh, that. Yeah, I bought a few for the other survivors back home. Handy thing, to be able to wash out wounds without using water. Also, the smell gets to you faster than you could imagine. Me giving those out will make those big gruff guys back at camp cry like there¡¯s no tomorrow.¡± Slab cut in, walking between us. ¡°We¡¯ve all finished the preparations on our end. Waiting for your signal.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good. Send us over.¡± His eyes went back to his screen and his finger hovered over empty air.
System Excursion: Team: The Good Guys, has embarked on an Excursion. Objective: Defend the populace of Paris from monsters. This Excursion will be considered a failure if more than 2, 000 humans perish due to monster attacks or through the direct or indirect intervention of Team: The Good Guys. Bonus Objective: Clear the area surrounding Paris of monsters. Time Limit: 15 hours. Deaths: 0 / 2, 000. Excursion to Earth: NDRL 2411 is underway.
The shimmers returned. Enveloping all of us at once and spiriting us away. When they vanished, we were standing atop a hill made up of ruined buildings. I could tell they had been buildings, because there were still signposts in sight and because some walls remained upright. Otherwise, it was indistinguishable from a natural hill along the countryside. Flowing meadows spreading out in every direction, with trees and patches of wild flowers jutting out from the patches of fertile earth. It was a strange contrast, seeing those things next to broken down roads. Like noting strips of dead skin on an otherwise healthy patient. Not that the roads were intact. Far from it. Roots had torn them up at varying locations. Ripping concrete apart as easily as a man would a sandwich. Some of those trees were about normal height. Others still would have given modern skyscrapers a run for their money. ¡°We¡¯re home.¡± Dusty sighed. Failing to keep the emotion from her face. ¡°We¡¯re on the surface. For the first time.¡± Slab placed a hand on her shoulder and the two of them shared a moment in silence. ¡°Not yet.¡± He whispered. ¡°This won¡¯t be our home until it has been cleansed. Until the monsters are all dead.¡± ¡°Speaking of monsters.¡± Monique began, turning to me while she spoke. ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± ¡°Not bad at all. Well, relatively speaking. All the people I¡¯m sensing are living in pretty rough conditions. They¡¯re safe though and they seem to have enough food and water.¡± ¡°What are we supposed to stop then?¡± Boris asked. His ears twitching with every passing gust of wind. ¡°Probably the swarm of giant humanoid fireflies coming from that direction.¡± I pointed. ¡°The one currently tearing itself apart under my orders. They¡¯re roughly six and a half kilometres away? Or, they were. When there were still thousands of them. A few hundred were flying above my fog and got away, so those would be the targets.¡± I lightly tapped my foot on the ground. Buddy¡¯s red astronaut form contrasting with the greens and browns of the surroundings. ¡°There are also a lot of critters below us. Like, a lot. Tens of thousands distributed between a deep cave system. The people are about, 2 kilometres deep. Living in a wide spherical dome with two exits that connect to the rest of the caves. They have a mushroom farm and even what looks like a ranching operation with a giant frog or something to that effect. I¡¯ve left the people alone while I took control of all the monsters near them. The ones closest to the surface should be breaking through the earth any moment now. The ones near the settlement will be going there instead. I¡¯ll kill them with [Heart Attack] so that the folks down there can take the meat.¡± Charlie whistled. Obviously impressed. ¡°Right then. Sounds like its all taken care of. I¡¯m still a bit sore from training so I¡¯ll lay down over here and take a nap if you all don¡¯t mind. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen an actual sky and I want to cherish it.¡± ¡°No.¡± Slab and Dusty said at once. She grimaced. Sweat pooling on her forehead, while he explained. ¡°The Luminescent Parade usually stays near the Alps. Where their queen lairs. These fireflies are a menace like no other. Emitting continuous bursts of radiation wherever they go. Its so bad that even clans nestled deep underground become irradiated. Their skins falling off like pulpy meat from stack of ribs. We have to stop them while we¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Uh, we did stop them. Or, Sully did anyway. I highly doubt anything¡¯s getting to your buddies down below.¡± ¡°Not right now, but they¡¯ll be back. They always come back. What little trade happens between clans across the continent brings news from the Great Devourers. The parade is among the worst. The most destructive. We have a chance to stop it right now. We can kill all of them. Here and now.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me!¡± I said, cheerful at the prospect. ¡°The objective only said we¡¯d fail if enough people died. It didn¡¯t say anything about moving somewhere else. I say we hop on their back and¡­ oh. Right. Radiation. (Gnome).¡± I scratched my head. Trying to think of a way around this. ¡°Hey Charlie, you have [Absorb Radiation] don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I do.¡± He frowned. ¡°But I don¡¯t think it means what you think it means mate. It lets me drain the light inside any given room. I use it to blind monsters for a few seconds. I¡¯m getting the feeling that you lot are talking about something else.¡± I sighed. Bringing a palm to my face. ¡°Right. Of course you wouldn¡¯t know. Think of radiation as you would the normal light that you see. It comes in waves and envelops you when you walk into an area with lots of it. Except you can¡¯t see it. And it kills you. Quickly, if you¡¯re lucky. Slowly, if you¡¯re not. It¡¯ll accumulate in the ground, the grass, the trees, the air the animals that eat the grass and the animals that live in the trees. It¡¯ll build up in everything that eats those animals too. Over time you might get Cancer. That¡¯s when your cells, the little bits of life that make up a body, start refusing to do their job. So, you¡¯ll get tumors, growths of poisoned flesh inside of you that will choke out your lungs, your heart, your liver, your stomach, basically anything they can get a hold of. Then they¡¯ll get bigger and bigger until your organs start failing one after the other. All while you¡¯re powerless to stop it without poisoning yourself further with some really nasty drugs that make you bald, among other things. The idea being to kill the rotten parts of you faster than they can regenerate, with the added side effect of killing you much faster too, in the hopes that the Cancer dies before you do.¡± Charlie¡¯s face had gone chalk white, and I hadn¡¯t even gotten to the bad parts yet. ¡°Radiation also stays in an area for a long time. Contaminating anything around it for, decades, centuries in the worst cases. It could be affecting you or those you love without you even knowing. Causing fertility issues in the local children. My own city wasn¡¯t bombed during the war, thank goodness, but others weren¡¯t as lucky. Montreal¡¯s missile interception system was sabotaged right before the first volleys went out. There were a good six years where being anywhere near the St. Lawrence River would see you damaged beyond repair. Even today, after heroes drained away most of the radiation, you might see stories of children being born without arms or legs. Without eyes.¡± ¡°(Gnome) me Sully! What the (Gnome) is wrong with your world!?¡± ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t pin this on us! I¡¯ve been talking and most of the people in the Warehouse know what radiation is. What do you think happened to Jacob¡¯s world? Or to Monique¡¯s? Or this one for that matter?¡± ¡°Actually, it was the biological weapons that did us in. Not radiation.¡± Monique corrected. ¡°Most places weren¡¯t irradiated by bombs, since the modern ones don¡¯t release as much as the old ones did. Besides, its relatively easy to deal with radiation compared to zombies.¡± ¡®Tell that to Jacob.¡¯ I thought. Imagining he¡¯d have quite a few words for her if he happened to hear. ¡°Okay. Okay. No use in arguing. Let¡¯s focus on solutions. Charlie, do you think you could absorb the radiation that the fireflies are putting out?¡± ¡°No!? I don¡¯t even know what this radiation is!? The ability takes a lot of Psy you know! Like 5 to 10 per second! I can¡¯t maintain that for as long as we¡¯re here! Also, I have two points on the power. That¡¯s it. How do you know it¡¯ll be enough?¡± I blinked, focusing on him so that his status came up.
Name: Charlie Soot
Psy: 540/555
Type: Enhancer Level 46 / Projector Level 45
Enhancer Abilities: [Enhanced Strength] 3 / [Enhanced Dexterity] 5 / [Enhanced Constitution] 3 / [Enhanced Stamina] 3 / [Enhanced Agility] 5 / [Enhanced Toughness] 2 / [Enhanced Reflexes] 5 / [Enhanced Concentration] 5 / [Enhanced Recovery] 3 / [Enhanced Vision] 5 / [Enhanced Flexibility] 3 / [Enhanced Hearing] 3 / [Enhanced Balance] 3 / [Enhanced Training] 5 / [Enhanced Respiration] 5 / [Enhanced Digestion] 2 / [Enhanced Circulation] 3 / [Sudden Strength] 2 / [Sudden Dexterity] 3 / [Sudden Constitution] 2 / [Sudden Agility] 3 / [Sudden Toughness] 2 / [Sudden Reflexes] 2 / [Sudden Concentration] 4 / [Sudden Recovery] 1
Projector Abilities [Force Bubble] 3 / [Force Wall] 3 / [Force Bolt] 1 / [Accelerate] 5 / [Decelerate] 5 / [Local Regression] 3 / [Local Progression] 3 / [Local Stop] 3 / [Absorb Heat] 2 / [Absorb Radiation] 2 / [Absorb Kinetic] 2 / [Absorb Sound] 2 / [Resonance] 3 /
Ability Points: 0
¡®If he uses up 10 Psy per second, that leaves roughly 54 seconds of cleansing. Twice that if he¡¯s exaggerating. Not a problem in and of itself since I can keep him going with [Team Spirit]. The real issue is the low ability level. There¡¯s no telling how much of the radiation he¡¯s cleaning.¡¯ That¡¯s when I clapped. Feeling like an idiot for forgetting. ¡°Its fine everybody. We can rely on Cherub instead. He¡¯s got a Tier two version of the ability that also happens to be level 15.¡± I turned to my sword. ¡°Hey Slasher, can you let Cherub out?¡± ¡®Mnnn. I don¡¯t like it. I want to see gnomes. I haven¡¯t had one in so long.¡¯ Slasher spoke. Her feminine voice sizzling from the quivering edge of the blade at my hip. Her words had a profound effect on the others, as they were thick with the power of [Friendship]. ¡°Yes. Gnomes. Must kill more. Must eat gnomes. Blood flowing. Must flow.¡± Boris babbled. A line of drool forming and falling down his lower lip as he stared at the weapon with wide eyes. I flared [Suppression] and snapped my fingers in front of his face. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t go losing your mind now. And you.¡± I turned to Slasher. ¡°Keep your whispers away from my friends. In fact, no more whispering unless I specifically ask you to.¡± ¡®But daaaad.¡¯ ¡°Don¡¯t but dad me young lady. Do as I say or you go in the ring from now on.¡± ¡®Hehe. You got scolded.¡¯ Cherub chirruped. ¡°Don¡¯t make fun of your sister now Cherub. Get out here and work with us to clean the path forward.¡± ¡®But I already, did it?¡¯ I paused. We all did. ¡°What, uh, do you mean you already did it.¡± Slab asked. His voice trembling slightly. ¡®This whole place was filled with bad light. The kind that could hurt you guys since you were made of matter. I drank it when we arrived and I¡¯ve been drinking it this whole time. There was a lot of it. But I could handle it since I can do it without using up Psy. Because I¡¯m made of good light and emotions!¡¯ I nodded. ¡°Very good. I¡¯m proud of you Cherub.¡± He giggled in that faint juvenile voice. Completely at odds with the destructive power he could unleash. I turned to the others. ¡°I guess we have a plan now. Make our way over to the Alps while Cherub does his clean-up routine on the way. I¡¯ll be channeling [Unstable Reality] along the way to give Cherub and extra oomph so he covers a wider area. We can destroy the monster¡¯s spawning grounds and rid France of contaminants in one fell swoop. The people are safe and they can even wander to the surface without their eyes melting in their sockets. Double heroics on our part. Monique, you¡¯ll be in charge of teleporting.¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t.¡± Monique cut in. ¡°My current range is far less than that of [Sense Thoughts] and taking multiple people drains my Psy much faster than I can replenish it. It takes seven hours to drive from Paris to the Alps. It¡¯ll take us twice that to get there without accounting for breaks or the cooldowns I¡¯ll be going through.¡± I looked at Monique. Wondering how to break the news to her without sounding like an (Gnome). Thankfully, Borislav was there to do it on my behalf. ¡°Yes. We could do that. Or, hear me out. We could run there. Only teleporting every now and then.¡± ¡°Run? Were you not listening to me? It¡¯s a seven-hour drive. Me and Kenny used to go there for our holidays.¡± ¡°I can imagine you two had fun.¡± He said drily. ¡°What I¡¯m saying is that we should run because running will be much faster than driving. Especially with gravity being weakened or inverted by your own self. I know, for a fact, that I can outrun the kinds of jeeps the warlords¡¯ troops used back home. Slab can certainly do so as well and Charlie can leave us both in the dust. Dusty, she might be even faster due to being on the second Tier. The only ones who need transportation are you and Sully.¡± ¡°I call Sully!¡± Dusty pipped up. Slab nodded. ¡°Sounds like a solid plan. Monique, I can carry you on my back. Use your abilities to continuously affect gravity. Sully can replenish your Psy using [Team Spirit]. If all goes well, we should make it there in half the time.¡± Chapter 55: The Alps are Glowing. Chapter 55: The Alps are Glowing. While we didn¡¯t have a GPS to tell us how fast we were going, I was pretty sure we were making good time. Granted this was relatively subjective assessment based on how many smaller insects were being splattered against Buddy¡¯s face membrane as we whizzed past, but I was relatively certain it was accurate. ¡°You know, I really do love how beautiful and serene this landscape is!¡± ¡°What!?¡± I shook my head in disappointment. Switching to [Message] without any real effort. ¡®I said, I love how beautiful and serene this landscape is.¡¯ Dusty grunted. ¡®Don¡¯t know what you find so pretty about it. It all seems grim to me.¡¯ ¡®Huh? What do you mean? This place is lovely. Look around you and see the flowers. The rolling green fields, the way other animals are going about their business in peace.¡¯ I thought about waving a hand over all of it, but reconsidered after taking my own balance into account. Yet, she must have seen it all as well. It was obvious to anyone with eyes to see. There were wild poppies in stark shades of red, wild sage in soft hues of blue, pink clovers and white marguerites. All of them criss-crossing in chaotic meshes throughout the fields, without any guidance from human gardeners. Honeybees buzzed around them constantly, moving in steady patterns within my fog. They would land amidst colorful petals and bathe in the pollen before taking flight once more. Their minds simple in their contentment. Repeating simple emotions inside their simple minds. Beautiful, in the way they didn¡¯t consider eating us. There were other insects as well. Things I was relatively sure weren¡¯t normal animals. Such as the lobster. The, uh, car-sized lobster. Currently fighting with a hermit crab over territory a couple of kilometres to our right. The hermit crab that was wearing an actual car frame as a shell. Overly mutated? Yes. Horrific in the implications they brought to the table? Of course. Potentially homicidal? Absolutely. Yet, I hesitated. A group of people, actual people that is, were sitting by while the two behemoths fought. Not caring too much that the two monsters were snapping at each other. ¡®Maybe it¡¯s a local custom? Dusty did say there were expeditionary forces that went outside to hunt and fight. Maybe these guys ride the crab and the lobster around.¡¯ Regardless, the humans were not in danger, so I didn¡¯t have a reason to care. Instead, I indulged in all the other minds floundering about. Three or four villages were located deep below the earth, each with about five hundred people or so. They were, just there. Living their lives. Some were hunting in the peripheries, some were growing giant mushrooms or fermenting those same self fungal growths into beverages. Some were laughing. Some were crying. Some were stuck in a rather ugly confrontation about who had allegedly slept with who. Typical French behaviour I supposed. It was gratifying to sense them. To know that humanity was not quite done for in this world. In fact, there was a new beginning waiting for them in the surface, as herds of wild cattle still grazed the plains. Protecting their young and weaker members from prowling wolves. Untamed horses roamed around under the sun while birds of all shapes and sizes flew overhead. A few were very clearly mutated, but less than I would have thought. They wildlife had clearly adapted to the radiation far better than humans had. ¡®Dusty, I, I don¡¯t know how you can be so glum. Look around you. At the flowers. At the way they stretch on forever. At the way songbirds are perched on trees. Nurturing young and signing out into the air. I, I can¡¯t express how alive it makes me feel. How much happiness it summons.¡¯ ¡®Its all an illusion.¡¯ She answered in her mind. ¡®All this peace is only possible because your sword and the spirit inside of it are draining the death from the air. We would¡¯ve died ten times over without a Geiger Counter if we didn¡¯t have them. That, or the fireflies would have swooped down to rip us apart. If you want proof, you need only gaze out into the nearby strip of concrete. Look at all the rusted cars, the empty shells that used to be houses, the broken roads and the streams that run over them. This is a graveyard and it will remain a graveyard until we kill the Luminescent Parade. They, and all the other Great Devourers.¡¯ I could only give her a sad smile in return. Hugging her closer and allowing more emotions to flow through [Message]. ¡®I find it heartening that you care so much, Dusty. It speaks to your character. It shows how good of a person you are.¡¯ She stumbled. Almost crashing into the ground before catching herself mid-fall. Slab¡¯s own mind sensed her thoughts. He said nothing. I chuckled to myself at the cute display. ¡®Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll make it all better. I¡¯ll destroy the monsters. All the ones that hunt humans. I¡¯ll make it so that your world is safe for you and everyone you care about. I won¡¯t rest until its done. Then, when I¡¯m finished. I¡¯ll tell everyone how important you were. How much your presence helped. How I couldn¡¯t have done it without you. Everyone will know how strong and brave you were. You deserve the acknowledgement.¡¯ Her heart was thundering inside her chest now, the reaction bringing a smile to my lips. ¡®Man, this is fun.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®I wonder how far I can push this?¡¯ It ended up taking us two hours to see the mountains. Not bad considering the rapidly growing density of mutated fireflies along the way. They had made wax nests atop the canopies of sky-scraping trees. Floating around them as if patrolling. Bright thoraxes visible from the ground, even with the sun shining overhead. Their presence had warped the bark beneath them, causing glowing lacerations that looped and spiraled down the length of their arboreal homes. Pestilent greens infecting the normal brown bark. The extermination had been easy at first. Simply waltz in and [Dominate] the bugs within my fog. Ordering them to hunt down and kill the few specimens that managed to escape by being away at the time or flying above my range. However, that pattern started changing rather quickly the closer we got to the Alps. The bugs that nested closer to the mountain range would be flying high among the clouds. Too far for my fog to reach. Furthermore, the were clearly exercising concerted efforts against their mind-controlled brethren. Luring them higher and higher before swarming all around them to, well, it was hard to see what was going on from this distance but I figured they were dismembering their former comrades. On account of all the limbs raining down below the battles. I didn¡¯t think much of this at first. They were intelligent to some degree but so what? Gnomes had been intelligent too and that all their plans and coordination had barely slowed me down. That viewpoint started changing once the rocks began to fall. Big boulders that sent shockwaves through the empty plains and the ruins of old French towns as we continued our approach. Dropped from far on high, above the range of [Sense Thoughts]. ¡®Which means that something ordered them to pick up heavy stones from far away and to then fly those stones to an altitude that rendered them immune from my control.¡¯ It was a solid tactic, given what resources they had to work with. ¡°Dusty, you mentioned earlier that the mutants here don¡¯t have Telepath powers, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. It¡¯s the main reason so many communities managed to survive the original onslaught and why some heroes still bring the fight to the Great Devourers. They cannot use them and they are extremely vulnerable to them.¡± ¡°I see. Then this coordination must be coming from another kind of ability.¡± ¡°There are pheromone-based abilities on the Shifter Boards.¡± Boris pointed out. ¡°It could be the source of these developing tactics.¡± ¡®That was as good a guess as any.¡¯ I reasoned. ¡®Yet it begs the question of what to do about it. An ant colony or a beehive will be more or less done for the moment you take out the queen and kill the larvae. But normal fireflies don¡¯t have hives or colonies. These mutant ones might have multiple queens or strategic fallback positions for all we know.¡¯ ¡°We might have to go back to Paris after we¡¯re done here. Those folks could use a healthy blast of [Insight] to keep them going until we get summoned again.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°That¡¯s a wonderful idea!¡± Slab answered. ¡°I cannot begin to imagine what a clan could do with a fresh injection of Telepaths. Not to mention a new wave of warriors coming out from normal civilians. You¡¯d be saving the entire western half of the continent if you kept doing it.¡± I nodded. Determining to follow through as soon as we were done here. Another boulder fell then. Much closer to us than the previous ones. ¡°Their aim is getting better.¡± Monique quipped. ¡°Its actually impressive they can make those shots from all the way up there. I sure can¡¯t.¡± ¡°I might have a solution for that.¡± I said. Turning to my sword and to Cherub¡¯s wings emanating from it. ¡°Hey Cherub. What¡¯s the maximum range of your attacks?¡± ¡®I don¡¯t know. Depends on how much of my realm manages to slip into yours. I don¡¯t think I can reach the bugs up top as I am now, but I might be able to reach it if you put more Psy in the air.¡¯ ¡°You got it.¡± I pressed more energy out of me. Letting it flow out from behind my eyes and saturating the atmosphere in unreal hues of gold and purple. The changes that my actions brought were, unexpected. First, all of us ran faster. Much faster. As if I¡¯d been boosting my hums far past what I was already doing. It was, as if their effects were redoubled in an environment that made it easier for them to affect my friends. At the same time, their own abilities were flowing much faster. With less friction pushing against the natural order of the world around them. ¡°(Gnome). That packs a kick. Why have you never done that until now?¡± Charlie inquired. His normally composed voice trembling slightly. ¡°It has interesting side effects.¡± I answered. Not quite able to fully describe what destabilizing the veil between reality and a realm of pure Psy could do. ¡°I mean, imagine the normal interactions you have with the world, right? Like normal gravity. You throw a pebble and it falls. If it hits a pond, the impact sends ripples along the surface. That¡¯s not a guarantee with [Unstable Reality]. You never really know what¡¯s coming. Sometimes it makes things heavier or lighter. Sometimes you see Intruders manifesting and sometimes you don¡¯t. What it usually does is make abilities more effective and make them cost less Psy. It also makes summoning Intruders easier and makes them stronger while allowing them to regenerate Psy faster. I haven¡¯t used it much during training because I was afraid of what an empowered hit of gravity manipulation might do to me. That, and it¡¯d be, unfortunate, if an Intruder manifested under me while I was running or doing push-ups. Speaking of which¡­¡± ¡®I¡¯m ready.¡¯ Cherub confirmed. I grinned. Drawing him and Slasher from the belt Buddy had fashioned out of himself. Raising the blade over my head with an unsteady hand while my other hand clung on for dear life. ¡°By the power of Yellow Skull! I have the power!¡± No sooner had I said those words, than Dusty and I collapsed in a heap. Her legs becoming entangled in a patch of grass that shouldn¡¯t have been difficult to traverse, but that now whipped and lassoed its surroundings like a living length of rope. Slasher, did not fall with us. Instead, she hovered in mid-air. Shining triumphantly as music began playing out of nowhere. Then, the laughter began to ring. Spreading out in all directions until the sounds seemed to emanate from the very air that we were breathing in. The others stopped in their tracks, coming over to help. Dusty was grunting, ripping at the green blades sticking to her legs while more and more of them rose up to envelop her. I used [Domination] on the plants. Commanding them to release her. An order that was promptly followed, but not before a boulder crashed into our position. It didn¡¯t leave a mark. Any mark. No craters, no fractures along the earth. Not even so much as a dent. Instead, it began to hover next to Slasher. Melting like candle wax as Cherub made his way outside. One big eye surrounded by violet ribbons that swirled and burned around its orbit. A body was chiselled out of the melting stone. Pooling beneath him like wet clay and shaping itself to his whims. Six fiery wings sprouted from the body¡¯s back. Growing some ten metres in a second and fifty metres in two. Their surreal silver glow lit up the grassland, reflecting off the beads of dew found among the blades. His arrival caused the music to rise in a fever pitch. Gregorian chants coming in fast from above and below. ¡°Cherub? You okay?¡± Cherub took Slasher into his hands before his voice boomed across the plains. ¡°PURITY COMES FOR YOU!! VERMIN!!!¡± The rest of my team joined me in staring. All of them unable to get a word in. ¡°Uh, Cherub? All I need is for you to kill the fireflies above us.¡± ¡°FIRE TO THE UNCLEAN!!!!¡± He roared. Beating its six wings so that a whirlwind billowed around us.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Unstable Reality] 7 has grown to [Unstable Reality] 8
He shot up. Like a cannon shell or maybe a surface-to-air missile. Splitting the sky in two until it reached the same altitude as the fireflies. Then he exploded. Bursting apart like a watermelon hitting asphalt. Blotting out the sun for a fraction of a second. It began to rain after that. Droplets of boiling ichor descending all around us. Staining the grass a paler shade of greenish yellow. Monique and Charlie both brought up [Force Walls] above us. Neither of them saying a word, though both turned to look at me. ¡°What? It worked, didn¡¯t it?¡± I turned to face Boris. ¡°Do you want to be irradiated?¡± ¡°No, Sully. I don¡¯t want to be irradiated. Your creepy arson ghost did a good job.¡± ¡°He¡¯s an Intruder, not a ghost.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°Intruders were never human. Ghosts were human once. Also, Intruders can affect our world using Psy. Ghosts can only wander about. Howling occasionally.¡± They were all looking at me now. Faces blank and devoid of emotions. ¡°Why¡­¡± Dusty began, before biting her lip. Slab found his courage and finished for her. ¡°Why are you speaking about ghosts as if they were real?¡± ¡°Because they are real. Obviously. Oh, don¡¯t give me that face Slab. I know how it sounds. I didn¡¯t believe in them either. It¡¯s a side-effect of [Unstable Reality]. Places where lots of people died are, stained. A bit of Psy containing emotion covers the ground and air, even if the people killed there weren¡¯t Espers. I first realized it when Cherub manifested. He was affected by the remains of the zombie apocalypse in that world. Their struggles were still playing out beyond the veil, in the place where Intruders originate from. I saw a few after using [Insight] on a group of survivors but it wasn¡¯t a big deal. It still isn¡¯t.¡± He was horrified. His stony visage twisted into a mask of shocked awe. ¡°Look, if you don¡¯t believe me, then use your own [Unstable Reality]. You¡¯ll start sensing them in your fog. Whispers at first. Then voices screaming or pleading. Or, you could wait until you get it to a higher level and have them show up. Here, I¡¯ll show you.¡± I forcefully fed more Psy into the string. Hundreds, then thousands worth of points. Causing it to twist and turn. More and more of my senses were being doused in the raw energy. Ethereal winds bringing voices where there hadn¡¯t been any. The spectral outline of a town began to rise up from the meadow. Buildings conjuring themselves into a future where they didn¡¯t belong. Within and around those buildings, were people. Or, what little remained of them in the immaterial realm beyond objective reality. ¡°See? Its not an actual afterlife or anything. More like, an imprint of¡­¡± ¡°STOP!¡± Charlie screeched. His voice frantic and uneven. Filled with an indescribable desperation that consumed all reason. ¡°Make it go away!¡± He pleaded once more, almost on the verge of tears. ¡°Please! Make it go away! Make them go away!¡± ¡°Its fine. They¡¯ll only stay as long as I¡¯m feeding Psy to my power. They¡¯ll go away on their own in a couple of days.¡± He started crying. Actually, weeping. Hysterically. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see them! I don¡¯t want to be near them! Take them back! Take them back! Please!¡± ¡°Okay! Okay! Geez! No need to burst my eardrums man.¡± I still had five extra points and used them to bring up [Stable Reality] from one to three. It was the first time I¡¯d thought to do so, since the effects on the environment went away by themselves and, if I was being honest, it seemed like a bit of a waste. Still, I¡¯d never seen Charlie so, disturbed before. So vulnerable. ¡®I guess we all have our phobias. I shouldn¡¯t hold it against him.¡¯ I pressed against my own handiwork using the newly-upgraded power. Feeling a new wave smoothening out crinkles in the fabric of reality. Like, pressing a shirt. Yes, that was an apt description. There was an unstable sphere of influence around me that was like a crinkled shirt and this new ability smoothed out the rough edges. Making it presentable again. Only, the sphere resisted. Spreading out further still, over kilometres of empty fields. The ghosts were gone though and that was enough for Charlie. He knelt on the ground, face drenched in sweat. His own Symbiote, which had been shaped to resemble a welding suit for protection, now parted. Exposing his upper torso as he heaved and struggled for breath on all fours. ¡°Hey man. It¡¯s all good. Like I said, they¡¯re not really classical ghosts. They¡¯re probably not even aware that they¡¯re dead. Its like, a shadow that stays on a building after the person casting it leaves.¡± Charlie brought his face up. If looks could kill, this would count as multiple homicides and at least one count of crimes against humanity. ¡°Sorry. My bad. Won¡¯t do it so long as you¡¯re around.¡± ¡°No.¡± He protested. ¡°You have to promise. Not to do that ever again. Under any circumstances. Ever.¡± I scoffed. ¡°Come one man. You know I can¡¯t promise that. Honestly, between ghosts and radiation I¡¯ll definitely take the ghosts any day. You and Monique can¡¯t figure this stuff out yet so Cherub has to take care of things. Its for humanity. For the common good of the people left in this world. Dusty and Slab have some serious collective trauma regarding these super mutants. Think of how many lives we¡¯d be saving by making them disappear.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Again, I promise to keep it on the down low when you¡¯re around. That¡¯s all I can say for certain.¡± His fists clenched. Gouging patches of dirt and plant matter from the hard-packed soil beneath him. He was shaking like a leaf. Threatening to topple over. He swallowed. Hard. ¡°Fine. For the people. Let¡¯s keep going.¡± ¡°Excellent.¡± I said, patting him on the back. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it too much. It¡¯ll be fine so long as I avoid showing you these powers. I do the same with heights. Oh, maybe you should try drinking. That helps me immensely.¡± Slab placed a hand on my shoulder, drawing my attention. His face was also ghastly pale. His jaw clenched so tightly I feared his teeth might shatter. ¡°We have no time to waste.¡± He managed after a few seconds of ragged breaths. ¡°Leave him alone for now. It¡¯ll pass.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± I agreed. Stepping back and giving Charlie some more breathing room. ¡°I¡¯ll just be over here waiting for Cherub to come back.¡± I stood there for ten minutes. Waiting and waiting for the only means we had of dispelling the radioactive landscape as we dashed through it. Cherub never showed. At least, not openly. I felt my abilities being used on his end. His own constructed body calling on my own Psy. I kept feeding the link, though I could not talk to him at all. ¡°What¡¯s taking so long?¡± Dusty asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I admitted sullenly. ¡°This hasn¡¯t happened before. I¡¯ve fed him over 100, 000 points of Psy and he¡¯s still draining more. He must be in a fight, but it shouldn¡¯t be taking this long to resolve. He¡¯s got abilities he can use for free after all. I wonder what¡­.¡± A shiver, crept up my spine. A sudden weakness. As forty thousand more points were sucked out at once. That¡¯s when we saw it. The flash coming from the mountains.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Unstable Reality] 8 has grown to [Unstable Reality] 10
For the briefest of instant, the light coming from the peaks eclipsed the sun itself. As it dimmed, we felt a staggering rush of air that knocked us all on our backs. Even Slab and Dusty with their superhuman frames and Enhancer levels. A cloud rose up from the jagged outlines. No. Not a cloud. A pillar. Made up of mewling, weeping, ecstatic faces. All of which laughed and laughed and laughed. Chapter 56: A Giant’s Tears. Chapter 56: A Giant¡¯s Tears. ¡°No, we¡¯re not turning back.¡± Slab repeated. His face still stiff. ¡°Why the (Gnome) not!? What are we supposed to be doing here anyways!?¡± Charlie screamed in return. His own face blistering red. His hands, which had been flying all over the place, went over to the peaks in the distance. The mountains were still glowing like a projected tapestry. Vibrant reds and greens clashing against each other in the background. The faces contained therein were sometimes happy and sometimes sad. Half-covered by clouds in such a way that like they were hiding behind curtains. ¡°What do you think happened over there!? A (Gnome)ing picnic? Those things are dead! All of them! Whatever they would have done or could have done to the people of this world is moot. Because, repeat after me, they are all (Gnome)ing dead!¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that.¡± Slab bit back. His visage now regaining some of its colour. ¡°The queen could be alive and she¡¯s the most dangerous one of them all in any case. She¡¯s the one we have to kill if we hope to make western Europe habitable again. It¡¯ll allow my clan to spread out and keep the fight going once we¡¯ve dealt with the Blood Queen.¡± He waved his arms about. ¡°This is but a temporary setback. Sully has the [Stable Reality] ability. So do I, for that matter. We¡¯ll slowly clear away whatever happened along the old Swiss border and move into the mountains. His range is more than enough to find her.¡± ¡°What good will finding her do if we¡¯re all torn apart by ghosts!?¡± ¡°I mean, the ghosts aren¡¯t really ghosts in the way you¡¯re thinking.¡± I interrupted. Charlie turned. Murder still in his eyes. ¡°You! You shut the (Gnome) up! This is all your fault! If you¡¯d kept the (Gnome)ing sword on a leash! None of this would have happened!¡± I took a few steps back, patting down Slasher as she hung on my hip. ¡®You know, he¡¯s got a point.¡¯ I [Messaged]. ¡®But I did what you wanted me to do!?¡¯ Cherub complained. ¡®You wanted the monsters dead and I killed the monsters. You wanted the whole earth and sky around us to be cleaned of bad light and so I cleaned it. There¡¯s no bad light anywhere near here anymore. They should all be thanking us! Isn¡¯t that right Slasher?¡¯ ¡®Hur hur. Murder time.¡¯ I shoved the weapon inside my ring. Determined to have a very in-depth follow-up conversation later. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t blame him! He stopped the attacks coming from the sky!¡± Dusty stepped in. ¡°And nothing bad has happened to us so far.¡± Boris added. ¡°So far.¡± Monique countered. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I feel about putting my life on the line. Especially when the ability is called [Unstable Reality]. How long do we have until the bloody air in our lungs turns into acid?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t happen.¡± I scoffed. ¡°How do you know?¡± She insisted. ¡°Because I would have seen it using [Insight]. I¡¯ve been using the at-will application to see glimpses of our immediate future as well as using the proper charged version to look into different branching timelines. None of the ones I¡¯ve seen have any of us dying.¡± ¡°Okay? What have you seen?¡± ¡°Parades. Mostly. Held underground in our honor. I see lots of people hooting our names. Like, a lot of people. They¡¯re mostly cheering for me, but you and Slab become very popular too. You should probably watch out for suitors by the way. Lots of buff French guys looking to become your significant other.¡± Monique blushed. ¡°I¡¯m not looking for a man. I¡¯ve got kids.¡± ¡°Yeah, I saw you telling them that too.¡± ¡°Why are talking about this!?¡± Charlie screeched. ¡°The mountain is on fire! I can feel the air buzzing! Let¡¯s get the (Gnome) out of here!¡± ¡°Its fine.¡± Slab insisted. ¡°We¡¯ll go in. Kill the queen and come back out. Me and Sully will be using our abilities together. Nothing is going to go wrong.¡± More laughter could be heard all around us, coming from down below and suffusing the air with their musical hoots and howls. We looked down. There, spread out below us, were wild poppies in stark shades of red, wild sage in soft hues of blue, pink clovers and white marguerites. All of them with disturbingly human mouths and eyes. It was then, that they began to sing. ¡°Madman. Living perpetual. Silence.¡± ¡°Trapped in a hollow enclosure. Hiding from skeletal candles. Screaming out into the void.¡± ¡°When. He sleeps. You will at last, have peace. When the Butcher dies, darkness is nigh!¡± They raised their voices higher. ¡°Wailing. Drowning in shadows. Despairing.¡± ¡°Chained to the lakebed and waiting. Crawling with maggots and pus.¡± ¡°When. She sleeps. You will at last, have peace. When the Slaver dies, brightness is nigh!¡± A few giggled. ¡°Secrets. Lurking in mire. Hidden.¡± ¡°Stagnant, so still and repulsive. Waiting for the sun to fall.¡± ¡°They. Do. Know. That when the coffin, calls. They must¡­¡± Monique set the flowers on fire. Sending a wave of flames below us. Dusty grabbed me in that split second, throwing me over to the left as if I were a sack of potatoes. ¡°What was that for!?¡± I called out, only to see all my friends stomping into the ground with a ferocity that betrayed no small amount of desperation. They didn¡¯t stop for a few more seconds, until the small hill we¡¯d been standing on had been turned into a small crater. Yet, the voices did not cease. Petal floated upwards and around me, whispering in my ears. ¡°Hungry. Draped in deep crimson and, angry. Fangs that rip into hard stone. Tendrils that reach to the sky! When he wakes, the air will shake and quake. Gnomes will stumble forth, to their demise! Puffin, hunted through jungles and seasons. Chased into waves and deep waters, running and clinging to life!¡± A gust of wind blasted them away. Slab and Dusty swinging their weapons so fast that the shockwaves sent air currents billowing past me. Dusty in particular dropped her axe and lunged at me. Holding me to the ground. ¡°Sully! Do you trust me!?¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°I asked you a question! Do. You. Trust. Me?¡± ¡°Y-yes? Why wouldn¡¯t I? You¡¯ve saved my life so many times up till now.¡± ¡°Good. Then listen. Don¡¯t think about what you just heard. Don¡¯t consider the implications.¡± I didn¡¯t say anything. Looking up at her as my mind worked out what each of the lyrics meant. ¡°You killed them?¡± I asked, softly. She didn¡¯t answer. Neither did her mind. It was as silent as the grave. Making me wonder what she¡¯d done to hide her own thoughts so thoroughly. In fact, none of the others were open to me either. ¡®It must be some secret technique they learned and refused to share. No doubt to keep me from finding out.¡¯ My fists clenched. I thought of what might have happened while I was out. Then, I thought of Mason. Of what he¡¯d been up to. What he must have done to Doris. What he would have gotten away with if I hadn¡¯t stopped him. ¡°Okay.¡± I said. My grey eyes staring into her cold green ones. She blinked. ¡°Okay.¡± I repeated. ¡°I get it. I, I¡¯ve had to come to terms with the fact that not everything is black and white. I, I still think I¡¯m a good person and I still want to be a good person. But I get it. We can still be friends. I¡¯m not mad.¡± Her mouth opened and closed, like that of a fish. ¡°We, can¡¯t tell you¡­¡± ¡°Its fine.¡± I stopped her. ¡°I trust you. I don¡¯t want to know.¡± She looked ready to break for a second. Then her features hardened and she helped me up to my feet. I sort of, lost a bit of time as I stood. As if there was another Solomon steadying me in the face of the news. A presence in the back of my mind. When it spoke, I realized that it wasn¡¯t another me at all. Instead, it was it, him, her, whatever it was, again. ¡®This is bothering you because you were weak.¡¯ It taunted. Just as it had within the mansion. ¡®Mercy is a privilege only the strong can claim. A weakling like you must struggle just to breathe. They knew you weren¡¯t strong enough to do what needed to be done. They acted because you left them no choice.¡¯ It¡­ it was right. This time, at least. I chose to get drunk and ignore the problem, instead of dealing with them as did with Mason. Its my fault they¡¯re dead. My hands clenched into fists as I recalled the visions. The gnome. The Barbarian¡¯s End. If it destroys my world and enslaves its people, that will have been my fault too. I could stop it. If I was strong enough. I breathed in the ephemeral air. Feeling the living currents swirling inside of me. I was¡­ more connected now. More in tune with the inner workings of [Unstable Reality] and the world that had spawned Cherub. I tugged at the strings, and brought them under my command. Forcing them together.
Abilities Converging: [Unstable Reality] 10 Has been undone. 55 Ability Points Gained. [Stable Reality] 3 Has been undone. 6 Ability Points Gained. [Warp the Veil II] 1 has been formed. 1 Ability point consumed. 60 Ability Points Remaining.
Abilities Converging: [Manifest Intruder] 7 Has been undone. 28 Ability Points Gained. [Seal Intruder] 5 Has been undone. 15 Ability Points Gained. [Banish Intruder] 1 Has been undone. 1 Ability Points Gained. [Psionic Conjuration III] 1 has been formed. 1 Ability point consumed. 43 Ability Points Remaining.
[Warp the Veil II] Standard Combination of [Stable Reality] / [Unstable Reality]. Grants the User the ability to distort or repair the veil between physical and non-physical dimensions within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives and at a cost of 50 Psy multiplied by current ability level per 10 hours. Repairs to the veil have no time limit. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The range of distortions or repairs increases by +500% per current ability level and may increase further if ability is overcharged. Distortions will cause random fluctuations in the local laws of physics at a rate of +25% per current ability level. Duration, potency and cost increase by +20% per current ability level. Distortions will provide a +10% boost to the potency and range of all psionic abilities as well as a +10% chance for random Intruder manifestations per current ability level. Distortions will reduce the cooldowns of all psionic abilities within range by -10% per current ability levels. Distortions will increase Psy recovery rate by +20% per current ability level for all psionically-gifted creatures. Distortions will increase experience gain by +5% per current ability level for all psionically-gifted creatures. Caution: Intruders that manifest as a result of this ability will be heavily influenced by the User but may not always be friendly to the User. The potency of all these effects increases by 150% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Psionic Conjuration III] Standard Combination of [Manifest Intruder] / [Seal Intruder] / [Banish Intruder] Grants the User the ability to conjure, seal or banish Intruders within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. Intruders will naturally bond to non-living mundane matter after they are conjured and will gain abilities that pertain to their current host at a cost of 220 Psy per current ability level. Intruders must maintain their form using the User¡¯s own Psy or their own in order to remain within a physical dimension. Intruders that are sealed may become trapped in living and psionically infused material for increased potency based on the materials used. Intruders that are sealed in a medium through this ability gain +20% more Psy and +30% to Psy regeneration per current ability level while they are sealed. Sealed Intruders also benefit from +1 to all ability levels per every 5 current ability levels. Intruders may be banished back to the veil through the channeling of this ability at a cost of 55 Psy per Intruder per second. Intruders that are one Tier lower than the User¡¯s current Tier may be banished at no extra cost. Intruders that are two or more Tiers lower than the User¡¯s current Tier may be severely damaged or outright destroyed at no extra cost. Caution: Intruders that manifest as a result of this ability will be heavily influenced by the User but may not always be friendly to the User. The potency of all these effects increases by 150% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
I looked over the changes. Seeing the sheer number of points. I had 144 to spend now, given that 5 of them had been left over from when [Unstable Reality] pushed to level 10. I chuckled dryly. ¡°You know, I¡¯d been hoping to save points this way. Little by little. Until I could bring [Electronic Interface] to 15 or higher. I figured that, if we didn¡¯t find Anezka, I might stand a chance against her machines if I did that.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have.¡± Monique cut in. ¡°None of us would have.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about her anymore.¡± Charlie piled on. All fear of the ensuing chaos apparently forgotten. ¡°Worry about yourself and getting to Tier 4 as soon as possible. It¡¯ll be all right once you get there.¡± I sighed and allocated my points accordingly. Sprinkling them around so that I¡¯d have a better chance of merging other abilities in the future. I brought [Warp the Veil II] and [Psionic Conjuration III] to 10 and 8 respectively. Following it up by bringing [Mental Bolt] to 7 and [Heart Attack], [Drown], [Indigestion] and [Psionic Curse] to 5. That decision left me with 3 extra points to sped, which I invested into [Entrancing Gaze] to bring it up to 3.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 11, 921 / 185, 895
Type: Telepath III Level 143
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Warp the Veil II] 10 / [Psionic Conjuration III] 8 / [Sense Thoughts] 14 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 7 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Team Spirit] 4 / [Team Resilience] 3 / [Team Momentum] 2 / [Team Doctrine] 4 / [Imposing Presence] 1 / [Alluring Presence] 4 / [Mask] 1 / [Hidden Danger] 1 / [Muffle] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Mark Target] 2 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 5 / [Hum of Striding] 5 / [Hum of Defence] 5 / [Hum of Harmony] 3 / [Hum of Discord] 1 / [Hum of Cleansing] 6 / [Hum of Mist] 1 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Cleansing Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 3 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1 / [Heart Attack] 5 / [Drown] 5 / [Indigestion] 5 / [Psionic Hex] 1 / [Psionic Curse] 5 / [Blind] 1 / [Deafen] 1 / [Anosmia] 1
Ability Points: 0
¡®Its about time I experimented more with the passives anyway. I need to merge all of them. Not just for the levels, but for my own expertise. I need to become more familiar with Psy. I need to unlock other Types. I need to be more.¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s keep going.¡± ¡°Sully, I think we¡¯ve done enough.¡± Slab countered. Curiously contradicting his own wishes from earlier. ¡°No.¡± I stated. My tone leaving no room for argument. Bringing Slasher out for good measure. ¡°We will keep going. We will get rid of whatever radiation Cherub missed and we will kill the monsters. Every one of them.¡± ¡°Sully¡­¡± ¡°Enough.¡± They all flinched. ¡°I have made my decision after considering all the factors at play. I will not allow one more person to die now that I have a chance to end the threat. We cannot allow this to happen. Heroes would not shirk from danger. They would not run away from this responsibility.¡± Dusty and Slab relaxed while the others were still more or less on edge. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I will use [Insight] to make sure we¡¯re safe. It¡¯ll be over before you know it.¡±
My children were dead or dying. Their bodies melting all around me. I was beside myself. Screeching into the heavens in rage and indignation. ¡®Again! It is happening again! The two-legs! The two-legs are doing this! They come with tricks and manipulations! They come to kill me and mine! Again! Haven¡¯t they had enough!? Haven¡¯t I killed enough!?¡¯ They had struck with spears of fire in times of old. Metal birds dropping faint powders that eroded my shell and ate at my wings. They had come over and over again until my children swarmed over them. Their own wings blotting out the sun. Until I feasted on their stone hives and cracked their steel shells under my weight. They hadn¡¯t dared similar attacks as of late. Only sending out small groups to die in the face of my family. To wither under our glow. I had thought this time would be no different. Sending my children to crush them from far above. To cull their cursed siblings before any sort of force could be built. All the while simmering with all the ideas, all the punishments I would inflict on the vile, accursed creature that turned them against me. But this was different. There were hundreds of thousands coming every minute. Appearing out of nowhere without warning. The two-legs of old had cowered before me. Wept when I ate their own children. But not these. These new two-legs had hooves and skin as red as cattle-blood. They had horns of stone and blackened wings at their backs and hips. And their weapons! This new shell of mine had not been pierced for hundreds of moons! Yet it splintered and cracked under their continued assault! My flesh, my strong body, started to crumble. I felt disease for the first time in forever. Festering sores that seemed to speak and coax me as if they had a life of their own. They begged me to stop struggling. To accept my own end and the end of all my spawn. To placate whatever evil brought them on. Some of strikes brought pleasure instead of pain, deceiving me into thinking they weren¡¯t as serious as I thought. Yet when I focused on them, I found them leaking ichor and refusing to heal as all my wounds did. Some wounds twisted further, warping my very bones into translucent tendrils like those belonging to my sea-faring cousins. Worse, those new appendages sucked vitality away from the rest of me and grew serpentine heads that bit at the unaffected parts I had left. Growing more of themselves in shades of bright blue and white. Through it all was a rage. A never-ending rage that called both me and them to blind, stupid acts of violence. Making all my poor children disregard their own lives as they uselessly exposed themselves mid-flight. ¡®I know what this is! This must be a Telepath! Many Telepaths acting in concert to kill me and my whole family! But they shouldn¡¯t be this strong. There shouldn¡¯t be this many of them! Why are there so many of them!?¡¯ Worse, they never finished me! Toying with me as I¡¯d toyed with my own captors once upon a time. The insolence! The audacity! I kept sending out cries. Calling more and more of my children to me. To my defense. All while heightening my glow. Until my light melted snow and stone alike into hot slag that dripped down the mountainside. But the new two-legs didn¡¯t care. They felt no pain when my legs pierced them. No sorrow when my mandibles cleaved their brothers in two. Instead, they kept laughing and laughing. Together with the faces high above the sky. ¡°I am the fear, that the Shepherd is collecting.¡± One would say. Seconds before one of my personal guards bashed their skull in. The two-legs turned to smoke, went inside my child and exploded from inside of him. Wearing the shattered remains of his shell as a cloak. ¡°I am the blood that he wishes to be raining.¡± Another did the same. Only it impaled one of my daughters before disappearing in a puff of smoke that slithered into her empty eye socket. ¡°I am the lamb that the Shepherd is now raising.¡± It jeered. Using her own mandibles to speak. Other joined in. Drowning out my own voice. My own lamentations for my poor, poor children. ¡°I am the bone that rises from the muck!¡± ¡°I am the star that collapses in the dark!¡± ¡°I am the metal that corrodes evil from within!¡± ¡°I serve the coffin and the angel found therein!¡± ¡°I will bring doom and exalted castigation!¡± ¡°I will deliver his wrath with jubilation!¡± ¡°I bear the will of the head on high!¡± ¡°I foretell that your end is nigh!¡± ¡°I will ensure that your all children suffer!¡± ¡°I will treasure their souls in my coffers!¡± ¡°Yours is the soul that I will claim!¡± ¡°Yours are the screams in my domain!¡± ¡°Come now beast, destiny awaits!¡± ¡°Come now beast, and face your fate!¡± They were everywhere! Everywhere! And they did not bleed as two-legs should! More and more of them were being born from the walls! From the floor! From the very air I was breathing! I choked, realizing just that as arms began clawing out of my throat. Impaling the insides of my jaws and mandibles! Gouging out chunks of my very lungs! The pain was agonizing and ever-present. Redoubling as my flesh knitted itself back together. ¡®UNNATURAL!¡¯ I called out to my brood. ¡®UNNATURAL! YOU! YOU!? WHAT HAVE THEY DONE!? WHAT HAVE THEY UNLEASHED!?¡¯ All the voices laughed harder. That was when another, bigger one popped into existence. A brute with four horns, red skin and wings as black as midnight. With three insects for legs and a battle-axe in one hand. He roared with glee and jubilation at the sight of me. Forming words as the others had. ¡°Mittens is here!¡± Then he looked at me. Smiling widely with rows upon rows of sharpened fangs that reeked of sulfur and other burning things. ¡°Mittens won¡¯t lie! Your children will die! Mittens is here!¡± Then he, it. Threw itself at me with a single beat of those terrible wings. Rending mutated flesh from bone over and over again in an orgy of violence. All while laughing. ¡°Mittens proclaims! From within his domain! Mittens is here!¡± He sank the axe in. Deeper and deeper with every passing word. ¡°And the Coffin foretold! Of bright wings in the cold! That when monsters wage war come unfurled! Solomon! Bane of evil! Terrible Tyrant unbound! With a hunger to collar the world!¡±
There were no flowers up the mountain. Nor was there much snow to be honest. The whole landscape was empty, save for the giggles hanging in the air. They receded at my touch. Smoothing out when I used [Warp the Veil II] on them. Like crinkles on a messy shirt that I happened to be ironing out. ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything here.¡± Boris pointed out. No doubt trying to ease some of Charlie¡¯s returning tension. ¡°Its fine.¡± He lied. ¡°I¡¯m over it. I don¡¯t know what came over me in the first place. This is fine.¡± I didn¡¯t comment on his blatant deception. Opting instead to keep focusing on my fog. There was nothing as far as I could sense. No birds, no plants, no mushrooms of any kind. Not even monsters. It was as if someone had fumigated the whole mountain range with some deadly chemical weapon. Or an unhealthy amount of radiation. ¡®Cherub?¡¯ ¡®What!? I told you! There¡¯s nothing here for me to absorb. Its all been taken care of.¡¯ I used [Domination] on him, just to be sure. The answer stayed the same. Leading me to sigh in exasperation. ¡®Now, if I were an apocalyptic-level kaiju that had destroyed most of western Europe in a few years, where would I be hiding?¡¯ I called on [Insight] once more, finding that it was finally able to cut through the interference. ¡°Another 12 kilometres over that ridge.¡± I called out. We made our way over to it in a hurry, finding more and more corpses lining the paths. Some had been burned, either form the outside or from the inside, while others had been twisted somehow. Either melted or sewn together into centaur-like amalgamations with two heads and a dozen limbs. Some were missing eyes. Some had too many eyes. ¡®Cherub. What, what happened here?¡¯ ¡®What do you mean?¡¯ ¡®I mean, what did all this? Surely it wasn¡¯t you, right?¡¯ ¡®Not all of it, no. I only killed a few hundred thousand. The millions living here were attacked by the other Intruders that came over when I borrowed your Psy. There were a lot of hungry cousins looking for a handout and your Psy is, particularly delicious, shall we say. A lot of them took on your emotions. The ones you felt towards these guys. The ones you feel towards monsters in general. Towards anything that tries to hurt you or your own kind. Think of it like, making more of you, all of whom hate these guys over here about as much as you hate Gnomes.¡¯ I took in the carnage once more. ¡®Yeah. That sounds about right.¡¯ We kept moving until the queen herself was enveloped by my fog. Or, rather, what I thought was the queen. The thing I was sensing was a¡­ sad thing. Many minds fighting inside a single brain. Tearing the scraps that used to be a host into smaller and smaller pieces before carrying those psionic vestiges elsewhere. ¡®Please.¡¯ The scraps begged. ¡®If you¡¯re there. End it. End me. End the suffering. Please. Please. Please.¡¯ My stomach turned, but I did not waver. I unleashed a charged mental bolt. For the first time in what seemed like forever. It struck the pathetic, mewling wretch. Splintering some of its more fractured thoughts asunder. ¡®More. Kill me. Please.¡¯ It continued. I blasted it with [Heart Attack]. With [Drown]. With [Indigestion]. With [Psionic Curse]. Shaving more and more life from what remained. Over and over again until we came face to face with it. The bug was, more humanoid than I would have liked. Easily bigger than twenty Dolce¡¯s put together, so that she seemed to dwarf the nearby peaks in the distance. Dusty let me down, while Slab let down Monique and Boris. Charlie ran around it. His eyes watering from the collective smell of all the bodies. ¡°Some of them have hooves, and horns.¡± He threw up. ¡°Sully, (Gnome)ing (Gnome) Sully. Why do they have hooves and horns?¡± ¡°Mutation has always been a constant up here.¡± Dusty said, dismissing his concerns out of hand. ¡°More importantly, the queen is here and helpless. Let us finish this.¡± Charlie didn¡¯t seem to hear her. ¡°Sully. Sully why does it smell of sulfur here? Sully, I¡¯m freaking out.¡± Boris went over to him and helped to prop his body up as be retched once more. Monique said nothing. Her face a stony mask. Slab walked up to the queen at that time. His club clenched tightly in his hands. ¡°You killed my great-grandfather.¡± He said, without much emotion. The queen wheezed. Her surroundings filled with the refuse her bowels had held and the ichor still seeping from her compound eyes. Her mandibles moved and human speech came out. ¡°I killed many. To stay alive. To earn my place. In this world. I was. A fool. This world is. Not worth living in. So long. As it holds nightmares. Like you.¡± It struggled to close its mandibles again, but the right side cracked and splintered before crashing into the ground. Green smoke erupted from the now-open section of flesh. Coming out like a noxious, pestilent hiss of toxic fumes. Curiously, there were faces in that somewhat verdant mist. Identical to the image I¡¯d had of the Tall Man. ¡°End. The. Pain. Please.¡± It managed after a while. Slab raised his club and hit it. To little effect. He hit it again and again and again. Losing himself in a berserker rage. His blows barely left a dent. Dusty joined him soon thereafter, managing to leave a few scars on the shell before her axe shattered into a thousand tiny pieces. The broken sections began to repair themselves, only to grow back as purple and pink serpentine heads that tore chunks of flesh from beneath the weakened armor. I stared at the macabre spectacle. Then up at the firefly. Gathering up [Heart Attack], [Drown], and [Indigestion] into a single missile. One with thousands of points of Psy crammed in. When I released it, the monster knew peace and I gained a new merged ability for my efforts. Chapter 57: A Hero’s Welcome. Chapter 57: A Hero¡¯s Welcome. As expected, the Excursion didn¡¯t immediately resolve itself once we¡¯d killed the queen. Leaving us plenty of time to march ourselves right back to Paris. The trip had been blessedly uneventful, as we made our way down the sheer cliffs and slopes to the rolling hills at the foot of the mountains. There was that awkward, preternatural silence hanging over every single stone we passed, but that nothing in the grand scheme of things. Yep. That whole, mountains-erupting-in-multicolored-fire-with-ghostly-faces business wasn''t anything too alarming. After all, things had worked out as well I could have hoped for. The kaiju was dead. Its offspring had been exterminated and the area had been cleaned of radiation in an afternoon. Our group had singlehandedly undone decades, possibly centuries of grief and hardship in a matter of hours. I mean, sure. [Unstable Reality] and the aftereffects had been spooky, but it had all worked out in the end. ''Though Charlie doesn''t seem to think so.'' Indeed, the otherwise stalwart youth who had braved monsters without batting an eye looked utterly shell-shocked as we made our way towards the valleys down bellow. His eyes wide open as his head swiveled in place in a manner that was very akin to that of a perturbed penguin, after two of their buddies were picked off by sea lions. That was, the right response. I supposed. The logical response to a, frankly, disturbing series of events. Yet I couldn''t bring myself to feel the same way. Everything that had happened up on that mountain had, technically, been a chaotic mess outside of my control. But I couldn''t shake the feeling that it was right. That all the pieces had somehow managed to fall into place. It was... as if a thousand little pieces of me had conspired to assist me from the sidelines. So that I wasn''t in direct control, while also steering events into a direction that was beneficial to me. I clapped my hands together then. Finally chancing upon a halfway decent comparison. "You know what it''s like? It''s like a grenade. I threw the Psy in a certain direction and it undid all the monsters in that direction. Only, this was more controlled. Like a shaped demolition charge used for mining or for tearing down decrepit buildings. Yes, the outcome was somewhat random, but I was still ultimately in control to some degree. Does that make sense?" "Not in the slightest." Borislav answered. His eyes so weary that he looked as if he were about to collapse from exhaustion. Monique only gave me a look, but that gaze spoke volumes by itself. Oddly enough, it was Charlie who spoke up soon thereafter. "Look man. Sully. I don''t care what kind of comparison you use. Fancy words are not for me. Actions, are for me. And right now, things... things..." He gulped audibly. "Things have more or less worked out. Just, try not to let the dead back out into the world. Okay?" "Okay." I assured him. "I''m sorry about this. I, should have paid more attention to your feelings. I''ll be more careful from now on." "Don''t be sorry." Slab interrupted. "We''ve done good work today. We''ve saved more lives by ourselves than millions of old-world soldiers and weapons systems put together. Now is not the time to be squeamish. This, hesitation. This fearmongering, only serves to hold us back from total victory. It might even keep us from using our powers to the fullest whenever the..." He hesitated. Biting his lip. "Whenever going all-out becomes necessary. Me and Charlie will work to remedy his fears through training. This fear will pass." Charlie said nothing out loud. Though his mind quickly went through a fair few colorful descriptors of Slab''s parentage. Slab should have been able to read those thoughts as well, but he chose to stay silent as we continued our descent. From there we travelled back the way we came. Past unnaturally tall trees and endless fields filled with wild flowers. ¡°You know guys, there¡¯s a village down below. A little under a kilometer beneath the earth. They don¡¯t have too many people but I¡¯d bet they could use a blast of [Insight].¡± ¡°That sounds like a good idea.¡± Slab agreed. ¡°We could also take the time to rest. Lugging around the trophy for this long is taking a toll on us.¡± The trophy in question was the head of the Luminescent Queen. Warped and mutated beyond what it once was. Still, it remained the very large head of a very large kaiju, meaning that just about anyone in this world would recognize the people carrying the bloody thing as a certifiable champion of good. It was apparently such a big deal that Slab and Dusty had fought with the rest of us tooth and nail in order to keep it. Meaning I¡¯d been forced to force feed Psy into Charlie and Monique through [Team Spirit] so that we could keep the (Gnome)ing decomposing corpse afloat via a mixture of gravity manipulation and a [Force Wall] placed underneath it. From there, Dusty and Slab took turns pulling it with a rope they¡¯d bought from Peachy. They¡¯d stubbornly persisted in doing so all the way down from the mountains too, which did end up impressing me to a certain degree. ¡®Though its still a waste of time. I could share my memories with the people we come across to prove what we did. Its not like the absence of radiation or giant mutant fireflies is going to remain unnoticed for very long either. People would find out, one way or the other. The more important factor is giving people we come across that extra oomph in power. Their lives might very well depend on it moving forward. Its not like we¡¯ll be sticking around after all.¡¯ Symbols were all well and good to rouse a populace, but there was a time and place for them. More specifically, a time and place where giving people hope wouldn¡¯t result in some of those people getting killed. That remained my biggest gripe with this whole endeavor. The chances that a few youths might become too overeager and push past the borders we¡¯d secured. That train of thought led me to the siblings once more. To how Dusty and Slab had practically been salivating when they''d first met me. To how I hadn''t really been a person in their eyes. Merely another tool to chase their own personal glory and prosecute their clan''s war on all kaiju. Not that I wasn''t thankful or anything. Their support had meant everything back then. When I was beside myself with self-hatred. If it weren''t for their determination, I might not be here at all. ''And that leads me back to Dusty herself. She''s been... awfully different around me these past few days. Though that same block keeps me from digging deeper. Does she still see me as a tool? Or is it something more?'' It was a riddle, wrapped in an enigma. On the one hand, she constantly thought about bringing me home and showing me off as the savior she and Slab had managed to find. In those fantasies, I was little more than a prize poodle for her to parade in front of Glossy and all the other girls that had bullied her growing up. On the other hand, she did sometimes act awfully, cute. Though her innermost feelings would drift back to her home. To the giant mosquitoes, and to their matron. To what I would do to them. To how I would shower her in glory. Then she''d go back to thinking about how all her doubters would react when she waltzed into the village with me. ''Perhaps that''s it.'' I mused. ''No matter what might be growing between us, it all comes back to the kaiju. The mission comes first and any infatuations that follow come a distant second.'' Not that I could blame her. I had already been informed on the state of the Blood Queen of course, but there were other horrors to contend with as well. The Endless Serpent whose body went over and under the Baltic Sea, with its head resting along the shores of Norway and the Great Minotaur hunting along the shores of the Mediterranean came to mind as the biggest concerns right then and there. Her world was, to put it nicely, (Gnome)d up beyond all comprehension. That kind of mindset might very well be normal out here. If not downright healthy. ''Though I do wonder if you can really call that living. What with the constant fear of being eaten alive and having some giant bug lay eggs in your chest cavity.'' I shivered at the images my brain had conjured up. Recalling my first few encounters with centipedes, and the way their insectile legs had skittered loudly across the cavern walls. How different kinds of bugs had fought each other for territory, even down there in the darkness. My brows furrowed then. My mind wondering if the same thing was possible with bugs of this size. What would happen if the other Devourers noticed that one of their number had been slain? Would any of them be keen on claiming western Europe for themselves? The kaiju equivalent of a power-vacuum in a food-chain? I tried to use [Insight] then. But all I got back was load of nonsense. Images of children in white suits raining down from the sky. Surrounded on all sides by mewling, braying faces in the clouds and other, less appealing monsters covered head to toe in strips of black leather. With buzzsaws in place of hands for added effect. None of those visions made any kind of sense. ''Damn it. My future sight keeps acting up at the worst times.'' My worries kept plaguing me all the way down to the village I¡¯d sensed. We¡¯d accessed it through a hidden bunker covered up with mossy stones and shrubbery. After that, it was only a matter of following the still largely intact road to a bastion. A gateway filled with barricades and now-inert turrets some five hundred metres below the earth. ¡®Open the gates! I¡¯m a Telepath and we¡¯ve brought the head of the Luminescent Queen!¡¯ I [Messaged]. And oh boy. Did that make them react. I was carried, yes, carried, the rest of the way on two burly men¡¯s shoulders. Their scarred faces beaming with some of the brightest smiles I¡¯d ever seen. Laughing and hooting as they pumped their fists in the air. Their captain, an older looking woman with a missing eye was walking ahead of us. She hadn¡¯t stopped crying since seeing the head. ¡°I¡­I just can¡¯t believe its really happening.¡± She managed. Blowing her nose on a woolen handkerchief. ¡°My sons, they went out with a party from Lyon. With Shepherd Phillip. They were going to lure away the Parade. To keep it from flooding our homes with radiation. The¡­¡± She blew her nose again. ¡°The Shepherd told us it was a doomed mission. That we¡¯d only succeed if we sent people to their deaths. He only took volunteers.¡± She turned around, feeling her way through the darkness while her brown braid swayed in the air. Casting long shadows under the light of a makeshift torch whose flame was replaced by bioluminescent algae. Her eyes found the head once more and tears started streaming down her eyes once more. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we finally managed it. I can¡¯t believe you managed it.¡± ¡°Its only the start.¡± Slab declared. Throwing his chest out as he did so. ¡°We will kill the others as well. All in due time. The people must know about what is coming though. More dangers lurk around the corner. Invaders will be coming into our world soon. Everyone must prepare.¡± ¡°And that we will.¡± She nodded. ¡°But not tonight. Tonight, we celebrate! It¡¯s a new day! A new France! A new surface opened before us! We mustn¡¯t lose track of that.¡± The village was, in truth, little more than a hovel in a cave. The houses, for lack of a better word, were openings dug into the walls and re-enforced with stone columns around the doors with another one inside the homes themselves. Those doors were curtains of leather, and the domiciles they blocked off were composed of three or four circular chambers interconnected to a main reception space. Each one would house up to twelve members of the same family. Three or more generations sharing a space that even I, as a student, would find too small and uncomfortable for myself. Strings of microorganisms made colonies along the ceiling, the chemical-light they produced being the greatest source of illumination for the villagers. Small pools lined some sections as well. All of them filled with the same bioluminescent algae the one-eyed woman had used to traverse the tunnels. It was a setting suffused with darkness, where every scrap of light was cherished and nurtured. Yet no one seemed bothered by this way of life. Quite the opposite they felt, content, with their lot. With the little that they managed to keep safe from roaming monsters. With our arrival, that contentment turned into rapturous joy. I had at least three pairs of arms hugging me at any given time. By body creaking under the pressure of genetically-modified muscles as I was passed around so that more people could get their word of thanks in. ¡°You guys are the best!¡± ¡°Glory to the heroes!¡± ¡°A toast! A toast! Bring the good wine! The good wine I said!¡± ¡°NOOOOO!!!¡± Slab had to dive. Literally dive, through the air to keep a recently filled cup from my hands. ¡°This Shepherd does not drink!¡± He roared, with enough force to deafen any hapless idiot in his path. ¡°What!? How dare you keep good drink and company from¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Shepherd too!¡± He clarified, letting a couple of [Messages] fly. The confused servers looked at him, then at each other. Then they shrugged. ¡°Well, he does look rather small. Best not chance it.¡± ¡°If another Shepherd says so, it must be true.¡± We, or rather, they, partied like the world was ending, instead of starting anew. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Mushroom booze swirling around cups carved from solid bone and going into eager mouths or splashing onto fur cloaks. I sat back to watch them go. Going over the new changes on my status.
Abilities Converging: [Heart Attack] 5 Has been undone. 15 Ability Points Gained. [Drown] 5 Has been undone. 15 Ability Points Gained. [Indigestion] 5 Has been undone. 15 Ability Points Gained. [Total Organ Failure III] 1 has been formed. 1 Ability point consumed. 44 Ability Points Remaining.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
[Total Organ Failure III] Standard Combination of [Heart Attack] / [Drown] / [Indigestion] Grants the User the ability to attack enemies within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. Affected Targets will experience a surge of disruptive Psy directed into their cardiovascular, respiratory and digestive systems, or their equivalents in creatures that do not posses these systems. This effect scales with current ability level. Creatures that fail to resist one effect will have the potency of the other effects doubled. The potency of all these effects increases by 200% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
I¡¯d had 68 points to work with, once the two additional levels were taken into account. I¡¯d used them to bring the brand new [Total Organ Failure III] to level 8. Which had left 33 points to work with. Originally, I¡¯d wanted to increase my range with them. Maybe shore up some of my interface abilities. The problem with that line of logic was that Anezka was, well, dead. She didn¡¯t pose a problem anymore. Nor Randall for that matter. Which meant that I didn¡¯t really need more juice on the interface abilities or more range to handle tough issues from a safe distance. I was, good. On that front at least. That¡¯s when I took stock of my priorities and went over what I wanted, instead of what I needed. And what I wanted was another set of abilities that I could merge together soon. I was already looking to merge [Mental Bolt] with the new combination so that didn¡¯t need more help. They were both at high levels and I felt like I¡¯d gotten a good grip on their functions. No. That would have been a waste. Instead, I looked to the few hums I hadn¡¯t been able to level. [Hum of Discord] and [Hum of Mist]. I had no idea what the former did, while I was fairly certain the latter was supposed to help with stealth. Problem was, I wasn¡¯t able to get working correctly. At least, not yet. So, I brought them both to five, leaving me five extra ability points to spend.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 27, 232 / 193, 545
Type: Telepath III Level 145
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 18 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Warp the Veil II] 10 / [Psionic Conjuration III] 8 / [Total Organ Failure III] 8 / [Sense Thoughts] 14 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 7 / [Hide] 3 / [Faint Presence] 2 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Team Spirit] 4 / [Team Resilience] 3 / [Team Momentum] 2 / [Team Doctrine] 4 / [Imposing Presence] 1 / [Alluring Presence] 4 / [Mask] 1 / [Hidden Danger] 1 / [Muffle] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Mark Target] 2 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 5 / [Hum of Striding] 5 / [Hum of Defence] 5 / [Hum of Harmony] 3 / [Hum of Discord] 5 / [Hum of Cleansing] 6 / [Hum of Mist] 5 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Cleansing Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 3 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1 / [Psionic Hex] 1 / [Psionic Curse] 5 / [Blind] 1 / [Deafen] 1 / [Anosmia] 1
Ability Points: 5
¡®Hmn¡­ decisions, decisions. Do I go for another level in [Hide]? Or do I wait for more training and level the sensory deprivation abilities instead? No. I haven¡¯t had a chance to try all of them out yet. There¡¯s still the possibility that I could train them up naturally.¡¯ Maybe I¡¯d get some inspiration after using [Insight]? Turns out no. It wasn''t that easy. Using the power on the villagers, after warning them of course, only gave me more of a reputation. All the ones lacking a Type became Enhancers at a stroke. Every. Single. One. Those that had been Espers prior to my arrival either gained Enhancer or Shifter as a new Type. Strangely enough, there were only three Projectors among the new crop. With only one Telepath. A bubbly girl with bright red cheeks stained with freckles and flowing blond hair tied back in a ponytail. That, was weird. Very weird. Up till now, people I blasted had gained new Types at fairly even rates, with Telepaths being slightly more common than the other Types overall. ¡®Maybe it has something to do with genetic predispositions?¡¯ I wondered. Recalling how certain populations back home had been perceived as more likely to develop into Shifters or Enhancers. The studies behind the theories were mostly bogus then. Not fit enough to publish in any reputable journals. I certainly hadn¡¯t believed that was the case. I still didn¡¯t. Types were often hereditary, but for whole populations to be affected¡­. ¡®Ah. Wait. These people¡¯s ancestors all genetically modified themselves for fun before the world ended.¡¯ I recalled. Indeed, even now, the descendants surrounding me looked all looked like computer-generated supermodels. Aesthetically pleasing to the point where it became uncanny. I was being hugged all over again before I knew it. Showered in praise and adulations. Slab and Monique were being celebrated too, but the group surrounding me was consumed by a different kind of fervor altogether. They all looked, well, drunk. Or perhaps high. Their faces and hearts pushed to the very limits of human emotion. All of it coming from the events that had transpired. The monster we¡¯d slain. ¡®What have their lives been like, if this is how they react? What have they endured until now?¡¯ Curiously, I began to feel a familiar connection going from me to them and back to me again. Much as I did back in Austin with the survivors there. I searched my lake, feeling around within myself to isolate the right string. Or strings, as it turned out. Several were reacting. All passives. If I had to describe the feeling, it would be similar to the boost in confidence that came from being slightly buzzed. Only, it was a feeling I was choosing to project outwards. That wasn¡¯t the only cause of course. These people were absolutely thrilled to have me here and most would have liked nothing better than having me around for longer. A few of the girls closer to my age were even whispering with family members in the privacy of their own homes. Discussing how this might be accomplished. ¡®They have to know I¡¯m listening, right? Then again, this is a small little village, and no one here has had much contact with Telepaths prior to our arrival.¡¯ Turns out I was wrong about that though. Focusing on their plans revealed that they were fully aware that I was probably listening. They just didn¡¯t give a (Gnome). The thoughts and impressions I got back were.... well. They might have been flattering to some. But they were too similar to those of Dusty. That is, all these people revered me, but not quite as a person. No, it was closer to reverence and awe for what I was. For what I had done and for what I could do for them. Yet, it was hard to put into words how uneasy it made me feel. It wasn''t anything like the usual bouts of adoration I would feel for Thunder Fist. Neither was it anything close to what I would call love. It was more like, greed. Like the feeling a loan shark might have gotten after their mark dug themselves into a hole. I might still have been flattered, if I didn''t know what was going on inside their minds. Since I did know, all it did was make me supremely uncomfortable. ''Jeez. And I thought Dusty and Slab were bad when it came to this. I feel so awkward it actually hurts.'' Three different damsels came out of their homes afterwards, pushing past the crowd to surround me and embrace me in, gentler ways. Bringing me over to sit on a bench and pressing themselves against me. Whispering sweet nothings in my ears. In all honestly, I was flattered, but the blatant way they chose to go about it made me more than a little uneasy. A trepidation that was doubled by the fact that half the crowd seemed to be in on it but chose not to disperse regardless. ¡°Tell us about the Parade again Sully! Were there a lot of them?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I managed. Somehow getting the words out despite the rather distracting softness. Another one, a blonde whose name I didn¡¯t know, took things further and sat on my lap as she brought her body even closer to mine. A closer inspection revealed she¡¯d been the only one to become a Telepath, where her previous Type had been Projector. Before, I might have been nervous about the attention, if I didn''t know what they were thinking. The old me would have even been a little bit happy, if truth be told. I could just about imagine Henry, Vince and Luigi heckling me from a few yards away. Urging me on as they swayed drunkenly from side to side. Now I was panicking. Not because she wasn¡¯t beautiful or kind or anything of the sort. In fact, every single human in this world had gotten the Monsanto treatment ahead of time and it showed. Being more perfectly sculpted than marble statues. No, I was nervous because she was crushing my (Gnome)ing legs. Like Dusty, she didn¡¯t have an ounce of excess fat on her. What she did have, were muscles. A lot of them. Probably denser bones as well. Couple that with how freakishly tall everyone here was and my legs were begging for mercy. ¡°Oh, Sully. Tell me more about the queen. Please? Did she fight back? How did you deal with the radiation?¡± ¡°Cherub helped us.¡± I squeaked. Channeling my hums to strengthen my legs and hopefully keep my bones from shattering. Buddy''s own abilities either not kicking in for some reason or being woefully inadequate. The boost made it so that the weight was merely oppressive. Rather than outright hazardous. ¡®Holy cow! Now wonder Dusty and Slab did so well in the Tutorial! They could have killed half the things in there without having powers! What the (Gnome) is this!? Come on woman! Aren¡¯t you a Telepath now? Read my mind! Actually, (Gnome) that. Read my face! You¡¯re killing me here!¡¯ ¡°Who¡¯s Cherub?¡± She asked coquettishly. Her lips treacherously close to my ear. ¡°An Intruder I summoned.¡± I answered. More annoyed than pleased. ¡°What¡¯s an Intruder?¡± I looked at her. Then at the others. They too were expectantly waiting for an answer. ''Well isn''t that the million dollar question?'' I wanted to say something along the lines of: ''How the (Gnome) should I know?'' But I felt like that might not serve to put them at ease. After all, a haunted mountain might not be much better than an irradiated one. ¡°Its like, a spirit. A being made of thoughts and emotions that I, we, can bring from beyond the veil. Right, it sounds like nonsense when I say it out loud. Imagine a non-physical life-form. One that attaches itself to physical stuff in our world. Its like that. Actually, no. I realize that doesn¡¯t make much sense either. Here, I¡¯ll share my memories.¡± I flexed [Suppression]. Bringing them in on the secret. I caught glimpses of their own memories as I shared mine. Suffice it to say, the throbbing in my legs was the last thing on my mind after that. Glimpses of lifetimes spent underground entering my psyche and settling in alongside my own worries. ''I mean, holy (Gnome). That (Gnome) was dark as (Gnome). I¡¯ve known people who tried to kill themselves who didn¡¯t have it this bad.'' I felt that resonance again. The passives reacting to my new feelings. In the ways they wanted to perceive me. What they wanted me to be.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Imposing Presence] 1 has grown to [Imposing Presence] 4
Ability Evolving: [Alluring Presence] 4 has grown to [Alluring Presence] 5
The new power erupted from me like a wave. Exacerbating the fervor of the hungry crowd. It went into them and back into me.
Abilities Converging: [Imposing Presence] 4 Has been undone. 10 Ability Points Gained. [Alluring Presence] 5 Has been undone. 15 Ability Points Gained. [Charming Presence II] 1 has been formed. 1 Ability point consumed. 24 Ability Points Remaining.
[Charming Presence II] Standard Combination of [Imposing Presence] / [Alluring Presence] Grants the User the ability to passively influence living creatures within 10% of the current range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. Affected creatures will slowly experience a slight improvement to baseline mood and contentment and will associate these feelings with the User. This effect will fade if the creature moves away from the range of the ability. Mood improves at a rate of +1% per minute per current ability level. This effect cannot exceed a +5% boost per current ability level for creatures of the same Tier. Affected creatures will be less inclined to attack the User and more receptive to diplomacy at a rate of +2% per second per current ability level. This effect cannot exceed a +10% boost per current ability level for creatures of the same Tier. This ability cannot affect a creature above the User¡¯s Tier. The potency of this ability has no limits for creatures below the User¡¯s current Tier. The potency of all these effects increases by 100% every five levels. Not surpassing the Tier-related restrictions. These effects cannot be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
My eyes scanned the new screen over and over again. A smile crept onto my face. The blond beauty mistook it for something else, but I was beyond caring. ¡®This is it! The legendary superpower all the best heroes have! Talk-no-Jutsu! With this, I could talk down criminals without having to control them. I could make villains see reason and turn aways from their dastardly ways!¡¯ Better yet, it would give me an extra layer of security when fighting monsters. Granted it didn¡¯t sound like much when I already had [Domination]; but it was a passive and wouldn¡¯t cost me a thing in any case. ¡®Although¡­¡¯ There was that little issue of morality. That is, how it would affect people near me outside of combat. Obviously, I wouldn¡¯t hesitate to use it in a fight. But, what would this do to the others back in the Warehouse? ¡®It¡¯s something that needs to be discussed. I never imagined the effects would be so drastic so its likely no one else has given these abilities a second look. Better to talk this out in a group meeting and decide where to go from there.¡¯ I quickly put in as many points as I could. Brining the ability to level 9 and giving me 7 points left over to spend. Then I turned off the passive. Momentarily severing the connection between myself and the string behind my eyes. ¡®Now that I think of it, it might be better if we don¡¯t make use of these sorts of abilities in public settings. I can already see several situations where this could lead to awkward conversations.¡¯ I felt a warm, wet touch on me cheek at that moment. Realizing that the blond girl had kissed me. I turned to her. ¡®That¡¯s odd. I haven¡¯t had this ability for a full minute yet and it¡¯s already turned off. There shouldn¡¯t be any feelings coming from it.¡¯ I coughed lightly into my hand and clarified the situation before any misunderstandings arose. ¡°You¡¯ve seen my memories now.¡± I spoke. ¡°You know I can¡¯t stay. You know I can¡¯t control where I end up. Not until the Tutorial finishes anyway. This won¡¯t lead to anything.¡± She grinned mischievously. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not expecting the literal savior of humanity to stay cooped up here like a mouse. I was hoping that you¡¯d be able to stay for¡­ a little bit longer. Yet it would seem fate has other plans. You¡¯ve got places to be. Titans to slay.¡± A cheer went up around the crowd. ¡°This doesn¡¯t have to be serious. I¡¯d like it to be, but I understand the road you need to walk. My own grandfather was a Shepherd. Philip of Lyon. He lived his life for others. Moving through communities to the best of his abilities and helping wherever he could. This village wouldn¡¯t exist if it wasn¡¯t for the missions he led. Neither would Paris for that matter.¡± He cheery smile turned melancholic. ¡°He fought and fought until it killed him. Never giving up until the end. You¡­¡± She turned to stare at me. Her icy blue eyes almost the same shade as mine. ¡°You made his dream come true. All of our dreams.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± ¡°Whooo!¡± ¡°Glory to the Shepherds!¡± ''No.'' I thought. ''I''m not like those guys at all. I just happened to be strong enough to do something about it.'' I mean, I would have helped anyways. If I found myself in a position to help. But this felt wrong. It felt like I was being wanted, but for the wrong reasons. Moreover, it reminded me of Dusty and how potent her feelings were. That, and how they differed from what I would have called love. ''Dammit. Dammit it all. Why does my stomach refuse to settle? This would have been so much simpler if I wasn''t able to read minds. I don''t want to feel this queasiness.'' She ignored the background noise. Locked on to me throughout. ¡°Consider this a small reward. Just this once. Just you and me.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± A nearby brunette cut in. Slapping the back of the blonde¡¯s head. ¡°Sorry, sorry. You and me and, anyone who fancies rewarding you too.¡± The crowd roared in agreement. As if this was some bizarre dating show and they the audience. I held my breath, considering. On the one hand, this was a, tempting offer. On the other hand... I searched for Dusty''s mind. Trying to locate her among the fervor. I found her next to Slab. Congratulating him on his five new... friends. Huh. What''s more, she was thinking back to Glossy. That girl from back home. Fantasizing about the kind of face she would make when I made my debut. When Dusty rose to the top of the political ladder in the clan. In the nation as a whole. Dusty hungered for that future like an entire pack of starving coyotes eyeing a baby piglet. Her neurons relishing the imagined surprise on her rival''s face. The authority that came from successfully slaying a kaiju. ''I guess I shouldn''t be all that surprised. This is their culture and their world. The kind of feelings I''m used to wouldn''t really play a role here. But still... I... it makes me feel so... '' I sighed. That was fine. I guessed. Not like anything changed. Then I looked back to the girls currently surrounding me. Taking in their, generous proportions, as well as their, evident enthusiasm. I called upon [Insight] one more time. Just in case. And didn''t see any bad outcomes. Then I tensed. Wrestling with the ill-feelings I had about this whole ordeal. ''Not right now.'' I thought soberly. ''Not before talking to Dusty and clarifying this whole messy tangle of emotions. Even if I don''t quite reciprocate whatever is going on. We should talk it out first. This has gone on long enough. If I want to say something, I need to say it now.'' "Sorry girls." I said apologetically. "Not tonight. There are still things I need to do." Intermission: Novices. Intermission: Novices. The lights around the track were almost blinding. Shining in bright hues of red and green and blue. They were placed along the ground on either side of the dirt road. Acting as improvised borders for us and automatically docking points whenever we veered off into them. ¡®Not like anyone¡¯s actually done it though. I have to say, it feels a bit silly to have them there.¡¯ Any normal person would have had more than enough coordination to avoid tripping outside the wide dirt track. Given that half the people here were Enhancers, the likelihood of such a scenario was even lower. ¡®Though I guess some people have been showing up drunk to these events. Honestly, what a waste.¡¯ I mean, I¡¯d had a drink or two before coming too but that hadn¡¯t been enough to give me a buzz. No, the problem came from people who really let themselves go. Guzzling down four or five pitchers of beer and relying on [Enhanced Constitution] or [Regeneration] to keep their livers running. I looked to my left and right. Assessing my current competition. Oscar didn¡¯t seem drunk at first glance, but a closer inspection revealed the telltale signs of a hangover. Meaning he¡¯d spent the night partying it up at Mindy¡¯s place before coming here. Which was rather silly on his part, since it was no secret that he was quickly running out of points. Patricia appeared sober as well, bouncing up and down on her heels as if she couldn¡¯t contain all the excess energy her new levels granted. There was still a bruise on her right cheek. A testament to her overconfidence during the boxing matches last week. It would seem that she was determined to show off in this race in order to wash away her previous shame. Then, there was Cassandra. Her face still as stone and her eyes focused on the finish line off in the distance. That was troublesome. Her being a Telepath meant that she was at a severe disadvantage when it came to physical contests. However, that also meant that quite a lot of her abilities were judged as non-direct-attacks. Which meant that, unlike the rest of us, she could spam out crow-control with impunity. The lucky one would fall on her first round of [Sleep]. The other ones would last until she started dishing out [Blind] and [Indigestion]. Both of which very not fun to experience. My hand went to my stomach as memories resurfaced and I started feeling sick all over again. ¡®It is good to see her so relaxed though. She¡¯s doing a lot better these days.¡¯ I briefly recalled the last time I saw her prior to our entrance into the Tutorial. Me and Sully looking down on her as she lost her mind on the street below. She¡¯d seemed mortified back then. Ranting and raving about a tyrant and gnomes and other things. Back then, I had assumed that she was smashed on a strong vintage or three. Now though, I wasn¡¯t sure what to make of it. Neither did she for that matter. She kept repeating that visions only showed the most likely future, instead of a future that was certain to happen. However, she also refused to put any points into [Precognition] or [Premonition] and was horrified when she got them without spending points. ¡®Yeah, people really didn¡¯t like that. Hard to sympathize with someone who gets freebie levels and extra ability points when you have to scrape for any advantage you can get.¡¯ A blast from the overhead trumpets stole my attention away and I refocused on the race at hand. Noting all the hurdles between us and the end. ¡®Right. I can do this. Just keep sprinting forward and don¡¯t let the illusions get to me. Also, hope against hope that Cass doesn¡¯t target me first.¡¯ ¡°All right students! Welcome to today¡¯s event! The wacky obstacle course! The setting is thus! You must reach the end of the course within 10 minutes in order to receive the bare minimum of 500 store tokens. Those that fail to meet this requirement will get zilch. Zero. Nothing. First place yields 5, 000 store tokens. Second place yields 3, 000. Third place gets a measly 1, 000 store tokens to spend on houses and good food and those cute hairy dogs you all like so much. As always, show your athletic spirit by not engaging in untoward behaviour. Direct attacks of any kind will be severely punished.¡± Most of the current contestants beside me began to glower at Cass. She didn¡¯t look at them. Acting as if they weren¡¯t there. Which only served to inflame them further. ¡°Also! This little event will have a surprise rule! Yay!¡± ¡®No. Not yay. Very much not yay.¡¯ That got people¡¯s attention off the Telepath and many of my peers looked up with horror in their expressions. So did I, for that matter. Surprise rules had been fun things during the first week. Asking us to do push-up in our pajamas or running a marathon while holding a melting ice-cream cone in one hand. After that, the surprises had slowly gone from silly and humorous to downright sadistic. Demanding that we forgo food for half a day while jogging or that we spar without the safety suits on. ¡®Someone¡¯s going to break a bone one of these days.¡¯ I though bitterly. Once more thanking whatever power was out there that none of my friends were taken alongside me. I had a distinct feeling that they wouldn¡¯t have been able to handle things here. ¡®Especially Sully. He¡¯s always been a goody-two-shoes. And a little immature for all that.¡¯ ¡°Our surprise rule will be the complete ban on active abilities! Passives only! So that we can see how all of you do when we take into account situation in which Psy will be, slow to come back, shall we say. Now don¡¯t make those faces. Its completely within the realm of possibility and passives will be lifesavers when you inevitably find yourselves in these situations. So, better to train up now while you still have the chance. With that out of the way, go on and have fun! Race starts in three!¡± I looked back at Cass. Noting how her already pale face had lost what little color it had. The others around her were in a much more jovial mood at the news however. Going so far as to snicker at the arbitrary changes. ¡°Two!¡± ¡°Guess you won¡¯t be able to pull of your usual tricks, spook.¡± Patricia muttered. Sneering as she did so. Cass said nothing in response. ¡°One!¡± I sucked in a breath and spread my awareness out over my whole body. ¡°Go!¡± The ground nearly exploded behind me. Dust flying in every direction as I kicked off with preternatural speed. Constant training and natural athleticism meant that I quickly outpaced my competitors. [Enhanced Training] once more showing off its stuff. I ran and ran. Growing the distance that separated me from those who would claim second and third place. My confidence only grew after I¡¯d cleared the first couple of hurdles and I chanced a backwards glance as I began to sprint up the hill that rose from the otherwise even terrain. Patricia, for all her cockiness, couldn¡¯t keep up with the frontrunners, as her build was focused on strength. As it was, she was floundering with the latter half of the trailing mass of students. Desperately keeping her impulse to shove others out of her way in check, lest she lose even more tokens than she had already. Oscar, was nowhere to be found. At least, not anywhere close to the middle. Meanwhile, Cass. Was not dead last. In fact, she was holding her own and managing to remain a few dozen metres behind Patricia. I turned back to the track and kept advancing up the incline. Considering what I¡¯d just seen. ¡®I guess hero programs aren¡¯t just for show. Her keeping up with other Enhancers and Shifters, even slow ones¡­ That pace can¡¯t have been easy to maintain.¡¯ I leapt over more hurdles on my way to the finish line. Clearing them with an ease that would have made pre-emergence Olympians blush. All the while, my breathing remained even. Steady in the face of constant exertion. I felt, strong. Sure, of myself. In total control of my own movements and faculties in a way that would have been unthinkable back home. ¡®No wonder guys like Mason were total (Surprise). I can¡¯t imagine what being born with this kind of power does to you growing up.¡¯ Only a few hundred metres stood before me and my goal. The black and white awning beckoning me forward from all the way up at the top of the hill. I jumped over a trench dug into the ground. Safely landing on the other side without breaking a sweat and pushed myself past the final stretch. Going past it in a blur. ¡°We have a winner my dear students! First place goes to, Henry Cornwall! Let¡¯s give him a round of applause!¡± There was some cheering at that. The few people who¡¯d opted out of the day¡¯s event calling out to me from the stands far off to the side. I waved at them. Moving to clear the sweat from my brow as I¡¯d done back home, only to once again realize there wasn¡¯t any moisture atop my brow. Then, I made my way over to the nearby washrooms. Picked up a fresh towel and had a nice refreshing shower. Indulging in the warm water while the rest of my peers finished up the race. There was a ruckus waiting for me afterwards. People in the stands rushing over and congratulating me on my performance. ¡°Nicely done Henry!¡± ¡°Way to go man!¡± ¡°The others didn¡¯t have a chance!¡± ¡°I guess it was a good thing that I didn¡¯t participate. No sense in going up against you.¡± I cringed a little at that last comment. Wondering whether or not to say something. The speaker was a young man whose name escaped me at the moment. With a natural tan that reflected his previous life as a surfer bro. He¡¯d done well enough in the beginning, when the going was easy, but had lately made a habit of skipping any events he saw as too much of a bother. ¡®That¡¯s a stupid mistake.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®It¡¯s the reason why you¡¯re still level 5 after all this time.¡¯ If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. In truth, the reason why I was the second-highest levelled person here was precisely because he was so lazy. The advantage he¡¯d had in the beginning having shrunk into nothingness as he idled. In contrast, I¡¯d been working my (Surprise) off for the better part of our six-week stay. Pushing my body harder and harder until I was almost as strong as Cass. Which was saying something, as she¡¯d been a literal pro-hero before the Tutorial. ¡®That reminds me¡­¡¯
Name: Henry Cornwall
Psy: 110 / 110
Type: Enhancer Level 12
Enhancer Abilities: [Enhanced Strength] 2 / [Enhanced Dexterity] 3 / [Enhanced Constitution] 3 / [Enhanced Training] 3 / [Enhanced Learning] 1 / [Enhanced Processing] 1 / [Enhanced Flexibility] 2 / [Enhanced Reflexes] 2 / [Enhanced Stamina] 2 / [Enhanced Toughness] 1 / Enhanced Agility] 2
Ability Points: 0
I clicked my tongue. ¡®Man, it¡¯s been a whole week without a level. What am I supposed to do to get more points?¡¯ ¡°Out of my way.¡± Patricia growled from behind me. I turned to see her shoving passersby aside. Glowering at them as if she was preparing to eat them for breakfast. I made the mistake of frowning and that was all it took. ¡°What are you looking at, hot shot? You looking for a fight?¡± ¡°No.¡± I said at once. ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight with anyone. I¡¯m good.¡± Her face twisted further. Until it resembled a dried out prune someone had left out in the sun. ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re good. You¡¯re real good aren¡¯t you. Maybe a little too good. Tell me, how did you convince the spook to help you?¡± ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± She stepped closer. ¡°I¡¯m asking you how you got the spook to help you. Dumb(Surprise). How did you get her to cheat?¡± ¡®Oh. That¡¯s where this is going.¡¯ I sighed in defeat. Realizing that this day wasn¡¯t going to get any better. ¡°Come on Pat. Don¡¯t do this to yourself. You know the organizers have their (Surprise) together. They¡¯d have caught on to any cheating taking place.¡± ¡°So, you, say. Funny that. I have no way to tell whether or not you¡¯re lying and the best mind-reader around happens to be your girl.¡± ¡°Cass hasn¡¯t been my girlfriend for a long time.¡± I repeated. Knowing full well that nothing I said would change her mind. ¡°Yet you still call her by that pet name. Again. Funny that.¡± I rolled my eyes so hard I feared they might pop out of my skull. ¡®My goodness. What I wouldn¡¯t give to have my friends here with me. Me and Luigi would roast the ever-living (Surprise) out of her and watch as Sully and Vince tried not to laugh. Actually, you know what? I¡¯m done with her. I¡¯m done with this. Time to go to town.¡¯ ¡°Look, Pat. Stop it. It was funny the first few times you did it. Now its just sad. So what if Cass kicked your fat (Surprise) up and down the ring a few times? So what if she stood up to you when you were running your sad little take on a mafia? So what if she¡¯s proven that she¡¯s better and more good-looking than you every single time the two of you have come up against each other? That¡¯s no reason to make a scene. You¡¯re acting like the disgruntled president of a homeowner¡¯s association after their husband and their kids left because of their terrible personality. Its sad to see. You¡¯re literally making me cry for you. And I don¡¯t want to cry for you. Because you¡¯re a sad, angry little person who spreads misery and cholera wherever she goes. Maybe one more than the other, but that¡¯s your business, not mine.¡± The crowd surrounding us had gone silent. Meanwhile, the look on her face could have brought smiles to grieving widows. Her mouth hanging open as if she was waiting for flies to make her way inside. ¡°Close you mouth Pat.¡± I gently admonished. ¡°Your breath is liable to kill someone. Or a whole host of someones.¡± She shut her trap. The opened it again. Making weird noises while her cheeks reddened. ¡°Look, why don¡¯t you leave Cass and I alone and use that time to train. That way, you won¡¯t be humiliated quite as often. Maybe. If you¡¯re lucky. As for this race; if you¡¯ve got a problem, take it up with the organizers. I hear a new one was just appointed that might take your seriously. Granny something or other.¡± It took a full minute for her to recover. Once she did, she sneered. ¡°I will do that. Don¡¯t think your little games will go unpunished.¡± She shoved her way past me and down the brightly colored street of the town. Making her way towards the school. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do that.¡± Cass admonished. Her tone as even as always. I shrugged in response. ¡°Maybe not. But I wanted to. You¡¯re¡­ well. Maybe not a girlfriend anymore. But at friend at the very least. I had to say something.¡± She shook her head. Her hair gently swaying from side to side. I looked at her again and made not of the faint blush creeping onto her cheeks. I smiled a goofy smile. ¡°And since we¡¯re still friends. Do you fell like having a drink? Its on me.¡± ¡°No.¡± She sighed. ¡°We have to go find this Granny Golden and set the record straight.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± I waved her off. ¡°Do you honestly think anyone who¡¯s officially working for the System is going to believe her lies?¡± ¡°Maybe not. But she¡¯ll probably want to read our minds to make sure her story is false. I wouldn¡¯t want this to snowball into a bigger incident later.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Fine. After you princess.¡± She elbowed me in the ribs. ¡°I told you to stop calling me that.¡± ¡°I know.¡± I snickered. ¡°That¡¯s why I keep doing it. I want to get your attention.¡± She elbowed me again. Drawing ¡®oos¡¯ and ¡®aahs¡¯ from the crowd. There were more and more people gathering the closer we got to the main school building. Familiar faces making their way over to elective classes and lessons on the practical use of abilities. The two of us eventually reached the storefront. Finding the new merchant set up across the principal¡¯s office. Moreover, it would seem that principal Banerid, this two and a half metre were-fox humanoid, was having a rather heated conversation with the comparatively smaller were-crow called Granny Golden. ¡°I don¡¯t see why I should get involved in the humans¡¯ spat.¡± Granny Golden assented. ¡°I keep telling you dear. We, who have been so generously assigned to this instance, take our jobs far more seriously. We have a duty to listen to the students and to hear out their woes and complaints.¡± He placed his clawed hands behind his back. Swishing his two tails back and forth. He chuckled lightly. Causing his fangs to become visible. ¡°Perhaps you would know this already, if you¡¯d bothered to listen. But then again, I suppose I shouldn¡¯t have expected much from someone that had to flee from a student. I should keep in mind that your species¡¯ standards have dropped considerably.¡± Granny Golden bristled. ¡°You don¡¯t know what kind of game you¡¯re playing, fool! These primates have a Savant among their number! A true, honest Savant!¡± He rolled his crimson eyes. ¡°Indeed. Savants seem to be popping up all over with this lot. Why, our dear Cassandra was a Telepath before she came here too. Her level and abilities are quite advanced.¡± Granny stopped dead in her tracks. Her beak opening and closing again. Then, she began to shake. So violently that even the principal seemed taken aback. ¡°W-what¡¯s her level?¡± ¡°21.¡± Patricia supplied. ¡°Almost twice that of Henry, who happens to be the runner-up.¡± She pointed at us. ¡°She¡¯s cheating the System somehow. Getting new levels faster than we are. Its not fair. I know there has to be something she¡¯s been taught or some cheat she figured out. We should know it too, or else, this whole Tutorial is pointless.¡± Granny Golden¡¯s tension had left her frame the second she found out about Cass¡¯ level. Her feathered body almost dropping to the ground like a deflated balloon. Patricia didn¡¯t notice. Instead, her eyes found me and Cass and the distaste became plain to see on her face. ¡°She¡¯s also found a way to cheat the rules during events! That¡¯s how she and Henry keep winning! I want someone among the staff to review the footage so that they can be caught and punished!¡± The principal was nodding along slowly. His eyes looking at Patricia in the same way that one might look at a chimpanzee flinging their own feces around their enclosure. A mixture of barely contained revulsion mixed with no small amount of fascination. Granny Golden only showed revulsion. ¡°Listen here. Young one.¡± She chirruped in between what I thought were sighs. ¡°Your accusations are not only baseless. They showcase how moronic you are and how your teachers have done a fair job at keeping you ignorant.¡± Patricia whirled. Reddening further. ¡°You¡¯ve been bought already.¡± She spat. ¡°No.¡± Granny Golden said, flatly. ¡°I am speaking nothing but the truth. The System is an ability. Kept running by the will and psychic might of the ascended. To manipulate it, you would need to have power comparable to that of an ascended. That is, an ability that was at least Tier 10. I made sure to double check the profiles of all the students her before taking this job. In fact, I go over those documents twice every day to avoid¡­¡± She paused. Choosing her words carefully. ¡°Unwelcome surprises.¡± She finished. Shivering as she did so. ¡°Now, while the faculty in this difficulty and this difficulty alone can use their abilities to actively attack the students, we are carefully kept in check by each other¡¯s interests so that we only do so during sparring matches. For your instruction.¡± She pointed a clawed thumb at principal Banerid. ¡°This one would report me for a reward within a second of me doing such a thing. Meaning he and every other teacher here have nothing to gain and everything to lose by showing favouritism. I¡¯m not saying that favoritism doesn¡¯t happen here in the Labyrinth. I¡¯m just saying that none of you weaklings could hope to afford all of our prices. If you wanted to get away with bending the rules, you¡¯d need to have enough clout to convince all of us at once, so that none of the teachers reported each other. So, get on with your life. And stop wasting my time.¡± Patricia retreated a few steps. But marshalled her courage soon thereafter. ¡°Is that so?¡± Patricia growled. ¡°Well then, let me tell you this. The school will not last forever. I don¡¯t know what level you guys are, but I know all of you have stopped growing a long time ago. I will get stronger than you someday and then, you will be sorry you all treated me like garbage.¡± Principal Banerid roared with laughter. ¡°Of course! Of course! We do love to see this much gumption from our dear students! Oh, I have no doubt that you will achieve great things Patricia! Great things!¡± He leapt forward to pinch her cheek and pull it slightly. So fast that his movements created a shockwave that sent air in every direction. I flinched, as I realized that I had caught less than a quarter of his movements. ¡°Did you see that?¡± I whispered to Cass. She shook her head. ¡®Damn. How strong would you have to be to stand next to guys like him?¡¯ I knew we might get there eventually, but the prospects seemed wildly out of reach. The second Tier was, like an impenetrable wall. One where only the monstrously strong managed to break through. ¡°Let go of me!¡± Pat shrieked. But her efforts were futile. Her punches might have been fearsome for us, but the principal didn¡¯t seem to feel them at all. Instead, he kept laughing merrily. ¡°Look here. If you really want to challenge someone, challenge this Granny here. I always thought she was far stronger than me, but it turns out she was defeated by a human student recently. Take your chances with her.¡± Contrary to him, Granny Golden had not been laughing when Patricia made her threats. Instead, she was chewing on some of her fingers. Using her beak to bite into them at changing intervals while shaking. ¡°Possible.¡± She mumbled. ¡°Beauty standards. Marriage. Connections. Possible. Possible. (Foxxan).¡± She turned her head to address all of us, as well as the onlookers. ¡°Before this conversation goes on any further¡­ would anyone here happen to know a certain¡­ Solomon Carter?¡± My jaw dropped. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s my best friend!¡± Granny Golden¡¯s entire being focused on me. Her eyes digging holes into my soul. Then, the shaking redoubled. To the point where all the pins and ornaments hidden within her robes were clattering and clanking against each other like maracas. Patricia looked around, confused. Before regaining her momentum. ¡°Aha! I knew it! You were cheating using this (Cassandra)hole¡¯s clout!¡± Granny Golden didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, she took out what looked like a spiked bat out of a ring and swung it at Patricia¡¯s face. Teeth went flying. Principal Banerid¡¯s jaw hit the floor. As did Patricia¡¯s. ¡°What are you doing you cow!? I was joking! How could you actually hurt a student!?¡± Granny Golden shoved a piece of paper into his face, causing the werefox¡¯s eyes to refocus on it. Then they almost popped out of his skull. ¡°WHOOAOAOAOAAAAAA!!¡± He shrieked. Before starting a set of backwards cartwheels. Hands finding the floor over and over again as he kept leaping in retreat. ¡°WAAAAAAAOOAAAA!!! WAAAAAUUU!!! WAAAAAAGH!!!¡± He kept up, all the way to the door and out of sight. Granny Golden turned to me. Nodding sagely and prostrate herself. ¡°Master Henry. Please. Have mercy on us poor fools. I am yours to command. All I beg in return is that you stay your dear friend¡¯s hand when the time of your reunion comes.¡± She went so far as to kowtow. Forehead planted firmly down on the floor. ¡°Please. Please. Please.¡± Cass eyes snapped to Patricia¡¯s crumpled form. Then to me. ¡°Henry. Who the (Surprise) is this, Solomon Carter?¡± I was taken aback. Retreating while putting my hands up. ¡°I told you! My best friend! He, he¡¯s a bit on the taller side. Mostly in shape. Has a big hooked nose. Grey eyes that look like they know what you¡¯re thinking before you say it out loud. Good guy overall. Bit uptight. Little bit of anger issues.¡± Granny Golden sobbed harder. Sounding like a whole host of toddlers put together. All while Principal Banerid was still doing cartwheels outside the windows and hollering his furry head off. A closer inspection revealed that the tiled floor beneath her was wet and getting wetter by the second. ¡°Did you just piss yourself!?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m so, so sorry master Henry! It won¡¯t happen again I swear!¡± ¡°Henry¡­¡± Cass began again. Her tone becoming dangerously low. ¡°Who. Is. This. Person.¡± I sputtered. Not knowing how else to explain. ¡°He¡¯s, my friend! I keep telling you that! He¡¯s a good guy and a good buddy to have! We¡¯ve been friends forever! Ever since we were like, six or seven or something and our families survived an encounter with some monster crabs and a rogue Telepath villain. A tall one.¡± Cass flinched. Then her eyes went over to the note on Granny Golden¡¯s hand. When she read it, a single word escaped her full, cherry lips. ¡°Tyrant.¡± Then she dropped the note and fell down unto the floor. Spasming, as she had back then. When Sully had been at my side. Chapter 58: Dire Warnings. Chapter 58: Dire Warnings. The interior of the manse was as richly decorated as a royal palace. Gilded columns standing proud from atop polished marble floors. Vast sections of that very same floor held vast rugs with inlaid scenes of hunt and battle. The heroes portrayed therein having a vast selection of weapons and armor as they faced down familiar looking monsters. It would have seemed a little bit cool, if it weren''t for their faces. Indeed, those woven visages could best be described as very, very loose interpretations of what I looked like. Kind of how old timey painters would take commissions to make their patrons as good as humanly possible without crossing into the realm of outright fantasy. My own face could be described as average. Maybe slightly above average if one didn''t mind the nose or the thin lips. In contrast, the people portrayed in those rugs could have starred in a John Gardens movie in a leading support role. It was a level of vanity and self-indulgence that was, frankly, off-putting. "Oh come on. Don''t be like that!" The Drake called out from another room. "I think it looks great! Based on my understanding of human beauty standards anyway. Why, you look positively dashing in those rugs!" It, he. I was getting the impression that he was indeed a he these days; came over to where I was standing. Dressed head to toe in what I could only describe as mid-life-crisis standard wear for a single divorced dad. Complete with a leather jacket so fine that no one in their right mind would wear it while riding a motorcycle and boots that screamed loudly of low self esteem and barely-supressed desperation. "And why wouldn''t we celebrate your heroic image? After all, you finally got what you''ve always wanted. You are the undisputed hero of the hour! The best man around! The one guy children look up to and say to themselves: ''Wow, I really want to be that guy when I grow up!'' Ah! And you cut such a dashing figure too. Practically oozing confidence and bravado as all those cave-dwelling losers cheered you on! Truly. You sir, have no equal." I blinked. Multiple times in quick succession. Wondering if I could perhaps find a knife sharp enough for stabbing in the kitchen. "Nope. You will find no such thing. I checked. This mental landscape of yours is sadly devoid of rudimentary weapons. Lots of food though! I''m really starting to get a deep appreciation for human cuisine. I don''t know if you''ve realized it yet, but most species in the Labyrinth hardly ever season their food. A tragedy, if you ask me. So much wasted potential for an activity that just about everyone will be repeating for as long as they''re alive. Why, I always make sure to enjoy my meals to the fullest. To live like it''s my last day alive." I said nothing. Unable to know whether these were his true feelings and, frankly, not caring either way. "Well, don''t you look glum." The Drake said. Giving off a capricious, carefree smile while he sat. Lounging back on a thick, fluffy couch. ¡°So what if your teammate is angry at you? So what if [Insight] isn¡¯t completely perfect all of the time? What is life without a few hiccups, am I right? Besides, it isn¡¯t as if you committed some great sin or something. You had adoring fans. Fans whose entire way of life you changed for the better. It is only natural that they¡¯d want to¡­ how you say, get to know you a little better. Why, someone powerful getting that sort of treatment is practically blas¨¦ out in the greater Labyrinth. Don¡¯t worry too much about it.¡± I gave him a sideways glance, but said nothing. Instead opting to go right out the door and into the gardens outside. Only, the gardens weren''t there. In fact, there was nothing there, except the now familiar ruins of what used to be Paris. With less vegetation and more howling mutant fireflies. Locked in endless combat against shades of faceless humans screaming and scattering like leaves in all directions. I stared for a few more seconds, and closed the door without another word. "Huh. I really did think you''d be surprised." The Drake quipped. Having stretched his neck to the length of an anaconda so that he could peer over my shoulder without having to actually move from his seat. I could only shrug in response. "I''ve seen a lot over the past few weeks. I guess I''m getting used to it. Besides, they''re like the birds I could hear chirping off in the distance the first time I came here. Background noise. Nothing more." "Ooooh. How very exciting. The hero remains stalwart. Unshaken by the visions seeking to tear him down." The mounting annoyance finally started to get the better of me then. "Do you have a problem with the way I did things?" His head staggered backwards. Dramatically reeling as if re-enacting a play. "Why, you wound me, Sully. I don''t have any issues with the way you handled things. On the contrary! I''m overjoyed that you finally started seeing things my way!" "No." I said simply. "I am not seeing things in any kind of way. All I did was kill a few monsters and make that world safer for the humans living in it." The Drake''s smile went from whimsical to predatory within half a heartbeat. His human-like teeth sharpening into needle-like fangs. "Monsters, is it? Pray tell, how would you classify a monster?" "What kind of question is that? A monster is a monster. It''s a super-powered animal that goes around mindlessly killing people." ''Yes!" The Drake hissed. Revelling in the moment. "That word right there. Mindlessly. That is the crux of what most people consider a monster. But the creatures you killed were not monsters, were they?" I scoffed. "Of course they were. Look out the window and see for yourself! A bunch of humanoid mutant fireflies going around in swarms and irradiating everything they come across? I don''t know if I could dream up a better example of a monster on the spot." "Tut-tut Sully." The Drake said, wagging an elongated finger. "You know better than that. Those fireflies were not merely human-like in their appearance. They were also similar to humans in the way they thought. They had fully sentient minds. Capable of a full range of emotions. Of love, of comradery, of compassion. And you went in like the good little hero that you are and decimated them to the point where they might as well be extinct. For no other reason than because you wanted to and because you could." I rolled my eyes so hard I feared they might pop out of my skull. "Really? Is this what we''re doing now? Aren''t you playing the creepy villain a little too hard? Going all: ''You and I are more alike than you know, Thunder Fist! Muahahahah!'' I mean, what''s next? Are you going to pretend that you care about people from your own species the way I care about other humans?" That elongated head shook from side to side. Quite a feat, given how extended the muscles of its neck were. "Sully, Sully, you''re missing the forest for the trees. This is no act and I am not trying to trick you. I am genuinely happy that you''re taking the initiative to bend the world to your will." "No. Do not start with that." "Sully! You aren''t listening! I don''t need to start anything! It was all you! You''re the one who immediately completed the Excursion and decided to go above and beyond those requirements. You saw a sentient species doing something that displeased you and so you decided to eradicate them. To hunt them down to the fullest extent that your mighty powers would allow and wipe them from the face of a world you and your species had claimed for themselves. You had a clearly defined goal and you used your own mind, your Psy, the manifestation of your will, to bend the world until it turned into something that pleased you. That, if anything, is the mark of a true Esper." I rolled my eyes again. "Okay. So I killed a few monsters. Big deal. Anyone would have done the same in my shoes." The Drake giggled, in a manner much too feminine and childish for its chosen form. "Believe you me. Not everyone would have had the stomach." It paused, tilting its head slightly. "Though I suppose it is hard to see from your perspective. In that case, allow me to present you with an example. Say that there exists a colony of vagabonds and vile, ruthless killers. Ones that actively destroy communities of innocent cave dwellers trying to survive. They do not see themselves as criminals. Rather, raiding is their culture. Both sides are human and neither side will compromise or show mercy to the other. What do you do?" "Easy. I''d find the leaders and sit them both down. I would them force them to compromise and to sort out a peace. With the existing crimes being punished by a court system made up of third parties or, if that''s not possible, then peers from a mix of both parties." "Oh? You would force them to compromise? How?" I sighed. Quite sick of these mind games by now. "Not by using [Domination], if that''s what you''re insinuating. I would find a way to get them to agree with each other. I''d share heir memories if necessary." "So you would fundamentally change who they are? Their culture and their way of life? Just so you can feel good about yourself?" I stiffened, but only for a moment. "We''ve been over this already. Getting people to communicate better is not the same thing as brain-washing." "Is that the way of it? Then, pray tell, why did you turn off an ability as useful as [Charming Presence II]? I may not be a Telepath, but I did spend an awful lot of time studying the intricacies of other Types. That particular ability is an ace most young masters out in the Labyrinth struggle to get. It is singularly useful in everyday life for many, many self-evident reasons. Chief among them being the fact that it is extremely difficult to defend against, since most people won''t even realize they''re being affected by Psy. On the contrary, most fools below the Second Tier will attribute its effects to the user''s own overflowing charisma. You could have used such an advantage for all sorts of things." "That''s different." I waved him off. "That power changes how people see me." "And you don''t think sharing memories and forcing them to live through your experiences does that?" I, didn''t have a ready answer for that. "Oh don''t make that face Sully. Like I said, I was congratulating you. You disliked the fireflies and you did away with them. You wanted approval from your fellow humans and you found a way to get it in a way that wouldn''t leave you reeling with guilt. You wanted love and to be loved and you got a good helping of both in spades. The Excursion didn''t say anything about eradicating the threat the fireflies posed or strengthening that little community by giving them powers. That was all you. You chose to do all of that. In other words, you remade the world into one that fit your vision. Your own personal principles, and that is what being an Esper is all about." You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. I sighed. Seeing where he was going, but utterly beyond caring. ¡°Okay. You got me. I have an idea of what the greater good is and I¡¯m willing to bend the rules a little bit in order to get there. Big deal. It isn¡¯t like I¡¯m going around mind-controlling people left and right and don¡¯t you start with the whole slippery slope argument.¡± I pointed at him. ¡°Every single thing you¡¯ve said about sharing memories could apply to normal dialogue. Talking is a way to communicate ideas and, sometimes, you change the way people think. Yeah, sometimes you change people notions of fairness and sometimes you change their cultures, but that¡¯s just normal societal advancement. Throwing lighting from your fingers would see you labelled as a witch or worse a couple hundred years back and Shifters, well, they¡¯re still pretty despised, but not as much as they were during the first outbreaks. Things change. Ideas evolve. People naturally drift towards cooperations and pro-social behaviours because they are naturally good.¡± The Drake gave me a pout. ¡°And you see no problems with sharing memories then? You see it as, how would you say it? Enhanced communication?¡± ¡°More or less.¡± I admitted. ¡°It¡¯s letting others see things from my perspective and letting them understand where I¡¯m coming from. Like back at that cave. Imagine having to explain what the Tutorial is and how I came to have these powers to those guys. They might have accepted it readily at first, but a lot of them weren¡¯t too happy with the fact that I wasn¡¯t staying. By sharing memories, I prevented misunderstandings and kept things civil. All while prepping the way for other visits to that world. People will tell others about how the Luminescent Parade fell and they¡¯ll know what to expect in the future. It just makes sense to do it this way.¡± The Drake¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Not the conclusion I would have derived, but close enough, I guess.¡± His neck shrivelled back to normal proportions and he walked over to where I was standing. ¡°With that in mind, I would like to present you with three arguments as to why you should be actively merging with me.¡± ¡°Oh golly. I can¡¯t wait to hear them.¡± I deadpanned. He laughed again. ¡°Now now. I will have no sourpusses in this house. It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m trying to trick you, after all. These lessons are all for your benefit.¡± He took a seat once more, this time lounging upright in an armchair facing a coffee table. ¡°Let us begin with the simplest one. The fact of your, survivability.¡± I shrugged. Not really having anything to say to that. ¡°I know being a Shifter or and Enhancer would help me, Drake. I know that Buddy¡¯s protections only goes so far. That¡¯s why I¡¯m trying to get the Types by training.¡± ¡°A feat you shall never, even accomplish.¡± The Drake said. With all the self assurance and gravitas of a college professor teaching calculus to an inebriated frat boy after a long weekend. ¡°Most people out there in the Labyrinth only have one Type anyway. Never breaking into the second Tier. In fact, most plebs never make it past level 30 at all and the ones who do struggle to reach 50. The Labyrinth is wrought with danger and opportunity in equal measure, but only for those willing to reach out and risk life and limb. Improving oneself from the relative safety of a gym or sparring arena is, to put it mildly, nigh impossible. Even for the scions of great houses. That is why so many patriarchs and matriarchs opt to have large broods of children. On average, less than one in five will make it past the second Tier and those who remain alive while on the first might as well be dead, in so far as their relatives are concerned. Every species is different, but this is a trend that remains true for most. Only through risk, pain and sacrifice can someone make it to the top.¡± I nodded slowly. Not really seeing a problem with these revelations. After all, I¡¯d already spoken with Peachy at length and I also had the notes Orphan Maker gave to Mr. Park to fall back on. These were not really news. ¡°So, you¡¯re saying that I should give in and absorb you because the alternative would be working very hard. I have to say, it¡¯s not doing it for me. I¡¯m already training way past the point of exhaustion and I know that¡¯s not going to end anytime soon.¡± ¡°And all that struggle will have been for naught.¡± The Drake insisted. ¡°I know this because I have lived through it. The same as the version of you trapped in the Sarcophagus. Don¡¯t you think he would have re-grown his body if he¡¯d been able to? Don¡¯t you think he would have opted to fix himself? Why do you think he felt desperate enough to parlay with me? Someone who could have killed him in seconds if I so wished?¡± The Drake shook his head form side to side. Donning an expression of exasperation. ¡°No. This stubbornness will get you nowhere and the lack of a second Type will leave you vulnerable. Not just to stronger, more experienced enemies, but also to natural phenomena. How do you think you would handle being dropped in the middle of an earthquake? What about a meteor impact? Or a flood? Or, I don¡¯t know, an artic tundra? Do you think your Symbiote could keep you alive?¡± I, had to give that to him. Buddy was great and he would absolutely do his best to keep me alive as long as possible, but I had no illusions that it could be enough to live through a natural disaster. In that, at least, the Drake had a point. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s say I agree with that. It¡¯s still not enough for me to agree. The System has thrown me at things I can more or less handle so far and the times I got hurt was because I overextended myself.¡± ¡°That might be the case for now, but it won¡¯t last forever.¡± The Drake warned. ¡°The System does not scale Excursions in the way that you think. If it senses an event that must be interfered with, it will merely throw out the strongest teams it has available for any given species. In the case of humanity, that would most certainly be you. It is only a matter of time until you¡¯re thrown over to the deep end.¡± He raised his hands in a mock gesture of surrender. ¡°But, for the sake or argument, let us say that this isn¡¯t enough. I will then move on to the second reason why you should listen to me. The fact that, as you are now, you¡¯re placing yourself and any world you step onto in danger.¡± I had to blink at that. Struggling to get his meaning. The Drake noted this and clicked several tongues in annoyance. ¡°Please, you can¡¯t tell me you¡¯re that blind. I¡¯m speaking about [Unstable Reality] and whatever derivatives might follow.¡± ¡°Oh. That.¡± I leaned back against a pillar. Thinking back to the things Cherub had said. ¡°Yeah. I can see why you might be nervous. But I don¡¯t really feel threatened by him. He means well.¡± The mask of humanity slipped and for a brief second, the predator was back. Feline fangs poking out from between human lips as a low growl leaked from his throat. He caught himself half a second later, but the visage was hard to forget. ¡°You fail to understand my meaning. Perhaps due to your own, skewed perceptions or perhaps due to your lacking education.¡± He tied his hands together in a pensive pose and maintained it as he leaned in. ¡°Tell me, Sully. What do you think Telepathy is?¡± ¡°Uh, reading and affecting people¡¯s minds. Obviously.¡± I noticed the incongruity as soon as the words had left my mouth. Yes, Intruders were composed of thoughts and emotions so they could be described as mind-adjacent, yet it could not be said that they followed the regular pattern of what people considered Telepathy. Yet the Drake nodded anyways. ¡°Yes. I see that you realized it now. There are common misconceptions in some species, that Telepathy somehow involves catching and interpreting electrical signals from the nervous system. That could not be further from the truth.¡± The Drake changed each of the fingers in its right hands into a miniature version of a medieval weapon. ¡°As you know, the flesh keeps no secrets from me. I can change my own nervous system or that of others with the merest flicker of will. Without even thinking about the act consciously. I have read minds before meeting you. By injecting spores into living subjects via the [Hijack] ability or a later evolution. Yet that was not true Telepathy. I could not leave the infected for more than a few hours without losing that bond. Moreover, my range was not greater than a few hundred metres. At Tier 10.¡± He laughed in a self-depreciating manner. ¡°I am sure that you can appreciate the, inadequacy of such endeavours. It might have been mind-reading, yet Telepathy, it was not. What you do is tied to all of your abilities simultaneously. A more, expanded definition. Enhancers use Psy to solidify their cells or other matter. Projectors use their Psy to summon forth energies that might be found in any plane of reality. Both are siphoning those potentials from different places, yet neither can be said to be inhabited. The same goes for Shifters. The, shall we call it, Shifter realms are naught but raw will to live. I can feel them every time I heal. Every time I turn. The call to kill and eat and spread one¡¯s kin across the world. There are no horrors there. No matter what some imbeciles might think.¡± He pointed one of those armed fingers at me. ¡°Telepaths do not affect normal reality in the same way. What you do is more a manipulation of raw Psy, rather than any electrical impulses. When you use your powers, even ones as benign as mind-reading, what you¡¯re doing is dousing others with your own, static Psy and reading the impressions you get back. Any devices strapped to the people you read will show no signs of manipulation among their nervous systems. Because that is not what you do. Similarly, any person you control will read as normal while under your control as well. They might show heightened levels of stress after being freed, but that is due to their reactions after the fact. What Telepathy does is channel that raw Psy, your raw Psy and mold it so that it can invade others. May they be animal, plant, fungi or even machine or whatever else might be around.¡± He leaned in even closer. ¡°That leads us to the crux of the matter. Your Intruders. They are not, as you mistakenly believe, predictable friends. The dimension you¡¯re calling them from is not a prime material one, so you cannot fathom what their existences have been like. Neither can they for that matter. The dimension Intruders come from, Pandemonium, is not empty as the others are. There are things there that would make my blood turn to ice. As old as life itself. They feed and are formed from the emotions off all living beings. From the smartest genius to the dullest micro-organism. They thrive in the chaotic soup that is this mesh. Being pulled apart and molded into fresh shapes by diverging thoughts from completely separate physical dimensions. Only finding succor in the few, destructive impulses that all living beings share. Impulses like selfishness, anger, lust, the will to cling to life, the hope that things will change, the plea that they will be better tomorrow. They do not know compassion, as sentients do. Foul as you believe me to be, I at least know of the concept and can appreciate how it feels.¡± His eyes hardened. Staring daggers into my soul with a haunted expression. One that, I somehow knew was completely honest. ¡°I have fought Telepaths who indulged in these abilities before. All of them, to a fault, were utterly self-destructive. For the beings summoned from Pandemonium are incapable of relating or interacting with the material plane as we do. Unless they come from high-tiered abilities. Ones that allow them to form their own personalities.¡± His transformed hand returned to its previous shape. ¡°And those are even worse. You see, time is very, very relative in Pandemonium. You may think something has already happened or will happen in five years, yet things from the past and future can present themselves at once. It is a phenomenon that the learned scholars of the Labyrinth refer to as the Early Dawn. Due to the fact that some of the ascended Divines, those who were proficient Telepaths first and foremost, had realms in Pandemonium before developing the abilities that would allow them to forge such realms. There, in the other side, it was as if they had always been Divines, even before they were born. Once they ascended, it was as if they had always been there as Divines. From the very beginning. Worse, they can send their most ardent believers to Pandemonium as well. Turning sycophants into Intruders after death so that they might do their bidding unto eternity. So, it is completely possible for you to open a small funnel and find yourself dealing with something from the court of Singing Steel. Trust me. You don¡¯t want that.¡± He leaned back in his chair with a solemn expression. ¡°By using abilities like [Unstable Reality] you are courting not only your destruction, but the destruction of entire civilizations. All it takes is one errant thought and the things that come through will devour planets whole before you can blink.¡± I had to shake my head at that. ¡°Come on now. It can¡¯t be that bad. I¡­ uh.¡± I struggled to find the right words. ¡°I have this feeling. This, certainty, that nothing I summon will really want to hurt me. I mean, come on. All of them are, stained by me. No, that¡¯s not the right word. They are, affected greatly by what I believe in and what I believe in is peace for humans and death to gnomes. I want peace for humans and death to gnomes. Also, all the ones I¡¯ve summoned see me as a sort of father figure.¡± I threw my hands into the air. Realizing that I wasn¡¯t making much sense. ¡°Look, it¡¯ll be all right. Here, I¡¯ll summon something to prove it.¡± The Drake¡¯s eyes literally popped out of his skull. His hands shooting forward with the kind of desperation only mortals could patriciate. ¡°NOOOO!!!¡± But I had already opened the way. I stepped backwards as he lunged. Careful not to trip on anything, only to be left confused and filled with newfound curiosity. Here, in my arms, was Mittens. The black cat my parents had brought home for me when I was five. It looked at me now, with those big, adorable eyes. Purring as it pressed its head against my chest. ¡°Mittens is here.¡± It whispered. In the sweetest voice I could have possibly imagined. ¡°Mittens loves you. Mittens cares for you. Mittens missed you very much.¡± ¡°Aaaaaaaw.¡± I said. Unable to contain he words. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t. You are so adorable.¡± The Drake stared at me as if I had gone bat(Gnome) insane. ¡°You find that thing adorable!?¡± I stared right back. Quizzically. ¡°Uh, yes?¡± ¡°It has four horns! And centipede legs! They¡¯re twitching! And they¡¯re flickering in and out of reality! For (Noble)¡¯s sake! They¡¯re wrapping themselves around your shoulder!¡± I looked down at Mittens once again. Noting his bright green eyes and adorable purring. Then I turned back to the Drake. ¡°Dude, are you high?¡± ¡°No! I am not (Noble)ing high you imbecile! Look at it! Look!¡± I looked again. Mittens, or the Intruder taking Mitten¡¯s shape, licked my fingers. ¡°Dude. You are so high. I don¡¯t know why I was even listening to you. Here, Mittens. Say something to the Drake.¡± Mittens turned his adorable head to look at the Drake as I requested and spoke. ¡°Mittens does hear. The truth will appear. Mittens is here.¡± ¡°Mittens foretells. Mittens will yell. Your mother sucks fat (Gnome)s in hell!¡± The Drake reared back as if struck. So did I for that matter. ¡°Mittens! What the (Gnome)!?¡± Despite my mounting horror, he stayed in my hands. Screaming. ¡°You will die as your weakling father died! Alone! Afraid! Ashamed! Mittens is here!¡± ¡°Mittens! Mittens!!! Stop it! I said stop!¡± Mittens did stop at that. Turning around to face me and noting my thoroughly disturbed expression with some surprise. ¡°Uh, Mittens will squeak. The truth he does speak. Mittens is here.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about, wait. How could you even know that!?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t be mad at Mittens.¡± He said. Ignoring my question in favour of giving me the cutest glances ever. ¡°Mittens is not just faceless Pandemonium horror. Mittens loves Sully. Mittens has real feelings too.¡± The Drake snatched him up before I could say anything in response. His hands turning into several interwoven tentacles that opened one window with a few swift motions and chucked him out with some others. The he cut off the limb for good measure and threw that out the window as well, before closing it and stacking a bunch of furniture against it in a desperate attempt to keep it out. ¡°Quick!¡± He wailed. ¡°Stabilize reality! Now!¡± I did as he bid, though no chances made themselves apparent. Still, Mittens didn¡¯t come back and I turned to the Drake after half an hour. ¡°I mean. I know it doesn¡¯t look good, but he did say he loved me and he didn¡¯t attack me.¡± The Drake¡¯s fury was apparent, but he didn¡¯t contest the matter further. Chapter 59: Look Out the Window. Chapter 59: Look Out the Window. The Warehouse was crowded and filled with noise. People coming and going from one Excursion or another or otherwise engaged in training. ''Or what passes for training around here.'' I thought bitterly. In truth, what they often did could only be considered sparring by the most generous metrics available. My eyes took them all in once again. Noting the casual, almost relaxed way they carried themselves. Gone was all that tension and stress from the times when the gnomes were still a major threat. Gone was the trepidation that came from the uncertainty of ever seeing their worlds or their families again. Gone was the effort. The determination. ''They saw the way that Orphan Maker guy (Gnome)sed himself and figured the rest of the Labyrinth couldn''t be all that bad. As if they had caused his panic.'' Fools. Every one. I clenched my teeth and made my way to the sparring arena. Wrestling with the doubt and grief and rage tumbling around inside my chest. It felt as though several vindictive versions of Glossy had all plunged knives of ice into my heart. Twisting the handles in an effort to make me scream. I shook my head violently and forced my attention back on the others. Orphan Maker and Granny Golden hadn''t been terrified of them. Either one could have killed every normal person in the warehouse with a flick of their wrists and some mean thoughts to go along with their gestures. No. They were scared of Sully. He was the only one in our group with the level of power they feared. The level of power that demanded respect. The level of power that I¡¯ve always wanted. None of these people would have survived more than a few days back home. Not unless they had Telepath abilities to make them more valuable to a clan willing to take them in. Even then, Telepaths were supposed to be wise guides. They were supposed to be the ones in control of themselves. The ones willing and able to make the hard choices, so long as those choices bettered humanity as a whole. The hero of Lyon had famously sacrificed himself to buy all of France a few years of reprieve. Putting his own life on the line to divert the Parade''s attention. That was how heroes should behave. That was the kind of behaviour that commanded respect. The kind of behaviour that put you at the top. That made you valuable. That was the kind of behaviour I''d always aspired to emulate. Case in point, Sully had been in my world less than a day before he etched his name into the histories. With the speed that news travelled, every man, woman and child in the continent would be singing his praises before the month was up. All of them would be hoping, praying that he came to their village next. ''They will most likely be disappointed. The System seems to select teams based on relative strength in comparison to the tasks it wants done. For a minor incursion, it might send someone like Kaito, or Prudence or, Shepherd save them, Ryan. In which case, they would all be (Gnome)d so hard it wouldn''t even be funny.'' Granted, Kaito and Prudence at least put in the bare minimum of effort, but even that wouldn''t go too far. I chuckled to myself at the thought. Realizing just how far these past few weeks had changed me. ''Time was, I wouldn''t have cared about that at all. A Telepath was a Telepath and their mere presence could save entire cities. More importantly, it would have led me to the tippy top of the clan''s hierarchy. The destruction of the Devourers was a distant dream. Something I could hope for, without actually thinking about the sheer, overwhelming power such an endeavour would require.'' My hands clenched into fists as I felt my blood boiling. I had gained so much strength as of late, so much power, that I had forgotten what it felt like to be weak. To be afraid. And those (Gnome)ing French (Gnome)s had taken the chance to jump him like a pack of starving beetles while I was bathing in compliments. They had tried to take Sully away to some discreet location. It hadn¡¯t happened, but it had still led to him having that talk with me. To him telling me that he didn¡¯t feel the same way. That he wasn¡¯t sure what we had was love. ¡®Was he wrong though? Is this kind of greed not love? Is wanting to be closer to this kind of power not love? Everyone else back home does it like this. Everyone else wants their family and their clan to be the strongest. What other kind of love is there?¡¯ The old world had all these stories. Books and movies about the most vapid, stupid people imaginable. Where a woman or man would turn down a perfect pairing because of some bout of lust or madness and the world was expected to conform to their own stupid, selfish desires. I had always thought it was insane. ¡®How could someone be so irresponsible where their family was concerned? How could someone play with the lives of their descendants like that?¡¯ Insanity. Complete and utter insanity. I took a deep breath. Trying to calm myself before my next bout at the arena. ''I shouldn''t blame them. That would be hypocritical. I''d have done the exact same thing in their shoes. I mean, (Gnome). I had been in the process of doing that very same thing just a couple of weeks ago.'' It was the only logical course of action, after all. The fact was, children tended to inherit their parent''s Types and relative power level. At least, outside of the Labyrinth and the System''s influence. Again, the hero of Lyon had had many, many children all over Europe. The vast majority of which were still fighting the good fight to this day. Their presence meant that humanity could still cling on to some shred of hope and, looking back on the stories, none of them would have been too far into the second Tier, if they were indeed part of that Tier at all. Sully was a whole different beast. With him around, taking back the world wasn''t a possibility, it was an inevitable eventuality. Not a matter of if, but a matter of when. And if keeping him around was impossible, then the next logical step would be... "I can''t believe he would step all over your feelings like that!" Prudence bellowed. "And here I thought he was actually a decent person! Turns out he''s no different from the jack(gnome)s back home! He sees a couple of (Gnome)s and suddenly he¡¯s too good for you." Her claws raked my skin. Failing to penetrate or even leave so much as a scratch. I blocked, but only out of courtesy. My mind wandering past her words. "Yeah!" Olga agreed. "All that talk about being a good person! Dude is a massive slime ball." Her kicks landed squarely on my sides. Again, without much in the way of impact. I threw out a half-hearted swipe. Not really putting in much effort. Regardless, she dodged like her life depended on it. Overcommitting and boosting [Accelerate] with too much Psy, so that she ended up crashing against the side wall and some of the tables carrying refreshments. Esmeralda was agreeing with them too. Hooting curses at Sully and his, ladies of ill repute. ¡°He was fine with stringing you along, but suddenly wanted to break things off when it was inconvenient. How very blas¨¦. How typical. I¡¯ll bet he was trying to bring those three over here somehow.¡± I felt a sad smile blossoming on my face. ''They don''t get it. They''re coming on to this like people from their own worlds. Places without much violence, or places where the bad times only just begun. I can''t be mad at those girls. They were trying to do their duty for their community and probably, no definitely looked forward to it. It''s what''s expected. Anyone else would have done the same. I certainly would have done the same. With a smile on my face and song in my heart. Anyone who had managed to kill one of the great ones, or some beast on the level of the Blood Queen, would have been worshiped. Like a living legend. I would have done anything for them. It would have been a celebration.'' I clenched my fists harder. ''Come to think of it, they¡¯re probably cursing me as much as I¡¯m cursing them. They probably blame me for Sully leaving them to have the talk and for he and the others all left in a hurry after me.'' "You''ve got it all wrong." I told them. "I''m not angry about what the girls tried to do." "You''re not?" Prudence asked, incredulously. "No." I clarified. "I... there wasn''t anything between us yet. I hadn''t confirmed anything and Sully... he had read my mind and he knew that my heart wasn''t really in it at first. Our nations, our upbringing¡­ was too different. I should have seen the talk coming." "What do you mean?" Olga asked, turning her head slightly and arching her eyebrows in confusion. I could only shrug. "Well, at the beginning, I didn''t really care for Sully as a person. I had no reason to. He was a Telepath and he was strong and he was brave and willing to help. That was more than enough. Beyond that..." I bit my lip. Struggling with my words once again. "Well, its like this. Anyone involved with him was going to go very far in local politics. I was, thinking of him as my ticket for that. Being with him would get me respect. A lot of it. Affirmation from my father, from my neighbours, from all those that doubted me and Slab when we were growing up. That was as far as it went. His personality didn''t matter. Neither did things like love. Not how you pampered folks know the word." I paused to explain. ¡°Love is something you build with someone who will take care of you. Or who will bring the family or clan advantages. It something for later. It isn¡¯t necessary in the beginning. At least, I don¡¯t think so. Or didn¡¯t think so until now. I¡¯m confused.¡± All three gave me conflicted looks. Ranging from confusion, to outright disgust. Prudence looked utterly repulsed by the idea. Olga didn''t seem to get it. Esmeralda almost seemed to understand. ''It''s hopeless. None of them know what life is like back home. They have had it easy their whole lives. They cannot fathom what my people have gone through.'' These guys might have their own notions of romance and propriety, but those feelings came from a place of privilege. Even Jacob or Monique, as hard as they had it, didn''t come from worlds where humanity itself was on the brink of extinction. ''It all comes down to words. The ones he and I left unsaid. I was a fool. I took him for granted because of the things he''d shared. The things he''d said to me before he supressed his memories. He doesn''t remember any of that. Just like he doesn''t remember what we did to Randall and to Anezka. What he predicted would happen to his parents or the danger his grandfather was in. He doesn''t remember the things on the edge of the lake or the part Anezka has to play.'' "So, you''re not in love and you weren''t in a relationship?" Olga clarified. "If so, then why are you mad?" I scoffed. Fighting to make myself understood. "No. We aren''t in any kind of relationship. At least, neither of us said anything. It was weird. I... I don''t know what I felt later on. I admired him, I guess? He was the perfect hero from my point of view. The kind I always imagined showing up and taking me out of the caves, along with my family. Again, his personality or other things, didn''t matter. But then I started to get to know him better and I knew he could read my mind and see the changes in my perspective and I ended up getting more nervous and not saying anything for fear that he might be taken aback or for fear that he might think it was all still a political ploy, which it kind of was but there was more to it later and then... and then..." Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. I had to stop and bring my hands to my face. "Look. I don''t know. Okay? I... these feelings are new to me. They''ve changed. From respect and ambition to, something else. Something that scares me. He appreciates me. Really appreciates me. No one other than Slab has appreciated me like that for a long time. He respect me. He looks at me like I am a person. Like I matter. Maybe that¡¯s my head playing tricks on me and maybe he just thought I was a good friend and ally like he said later.¡± I bit my lips. ¡°I feel my heart racing and I can''t stop it. I like being around him more and its not just because of what he can do for me and my clan. I get jittery. I feel butterflies in my stomach. I can''t seem to look away from him. I... I know I shouldn''t dislike the other girls. Its normal where I come from. Slab did the same thing and it was fine because its normal. It was expected of him. But I just can''t help getting (Gnome)ing furious! That they didn''t know Sully as well as I did and that they still got ahead of me! I... I don''t want Sully to be with other people! Even though being with other people is normal where I come from. Then I feel ashamed because I feel like I''m being selfish and then I get angry because the thought of him being with some bimbo makes my blood boil and I can''t stop it and...." Prudence laid a hand on my shoulder. Followed by Olga and Esmeralda. "I get it." Prudence said. "Its a bit of a late blooming, but this is your first love. Its tough and scary and confusing all at once." She turned to the others. "But, the point remains, Sully knew." She pointed a finger up into the air. "He knew her feelings were changing and he kept his mouth shut. He knew her feelings were changing and he let her stew without making the first move. He knew her feelings were changing and he still went on and had his fun." She turned to look at me. "So, things might get better between you or not. Regardless, this whole deal about leading you on is a (Gnome)tty thing to do and we have to hold him accountable." "No." I protested. "I don''t want that." "Well too bad." Esmeralda joined in. "Boys are stupid by nature. They''ll never learn unless you herd them in the right direction." "Okay? I''m not sure I agree with that." Olga followed up. "But I do know that I am your friend. Whatever happens, you have my support all the way through." I looked at all of them. Really looked. A smile creeping onto my face. "Thanks guys." I muttered. "I... I''m not sure what I want to happen. But the support means a lot."
The great and terrible Drake was heaving. His regular human proportions coming undone in his terror. ¡°I cannot believe you did that!¡± ¡°What? It was a normal usage of the power. I mean, you saw the flowers in my recent memories, right? This kind of freaky stuff just happens when you use that ability.¡± The Drake actually grew fangs and tusks at the same time, releasing something that was half a roar and half a scream. Billowing clouds of smoke erupting from flowing streams of ichor that melted through his jacket; over the part where the leather met his shoulders. ¡°No! You bloody fool! This stuff does not just happen! Each iteration of the ability is unique and therefore, uniquely unpredictable and dangerous! I¡¯ve seen masters that blew themselves apart by accident! Whole covens of Telepaths that accidentally summoned something intent on wearing their skins like leather suits! You could have died! Worse, our chances of ascending would have died! The being that we would become could never be born! Don¡¯t you see what¡¯s at stake you feeble-minded lackwit!?¡± I steadied myself then. Staring the Drake down with no small amount of consternation. ¡°No. I don¡¯t see it. And frankly, I don¡¯t like your tone. Drake.¡± I approached him. I regardless of his growing fangs. ¡°Now, I do appreciate the¡­ information. I truly do. It will no doubt come in handy when I go out into the greater Labyrinth, but I think my gratitude has given you a bit of a misconception.¡± I could see the surprise on his face now, but I kept walking anyway. ¡°These abilities are mine. They are the powers that I have learned to use. The ones that have saved countless lives up until this point. Both Monique¡¯s world and Dusty¡¯s world are much, much better off now that I have used those abilities to their fullest extent. Also, I can feel them. I know them. And, while they might do weird things on occasion, they resonate with me in a way that assures me I would never come to harm. Again, this isn''t something I think. This is something I know, in my bones. Just as I know the sun will rise tomorrow or that the universe is near limitless." I knew these assertions were correct as they left my mouth. Though, in truth, I couldn''t say how I knew. It was, simply an instinct. As if the tears in reality had grown as familiar as my own muscles through repeated usage. There was just something about the world beyond the veil that felt all too familiar. Welcoming, even. Like an old trail you never recalled walking, but had somehow found once more. Or like the smell of a childhood treat being savoured as an adult. "I know these abilities will not betray me, just as I know the stars in the my home world''s sky will still be there tomorrow. Therefore, I will not limit myself unless it is for a very important reason. Do you understand?¡± The Drake shivered and, for a moment, I feared that he would turn his arms into whips and change me in some horrific fashion. But he didn¡¯t do that. Instead, he regained his composure and withdrew his fangs. Changing his jaw back to that of a regular human. ¡°Fine. I see that I won¡¯t be changing your mind anytime soon. That¡¯s fine." He began pacing. The muscles beneath what remained of his vestments twitching as he moved from one end of the room to the other. "Let¡¯s move on to my last point then.¡± He said abruptly. Halting his movements and re-aligning his human features so that they could pass for those of a normal person. "You should join with me because I can give you more control over the physical world around you. Real, unquestioned control. Not like the chaotic mutations your abilities create as they reach into Pandemonium. For example, look at me. Look at what I can do." He stretched himself. Until he resembled a grotesque amalgamation of a great ape and a dinosaur. His forearms bulging to the size of ripened melons as his shoulders widened. "Let us say you have to brave a burning building again. This form will help you tear down walls and carry people outside." He changed once more, this time coming to resemble a six-legged horse with bird-like talons instead of hooves. "Or perhaps you will find yourself needing to travel for leagues in order to reach a target. The System usually puts you right where you need to be, but we both know it isn''t a guarantee from your time with the zombies. Or, perhaps you want to reach out and go above and beyond, as you did in this most recent Excursion. Perhaps you feel that you can do the System one better and save even more lives. Sure, you could rely on your teammates to help you, but we both know things are sticky right now, ever since you had your bit of fun. The same goes for your weapon. Low-Tiered portal abilities require intimate knowledge of the places you are portaling to. That or some kind of visual feedback. Your range might be impressive for someone as young as you, yet it does not reach across nations or continents. You need the mobility my Type can offer." I nodded along. Taking his meaning. The truth of these statements was, sadly, undeniable. While I did trust my teammates to not abandon me all of the sudden, being able to look after myself in cases where there weren''t monsters to dominate would be an extra ace in the hole. Also, while I did trust that destabilizing reality wouldn''t lead to my death, the same could not be said of people I was trying to save. Summoning Intruders in the middle of a road could be, tricky. Especially when I had no way of knowing how other people would react. I mean, yes, turning into a half-horse monstrosity wasn''t a great look either, but I could always fall back on [Charming Presence] to smooth over those cases. The council had agreed that it was okay to use it if it meant lives could be saved. The Intruders, at least to my knowledge, didn''t have something like that. Nor did they care how others saw them. ''Then there is the matter of the House that Hates and the way it literally ripped itself out of the ground to hunt zombies. That could have ended badly if it hungered for people instead.'' I had to admit, these arguments were more compelling. A fact the Drake picked up on as well. "And of course, we cannot discuss my own prowess without discussing another facet of Shifters you seem to be forgetting." He continued. "Oh? And what is that?" He turned back to his human shape and smiled a simpering smile. "Why, our longevity of course." I blinked and nodded slowly. "Okay? I hadn''t really forgotten about that bit. It''s just that it doesn''t really do much for me. I mean slower aging with the possibility of immortality sounds nice, but I''m okay with dying. Not right now, obviously. But someday, when I''m eighty-something and surrounded by my kids and grandkids. It''s a natural fact of life." The Drake laughed in my face. "You''re a bigger fool than I thought if you believe that. Life, real life, is about struggle. Every living being yearns for eternal existence, from the smallest prokaryotes to the grandest giants out there in the multiverse. The only reason that most cannot achieve this is due to their own biological imperfections. You may not be aware of this, but your body, your cells, have their own feelings on the matter. Each and every one yearns to live. To be strong against the ravages of time and the immutable reality of entropy. You do not hear them because you are not a Shifter, but I can hear them. Your own cells are just like those of any other creature. Fighting hopelessly onwards so that, in the end, some trace might remain. Why do you think reproduction comes so naturally to all living beings? It is because the impulse to live on is strong, and offspring are the best answer those creatures without Psy can aspire to. Everything and everyone wants to live forever. You could do so as well." He stepped closer. Hunching his shoulders slightly. "Imagine the good you could do. Not with a mere eighty years, but with an eternity. You mentioned that you wanted to pursue the greater good. In that case, immortality is indispensable." That... I had to admit, that was a pretty decent point. The Drake must have noticed the changes within me as well, because he kept lurching forwards like praying mantis. "And that only covers the good you could do. What about the harm you could prevent? What do you suppose would happen to humanity as a whole if they found themselves without a defender? What do you suppose would happen when the Foxxans got a sniff of the newcomers?" He laughed derisively. "No. Without you, it will be a bloodbath on a level you could not possibly comprehend. You need to live forever because if you don''t, the humans you leave behind will be vulnerable to the predations of the other, more senior species in the Labyrinth.¡± He had been extremely convincing, up until that point. When it all went off the rails with a few, short sentences. ¡°If you wish to avoid that eventuality, you need two things. One is a way to control the human population, which you have. The other is a way to stop your aging. To make yourself functionally immortal, which I can provide. Together we can rule all the earths you come across and save humanity as you wish.¡± I¡­ had to stop. This was such a stupid thing to say that, I genuinely could not form coherent thoughts. ¡°Did, did Mittens do something to you?¡± ¡°He brought on some unpleasant memories, but nothing more. Thank Psy. Now you listen here. I was going to try and be a little more subtle about this, but I don¡¯t think subterfuge is needed anymore. Either you will see that I¡¯m right at this moment or later. It makes no matter.¡± He clapped his newly grown hands together as if to dispel any lingering nervousness. ¡°You told me you want to follow human morality in order to find the greatest possible good, right? Well, here is a foolproof way to do that. Mind control the leaders and only the leaders and make them act the way you want them to.¡± ¡°Man, Mittens really did a number on you huh?¡± ¡°That beast didn¡¯t¡­.!¡± The Drake caught himself at the last moment and grew so still I could have mistaken him for a statue. Not that he could have surprised me more if he actually became a statue. ''I mean, really? After everything I''ve been through? After everything I have chosen to stand for? He thinks I''m gonna turn into an up jumped dictator at the slightest opportunity?'' At that moment, I could not even conceive of any possible reason that would lead me to those kinds of measures. It was so absurd that I had to laugh in his face. Then he opened his eyes again. With a forceful glare coming from within them. ¡°Here it goes again. Would you say slavery is good?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± I deadpanned. ¡°Why would you even ask me that?¡± ¡°Because it is rampant in your world and we both know it. Oh, sure. It isn¡¯t strictly legal, but it is done. As Mason¡¯s case will attest. And that is without counting the innumerable legions of people trafficked all around your earth. All while your leaders do nothing.¡± ¡°Okay, first of all, it isn¡¯t as though they¡¯re doing nothing¡­¡± ¡°Oh?¡± The Drake cut me off. Aggressively getting into my personal space. ¡°Remind me again. How many bureaucrats and statesmen were on this Mason¡¯s list? How many people was he colluding with or outright supplying? How many of them have a say in the goings on of your world?¡± That¡­ was actually a very good point. ¡°Still, that only means those people need to be replaced. Not that the system is flawed. Democracy is the right way forward.¡± The Drake laughed at that. Loudly and with great vigor. ¡°Is that right? Very well. Let us say you show up to that other world you recently scoured of mutants. Let us say everyone there wants to vote you in as king for life, fully knowing that you would do the best job possible in regards to rebuilding their earth. What would you do?¡± I was about to laugh it off, when I stopped to think about it. It, wasn¡¯t completely out of the question. It could happen. But¡­ ¡°Come on man. I would have to say no. I¡¯m just a guy. A young guy.¡± ¡°One who can see the future and is wholly dedicated to preserving the health, safety and prosperity of the people around him. All while acting as an example for them to follow. But no. You won¡¯t. But not because it wouldn¡¯t be the right choice. Rather, it is because you are weak.¡± The Drake came even closer. ¡°You are laughing at me inside your own head, Solomon Carter. But you dodge the question and all responsibility because you are afraid of being perceived as a Tyrant. Even when the greater good requires a Tyrant. Tell me, what would you do if the powers that be in your home world decided to hunt down your family as a means to get at you? What would you do if they strung up their corpses for all to see? You may laugh and snicker at the possibilities I suggest, but that does not make them any less real.¡± He stepped back, hesitating for a moment, before tearing down the barricade he made earlier. "Democracy." He spat. As if the very word tasted bitter on his tongue. "Let me tell you something about democracy, child. Let me enlighten you as to where they all lead to. Democracies are doomed to corrupting influences. People worming their way in and dismantling their ideals for their own personal gain. You know that. Because you¡¯re smart enough to see it. Because of Mason¡¯s example. And because of your own knowledge of human history. Pray tell, what happened to the Romans? To the French revolutionaries? What did they brave rebels do when Robespierre started calling for heads or when Augustus dismantled the republic? What did all the recent governments do when the United Militaries decided they needed more emergency powers?¡± He kept tearing down wooden planks and moving furniture. ¡°Moreover, you forget that Espers will only grow in number. More and more will be summoned to the Human City after the Tutorial is done. More and more will come to other worlds. Including your own. How long will your oh so lovely democracy last when other, less reputable Telepaths come over. How long will the system work when they decide to enslave the weaklings at the top? How long will they last when another species comes along and figures out that they can enslave a world by puppeteering a few fat sots.¡± He leaned in. ¡°How long until a gnome does it?¡± He reared back and laughed. Going so far as to slap his knees. ¡°And yet you hesitate. Telling yourself that it can be fixed. That it is somehow better than a world where you could smite down the corruption before it had a chance to set in. Because you lie to yourself.¡± He finished his task in short order and turned back to me. ¡°Well, lecture me now. Solomon Carter. Explain to me how Democracies fared in Monique¡¯s world. Where their governments raised the dead in order to tear apart enemy populations and refused to react to the spreading disaster until it was too late. Explain to me how Democracies fared in the world you so recently visited. Where the powers that be unleashed literal world ending monsters to tear each other to pieces. Explain to me how Democracies fared in your world. Where the nuclear missiles were launched against other humans even as monsters came by portal from who-knows where.¡± He smiled a most sinister smile. Showing far too many teeth. ¡°You know all of this already. You know I¡¯m right. The greater good can be served. The people in all those places can know a world free from war or strife or hunger or slavery. If only you deigned to take the reins.¡± He pressed his hands against the glass, slowly pushing it open and moving aside to show me the still raging battle. The mutated terrors ripping into people as they fled for their lives. ¡°But you don¡¯t have to listen to me.¡± His smile widened. ¡°If you want to see the endpoint of Democracy, look out the window.¡± Chapter 60: Pizza Party. Chapter 60: Pizza Party. ¡®There¡¯s another one over there.¡¯ I [Messaged]. ¡®And there and there and under there.¡¯ Charlie, Monique and Boris didn¡¯t bother answering back. Instead, they each went to work. Either sinking their whole arms into the snow in order to dig out the trapped survivors or using [Reverse Gravity] to send the heaps of snow upwards so that the people could be rescued safely. Meanwhile, I was holding up Slasher. Allowing Cherub to do his thing. His fires melted snow left and right. Carving a steamy path over the aftermath of the avalanche. At the same time, he was using [Attune to Matter III] 15 and [Attuned Manipulation III] to affix himself to the water molecules. Moving them out of the way in their solid, liquid or gaseous state. In such a way that he didn¡¯t even graze the people trapped below. ¡®Hehe. I¡¯m helping.¡¯ He said, in his childlike voice. ¡°Yes, you are. Cherub. Yes, you are. Keep it up and we¡¯ll be done in a few minutes.¡± ¡®You got it Sully!¡¯ A lot of the people we were bringing up had arms and legs that were either broken or dislocated. Their breathing weak as Boris placed his hands on them while I kept [Hum of Cleansing] flowing all around me. I had originally thought the rescue would have taken hours. Since there were so many people under the snow and we didn¡¯t have Slab or Dusty with us. Instead, it had taken less than twenty minutes. Cherub was simply much more powerful and efficient than I had imagined. The fact that I could afford to splurge on Psy and keep him topped up with [Warp the Veil II] didn¡¯t hurt either. We managed to save everyone too. Good on us. So, there I was, sitting around and receiving words of thanks next to my teammates, when a helicopter came into view. I had sensed the reporters coming from way, way back and their presence felt, odd. They¡¯d apparently seen us rescuing people using drones when the avalanche had first started and had immediately rushed over to interview this group of so-called wizards. With special interest going to the red astronaut holding the magic sword. ¡®Hey guys. Get ready for the press.¡¯ ¡°Ugh.¡± Monique groaned. ¡°Can¡¯t we leave already? I don¡¯t want to have my face on camera.¡± Oh, okay. I guess we¡¯re talking out loud. ¡°Why not? Its not like you¡¯ll ever be back.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that.¡± She snapped. ¡°My plans are still undergoing revisions. What I do know is that I do not want my kids to stay in our original earth and I definitely don¡¯t want them growing up in the Labyrinth. This earth could be a possible home. I don¡¯t want the whole internet knowing who I am.¡± ¡°Oh, my goodness!¡± One of the survivors said. ¡°You¡¯re aliens!¡± ¡°No.¡± I corrected. ¡°We¡¯re interdimensional travellers from alternate earths. Completely different.¡± Her face changed through several different expressions over the course of the following few seconds. Her eyes going over Borislav as he healed some people and Charlie as he sprinted up and down the slope at blinding speeds. Then she turned to me. ¡°Okay. Yeah. Interdimensional superheroes. Checks out.¡± I gave her a thumbs up. ¡°But, why us?¡± ¡°Um. I assume it was because you were in danger.¡± ¡°Yeah. Duh. But there are lots of people in danger all the time and I¡¯ve never seen a literal superhero anywhere else. Neither has anyone over the course of history for that matter. Why would you come here to save us when there are thousands dying down over at Yellowstone?¡± ¡°Yellowstone?¡± I asked, worry creeping into my voice. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a park?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°The one with the super volcano?¡± ¡°Yes! Exactly. I guess they have one in your world too.¡± ¡°And, people are dying because of the¡­¡± ¡°Super volcano eruption. Yes. Half the state has been evacuated and the plumes of smoke are drifting over the whole country. Why aren¡¯t you doing anything about that? I mean, I¡¯m grateful and all. I really am. But this seems a bit¡­¡± She hesitated. ¡°Below you? I¡¯m sorry. I know that sounds awful, but you guys were absolutely awesome. Couldn¡¯t you do something about the volcano?¡± I blinked at her for a few more minutes. Then I turned to Cherub. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you could absorb the heat from a volcano?¡± ¡®I can sure try!¡¯ He chirruped. ¡®I love helping people! Just point me in the right direction, give me enough Psy and I¡¯ll take care of business!¡¯ ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea.¡± Monique piped in. ¡°Heat isn¡¯t the problem. Not the biggest one anyway. The smoke and all the debris getting into the atmosphere is what¡¯s really going to kill people.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± Boris asked. ¡°I watched a lot of dinosaur documentaries growing up.¡± She answered. ¡°One of the leading theories for their mass extinction was smoke clouding up the atmosphere and not letting any sunlight through. The meteor theory is more widely believed these days, but that doesn¡¯t discount the danger. Enough smoke could be as bad as a nuclear winter.¡± I looked him over again. Realizing that he could absorb heat without spending any Psy from his status. Also, he was, kind of like a genie. Or a fire elemental. I couldn¡¯t see him getting hurt from trying at least. I called on [Insight] just to be sure. Grumbling a bit at how often it had been letting down as of late. ¡®I mean, it didn¡¯t warn me of Dusty¡¯s reaction to our talk, but not using it would be a bit of a waste.¡¯ I saw Cherub there. Holding Slasher in his hand and bellowing. While blackened smoke swirled around him before harmlessly dispersing. I saw him keeping it up even after the shimmer took us back to the Warehouse. I saw the people he would save. ¡°Right.¡± I said. Clapping my hands together. ¡°Thank you for the information. You¡¯ve saved many lives today. Cherub. Get going. Yellowstone is¡­¡± I shrugged. Placing my hands over my head in embarrassment. ¡°Uh, I don¡¯t suppose you have a phone on you?¡± ¡°Yeah. Here.¡± She said, bringing up her phone and the GPS app contained therein. I nodded and sent Cherub on his way once more. Charlie arrived as the full body manifested. Brilliant wings spreading outwards while holding the sword for a few resplendent moments. ¡°You¡¯re letting it leave?¡± He hissed. ¡°What if it screws up something? What if it goes berserk like it did with the mutants? What if¡­?¡± He clamped down as his eyes glared at the flying Cherub. ¡°What if he makes ghosts appear?¡± I suggested. ¡°SHHHHH!!!¡± He hissed. Getting closer to me. ¡°Don¡¯t say it!¡± ¡°Okay. Okay.¡± I answered. Retreating back a few steps. ¡°Look, it won¡¯t even make much of a difference for us. We¡¯ll be long gone by the time he gets there.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll make a difference for the people of this world.¡± Charlie countered. ¡°They don¡¯t deserve this.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t think they¡¯ll care much. Since they¡¯re, you know. Running from the volcano erupting.¡± His glared deepened. ¡°Look, it¡¯ll be fine. Okay? I used [Insight]. I saw it was all okay. We¡¯re helping because we can. This is what heroes do. What we have to do.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that your future sight wasn¡¯t working?¡± ¡°Yes, but that was different. What I meant was that it didn¡¯t warn me of all the consequences before I talked to Dusty. Though in my defence I don¡¯t if holding off on the talk would have been any better. I saw what was going through her mind and the way the girls back there were thinking the exact same thing. I had to say something. Back to the point, I can re-summon Slasher and Cherub whenever I want and wherever I want, so there¡¯s nothing to lose.¡± ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± The woman on the snow said. ¡°Are you¡­¡± Wind was whooshing now. Being sent all over the place on account of the approaching helicopter. Furthermore, the noise was deafening. Suffocating her voice as it left her lips. I had been reading the reporter¡¯s minds for a while now. Cringing at the questions they were formulating and wondering just what to say. Worse yet, I¡¯d have to figure out what to do about the assassin pretending to be a reporter. As it turns out, the local powers that be had a bit of a history with politically-motivated killings. To the point where there were a lot of three letter agencies dedicated to doing away with ¡°Threats.¡± Not legally, of course. But with enough regularity that they were basically a network of secret state police. ¡®I could use [Sleep] on him. That would be the most, humane way of ending this. But I don¡¯t know how I feel about letting assassins go free. Government approved or no, you can¡¯t go around disappearing people. What do you think Charlie?¡¯ Charlie shrugged at my [Message]. ¡®Kill him.¡¯ I sighed. ¡®Charlie, I don¡¯t want him out killing people but I don¡¯t want to kill him either. Not while there are other choices.¡¯ ¡®If you say so.¡¯ He replied. Thinking of the words and allowing me to pick them up using my fog. ¡®Though I will say that the only way to end this for good will be to change the way he thinks. To make him truly regret his actions and refuse to follow orders. That would mean him getting killed by his superiors later. So, you¡¯re just brainwashing him so that he can die later. I would argue that it isn¡¯t very merciful. Also, this is only my opinion, but, I would much rather die than become your puppet.¡¯ I scratched my head. Seeing his point. ¡®Right. So, what do you suggest?¡¯ ¡®Give him powers like you did with the people down in the village. Then mind-control him. Bad as it is, he deserves it. And it means you can get him to try and dismantle the current hold his masters have. He¡¯d have a pretty decent chance if there aren¡¯t other people with powers here.¡¯ Damn. That was¡­ dark. I wracked my brains over the query. Considering it like a trolley problem. The assassin would kill more people if I let him go but making him stop would mean doing something I, wasn¡¯t comfortable with. Not fully. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. I bit my lip and recalled Mason¡¯s case. How I hadn¡¯t seen any other way out of it. Then I compared those results with the futures [Insight] hadn¡¯t shown me. The ones relating to team cohesion. I sighed. Used [Insight] again and allowed the results to flow through and into me. Choosing the option that led to the least number of deaths and the greatest overall good. ¡®Damn that¡¯s dark. What do you think Monique?¡¯ ¡®I was going agree with Charlie. Not a big fan shadow government or the suppression of free speech. Saw more than enough of that back home. Reporters were literally telling us all it was perfectly safe to get back to work when burning zombies were waltzing down the streets eating people. One of them actually got eaten live. Still, that wouldn¡¯t change things long term. You controlling him seems more productive.¡¯ ¡®You realize you¡¯re advocating for me to take away someone¡¯s free will?¡¯ ¡®Yeah, so? He¡¯s an assassin. He was literally lining up a shot on me half a minute ago. He¡¯s got it coming and he isn¡¯t going to change his ways unless you make him. Sending to jail won¡¯t work and I¡¯d bet the people he¡¯s thinking about, the people that sent him here, won¡¯t let their local press bring this up. I¡¯m going to go for the lesser of all the evils. In fact, I¡¯d go so far as to say that this was one of the most justified cases of mind-control I could imagine. Get on with it or don¡¯t. Up to you, in the end.¡¯ In the end, I decided to use a tiny pinch of [Domination] on him. Enough that he became docile until the helicopter landed. Then I spoke before the reporters had a chance to. ¡°Sorry. Got to go any second now. Here, have some superpowers so you can defeat the secret police assassin network.¡± ¡°Huh!?¡± The lead reporter asked, seconds before I blasted him and the others with [Insight]. All of them crumpled as their Psy awakened. ¡°Sorry, sorry. Just want to make sure that none of you get, uh, ¡®disappeared¡¯. Again, sorry. Will try to make up for it later. If I can.¡± I finished giving instructions to the assassin and was ready to share some memories with recently-awakened, when the shimmer took us back to the Warehouse. ¡°You know guys? I don¡¯t think I like this pattern we¡¯ve been seeing.¡± ¡°Are you talking about the rescuing or the repressive dystopian conspiracies?¡± Monique asked. Though she knew damn well what I meant. ¡°The conspiracies.¡± I clarified regardless. ¡°I mean, this is, what? The fifth time its happened?¡± ¡°Yeah, that sounds about right.¡± Charlie confirmed, making his way towards the cafeteria without another word. ¡°And that doesn¡¯t bother you?¡± I called after him. He turned his head, but not his body. His shoulders somewhat slumped as he walked forward. ¡°Not really. Too used to it, I guess.¡± He snorted. ¡°What you call conspiracy, I call daily life. The rich will get goons to kick down the peasants that get too uppity. Those that defy the king lose their heads, as do their families. This is not new to me.¡± ¡°I¡­I¡¯m sorry. I didn¡¯t think.¡± Monique slapped me upside the head. ¡°Stop that, Sully. You¡¯re being a sourpuss. Look. We had an issue to deal with. One that was morally grey at best. Its good that you doubt yourself when it comes to this sort of thing. It¡¯ll keep you honest. But there¡¯s a difference between keeping yourself in check and self-flagellation. We had a hard choice to make and I think we did the best with what we had to work with. You¡¯ll just have to live with it.¡± She grabbed my wrist. ¡°Now come on. I know you¡¯ve been reading our minds. You know what¡¯s coming.¡± I smiled as I was dragged away. ¡°Hey. I can¡¯t help that now, can I? Not unless I shut the fog off completely and I need to keep controlling any monsters that wander into range. In my defence, I have been trying to keep it on the down low and I have been getting better at ignoring stuff.¡± We made our way over to the cafeteria, where the benches were bunched up next to the fridge that dispensed food in exchange for Store Tokens. There, on the tables, were about seven and a half pizzas. Surrounded by energetic crowds taking slices with wild abandon. What¡¯s more, there was also ice-cream, cakes, sodas of questionable copyright status and even more questionable taste. All the nice familiar items that last-minute parties used to bring the mood up. It worked. I couldn¡¯t see a single frowning face among all the people present. Kaito was juggling soda cans in front of a cheering audience, showcasing his newly acquired coordination and reflexes as he threw two-dozen cans up in the air without dropping a single one. Meanwhile, Mantis-man and Simeon were having an arm-wresting competition. Contestants coming by in order to wait their turn as they watched the two compete against each other. There were cheers being thrown around. Cries of joviality going round and round all those present. Mr. Park walked by at that point. Smiling at me and offering me a slice of extra cheese. ¡°Sully, how good to see you. Come, come. Have a seat next to us. We have much to discuss.¡± I accepted the slice from him with a murmur of thanks. Lowering Buddy¡¯s face-membrane so as to take a bit. The pizza was, fairly decent. Not great, but good enough to not leave a negative impression. Typical fast-food stuff. ¡°What kind of things do you want to talk about?¡± I asked after finishing. ¡°Why, this of course. The cause of our celebration.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we celebrating because most of us are making lots of Store Tokens from doing Excursions?¡± ¡°That is part of it, yes. But not all of it.¡± His smile widened further. Making his many wrinkles stand out even more. ¡°Why are you so chipper?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell?¡± I raised and eyebrow. Then both at once as I found that his thoughts had become slightly muddled. ¡°You¡¯re hiding your thoughts?¡± He wagged his finger excitedly through the air. Moving so much that he accidentally spilled some tea on the floor. ¡°Not all of them. We¡¯ve found that its quite impossible to fully isolate one¡¯s own mind unless they have a combined ability like yours. Yet, there are ways to get around the first-Tier version of [Sense Thoughts]. At least for some time. The trick is to use [Enhanced Concentration] to keep yourself from thinking about the ideas you don¡¯t want read.¡± I blinked. Very quickly in a very short amount of time. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ awesome! How come no one else has been doing this?¡± He leaned over, and I smelled the booze on his breath for the first time. ¡°Easy. Because it is hard. Much too hard to pick up right away for anyone who hasn¡¯t had prior training.¡± ¡°Training which you¡¯ve had.¡± Mr. Park looked abashed. ¡°There were, many aspects of my job that were not directly related to rifts or monsters. I was also tasked with being a sort of, handler, for our assets. Hiding one¡¯s thoughts and emotions is a necessary skill.¡± He patted my back some more and led me to one of the tables. ¡°The, vastness of our newfound wealth is certainly something that should be celebrated.¡± He began after we¡¯d sat down. ¡°It has certainly been a load off my back. I was fairly sure something horrible was going to happen and that we¡¯d be forced to ration roasted centipedes.¡± He released a sardonic smirk. ¡°I must say. This is much better.¡± ¡°Hear hear!¡± Fernando assented. Raising a mug of sour European ale and downing it in three gulps. My lips grew wet as my moved my tongue along them. ¡°You know, I could use a drink.¡± ¡°No.¡± Mr. Park answered at once. All remnants of that cheery disposition vanishing into the ether. I looked around, noting with trepidation that my comment had summoned a hushed silence into the previously festive hall. ¡°Okay. Okay. Never mind.¡± Mr. Park took a deep breath, before donning his sharp smile once more. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I understand it is hard to quit. It will get easier with time.¡± I could have pointed out the slight hypocrisy that he was actively drinking as he said this, but that might have come across as petulant behaviour. He gave off a slight whoop. Raising an arm in order to toast once more. I was getting a little curious by that point and delved further into his mind. Focusing on him in particular to the exclusion of all others. I got through his diversions in not time. Honing in to the real reason behind his fair mood. ¡°You¡¯re happy about my team splitting up?¡± ¡°What? No. No. Don¡¯t be ridiculous Sully. I¡¯m happy to be here. Five levels higher since the start of the week and richer than ever before. With ensured safety and¡­¡± ¡°What part of my team splitting up makes you happy?¡± I relented. Not giving him a chance to sweettalk his way out of this. He gave me a sideways glance. Staring right into my eyes. Then, he sighed theatrically and wolfed down another slice of pizza. ¡°Because it is so banal.¡± He answered at last. ¡°Banal?¡± ¡°Yes. Sully. Banal.¡± He brought up a hand covered in grease, before cursing and wiping it with a tissue. ¡°Let me explain. Ever since I met you, ever since all of us met you. There¡¯s been this, distance between us. You¡¯ve been having problems with your whole, good person business, while we¡¯ve been having problems sleeping knowing that you¡¯re not all there sometimes. I can¡¯t help but feel like this distance has closed.¡± ¡°How do you mean?¡± I asked. Genuinely curious. ¡°My relationships here have gotten better because people have gotten to know me.¡± ¡°To some degree.¡± He agreed, before shaking his head. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. You going out of your way to talk to people and become involved in knowing them is admirable and it has gone a long way to calming nerves. Yet, there was always this, surreal presence about you. Like a bomb waiting to blow.¡± ¡°Gee, thanks.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡± He hiccupped. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you haven¡¯t noticed. It was, like a weight pressing down on us. Whether it came from the level difference or the Titles or whatever else; it doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is that it was there and now it isn¡¯t. You¡¯re more approachable. Less unnerving.¡± ¡°That might be the new combined ability talking. [Charming Presence] pretty much says that makes people like me.¡± ¡°No. That wasn¡¯t it. At least, it wasn¡¯t the only thing. You are far less stressed. Far less, wound up than when we first met.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s a reason to celebrate? What does that have to do with my team problems?¡± ¡°Everything.¡± He belched. An action that was completely at odds with the image I had of the senior. ¡°Your talk was obviously good for you. Even if you don¡¯t realize it. You got rid of a lot of tension, which helped in lowering everyone else¡¯s tension.¡± I opened my mouth to bite back, but found that I couldn¡¯t quite refute his statements. The fact was, the recognition back then had felt fantastic. I had felt fantastic as the surviving villagers carried me on their shoulders. I had also felt fantastic when¡­ ¡°You¡¯re not mad about the girls coming onto me?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯re not mad that I turned Dusty down?¡± ¡°Ha! Why would I be? You didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what Dusty thinks.¡± Mr. Park¡¯s eyes found mine. Then he shook his head slowly. Kaito interjected at this time. Sliding a soda over to me. ¡°Listen, Sully. It really isn¡¯t that big of a deal. Now, don¡¯t interrupt me. Hear me out. Were the two of you dating?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Were there any talks of dating?¡± ¡°No.¡± I repeated. ¡°Then that means that you were, at the time, a single bachelor of appropriate age being courted by other singles of appropriate age. Everyone involved was an adult as far as I know. Everyone had plenty of chances to bring up relationships. No one did.¡± He paused for a second. ¡°I would even go so far as to say that you should have gone for it. Let out some more of that stress you¡¯ve got on your shoulders. I¡¯ve known plenty of young men who feel like new, completely different people, after letting go.¡± ¡°But the other girls¡­¡± He waved me off. ¡°I know what Olga and Prudence are saying. And Esmeralda and Collette and¡­ you know what? That doesn¡¯t matter. They¡¯re being unreasonable. I mean, yes. You did know about her feelings and she had expressed interest before. But that, a relationship, does not make. If none of you said anything, then it doesn¡¯t matter that you were reading her thoughts. And it was very mature of you to end it when you did.¡± Simeon nodded slowly, though he didn¡¯t say anything. Charlie and Borislav were busy gorging himself on pizza two tables down. Ryan was trying really hard to disappear into the back ground. His mind still thundering with fear that I might off him for what he was planning to do when we¡¯d first freed the Warehouse. ¡®There¡¯s no need for that. I already forgave him.¡¯ I turned to Mr. Park once more. ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain why you¡¯re so happy. There are more emotions hidden beneath.¡± ¡°There are.¡± He admitted. ¡°I suppose I feel, relieved.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s a very normal issue.¡± He said, nonchalantly. ¡°Mind you, I¡¯ve been around the block of Espers and pro-heroes. Managing a few of them over the course of my life. This kind of thing, a local hero being showered in attention, is perhaps one of the most normal interactions young heroes can have. Both male and female. It doesn¡¯t matter. The fame, the glory, it gets to them. Makes them feel invincible.¡± ¡°I sure don¡¯t feel invincible.¡± ¡°That was a poor choice of words on my part. The point is that having admirers is among the most normal things you could have done. Heck, I actually got up to those same activities back in my day. I took it much farther than you as well. I would not be surprised if I had three or four children that I¡¯m currently unaware of. I¡¯m not ashamed. Why should you be ashamed about not responding to someone¡¯s feelings?¡± ¡°Because my team split up Mr. Park.¡± I bent my head over the table. Massaging my temple with my fingers. ¡°I don¡¯t want to alienate them. You say I¡¯m more relaxed but it sure as (Gnome) doesn¡¯t feel that way.¡± Kaito nodded. ¡°Then I guess you better get to talking then.¡± ¡°That¡¯s part of the problem. I don¡¯t think Dusty wants to talk to me. And most of the girls seem to think I¡¯m evil incarnate for not taking her feelings into account.¡± Mr. Park whistled. ¡°Seriously, what has gotten into you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not seeing the full picture, Sully. You¡¯re not looking at the whole group the way the council does. You¡¯re not the only member we felt we had to watch. Dusty always seemed, more on edge than her brother. Alienated from most of the people here due to cultural differences. Now, she gets to make friends.¡± ¡°While trashing me.¡± He shrugged again. ¡°Totally worth it from my point of view. You¡¯re far more stable, she has a bigger support network. Everyone is happy.¡± It was then that Simeon took over. ¡°Sully, look. In these cases, I often feel that it is better to organize your thoughts so that you can make a clear-headed decision. Ask yourself this: What do you want to do moving forward?¡± ¡°I, I don¡¯t know. I want my team back, I guess. I think we had a good thing going.¡± ¡°Fair enough. I think so too.¡± Mr. Park agreed. ¡°In that case, there¡¯s only one way to resolve the issue.¡± ¡°Go talk to her.¡± Simeon finished. Mr. Park clapped his hands. ¡°Precisely. There¡¯s not much else to do now. You need to hear her out. And her grievances. You two need to sit down and fully communicate what your expectations were and how they have or haven¡¯t changed. From her part, she¡¯ll either tell you that isn¡¯t interested any more, or that she is and that she wants to move things along after the discussion. For your part, you can either tell her that you don¡¯t share her feelings or tell her that you do share her feelings.¡± Simeon nodded along until the end. Waiting until Mr. Park was done before speaking again. ¡°The most important thing right now is communication. You two need to hash things out like adults. It can get messy. It often does. But there¡¯s no other way.¡± ¡°Unless you want to keep ignoring each other.¡± Mr. Park added. ¡°That is also a valid option. One that was often chosen back home whenever these issues arose with heroes. Both fill out a few forms and our department will make damn sure to try and keep you on separate assignments. No sense in stirring up hard feelings, after all.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t going to go anywhere.¡± Monique interjected. Joining the conversation for the first time. She had a fork in one hand and a slice of cake in the other. Or perhaps it would me more correct to say that she had most of a cake on a platter. It would seem that Monique suffered from a sweet tooth and that she wasn¡¯t particularly ashamed about the fact. She stuffed her mouth and pointed the fork at me, swallowing before speaking again. ¡°We are all stuck in this maze together. We cannot afford to be indulging in this nonsense. If you¡¯re going to let her down, then the least you can do is tell her in person. Anything else will feel like an insult.¡± I nodded slowly. Trying to delve deep down into my own feelings to sort out my answer. ¡°The thing is¡­¡± I started. ¡°I don¡¯t think Dusty likes me. Not in that way at least.¡± ¡°I would beg to differ.¡± Kaito said. ¡°Pretty sure all the other Telepaths here would be calling you out too.¡± ¡°Not, in that way man. It feels like she likes my Type and what I¡¯ve done so far. It feels like she wants the prestige that being with me would bring her back home. I, don¡¯t know how I feel about that.¡± ¡°Then I guess you better sort it out.¡± Mr. Park declared. ¡°After we stuff ourselves that is. Come Sully. Come and indulge in the good food.¡± He tried shoving another slice of pizza into my hands. ¡°There are no monsters here today. No gnomes either. Or villains or killers. Only friends. So, bring up your pop and give us a non-alcoholic toast. Today is a day for celebration. So, lets celebrate as if the world was ending.¡± There was a raucous cheer at his words and more food was brought up from the fridge. People going up and down the tables to indulge. Reveling in all the progress they¡¯d made and in having the confidence to relax. If only for a little while. I nodded as I saw them enjoying themselves. Feeling their warmth flooding into me. ¡°Yeah.¡± I said, loosing myself in the flow. ¡°I guess we do deserve a break.¡± Chapter 61: The Bank. Chapter 61: The Bank. The tension in the air was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. The robbers bellowing orders at the terrified staff. ¡°Get down! I said get down!¡± ¡°Stay on the ground and put your hands where I can see them! No one needs to get hurt!¡± ¡°Phones! Take out your phones!¡± Their voices carried over the hushed silence settling over the bank. Staff and customers alike dropping to their knees. Shivering all the while. Meanwhile, I stood there in a corner. Unseen and unheard. Doing my best to concentrate Psy into my eyes. The logic was simple. I had a plethora of abilities that I wanted to raise, such as [Painful Gaze], [Cleansing Gaze], [Entrancing Gaze], and [Degrading Gaze]. The cleansing one in particular was my target, as I¡¯d need it to merge [Healing Song II]. To that end, I¡¯d spent five of the seven points from the last Excursion in order to bring [Cleansing Gaze] to level 3, leaving me with two points. Not that it helped. I mean, I did notice a faint variation of [Hum of Cleansing] affecting people I looked at, but the effects were so minute they might as well be non-existent. ¡®Though it is a passive and doesn¡¯t cost anything. It might be useful later.¡¯ I sighed. Going over the plan once more while trying to massage away the stress. The idea had been that I would stealth my way past the robbers instead of [Dominating] them. Training up [Hide], [Faint Presence] and to a lesser degree, [Muffle]. All while seeing what the passive gazing abilities could do with enough time. But the passives weren¡¯t doing their thing and it looked like the stealth ones wouldn¡¯t be levelling anytime soon either.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Hide] 3 has grown to [Hide] 4
Ability Evolving: [Faint Presence] 2 has grown to [Faint Presence] 3
Ability Evolving: [Muffle] 1 has grown to [Muffle] 3
Well never (Gnome)ing mind. Part of me was giddy at the sudden level, while another was thoroughly annoyed. I¡¯d been using all of these together for weeks now. All without any results. Granted, I had been using them near people I considered friendly or mind-controlled monsters instead of armed goons, but I didn¡¯t see how that mattered. I was still flexing the power. Tensing the strings within me. [Hide] and [Muffle] could be overcharged with Psy, but that hadn¡¯t helped. [Faint Presence] was a passive so I couldn¡¯t even do that. It didn¡¯t work in the same manner as the other presence abilities I had merged. Not causing a reaction within an audience that came back to me. Instead, I had to sort of, weave Psy around people so that they had as little reaction as possible. Yet that didn¡¯t make sense either because normal people didn¡¯t have any Psy or ability to sense Psy to start with, so they shouldn¡¯t have been able to feel anything regardless. Meaning this whole exercise with the robbers shouldn¡¯t have increased the level of [Faint Presence], since it did something that would have no effect on random people off the street. I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to look at Slab and Monique. Both of them using [Hide]. ¡°We really should finish up here and get going.¡± Slab said. His voice strained and weary as he saw the crooks harassing the tellers into a corner. ¡°What he said.¡± Monique echoed. ¡°I call dibs on the guns by the way. Those kinds of models were only kept by collectors back in my world. They¡¯re old, but sturdy. The people back in my world could use them.¡± I nodded. Trying very hard to keep myself from prying into Slab¡¯s thoughts. More specifically, the thoughts he was having about his sister sour mood in relation to me. ¡®I didn¡¯t do anything wrong.¡¯ I reminded myself. ¡®I was never in any kind of relationship with Dusty. Why should I feel guilty about having some fun?¡¯ Slab understood that too. Deep down. However, he also understood that Dusty was his sister and that she was not in a good place right now. The fact that she was almost to the third Tier certainly didn¡¯t help matters. ¡°Hey! Hey! I said get down! Do you have a death wish!? Is that it!? You wanna get shot bitch!?¡± The goon hit a skinny man with the butt of an older rifle. Or, he tried to. Instead, he found himself suddenly vexed when his body froze mid-motion. I walked right up to him. As casually as if I was strolling down the park for an afternoon picnic. Then I punched him. I had expected some pain in my hand then. The same kind that blossomed after yet another sparring session with either Boris or Charlie. Instead, I felt, nothing. Well, a little bump perhaps, but nothing beyond that. As for the gun-totting maniac¡­ he crumpled to the floor like a ragdoll. Slobbering all over the tiles.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Hide] 4 has grown to [Hide] 5
Ability Evolving: [Hidden Danger] 1 has grown to [Hidden Danger] 4
¡®Uh, what?¡¯ My eyes went over the notifications as the popped up. ¡®Now, hold on a second. That, shouldn¡¯t have done anything. I¡¯ve attacked monsters while hidden plenty of times. How is this one any¡­ oh. Oh, you piece of (Gnome).¡¯ The difference was that I had used a physical attack, instead of a Telepathic one. I¡¯d put myself in danger. Or, at least close to danger. I turned my focus to my two teammates. ¡®Guys! I found out how to level [Hide] more quickly! That and [Hidden Danger]. I think the latter buffs [Hide] when you¡¯re about to do something risky like attacking so that it doesn¡¯t dissipate. You can level both by hitting these guys while they don¡¯t know you¡¯re there.¡¯ It was then, after I¡¯d already sent the [Message], that I realized my mistake. ¡®WAIT!¡¯ Too late. Slab grabbed the gunman sprinting over to his unconscious ally by the arm. Yanking him so hard he dropped the rifle and¡­ There was a pop, as the bone left the socket. Followed closely by a guttural snap. The telltale sign of bones shattering. The scream the robber released contained the dread of a thousand wailing wraiths. A description that turned out to be more than appropriate, as the man saw empty air where his attacker should have been. His mind made the connection to ghosts. Then, to the two murders he¡¯d committed last week. After that, he soiled himself. Monique had struck her target in a far gentler manner, but the robbers didn¡¯t care about that. Three of the remaining felons bolted. Dropping their guns in their haste to leave. The last one howled. ¡°Stop you cowards! This is the work of a hero! A cowardly one! Hold on to your guns and keep a look out! The Projector must be around here somewhere!¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. He grew. An inch at first, then two and three and four. Covering himself in dirty-brown fur as his snout lengthened. Canine fangs sprouting from where human teeth had been mere moments prior. A colorful orange suit had been hidden inside his street clothes and it now stretched over his enlarged frame. Dark blue boots and gloves contrasted heavily with the rest of the ensemble, so that he resembled nothing short of a particularly flamboyant clown. In the middle, was the design of a bullseye. Centered around a cartoon mascot digging through a trashcan. ¡°Come out! Hero! Come out and face the wrath of the Opossum!¡± Slab shook his head in sheer disbelief. His jaw hanging loose. Monique turned to me. ¡®I thought this wasn¡¯t your world?¡¯ ¡®It isn¡¯t.¡¯ I assured her. ¡®We¡¯re in Australia. There¡¯s no Australia in my world. Not anymore. I don¡¯t know¡­¡¯ My eyes caught on to another detail. One that I had missed mere moments prior. There, on one of the marble pillars, was a wanted poster. Two billion dollars. For the capture or proof of death, of Randall Haroway. ¡®Yeah. That checks out.¡¯ ¡®What does?¡¯ I pointed. She looked over and clicked her tongue. ¡®Yeah. That checks out.¡¯ ¡®I know right?¡¯ ¡°Huh!? I don¡¯t hear you hero!? Aren¡¯t you coming out!? Aren¡¯t you going to try and defeat me fair and square!? Fine! Have it your way!¡± He turned to one of the tellers. Growing the claws erupting from his gloves. ¡°Let us see how you like it, when I start eating your little sheep.¡± My eyes found Slab as my fog picked up on his emotions. I saw him close his mouth and take a couple of steps toward the villain. ¡®Wait! Wait! I want to try something!¡¯ He stopped. ¡®What did you have in mind?¡¯ ¡®I want to try the sensory abilities I got. They¡¯re all at one, so it should be safe to use them against him without him dying.¡¯ Slab nodded stiffly, but kept moving towards the Shifter¡¯s intended victim. Moving past the costumed maniac and stepping between him and his target. I used [Blind], [Deafen] and [Anosmia]. All at once. Calling upon the strings for the first time. Overcharging them with Psy for good measure. The villain stopped. Frozen so utterly that one could have mistaken him for a statue. He slowly brought his hands to his face. Waving the gloved limbs in front of his eyes. Then he clapped. Confirmed that he still had his sense of touch and sighed. Then he stiffened, as he realized he hadn¡¯t heard a thing. He gulped. Loudly. ¡°You¡¯re a Telepath.¡± He spoke. With a steady voice devoid of its previous enthusiasm. ¡°Look. Okay. This doesn¡¯t have to get ugly. I¡­ You obviously don¡¯t have powers that can damage directly. That¡¯s fine. This is very impressive. You¡¯re really cool.¡± ¡®I think he¡¯s trying to butter you up like those French girls did.¡¯ Monique observed. ¡®Man, are you ever going to stop harassing me about that? How is it any of your business anyway?¡¯ She shrugged. ¡®It isn¡¯t. And I don¡¯t care overmuch. You¡¯re old enough to make your own decisions. All I¡¯m worried about is Dusty and she cares very, very much.¡¯ The Opossum kept talking after a pause. Interrupting our [Messages]. ¡°This, doesn¡¯t have to end with us doing something, regrettable. I¡¯ll leave. Okay? I¡¯ll leave and go on home and you will never have to see me again. I swear. On my honor.¡± I rolled my eyes. The police were already on their way, of course. The gang disabling the phone lines and cracking into the system to disable the silent alarms meant little when I could take over the phones of the people here and call the police through them. There was no way I was letting him go. Not that my opinion would have mattered even if I had been so inclined. Slab had strong feelings for rule breakers and criminals. So much so that the furry pervert should probably consider himself lucky that his limbs were still attached. I pushed more Psy into the strings.
Prerequisites have been met. Student has obtained an ability at or beyond Tier IV. Student has passed level 150. Student is evolving Telepath to Tier IV.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Blind] 1 has grown to [Blind] 3
Ability Evolving: [Deafen] 1 has grown to [Deafen] 3
Ability Evolving: [Anosmia] 1 has grown to [Anosmia] 3
Finally. Tier 4. About time. With that, the limit to my regular Tier 1 abilities rose from 15 to 20. It would be another step to being powerful enough to defend my world from the like of Periwig. ¡®Now if only I could merge [Sense Thoughts] and [Mindscape] already.¡¯ The queer mental blocks had been a constant source of frustration, but one that would be overcome in time. ¡®Anyway. Now we wait until the cops get here and¡­ wait a second. Whaaa¡­?¡¯ There was another vehicle entering my fog from the north. A big truck lined with thick metal plates. Behind the wheel and on the back were half a dozen armed gunmen, as well as two Espers. They were shooting their guns from small windows cut from the frame of the truck. Senselessly spraying lead in all directions. Sending pedestrians to the safety of nearby buildings as all who saw the scene and heard the shots dove for cover. Lying flat against the ground and sobbing. [Domination] put a stop to that right away. I flexed the power on the truck and the shooters both. Willing them to freeze in place. The screech of tires must have echoed all around them, because the two Espers I left untouched flinched and covered their ears while swearing. ¡°What¡¯s the holdup? Get us to the bank! Possum¡¯s waiting!¡± The driver didn¡¯t speak. Couldn¡¯t speak. Even if he could, the vehicle had too many electronic systems. It wouldn¡¯t be going anywhere anytime soon. ¡®Get down on your knees and put your hands up.¡¯ I commanded. Bringing the two villains under my sway. ¡°No. No!¡± ¡°Telepath! Shit! Get out of my head!¡± Their protests did not truly contain the sheer amount of panic each man was feeling. Their minds reflecting on all the horrors I could force them to partake in, now that I had them in my grasp. ¡®Man, talk about hypocrisy. I stop a bank heist and I¡¯m suddenly the bad guy because I can mind-control people.¡¯ Monique sighed at the [Message]. ¡®Yes Sully. I know. You¡¯re a good person. Please don¡¯t have a panic attack.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not having a panic attack. I know I¡¯m a good person now. I¡¯ve saved at least a hundred people today alone.¡¯ Opossum¡¯s whimper resonated within the high hall of the bank. Carrying over the whole interior and containing an entire world¡¯s fill of grief and dread. ¡°Look man. Don¡¯t do this to me. I, I won¡¯t make a good slave. Okay? I got fleas, man. You don¡¯t want me anywhere near you. I smell too. You¡¯d be puking the whole way home if I got in the car. Please just let me go. I promise I won¡¯t do it again.¡± His furry hands were shaking. The entire orange suit vibrating as if the very earth were quaking and giving way under his feet. A closer inspection revealed that tears were falling down his face. While other things fell down his pants. ¡°Man. Stop.¡± I said in disgust. ¡°You¡¯re the criminal here. Not me. Don¡¯t go spinning this arou¡­ and you can¡¯t hear me. Because I¡¯m deafening you. Great. Good job.¡± I sighed while massaging my head with one hand. ¡®Kneel and undo your transformation.¡¯ I commanded. ¡®Do not use your powers to harm or threaten others ever again.¡¯ I passed the same instructions along to the other crooks in the truck some seven and a half kilometres away. Certain that it would, at least, save a couple more lives in the future. No sooner had I finished doing so, than the shimmer took me and mine back to the Warehouse. Dropping us in the middle of the safe zone and in front of Peachy¡¯s booth. She shrieked and stepped back as we arrived. Feathered arms flailing in the air as if in mock surrender. ¡°You have got to stop doing that. I don¡¯t bite.¡± I told her. ¡°Yes! I mean, no! Of course you don¡¯t great master! I will certainly endeavor to avoid displeasing you in the future!¡± I rolled my eyes and walked over to my room. Slab following behind me while Monique made her way to the range. ¡°Have you, given any thought to our discussion?¡± I asked him after a few paces. ¡°I have. It, is certainly a difficult topic to tread upon.¡± He went quiet for a few more seconds. Delving within his own feelings and grasping for the right words. ¡°I do agree that our home has a lot to do with it. The status you would have brought to our family would not have been insubstantial. And that was before you slew a Great Devourer. However, you should keep in mind that politics isn¡¯t Dusty¡¯s only motivation. You have plenty of good points aside from that.¡± ¡°How so?¡± I asked. Genuinely curious. ¡°You¡¯re hard-working. For one. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you resting unless you were pressured into it. That dedication says much about your character. Then there¡¯s the fact that you keep your principles close to your heart. You never ask anything in return when helping those in need and you never hesitate to put your life in danger for the sake of others. What¡¯s more, you have a sense of responsibly when it comes to your powers. You don¡¯t abuse them, despite how easy it would be for you to do so. I think that says a lot about you, Sully.¡± ¡°Those don¡¯t sound like good points. More like, the bare minimum of human decency.¡± ¡°And yet, we¡¯ve seen no shortage of people with powers abusing them over the past few weeks. Harming civilians instead of protecting them. Stepping all over them when they should be lifting them up. Again, the idea of doing that never crossed your mind. You may not think it¡¯s a big deal, but I know for a fact that all the people you¡¯ve rescued down here in the Labyrinth thank their lucky stars that you¡¯re so attached to the concept of responsibility. Speaking of which, there¡¯s also the matter of your own actions.¡± ¡°What about them?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never treated Dusty poorly and you¡¯ve always appreciated her efforts.¡± I looked up at Slab, as if he were stupid. ¡°That¡¯s a no brainer. I appreciate her because of all she and you have done for me. I may not agree with all the explosive violence of the early days, but even I can see that you never left my side and that you stuck up for me through thick and thin.¡± ¡°Thank you for saying so.¡± Slab muttered with a faint smile. ¡°But you¡¯re missing the bigger picture. Dusty, she and I grew up being the target of everyone¡¯s malice. It didn¡¯t matter how hard we worked because we weren¡¯t warriors. It was this way from the moment we failed to manifest abilities. Until we got here. Then, we managed to find you and bring you on board. All the while performing glorious feats left and right. I don¡¯t think Charlie or Monique express their feelings on the matter often enough, but you should know they feel good about what we accomplished. About saving at least a fifth of the people down here. They see the survivor count and the fact that it isn¡¯t decreasing and they relish it. Boris, I don¡¯t know if he cares about it in the same manner. He seems rather detached no matter when I see him.¡± He shook his head to dispel the worries. ¡°That¡¯s not the point. The point is that you made it possible to save more people. You made it possible to keep saving people you didn¡¯t even know. You even made it possible to, eventually, save our world. That, means a lot to us. Both of us. We¡¯ve become heroes of legend and we¡¯re only getting stronger as time goes on. You¡¯re, a miracle worker, in our eyes at least. And yes, you have your, quirks. Yet that hasn¡¯t stopped you even once. It leaves quite the impression.¡± Slab patted me on the back as we neared my room. ¡°So, talk to her. Okay? Hear out her feelings. Listen to what she has to say. If you decide that she isn¡¯t for you, I¡¯ll understand. If you decide that you want to give it a shot, that¡¯s fine too. I personally would love to have you as an in-law.¡± He stepped away while waving an arm behind him. ¡°Sleep on it.¡± I did try to sleep on it. Drifting into unconsciousness with an enviable ease. I was back at the mansion. Looking up to see a sky that was¡­ right? ¡°Huh. The sun is yellow and the sky is blue. As it should be.¡± Oddly enough, the presence of a normal outdoor environment sent a few shivers up my spine. It, didn¡¯t feel right. ¡°Drake? Hey, Drake. Are you seeing this too?¡± The Drake didn¡¯t answer. Instead, a faint, pathetic, mewling voice drifted over from the gazebo. Sending goosebumps along my limbs and making all my hairs stand on end. ¡°Hello?¡± I called out. Peering around the corner. ¡°Drake, is that you?¡± The sobbing redoubled. Sounding as if the one making them were contemplating a permanent escape form their tormented existence. My fog couldn¡¯t pick them up. Finding a wall of nothingness where a mind should be. I tried flashing [Insight] to see a few seconds into the future, but it too, was blocked. I crept closer. Closer. Turning a corner to stare at the source of the lamentations. There, huddled on the ground and cradling his head with both his hands, was Randall. He peeked my way with tears and snot running down his face. He sobbed harder. ¡°Please.¡± He whimpered. Pleading with all the raw emotion he could muster. ¡°Please let me die.¡± Chapter 62: Haunted. Chapter 62: Haunted. I stammered through a few lines. Not quite managing complete sentences. At the same time, questions were flowing into my mind. Rather pertinent things like: ¡®Why would you want to die?¡¯ ¡®Why would you ask me of all people to let you die?¡¯ ¡®Aren¡¯t you already dead?¡¯ ¡®What¡¯s a dead person doing here?¡¯ ¡®Are you real?¡¯ ¡®Is this some vision of the future?¡¯ ¡®Are you actually Seeker messing with me?¡¯ ¡®Are you an Intruder taking Randall¡¯s shape?¡¯ ¡®Are you a stress-induced hallucination?¡¯ ¡®Are you a more concrete apparition?¡¯ ¡®Is this what I get for making fun of Charlie?¡¯ All of these would have been valid questions by themselves. I asked none of them. Opting instead for one that was more, personally disquieting. ¡°Why are you so afraid?¡± Randall turned to me. Eyes filled with primordial terror. Eclipsing whatever reactions Charlie had given earlier in the week. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with him.¡± A voice filled with static interjected. I turned my head and saw him again. Organs suspended in ooze. Encased within a metallic sarcophagus and moving through the usage of many steel appendages placed underneath. Like a cockroach that was imitating human posture. ¡°Anything he gets is well-deserved. In fact, I would go so far as to argue this is one of the fairer fates Randall could encounter.¡± I blinked once, rubbed my eyes and stared some more before speaking. ¡°I thought you were gone. Since, you know, your future won¡¯t come to pass.¡± ¡°I was and it won¡¯t.¡± He replied. The speaker making it so that his words were free from any emotions normal humans might express during dialogue. Despite this, I couldn¡¯t shake the feeling that he was rather pleased with himself. ¡°I guess that means I¡¯m seeing you with [Insight]. Which means the ability lets me see alternate versions of me that are impossible.¡± ¡°I was possible. Once. That would have been enough. Good thing too. I have so much more to teach.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem too bothered by the fact your future won¡¯t come to pass. Funny that. Being happy about not existing.¡± It made a series of electrical sputters. Scrambled bursts of static that might have been laughter. ¡°You have no idea what was in store for you. You have no idea what I experienced. If I still had knees, I¡¯d be down on them. Thanking whatever power allowed me to warn you. That future was filled with nothing but misery and suffering. A never-ending series of atrocities committed solely to draw out what remained of my life. Hoping against hope to get my body back. To feel again.¡± He sputtered some more. ¡°What this wretch is experiencing right now is the purest milk of human kindness by comparison. Do not allow yourself to pity him.¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°Have you been, torturing Randall¡¯s ghost?¡± More sputters. ¡°Why would I do such a thing? Especially when I¡¯m not here at all. Use your [Insight] again. Tell me whether or not I am really here.¡± I did. Confirming that he wasn¡¯t. ¡°So, you¡¯re haunting me?¡± ¡°No. At least, not on purpose. Your powers call me from time to time, but we¡¯ve been missing each other for the most part.¡± ¡°You¡¯re suggesting we¡¯ve met before. Once more, after you put Drake inside my head. But I don¡¯t recall such a meeting ever taking place.¡± The sputters redoubled in intensity. This coffin acting as if it was roaring with laughter. ¡°I guess you wouldn¡¯t. Fair enough. In that case, allow me to inform you of what is currently happening. Use your [Insight] on Randall.¡±
Name: Randall Haraway
Psy: 143, 820 / 143, 820
Type: Projector III Level 132
Abilities: [Randall¡¯s Radiant Mantle X] 21 / [Randall¡¯s Enduring Gluttony VII] 20 / [Randall¡¯s Golden World V] 20 / [Randall¡¯s Vengeful Disintegration V] 14 / [Portal Network III] 14 / [Gravity Well II] 9 / [Frost Bubble] 5 / [Frost Wall] 4
Ability Points: 3
My eyes went wide. ¡°He¡¯s alive! And, holy (Gnome). He¡¯s been working out. But how come¡­¡± I shut my trap. Putting two and two together. ¡°The others must have done this to him. Somehow. Anezka too, I¡¯m guessing.¡± I started pacing. Implications running through my head. ¡°Question is, why? No, actually, forget about that. They¡¯d have every reason to kill Randall and Anezka. I was the only one that wanted to give them a chance. The real questions are how they made him like this and why is he here.¡± I turned to sarcophagus Solomon once more. Directly facing the transparent screen and the organs packed behind it. ¡°What have they done to Randall and how did they do it?¡± The other me sputtered some more. ¡°They had, a bit of help. From an old acquaintance of ours. An old friend that hasn¡¯t been able to fully re-surface due to an, incomplete ability. Down here in the Labyrinth.¡± ¡°Well, that doesn¡¯t sound ominous at all. Also, what do you mean, incomplete abilities? I¡¯m merging more and more by the week. Sometimes by the day.¡± The sarcophagus made to leave. Facing away from me and only addressing me once he was a fair way off. ¡°Yes, but you¡¯re still not as powerful as you once were. As powerful as we once were. Getting to Tier 4 has started undoing more of the bindings, yet you have some ways left to go.¡± My mouth dropped. My eyes going over the new status once more. ¡®You¡¯re telling me I was stronger than this? When I was six?¡¯ Now there was a somber thought. Good thing I was a good kid or that could have ended badly. I was still reading through my status when I noticed the metal frame dissipating into empty air. ¡°Wait! You still haven¡¯t told me who did this to Randall!¡± ¡°You will see. Soon enough. Congratulations on evading my fate. Old me. You¡¯ve lifted a heavy weight off both our shoulder. Maybe even saved the human race. Bye for now.¡± I made to reach him and grasped nothing. The hedges were as green and lustrous as they¡¯d always been and the sky was still a beautiful blue. The only sounds that could be heard over the placid silence were my own breathing, and Randall¡¯s echoing sobs. ¡°Right. I guess I have a penchant for being dramatic in the future. Something to look forward to.¡± I turned back to Randall and looked down on him from a standing position. ¡°Hey man.¡± He sobbed. ¡°Look. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m sorry. About that and whatever is going on. I never meant to hurt anyone. Even though you do kind of deserve it. Sorry, that was inappropriate. The point is that whatever¡¯s happening to you doesn¡¯t need to keep going. We can call it off right now and start anew. You could still redeem yourself. You could still be a hero.¡± Randall¡¯s shaking redoubled. Now seeming as if he was trying to vibrate his way out of this reality. Incomprehensible babbling escaping from his lips. All of it sounding as if he was pleading with someone. With some thing. ¡°Please let me die.¡± He repeated. His face downcast and repentant. ¡°No. I¡¯m not trying to kill you, Randall. I¡­I don¡¯t even know how you got here in the first place. I¡¯m trying to figure it out and I¡¯m trying to do right by you. Now, do you want to make up and be friends?¡± He didn¡¯t say anything. Instead, he planted his face deeper into his knees and shook his head from side to side. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. I tried focusing on my fog. Trying to peer into his mind, with no success. There was a wall there as impenetrable as the one my other friends had placed on themselves. ¡®I¡¯m going to need to have a conversation with them after this. Whatever¡¯s going on, I deserve to know.¡¯ ¡°Okay. If you don¡¯t want to be friends right now, we can leave it for later. I¡­ get that you¡¯re not in the best place right now. In that case, there¡¯s another matter to discuss. I¡¯ll ask you, slowly.¡± I leaned in to make sure he heard me. ¡°Who did this to you?¡± ¡°He¡¯s¡­¡± He sniffled. Some bits of dangling snot falling past his mouth to stain his shirt as tears continued leaking from his eyes. ¡°He¡¯s here. He¡¯s coming for me.¡± He cringed and sobbed again. His voice breaking in between words. ¡°He won¡¯t let me go. He¡¯ll never let me go. This is a trick. He¡¯s going to hurt me again. He¡¯s going to come back and take me away.¡± ¡°Who won¡¯t let you go?¡± I asked, coming closer. ¡°Where is he going to take you?¡± Randall drew his arms and legs closer to his torso. As if doing so would make him less visible. I noted, with some surprise, that he had both arms now. The limb that Dusty and Slab ripped off having somehow returned in this mental landscape. His eyes darted to one side, then the next. Not stopping for a second as he tried to keep the entirety of the mansion¡¯s opulent garden within his field of vision. He babbled something fierce and I started noticing new details on his form. There were lacerations around his eyes. Half-healed, linear scars that went from the corners of his sockets and up towards his forehead. They were mostly invisible, resembling the aftermath of a botched surgery that had been called off mid-way. The faint lines converged as they went up and around his skull. Gathering around the center of his brow and twisted so that they came together into the shape of an open eye. Oddly enough, Randall seemed to be¡­ crying. From that eye as well as the other two. Then, there were the bruises. Blackened sections of skin formed around his wrists and ankles. Suggesting that he had been shackled to some kind of medieval torture device. He wore the same marks around his throat. Meaning someone or something had choked him. Hard. His clothes had been reduced to soiled ribbons, yet there were clues on them as well. There were no signs of any section being burned. In contrast to the seared parts of Randall¡¯s skin that were visible underneath them. I grabbed a corner of his shirt and, when he showed no signs of protest, pulled on it. That revealed patterns within the madness. Pictures drawn from branding burns. A sun. Being squeezed by an angel. One with tattered wings and two heads. Both the sun and the angel had mouths. The sun¡¯s mouth was open in a scream. The angel¡¯s mouth looked as if it was about to bite down. Below that, near his stomach, were strings of words tattooed in a vertical fashion. So that I had to turn my head to read them. I felt a shiver running down my spine. An all too familiar tingle of recognition that was nonetheless blocked by some section of my psyche. ¡°Randall.¡± I repeated. Grabbing him by the shoulders and forcing him to look at me. ¡°Who hurt you?¡± He finally looked at me. Really looked at me. His weeping redoubled. His voice barely audible as he struggled to make any sound at all. ¡°The tall man.¡± He managed after a few more seconds. ¡°Behind you.¡± I turned around so fast that I almost fell backwards on top of him. My heart was thundering inside my chest. Threatening to burst out through my ribcage and make good on its own escape. My stomach had turned. My intestines wrapping themselves around each other so tightly that I feared they might explode as well. I was sweating. All my pores releasing whatever moisture I had within me as my blood boiled inside my veins. My eyes were frantically scanning the garden for anything out of place. Any indication that he had been here. But there was nothing. The sky was blue and the sun was yellow. Birds sang in the distance and flowers smelled of sweetness and innocence. My ears were ringing by that point. Time becoming muddled as seconds turned to minutes and minutes turned to hours. I gasped. And then kept on wheezing. Forcing air into my lungs. ¡®Wait a second. This is insane. The tall man isn¡¯t real. He was never real. I, I suppressed those memories. I did it. I killed the crabs. I saved my family. I saved Henry. Why should I be afraid?¡¯ I turned to Randall. Outraged at his deception. Only to find him cowering even more fiercely than before. And there, some ways off. Sitting in a bench facing the gazebo, was the figure I had dreaded throughout my entire life. He. It. Had a white suit on. Pristine in the sunlight. The perfection of his attire was marred by the blackened blood staining his hands, as well as the complete lack of footwear. Instead, his bare feet touched the ground. Releasing pools of smoking tar that stank of sulfur and month-old refuse. He had wings here, unlike in my visions. Pale, thin bones branched out from his back. Holding on to pathetic, nearly non-existent strips of raw-red muscle that had been picked clean. Making it seem as though he¡¯d once had a resplendent pair of wings that were now in a sad state. Like those of a chicken or a turkey that had been thoroughly plucked. The few feathers he still had were either white and bedraggled. Or pitch black. His face was mostly featureless. Devoid of a mouth, nose, ears and hair. Though, he still had eyes. Two where normal eyes should be and one atop his brow. Their color being a cool blue, almost to the point of being grey. Like chips of dirty ice. Identical to my own. Only the bottom two were open. All three were crying blood. I blinked. Feeling like a gazelle that had found itself surrounded by lionesses. Or a kid who found himself surrounded by knife-wielding clowns. There was a pervasive silence around the premises now. As all the birds vanished into the ether. No sounds colored the air, save for Randall¡¯s continued sobbing and my own quaking heart. Then, a ringing started up within my ears. Stretching on and on and on. Until the Tall Man, stood. As it did so, the space around him warped like films of ice under a blowtorch. Whole parts of the floor and gazebo imploding soundlessly into themselves. Thereby shrinking the distance between it and us. I recalled that [Insight] could tell illusions from reality. That it could tell me whether something was real or not. I used it. Seeing twenty seconds into the future. And finding that, out of everything here. It and Randall were only real things around.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Hide] 5 has grown to [Hide] 7
Ability Evolving: [Faint Presence] 3 has grown to [Faint Presence] 4
Abilities Converging: [Hide] 7 Has been undone. 28 Ability Points Gained. [Muffle] 3 Has been undone. 6 Ability Points Gained. [Hidden Danger] 4 Has been undone. 10 Ability Points Gained. [Stealth III] 1 has been formed. 1 Ability point consumed. 43 Ability Points Remaining.
[Stealth III] Standard Combination of [Hide] / [Muffle] / [Hidden Danger] Grants the User the ability to remove themselves from the senses of targets within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. User becomes better able to remove themselves and their own traces from perception at a rate of +35% per current ability level and at a cost of 30 Psy per second. User becomes able to remove allies within line of sight from the senses of targets within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives at a rate of +15% per current ability level and at a cost of 60 Psy per second. User becomes able to maintain these effects while performing aggressive physical actions at an additional cost of +20 Psy per second. The potency of all these effects increases by 250% every five levels. The cost of maintaining these effects decrease by -30% per every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
I put all of my new 62 points into [Stealth III] without hesitation. Bringing it to level 10 and leaving me with 8 points remaining. I used five of those to bring [Faint Presence] to level 5 for good measure and hightailed it out of there while I still could. Giving no further thought to reason. Spamming [Suppression] and every single one of my hums at the same time. Putting out waves upon waves of [Delirium III], [Warp the Veil II] and [Psionic Conjuration III] all at once. Throwing charged blasts of [Delusion] and [Total Organ Failure III] behind me. The only notion that passed through my mind was that I didn¡¯t need to outrun some specter of my past. I just needed to outrun Randall. ¡®(Gnome) this and (Gnome) Randall. I didn¡¯t even like him anyways. Good (Gnome)ing riddance. And good riddance to Drake too. That piece of (Gnome). He and that thing are more than welcome to keep each other company from now on. Serves him right for roaching out the second things looked bad.¡¯ Speaking of which, there he (Gnome)ing was. Lounging at the edge of another fountain as if nothing were wrong. Good. I didn¡¯t tell him (Gnome). Sprinting right past him and into hedge maze. ¡°Where are you going!?¡± He called out from behind. ¡°I still haven¡¯t congratulated you on reaching Tier 4! That¡¯s a major accomplishment you know!? I thought we were going to do something speci¡­ WHAT THE (NOBLE) IS THAT!!!!!!???¡± I ignored him. Making my way deeper into the shrubbery. Yeah, it wasn¡¯t the most solid plan out there, but (Gnome) it. Sure as (Gnome) beats staying out in the open or locking myself in the mansion and waiting for it to chase me. I turned corner after corner. Feeling pretty good about my speed and how far I¡¯d gotten in such a short amount of time. Until a shrieking bat thing crashed into a wall of nothingness above me and dropped to the floor. It was a squirming, misshapen mass of flesh and sinew. Missing half a wing and three other limbs if the stumps were any indication. He wasted no time in reforming itself into a centaur-like creature with an equine lower half and a feline passing upper half. Curiously enough, it was still missing an arm and a fair number of chunks from its new legs. Stranger still, Drake wasn¡¯t regenerating. Quite unnerving, given that he was supposed to be a Shifter with all of his abilities at Tier 10. Then he was running too. Galloping down the narrow walkways of the hedge maze. ¡°You (Noble)ing piece of (Noble)! You tried to kill me!?¡± ¡°No. I just left you. Big difference.¡± I shouted back. Already several steps away. It caught up with surprising alacrity. Almost passing me within the span of a second. ¡°Go back and stop it you fool! Before it rips me and your chances of getting Shifter apart!¡± I didn¡¯t dignify that with a response. The Seeking Drake might have been an oh-so-impressive Savant and a horror older than human history, but he was smoking the best (Gnome) in the whole multiverse if he thought there was a chance of me slowing down. ¡°Stop! Stop it! Stop and listen you imbecile!¡± The Drake screamed right next to my ear. ¡°That thing¡¯s a Veiled Prince!¡± ¡°Nice! Good for you! Why don¡¯t you go back and tell it that!?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t! Because it¡¯ll try to kill me again! I could have done away with it if this were real; but its not and I¡¯m not the real Seeking Drake! I¡¯m a set of memories your (Noble)ing future self carved out for you to merge with and I will be very (Noble)ing dead if you don¡¯t stop to fix this!¡± I would have laughed. If I wasn¡¯t so terrified. ¡°And you think I care!? (Gnome) you! You two can go right ahead and¡­¡± There was a rumble coming from above. Droplets raining down from the sky. Squelching as they impacted against the soil. They stained the walls of the hedge maze as they fell. The green leaves turning red with every new droplet that fell. There was a wet thud right around the corner and we sound found an obstacle in our path. I stopped then, but only because there was a wriggling¡­ thing¡­ in front of us. It had fallen from the sky and was bathed in fresh rivers of gore. A half-porcine, half human face stared up at us from the ground. Three blind, milky-white eyes trying to find light wherever they could. Its body was small, but with the proportions of a child, instead of those of a gnome. ¡°I¡­ control.¡± It chortled. Managing to speak in between wracking coughs. ¡°I control.¡± Its mangled voice was barely audible. Over the din of raining blood. I blocked the thing from my mind and bent my legs in preparation for a long jump. Only to stop when Drake grabbed my arm. Squeezing tight with what few fingers he had left. ¡°Stop! I told you, to stop! That thing will only listen to you! You have to stop it!¡± My head swivelled so fast that I could have sworn most of my hairs fell out. My eyes threatening to escape the confines of my skull and go live somewhere else for a change. Preferably someplace where fresh blood didn¡¯t rain from the sky. I stared at him. At this malignant presence trapped inside my mind. At this soaked body that had been dyed crimson alongside everything else. At this fearful expression he had donned for the first time since I¡¯d known him. ¡°Why would you, how? How did you arrive at this conclusion!? Are you brain dead!? Did you hit your head too hard!?¡± ¡°No. I mean, yes. It did hit my head. That¡¯s not the point! You have to stop that thing!¡± ¡°And I¡¯m telling you I can¡¯t! You baggy old fart!¡± ¡°Yes you can dumb(Noble)! That thing is yours! Veiled Princes aren¡¯t like regular Intruders. They are spawned inside the material worlds! They¡¯re Avatars! Psychic minds projected unto the material and immaterial realms at the same time! They, they¡¯re not. It. It is not separate from you. It is you. And it can be separate at the same time. This one. (Noble)! You probably created it when you were young. It feels right at home here. Like it¡¯s been possessing you for ages.¡± The Drake turned his face towards me. ¡°When was the first time you saw it?¡± ¡°I, when I. Killed the crabs. I was, six?¡± ¡°Six!?¡± He blinked. His many eyes staring bloody murder into me. ¡°You stupid bastard! You¡¯re telling me you¡¯ve been (Noble)ing possessed by a spirit you birthed since you were six decades old!? And you only thought to mention this now!?¡± ¡°I¡­ what? Six decades? I¡¯m 22 years old! I meant since I was six years old!¡± The Drake¡¯s face scrunched up. Chapter 63: The Tall Man’s Home. Chapter 63: The Tall Man¡¯s Home. The rain was thickening. Red droplets falling down with greater intensity as the thing in front of us kept wheezing. ¡°I¡­ control¡­. I control¡­. I¡­. ugh¡­. control.¡± I moved one of my legs and smashed the poor thing¡¯s skull. Caving it in under the weight of my current body. Turning my eyes in time to see the child sprinting feebly around a corner and out of sight. Calling upon his new ability as if it could shroud him from his own avatar. ¡®Fool. Bloody fool. It is you. It will know where you are so long as you know where you are. Fool. How could you not be in control? How could you possibly be surprised by this thing¡¯s existence? How could you not notice your own power? How could your own mind keep secrets from you? How could you be so¡­ so¡­ Delicious.¡¯ I was quivering. Partly from rage and indignation. Partly from envy. To say that Veiled Princes were rare would be like saying the imbeciles I turned into living furniture were a little uncomfortable on occasion. To make one, a master would have to merge all their Veil-related abilities to create a Tier 5 power and then fuse that with other anchoring skills for good measure. The weakest one I knew about belonged to Lady Agony and hers was Tier 8. Capable of turning interlopers inside out with its mere presence. More importantly, it had been capable of turning me, my hijacked bodies and my clones inside out as well. All while the (Noble) sat around lazily from the safety of a pocket dimension. ¡®Though doing away with hers was easy. Compared to that [Noble]¡¯s own.¡¯ I grew teeth on instinct. Grinding them against each other with such force that they cracked and splintered in my jaws. Reeling from an insurmountable rage as I was made to recall Singing Steel. She who had loved hounding me with her own avatar for some petty actions she took offence with. She who had foiled all my attempts at leaving the Labyrinth in search of fresher pastures. She who had refused to fight me head on while still managing to win our clashes. This fool. This, child. Had reached these heights at six years of age. Granted, our worlds probably had different definitions of what a year was, but the way it had been translated meant at least half a dozen months. Maybe more. This swine had managed to form a fully functional avatar while having the simple mind of a pup. Reaching the heights of old masters without an ounce of effort. ¡®Is it his blood? Some preternatural freak accident from two compatible genes meeting each other? Or is it his upbringing? Some obscure, esoteric factor about his home planet?¡¯ No good. Too many possible answers. Too little time. I growled in spite of myself. Shivering as more crimson vitae rained down on me. Instinctively trying to absorb them into myself. To grow and adapt and overcome. Yet these were not real and they did not sustain me. Instead, it almost seemed as if each new wet droplet was an anchor. Unreal voices from beyond the veil dragging me deeper and deeper into a hole. Into an inevitable torpor. ¡®Could this be a ruse?¡¯ I wondered suddenly. Looking at this great big fool as he leapt over the shrieking, half-formed Intruder. ¡®Could he have noticed my probing? Is this his retaliation for trying to take his mind?¡¯ No. The chances of that happening were negligible at best. Sully himself was perpetually clueless as to the true depths of his own Psy. A quality that was par for the course for most Savants. It was a weakness, but not an uncommon one for our kind. After all, why would anyone bother with rhetoric and underlying philosophies when the truth was so self-apparent to their eyes? ¡®Yet I keep failing. Over and over again. All I need is a cell. A single cell among the innumerable ones in his body. A breach that would let me overtake and imprison him in his own flesh. So that I can feed him to the rest of me once the Tutorial is finished. I¡¯ve done it to greater foes before. To masters and young prodigies that had traversed all four Types. So, why can¡¯t I do it to this child? Why is his mind so very vexing?¡¯ I re-centered myself. Forcing my sinews to stitch themselves back together and quashing my frustration as the wounds I¡¯d taken failed to properly heal. ¡®Calm yourself. You are the Seeking Drake. You will not fail. You will have your due. One way or the other. This can only end with you having his Type and his might. Or, failing that, with you eviscerating his very spirit from within.¡¯ That last option had seemed awfully tempting as of late. Though it would mean giving up on this seed his future self had so carelessly created, as well as any hopes of me gaining Telepath anytime soon. I shook my head to dispel the wave of regret. ¡®Enough. Focus on the present. I have not come this far to surrender my talents to an imbecilic whelp. Either I get what I want or he dies. There can be no hesitation. Too much greed has been the undoing of many masters. It will not be mine.¡¯ With that resolution re-affirmed, I centered myself and made to follow. Turning down the same path that the fool had taken. Only to find a wall of stone in my path. ¡®Oh, what fresh insolence is this?¡¯ I looked up and saw that the wall went up forever. Then I turned and saw that the previously leafy corridors had been transformed to stone as well. Unsurprisingly, they also seemed to rise up to the heavens with no end in sight. I grew wings, thickened my muscles and lightened my bones. Rising high in an effort to defy these changes. All to no avail. It didn¡¯t matter how high I flew. The walls stretched on and on and on. The queer yellow sun blotted out by the constant crimson deluge falling down from the carmine sky. Then, the world turned upside down. My wingbeats becoming confused as gravity twisted itself around to make me fall upwards and into another stone floor. Bones cracked and ligaments tore as I hit the hard surface. Growls and snarls escaping my mouth as I cursed the foolish child once more. ¡®I will savour his suffering. Once this is done. I will make his death last for eons after I turn him into a toilet. No, a whole outhouse. I will stretch his skin over the frame of a square building and make him swallow each and every ounce of excrement my slaves produce. I shall keep his nervous system intact as well. Maybe even enhancing his sense of taste and smell. Yes. That might do.¡¯ ¡°Me oh my. How very scary.¡± The fool called out from the side. I turned my head, my many eyes taking in his black suit and bushy, unkempt beard. My nose scrunched up as the smell of alcohol wafted over. Cringing as the sheer potency of it took over my senses. Despite it all. I forced myself to smile. ¡°Sorry about that Sully. I was merely trying to release some of the tension. I didn¡¯t really mean it.¡± The lie came easy, as lies often did for me. My many hearts steadying as I expected this fool to swallow it as he always did. Instead, he reeled back and laughed in my face. ¡°Of course you did! There¡¯s no shame in it. That¡¯s simply who you are. Own it.¡± I paused. Blinking rapidly for a few seconds. Unsure of how to proceed. ¡°What¡¯s the matter Drakey? Cat got your tongue? No problem! Just grow a new one!¡± He laughed at his despairingly poor attempt at humor. Taking a bottle of amber liquid from somewhere and downing it in one continuous gulp. ¡®Something¡¯s wrong.¡¯ I realized with a start. ¡®I can¡¯t sense his mind. I can¡¯t see his thoughts. I could access his own abilities before. Something has changed.¡¯ ¡°Gee. You think? Damn Drakey. You are one bright mother(Gnome)er. Guess it comes with all that life experience.¡± He threw the bottle away. Not caring in the slightest as it shattered on the floor. He pulled another one and began to sip from it. Meanwhile, I began to flood my body with Psy. Willing all my cells into a state of battle readiness as my blood began to boil. My many hearts beating faster and faster as my muscles turned into innumerable serpents. All coiled up and ready to strike. ¡°Now now. Drakey. No need for that. You¡¯ll only end up (Gnome)ing my friend off. And trust me, you don¡¯t want to do that.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. I clicked my tongue. Realizing that the jig was up. ¡®Well, no matter. I¡¯ll cripple him from the inside and remove him as a threat to my main body in the future. Another opportunity is bound to come up eventually.¡¯ I leapt. Expecting the jump to take me all the way to his throat as I willed bladed tentacles to sprout from my back and sides. Only for my body to falter and fall. Landing with a thud onto the cobblestones that made up the floor. ¡°Ha! Hahahahahahaha! Whooo! Oh man! I can¡¯t believe you actually did that! Actually, never mind! Yes, I can! Ha! Hahahahahahahaha!¡± I¡­ I couldn¡¯t say anything. My own mind frozen in a paralyzing mixture of rage, incredulity and indignation. Pain flaring up from my nose and teeth as I struggled to stand. ¡°Wha¡­ what is this?¡± I coughed. Horrified at the way my blood wasn¡¯t flowing back to the rest of me. ¡°What have you done!?¡± ¡°Tut tut, my fiendish, furry, friend. No need for such aggression. Instead, how about you join me for a drink? A joyous celebration! Here. On the house.¡± He threw a fresh bottle at my head. My limbs feeling slow and clumsy as my grasping claws struggled to coordinate properly. They swiped the air and missed the bottle by a mile. As a result, the glass smashed me in the face. Shards of glass embedding itself into my skull as alcohol dripped down my cheeks and chest. I sputtered. Unable to cope with the sheer amount of bull(Noble) happening before my eyes. ¡°Damn. I guess you¡¯re not used to having those normal reflexes huh? Shame.¡± My mind was awash with emotions. Struggling to process and internalize these events. To find a method to the madness. Through it all, I kept coming back to that one, irrefutable truth. My abilities weren¡¯t working. My power wasn¡¯t working. My Type, my everything, would not answer my call. ¡®No. No! This cannot be happening! I am the Seeking Drake! I am all that a Shifter is and should be! I will not be mocked! I will not be caged! I will not be¡­.!¡¯ The fool sauntered over to me. Calm as he had never been before. He turned his bottle upside down and allowed the liquor to dribble down unto me. I just, stared up at him. At the sheer hubris on display. Unable to make sense of it. ¡°Heh. Sorry to break it to you Drakey. Its only hubris if I¡¯m way out of my depth. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll agree that, out of the two of us, I am not the one on the backfoot.¡± I opened and closed my mouth. Gaping at his insolence. ¡°How?¡± I managed after a while. ¡°How what? How do I manage to drink so much without passing out? How do I rock this awesome suit? How do I make the beard work despite not having any shaving supplies?¡± ¡°How are you doing this to me?¡± His sardonic smile turned deadly sharp. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not doing much friend. Not anymore at least. The damage was done a long time ago. I¡¯m only coming out because we¡¯re past the point of no return.¡± He walked around me. Not bothering to look me in the eyes as he did so. ¡°Your Type is mine. Now and forever. Its only a matter of time until it shows up on my status. I¡¯m only here to gloat now that you can¡¯t wriggle your way out of this. I find that it can be, therapeutic.¡± ¡°No.¡± I said. Unable to accept it. ¡°I would have read the intent in your mind. I would have known. I would have realized.¡± He quirked up an eyebrow. ¡°Are you sure about that? Okay. Then tell me this. Why have you been using human language?¡± ¡°What?¡± I blurted out. In spite of myself. ¡®What is this fool talking about?¡¯ ¡°Oh, come on. Think a little. You¡¯ve been using words like ¡®spamming¡¯ to describe how you would use [Insight]. You¡¯ve been defaulting to human form more and more. You¡¯ve even been using human turns of phrase, instead of those of your own species. I mean, (Gnome)! Even the way you¡¯re thinking about this very situation is human. Surely, you¡¯ve realized?¡± ¡°I¡­ Only to make you relax! To put you at ease while I dug my claws into you!¡± ¡°And? Are you trying to put me at ease now?¡± ¡°What?¡± He sighed. ¡°Look down at yourself Drakey. Tell me what you see.¡± I did so and was horrified to find a human body attached to my head. ¡®When? When did I change? Why did I change?¡¯ The fool giggled. ¡°Don¡¯t you get it Drakey? It was me all along. I was bleeding into you while you thought you were bleeding into me. Your laughter was the first to go. I don¡¯t know if you recall, but you used to go all ¡®Ha. Ha. Ha¡¯ as if you were merely going through the motions. As if you were merely pretending to laugh because the concept of mirth was so foreign to you. But you¡¯ve been laughing more and more now, haven¡¯t you? You¡¯ve been feeling genuine joy for the first time in forever. How do you suppose that happened?¡± He placed a hand on my shoulder and leaned in close. I tried to strike at him, but found my limbs seizing up. My body refusing to move. ¡°You were never the predator. From day one, you¡¯ve been my prey, and you haven¡¯t noticed until now.¡± ¡®No. Impossible.¡¯ He wagged a finger. ¡°Okay. First of all, yes. Second of all, it is very much possible. At least for me.¡± He paused, belched and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. ¡°But don¡¯t worry too much about it. You wouldn¡¯t be the first person to (Gnome) around and find out. I mean, (Gnome). This place is full to bursting with morons who thought they were invincible. Here, I¡¯ll show them to you.¡± He waved his hands about. Drunkenly swinging his limbs in an uncoordinated fashion. The stale, featureless room swirled and changed. Empty walls corroding like images on a burning canvas. Until faces came forward from behind the stones. They wailed and wailed and wailed. Their surroundings erupting with knives and flails and swinging, rattling chains dyed purple and gold and silver and bloody shades of red. Malefic instruments sprouted up from the floor. Littering the chamber as grass would a field. Weeping, screaming wretches crying out for death atop them. Begging for forgiveness and salvation. Flowers blossomed from the ceiling at that moment too. Petals having the features of human faces. Open in silent pleas as blackened bile rained from their empty eye sockets. Worst of all, was The Tall Man. There it was. Rising from the middle of the chamber. Dressed in its pristine white suit. Its legs spreading tar wherever they touched the soiled floor. Its hands dripping blood as its fingers caressed a section of wall. Its eyes, open, and watching it all unfold without any hint of care or worry. Those three icy eyes stared my way. Unblinking. Their sight caused my heart, yes, a single heart in my chest, to seize in a wave of indescribable, incomprehensible terror. The corners of the walls fled from each other. Enlarging the chamber and deforming what few sections of stone remained. Replacing them with fleshy pillars that reminded me of home and glowing piles of brimstone shaped to resemble human forms. I took them in. Took it all in and realized where I was. Where this was taking place. ¡°Pandemonium.¡± I whimpered. Almost sobbing in spite of myself. ¡°Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner ladies and gentlemen! Give it up for the Seeking Drake!¡± The faces cried out at once. ¡°Kill me!¡± ¡°Kill me!¡± ¡°End it!¡± ¡°End me!¡± ¡°Let me die!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± ¡°End it!¡± ¡°Kill me please!¡± ¡°Please!¡± The room seemed to spin. The voices coming from above and below and from all the sides at the same time. I realized then¡­ how close I was to joining them. So, I tried to grow claws and end this feeble collection of memories. Only for the feeble human fingers to remain unchanged. The claws failing to manifest. ¡°No. No!¡± I turned to this fool. Consumed by desperation. ¡°You have to take us out of here! We¡¯ll be stuck forever at this rate!¡± He snickered. ¡°So?¡± ¡°So!? This place is beyond the veil you (Noble)ing buffoon! Do you have any idea what kind of horrors live here!?¡± ¡°Of course I do.¡± He answered. Casually stroking one of the wailing pillars. ¡°Horrors like myself.¡± I¡­ could not find the words. ¡°And of course, the many, many people who¡¯ve crossed me over the years.¡± He waltzed over to one of the walls. Gracefully trialing his gloved fingers over the face of a human male. Not caring in the slightest about its evident anguish. ¡°Take this one for example. He came around my neighbourhood when I was eight. Right after my birthday party. Driving an ice-cream van around the houses and doing business as usual. That¡¯s it. No nefarious business happened. Until one day, he and his van, mysteriously disappeared.¡± This new, sinister Solomon turned to face me. Dropping the bottle he¡¯d been holding and using both hands to wag his index and middle fingers up and down. ¡°That is, he mysteriously disappeared. After he started having very naughty thoughts about me and my friends. Looking back, I¡¯d say I saved three, maybe four lives in total. Hard to say how many he would have gotten away with given how much the police had on their plate. But of course, I didn¡¯t do (Gnome). Not since I released everyone I¡¯d enslaved and repressed my own memories.¡± He shook his head. ¡°It was all the work of my good friend. The Tall Man. My own personal fairy godparent. Always watching over me and, removing things and people that might endanger my safety or happiness. And of course, this predator wasn¡¯t the only one to¡­¡± He wagged his fingers even harder. ¡°Mysteriously disappear around this time.¡± He moved around to another face, a woman this time. ¡°This was an old friend of my mom. One who really wanted our house for her and her kids. To the point where she had the particularly novel idea to make me and my parents mysteriously disappear while forging a will that would name her as my mom¡¯s sole beneficiary.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Her plan had been to kidnap me first and to then get my parents to search for me near a rift. Ha! Well, that didn¡¯t work out quite the way she expected. I¡¯ll tell you that much right now. She ended up mysteriously disappearing instead and her kids went to foster care after she never came back home.¡± He stepped away from the wailing woman. Looking towards an elderly man. ¡°This one was going after Henry¡¯s sister. She¡¯s older than him and quite the looker, if I do say so myself. She was my first crush. Someone I always looked forward to seeing again.¡± He sighed wistfully, walking over to the face and slapping its forehead. ¡°And this bloke was part of a local crime family. He also thought she was pretty. So, he decided to take her away and¡­ offer her a new job somewhere else. That is, until he and every single one of his, uh, employees, went mysteriously missing.¡± Solomon¡¯s face turned to mine next. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can see where this is going. Life at this time was, difficult and most of my peers knew some kind of personal tragedy. All while my childhood was rather happy by comparison. It¡¯s actually really sad, knowing about all this. It made me realize that Mason was a hair¡¯s breadth away from joining the Tall Man¡¯s collection. He might have been right here, if it weren¡¯t for the fact Doris broke up with me first. Her doing that put some distance between us. Enough that the Tall Man didn¡¯t care to protect her.¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know who those fool were. I don¡¯t care either. You¡­ you! You¡¯ve been lying this whole time!¡± Rage was bubbling up within me. Fueled by the magnitude of my impotence. ¡°Pot calling the kettle black, I guess.¡± ¡°(Noble) you!¡± I shouted. Caged by this feeble human form. ¡°Why are you going on about all this nonsense!? Kill me and be done with it!¡± He laughed once more. Bending backwards as he did so. ¡°Kill you? Oh no my dear Drake. I am not going to kill you. You have a role to play, after all. Yours will be the second head of the angel. The shield that will guard humanity when the rest of the Labyrinth turns to devour my world.¡± It was my turn to laugh. My beleaguered spirit taking joy in this one small act of defiance. ¡°You fool. You think a Tier 4 like you can stop the other great factions? You? With these parlor tricks? Ha!¡± My eyes bore into his. Defiant until the end. ¡°You are nowhere near strong enough, Solomon Carter. The gnomes will bomb your world as soon as they face resistance. They will turn your, Earth, into a smoking pit! So, enjoy your victory while it lasts! Maybe you can take solace in your new Type while crawling through the ashes of what used to be your home!¡± I¡¯d expected it to end then. For his avatar to leap forward and spear me through the chest. But that didn¡¯t happen. Instead, Solomon called another two faces forward. His avatar bringing them to him with silent obedience. ¡°Kill me!¡± Randall pleaded. ¡°Please! Let me die! Please! Please!¡± Solomon didn¡¯t even glance his way. ¡°You know my dear Randall, of course. He will join you, sooner than either of you think. Allowing me to gain Projector as a third Type. I don¡¯t particularly enjoy doing this, but I saw no other choice.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t matter.¡± I spat. ¡°You still don¡¯t have the range! The ships will be firing from orbit! There¡¯ll be nothing you can do!¡± His smile didn¡¯t waver. Indeed, it only widened. ¡°I guess that leads us into the last of my confessions. I don¡¯t have to do it, of course, but it might serve to¡­ aid in your instruction.¡± He waved a hand upward and my body floated up. Unable to move. ¡°Come, Drakey. Let us see the birth of my executioner, and the war that my world forgot.¡± Chapter 64: Confessions of a Tyrant. Chapter 64: Confessions of a Tyrant. ¡°Here, I¡¯ll show you.¡± He snapped his fingers and the scene burst like a million panels of exploding glass. Leaving the two of us, plus the avatar in a blackened space filled with other humans on one side and large crustaceans on the other. Most of the people here were blurry and undefined. More outlines than anything else. The only exceptions were a trio clustered together. Man and woman, as well as their child. ¡°See that kid between them Drakey? See the way his pale blue eyes resemble chips of dirty ice? See the way they¡¯re almost white? The way they don¡¯t focus on anything else in the room? Here, I¡¯ll let you borrow a tiny fraction of power. Look at that child with a little bit more scrutiny. What do you see in him?¡± I did as the fool asked and backed away with a strangled gasp.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 26, 060, 800 / 26, 060, 800
Type: Telepath V Level 212
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Avatar X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] 25 / [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] 23 / [Solomon¡¯s Impenetrable Obfuscation X] 14 / [Solomon¡¯s Righteous Indignation X] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Enduring Empathy X] 17 / [Solomon¡¯s Empowering Majesty X] 11
Ability Points: 1
¡°What the (Noble)!?¡± ¡°Is it the Psy count? Yeah. That took me by surprise too. Its like this: 300 for the first Tier since it would be 55 at level 1 plus 5 for every new Tier 1 level. We then multiply those 5 by 49 more levels. Then you add an additional 2500 for the second Tier, since its 50 times 50. Add in 25, 000 for the third Tier since each new level gives 500 Psy and double that for the fourth since each level there gives 1000. So, you end up with ((50 + 5 x 50) + (50 x 50) + (500 x 50) + (1, 000 x 50) + (2, 000 x 12)). Which amounts to 101, 800. Then you take the titles into account. Each one giving that little troublemaker a times two multiplier. One that stacks eight (Gnome)ing times since he¡¯s got eight titles. And, yes, these estimates work without the System being present. Turns out all the System does is categorize existing changes in as way that¡¯s legible. The bonuses were always there. So, that leaves us with, let¡¯s see here, 2 times 2 times 2 times 2 times 2 times 2 times 2 times, you guessed it, 2. Which totals a multiplier of 256. We use it on our previous total and we land on 26, 060, 800. A nice little number to¡­¡± ¡°YOU (Noble)ING MONSTER!¡± He laughed. Harder and more merrily than before. ¡°You know Drakey? There¡¯s something really sweet about the way that you, of all people, call me a monster. It¡¯s a little ironic, wouldn¡¯t you say? Kinda makes me want to send this info out to Granny Golden or Orphan Maker or that one principal that thought harassing humans in his Tutorial instance was a good idea.¡± ¡°Who!?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. What matters is this situation and the events that followed. Turns out people get real scared when a horde of monsters are headed their way, but they get even more nervous when someone shows up and enslaves all of them on reflex.¡± He chuckled. This madman actually chuckled. A manic, deranged look in his eyes. ¡°You see, I had no control back then. How could I? I was six for crying out loud! I still slept with the lights on!¡± He sighed in exasperation. Watching on as the outlines stiffened and relaxed in a vicious cycle. ¡°So, I took over them. All of them. For a long, long time. Knowing full well that they hated and feared me more than the crabs. That my own parents were screaming inside of their own minds. I¡­ couldn¡¯t turn it off. Not then. I didn¡¯t know how and everyone I happened to ask got real scared too. Which caused me to enslave them as well. All on reflex. Which only made the problem grow.¡± He actually laughed then. Roaring at how ridiculous his own story was. ¡°Did you know I was the first conqueror to achieve world domination? No. I bet you didn¡¯t. But it is true. Alexander the Great, Caesar, Genghis Khan, none of them held a candle to me. None of them came close to achieving what I achieved. You see, that power to sense minds has no maximum range at Tier 10. It¡¯s only limited to one¡¯s current dimension and even then, that limit can be surpassed with an infusion of Psy. There are actually 117 other alien empires in my home universe, stretched across multiple galaxies, that all worship me and me alone as their one true divine figure. I didn¡¯t even mean to do them in! All I wanted was to stop the French from launching a second wave of nukes at me and it all sort of¡­ snowballed from there.¡± He slapped his knee. Laughing more loudly. ¡°There were actually two different species moving through the milky way at that point with the intent to wipe out all other life in the universe! One was a massive swarm that used a hivemind to communicate and the other was this, race of sentient machines looking to eradicate all biological life after turning on their creators. Neither lasted more than a week.¡± He drew in a deep breath. Releasing it as a hiss that passed through his clenched teeth. ¡°Oh yeah. That¡¯s the stuff. You have no idea how good it feels to get it all out there in the open. Yes. I, Solomon Carter, singlehandedly caused and ended World War 3. I then topped it off by living a life that could only be called hell on earth for the next year or so. Surrounded on all sides by people I loved and the mindless, braying puppets they had turned into. That I had turned them into. Never escaping the knowledge that they begged for death each and every single day.¡± He came closer. His icy eyes staring down on me as I scrambled backwards in a panic. ¡°Imagine what that was like for me. Total isolation. No one to talk to. No one to listen. No one to tell me no or to teach me right from wrong or to truly engage with me. For a whole year.¡± He shook his head sadly and retreated a few steps. Taking another bottle out from somewhere and swallowing five long gulps in quick succession. ¡°When I finally figured out how to free them¡­ it¡­ I don¡¯t know if I could describe it to you now. It was a feeling of relief that beggared belief. I truly cannot overstate how happy I was at that point. How much I wanted to undo all that had transpired.¡± His eyes had grown somewhat distant. Sad, in a strange sort of way. ¡°So, I undid it. Pinning the blame of WW3 on Blackjack¡¯s mostly inept shoulders. That reprobate had been a bank robber back then, so it felt fitting for the younger me. I then pinned other events on villains that didn¡¯t actually exist. Gaslighting the entire world in a way you couldn¡¯t even comprehend. Even now, there are hundreds of agencies looking for people like Eclipse and Crasher and The Stomp. None of whom actually exist.¡± He started chuckling again. Gasping for air as more and more giggles escaped his mouth. They weren¡¯t the mirthful expressions of someone expressing genuine joy however. Instead, it felt as if this were the deathbed confession of a vile criminal. A monster who wanted to get all the cards on the table before they expired, lest the knowledge drag them down towards the abyss in their final moments. ¡°That was when my friend was born. The Tall Man. A guardian whose sole purpose was to keep me safe and happy and ignorant. He¡­ it¡­ is like an Id. Oh, sorry. You don¡¯t know about psychoanalysis. My bad. It¡¯s a mostly debunked theory of how humans behave and what makes them tick. The Id is like the animalistic parts of you. What some others call the primal lizard brain. It has no morals to speak of. No scruples whatsoever. It can, and will, do anything and everything to ensure that a human, as an individual, survives and thrives. It is selfish, to the point where even you would find it morally repugnant. It is vicious, to the point where it will destroy friends and loved ones without hesitation if it means getting ahead. It is merciless, to the point where it will commit the worst atrocities you can possibly imagine in the pursuit of advancement. Even sinking continents like Australia, if that¡¯s what it takes to keep the farce going.¡± I shook my head; wondering if I¡¯d heard him right. ¡°Did you say, sinking continents? How?¡± He, at least, had the sense to look ashamed. Small tears dropping from the corner of his eyes as his hands and lips twitched. As if he were a corpse being shocked into movement. ¡°[Unstable Reality] at a high level and Tier 10. The Tall Man basically radiates oceans of Psy wherever it goes. Turning illusions into reality by manifesting new Intruders to take the forms of whatever he might conjure. It is basically a localized hole in regular space-time unless it happens to be possessing someone. Destabilizing the laws of physics to the point where it actually regenerates enough Psy to sustain itself and its minions indefinitely. Causing more erosion on the veil and supercharging itself before long, which causes more manifestations and you can see where this is going. It¡¯s a spiral that has no end. I mean, (Gnome) me. Young Sully didn¡¯t have time to react. One moment the land was there, full of people that were somehow starting to remember and then, poof. The Tall Man manifests and the entire country sinks like a ton of bricks. Just like that. Do not pass go. Do not collect two hundred dollars. Anyway, back to the Id thing.¡± He pointed a finger at his own head. ¡°The theory states that the Id is balanced by the Ego, which is reason, and the Superego, which is higher morality. Only, the seven-year-old me didn¡¯t need or want reason or morality in its agent. I wanted all this (Gnome)ing awful (Gnome) to go away. To forget it ever happened in the first place.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He paused and slapped the avatar. The psychic construct not moving nor giving any indication that it had felt it. ¡°And boy did my man deliver. Any and all inconsistencies were promptly swept under the rug. Just like all those who thought to ruin the good thing I had going. Altered memories stayed altered and anyone that started waking up was dealt with before I could notice and wake back up.¡± He slapped the thing again and moved closer. Approaching me with steady steps. His body growing and growing within this surreal landscape. ¡°And that, Drakey. Leads us back to my plan. Randall is alive. For now. His power will be the means by which I travel back home on time and your power will keep me alive through the process of twisting space within the Tutorial. You two will help me save my world. All the worlds inhabited by humanity. You will be the means by which I reach atonement. You will be the catalyst of my redemption. Whether you like it or not.¡± My eyes went everywhere. Looking for a chance, an escape. Some avenue that I hadn¡¯t explored until then. ¡°What about her?¡± I asked suddenly. ¡°The other head your avatar is holding?¡± He turned to gaze back at her as well. ¡°Oh, Anezka. Yeah. She¡¯s¡­ alive. In a sense. It really does depend on what your definition of alive is. Though, as you can probably realize, she isn¡¯t entirely¡­¡± He licked his lips. ¡°Comfortable.¡± ¡°I thought you were trying to be a hero!¡± I accused. Hoping to throw him off his game. ¡°How could a hero excuse such behavior!?¡± He shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t excuse my behavior. Not really. After all, how could I? I mean, sure. I was but a child and this, was all a little too much. Yet that is not an excuse for all the deaths. For all the suffering. Again, I can¡¯t give you or them any kind of explanation beyond the fact that I was small and vulnerable and scared.¡± He paced about some more. ¡°I know I have done terrible things. Horrible, disgusting, morally repugnant things. I know my sins are blacker than almost anyone else¡¯s. I know there is probably no chance of redemption. Not for me.¡± Then that smile returned. ¡°But what choice do I have? Hmn? What choice is there but to try and make things right? To try and save as many people as I possibly can? Should I fall over instead? Lay down on the ground and eek out a meager existence as another regular Joe the Labyrinth kidnapped? Should I go with the flow and keep gaining levels and eventually marry Dusty or someone else and live a somewhat happy life in whatever hole the Labyrinth throws us into next?¡± He laughed again. ¡°I can¡¯t. Drakey. You know I can¡¯t. Regardless of whatever else you might have planned for me; your observations really were spot on. At the end of the day, I am a control freak. And what I want, what I truly, desperately desire, is a perfect world. Filled with good, honest people who care about each other. I want to make a positive impact. I want everyone else to live in peace and tranquility and safety. I want to make my world, and all the other worlds, as close to paradise as they could possibly get. I want to be loved, Drakey. Not due to some, mental yoke I placed upon people. But due to the aftermath of my actions. I love people. Everything about them. From their joys to their sorrows. From their triumphs to their follies. I have known the might and integrity of heroes like Thunder Fist, as well as the debaucheries of Mason and his ilk and I accept them all as part of the human experience. Yet I want to make things better. I want everyone to love and care for each other. I want a world where no one needs to fear each other or the monsters that leap out of Rifts. A world where the criminals are reformed and they too can live happy, fulfilling lives surrounded by people who love them. I know and accept them all and I want to be accepted in turn. Is that so wrong? Is that truly such a bad thing to wish for? I wouldn¡¯t be taking away their free will or anything. I don¡¯t think I would ever stoop so low, even now. But I need to do something. To save humans from the Rifts, from the bloody gnomes, from themselves! The world, my world and all the others I have seen, are broken! And someone needs to do something!¡± He stopped. Becoming as still as a statue. His cold eyes drilling into mine. ¡°That someone might as well be me. Drakey. After all, if I had a chance to fix things like world hunger, poverty, crime, war, addiction and all the other ills that plague my species, and I didn¡¯t take it. Wouldn¡¯t that make me complicit? Wouldn¡¯t I stay the monster I was as a child? Instead of the good person I¡¯ve always wanted to be?¡± The head of Anezka let out a disgruntled moan. Intelligible, as far as words went, but I still got the distinct impressions that she was begging for death. ¡°Yes. I do regret that I have to do this to you. At least, some small part of me does. I mean, Anezka, she does absolutely deserve everything that¡¯s happened to her, but I can¡¯t truly justify doing this. I can only remind myself that she brought it on herself and that I need her to save my parents.¡± I shook my head. Not sure if I heard him correctly. ¡°Your parents? What would they¡­¡± He slapped his hands together. ¡°Ah! Of course. You haven¡¯t seen what she¡¯ll do. I guess its time to remedy that.¡± He blinked and the walls shook with the screams of the lost and the dammed. ¡°For what it is worth, I am sorry it had to be this way, Drakey. But I need you weakened and malleable for when the time finally comes. Shouldn¡¯t be too long now. You can marinate on Sarcophagus Solomon¡¯s memories of that future while the real, current me digests you without having to worry about interference. In fact, why don¡¯t the three of you go together!? That way you can all know what the future me had to got through because of Anezka. All while I continue to scrape bits and pieces away from all three of you. Yes. That does sound like a lovely idea.¡± ¡°NOOOOOO!!! PLEASEEEE!¡± Randall wailed. At the same time, Anezka¡¯s head came to life. Her muffled screams echoing through the ethereal nothingness. But this Solomon didn¡¯t pay them any mind. He snapped his fingers once more and the floor fell out from underneath me.
My mind became blank. I wasn¡¯t me anymore. Not quite anyway. I couldn¡¯t feel anything. Not even my own body. I couldn¡¯t see or hear anything either. As if the world itself had disappeared. I tried to move, but my nerves didn¡¯t connect to anything. There was, nothing there. I begun to wonder if I had moved in reality. How would I even check? ¡°Where am I?¡± I was startled, having spoken out loud without moving my lips. Or maybe that was an illusion caused by the lack of sensation. Had I fallen unto the floor? I vaguely remember drinking. I think I drank more than usual. I¡¯ve been drinking a lot more, ever since Doris¡­ No. She¡¯s gone. She¡¯s been gone for a long time. I was trying to forget about¡­Randall? Yes, that was it. Randall had¡­ I tried to gasp as images flooded my brain. Splitting my psyche in two. Randall had burnt the bald man, Simeon. He¡¯d killed the people I¡¯d left behind. Ryan didn¡¯t stop him. Couldn¡¯t stop him. He was weak. Far too weak to be of any use to anyone. Why did I leave? Oh, right, he chased me out. They all chased me out. I left on my own. Unable to face them. The people I¡¯d rescued. They hated me for what I was. ¡®No! I am not this person! I am the Seeking Drake! Absolute Savant of the Shifter Type! I will not be imprisoned like this! I will not be consumed like some piece of meat!¡¯ Part of me rebelled against the intrusion. Even as the memory played on. A voice came up beside me. Within me, as well as without. ¡®Randall? Are you the one called Randall?¡¯ The voice sobbed. So pathetically that I was taken aback for a few seconds. ¡®No! Nooo! I don¡¯t want to be here!¡¯ He cried out. ¡®Please let me die! Please don¡¯t hurt me anymore! Please! Please! Please!¡¯ ¡®Spare me your pitiful babbling, fool! Work against the flow! We must escape!¡¯ He didn¡¯t listen. Neither did the woman next to him. They both wailed and wept as if that was going to solve anything. ¡®Why must I be constantly surrounded by such imbeciles?¡¯ I thought bitterly. I tried to use my mouth then. To yell at them until I got some kind of reaction. No one answered. I kept calling out, hoping that my mouth would make some kind of noise, that I could attract someone to my position. I kept yelling for what felt like hours, growing more frantic amidst the unfeeling darkness. The emptiness that surrounded us. There was nothing for an eternity in every direction. No spark of life or movement. No light or colour. There was only me and these two wastrels, still screaming and screaming and screaming. I stopped when the effort tired me, frantically searching for any way to interact with the environment. There had to be a wall, a barrier, a floor. No such luck. There was an infinite void below me, and the realization drove me into a manic desperation. I was falling. I had to be falling. Why else would there be nothing below me? It was impossible. It was¡­ A burst of light interrupted my horror and I looked forward. Seeing through eyes that were not my own. There were colours, but there was an edge to them. They were distorted somehow. Too sharp. Too perfect. As if my senses were being forced to take in the world faster and at a higher resolution. It was disorienting. So much so that I didn¡¯t take note of the woman. ¡°Come on you piece of (Gnome). Don¡¯t (Gnome) around with me, or I swear you¡¯ll be stuck in limbo for the rest of our trip!¡± For some reason, those words shook me far more than the void had. ¡°Wha¡­? Who are you?¡± ¡°Really? Did you forget this pretty face, Sully? After everything we¡¯ve been through together?¡± A hand slapped something hard and the sound of metal was heard in the tunnel. My focus went to her form. To her face and hair. ¡°Anezka.¡± ¡°Yes sweetie. I¡¯m Anezka. You know, your owner. The best-looking gal this side of the Warehouse. You had me worried for a second there. How did your training go?¡± ¡°My, training?¡± ¡°Yes, you clanking piece of (Gnome). Your training. I said I wouldn¡¯t let you out until you got to level 25 on [Precognition]. Did you?¡± I stammered, not knowing what to say. My confusion resulted in buzzing sounds coming from overhead, as if my mouth had been ripped out and placed atop me. That made me panic further. ¡°I¡­ I do not have [Precognition]. I am the Seeking Drake. Savant of¡­¡± She laughed in my face. Her beautiful silver hair swirling about as she collapsed backwards into as tone wall and begun to strike it with her fists. As if my plight was the most hysterical thing she¡¯d ever heard. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s precious Sully. A real hoot. Don¡¯t tell me you forgot the way things are.¡± She came back over and pushed me. I didn¡¯t feel anything, even as the sound of metal hitting stone overtook my senses. ¡°You are not a person anymore Sully. You are property. Say it with me now, P-r-o-p-e-r-t-y. I took a sizable loan back home for those nanomachines. All so I could take you and the other juicy Telepaths alive.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I asked stupidly. ¡°What do you mean why? Do you know how much Governor Xander will pay for a seer? Oof, you¡¯ll make me the richest gal in the colony.¡± Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. ¡°Are you going senile on me Sully? Or is this some escapist fantasy of yours? Who is this Seeking Drake huh?¡± She grinned maliciously. Like a serpent who just found an unguarded nest of eggs. ¡°Have you been making up stories for yourself Sully? Imagining a different world when you¡¯re locked away?¡± She laughed again. ¡°Oh my gosh! That is so hilarious! Wait till I tell all my friends back home! They¡¯re going to laugh so hard at you!¡± ¡°You think this is funny?¡± I asked, incredulously. She looked at me again, surprised. Her mouth hanging open as if my speaking out was as incredible as the walls doing the same. Then she scowled and pressed a button on her glove. The pain that followed was¡­beyond words. I was sure that it would kill me. Looking forward to the sweet release that death would bring. Instead, it went on and on and on and on and on. An unending array of fires and knives rending holes in places I didn¡¯t know existed. I tried to shout, to beg for an end to it. No words came out. ¡®It hurts! It hurts! It hurts so bad! Please! Anyone! Make it end!¡¯ The agony, did not end. Instead, Anezka pressed another button and forced my shells to stand, prehensile metal limbs spreading outwards from where my back should have been. I was carried behind her against my will, laid in such a way that I faced upwards. Like a coffin during a funeral march. All while I begged and pleaded for an end to the torment alongside Randall and the actual mind of the present Anezka. It might¡¯ve been a day or ten, before the agony ceased. Every single one of my nerves had been on fire for so long that the absence of it was startling. ¡°Now then, Sully boy. Do you have something to say to me?¡± ¡°Please! Please don¡¯t do that again! I beg you! Please! I¡¯ll do anything!¡± Anezka sighed, clicked her tongue and wagged her finger back and forth. ¡°No Sully. That¡¯s not what you¡¯re supposed to say. You¡¯re supposed to tell me that you¡¯re my tool and that you¡¯re sorry. You¡¯re supposed to say that you¡¯re happy to serve at my pleasure. You¡¯re supposed to swear you¡¯ll do better and that this discourtesy will not be repeated. What do you think Governor Xander will think of me if I can¡¯t even train the Telepath I¡¯m selling? Why, he might even lowball me during the sale! We can¡¯t have that now, can we?¡± She waited with a self-satisfied smile. I¡­I was so astonished that I couldn¡¯t say anything to her. She frowned. ¡°Looks like someone needs more training.¡± Her hand went to her glove again. ¡°No! Wait!¡± It was too late. The void returned and my senses felt nothing. I cried out. For anyone that might hear. I cried out for help. For salvation. For death. Nothing happened and time went on. I tried recalling events from my past, but they were blurred and uneven. I tried doing some mathematical problems in my head, but the numbers meshed together until they resembled nothing. I tried thinking of home. Of the many trophies I¡¯d gathered over the eons and of the many would-be heroes I¡¯d vanquished and turned into upholstery. Those notions faded as well. Slipping away until I found myself counting the seconds or what I thought were seconds. I reached a very high number, maybe in the hundreds of thousands, before I couldn¡¯t tell which number came after which. I couldn¡¯t recall¡­.me. ¡®Who am I? What did I do to deserve this? Is this all there is? Did I dream the world I came from? Was it ever real?¡¯ I could not find the answer. Neither could the other two. So, we struggled and wept and waited. Praying for this madness to end. Chapter 65: Too Much Trouble. Chapter 65: Too Much Trouble. ¡°Jane. Jane! Come on baby don¡¯t pout.¡± She turned around. Her face so red that it seemed like she might burst like a ripened fruit hitting the ground at any second. She pointed an accusing finger at me. Wagging it up and down while she drew in heavy breaths through her nose. Her mouth opened and closed several times over the course of a few seconds. Her mind unable to conjure the right words even as her Symbiote changed back to the usual dress shape she liked. ¡°Stop, you. You! Stop calling me baby! You cheating, disingenuous, deceitful little bastard!¡± I sighed despite my best efforts to keep a poker face on. ¡®Damn it. Not this again.¡¯ ¡°Baby. Come on. You know I¡¯d never cheat on you. How could you say that?¡± ¡°Stop! Stop trying to trick me! I remember what I saw when that psycho shared our memories around! You never loved me! All you wanted was my family¡¯s money! And now that you¡¯ve got superpowers, you¡¯re going out there and chasing random sluts off the streets!¡± It took a lot of self-control to keep myself from cringing at her comments. Not just because they were true, but because of the wave of fear striking out from the pit of my stomach. ¡®Come on Jane. Get a hold of yourself for (Prudence)¡¯s sake! If Slab or Dusty catch you calling him a psycho, they¡¯ll tear you a new (Prudence)hole. An they¡¯ll follow up with me as soon as they¡¯re done.¡¯ Granted, Dusty and him were having their own share of relationship troubles, but I wasn¡¯t stupid enough to think I was safe just yet. That happy go-lucky attitude had gotten me deep-fried on a different timeline. I wasn¡¯t about to make that mistake again. Paranoia was the best ally I had down here. That and the other¡¯s general tendencies for social ineptitude. I took another deep breath as I prepared my answer and let it loose just as she was turning around to leave. ¡°Jane. You know that¡¯s not true. That woman was a reporter. She was doing her job after we saved that school-bus full of children. I mean, just think about it for a second. She had a microphone and that big puffy hairstyle and that camera crew trailing behind her. Do you honestly think I would have been flirting with her right then and there? In the middle of a busy intersection that, may I remind you, was literally on fire?¡± ¡°Stop lying to me!¡± She demanded. Stomping her feet like a child and making me cringe with irritation. ¡°I saw the way she was looking at you! I saw the way she was clinging to you too! You didn¡¯t push her away or anything! You were totally giving her the look!¡± ¡®Yeah, because I wanted to get some good PR in case we ever wound up coming back. That¡¯s the whole point of [Alluring Presence] and [Entrancing Gaze]. To work the crowds to your advantage without spending Psy.¡¯ I thought back to how useful it had been during that robbery last week and during the hostage negotiation yesterday. [Puppet Sentient] and [Friendship] had been potent enough, but they could only target a single person at a time and at ruinous Psy costs to boot. In contrast, the presence and gaze abilities were both passives that could also affect large groups at once. Add in a touch of [Friendship] in cases where their effects didn¡¯t kick in fast enough and you had an easy out that applied in almost any situation. Better yet, affected people didn¡¯t get the sense of panic and disquiet that they got when you used [Puppet Sentient]. Meaning you could get away with almost anything and they¡¯d end up thanking you for passing by and being to nice to be around. The only downside was that their effects weakened the stronger a target was. Meaning that Jane was no longer feeling it as she used to, now that she was catching up in levels. ¡®No, actually, there was that other annoyance too.¡¯ Solomon, that (Prudence)ing monster, had come back from killing a kaiju or whatever with a merged ability that was leagues ahead of mine. I mean, it wasn¡¯t even close. Just looking at him for a few minutes at a time made people forget about how much of an unstable psychopath he actually was; to the point where even I had begun having second thoughts about him. That, by itself, would have been bad enough, but nooooo. That freak just had to go on and babble about his new experiences with anyone that cared to listen. Meaning the others I¡¯d been slowly winning back had begun putting themselves on guard whenever we passed each other or gathered around to eat. ¡°Jane. Sweetie. I would never give another woman any kind of look.¡± I approached her and took one of her hands in mine own. ¡°I love you. Okay? You¡¯re the only one for me and that will never change. I can¡¯t help it if other people sneak in a few glances now and then. I mean, just look at how popular you were back home. How many other boys wanted you because of how beautiful and elegant and nice you were. I never said anything then. Instead, I worked harder so that I could be good enough for you. Because you are my everything Jane. Now and forever.¡± I took a small risk then. Using the smallest hint of [Friendship] on her to seal the deal. It worked. Her rage faltered somewhat and her face softened. I searched my fog at once. Checking to see if any other Telepaths were within a few dozen metres. Thankfully, the only ones nearby were Ramon and Stellio and they were both stumbling out of the bar like the wastes of skin that they were. I closed the distance with Jane and pressed my lips to hers. Infusing the touch with more [Friendship]. I felt the tension washing out of her within a single heartbeat. Her hands wrapping themselves around my waist as we both lost ourselves on the kiss. When we separated, her face had lost all of the anger she¡¯d been holding. Those annoying emotions having been replaced with a cute blush that set my heart aflutter. ¡°Okay.¡± She whispered softly. ¡°I¡¯ll believe you. This one time. But I better not catch you getting close to other girls.¡± ¡°Jane. You¡¯re hurting me with those words. I would never leave you for someone else.¡± ¡®Not as long as we¡¯re trapped down here anyway. Breakups are messy enough when either party can run to the ends of the earth. I¡¯d rather not see what happens down here where you can¡¯t walk five minutes away from the psycho¡¯s range without running into a twisted abomination or three.¡¯ I felt a twinge of bitterness for a second there. Softly cursing my parents for urging me on at every step of the way. If it were any other girl, I might have been able to wrangle them and Louise into some, group activities. But Jane was so needy and attention-hungry that she¡¯d blow a fuse if I ever suggested it. Meaning I couldn¡¯t patch things up with Louise in any meaningful way. ¡®Damn them. Damn Solomon. Damn Prudence. Damn them both. (Prudence)ing psychopaths to a fault. Getting in my business when its no concern of theirs.¡¯ There was nothing for it though. Prudence was strong, popular, beautiful, and worst of all, a mind-reader like me. I couldn¡¯t afford to go picking fights, lest she take a closer interest in my life. As for Solomon¡­ I shivered just from thinking about it. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡®Perhaps I should be thankful that he¡¯s an annoying moralist deep down. I can¡¯t imagine being a mindless puppet for the rest of my life would have been any fun.¡¯ No. Any kind of payback would have to wait until this Randall was dealt with on a more permanent basis. Alongside with whomever this Anezka woman was. After that, I could take my time and merge [Alluring Presence] and [Entrancing Gaze] together with [Friendship]. Only then would I be able to make any kind of comeback. ¡®Just you wait you crazy freaks. I¡¯ll show you what happens when you mess with me. I¡¯ll show you all.¡¯ I paused as soon as the thoughts went through my head. Dispelling them with all the willpower I could summon. ¡®That was reckless. Too reckless. [Block Mental Detection] and [Block Mental Attack] aren¡¯t foolproof. Control yourself Ryan. Don¡¯t get yourself killed on a slip up.¡¯ ¡°Ryan?¡± Jane asked, worriedly. ¡°Is everything okay?¡± ¡°Of course, baby. Everything¡¯s fine.¡± I lied through my teeth. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s see if we can find something to eat.¡± Space warped around us at that moment. Releasing other fellow survivors in a burst of shimmering light. There, in front of us, were Jacob, Prudence, Kaito, Olga, Gina and¡­ Louise. Her body still shifted into that snarling werewolf form she liked so much. Her big yellowed eyes took me in a second faster than those of her peers. Paying close attention at the way my hands were intertwined with Jane¡¯s. Then she snorted and went over to the cafeteria with the rest of her new team. I was about to turn the other way when Jane stopped me. ¡°Ryan? I thought we were going to get something to eat? I¡¯m starving.¡± ¡®Holy (Prudence). Read the room.¡¯ But of course, I couldn¡¯t say that, so I smiled and led her to the benches were the others were buying pizzas in bulk from the fridge store. Kaito hooted like some hooligan. One hand holding onto a slice of extra cheese and pepperoni while another hand fist-bumped Jacob. The other man didn¡¯t even look his way. His eyes glued to a series of devices he and Prudence had been carrying in their arms. I squinted at it. Taking in the slightly dented steel shell and the red colouring. The bright tubes and what they were connected to. ¡°Is that a, generator?¡± ¡°It sure is!¡± Olga smirked. ¡°And yes. That other thing is a TV.¡± ¡°I know what a TV is.¡± I answered. Trying very hard to keep the sarcasm off my face. ¡°Where did you get this?¡± ¡°From a hardware store. Duh.¡± ¡°No, I meant¡­ uhg. How did you pay for it? Don¡¯t tell me you stole it.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Prudence barked back. ¡°Don¡¯t you insinuate anything about my group Mr. Dingleberry.¡± ¡°Ryan Perry. I¡¯ll ask that you don¡¯t stoop to playground insults. Thank you very much.¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll ask you to stop being such an (Gnome), Mr. Dingleberry. Leave me and my team alone. We got these babies as rewards. Fair and square. The owner gifted them to us.¡± ¡°In exchange for not burning down his store?¡± Prudence thought about cutting my arm off and that was enough. I leapt backwards as my heart burst into motion. Thundering inside my ribs with the fury of a thousand suns. Sweat pooling on my forehead and falling down my face as my hands tightened into fists and my legs started to shake. She only stood there, smirking. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Mr. Dingleberry? Peeking into other people thoughts again? Hasn¡¯t anyone told you its rude? Even Sully¡¯s been trying to avoid it you know and he¡¯s got a massive range.¡± I cursed her inside my mind, but said nothing. Jane took my arm in hers soon thereafter. Not caring about the looks that Louise was shooting our way. ¡°Don¡¯t pick on Ryan. He was just making sure none of you had committed any crimes. He was looking out for you.¡± ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Prudence asked. Some small amount of smugness visible on her face. ¡°And how do you figure that?¡± ¡°Easy.¡± Jane answered cooly. ¡°All you have to do is imagine what Sully would do if he thought some of us had turned into supervillains.¡± The entire hall went deathly quiet. Everyone from this lot, to the others coming and going to and from the showers, the dorms, the bar and the sparring arena shutting up with a speed that would have been unthinkable to any outsiders not familiar with the subject at hand. Jane didn¡¯t stop there however. She pointed an accusatory finger at Gina and kept speaking. ¡°You there. You were from a crime family, weren¡¯t you? You and Esmeralda. How do you justify the things they did?¡± ¡®Oh (Prudence). Shut up Jane. Shut your (Prudence)ing mouth before you get yourself stabbed in a tunnel somewhere.¡¯ Of all the people she could have picked a fight with, Gina was perhaps the third worst. Trailing behind Dusty and Solomon. She¡¯d been one of the last people to be rescued from gnomes, meaning she¡¯d had the luxury of being blasted with [Insight] for longer than the rest of us since Solomon had been able to regenerate his entire pool. It was to the point where she had three Types instead of the usual two here in the Warehouse. She held Enhancer, Shifter, and Telepath. All three almost at level 50. A fight here, or anywhere else for that matter, wouldn¡¯t go Jane¡¯s way. ¡®What is she thinking? Does she actually think she stands a chance? Oh. No. Don¡¯t tell me she thinks I¡¯m going to step in for her.¡¯ If she did, she was about to be sorely disappointed. I stared at Gina. Hoping against hope that [Alluring Presence] and [Entrancing Gaze] were about to pull off a miracle. No such luck. Gina was halfway there between being outraged and mortified. Her face twisting in ways I hadn¡¯t thought possible for a human being. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about princess.¡± She finally hissed through gritted teeth. ¡°I can¡¯t be held responsible for what my folks did.¡± ¡°Oh? Then what about the things that you did? Huh? What about those stores that you held up at gunpoint?¡± Jane thought she had Gina on the ropes. Meanwhile, everyone else in the Warehouse was glaring at her in a manner that suggested gruesome murder was imminent. In all honesty, I couldn¡¯t blame them. Out of all the rules we had, not using that freak as a weapon was right up there with ¡®Don¡¯t murder¡¯. It was just one of those things that all of us could agree on. Solomon was unstable at the best of times. If he were to somehow lose more of his marbles¡­ ¡°Baby, let¡¯s go somewhere else.¡± ¡°No Ryan. We are not going to go somewhere else. These (Gnome) were making fun of you for asking a very good question. So, now they get to answer my own questions. I¡¯ll repeat myself just in case they didn¡¯t hear me. Gina. What about those stores that you held up at gunpoint?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all in the past.¡± Gina said. Sweating bullets as she did so. ¡°I¡¯m a new person now. Completely non-violent.¡± ¡°Is that so? Then I guess you won¡¯t mind telling Sully what you did to get that TV.¡± ¡°What TV?¡± A voice asked from the dorm entrance. All of us held our breaths. Even Jane, who was rearing up for yet another verbal lashing. My head turned. Ever so slowly. Towards Solomon. He looked like death. His usual astronaut suit having transformed into a stark-white suit. One that was missing the shoes for some reason. His posture was, oddly stiff. As if he wasn¡¯t truly in control of his body, but rather, possessed by some kind of malevolent spirit. Moreover, his hands¡­ One of them was holding tightly to his weapon. The Slasher of Veils. Only, it had transformed back into a knife. A skinning knife. And that wasn¡¯t the only strange thing about him. His eyes¡­. They seemed, empty. Not looking at anything in particular while staring out into the distance. Until they landed on me. The look he gave me almost made me (Prudence) my pants. ¡°Hello Ryan.¡± He said, in a monotone voice. That was enough for most of the onlookers to begin retreating. Shuffling nervously back to wherever they¡¯d come from. ¡°Peachy. Stop.¡± He said. Maintaining that flat, detached tone. I chanced a glance at the merchant and found that she appeared to be as terrified as me. Somehow. ¡°Peachy. Answer my question. Can you merchants trade items among yourselves?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She squeaked. ¡°Even through different Tutorial instances?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good. Now tell me. Can we, the students, trade items among ourselves through different Tutorial Instances? Can we travel to other Tutorial Instances?¡± ¡°Not without a trading token or a difficulty transfer token.¡± ¡°I see. And, would you happen to sell those tokens?¡± ¡°No. They would have been rewards for, random events. The kind that take place after the second cycle.¡± Solomon nodded slowly. Turning to her. ¡°Very well. In that case, I will need something from you, Peachy. I will need you to trade something to one, Granny Golden.¡± His empty eyes turned to me. ¡°Say, Ryan. Do you happen to have a sister named¡­ Patricia?¡± ¡®(Prudence)!!!! (Prudence)! (Prudence)! (Prudence)! (Prudence)!!!!!! What the (Prudence)! Pat!? What the (Prudence) did you do!?¡¯ ¡°I had a dream, Ryan. One where I was running from a¡­ specter from my past. For what felt like an eternity. Then, I had a vision. Of my best friend Henry, in the Novice difficulty Tutorial. Your, sister. She was there. Organizing a mob in order to hurt him. Accusing him of many things. Many terrible things I know he did not do. She, your sister, that is, managed to get one of the teachers there on her side. A gnome.¡± ¡®OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!!! (Prudence) ME!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pat!!!!! WHAT THE (Prudence)!!!!!!¡¯ There was a deep and terrible darkness in Solomon¡¯s eyes. An abyss that seemed to swallow all happiness and mirth. Those pale blue orbs were staring into me. Into my very soul. My own eyes were unable to look away. Taking in more and more details. Such as the ethereal waves of nothingness washing off of him. The small murmurs that echoed out from around his person. The foul smell of burning tar that emanated from the places where his feet touched the floor. The way his hands were dripping unreal illusions of blood that disappeared before each droplet touched the stones below. The strength he put into his grip. As he held the knife. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not in a good place right now, Ryan. I didn¡¯t get much sleep and I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever be able to sleep again. What¡¯s more. I¡¯m close to losing Henry. Someone I¡¯ve known and cared about since forever. Someone who¡¯d always been there for me. I¡­ I don¡¯t think I could bear it, Ryan. I don¡¯t think my heart could take it.¡± His shadow lengthened. Until it stretched up the wall behind him and into the ceiling. Small motes of black light splintered off from the main shadow then. Dancing and waving their misshapen arms in wanton ecstasy. At the same time, all the knives stored in the kitchen flew up as if drawn from a hundred different hands. Landing tip first on the rough stone floor behind me and spinning in place. Faster and faster. Making sounds akin to nails on a chalkboard. It was then, that a familiar warmth spread through the front of my pants. ¡°I think I need to, communicate better. Ryan. I think I need Peachy to send a message to your sister. Come. Let us, talk in private.¡± My eyes locked on to the knife and then to his eyes. His deep, weary, terrible eyes. And that warmth spread to the back of my pants, as well as the front. Chapter 66: A Call Beyond. Chapter 66: A Call Beyond. ¡°Why are you running!? Why are you running!?¡± I called out to Ryan as he hobbled away with all the grace of someone who¡¯d recently had multiple bathroom accidents. At the same time, my attention was being stolen by the things he apparently couldn¡¯t see. The things holding and spinning the knives. They looked like more complete versions of the thing that had fallen from the sky back there in the hedge maze, having the proportions of children. Only, they didn¡¯t have porcine features and their pale wings had grown-in properly. Each one of them sported a stark-white suit with red stripes around the cuffs that snaked up until their collars and savage smiles painted on their faces. Faces that looked disturbingly like the one I¡¯d had. When I was six.
Solomonling (Intruder) (Rare) (Psy: 700 / 700) An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter. These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter¡¯s domain. Solomonlings represent the least devout of those chosen to continue their service after death. They, like all of Solomonite variants, are re-born in the visage of humans, no matter what they originally were. They can usually be spotted in the service of Solomonite Chanters, where they act as shock troops or as the entourage of Solomonite Flagellants, where they lavish cruel punishments upon those who have strayed from the word of their master. These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recovers Psy by indulging them. Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter¡¯s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter¡¯s will and defend his honor regardless of cost. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 3. These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
I shook my head in a flurry of motion. Thanking all my lucky stars that none of the others were paying particularly close attention to them. ¡®Or maybe they can¡¯t see them at all. Hard to say, with my fog being so messed up.¡¯ What I did know, was that everyone that was staring at me was terrified for some reason. Some good reason, I wagered. Though my senses could not pinpoint what the reason was due to some kind of psionic static buzzing around my skull. My mind feeling like it was being seared with hot pincers from the inside out. "Mittens is here!" Yelled the familiar voice as soon as a section of air imploded by my side. It''s owner sneaking over to where my feet were planted before continuing. "Mittens is the stone beneath their feet and the stone above their heads! Mittens is the terror in their hearts and their overwhelming dread! Mittens is the seats on the plane and the tapping on the walls! Mittens is the fire in the sky and the blood that stains the halls! Mittens is the bone of his sword and the echoes of his bells! Mittens fills the Islands with sulfuric, caustic smells! Mittens will wear her skin and bones like a puppet made of meat! Her shell shall be re-forged amidst chaotic searing heat! Mittens will never, ever leave! Mittens is here!" "Not now Mittens!" I yelled over at the kitten that was not a kitten. Now knowing damn well that the cute, cuddly figure at my feet wasn''t my childhood pet. Either he didn''t hear me or he didn''t care. "Mittens is here! Mittens sees and hears the Drake and all his coils! Mittens sings and Mittens bellows as all the bells now toil! They foretell the doom of spirits that the Tyrant shall despoil! Their ringing heralds his coming! False heroes and false kings cower in his presence! Waiting for the master to release his radiant essence! He suffers! She screams! They shall be enslaved! There shall be no respite for the wicked and depraved! Mittens sees the light and kneels among his servants! Mittens sings in gardens that remain forever verdant! Come now! Run now! You shall not escape! None can run and none can hide from the Coffin and the Drake! One head! Two heads! Three heads he shall have! Mittens roars and Mittens soars as his crown begins to laugh! He is borne anew! He grows new wings! Among the shadow of the manse and walls composed of screams! Solomon! Bane of evil! His return is now at hand! Let all his servants sing as he summons his expanse! Mittens does swear! Mittens declares! His Control shall brook despair! His rule brings bliss for all to wear! Let Ryan the liar beware! Under Solid Earth! Under Boiling Seas! Under Burning Skies! Mittens is here!" Prudence and the rest of her team took several steps back. Kaito struggling to keep himself from hurling, as Gina started mumbling prayers. Whatever it was that they saw, it couldn''t have been pretty. I tried to take a deep, steadying breath. Only to be assaulted by the distinct smell of human refuse. Someone, or a bunch of someones, had lost control of their bowels. All while Ryan kept hobbling towards the exit. A heavy load now clearly visible under his symbiote. Near his rear end. "Mittens! Shut the (Gnome) up for (Gnome)''s sake! I''m trying to think! I''m trying to deal with this headache! You''re not helping! You''re freaking people out! (Gnome) me! You''re freaking me out!" "Mittens will devour their fears! Mittens will drown them all in tears! Mittens is here!" I staggered backwards as another wave of stimuli assaulted me. It was too much. There were too many things going on at once. Too many sensations coming from all angles. The turbulent, brackish waters of the lake within me were roiling with fury. The power leaking from behind my eyes coming out as undisciplined blasts that didn¡¯t carry out their functions as they should have. Making it so that I couldn¡¯t read any of the minds around me. Instead, I kept going back to the maze. The lake at the edge, with all the houses built along the shore. The way that shoreline never ended, going on and on and on as far as my eyes could see. The many, many happy smiles and adulations that came from things that looked human but did not behave as humans should. The visions of that (Gnome) getting close to Henry with a mob at her back. ¡®Stop it, fool. Focus on what¡¯s in front of you. You can go over the details of the Tall Man later. With Slab and the others. Same for Randall. Henry is all that matters now. Don¡¯t lose sight of that.¡¯ With that in mind, I waved off Prudence¡¯s attempts at communication while using [Domination] on Peachy and Mittens. The merchant had been trying to flee while I was distracted and I couldn¡¯t have that until she¡¯d played her part. As for Mittens, well. I just needed him to shut the (Gnome) up and stop making this whole debacle worse by spouting cryptic nonsense. "Leave." I ordered. "Go back to... wherever it is you came from!" "Mittens is here! Mittens is demure! Mittens will show Ryan the true limits of agony, that humans can endure!" Oh, boy. Ryan heard that loud and clear. I think he might have (Gnome) himself a second time. "GO! AWAY!" I ordered. This time forcing a veritable mountain of Psy down onto Mittens. Thankfully, that did the trick and the specter vanished. Imploding into itself with a rush of collapsing air. Then I checked on Peachy. I nodded at her kneeling figure and looked back to Ryan. ¡°Why are you still running!? Why are you trying to escape!? Get back here this instant!¡± Ryan only fell forward. Landing on his face and scrambling with hands and legs along the ground like a dog. Bolting forward on all fours as a foul smell escaped from the bottom of his Symbiote-turned-pants. ¡°Ryan!? Did you just (Gnome) yourself!? Again!?¡± I asked in disgust. ¡°Get a hold of yourself man! All I want is to have a talk. With you. Alone. Is that too much to ask?¡± Prudence jumped in front of me then. Growing to her full were-gator form and brandishing her monstrous fangs in my general direction. ¡°Stop it! I know he¡¯s a creep but I won¡¯t let you skin him! Get a hold of yourself Sully!¡± I blinked at her mouth agape. ¡°Skin him!? Me!? Who the (Gnome) do you think I am!? I¡¯m a good per¡­¡± The Solomonlings didn¡¯t let me finish. They were on her before I had the chance to blink. Spamming [Phantom Pain], [Blind], [Deafen] and [Anosmia] all at once. With an unhealthy dose of [Indigestion] to boot. The sight of so many little copies of me biting and gnawing away at her scaly hide was¡­ a scene beyond description. One more nightmare to add to the growing pile. Made worse by her agonized shrieks as she writhed in agony and clawed at empty air. ¡°Enough!¡± I bellowed. Trying to use [Warp the Veil II] only to find that the string was missing with me. I panicked, using [Suppression] instead in order to do away with the murderous copies. Then I went to look at my screen. Gaping at the way that my three remaining points had turned into 171. I looked through the notifications and found the cause of the discrepancy.
Abilities Converging: [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Delusion V] 12 Has been undone. 78 Ability Points Gained. [Warp the Veil II] 10 Has been undone. 55 Ability Points Gained. [Psionic Conjuration III] 8 Has been undone. 36 Ability Points Gained. [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Avatar X] 1 has been formed. 1 Ability point consumed. 171 Ability Points Remaining.
[Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Avatar X] Grants the User the ability to conjure a Psionic Avatar through the act of copying a portion of the User¡¯s mind beyond the veil. The Psionic Avatar may manifest at will within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives at a cost of 50 Psy multiplied by current ability level. This Avatar consumes no additional Psy while conjured. The Psionic Avatar may freely travel beyond the User¡¯s range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives once conjured. This avatar may manifest within other fields of distorted reality found within other dimensions. This Avatar has access to all of the User¡¯s abilities at their current level and has its own Psy pool as large as the User¡¯s current maximum. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. This Avatar may conjure dynamic illusions within the range of its own [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives at will and at the cost of 1000 Psy per illusion. Conjured illusions may become possessed by Intruders from the Avatar¡¯s created domain at no extra cost and may act as gateways for Intruders of that domain to get through. Affected targets may be forced to perform random, counterproductive actions, lose control of their passive abilities, become paralyzed and suffer additional psychic damage when struck by these Intruders on top of any abilities these Intruders might possess. Dominated creatures may become possessed by Intruders from the Avatar¡¯s domain at no extra cost. These effects scale with current ability level. This Avatar may create distortions or repairs to the veil within the range of its own [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives, which is equal to the User¡¯s own, at a cost of 500 Psy per minute. The potency and duration of distortions increases by + 2000% per current ability level and may increase further if ability is overcharged. Distortions will cause random fluctuations in the local laws of physics at a rate of +250% per current ability level, as well as providing a +50% boost to the potency and range of all psionic abilities and reducing the cooldowns of all psionic abilities within range by -50% per current ability level. Distortions will increase Psy recovery rate by +50% per current ability level for all psionically-gifted creatures. Distortions will increase experience gain by +15% per current ability level for all psionically-gifted creatures. The potency of all these effects increases by 350% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
Title: Crown Shard of the Chained Poet. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so only forces above Tier X may dispel the wielder¡¯s illusions or seal the wielder¡¯s conjured Intruders. This title makes it so that all of the wielder¡¯s Telepath abilities gain a +1 to effective level per every 10 levels of active reality degradation. This title anchors a domain within Pandemonium with the wielder¡¯s power and decorates it to the wielder¡¯s tastes. This title allows the wielder and the wielder¡¯s Avatar to drag willing mortal minds into the wielder¡¯s domain in order to re-shape them into Intruders. These actions can be performed shortly after death, though not after brain death. Performing these actions on a living creature will result in the brain death of said creature. Physical contact is required. This title allows the wielder and the wielder¡¯s Avatar to physically travel to and from their domain at will and to grant access to willing or dominated creatures or minds. Creatures whose minds travel to the wielder¡¯s domain in this manner will not become Intruders and will not suffer brain death unless their bodies expire while their minds are away. Physical contact is required. This title doubles total Psy. ¡°Woe to they who lose their grip on reality.¡±
My eyes bulged out so much that I feared they might pop out my skull. The first thought that came to my mind after skimming the thing was: ¡®Holy (Gnome) this is saying there¡¯s an afterlife connected to that place.¡¯ The second thought that followed closely after was a bit of an existential crisis that hit me like an oncoming truck. The third thought that managed to save me was: ¡®No. It isn¡¯t a real afterlife. Stop thinking about that and focus on Henry. You (Gnome).¡¯ I put a good deal of points into the new ability. Bringing it to 15 with 120 points and leaving the rest for later. Then I flexed, expecting the veil of reality to fix itself at my command and send the Solomonlings packing. Instead, the (Gnome)ing Tall Man peeked out of a (Gnome)ing wall and snapped its fingers. Doing what I¡¯d asked of it. I¡­ if truth be told, I hadn¡¯t read the new screen properly. Only skimming it in my haste to be done with it. So I was, unprepared for it to show up. I screamed and started swinging my hands out in front of me. The others screamed too. Tripping over themselves in their frantic attempts at escape. Yet, it was Ryan who was screaming the loudest. Kicking violently and spraying human (Gnome) all over the place as the Tall Man stretched out one of its suited arms and dragged the young man closer and closer to me. And, of course.... Mittens chose that specific moment to manifest again. Grabbing Ryan by another limb with his small, delicate kitten paws. "Mittens will shake you! Mittens will break you! Mittens is here!" Ryan yelled. Prudence yelled. I yelled. It was havoc. Everyone running for the exits or dropping behind cover as some kind of primordial terror took hold. Through it all, there was a soft, feminine voice close to me. Singing: ¡°Muuuuurrrrdeeeeer tiiiiiiimeeeeee! Muuuuurrrrdeeeeer tiiiiiiimeeeeee!¡± Over and over again. I looked down at some point, to find that Slasher had transformed her hilt into lips and was using them to sing the horrific tunes at the worst possible time. Ryan took note and his screams reached an even higher pitch. Somehow. ¡°Stop! Stop it! Stop singing! This is serious!¡± ¡°Seeeeeeriiioouuus Muuuuurrrrdeeeeer tiiiiiiimeeeeee! Seeeeeeriiioouuus Muuuuurrrrdeeeeer tiiiiiiimeeeeee!¡± ¡°Shut the (Gnome) up! Everybody just shut the (Gnome) up and go back to the mansion!¡± That did the trick. I followed it up by using every single offensive ability I had on the Tall Man. Including calling on Cherub for his [Pyrokinesis III]. That, was perhaps not the smartest idea I¡¯d ever had. I mean, yes. The Tall Man and Mittens did vanish back to whatever pit had spawned them, but the warehouse was now very much on fire. Smoke rising from the crates all along the aisles. Which only exacerbated the sheer chaos on display. In the end, it took Cherub less than a minute to contain the fires. Getting the others to calm down proved to be more, troublesome. ¡°Okay everyone! My bad! That was an accident! One of my new abilities upgraded and I didn¡¯t realize¡­ well. I didn¡¯t know it would do that. I promise it won¡¯t happen again.¡± The others were either crying or shivering around corners by themselves. Rocking their heads back and forth as small droplets of blood fell from their eyes. The very eyes that were locked on to the spot where the Tall Man and Mittens had been. Foremost among them, was Ryan. Whose pathetic pleading drowned out most others. ¡°Aaaaaaa! Waaaggaahg! Please! Mama! MAAAAMAAAAAA!!!!¡± I felt my anger rising as he struggled to get back on his feet. Still trailing (Gnome) all over the floor. ¡°Dammit Ryan! I¡¯ve got enough on my plate right now without having to deal with this (Gnome)ing bull(Gnome). All I¡¯m asking for is a few minutes of your time! How hard is that!?¡± ¡°Oh my (Solomon)ing¡­! Don¡¯t skin me man!¡± Ryan answered in-between pathetic mewls. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything you want! Anything you say! Just don¡¯t skin me!¡± ¡°Wha¡­!? Are you serious!? Did you turn into a gnome when I wasn¡¯t looking? I¡¯m not going to skin you man! I got a camcorder from one of the earths I visited! I¡¯m going to pass it on to Granny Golden and then to your sister through her! Where the (Gnome) did you get skinning from!?¡± His sobbing grew even more pathetic as everyone else¡¯s eyes went to Slasher. I looked around at them. Scoffing at the fact that they¡¯d seriously thought I was capable of such a thing. ¡°No! You idiots! This is for Peachy!¡± Peachy wailed in abject terror. Begging and weeping even harder than Ryan. ¡°No! No! Its for you to pass over to Granny Golden! There¡¯s a gnome in Henry¡¯s instance that means him harm and I will not suffer him to live. Why are you making me out to be the bad guy here!? All I¡¯m planning is the brutal gruesome death of a gnome! When did that become a crime!? You should all be thanking me for making Novice difficulty safer! Ryan! You should be thanking me for making your sister¡¯s instance safer!¡± Ryan kept sniffling. Trails of snot falling down his face in a manner that was strangely reminiscent of Randall¡¯s own visage. I turned to see the others and realized that they too were paralyzed with fear. None of them daring to look me in the eye. ¡°Oh, come on! You can¡¯t seriously tell me that you care about gnomish lives all of the sudden? Those guys eat people! Literally!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about that.¡± Prudence gurgled. Slowly getting back to her feet in her human form. Her wounds closing far more slowly than usual. ¡°It¡¯s about you. You¡­ did that so easily. (Gnome) me Sully.¡± ¡°Hey! I just told you, that was an accident! I¡¯m in a bit of a rush due to my best friend being in danger, so you¡¯ll have to forgive me for¡­¡± I stopped myself. Realizing what I was about to say. Recalling that I was strong and they were weak. That I had been voted into a position of authority over them and that I had a responsibility to conduct myself to the standards of a hero. ¡®And a hero must have self control.¡¯ I reminded myself. ¡®I will not bully those weaker than myself. I will not become an animal like Mason.¡¯ Then I used [Domination] on myself and willed my body to stop moving. I then commanded my lungs to expand and contract. Taking deep breaths without allowing myself any expressions which might have been thought of as aggressive. ¡°No. You¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t thinking. It won¡¯t happen again.¡± Prudence looked up at me. Eyes partly filled with horror and partly filled with relief. ¡°You promise?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I said immediately. ¡°And I will personally apologize to everyone here. My emotions shouldn¡¯t matter when the safety of the group is at stake.¡± I turned to each side of the Warehouse and bowed. Giving more and more apologies and making sure my sincerity was conveyed. The responses were mixed, though still a great improvement over what they¡¯d been a few minutes ago. ¡°Now then.¡± I spoke. Drawing everyone¡¯s attention before they had a chance to scatter. ¡°I think this is a good time to have a calmer discussion about our stay here and what all of you voted for. I will be taking Ryan over to film that video. Not just for my friend¡¯s sake, but for the sake of everyone else in that instance. If you think it isn¡¯t necessary, just ask yourselves. Would you trust a gnome to have a position of authority over you or your loved ones?¡± I didn¡¯t need my fog to see that I¡¯d gotten their attention, as well as some of their approval. There wasn''t much of it, but it was a start. ¡°Good. We¡¯re all on the same page on that front. Aside from that, I¡¯ll also be taking Ryan in for punishment.¡± I walked over and patted him on the shoulder. Using [Domination] to make sure he didn¡¯t try anything funny. He fell limp as soon as I touched him. ¡°This has nothing to do with his sister and everything to do with what he¡¯s been doing. Seeing as Slab and Monique aren¡¯t here, I¡¯ll ask Mr. Park to step up and share what me and the council have been discussing. The recent uptick, in Ryan¡¯s own crimes.¡± I expected him to protest then, but he didn''t. Indeed, when I looked down towards him, he wasn''t even thinking. As if his mind wasn''t even there anymore.
There was darkness all around me as I woke. Stretching on forever and in all directions. ¡®Am I dead?¡¯ I thought. Panicking at the notion. ¡®How did I get here? Where even is here?¡¯ Solomon, that freak. Had touched me in the shoulder. After that, it had felt like the ground had crumbled to dust beneath my legs and¡­ and then I was here. Swimming in nothingness. I kept turning around. Sideways at first, then upside-down. Panicking more and more as the silence and the darkness stretched on to infinity. ¡°Oh great. That freak went and put me in some kind of coma. (Solomon)ing fantastic.¡± Rage swelled inside my heart. Fueled by righteous indignation. He, he¡¯d actually had the nerve to say that all that happened was a mistake. That it had all been an accident. ¡®Like (Solomon)! How do you accidentally take down someone like Prudence? How do you accidentally summon something like¡­ like¡­¡¯ I shuddered at the merest hint of the recent memory. My muscles tensing as I recalled the fiend. The monster calling itself Mittens. And the... the thing. I shuddered as I tried to focus on what it had looked like. Recalling its long limbs. Its lack of a face. It¡¯s bleeding eyes. Those eyes¡­ The world itself had shifted and turned and lost its usual dimensions when they gazed at me. Each heartbeat feeling like it was pushing jagged shards of ice down my very veins. Thankfully, that feeling was now fading. Along with everything else. Until I couldn¡¯t, couldn¡¯t¡­ ¡®Huh? Why can¡¯t I feel anything?¡¯ I tried to move, but my nerves didn¡¯t connect to anything. My nerves couldn¡¯t even feel my own body anymore. I begun to wonder if I had moved in reality. If my body was flailing, how would I even check? ¡°Where am I?¡± I was startled, having spoken out loud without moving my lips. Or maybe it was a thought that felt like spoken words. A voice came up beside me then. Within me, as well as without. Frantically babbling about some nonsense. ¡°(Noble)! Who the (Noble) are you!? How many eons have passed!? How many thousands of years!? Has he ascended!? Has he no more use for us!? Tell me!¡± I tried to make another turning motion. To look at the speaker, but it was no use. There was nothing there and there was nothing where my arms and legs should have been. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡± I told the voice. ¡°Solomon Carter, you fool! The Savant! The monster! How long has he been alive!? Where is he now!?¡± I sputtered, taken aback by the sheer desperation carved unto every word. ¡°He¡¯s 22 years old. I think? We¡¯re both in the Tutorial.¡± The voice sobbed. So pathetically that I was taken aback for a few seconds. ¡°No! NOOO!!!! That cannot be! I could have sworn, no! It must have been eons! Thousands of years! There¡¯s no way it hasn¡¯t even been one! I¡¯ve been here longer than I¡¯ve been alive!¡± ¡®This one is insane.¡¯ I thought bitterly. ¡®Or perhaps he isn¡¯t here at all. This must be some kind of hallucination. Yes. That has to be it. That freak trapped me in here with this, figment of his imagination.¡¯ A burst of light interrupted my reasoning and I looked forward. Seeing through eyes that were not my own. There were colors, but there was a wrongness to them. Being too, clear. It was disorienting. So much so that I almost didn¡¯t notice the woman. She was, without a doubt, the prettiest thing I had ever laid eyes on. To the point where she made Jane look like Louise by comparison. Her hair was silver, as were her eyes. Both sparkling like diamonds under the soft light of the mushrooms. ¡°Come on you piece of (Gnome). Don¡¯t (Gnome) around with me, or I swear you¡¯ll be stuck in limbo for the rest of our trip!¡± ¡®Huh?¡¯ I, couldn¡¯t process what was going on. Only noting that the voice that been so aggressive previously had retreated into itself. Soft whimpers escaping from its general location inside the nothingness. Curiously, I thought I heard two other voices back there as well. ¡°I, I don¡¯t know who you are.¡± I tried explaining. ¡°Really? Did you forget this pretty face, Sully? After everything we¡¯ve been through together?¡± A hand slapped something hard and the sound of metal was heard in the tunnel. My focus went to her form. To her face and hair. ¡°No. I don¡¯t know. Wait. Did you just call me Sully?¡± She laughed in my face. Her beautiful silver hair swirling about as she collapsed backwards into as tone wall and begun to strike it with her fists. As if my plight was the most hysterical thing she¡¯d ever heard. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s precious Sully. A real hoot. Don¡¯t tell me you forgot the way things are.¡± She came back over and pushed me. I didn¡¯t feel anything, even as the sound of metal hitting stone overtook my senses. ¡°You are not a person anymore Sully. You are property. Say it with me now, P-r-o-p-e-r-t-y. I took a sizable loan back home for those nanomachines. All so I could take you and the other juicy Telepaths alive.¡± I was so confused. ¡°Lady, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening right now. One moment, I was in the Warehouse and the next, I was here.¡± Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. ¡°Are you going senile on me Sully? Or is this some escapist fantasy of yours?¡± She grinned maliciously. Like a serpent who just found an unguarded nest of eggs. ¡°Have you been making up stories for yourself Sully? Imagining a different world when you¡¯re locked away?¡± She laughed again. ¡°Oh my gosh! That is so hilarious! Wait till I tell all my friends back home! They¡¯re going to laugh so hard at you!¡± ¡°You think this is funny?¡± I asked, fury rising once more. ¡°Shut the (Solomon) up you (Solomon). Wait till I get out! I¡¯ll make sure Solomon and his (Solomon)ing friends get what¡¯s coming to them! Maybe not now. Maybe not anytime soon, but someday. Mark my words, I¡¯ll figure out how to do this too and then we¡¯ll see who has the last laugh!¡± She looked at me again, surprised. Her mouth hanging open as if my speaking out was as incredible as the walls doing the same. Then she scowled and pressed a button on her glove. Chapter 67: The Mirror. Chapter 67: The Mirror. ¡°Hey. Hey! Wake up. Mr. Park asked you a question.¡± Ryan didn¡¯t move. In fact, he didn¡¯t so much as twitch. His heart was still beating and his lungs were still drawing in oxygen, but the rest of him was utterly unresponsive. Like a broken doll laying against a wall. At first, I¡¯d thought he had merely fainted after Prudence lunged at him. Now, I wasn¡¯t so sure. ¡°Is Mr. Perry in need of more healing?¡± Mr. Park asked. His voice barely audible, over the rancor of everyone else present. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. But, I¡¯m honestly not sure. I¡¯ve never seen anything like this before.¡± I admitted. Mr. Park nodded slowly. His eyes and mind remaining steady and free of judgement. In spite of the chaos that had ensued less than ten minutes earlier and the wrath of our fellow survivors aimed at Ryan. It was a level of self-control that bordered on the supernatural. One that I couldn¡¯t help but be jealous of right now. ¡®Damn it, Ryan. Quit hiding in your own head. I need that video yesterday.¡¯ I sighed and began to massage my forehead. Trying to push away all my other worries. ¡°Peachy?¡± I called out. ¡°Did Granny Golden receive Slasher?¡± ¡°Yes master.¡± Peachy whimpered. Her beady little eyes downcast and subservient. ¡°Would you stop calling me that? My name is Sully. Honestly, I don¡¯t know why you insist on being so scared all the time. It¡¯s not like I asked you to do anything that would harm you.¡± ¡°I¡­ I could lose my Mercantile License for this.¡± She informed me. ¡°The same goes for Granny Golden. Bypassing the usual trading rules of the Tutorial could come with heavy penalties if anyone reported us.¡± I looked at her and raised an eyebrow. ¡°And you still did it without asking for anything in return?¡± She hiccupped. ¡°That thing¡­¡± She trailed off, her knees practically vibrating as she spoke. Clacking against each other like maracas. ¡°That thing was a Veiled Prince.¡± ¡°Yeah. So, I¡¯ve been told.¡± ¡°So, you now have another, high-tiered ability. On top of those I¡¯ve already seen.¡± ¡°Actually, that¡¯s not strictly true. One of my Tier 5 ones grew to Tier 10 when it absorbed [Warp the Veil II] and [Psionic Conjuration III]. Why are you crying?¡± She had broken out in tears again. Seemingly without reason. ¡°Please¡­ please don¡¯t enslave us when you get out master. I beg you. Please remember what we¡¯ve done for you.¡± ¡°Geez! This again. I¡¯m not going to go around killing random people.¡± ¡°But, the gnomes¡­¡± ¡°Are not people. Killing them is different. It¡¯s more like, I don¡¯t know. Pesticide. Yeah. That sounds about right. Why are you crying harder!?¡± Mr. Park placed an assuring hand on my shoulder. Whispering in my ear and drawing me back as he stepped forward. ¡°I¡¯m ever so sorry about this my dear.¡± He began. His voice buttery smooth and his expression soft as silk. ¡°It will be all right. Sully will remember his friends. He always does. Why, you only need to look at how desperately he¡¯s defended his friend Henry to see his dedication. Even now, as we prepare to try Ryan for unjustly influencing girls in the Warehouse, Sully remains dedicated to keeping the rule of law for the sake of the rest of us. He could have done away with him, if he so willed it. Or, perhaps, force him to make that video. None of us could have stopped him, if he so chose.¡± He paused, placed an assuring arm around Peachy and drew her in so that she could cry on his shoulder. The alien did so. Her body relaxing in his grasp. ¡°But he didn¡¯t do any of that. He drew back and allowed Ryan a trial. Even when he and the rest of the council had access to his memories. Even after what our ongoing investigation had confirmed. I believe that speaks to the strength of his character.¡± He pulled her back so that she could stare into his eyes. ¡°And sure, he might activate new abilities without meaning to now and then, but from what I saw, these events don¡¯t last more than a minute and no one¡¯s been hurt as of yet. Compared to someone like Ryan, who knowingly refused to turn off his presence abilities among friends and even went so far as to abuse [Friendship] to manipulate others, Sully could be seen as downright benevolent. Why, for someone with that kind of power, I would argue that he is the height of responsibility.¡± Wow. Just wow. Mr. Park didn¡¯t truly believe that last part of course. He had been scared (Gnome)less by the Tall Man. Same as everyone. But you would never have known that without being a mind-reader. The sincerity on his face was such that even I started to believe him. ¡®I guess those social graces come with experience. I have got to work on that too.¡¯ ¡°Now then dear.¡± Mr. Park began, his old hands wiping away some of Peachy¡¯s tears. ¡°Why don¡¯t we follow up on Sully¡¯s request. Has the item been delivered.¡± ¡°Yes. It has. The gnome died almost immediately. After the¡­¡± She chanced a glance at me and shivered. ¡°After the sword took over someone¡¯s mind and the Sealed Intruder came out to attack. No one else among the teachers reported it. They¡¯re afraid of what the consequences might be, once you all get out.¡± ¡°Perfect.¡± Mr. Park said. Apparently not as alarmed as I was about the whole, took over someone¡¯s mind, bit. ¡°Uh, sorry. Could you specify what you meant regarding Slasher taking over someone¡¯s mind?¡± ¡°I¡­ the sword has access to a potent variation of [Friendship]. That¡¯s what Granny Golden said anyway. It took over¡­ over a woman. Cassandra. Until the Cherub intervened and freed her. Now, she has the sword, but isn¡¯t being controlled.¡± Well, that was good. About the best I could have hoped for under the current circumstances. Better to avoid re-summoning Slasher and Cherub for now. Not that I could in any case. All the related abilities were now tied to¡­ it. And I wasn¡¯t in any hurry to see it again. ¡°Right. Thank you Peachy.¡± I spoke. Following in Mr. Park¡¯s lead. ¡°This means a lot to me. More than you could possibly know. I won¡¯t forget it anytime soon. If there is anything I can do in return, you need only ask.¡± ¡°Anything?¡± Peachy asked. ¡°Does that include using the, uh, leveling boost on me? On us, I mean.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I answered at once. ¡°We¡¯re friends, after all. And friends help each other.¡± My declaration made Mr. Park¡¯s heart swell. His mind buzzing with new ideas on how to best exploit this newfound leverage over Peachy and Granny Golden. Peachy stepped back from him at that point. Flinching for a second, before pulling something out of her robes. ¡°This, this might help. Sully. It¡¯s a Forum Mirror. It¡¯s a consumable that allows two people using the forums to speak directly, through a live feed. Instead of the usual text format.¡± She swallowed. ¡°I¡¯m, not supposed to be selling it this early, since you all should have unlocked the forums after the second cycle. But, you people unlocked it early thanks to that bas¡­ thanks to my dear ancestor¡¯s intervention and his usage of his System privileges. Furthermore, the item will work even if only one of you has the forums unlocked. You could use it to speak to your friend.¡± My eyes went wide. ¡°Thank you! Yes! That would be wonderful! How much would I owe you?¡± ¡°70, 000 Store Tokens.¡± She cringed. ¡°Nice! It¡¯s cheap too. Here.¡± I paid upfront and reached out for the item. Inspecting it with [Insight] to confirm the details. It was only ten minutes of screentime, but it was a damnable miracle for me. ¡®I¡¯ll be able to see Henry again. With this, I¡¯ll be able to make sure he¡¯s safe.¡¯ It might have seemed like a small thing, yet, it meant the world to me. To see a familiar face after being here for so long. To speak with someone I truly trusted, after all the things I¡¯d found out. ¡°Thank you so much Peachy.¡± I said. Hugging the item. I wasted no time and used [Insight] on her. Blasting her with as much juice as I could manage at that moment. She went down like a ton of bricks. Flopping around on the floor like a fish out of water. A triumphant smile taking over her beak as I saw several Telepath, Enhancer and Projector abilities merging. She got Shifter as a fourth Type too. Putting her on the same level as Granny Golden. ¡®Actually, she might even be stronger than Granny at this point. I recall her only having Telepath on Tier 2.¡¯ Hopefully this meant that she¡¯d be far more calm and friendly around me in the future. Mr. Park wasn¡¯t wrong to think that she¡¯d be useful going forward. I mean, (Gnome). The mirror alone was priceless to me. ¡°Very good.¡± Mr. Park clapped his hands. ¡°Now all that¡¯s left is¡­¡± ¡°Let me go! I¡¯ll kill him!¡± Prudence bellowed from the side. I looked her way and found Kaito and Stellio barely holding on to her. Keeping her snaping jaws in check. ¡°P.R! Stop it! We all agreed he should have a trial!¡± ¡°(Gnome) that! You all saw those memories! He¡¯s been toying with people like a damn supervillain! Don¡¯t tell me he didn¡¯t know! We all agreed that it was mind-control at the meeting! Even Sully turned off his presences afterwards!¡± ¡°Hey! What do you mean, even Sully!? What, am I some kind of brute now? I was the one who brought up how chummy you¡¯d all gotten with me after I got [Charming Presence II]. I was the responsible one here!¡± Kaito shot me a look. Same as Mr. Park. ¡°Okay. Okay. I get it. Tensions are high. My bad.¡± Indeed, none of the other girls looked particularly happy. Least of all Louise, who hadn¡¯t changed out of her were-wolf form ever since I shared Ryan¡¯s memories around. Jane had left in tears, but she¡­ she¡¯d stayed to stare bloody murder into Ryan. To the point where I almost felt sorry for him. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Almost. He was a piece of (Gnome) that went around manipulating women after all. ¡°Hey. Ryan. Time to wake up man. I¡¯m about to send the mirror to Henry and your sister will want to talk to you. More importantly, I need you to tell her to back the (Gnome) off Henry. After we¡¯ve had your trial. Come on.¡± I kicked him a little. Softly, at first. Then with a bit more force. Trying to wake him up while dispelling some of my leftover tension. When that didn¡¯t work, I used [Domination] on him. ¡°Hey! Wake up already!¡± That finally did the trick. His eyes shot open as mortifying screams erupted from his throat. So loud and high-pitched that I had to take a few steps back from him. The sounds went on and on and on. Flowing outwards like a waterfall. His own fingers reaching up to his face and clawing bloody ribbons down his cheeks. ¡°Holy (Gnome)! What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± Mr. Park didn¡¯t bother with exclamations. Moving in to heal him without a word. Holding his hands back with rapidly expanding muscles. I stepped around Ryan¡¯s writhing frame. Noting that his sheer, insurmountable terror had even quelled some of Prudence¡¯s wrath. I tried searching his mind with my fog, only to meet a wall of endless darkness. It, wasn¡¯t like the times I¡¯d failed to get a read on the others on my team. No. This was, different. I was sensing a wall of darkness because all Ryan could think of was a wall of darkness. ¡°Sully. Dominate him and get him to stop attacking himself.¡± Mr. Park demanded. I did as he asked without protest. Forcefully bringing Ryan back to earth. He gasped. Breathing heavily as if he¡¯d been drowning moments ago. Then, he began to cry. His limbs frozen at either side as fresh tears flowed down his face. ¡°Thank goodness.¡± He wheezed. ¡°Thank goodness. I¡¯m back. I¡¯m finally back. It¡¯s been so long. I thought¡­¡± His voice broke and he choked on his own grief. ¡°I thought my life had been a dream. I thought there was nothing else. Nothing outside that place.¡± ¡°What place?¡± Mr. Park asked. ¡°You never left. Your body¡¯s been here this whole time.¡± Ryan hiccupped some more before answering. ¡°The bad place. The dark place. The place where hope goes to die.¡± His eyes met mine and I saw what was in them. This new Ryan had nothing left to give. No anger. No machinations. No planned reprisals. His were the eyes of the lost and the dammed. The eyes that Randall had had. Back in my own nightmare. ¡°Please.¡± He whimpered. Debasing himself without holding anything back. ¡°Please let me die. I¡¯d rather die than go back. Please. Please. Please.¡±
I swept my gaze all over the town. Taking in the burning buildings and the children flying between them. Each one wore fine white suits that almost sparkled in the sunlight. With red stripes around their cuffs that went up towards their collars. All of them had the face of a younger Sully. Frozen in rictus, predatory smiles. Their hands held spears or halberds. Instruments of war coated in brilliant golden flames that shone almost as bright as their eyes. Except for the parts coated in gnomish blood and viscera that is. I shook my head. Bringing my hands up to my forehead and swatting away some of the ashes that had gathered on my hair. ¡®How did this happen?¡¯ I wondered. Things had looked really dicey back there. When Patricia had gathered a mob around her. Somehow convincing people that I could send them home since I had leverage over the teachers and the principal. Granny Golden had said she couldn¡¯t get personally involved, as long a Rut was out there and ready to report her. So, she¡¯d hidden me and Cass away while the gnomish teacher went around humming to himself. ¡°What¡¯s this I see? Staff getting involved in the squabbles of Students? Tut-tut. That is wholly unacceptable. We are not supposed to get involved in their spats.¡± He had been grinning back then. Reminding Granny and principal Banerid that they shouldn¡¯t care whether a mob formed or whether Students took some measure of justice into their own hands. ¡°Fool!¡± Principal Banerid had shouted. ¡°Bloody fool! Have you not seen the note? You¡¯ll get us all killed! Or worse, enslaved!¡± Rut the history teacher had laughed in his face. He was still laughing now, in fact. His severed head donning a frozen smile atop the spike where the little suited children had impaled it. Right next to the five or so System Enforcers that had come to avenge his death. Only the sixth one had managed to escape, once the legions started pouring down from the sky and even then, he¡¯d been missing an arm, a leg and most of his face by the time he managed to slip through the portal. There were no flies surrounding the grisly scene as of yet. Perhaps due to the absence of insects or non-domesticated animals down here. ¡®A small mercy. I suppose. Otherwise, it might have been more horrible than it is right now.¡¯ I walked along the mostly empty streets. Noting the terror in people¡¯s eyes as they saw me coming. The way they averted their gazes so as to not meet mine head on. My hands clenched into fists as my breathing quickened. ¡®It wasn¡¯t me!¡¯ I wanted to shout at them. ¡®It was the sword and the big angel-like thing that came out of it. They were the ones called the suited-up kids. They were the ones that burned half the town to the ground!¡¯ But I didn¡¯t say anything of the sort. It wouldn¡¯t have helped. That image of the talking sword signing about murder time in that childish voice would haunt these people till their dying day and nothing I could have said would have changed that. Especially not when the Cherub was still flying over head. ¡°Burn the wicked! Sear away your sins in purifying fire! Those who allow gnomes to live, share in the crime of their existence! Burn them all in the name of the master! In the name of the Coffin King! In the good name of my lord and master, Solomon Carter!¡± Its voice felt like waves of fire searing my ears as they passed. Heat travelling through my brain and leaving behind echoes of the given message. The more one heard them, the harder it became to unhear them. To the point where I could swear other people were mumbling the sermons as they walked. ¡°The wise one has told us the truth! Fear and hate the gnome, lest you become its victim! For all of the world¡¯s evils are endorsed and committed, by gnomes! A gnome has no empathy! No common humanity that separates us from simple beasts!¡± A parade of the little winged children followed it wherever it went. Chanting hymns that praised Sully¡¯s heroism. Especially as it related to the rescue of hundreds of people in his Tutorial and his subsequent treatment of gnomes. Some of the things they sang chilled my (Cherub)ing blood even now. ¡°Righteous father! Loose your fury! There are gnomes to kill today! Crush their spirits! Bind their bodies! Help us find a better way!¡± ¡°Gentle father! Raise your banners! There are foes we have to slay! Scourge their flesh! Sunder their bones! Burn their horrid sins away!¡± I shook my head and averted my eyes from the procession. Moving rapidly in another direction. Yet, the hymns could not be escaped. They could be heard on every corner and on every street. On every house and every storefront. As if the walls themselves were singing. No, actually, scratch that. The walls, WERE singing. Some of them anyway. Having grown lips and shining purple eyes that sought to glimpse at the heavens. Pupils dilated in ecstasy as they joined the chorus. Looking around, there were people I knew singing along with the walls. Leaning against them and adding their voices to the song. Oscar and Mindy were right there in the thick of things. Eyes filled with a terror that surpassed normal comprehension. Perhaps they figured that the little killers would leave them alone if they sang along. Or perhaps they¡¯d finally snapped and had no idea what they were doing. My eyes scanned the rest of the crowd. Taking in faces until they landed on a particularly odd figure. ¡°Principal Banerid!?¡± The fox-like alien glanced back at me. A forced smile finding its way onto his jaws. ¡°Henry! Why! What a lovely surprise! Come come! How fares our good champion?¡± I shook my head. Opening and closing my eyes in quick succession. Not quite able to believe what I was seeing. ¡°Principal, what? What are you doing?¡± He laughed nervously. Tucking at the collar of his robes in a manner that screamed the truth about his unease. ¡°Why? I¡¯m singing the praises of our new overlord of course!¡± He was peeking upwards at a flock of two-hundred or so children flying overhead. A mangled abomination of barbed wire and mangled flesh leading the way. Its two pairs of wings dyed a midnight black. ¡°Yes sir! Sally is the greatest thing since the System came to being!¡± ¡°Sully.¡± I corrected. ¡°Of course! Sully! That¡¯s what I said! I love me some Sully! Yes indeed. I¡¯ll do anything to prove my loyalty! Anything!¡± He stared straight at me. His voice growing in volume while slowing down at the same time. ¡°A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G!¡± Then he started winking, as if there was any subtlety to be had at this moment. I¡­ I couldn¡¯t even get mad. Sighing in defeat as the full weight of the situation bore down on me. ¡®Holy (Cherub) Sully. What the (Cherub) did you do?¡¯ No one answered my query. Instead, Granny Golden came out from a corner. One claw on her heaving chest and another on Cassandra¡¯s form as she hauled the girl around. ¡°Henry! Henry! Oh, thank Gozo I found you! Quick! You have to get ready!¡± ¡°For what?¡± I asked. Wondering what new surprise was waiting for me now. ¡°For your friend! Solomon. He¡¯s¡­¡± She dropped Cassandra and tried to hold back a panic attack. She failed and began to weep. ¡°Quick! Quick! You have to answer! You have to answer him! Please!¡± She shoved a large bathroom mirror into my hands. I staggered back and almost dropped it. ¡°NOOOOOO!!!¡± Principal Banerid shouted. Lunging forward to place his own claws beneath me. ¡°It¡¯s okay! It¡¯s okay! You got it. You got it. Thank goodness.¡± ¡°Will you two leave me alone?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t.¡± Granny Golden pleaded. ¡°Please Henry. Our lives, our whole species might depend on this. We¡¯re not from strong factions. We can¡¯t hold out if he comes for us. Please. Just this once.¡± To my shock, even Patricia got in on it. ¡°Henry. Please. He¡­¡± She stopped. Unable to get the words out. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, okay? I¡¯m so, so sorry. He¡¯s got my brother. Granny Golden says he¡¯s got my little brother. I can¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Sully wouldn¡¯t hurt him!¡± I snapped back. Surprised by my anger. ¡°I know Sully and none of this sounds like him. There has got to be a reason for what he¡¯s done. If it even was him. I definitely know he wouldn¡¯t hurt another human being. Not unless his life was on the line and even then, he wouldn¡¯t take it too far.¡± Patricia broke down in tears. ¡°Please Henry. I don¡¯t like this. I don¡¯t want to fight anymore. Please, just give him what he wants.¡± ¡°All Sully wants is to be a good guy and get drunk with friends!¡± I protested. ¡°He¡¯s not that complicated!¡± But none of them would hear it. So, I placed the mirror against one of the walls that kept their silence and let my Psy flow through it. Sure enough, there he was. Wearing a pristine white suit with a black tie. His face freshly shaven and his hair a mess of oily black tangled knots that fell until his shoulders. ¡°Henry!¡± He cried out. Grabbing the mirror with such force that I feared he might leap into it and out this end. There were tears of happiness in his pale blue eyes. Making it seem as if they were chips of dirty ice that were just now beginning to melt. ¡°Oh man. I¡¯ve missed you so much. It¡¯s so good to see you. It¡¯s so good to see that you¡¯re safe! Did you get hurt in the fight?¡± ¡°No.¡± I answered. A bit taken aback by his intensity. The Sully I knew had been a quiet guy, for the most part. Someone who was a bit awkward at talking to people. This Sully had a manic demeanor about him. His face perpetually open in what must have been the literal definition of crazy eyes. ¡°I¡¯m so happy, Henry. I¡¯m so relieved to see that you¡¯re safe. I, I don¡¯t know if I could have forgiven myself if I didn¡¯t get to you in time.¡± It was then that the truth of the matter hit me. ¡°You did this!?¡± I barked. Hands shaking from sheer disbelief. He blinked. As if unsure of what was going on in my head and stepped back a bit. ¡°Define, this?¡± ¡°The (Cherub)ing killer kids Sully! The murderous fire-guy going around smiting people and chanting about how great it is to serve you and about burning down the guilty!¡± ¡°Whoa whoa whoa! I didn¡¯t teach him to say that! Henry! You¡¯ve got to believe me! I have got no clue where he got those ideas! Honest! I swear on my life!¡± I, felt so much relief at his denial. Thanking all the higher powers I could think of that my friend hadn¡¯t gone full supervillain. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± I managed after some quick, steadying breaths. ¡°That¡¯s good to hear. I¡¯m guessing the things about you torturing gnomes were lies too.¡± ¡°Oh no. I definitely did that.¡± My eyes snapped back to his. ¡°You did!?¡± ¡°Of course I did. (Gnome) em. (Gnome) every last one of them. Why, is that a problem?¡± I, had no words. Glancing back at the flocks gathering around the impaled heads. ¡°Of course it¡¯s a problem Sully! You¡¯ve committed war crimes!¡± Sully made a rude noise with his lips. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous Henry. You can¡¯t commit war crimes against gnomes. Just like how you can¡¯t commit war crimes against roaches. They¡¯re just, something you have to get rid of to sanitize your living space. That¡¯s all.¡± I gaped at him in horror. Unable to reconcile the words coming out of this person¡¯s mouth with the Sully I knew. ¡°Sully, did you.¡± I bit my lips. Hesitating. Wondering if I really wanted to know the answer. ¡°Did you hurt Patricia¡¯s brother?¡± He stared at me. His wide eyes drinking in my form. My face. My expression. ¡°Uh. No. He did some bad things and he had a trial and he¡­¡± He stopped once he noticed Patricia¡¯s sobbing as she leaned against me for support. ¡°He fell down some stairs.¡± He finished. ¡°He fell down some stairs?¡± I asked again. ¡°Yes. He fell down some stairs.¡± Sully confirmed. ¡°He¡¯s very clumsy.¡± Pat started wailing even more and Sully visibly panicked. ¡°It¡¯s all right! It¡¯s all right! He¡¯s fine. I can show him to you. Wait a second.¡± Sully left the screen and I could hear faint hisses from the other side. ¡°No¡­yes¡­let¡­. go¡­. yes¡­ yes!... Because I (Gnome)ing said so! Either¡­ meet¡­ Dolce¡­! Snack!¡± He came back a second later with another boy in his arms. He looked like death itself. Eyes hollow and devoid of hope. Of life. As if he¡¯d been brutally tortured for weeks or even months. His face was swollen too as if he¡¯d recently been beaten savagely by a mob. His cheeks looking more like apples than anything else. ¡°Well Ryan? Don¡¯t you have something to say?¡± He didn¡¯t even lift his eyes to look at Pat. ¡°I¡¯m very clumsy and I fell down some stairs.¡± ¡°There, see?¡± Pat roared with fury at that. Throwing a punch against the wall behind the mirror and almost hitting the edges of the instrument. ¡°Liar! He looks like he¡¯s been worked over by the CIA! Tell me what you did to my brother! Answer me!¡± Ryan burst into tears at that. ¡°Stop it Pat! You don¡¯t know. You can¡¯t know! He¡­ he¡¯ll hurt you! Just do what he wants!¡± ¡°Whoa there! Okay! I see where this is going and I¡¯m not letting it happen. Look, Pat, was it? I was trying to be nice since it looked like you¡¯d made up with Henry. Truth is your brother is a (Gnome) who¡¯s been going around manipulating people with his abilities. That¡¯s why Prudence and all the other guys here got to beat the living daylight out of him. I personally wanted to jail him, but this is what the people voted on. You happy now?¡± ¡°No! I¡¯m not happy you sick (Cherub)! My brother would never do that!¡± Sully stared at her for a second. Before grumbling something about his own reunion and then passing along the mirror to other people waiting nearby. One by one, the stories came. So many that Pat ran away before the end. Saying nothing. ¡°You see Henry?¡± He said once she was gone. ¡°I¡¯m helping to catch guys like him. And I¡¯ve been doing far more than that. So, yeah. My powers are, a little creepy on occasion. [Unstable Reality] and its fusions are just like that on most days to some degree. So what?¡± He pointed towards himself. ¡°Henry. No matter what happens to me. No matter what the future has in store; you can rest assured that I am a good person.¡± There were a series of giggles coming from above. A flock of the little Sully copies dropping a package that burst like a ripened watermelon upon making contact with the ground. Me and him both saw it. The remains of a gnome¡¯s head. Chapter 68: Goody Two Shoes. Chapter 68: Goody Two Shoes. ¡°No, Henry. I do not have a problem.¡± I repeated for the umpteenth time. ¡°Dude! You just told me that you didn¡¯t realize you were wearing the suit until after I pointed it out! Also, you just told me you haven¡¯t slept in two days! How are those not problems?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ve got them under control Henry. I swear. This is nothing compared to¡­¡± I stopped. Cutting myself off before giving voice to my worries. Henry had enough on his plate without knowing about the Tall Man or Randall or the secrets my friends were keeping from me. I didn¡¯t want to burden him any further. More importantly, I didn¡¯t want him to find out that I had been the one to control him, my parents and the crabs back then. Not yet anyway. There would be plenty of time to talk about it, once we met face to face again. ¡°Compared to what?¡± Henry prodded. ¡°Nothing.¡± I snapped. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Look. I¡¯m fine. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been more fulfilled in my entire life. I¡¯m, helping people now.¡± I opened and closed my mouth. Struggling to find the right words to describe the elation I felt when I did good deeds. ¡°You don¡¯t understand Henry. All this time, I¡¯ve wanted to be useful. To save people in any small way I could. To right the wrongs, they experienced in everyday life. I can do that now. I¡¯ve been doing it for a while. Every time I save someone¡¯s life or prevent some disaster from happening, I get these butterflies in my stomach. This surge of vigor that overtakes me. It¡¯s affirmation that this is what I was meant to do. You have no idea how much good I¡¯ve done, Henry. How much of a difference I made. I prevented a volcanic eruption, killed a kaiju that had been terrorizing Europe for centuries, fought a group of actual, honest to goodness super villains and even stopped a human trafficking operation.¡± I felt some meager shreds of strength entering my weary shell as I spoke. Invigorating me in spite if the terrible consequences of sleep depravation. ¡°You¡¯ll see. You¡¯ll get to experience that too. It¡¯s a rush like no other. A feeling of true, self actualization. I¡¯ll go so far as to go on an Excursion and show you everything that happens so you can see for yourself.¡± Henry winced. ¡°Aren¡¯t you worried you¡¯ll drop the mirror? Granny Golden told me how much it costed and, damn. I¡¯m not sure I could make that in a couple of years of being here.¡± I waved him off. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. That much is chump change compared to what I¡¯ve earned from bosses and Excursions so far. Besides, I already merged my mirror into my status, so I can open and close the feed whenever I want. I also bought mirrors for all my party members just in case we get separated or an emergency arises. You¡¯ll have the option to merge your mirror with your status too, once your forums are unlocked after the second cycle.¡± "If you say so." Henry started shifting about in his seat. Looking awfully uncomfortable all of the sudden. "Hey, Sully. You''re a Telepath, right?" ''Oh boy. Here we go.'' "Yep. And growing prouder of it every day. I know how it sounds and I know the optics look really, really bad, but hear me out. I''ve made a real difference with these powers. If it weren''t for them, I''d never have been able to save all these people you see around me. I''d never have been able to make such a huge impact on the earths I''ve visited. I''m... Heh. I''m actually really glad I got it as my main Type. Also, I''m not planning to stop there. I''ve been training to get a second Type for a while now and I can''t help but feeling like my efforts are about to bear fruit." I allowed a small smile to creep onto my face. "Who knows? By the time we meet, I might have more levels in Enhancer than you." "Right. Uh-huh. Good for you. That wasn''t where I was going with this, but whatever. I''m glad you''re happy." I blinked. "It wasn''t?" "No. Sully. It wasn''t. I didn''t care that Cass was a Telepath when she an I had our couple of nights back at Uni and I certainly don''t care that you''re a Telepath. Not in the slightest." His face relaxed somewhat then. Going back to the Henry I''ve known my whole life. "You''re not your Type, Sully. No one is. And anyone who actually thinks otherwise is probably brain-damaged. You''re not Sully the Telepath. You''re Sully the person. The same goody two shoes I''ve known all my life." It was, such a simple statement. Such few words. Yet, they brought tears to my eyes all the same. I''d always been worried about what others would have thought. About the reactions they would show me, once they found out. For these assurances to come from Henry, my closest friend. It was a deluge of relief. A taste of the normality I''d left behind after being kidnapped. ''Sully? I thought I was your closest friend.'' Buddy purred into my mind. I smiled, despite myself. ''Of course you are Buddy. You and I share a bond no one else could hope to match. But Henry is human, and it''s different with him. You''re still my best companion. Think of him as my best human friend, if that makes sense.'' ''Of course!'' I allowed my attention to drift back to Henry. "Thank you. I... It really means a lot to me." "No problem." He said. Nodding at the way my face had lit up. "Now then, the reason why I brought it up again was because you were responsible for some really weird (Cherub) on this side. People, the human ones, are asking a lot of pointed questions." "And the non-human ones?" "They''re busy kissing the ground I walk on and praising you to high heaven and back. Seriously man, you don''t know how bad it gets. They talk about you like you''re the greatest thing since Thunder Fist. Only, they''re not doing it because they like you. Trust me, they don''t. They''re doing it because the mere mention of your name is enough to cure constipation around their circles these days." I scoffed. "Honestly, I don''t know why they''re acting like that Henry. I''m a good person. You know that. I wouldn''t go around antagonizing randos for no reason." Some of the gagged gnomes below the table started making a little bit of noise at that, but I managed to silence them with a few rounds of enthusiastic kicking to their stomachs. I''d been using them to practice the [Sleep] and [Psionic Curse] abilities before Henry called. Leaving their minds mostly intact because the dominated ones didn''t give the same kind of feedback as the ones that could still fight back. Now, I wasn''t ashamed of these practices. However, I had come to the realization that, despite almost losing his life to the machinations of a gnome, Henry didn''t yet understand the sheer depths of their depravity. He didn''t understand that gnomes weren''t people in the same way that mannequins weren''t people. In truth, they were vile, dead things that fools or those too ignorant to know better might mistake as people. So long as they didn''t pay too much attention to the finer details. Actually, that was a little unfair. Mannequins weren''t vile and they served a purpose by showing off clothes. ''Gnomes are just a different breed of evil. Henry can''t even conceive of the scale of their moral abhorrence, since he can''t read minds. He hasn''t been inside their skulls. Nor has he seen their memories or thought processes. A gnome would sooner sell their own children into slavery, rather than do a single good thing in their entire gaping hole of an existence.'' I knew that because I had (Gnome)ing seen it in their memories. That and the Drake had been kind enough to explain their society to me. No gnome was born free. Instead, their parents owned shares in their person; until such a time as the child could afford to buy themselves out of bondage. Similarly, if the parents failed to pay their taxes on time, they would become the property of the closest family member who could pay their dues. Or failing that, the property of the state. The Drake had expressed his admiration for their utilitarianism. Stating that even he would have flinched at taking things that far. And that was saying something, considering his habit of turning people into living furniture. Henry didn''t say anything for some time. To the point where I feared the connection was lagging. "Right. I... I mean. I believe you. So, the weird things going around?" "[Unstable Reality]. That was the main culprit as far as I can tell. Weird stuff''s been happening since I started levelling it up and the benefits had outweighed the downsides back then. I even merged it into a Tier 2 called [Warp the Veil II]. For a while, it was turning out to be one of the best cards I had to play, when faced with, say, natural disasters like forest fires or mudslides or floods. Can''t really dominate water or smoke after all. I would use the ability and it would boost all powers around me. Yes, that means Enhancer, Shifter and Projector abilities too. Add in the increased chances to spawn in Intruders and it really was a cheat." If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Right. Okay. Let''s start right there. Now, I''ve been taught a few things on my end. That is, I haven''t been fighting monsters like you have. I''ve been competing in events and learning about the ins and outs of powers and the history of the Labyrinth. I know what an Intruder is. Or, rather, I know what the usual definition of an Intruder is. I... your guys are a bit different. So, I wanted to see what your outlook on them was. How would you, as an obviously powerful Telepath, define Intruders?" I thought about it some more. Recalling the first time I''d seen the walking ice golems as I made my way up to what I thought was the surface. Back then, they''d been an obstacle. Nothing more. I had questioned their existence a little bit, but I figured they were just another weird anomaly. In fact, I''d figured they were brought forth by a Projector power, rather than a Telepath one. That outlook had changed after meeting Cherub. He was obviously influenced by the environment in which he manifested. To the point where his body could be described as a bunch of lingering emotions attached to a mote of energy. He could feel the rage and pain and loss of everyone who''d died in Austin during the zombie apocalypse and those feelings were as much a part of him as his pyrokinetic powers. As for how he got his powers, well. That was another, more intricate problem. "Okay. Here goes. But keep in mind that I am in no way claiming to be an expert. Based on my own observations, I would say that Intruders are bunched up emotions that, for whatever reason, gather around themselves to congeal into a rudimentary mind. Now, that makes absolutely no sense here in reality, but I have a pretty decent hunch that the space beyond the veil works by different rules. From what little I''ve felt of it and explored, I''d say that it was a pseudo-dimension composed entirely of thoughts and emotions." I licked my lips while trying to find the right words. "By that, I mean, a dimension that has no physical elements to work its own biochemistry, as well as no defined laws of physics. The Intruders I''ve seen manifest with some confusion when they get here. As if being tethered down by consistent laws is disorienting. They''re more comfortable communicating with simple bursts of intent, rather than complex ideas or descriptions. They also possess a certain, uniformity in the way they conduct themselves. To the point where you can predict what kind of prerogatives and goals they''ll have based on what the beings on our side have been thinking or experiencing lately. Kind of like the idea of blended consciousness applied to, say, Jungian Archetypes. We physical beings think and feel and change, and so a little part of our experiences bleed into this alternate reality in certain patterns. Some ideas will morph into villains and some into heroes and some into their own neutral beings with their own goals and aspirations. All depending on how those emotions are perceived by the beings who first had them and how those emotions from many different beings come together to form something that could be called a rudimentary mind." I scratched my head. Getting the distinct impression that I wasn''t making sense. "Sorry. Never mind the semantics. Think of it like this. Cherub first manifested when I was rescuing people from a burning building. He wasn''t really Cherub at that time though. Because he was actually a whole lot of smaller, less defined Intruders that were feeding off the Psy I was giving off, as well as the desperation I felt when trying to rescue the last batch of survivors. They were simple because I was moving around an environment that hadn''t been conductive to strong emotions and fixations before the place caught fire, since most of the people living or working in that building would have been going around living their normal lives before the fire. Afterwards, all of their minds would have been focused on thinking of the fire and ways to escape it, with a few being relieved that they''d been saved by me already.¡± I made a few hand motions. Slowly bringing my palms together in front of Henry¡¯s image. ¡°The, let¡¯s call it psionic residue, only started to congeal when all those emotions reached a fever pitch and only manifested when I started leaking Psy everywhere. Cherub only became Cherub when I used the proper ability to poke a bigger hole between material, objective reality and the other side¡¯s immaterial, subjective reality and even then, he soaked in the psionic residue of the people of Austin in order to grow a functioning mind. I doubt he would have had the same personality if I¡¯d conjured him here in the Labyrinth or someplace else. Furthermore, since he got a lot of his impulses, particularly his hatred of gnomes, off of me, we can also deduce that the summoner has a role to play in the process of Intruders gaining a semblance of sentience. Sort of like how a duckling will imprint on the first thing it sees as a mother.¡± I clapped my hands. ¡°With all this in mind, we can classify Intruders as pure chaotic energy floating on their end of the veil. These energies are constantly being affected by several material realities because they react to the thoughts and emotions of living beings to a degree. With sentient beings like humans affecting them to an exponentially greater degree. Since there are so many of us in so many different realities, they remain unfocused and inconsistent as they¡¯re being pulled in so many different directions at once. Separating and rejoining constantly with no room for them to solidify into true sentience. Until they are conjured, and they have a chance to form a more permanent sense of self with their own patterns of behaviour and ambitions.¡± I looked at him expectantly. ¡°Did I get that right?¡± Henry¡¯s eyes had bulged so much that they threatened to pop right out of their sockets. The red veins next to his pupils growing bigger and redder. In contrast, his lips had been pressed tightly together. To the point where I could scarcely make out his mouth. ¡°Henry? You good?¡± He blinked in surprise. Apparently struggling to escape whatever stupor he¡¯d entered into. ¡°Holy (Cherub) Sully.¡± ¡°What? I told you it was mostly conjecture. You can¡¯t expect me to be an expert on this stuff right away. I mean, (Gnome). It¡¯s been less than a month since I summoned Cherub and he was my first.¡± Henry¡¯s lips clamped shut again. His eyes locking onto my face and refusing to blink. ¡°Henry? Buddy?¡± ¡®What is it Sully?¡¯ ¡®No. Not you Buddy. I was calling Henry my Buddy.¡¯ ¡®He took my name!?¡¯ ¡®What? No! No one could take your name Buddy. It¡¯s just that I call my friends Buddy too and¡­ and I didn¡¯t think things through when I named you. That¡¯s going to get confusing.¡¯ My attention went back to Henry. My own gaze noting how very, pale, he¡¯d gotten. ¡°Henry? Listen man. You¡¯re starting to scare me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m starting to scare you!?¡± He burst out. Spittle flying and landing on his side of the mirror. ¡°Holy (Cherub) Sully! I thought you said you weren¡¯t an expert!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not!¡± I protested. ¡°I¡¯m dead serious. This is all stuff I figured out through observation. I even told you how I figured it out! What¡¯s with the shouting?¡± Henry placed his shoulder on a nearby wall and struggled to get his breath back under control. ¡°Sorry. Sorry. It¡¯s just. That was literally a textbook answer. We take tests, you see. Written and practical ones. I¡­ Sully, I¡¯m going to be straight with you. I can recite the words, but conceptualizing it is, difficult. For most of us here. Not just me. For you to figure that out on your own¡­ Are you sure no one told you anything?¡± ¡®I wish.¡¯ No one around here had ever explained anything about the Labyrinth in detail, outside of Granny Golden and later Periwig through the movie. Having someone on call would have been a massive help during the early days. I could have found out about the hums early on and maybe even formed a group from the outset. Cherub might have had his eccentricities, but he would have been invaluable back then. If only I¡¯d known to call on him and his ilk. ¡°No. No one told me anything about Intruders or the veil before this Henry. It¡¯s just, stuff I picked up here and there. Call it lucky guesses.¡± ¡°Well, those are some damn lucky and very specific guesses, but whatever. That leads us to the reason why I¡¯m so worried about your, uh, little guys.¡± A chorus of giggling Solomonlings flew overhead as he said the words. Sounding like a ragtag group of schoolchildren that had only just finished sacking an ice-cream truck for all it was worth. I heard some wet, puling sounds coming from overhead and watched in horror as Henry¡¯s face and torso were drenched in a shower of coagulating blood. His surroundings were even worse off, as severed intestines and limbs rained down withing the plaza. Henry didn¡¯t so much as flinch. Indeed, his expression was one of resignation, rather than outrage. A hand coming up and wiping most of the crimson droplets off his face before he spoke again. ¡°Your little guys have been going in and out of the [Unstable Reality] field your sword keeps around itself. They¡¯ve been using it to go back past the veil so that they can come out in other fields of [Unstable Reality] in other material dimensions. Now, none of them have said why they¡¯re doing this, but I can¡¯t help but notice that they always bring back gnomes. A lot of gnomes. The lucky ones are dead when they get here.¡± Henry winced. ¡°Not all of them are lucky.¡± ¡°Henry. I swear on my life. I have not been giving out orders to them.¡± ¡°Yeah. I figured. But that only makes those in the know, people like Granny and principal Banerid, more nervous. You see, Intruders keeping consistent, uniform shapes, is not normal. On the contrary, it¡¯s pretty (Cherub)ing far from normal as far as they know. Non-sealed Intruders typically revert back to being clumps of immaterial goop when they go back through the veil. That¡¯s what supposed to happen. The only times when this doesn¡¯t happen is when they¡¯re coming and going from what they call a ¡®Pandemonium Realm¡¯. Something that only forms when a Telepath fuses a high-Tiered reality warping power.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± I said. Nodding slowly. ¡°That sounds about right. What¡¯s the issue?¡± ¡°There are two.¡± Henry told me. His face growing grim. ¡°The first is that their relative strength, consistency between units and variation between different kinds of units depend on the Tier and level of the ability and Title in question. From what I¡¯ve been told, you are hilariously terrifying. But I don¡¯t personally care about that so we¡¯ll move on. The second issue is that all those individual Intruders are shaped by the will of their master.¡± He then pointed a finger in my direction. ¡°That would be you.¡± I was about to deny it again when Henry raised a hand to stop me. ¡°And that¡¯s not all either. Your little guys are showing other signs of troubling behavior. Like the way they sing songs about how great you are and how everyone here should turn to the worship of their master, by which they mean you, for salvation. I¡¯m not going to lie Sully. They creep me the (Cherub) out. And I haven¡¯t even mentioned the possessions.¡± ¡°Huh? That¡¯s not¡­ Intruders can¡¯t possess people.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what principal Banerid says.¡± Henry retorted. His features donning an expression of distinct discomfort. ¡°He says they can, so long as the Intruder has more Psy than the host, they¡¯re both in a field of [Unstable Reality] and the Intruder has access to the [Seal Intruder] Ability at five levels higher than the host.¡± He paused. Taking a deep breath before continuing. ¡°Do you recall Cass?¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°The B-Ranked Telepath that was making a scene outside our dorm. The one whose rantings turned out to be rather prophetic in nature.¡± I thought back to the woman raving around the street. Scaring off the other pedestrians. ¡°Oh. Her.¡± ¡°Yeah. Her. She and I became close friends here and I learned that she¡¯s very controlled and normal on most days. That stopped when she got a hold of your sword. The, Cherub, thing. Then she went back to normal after letting go and then she bumped into one of the winged children and then¡­¡± Henry paused again. ¡°This is her now.¡± He stepped aside and I laid eyes on a feminine figure. One currently crawling up and down a nearby building on all fours. That is, with her back facing the smooth wall she was climbing and her ligaments stretched to unnatural degrees. Her head swiveled so far to the side that at first, I thought she must have been dead. Her eyes were blank and empty. Her mouth open in a perpetual scream. I turned to Henry. ¡°Okay. I know that looks bad. But. You can¡¯t prove that me or any of my Intruders had anything to do with it.¡± ¡°egassem sdrawkcaB! egassem sdrawkcaB! egassem sdrawkcaB!¡± The woman shrieked. ¡°nwad ta bmal elaP! nwad ta bmal elaP! nwad ta bmal elaP!¡± ¡°ees dna emoC! ees dna emoC! ees dna emoC!¡± ¡°loow eht no doolB! sevooh eht no raT!¡± ¡°ees dna emoC! ees dna emoC! ees dna emoC!¡± She leapt off the building. Hovering in mid-air as if suspended from wires, before throwing up golden blood as her head and limbs returned to relatively normal positions. Henry only pointed at her while staring me down. His eyes bulging while his mouth remained tightly shut. ¡°Okay. I will concede it looks really bad. Still, you have no proof it has anything to do with me.¡± ¡°I control! I control! I control!¡± She wailed again. ¡°Three heads! One will!¡± ¡°Under Earth! Under Sea! Under Burning Skies!¡± Henry didn¡¯t even glance her way. Staring deeper and deeper into my soul with mounting accusation. ¡°Okay! Okay! So maybe that was my fault. A little bit. How was I supposed to know possessions were even possible?¡± Henry looked back at Cass. His new friend and back at me. He sighed the deepest sigh I have ever (Gnome)ing seen. ¡°Like I said, Sully. I know you. And I know you wouldn¡¯t normally be acting this way. I think¡­¡± He bit his lip. ¡°I think you need help and I want to be there to help you. Because you¡¯re my friend and that¡¯s what friends do. So, whatever you¡¯re going through, you can tell me all about it. I won¡¯t judge. Only listen. I want to be there for you like you¡¯ve been there for me countless times. It¡¯s the least I could do.¡± My mouth opened and closed. My mind unable to cope with the sincerity he was showing. I wanted to tell him then. About everything. What I¡¯d done to my parents and to him. How I¡¯d repressed his own memories of the event. My own identity as the Tall Man. But I couldn¡¯t. Not yet. These secrets ate and ate and ate away at me. Digging through my heart and soul like burrowing termites and biting deep into my very being. But I could not set them loose. Not at this moment, at least. So, I told Henry about Randall. How the others in my team had kept his fate a secret. How I suspected there was more to it than what they were letting on. How I suspected that Anezka had met the same fate. I also told him about my fight with Dusty and what had led up to it. Chapter 69: The Rift. Chapter 69: The Rift. ¡°So, let me get this straight.¡± Henry started. Holding his head in his arms. ¡°Your plan is to go away somewhere. To an Excursion. Wherever that may take you. There, you will confront your teammates, all of whom have a second Type, and demand to know what happened to Randall. After that, you¡¯ll ask this, Slab fellow, who just so happens to be the younger brother of the girl who¡¯s angry at you, the eugenicist one who wants to kill all the kaiju, what you should say to his own sister.¡± He paused to give me a worried look. His face having aged 10 years over the course of the last few hours. ¡°Did I get that right?¡± ¡°Not that last part.¡± I corrected. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask Slab what to say. That would be ridiculous. I¡¯m going to ask him how apologies typically go on his earth. Trust me, I¡¯ve been doing this long enough to know that cultural differences can be, severe.¡± I swallowed. Thinking back to what the siblings had done to Charlie upon our first meeting. Or how Slab had handled Simeon when he¡¯d tried to punch me when we¡¯d first arrived at the Warehouse. ¡°I need to have a moment with them. Alone. This is partly out of consideration for whatever secret they might be keeping, as none of the others know about Randall¡¯s fate. I honestly don¡¯t know why they did it, but it might yet be a very good reason. I might even agree with them after I¡¯ve heard it. I don¡¯t know. My [Insight] doesn¡¯t work when I try and peer into Randall and Anezka¡¯s whereabouts. Neither does my fog pick up on their thoughts half the time. Whatever is going on, I need to hear it from them.¡± ¡°And the other reason?¡± Henry inquired. I didn¡¯t answer immediately. Instead gazing out onto the screens as they flickered. The System being in the middle of whatever calculations it used to determine the next Excursion for any given team. ¡°Because it might be a bad reason and I may need to do something about it.¡± I turned my head to Henry in a flurry. Rushing to clarify what I¡¯d meant. ¡°I¡¯m not going to hurt them. I¡¯d never hurt people, Henry. Please believe that. Not unless they absolutely deserved it and there was no other choice. I¡¯m a good person.¡± ¡°I know.¡± He assured me. His face softening somewhat. ¡°I¡¯m actually happy you¡¯ve thought of it before I had to bring it up. Be careful Sully. Whatever happens, I don¡¯t want to lose a friend. By all means, hear them out. But don¡¯t let down your guard.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t.¡± I said. Smiling sadly. ¡°In all honesty, it probably won¡¯t come to that. Slab, Charlie, Monique and Boris have had ample opportunities to hurt me. If they wanted me dead, I¡¯d probably be dead right now. I just¡­¡± I took a sharp breath and released it in a slow hiss. ¡°I just need to know the truth. I need to know that I can still trust them and I need to figure out what to do about Dusty.¡± ¡°Right on.¡± Henry assented. ¡°Though, if I may ask a quick question. Hold on. This is difficult to put into words. Um. How do you feel about her?¡± ¡°Not as strongly as she feels about me. That¡¯s for sure.¡± ¡°No, Sully. I meant, as a potential partner.¡± I turned to stare at him. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look. It¡¯s important to sort out your own thoughts now. While you¡¯re talking to someone with no biases who you know you can trust. I¡¯ve got no skin in the game other than looking out for you, so I can give you a mostly objective lump of feedback.¡± He raised his fingers up to the mirror. ¡°That said, let¡¯s count off what we know of Dusty.¡± He raised a single finger. ¡°One, she¡¯s hungry for approval. Whether from her peers back home, society at large or just Daddy dearest. She¡¯s been looked down on her whole life and bringing you as a boyfriend would overturn everyone else¡¯s opinion of her. We know this from the memory you saw and from what she herself has told you.¡± He raised a second finger. ¡°Two, she¡¯s hungry for power. Political power, that is. At a certain level, she wants to have influence over others. She wants to be seen as one of the best, if not the best person in her clan. She wants respect and affirmation from those around her because she hasn¡¯t had either of those things up till now. Part of that might stem from the expectations she had growing up, or it might just be how she is. Again, she herself admitted to you that one of the reasons for seeking you out was this influence.¡± He raised a third. ¡°Finally, she¡¯s hungry for actual, literal power. As in, strong superpowers to kill these kaiju in her home world. She¡¯s proven time and time again that she prioritizes the lives of her people above the lives of others not under her protection and she¡¯s shown that she¡¯s more than willing to resort to violence if it means getting you back home.¡± Henry¡¯s fingers curled downwards. ¡°What¡¯s more, we have proof that she and her brother are, in fact, eugenicists. As they have been shown to want to pair up with people because of their Type.¡± ¡°Well, yeah.¡± I admitted. ¡°But only because Types are apparently inherited. At least, to some degree. It makes sense for them to act this way, given where they grew up and how much of a difference Telepaths can make.¡± ¡°No.¡± Henry said suddenly. ¡°Do not excuse that kind of behaviour Sully. Eugenicists are never, ever good people. Ever. Trust me, I know.¡± That took me by surprise. ¡°How could you know?¡± ¡°Cause one of my maternal great grandparents was a camp guard at Sobibor.¡± Henry said. ¡°Went to Argentina after the war and then moved with the family to the US and later to Canada. I mean, listen Sully; I generally love my family and I¡¯ll overlook a lot of BS on occasion, but that guy is (Cherub)ing nuts! As in, he¡¯ll sit there and say the wildest (Cherub) Whenever we were over for dinner. Stuff that sticks to me till this day! He thinks certain groups of people are evolved from jumping spiders and vampires! You cannot reason with someone who sees breeding people as the same as breeding dogs. You just can¡¯t. It¡¯s like trying to convince the ocean to turn purple with polka dots all over. You ain¡¯t gonna manage it. In their minds, people are not people. They are breeds. Extensions of their ethnic background. You cannot reason with them, because they do not see humans as proper individuals with feelings and emotions of their own. They¡¯ll drag you to the level of all the other stupids and then they¡¯ll beat you with experience. You might actually have a better chance talking to a dog than to someone who believes in eugenics. I love my grandma, but the honest truth is, her dad escaped justice. Great grandpa really should have been hanged at Nuremberg.¡± I was stunned by the revelation, but didn¡¯t think it was a fair comparison. Regardless, Henry kept talking over me. ¡°All of these are reasons for her to want Sully the Telepath, as he¡¯s a dangerous, absolutely horrifying mother(Cherub)er. However, none of these suggest that she has any inclination to care for Sully the person. The one that really, really needs care and support right now.¡± I barked out a short laugh. ¡°Come on Henry. You¡¯re starting to sound like my mother. I¡¯m not in that bad a state.¡± The bags under Henry¡¯s eyes seemed to deepen at that statement. Growing so dark as to be midnight black as his pupils retreated into the shadows of nearby buildings. It all came together to form the perfect picture of a World War 3 vet. Complete with the stereotypical thousand-yard stare. ¡°Sully.¡± He said after a pause. ¡°The children. The Solomonlings¡­. They¡¯ve been saying things. Scary things. I¡­ look. My folks have money. A lot of money. After we get back, I¡¯ll take you to see a good, reputable therapist. Someone with a lot of experience and very, very tight lips. We¡¯ll get through this together.¡± He drew in a deep, resonating breath and held it for almost a minute before letting go again. ¡°But for now, just think on what¡¯s in front of you. Figure this thing with your team out and try to keep things amicable, if you can. If you can¡¯t¡­ well. Better you than them. As for Dusty, think about yourself. What do you need in a partner right now and can she provide it?¡± I thought about it for a moment. Thinking back to Doris for half a heartbeat. Her memory was no longer painful to recall. Not after what I¡¯d done to Mason. It was as if I¡¯d put those ghosts to rest. That said, I did still miss what I had with her. The warmth of her body in the morning and the way her smile made my heart melt. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I¡­ Yes. If I was going to enter into another relationship, it would have to be similar to that. ¡°I see the gears in your head turning.¡± Henry continued. ¡°Good. Keep that up. Be selfish. For once. Don¡¯t beat yourself over the head with thoughts about what she wants. Think about what you want. You¡¯re both adults and you should be able to discuss what you expect before anything else happens. If all you want is some, companionship, that¡¯s fine. So long as she knows and she¡¯s fine with it. If you need some emotional support, tell her she needs to be there for you and she needs to listen. Really, listen. And promise her that you¡¯ll do the same in return.¡± I nodded. Somewhat taken aback by the maturity of Henry¡¯s advice. ¡°Yeah. Thanks.¡± I chuckled. ¡°When did you grow so mature?¡± ¡°When that toad-faced Intruder of yours started advocating for what he called: A benevolent dictatorship.¡± ¡°Toad-faced? I don¡¯t know that any of my Intruders are toad-faced. What does the rest of him look like?¡± Henry shuddered. ¡°Like a giant. With a red, uh, half-suit, half robe. His body is lean and muscular, but his face looks like he¡¯s morbidly obese. It¡¯s like, it¡¯s like he¡¯s not human, but is trying very hard to pretend. He says¡­ he says¡­¡± Henry¡¯s face twisted and his throat bulged, as if he was about to throw up. ¡°Dude. You really need to get all these guys under control. That one in particular sounds like a maniac and has the literal definition of crazy eyes, but he makes some really good points. It¡¯s starting to freak me out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying, Henry. I¡¯m doing all I can.¡± Henry nodded. Tightening his lips as he suddenly stiffened. His head craned upwards in a fast, jerking motion and his body swerved to the side with masterful precision. Another shower of gnomish blood landed on the spot where he¡¯d been standing moments prior. None of it landed on his shirt. This time at least. ¡°I hate how good I¡¯m getting at dodging those.¡± He grumbled under his breath. I couldn¡¯t help but smile at that. Taking the opportunity to tease him a little. ¡°I guess it¡¯s good that you¡¯re so great at dodging bird(Gnome). Must be those Enhancer powers at work.¡± ¡°(Cherub) you man.¡± He sighed. A small smile crossing his face and dispelling some of the gloom. ¡°Now run along and put those superpowers to work. I¡¯ll be here watching from the sidelines, so give me a good show.¡± ¡°You better be watching!¡± I smirked. ¡°Just you wait, Sully the hero is on the case!¡± I got up and released [Stealth III]. Allowing those inside my room to sense me once again. In truth, this whole mess with my team was the least of my problems right now, but Henry was right about one thing. Leaving the issue be wouldn¡¯t solve anything. ¡®Better to rip the bandage off now, while I still have the strength. I can tackle my other issues when I find a way to deal with them.¡¯ Two days without sleep had taken a toll already. Making me re-live those harrowing times when Bruxa and her ant riders hunted me down the Labyrinth. My whole body felt heavy. Clumsy. My eyelids feeling like they were attached to massive boulders weighing me down. Yet, I didn¡¯t dare sleep. I¡¯d tried it a few times, and encountered the same result on each occasion. The Seeking Drake was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Randall, for that matter. In their place, was the Tall Man. Sitting quietly in his bench. Waiting. I shuddered and pushed the memories out of my mind. ¡®Focus Sully. First, your team. Then, the abomination. Some answer will turn up. Eventually.¡¯ The space outside was crowded as people came and went. Muscling through each other with the spoils of their own Excursions. A sort of, marketplace had grown about our new community over the past two days. Growing more and more ever since Prudence and her team started bringing in goodies like music players or TVs and the generators to run them. It turns out a lot of people down here were starved for entertainment and would barter away thousands of Store Tokens for something to pass the time that didn¡¯t involve fighting or hunting or training. I personally thought it was a bit stupid to let one¡¯s guard down so easily but I was happy for the others. ¡®Though I guess that¡¯s not entirely fair either. I¡¯ve spent the better part of the last two days talking with Henry. With some very light experimentation sprinkled here and there. I¡¯m also indulging in my own way.¡¯ It wasn¡¯t long before I found the others after that. Monique was sitting back, her eyes smug as she leaned against a comfortable-looking armchair. It was an old thing. Half-broken and moth eaten on some spots, yet still far more accommodating than the alternatives we had on offer from Peachy. Across from her, Slab was sitting on a bench made from the bones and furs of lobster-moles. His eyes fixated on the board between them. His expression betrayed the fact that this match was lost, though his mind refused to give up. ¡®Funny how I can read that and still know nothing regarding Randall or Anezka. How are they doing it, I wonder? Is it some combination that I don¡¯t know about? Something similar to [Suppression] that also masks their own Status screens from [Insight]?¡¯ It was possible, though it did seem unlikely. Charlie and Boris¡¯s own minds were as closed off whenever the topic of the pyromaniac came up and neither were Telepaths. ¡®What then? Is it an item? A Title? Or some consumable that I¡¯m not aware of?¡¯ Too many questions. Too few answers. I kept walking over to them. Keeping an eye out for the Excursion screen as it began to settle. ¡°Hey guys.¡± I greeted them. Trying to sound as normal as possible. ¡°Ready to go out and do some good deeds?¡± Charlie shrugged without looking up from the game of cards he had with Boris, only glancing upwards as I reached them. ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. I¡¯ve been ready for a long while now. So? Did have a good talk with your¡­ Holy (Gnome)! Sully! What¡¯s wrong with your face!?¡± I drew back, startled. ¡°What? Why? What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± ¡°What do you mean, what¡¯s wrong with it? Have you looked at a mirror lately? You look like you¡¯re about to keel over dead! When was the last time you slept?¡± I made a rude noise. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know. Since before the thing with Ryan.¡± ¡°Go to bed.¡± Monique interrupted as she got up from her armchair. ¡°No.¡± I said lightly. ¡°I don¡¯t think I will.¡± ¡°Go to bed.¡± Slab repeated. ¡°Think of it as a council order. Do it. We¡¯ll manage.¡± ¡°No.¡± I repeated. With the teensiest bit of force backing up my words. The whole chamber stopped. People halting their walks and some even going so far as to drop their precious goods. A loud crash echoed behind some shelves. Proof that someone had dropped a TV. At that moment, the sounds of breathing, or rather, the lack thereof, was louder than thunder. I turned around this way and that. Looking all over the shelves. ¡°Oh, come on. Is it so weird that I want to go out and help some people?¡± ¡°No.¡± Mr. Park answered from the side. ¡°What is strange is you being so, assertive. When your team gives you good council.¡± He approached slowly. Like a circus showman approaching a lion. Not knowing whether or not the beast had been fed. ¡°You look tired, Sully. That, and times have been stressful. Why don¡¯t you call your friend on the forums? I¡¯m sure he would agree that you could use the rest.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already spoken to him.¡± I clarified. ¡°We both agreed that some exercise is exactly what I need. Preferably against monsters. I still have 51 points left to spend too. I think I¡¯ll experiment some more in open combat to figure out what¡¯s my next target for improvement.¡± Mr. Park looked worried. Very worried. Turning his eyes towards Slab in a gesture so subtle it might as well have been imperceivable for anyone who wasn¡¯t reading his mind. Slab sent him a [Message] and Mr. Park retreated. ¡°Well then. Best of luck to you all. Do remember to bring back a souvenir or two. We could use more DVDs around here. Maybe a soap opera or two. I¡¯ve always been a fan of those.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll keep an eye out.¡± I said, trying to keep the edge out of my voice. I turned my eyes to the screen and confirmed that we had all accepted the current roster once again. All save Dusty, of course.
System Excursion: Team: The Good Guys, has embarked on an Excursion. Objective: Defend the people of Hong Kong from a monster outbreak. This Excursion will be considered a failure if more than 15, 000 humans perish due to monster attacks or through the direct or indirect intervention of Team: The Good Guys. Bonus Objective: Clear the entire Island and its shoreline of monsters. Time Limit: 50 hours. Deaths: 0 / 15, 000. Excursion to Earth: TRKG 2004 is underway.
As bad as I felt, a smile still managed to creep onto my face. ¡®Finally. Another chance to go back home. And unto a broken Rift to boot. I was just saying that, but it looks like I really will get the chance to try some new things.¡¯ It didn¡¯t take long for the shimmers to take us away. When they at last receded, the five of us were left standing on a pile of debris. Probably from some unfinished construction site. At least, that¡¯s what I thought, until the pleading prayers started coming up from beneath the ground. I whirled about, taking in the shattered columns and the fact that they were bent and crooked. The steel bars within poking out from their sides like shattered bones poking out from within a broken leg. The first thing I did was reach out with my fog. Violently searching for each and every monster scampering underfoot or flying overhead. I sensed them then. Hundreds of thousands of heartbeats coming from vast swarms of winged fish leaping out from the water. They had legs, as well as wings however. Each limb ending in three toes tipped with vicious talons. Moreover, their bodies were small, but sturdy. Swooping down as they coated themselves in telekinetic energy to slash support beams and walls alike. Aiming for the soft, squishy humans taking refuge within the high-rise buildings. There were so many of them at once. An endless surge coming from the ocean. From a Rift located just beyond my senses. It was with a gasp, that I realized how much of the city had been laid to ruin already and how much more damage the fish were about to do as the school began dropping in altitude. ¡®This is an A-Rank outbreak. Maybe even an S-Rank one.¡¯ The truth was as sobering as it was infuriating. Here I was, hoping to clear up some questions with people I ultimately trusted. Gathering my nerve to talk to someone about relationship issues. All while a city bled. No more. ¡®FALL!¡¯ I commanded. Sending ripples of pure, unadulterated power through my fog. My order shaking the very foundations of the monster¡¯s minds. All the ones within the eight-kilometre radius of my fog fell. As they were bid. Their wings falling silent as gravity once again took hold. Dragging their unnatural bodies down towards the waiting earth. At the same time, voices within my fog began to fade. Minds no longer sending signals to me as some damaged structures began collapsing. The numbers on the Excursion counter began to tick up. Reaching a couple of hundred within fractions of a second. My teeth gnashed against each other as my fingers curled into fists. My knuckled turning white from the force of my grip. Rage swelled up. White hot and boiling. Sizzling the very blood within my veins. ¡®Stop breathing.¡¯ I demanded. Those fish that had fallen to [Domination] obeyed. Their throats and lungs sealing themselves shut as per my wishes. ¡°There are people trapped below!¡± I shouted at once. ¡°Slab! Boris! Start digging! Charlie! Head out west to where other buildings are crumbling and get as many people out as you can! Monique! See if you can¡¯t teleport into air pockets and get the people out that way! Cheru¡­!¡± I stopped myself. Recalling that I¡¯d left Cherub on Henry¡¯s Tutorial Instance. To keep him safe. The rest of the team was in motion as I stood there. Basking in my own ignorance and stupidity. ¡®Fool! Imbecile! That Patricia doesn¡¯t pose a threat anymore! That, and the aliens there with him know better than to mess with him by now! Fool!¡¯ I spent the Psy and felt Slasher cooing in my ears. Space and reality bending backwards as the weapon started coming back to me. At the same time, I pushed points into [Sense Thoughts]. Willing my range to grow. Chapter 70: Divided by Chaos. Chapter 70: Divided by Chaos. My ears were ringing with the sound of sirens. They told a tale as old as the Rifts themselves. A story of a city whose air defenses had come online and done (Gnome) all for the people they were supposed to protect. The aftermath was clearly visible as the wind carried clouds of dust and debris throughout the cluttered streets and over the broken lampposts. I could barely make out cries somewhere out in the distance, though they were muffled by the ever-present alarms that called for all those who lived to give up on their slower family members and dash towards one of the many bomb shelters littered underground. Not that it would help in this case. Even from here, I could make out deep holes gouged into the pavement and the re-enforced concrete below. There had been a shelter across the street from where we were. Hidden deep into the ground. However, these monsters must have had some means by which to sense the occupants and powers by which to break through the layers of solid materials. Because nothing remained but bones and even then, not a whole lot of them. The sensations were overwhelming. A chaotic mess of present and future jostling for attention. All while new thoughts flooded my own nervous system. Overpowering and paralyzing me as if every new impression was supercharged with lighting. I''d been at eight kilometers for some time. [Insight]''s title bringing [Sense Thoughts]''s effective level to 15. That had been one level shy of the third-Tier limit of 15, 16 with the Title, but I hadn''t seen the need to save up before. Now, 48 points went into the power, as my previous limit had been breached after reaching the fourth Tier. That fresh infusion brought me to level 17. 18 with the Title. With each of those levels past 15 giving me two extra kilometers instead of the previous 1 during the 10 to 15 stage. My fog expanded violently in response. Swelling to 14 kilometers. Almost twice my previous range. With the increase came new clarity. Those minds that had been at the periphery of my senses coming to the forefront of my brain with all the ferocity of a hammer blow. They buzzed and buzzed and buzzed. Incessantly screaming about their own woes. Their own fears. The rising animalistic panic that choked out all logic and reason in favor of adrenaline-fueled desperation. ''Help!'' ''My children! I need to get to my children!'' ''The building''s coming down!'' ''Get outside!'' ''Mommy! Mommy!'' There was no end to them. So many voices stuffed into such a little space. All I could see was buildings upon buildings in every direction. Each and every one was colossal to a mind-boggling degree and all of them were stuffed to the gills with people. All begging for salvation. Praying that they among all their neighbours might be spared in the coming slaughter. Worse yet, were the monsters. Those who''d been located outside my original onslaught. More of them came into focus. Their feeble, primitive brains utterly consumed by some primordial instinct. The call to rip and tear and feed. Until their bellies burst with succulent meat. [Insight] was showing me more visions. The 20 seconds it consistently afforded me suffused with carnage and sorrow. My brain struggling to keep up with all the deaths the future had in store. I grit my teeth. Not realizing I''d bitten deep into my own tongue as all my attention fled from my body. ''Suffer me now!'' I demanded. Stopping the feeding frenzy before it had a chance to flay other buildings. ''Hunt your kin! Bleed for me! Die for me! Devour any who aren''t under my control! Do not touch the buildings! Do not touch the humans! Fight with everything you have and more! Go!'' The monstrous winged fish scattered in all directions. Flying past the new borders of my fog with an alacrity that beggared belief. It wasn''t enough. Too many buildings had suffered too much damage before we came and their structures were still swaying in response to the high winds. I called on [Insight] once more and saw the ruins they would soon become. And the bodies. So many bodies. Whatever small shred of hesitation I might have had vanished with those visions. This was just like that time with the fire and the people I couldn¡¯t get to. There was no time for moral panic when lives were at stake. ''Get out!'' I commanded. ''Leave your things! Take your children! Help your neighbors if they can''t move! Get the (Gnome) out! Now!'' At any other time, the idea of mind-controlling hundreds of thousands of people at once would have been unthinkable. Utterly reprehensible. The current me was beyond caring. Sure enough, all the people around me continued to panic. But they moved and that was all I cared about right now. At the same time, Charlie was running headfirst into teetering buildings. Focusing on the ones that looked as if they were about to collapse and rushing back out with kids or seniors around his arms. On their end, Boris and Slab had stopped digging. Opting instead to go north and south respectively in order to emulate Charlie and save as many people as possible from the worst of the disasters. Slab notified me through a [Message] before he ran past the point where I was in his own range. Boris didn''t even bother saying anything. Trusting that I was reading his mind and therefore knew he conclusion he had arrived at. That is, the one regarding those below ground. Terrible as their situation was, those below were at least protected from further monster attacks and most would probably be able to last another couple of hours. While those still above ground didn''t have such luxuries, as hundreds could die if they were still trapped when their buildings gave out. It was a cold, ruthless way of looking at things. And yet, peering into the future told me they were completely right to do so. I started heaving. My arms and legs shivering as I finally became aware of the blood in my mouth. My eyes turned to Monique. Seeing that she had opened a portal and had gotten three people through. They''d been the worst off of those trapped below and she now began to bandage their wounds whilst calling for Boris. "Hey! Get the (Gnome) back here you mutt! These people are bleeding out! Oi!" "It''s no use." I said wearily. "Here. I''ll use my hums." "That won''t be enough! These people are bleeding out!" "I know. But it''s all I can for them right now. I still need to worry about the rest of the city." My eyes snapped to my hand, right as Slasher materialized with Cherub in tow. "Cherub, use your attunement abilities and get a grip on the nearby buildings. Bind your Psy to the concrete and keep them steady until everyone is out. Once a building is clear, you can let it fall, but only in ways that won''t hurt other people. Psy is no issue, you can take as much as you need." ''Understood!'' Cherub cheered. ''I''ll just ask Slasher to open a big hole in the veil so I can work more easily. I''ll also ask some of my new friends to come through and...'' "NO!" I roared. Not caring about what anyone else might make of a loon in an astronaut suit shouting at his sword. "You will not bring those things into my world!" Blood trickled down my lips and onto Buddy''s interior. The crimson droplet feeling warm as it flowed down the exterior of my cheek. ''Okay! Okay! Jeez. I was just saying. Those guys love helping people so I just thought...'' "No." I repeated. "Now get to it." I made sure to see him off as his luminescent body formed from within the sword. Resplendent wings taking shape before beating as one and lifting the ethereal Intruder into the skies. My attention shifted to Slasher. "You mentioned that [Portal Network III] has no cooldown right?" ''Right!'' The sword chirruped. Giggling to itself in that slow, feminine tone of hers. "Good. Start scouring all the nearby buildings for people and portal them here to us. Start with the ones that have taken the most damage and move on to the others from there." ''Um. That''s going to be a little tough daddy. My range isn''t as big as yours and I can''t fly without Cherub being inside me. [Mindscape II] gives me 500 meters per level at levels 1 through 5. That means my current range is two and a half kilometers. I can get the people of these few blocks to safety but the others further away are going to be impossible.'' "That''s fine. Do the ones you can for now and portal me from block to block as soon as we''re done. Don''t worry about Psy. I''ll give you as much as you need." I turned to Monique. "I''m going to start bringing people here. I need you to calm them down as soon as I do and to perform first-aid on those that need it. It should only take a few minutes. I''ll gather a big group and then I''ll blast them with [Insight]." Her eyes went wide but I raised a hand to forestall her protests. "You''re right that my hums aren''t enough. These guys you brought need healing and they need it right now. If we get a big enough group, chances are at least one or two will be Shifters. I plan to give them a generous blast, so chances are also good we''ll get a few decent healers out of the whole affair. That''ll also have the added benefit of giving these guys a fighting chance while I''m gone. Hong Kong is massive and even with my new range, covering the whole city will take a lot of teleportation. Somehow, I doubt this is the only part of the city being eaten alive by monsters. We have to help the others too." A loud rumbling could be heard out in the distance. Far beyond my sight or the range of my fog. I didn''t have any way of knowing what had happened. That is, aside from seeing the rising numbers on the victim counter. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. I gnashed my teeth tightly against each other. Clenching them so hard I thought my molars might shatter. My mind was being pulled in a thousand different directions at once. Struggling to keep up with all the people I''d ordered to evacuate whilst guiding them down to the pile of rubble we were standing on. They were streaming over to us even now. Hurrying with a near-perfect coordination despite the large numbers converging into the roads. In any other disaster, several lives would have been lost to accidents as the weak, the uncoordinated or the unlucky tripped. Leading them to be trampled underfoot by the growing horde of braying, praying people as they sought their own salvation. I mean, (Gnome). People still died on Black Friday every year. Compared to that, this situation was on a whole different level. However, my [Domination] kept them neat and organized. Each step falling exactly where it was supposed to so that the crowd made its way closer and closer without sacrificing any of its members. Charlie, Slab and Boris had started counting on this fact as well. Dropping their charges off on lower floors and leaving them in the care of the people under my sway. ''This is good. This is a good thing. I''m not doing anything wrong. My control is saving thousands of lives.'' I winced as another wave of monsters entered my fog from the east. Almost half a million in number and with a hunger that beggared belief. I [Dominated] them as well and for the first time in a long time, the effort nearly swept me off my feet. There were just so (Gnome)ing many of them. All a storm of flesh and fangs and claws. Each and every one of them bursting with an evil, terrible hunger for meat. Their fervor penetrated deep into me. The sheer weight of their emotions wrapping itself around me from all sides and tightening like a snake. It felt as though my lake was full of piranhas. Their jaws closing around my strings with wild abandon. Their primitive, diminutive minds relishing the chance to torment me even as I crushed their wills beneath mine. At that same time, the very people I was trying to save rebelled against me within the confines of their own brains. Their egos wailing in the deepest pits of despair as I ushered them towards salvation. They wept and pleaded and cursed. Begging me to release them. Begging me to take their neighbors instead of them. Begging me to take them instead of their lovers or their children. ''Stop crying!'' I [Messaged]. ''I''m doing this for your own good! I''m trying to save your lives! I have to do this or else you''ll scramble around aimlessly and get yourselves or others killed! Let me help!'' But the pleading and the cursing did not stop. If anything, it redoubled in intensity. A melancholic chorus spreading all around my psionic senses and congealing with the bestial instincts of the abominations that would eat them alive. The chanting rose in pitch and volume. Until It brought me to my knees as innumerable beings sought my damnation even as their bodies moved in accordance to my whims. It was all so... So... Familiar. As if this exact thing had happened before. I saw flashes then. Dreadful images of a white suit amidst a sea of boiling, smoking tar. Eyes that were closed, yet weeping blood. I saw it floating above a roiling sea as torrential waters swallowed entire buildings whole. I saw it ushering uncountable masses to my side. I saw it dancing on a field of fire. And then, I saw other things. An ice-cream truck. A friend of my mother. A group of men gathered around a basement. I hurled and saw that my blood was starting to float back up. In defiance of gravity. I sharpened my focus, calling on every last vestige of self control I had left and willing [Overwhelming Avatar] to repair the veil again. To keep the horrific thing trapped on the other side. "Sully! Are you okay!?" My eyes turned back to Monique. My resolve hardening further as I saw the look on her and the other survivor''s faces. "I''m fine." I lied through my teeth. "This isn''t up for discussion Monique. I''m giving these people powers and that''s that. Whatever you might think of my methods, I''m doing this to save as many lives as possible. So get to explaining and to helping and leave the recriminations for later." Monique looked affronted by my harsh tone, but nodded all the same. At the same time, multiple portals were opening and closing. Dropping off the feeble and the infirm masses down on our location. There had been hundreds within a dozen seconds and now there were thousands. Hundreds of thousands if one counted the colossal mass of humanity rushing towards us on foot from all the people I ordered out of their homes. Monique got to work. Shouting at the top of her lungs and explaining how a whole lot of them were about to get powers and that any and all healers should step forward. ''Slasher. Rescue the people trapped below us as soon as you''re done with all the buildings in your range.'' I ordered. ''Understood.'' The weapon answered. I tried to stand, but found myself unable. The resonating backlash from all those rebellious minds pushing back against me. That backlash worsened when yet another (Gnome)ing wave of monsters came over and tried to make a beeline for the sweet, sweet meat standing there on the street. Their near-perfect vision seeing us all as a delicious all-you-can-eat buffet from outside my current range. Never mind the fact that their brethren were actively savaging those that were not under my influence. That was but an afterthought. A mere curiosity. Their wanton bloodlust was their undoing as they passed the threshold into my fog. Their muscles seizing up as I bore down on them with a wrath and brutality that surprised even me. ''Kill the monsters.'' I hissed into their craniums. ''Do not suffer them to live.'' They had no choice but to obey. Yet their fratricidal hunting wasn''t yielding the results I''d been expecting. There were simply too many of them. With their feeble brains recalling even more waiting to cross over into my world from a Rift hidden beneath the waves. To make matters even worse, not all of them were lunging at me. Some were still branching off the main swarms and heading for the ravaged buildings standing between us and the sea. No doubt entering those buildings that had been raided before me and my team were beamed here. ''How many died before we got here?'' I thought bitterly. ''How many buildings were felled? How many innocent lives were snuffed out?'' It was impossible to say. My current range stretched well beyond what my eyes could see, yet I could not help but notice how all the buildings to the east were in a much worse shape than the rest. How few lives could be found there and how only a small fraction of those lives were capable of moving by themselves. At that moment, a small shiver travelled up my spine. Distinctly different from those that had come before. There was something fundamentally wrong about this whole situation. Beyond the obvious tragedy of all those lives that had been lost. Some factor wasn''t adding up, but I couldn''t quite put it into words. I started to feel a deep drain from Cherub as he allowed some nearby buildings to crumble. Making their exteriors endure as their interior floors fell towards the earth, before then toppling the walls in such a way that they did not impede the humans streaming down the streets outside. My Psy was streaming towards him and towards the rest of my team by way of [Team Spirit] as they used active boosts to move faster. Everything seemed like it was going according to plan. That, despite how abhorrent the situation was, things were going as well as we could have hoped for. But I still couldn''t shake that feeling of disquiet. Even as I tried to pin it down with [Insight]. The visions showed me where to go next in order to do the most good. Telling me that the best course of action would be to intercept the hordes coming from the east while Monique took Slasher and used her to teleport around and get survivors off buildings. It was a good plan. One that made sense and had a high likelihood of success. And yet, that feeling kept sneaking its way into my plans. Worming its way out of my subconscious. There was a piece missing from this puzzle and I couldn''t see it. ''Sully? I finished bringing everyone up from below. The rest are dead.'' Slasher''s declaration felt like a stallion''s kick. One that brought fresh tears to my eyes. I pushed them down, along with my apprehension, and stood on unsteady legs. Swallowing a lump in my throat as I forced myself upright. I staggered to the side and felt Buddy''s mounting worry through our connection. ''I''m fine Buddy.'' I lied again. So blatantly that it was almost humorous. My gaze fell upon the throngs of people. Clumped together as far as my eyes could see. There were so many of them now. All gathered around me and Monique. Standing silently amidst the ruins of their city. Well, their mouths were silent, at least. Their brains were crying out constantly. Still pleading. Still begging. Still convinced that death was preferable to whatever I was about to do. I considered what to say to them. Using [Insight] to see which speech would turn out best. No good. These people were in no mood to hear out a Telepath. Especially one that had just finished marching them out of their homes like puppets on invisible strings. All I could hope for was a speech that didn''t end with them wanting to bash my skull in with an errant rock. Now, this wouldn''t have bothered me in the slightest under normal circumstances, except there was a literal doomsday event happening around us and their accusations were really wearing me down. Not to mention all the possible futures I was seeing where a good half of them decided to try and do their very best to kill me, despite the literal monsters at their doorstep. It wouldn''t have worked, but I''d be forced to keep controlling them to get them out of the way. Wasting precious time and stamina that I could be using to save their fellow citizens. Unless... I steadied myself. Pushing desperately against the incessant hunger of the monsters flying in and out of my fog and readied myself to speak. "Good people of Hong Kong! Me and my team have come to save you!" They answered me by thinking up a wide and rather creative variety of insults. Aimed at my own person, my physical appearance and my ancestors. Together with more begging of course. "But! I also know nothing I say right now will convince you! That''s fine by me! Instead, I''m going to share my memories of the last couple of months! With the caveat that my name, appearance and any and all identifying factors for me and all my fellow survivors will be edited out! After that! You''ll all be getting powers! No! I am not (Gnome)ing with you! No need to think such things about my mother! Okay! Enough! Here goes!" I used [Suppression] on all of them. The cost in Psy having been removed by them being under the influence of [Domination]. The effect my powers had on the crowd was palpable, as their minds shut down for a few, precious seconds. It also resulted in me gaining a few levels, as several abilities surged with newfound vigor.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 18 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 19
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 12 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 13
I was still reeling from the notifications, when Monique took me by the arm. "What were you thinking!? Giving a bunch of randos your memories!? Why would you even think of doing that!?¡± "Relax. I have it all under control." "How is this situation under control!?" She hissed. Baring her teeth as her eyes narrowed to a dangerous degree. "Because, Monique, it all fits now. I''ve taken care of multiple problems with one stroke. Now all them know about the Labyrinth and about the System Excursions. More importantly, they know that I am here for two reasons. One, because I genuinely want to help and two, because the System is making me help. Even if they don''t trust me, they''ll know that I''m here on contract with a force much greater than mine." Another wave of monsters crashed against my fog. Nearly bringing me back down even as I sent out orders for these new minions to attack their own. I got another few levels and more range to boot. My 14 kilometers growing to 16 and then to 18 at a stroke.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Sense Thoughts] 17 has grown to [Sense Thoughts] 19
I resisted the urge to throw up again and turned back to Monique. "Besides, the gnomes are coming to my world. I saw it in a vision. Together with the Drake. I... I didn''t know how I was going to warn my earth in a way that they''d have to take seriously, but this is as good as answer as I could have hoped for. So many people getting powers is something they won''t be able to ignore. No matter what else might be going on." I staggered back, but caught myself just in time. My skull pounding as if some gorilla was beating it with drumsticks. I turned my head to the crowd and opened my eyes wide. Allowing [Insight] to wash over them. Psy drained out of me in droves. Monumental torrents suffusing everyone within my field of vision with newfound might. I allowed it to continue until I was at roughly 20%. Saving the last bits of might so that I could continue feeding Slasher and Cherub before I handed them over to Monique. While they''d remained standing after [Suppression], this was a whole other kind of force. Their very beings awakening to a strength they''d never known before. Almost all of them collapsed into one big, collective heap. But that was fine. The visions told me it would be fine. These ones had been saved. For now, at least. And the counter on my screen had stopped ticking upwards too. Signaling that all our efforts had not been in vain. "There. That should do it." I wheezed. Smiling as a few of them began to regain consciousness. "The heroes of earth will know about Periwig now. They''ll know about the coming threat and the existence of other earths." I chuckled, in spite of all the horrors assaulting my mind as more monsters came under my influence. "Who knows? I gave these guys a good dose of Psy. A lot of them might go pro-hero and help when the time co..." I stopped dead in my tracks. Suddenly aware of that ill feeling once again. "Sully? Sully, are you okay?" Monique asked. Her previous anger turning to concern as my eyes glazed over. "It''s the heroes Monique." I said absentmindedly. Dread creeping up my spine with far more potency than before. "What about them?" She asked. My eyes met hers. "None of them are here." I waved to show the complete and utter devastation of a major metropolis. "This is an S-Rank disaster. One that''s getting worse by the minute." I tried to swallow, but found my throat bone-dry. "And none of the heroes are here to help. Not a single one." A sound could be heard out in the distance. Not the dull collapsing of a building, but a deeper, more resonating boom. The telltale roar, of a kaiju. Chapter 71: The Ruinous Powers. Chapter 71: The Ruinous Powers. The sirens had been ringing non-stop for minutes now. Their cries piercing through air and stone alike. They were so loud that I had to actively resist the temptation to bring my hands up to my ears. Despite the very real need to keep them at the ready, in case one or more of the monsters decided they wanted seconds. The sounds of chewing were being muffled out somewhat by this point, though not enough for me to ignore them. ''Stupid.'' I thought to myself. ''So very stupid. Every single one of my teachers had droned on and on and on about the need to be ready. To always be prepared for an attack. Years upon years of keeping my knives close at hand, only to leave them home right before a fucking Rift broke open.'' That notion brought on a fresh wave of spite from the bottom of my heart. Every nation under the sway of the United Militaries should have been contributing S-Ranks and A-Ranks to the interception efforts. Instead, what we got was a measly ten A-Ranks. Six of whom were from the surrounding countries. That and all the B-Ranks the mainland could spare on short notice. All because some idiots had started admitting to a bunch of crimes and killing off the ultra-wealthy on the other side of the globe. Teleporting in and out of mansions with impunity and running circles around all the subjugation attempts. It had been hilarious a week ago. Now, not so much. ''Shit! It''s not like they''re doing anything that bad! Those S-Ranks live like kings on taxpayer dime so they should be out here helping to stop the literal end of the world! Those billionaires have enough money for private security anyway! They don''t need S-Rank bodyguards!'' There had to be more to that story. I just knew it. But the facts remained the same. The only jackasses strong enough to help were sitting on their assess while the rest of us were stuck dealing with the fallout. The lights were beginning to sputter as the building continued to shake. The ornately decorated lanterns falling down unto the floor one after the other. Crashing and breaking like so much cheap nonsense while the feathered fish feasted. Their talons digging into shoulders and bellies. Disemboweling would-be heroes by the score. Even then, there were those who were stupid enough to fight back. Picking up chairs or broken table legs or even the odd kitchen knife taken from the kitchen and brandishing them in defence of their lovers, their children or their parents. Not me. I stayed put beneath the table, as the monsters ate the woman. Her dress had been as elegant as her makeup had been exquisite. The telltale sign of a fan looking to spend one night with the target of her infatuation. Her eyes had shone like diamonds as we walked through the restaurant. Sparkling with mischief as she made sure that all the other patrons could see her moving with her arms wrapped around those of a hero. That had been a special moment to her. One that she would surely have relished for the rest of her life. She probably had fantasies of meeting with me again. Perhaps even becoming my wife at some point. It was a game me and my team members liked to play on occasion. Seeing how far we could take things without our dates realizing that we hadn''t bothered to learn their names. Now, those eyes were empty and hollow. Looking my way without actually seeing me, as the winged fish tore chunks of flesh from her midsection. I could feel them digging into me. Penetrating my very being with scathing accusations. Asking me why. ''Because I''m only C-Rank! You stupid bimbo!'' I cursed internally. ''My one and only trick is phasing through stuff! You should have run like your life depended on it when I killed the first two! Because it did!'' The power had been enough to get me classified as a high-C. Almost on the verge of being B-Rank. It was excellent for killing lone villains or big alpha monsters roaming around. Especially with the stealth suit, as they hardly ever saw me coming. ''But it''s a hungry little thing and I''ll keel right over if I extend myself too much. I had no choice! This is your fault! I told you to run!'' Instead, the vapid cow had glued herself to me. As if my one power didn''t rely on sneaky takedowns! As if I wasn''t a squishy Projector who''d die in one hit! ''Stupid. How could someone from such a good family and with so many degrees be so fucking stupid?'' I resisted the urge to click my tongue as those eyes kept looking my way. Almost as if they were following me beyond death. Accusing me of something. ''This wasn''t my fault you simpering fool! Blame the S-Ranks for not being here when they were finally needed! Blame yourself for having the survival instincts of a lobotomized hamster! Blame your socialite parents for never teaching you to cut and run the second monsters show up!'' Yes. That was it. It wasn''t me that was in the wrong. It was her parents and her mouth-breathing teachers and her brain-dead friends. They were undoubtedly the kind of people who saw John Gardens'' movies and thought to themselves that they''d be able to foil the bad guy''s evil ploy by doing a triple summersault and punching them in the face. In other words, imbeciles. The kind were destined to subtract themselves from the gene pool sooner, rather than later. One couldn''t afford to be like that where I was from. The day you lost your fear was the day some gang member took you for your organs. You had to be quick. You had to be ruthless. You had to be hard and cold enough to leave friends behind if they were slowing you down. If you weren''t... well. There had been a lot of missing kids in those slums. Getting powers at twelve had been my ticket out. My one chance at the good life. But no one had handed it to me on silver platter. I had to bite, claw and bludgeon my way to the top of my class just to have shot at greatness. I bled for all the fame I had. I trained until my muscles screamed and my bones cracked. I even suffered through the meetings with the assholes at marketing and allowed them to call me the edgiest name imaginable. There was no way I was going to put all that work, all that effort, to waste. Not by throwing my life away. No sir. Shadowblade was going to live long enough to retire, thank you very much. Another body fell in front of me. A man, this time. Plopping down onto the food-covered floor with all his luxurious fineries. ''That suit was probably worth more than the hut I grew up in.'' I thought absentmindedly. Now it was thoroughly stained with a mixture of wet noodles, spilled soup and oozing blood. It''s owner''s eyes staring at me with an expression of shocked disbelief. As if the fool had died thinking he, of all people, was going to make a difference. It took all the effort I could muster to keep myself from spitting at him. At the lingering defiance in his expression. My fists clenched and I found myself retreating deeper into my own mind. Seeking refuge in my training. To the point where I could hear my teacher''s voice inside my own head again. That slow, flat tone devoid of rage or love or anything else that might make someone human. ''Blot out the world. Push away all emotion. Kill the child within you, so that the man may live.'' I did so. Following his teachings like the good little student I was. My heartbeat began to slow down, as my mind became clear. My senses spreading out and analyzing my surroundings. ''Thirteen monsters within my field of vision. Roughly two-dozen in total, if the sounds are any indication. None are actively following the servers or waitstaff that fled down the halls. Likely not seeking to hunt once they''ve felled prey. Limited intelligence, since me killing two didn''t deter the rest, and they didn''t bother chasing me once they found easier targets. Estimated power level is mid-C. Estimated danger level of the individual is low-C to high-D. Estimated danger level in swarms is high-C. Enhancer abilities confirmed given how their claws go through furniture. Possible Shifter or Projector abilities on top of that. Some advanced sensory abilities to locate prey hiding behind walls from the outside, but not enough intelligence to keep using them once they begin to feed. None are actively seeking me out right now, despite the table and the tablecloth offering less cover than the walls outside. Sensory abilities might be active and draining, instead of passive. More observation is required.'' My eyes went from the dead man''s face, to the far side of the restaurant. Where deep holes had been gouged out of the walls. The patterns did not suggest direct penetration caused by the impact of Enhanced bodies on re-enforced concrete. Rather, they more closely resembled the marks left behind by industrial drills. ''Projectors then. Localized telekinetic fields around themselves to burrow into buildings or penetrate the defences of bigger prey. They can rotate them to swim right through concrete. The shields are not constant or else they would have intercepted my phasing powers. They also don''t have access to more flexible uses of Telekinesis, or else they would use it more actively while hunting. Amend evaluation to high-C. Possibly mid-B while in a swarm. Best counter would be Pyrokinesis, Electrokinesis, Cryokinesis, sonic grenades, cluster bombs or wide-range Telepathic assaults.'' I nodded slowly to myself. That was good enough for the time being. I still couldn''t retreat below the floor due to the sounds of slaughter coming from below, but those would soon turn into the sounds of feasting. If the sensory abilities were indeed active, the monsters could be caught unawares. All it would take was a little bit of patience on my end and I could kill a few whilst they ripped into some banker. Not having my tools was a shame, but I could still count on my own hands, so long as I had the element of surprise. Going in and ripping organs out was dirty, risky work, but it would have to do. My breathing steadied even further as my muscles tensed and untensed. My body readying itself to strike as if I were a coiled viper. Only for my senses to pick up on the sounds around me. Or rather, the lack thereof. The sirens were still howling and some plates were still crashing down onto the floor here and there, but the sounds of chewing were no longer present. I froze in place. Wondering if these things had some kind of Telepathic potential after all. Until the beasts screeched as one and flew out of the building. I gaped. Not quite able to believe what had happened. ''Is it some social instinct? Some signal they all follow before scampering off?'' No. That didn''t make any sense whatsoever. Monsters never retreated unless they were actively being attacked. Even then, they''d do everything in their power to take their meals with them before fleeing. Unless... ''Unless they''re some kind of alpha leading the way. A queen or king that sent out Telepathic or bio-chemical signals to control the horde.'' That was a dreadful possibility. It would mean that these things would be able to coordinate enough to carry out rudimentary tactics, so long as their leader or leaders were still alive. It would mean that they''d learn and adapt their behaviours in accordance to the opposition they faced. It would mean that they''d re-focus their efforts to remove any opposition right now, in order to feast in peace later. ''Right then. Time to find myself a speedboat and sail right on out of here.'' I was about to do just that, when something curious happened. I tried to move my arms, but found them stiff and uncooperative. Until they weren''t. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. I was crawling out from under the table. Without meaning to. Then I was getting on my feet and sprinting towards the stairs. Again, without meaning to. Then I was screaming. Moving the only muscles still under my control to express a teensy, tiny fraction of the sheer fucking terror pumping through my veins right now. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!! PLEASE NOOOO!!!!!!! NOOOO!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" It felt as tough I were a passenger in my own body. Forced to watch as it made movements that were not my own. All of my muscles and all of my bones shifting in concert without any input on my part. I tried to twist my head, to strike some obstacle with my skull in hopes that it might be enough to dispel the subjugation. But I couldn''t reach. I couldn''t make it stop. I couldn''t do anything. My legs were moving and I wasn''t able to do anything about it. ''No! No! This is not how it ends! This can''t be how it ends! I''ve come too far! Sacrificed too much! It can''t end like this!'' I could already picture it. My body becoming a plaything for some fucking pervert who''d chosen this night of all nights to come out of hiding. If it even was a person at all. If, by some happenstance, it was a monster controlling me.... "HEEEEEEEELP!!!!! HEEEEEEEELP!!!!! I DON''T WANNA DIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" I ran and ran and ran. Moving like a puppet on strings. My body dashing downwards in spite of my desperate resistance. Then I was out on the streets. Surrounded by hordes of humans, all moving in the same direction I was. There must have been hundreds of thousands there. Maybe even millions. All those people who''d survived the monsters coming out and marching in lock-step to the whims of an unseen horror. I looked up, trying to search for another hero. Anyone who might still be out there helping with the rescue efforts and who might be able to intervene. That''s when I saw the vast, seemingly endless swarms of winged fish. Tearing each other to fucking pieces off in the distance. Their vicious melee causing chunks of despoiled flesh and bone to fall down towards the pavement. Their bloody remains rupturing upon impact like ripened melons. ''Not a monster then. No. This was all being done by a person. A Telepath. One powerful enough to dominate an entire S-Rank Rift''s worth of monster and all the civilians of Hong Kong besides.'' I faintly recalled the latest population figures. The city had been one of the few places in Asia not impacted by the war. So that its population had remained somewhat consistent over the decades. Right now, it was something along the lines of seven million people. I craned my neck up once more. To see the unfolding carnage as monster fought monster. Then I looked around myself. Taking in the streets filled with corpses and turned over cars. Noting the way those very roads were filled to bursting with pedestrians marching in perfect unison, so that no one was trampled underfoot despite our speed and the weight of our numbers. One person had done this. Just one. My mind raced over the possibilities, until at last it landed on one, sickening fact. Eclipse, one of the supervillains responsible for WW3 had been an S-Rank. And they had never been caught. "HEEEEEEEELP!!!!! HEEEEEEEELP!!!!! I DON''T WANNA BE A SLAAAVEEEEE!!!!!!! HEEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!!!!!!!" Other people were screaming too. Wailing with every ounce of their strength. Some promised money. Others political favours. A few here and there promised houses or jewels. Fast cars and luxury yachts. They kept moving all the same. Weeping and snivelling without end. Just, like, me. We were made to move through it all. Our new master not caring about what any of us had to say. ''Why did this have to happen to me? Why now? Is it because of the Rift? Did Eclipse think that all the heroes were dead?'' If so, then there was still hope. Someone would notice eventually. Someone would send word to the other S-Ranks around the globe. I mean, sure. They hadn''t moved when the whole city had been in danger, but this was an S-Rank Telepath we were talking about. The whole world was at stake. Surely, something would be done. Surely the United Militaries wouldn''t sit idly by while another World War unfolded. Surely they were drafting up a plan even now! That''s when I recalled what happened the last time Eclipse enslaved a population center. The last time the leaders of the world had feared that humanity at large might be enslaved. The then United Nations had been unable to pinpoint the location of the mastermind due to the sheer amount of people they''d dominated. And so the French had launched their nukes. Reasoning that it would be kinder to kill billions rather than allowing the whole world to fall. I looked up at the sky once more and then all around me. And I could no longer contain the truth. ''I''m going to die. All of us are going to die. The United Militaries will realize what''s going on and nuke this whole island off the face of the earth.'' I could not even muster the strength to scream anymore. Instead, I wept. Choking back bitter tears as I thought back to the woman in the restaurant. At how she had clung to me. To hope. Her efforts had seemed to stupid at the time. So irrational. Yet I could not stop myself from following in her footsteps. My brain desperately clinging on to any scrap of hope. And coming up short. ''I''m sorry. I''m so, so sorry. I didn''t mean to. I was scared. Please don''t hate me. Please don''t haunt me. Please forgive me, if we ever see each other on the other side.'' I''d always thought of religion as just another way to control the fools in the working class, but I found myself praying now. Begging with all the energy I could muster that whatever calamity was unfolding would pass me by. Conjuring half-forgotten prayers my mother had taught me, before she left us forever. ''Please, if you''re listening. Please don''t let me die. I don''t want to die. Please, save me. I don''t care if everyone else dies, but please save me. I''ve tried so hard. I''ve fought for so long. Please. Don''t let this be my fate. Please show me a way out.'' But no one answered my prayers. No one came. We were forced to keep moving. Keep marching towards some pile of rubble. And there I saw them. A man dressed in a red astronaut costume and a woman covered head to toe in painted paramilitary gear. Tinted visors blocked off their faces, but I had no doubt that they were both smiling maliciously. ''One of them has to be Eclipse, but who''s the other one?'' The man was saying something, but I was too far away to hear him. Then, I felt as though a pro-wrestler had hit me over the head with a brick. My vision blurring as memories came unbidden. Not with faces or with names or with any other identifying events. But with inescapable, unrelenting torment. There was the cave, the bugs, the mushrooms, the centipede, the vines, the poison, the stream, the deaths, the swarms, the status, the fog, the bolts, the fever, the illusions, the resolve, the traps, the eels, the cleaver, the bunny suit, the shotgun, the strike, the wrath, the mole, the knight and [Precognition]. Sweet merciful Buddha, the fucking [Precognition]! I tried to scream but could not manage to move my mouth. I tried to plead, but the words died in my throat. In the distance, a voice could be heard. A drunken, slurred chant echoing in the void. ¡°Star and Moon. Strength and Chariot. The Hanged Man! The Emperor is the Fool. He dances with a paper crown and the bells in his motley jingle to mark his passing! The Empress is under the sea! Upside down where the Sun can¡¯t reach! Her face is black and blue!¡± ¡°Fat birds are playing in the snow! Hiding a fox under their skirts! The Magician slays the dragon with her silver wand! Men cheer and Women weep! Her armor glitters and sparkles! The chains! Oh, the chains! They strangle me! They strangle you! But are they touching us?¡± ¡°Under the sea and over the stars. A thousand maggots slither. They grow big and they grow fat, before the great corpse withers.¡± ¡°Juices fall and juices rise, dancing to the beat. Yet none will stay and none will sing, all will turn to meat.¡± ¡°He comes and she comes after, burning with a vengeance. He will die and she will smile, passing down her sentence.¡± ¡°The spider looks, the spider sees, everywhere and nowhere. It is there and it is here, watching from the corner.¡± ¡°I see you. I know you. You cannot escape. None can run and none can hide from the Coffin or the Drake.¡± ¡°The shadows come to play and sing and dance. They stroll about the cobweb, tearing its expanse.¡± ¡°The mirror cannot hold. The mirror cannot stay. The shards of glass will all fly out and blind those in the way.¡± ¡°The Coffin is still empty, very musty and very cold. Its owner hides behind the veil, eyes glittering with gold.¡± ¡°The Drake is loud and furious. Terrible in wrath. Its tendrils invite horrid doom to all within its path.¡± ¡°The butcher will come! With fire and sword! To cast you out of your homes and burn all that you hold dear! But I won¡¯t be here! You¡¯ll have driven me away! You¡¯ll have no one to defend you! No one!¡± ¡°You are all blind! Your eyes are yet to open! See the world now! See it through my eyes! Feel it through my blood!¡± "Under solid Earth! Under boiling Seas! Under burning Skies!" ''It hurts! It hurts! It hurts too much! I was wrong! Kill me! Kill me! Make it stop! Somebody make it stop!'' But it didn''t stop. There was the lure, the snails, the pumas, the bridge, the seahorses, the fall, the plants, the tree, the thing that turned into the suit! I could feel it! Wrapping itself around me and slithering its way into my pores! Into my bloodstream! There was the calm, the madman, the diary, the cold, the drones, the nightmare, the water, the leviathan, the deluge, the gnomes! The gnomes! The gnomes! Dear (Gnome)ing Buddha the mother(Gnome)ing gnomes! Then came the saving and the speech and the.... I hurled. My mouth releasing the contents of my stomach even as my body remined frozen. I saw the gnome. Periwig. Burning my world to ash. I saw that no one but this monster, this Tyrant, could hope to match his forces. I saw the end and the death. And the angel, with three heads.
The office was buzzing with activity. Hundreds upon hundreds of useless fucking layabouts in suits worth more than their miserable lives coming and going like bees near a hive. ''No. That''s not a very apt description.'' I thought bitterly. ''Bees actually do something.'' I felt the weariness of all my years weighing down my bones. My body aching for rest, for a good night''s sleep, for my thrice-dammed pills. But those were luxuries I couldn''t afford. There were maybe six or seven people in this entire building that actually knew how to do their jobs. Including myself. If I left, the chances of getting any help to Hong Kong would go from near-zero, to well below zero. So, I swiped another mug of coffee and began giving orders. "I want a direct line to general Lemay." I told one of the nameless aides meandering about. "S, sorry director Carter. The general has explicitly stated that he is not to be disturbed at this hour." I whirled about. Desperately suppressing the impulse to smash his teeth in with the mug. "I don''t care that he''s doing his mistresses Dingleberry! I want him on the line now!" "It''s, actually Desmond Perry sir." I stared at him. Not saying anything while everyone else was about like a bunch of headless chickens. "Dingleberry." I finally managed. "I continue to suffer your mouth-breathing imbecility only because all my direct superiors forced me to take you on as an aide. I know your mother got you this job. I know exactly who she bribed and how much she paid each representative. I even know that she has delusions that you are not, in fact, as capable as a senile chipmunk and that you''ve somehow convinced her that you are my successor." I approached him. Keeping my posture straight and my eyes hard. "Now, in case you haven''t noticed, there is a literal apocalypse taking the eastern hemisphere by storm. All while the general responsible for managing the entire world''s S-Rank assets is off buggering a couple of twenty-somethings. I know that our official line will have to go through his receptionist and I know she will do jack-all. I also know you have a direct line to him while I don''t. I know this because he is friends with your mommy and daddy. This was the main reason why you haven''t mysteriously disappeared while on assignment. Yet." I made sure to pronounce that last word with all the gravity I could muster. So that even this cretin understood his position. "You will use this personal line now. Or I will personally see to it that the waste of skin known as Desmond Perry suffers an unfortunate head injury due to driving under the influence. I promise you. With the spectres of my missing family as my witness, that no one will suspect a thing." In another time, these threats might have been uncalled for. Especially with Dingleberry''s particular backing. My words could have endangered my family. His backers could have used them against me. But all of them were gone. And I had nothing left to lose. I kept approaching. Until he stumbled backwards and tripped like some drunken clown. "Now. Call." He did as I bade him. Simpering sobs escaping his lips as his hands trembled. The sight made me sick to my stomach. ''How is it that my son and his wife are missing and presumed dead, while this fool draws breath? How is it that my grandson is gone when this wretch gets to live?'' It was the very height of unfairness. But then again, when had the world ever been fair? The phone in his hands rang. Once, twice, and then general Lemay picked up. His voice betraying the fact that he had been drinking. I swiped the device and spoke loudly and slowly. "The situation in Hong Kong has deteriorated. The Rift has opened up. The assets are dead or missing. Local air defences have failed. Local resistance had crumbled. The biggest waves are striking the city, but splinter groups are headed towards Japan, Korea, the Philippines and New Zealand. Enemy has been confirmed as Swarm-Class. Low B-Rank when in groups of ten. High B-Rank in larger groups. Satellite imaging has confirmed the presence of three million and counting. Though more are probably waiting beneath the sea. I need Sirocco, Shatter Storm, Sun Swallow and Smite en route to the Rift''s location right now." There was a tired groan on the other side. "I told that boy to keep his connections private. How did you find out?" "He tried to bring a couple of our interns home. He has loose lips. They reported him for being a creep." Another sigh. "Not very smart of them. Desmond is going places. They could have been very comfortable by his side." I took a deep, calming breath. Holding it in to keep my fury locked up tight. ''Positive thoughts Gus. You can''t help anyone without his help and you haven''t found a way to have him killed just yet. Keep it together. Happy thoughts. Positive thoughts.'' "If you say so." I finally conceded. Grinding my teeth as the words left my mouth. "Now, the assets..." "Are still needed in the Americas." Lemay cut in sharply. "Those terrorists have made fools out of us one too many times. They''ve killed three generals for fuck''s sake! And a bunch of other upstanding citizens and pillars of the international community!" ''A bunch of degenerates and fiends more like.'' I thought to myself. The fact that the perpetrators had all been low-level grunts only added to my respect for the opposition. Not only did the usual tactic of taking family members hostage not work due to the evident mind-control, but it also served to expose more secrets as the few independent media sources left dug into the killers'' pervious lives and activities. Sure, they''d been brain-washed, but we brain-washed people every other day and we''d never had this level of success. ''Now if only the mastermind would be kind enough to take a few more generals out. We might actually improve living standards around the world.'' "We cannot suffer them to be at large! They must all be captured and questioned immediately!" ''Yeah. As if that would help.'' That Mason fellow had seen his entire family executed without batting an eye. If the domination wasn''t dispelled after that, the chances of getting anything useful out of him or the others was less than negligible. Not to mention the fact that all members of his group had multiple Types and could teleport around like coked-up ninjas at the drop of a hat. Then again, that was the whole point. That Mason brat had been a nobody prior to the brain-washing. Less than C-Rank. Whatever process he endured turned him and the others into elites at the drop of a hat. To the point where they could reliably out-maneuver capture efforts. You''d have a better chance strangling a lake than getting a hold of them. Everyone and their mother saw that and wanted to know what that process was. Consequences be dammed. "We can hide away important targets and resume operations at a later date. Right now, Hong Kong is what''s important. The people there..." "Are a secondary concern." Lemay finished. Sounding more and more irritated the longer the conversation dragged on. I took another deep breath. Imagining a scenario where I got to wrap my fingers around his throat. Smiling as that version of me squeezed the air from Lemay''s lungs. "And what do you propose we do about these..." I paused. Cringing at the words. "Secondary concerns?" "Nuke the city." Lemay answered. With a casual ease that took even my breath away. "I beg you pardon?" "Well you don''t have it. I''m not forgiving you for going through improper channels to reach me. Now stop whining. If you put as much effort into catching these terrorists as you do into whining about civilian issues, then we might have the answers in hand at this very moment. Hong Kong is a local concern. For our Chinese branch. They can handle it themselves or else step down and let someone more capable take over." His voice turned just a little bit jolly after that. "Perhaps that can be a likely avenue to Desmond''s next promotion. We''ll have to see. In any case, keep monitoring the situation and let the guys over there know that our hands are tied. Make sure you offer them the nuclear option if the city falls. Yeah, they''ll lose a couple blocks, but it should save the rest of the relevant sectors. Now give the phone back to Desmond and forget we ever had this conversation." He hung up. Leaving me alone with my thoughts. And Desmond. My eyes drifted over to him now. To this wastrel. Noting how he stood a little taller now that Lemay had mentioned his good prospects. A smile blossomed on my face then. A little joy returning to my cold heart. "Well, Desmond. I suppose you''re up for a promotion and, oops. I seem to have dropped your phone. How very clumsy of me." His own simpering smile stiffened in response to my own. Sweat gathering on his brow. "Uh, thank you?" "Which is why you better start getting to know your new charges sooner, rather than later." "Okay? How soon?" "Immediately." I said. My smile growing even further. "The jet should be fueled up and ready to go. You leave for Hong Kong tonight." Chapter 72: Mittens is Here. Chapter 72: Mittens is Here. ¡°Stop crying and get back to work!¡± I yelled. Really struggling against the impulse to dominate these fools again. One of the fools in question sobbed pathetically. His shoulders sagging as he crumpled downwards in a heap. ¡°Please sir! I have a family!¡± I could feel the veins in my forehead twitching with barely supressed rage at that comment. Every one of my instincts begging to smite this coward where he stood. ¡®No. Sully. Bad Telepath. He¡¯s human. Not a gnome. You¡¯re a good person. Repeat after me. Good person. Good person. Good person. He might be a false hero but he¡¯s still a person. Do not lose your cool.¡¯ I took in a deep, calming breath. Releasing the tension in a drawn-out sigh and trying really, really hard to avoid looking at Firewall¡¯s corpse again. Being reminded that new, up-and-coming heroes were dead while these wastrels lived would only set me off again. ¡°Okay. Listen here Shadowfart.¡± ¡°Shadowblade.¡± He corrected in between sobs. My eyes narrowed to dangerous levels and my body grew incredibly still. He yelped backwards in a blind panic. Even though he couldn¡¯t see my face. ¡°EEEEEEK! Or not! My name can be whatever you desire master! Please don¡¯t enslave me!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to¡­!¡± I had to stop then. Turning my head and taking a few more breaths before I did anything stupid. That immediately backfired as I once more saw Firewall¡¯s half melted lower half and the agony etched on his face. ¡®Poor man didn¡¯t even have a chance. The bio-bomb came too fast. No. No! Focus on the present!¡¯ ¡°Whoo. I¡¯m calm. I am calm. I am not going to blow another fuse.¡± I stared at him and the others in turn. I knelt. Talking to him as one would to a six-year-old. ¡°Listen. My good man. I will not repeat myself again. You and your phony friends are going to keep digging, or in your case, phasing through the earth for victims trapped beneath the rubble, Shadowfart. Monique and Cherub already cleared all the ones at that intersection and they¡¯re busy helping out other people in other parts of the city right now. So, we are responsible for this section of coastline. The east side was hit before I and my friends got summoned. A lot of people died, but that doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t people still alive. I can sense them. I know they¡¯re there. So, we have to save them before they suffocate or bleed to death. I¡¯m feeding you enough Psy. I improved your powers. I even went so far as to give you new ones. This is the least you can do for me and for the people you were supposed to protect. The sooner we do that, the sooner you can fly me over to the Rift and the big alpha kaiju so we can put an end to this (Gnome)ing mess.¡± Another shot of biomass shot through the air towards our position. A colossal, living missile with hundreds of buzzing insectile wings and a bellyful of caustic acid. Its primitive mind filled with nothing but the intent to crash upon our location. It was too far to see with my own eyes, yet its thoughts blared like alarms through my fog as it sped towards the shoreline. Then it was within the range of my [Mental Map] and I could discern its features more clearly. From the empty, vacuous eyes that lined the crown of its misshapen skull to the rows upon rows of vestigial limbs trailing underneath it. Its hide was thick and rubbery. Covered with pustules and random tufts of fur or hair in the most unseemly of places. It had not one, not two, but three togues that were hanging out from the corners of its closed mouth. Massive trails of acidic saliva crashing down upon the black, salty sea beneath it. ¡®I guess the Drake wasn¡¯t kidding about the flexibility of Shifter powers. If only I had listened. To that part and no other. He was still a homicidal maniac, even if he had a few good points here and there.¡¯ I called upon [Domination] with a slight flex of my will and called on it to turn around and make for its mother. The thing tried to obey, but couldn¡¯t. Its momentum not allowing it to make such drastic maneuvers on such short notice. Instead, it diverted its own trajectory by a few degrees. Striking a part of the marina that had been levelled minutes prior when the last bio-bomb was made to turn. I clenched my teeth in annoyance. ¡®That is really starting to get on my nerves. Honestly, why can¡¯t the (Gnome)ing thing act like a good little monster and trample its way over to my range already?¡¯ Naturally, that wouldn¡¯t be happening anytime soon. The kaiju, as far as I could tell, didn¡¯t have any Telepath abilities beyond its own higher-Tiered version of [Sense Thoughts]. That came with three problems. The first was that its range was ludicrous. And that was coming from me. Now that I was actively seeking it out with my own fog, I could tell that it was at least three times the size of mine. Maybe even bigger. The second was that it was also apparently capable of judging relative strength. Nothing like my own [Insight], but more akin to a way of sensing total Psy or the influence of certain kinds of Psy. It couldn¡¯t sense me directly because of [Suppression] but it sure as (Gnome) could sense the by-now millions of winged fish I was throwing at it. On top of my own fog. That led to the third and most annoying problem. The fact that it was smart enough to keep its distance, but not smart enough to give the (Gnome) up and go back to whatever (Gnome)ing place it came from. Meaning that the (Gnome)ing bastard could appreciate that being close to me was a very bad idea, but not how I would eventually find it and (Gnome)ing disembowel it with Cherub. Or worse. My body tremble slightly as another bout of impotent rage made its way through me, and that was enough for Shadowfart. He sobbed harder. So did the others. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna go! I don¡¯t wanna go! Please! Please let us leave!¡± Keeping my hands from his throat took more willpower than I would care to admit. Yet, miraculously, I managed it. ¡°Now now, Shadowfart. Remember your oath. You know, the piece of paper you signed that gave you all that money and screentime and merchandise and social media fame? You get paid in exchange for killing monsters. You are sworn to kill monsters and save people whenever and wherever they might be in danger. The contract also very clearly states that you¡¯re supposed to fight with your life on the line. That everyone else escapes first and you escape last, if at all. I¡¯ve already been more than lenient with you all. Considering that you let those people in the restaurant die while you hid.¡± I pointed at the other, bigger men behind him. ¡°And that your pals here took the opportunity to raid a pharmacy, instead of helping civilians escape.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know them!¡± Shadowfart protested. ¡°Yeah! And we¡¯re not even heroes!¡± One of the other two chipped in. I turned my gaze to them now. Wondering if I should [Dominate] them after all. ¡°You realize that I went through your memories, right? I know that you¡¯re both enlisted with the Esper response squads. You might have been E-Ranks then, but the oath is the same, even if the pay is worse. Also, I¡¯m fairly certain that nowhere in that contract does it say that you should kill pharmacists so that you can refill your Oxy supply.¡± My fists were clenching harder now. Fury willing my fingers to curl as I imagined what the Drake had said to me some weeks earlier. About the follies of mercy and how leniency was a weakness. If I recalled correctly, Slab and Dusty had echoed those thoughts when we¡¯d discussed Mason. So had the rest of my team. ¡®No Sully. No. You¡¯re a good person. These fools will have their day in court. Patience now. Patience.¡¯ ¡°Enough dallying.¡± I declared. Turning on [Charming Presence II] and feeling the feedback of their resistance withering within seconds. ¡°You will dig. One way, or the other. Now.¡± The two brutes grew mole-like claws as they wept. Putting their newfound Shifter powers to use in concert to their upgraded Enhancer abilities and parting rubble and bits of foundation as they toiled. Shadowfart grimaced, but obeyed as well. Melting into the solid material and diving for dozens of metres. I guided him with [Team Tactics]. Sharing the spots where I knew the survivors were. I nodded in satisfaction. Turning to the counter in the Excursion¡¯s description.
System Excursion: Team: The Good Guys, has embarked on an Excursion. Objective: Defend the people of Hong Kong from a monster outbreak. This Excursion will be considered a failure if more than 15, 000 humans perish due to monster attacks or through the direct or indirect intervention of Team: The Good Guys. Bonus Objective: Clear the entire Island and its shoreline of monsters. Time Limit: 50 hours. Deaths: 3261 / 15, 000. Excursion to Earth: TRKG 2004 is underway.
A groan escaped my lips then. As I noted that another thirty people had been added to the casualty count. It came hot on the heels of yet another migraine from the hundreds of thousands of free-willed winged fish that I was subjugating at that very moment. I sent them hunting for the sniper-kaiju lobbing the living bio-weapons at the port with a flex of my will and re-focused on the screen. ¡°Mother(Gnome)er! How is it that the casualty numbers are so high!? We¡¯ve been in the Labyrinth for seven weeks! This should be easier!¡± That was nonsense of course. A fact I was all too aware of. The System didn¡¯t cause these catastrophes. It merely sent Espers to take care of them. The fact that we were here instead of any other team likely didn¡¯t have anything to do with us being punished. Rather, it was probably because we were the strongest human team available. Another, darker aspect of the whole thing was that those numbers were very misleading. That is, they only counted deaths from monster attacks or our actions. Meaning that it didn¡¯t count deaths by falling buildings, violence between humans or any other manner of accidents, unless me and my team were responsible for causing those accidents. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°And they¡¯re still so (Gnome)ing high! How! What are we doing wrong!?¡± ¡®You aren¡¯t going all-out.¡¯ A little voice whispered in the edges of my mind. ¡®You could have used your new ability. You could have called upon the Tall Man and his troops. They are not constrained to your fog. They would have been free to save as many people as you wanted.¡¯ I shook my head to dispel the intrusive thoughts. Yes, that was true, but it was also true that I had little to no control over what any of those Intruders did. No matter what Henry or his teachers might have said. They could go out and rescue people, but they were just as likely to start collecting the heads of looters or any other false heroes I hadn¡¯t got to yet. Not to mention the havoc they could cause if they somehow managed to stay in the island after me and my team were gone. Or worse, if they spread out beyond its borders. I had called upon [Insight] just in case, and all it showed me was a load of unrelated nonsense. Like a jet plane or a bunch of stuffed suits in a room talking about some Desmond guy and sending S-Ranks to rescue him. ¡®No. I just have to keep doing what I¡¯m doing and hope that its enough.¡¯ The two brutes brought up a sobbing woman with a shattered leg. Her sobs echoing through the air as she clutched a cooling corpse. ¡°Please!¡± She cried, pushing past the unimaginable pain. ¡°Please save my son! He¡¯s hurt!¡± ¡®He¡¯s dead.¡¯ I thought bitterly. ¡®Been dead a while from the looks of it.¡¯ The teenager¡¯s neck was partially crushed and twisted at an odd angle. With a few shards of bone sticking out near the place where his Adam¡¯s apple should have been. Clearly, some part of the structure had fallen on top of him when the building went down. ¡®At least he didn¡¯t suffer.¡¯ I told myself. While keeping my silence in front of the woman. Instead, I allowed my hums to flood over her. Kickstarting her regeneration while the two brutes drew back and cleaned her son¡¯s blood off her hands. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I said to her. Overcharging my own abilities so that she healed faster. To the other two, I sent a strongly worded [Message]. ¡®Who the (Gnome) do you think you are!? Leaving a wounded person to (Gnome)ing bleed out! I mother(Gnome)ing gave you Shifter powers and I sure as (Gnome) expect you to use them! Get over here and (Gnome)ing help me heal her! Or I swear on my parents that what I did to the gnomes last week will taste like the sweetest milk of human kindness, compared to what I¡¯ll do to you if she passes away!¡¯ Okay, so perhaps I over did it. I mean, sure. They were scum. But they were as shell-shocked as anyone else. There would have to be a trial, in order to determine their guilt. Regardless, the effect my words had was as immediate as it was satisfying. As the two buffoons practically tripped over themselves in their haste to get to me. She was back in good shape within half a minute after that. Still wheezing and gasping, but no longer looking like she was seconds away from losing consciousness. Sadly, this allowed her to regain some of her lucidity and she finally noticed the state her son was in. The wails that followed were something I was sure would haunt me for the rest of my life. They were deep and guttural. Coming from a place only a mother would understand. I sensed the exact moment she lost all hope. All will to live. Shadowfart actually brought two more relatively healthy people out and immediately dove back in without protest, rather than listening to her despair. I knew I had to step in. So, I deepened my resolve and used [Sleep] to make her drift off.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +1000 Maximum Psy. +17 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Sleep] 1 has grown to [Sleep] 2
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Attack] 5 has grown to [Hum of Attack] 6
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Striding] 5 has grown to [Hum of Striding] 6
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Defence] 5 has grown to [Hum of Defence] 6
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Harmony] 3 has grown to [Hum of Harmony] 4
Ability Evolving: [Hum of Cleansing] 6 has grown to [Hum of Cleansing] 7
Ability Evolving: [Cleansing Gaze] 3 has grown to [Cleansing Gaze] 4
All those notifications left me with one point left over and nowhere to spend it, until another change stirred within me.
Abilities Converging: [Hum of Cleansing] 7 Has been undone. 28 Ability Points Gained. [Cleansing Gaze] 4 Has been undone. 10 Ability Points Gained. [Healing Song II] 1 has been formed. 1 Ability point consumed. 38 Ability Points Remaining.
[Healing Song II] Standard Combination of [Hum of Cleansing] / [Cleansing Gaze]. Grants the User the ability to project an aura that dispels lingering psionic effects and increases the natural regeneration of living interactable targets within a range equivalent to 10% of the current range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. This aura may be deployed actively at a cost of 50 Psy per minute for an effectiveness of + 25% per current ability level or passively for an effectiveness of + 5% per current ability level. The potency of all these effects increases by 150% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
No further levels came from merging the ability, but I didn¡¯t care in the slightest. Instead, I quickly placed all the points I now had on the new creation and marvelled at it with proud eyes.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 30, 889 / 375, 360
Type: Telepath IV Level 159
Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 19 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Avatar X] 15 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Suppression V] 13 / [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] 19 / [Delirium III] 6 / [Total Organ Failure III] 8 / [Charming Presence II] 9 / [Stealth III] 10 / [Healing Song II] 8 / [Sense Thoughts] 19 / [Message] 5 / [Mental Bolt] 7 / [Faint Presence] 5 / [Mental Map] 10 / [Team Tactics] 5 / [Electronic Interface] 4 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Sleep] 2 / [Team Spirit] 4 / [Team Resilience] 3 / [Team Momentum] 2 / [Team Doctrine] 4 / [Mask] 1 / [Flash] 1 / [Persistent Message] 1 / [Mark Target] 2 / [Sobriety] 1 / [Hum of Attack] 6 / [Hum of Striding] 6 / [Hum of Defence] 6 / [Hum of Harmony] 4 / [Hum of Discord] 5 / [Hum of Mist] 5 / [Painful Gaze] 1 / [Entrancing Gaze] 3 / [Degrading Gaze] 1 / [Psionic Jinx] 1 / [Psionic Hex] 1 / [Psionic Curse] 5 / [Blind] 3 / [Deafen] 3 / [Anosmia] 3
Ability Points: 2
¡®Ten percent of my current range is one point eight kilometres. Almost 2 full kilometres and the furthest survivors is only 50 or so metres away! This is literally a lifesaver!¡¯ It had been a long time coming too, which only sweetened my joy. I started pumping more Psy into the new ability as another living projectile entered my fog. I sighed, readying myself to [Dominate] it yet again only to come face to face with a nasty surprise. This new thing, had no brain. With a start, I realized that the kaiju had enough intelligence to adapt and enough self-control over its own powers to improvise on the fly. I called on [Insight]. Trying to figure out a way out of this. But I did not succeed. In every future I saw, the bio-bomb hit true. Melting me, the false heroes and all the survivors beneath us to hot slag. My fists clenched as sweat gathered around my forehead. The missile of flesh and acid coming closer and closer as I searched for any other way. But I found none other, than calling on it. ¡°Take the survivors and run.¡± I told the brutes. ¡°Really?¡± One asked. A question that led the other to smack him across the face with a solid backhanded blow. ¡°What he meant to say is thank you! We¡¯ll be on our way!¡± They picked up the people laying on the ground with all the ease that their newly-improved Enhancer bodies provided, before sprinting away towards the northwest. I saw them go and sent a warning down to Shadowfart. Bidding him to keep brining people up, but warning him to dive right back in as soon as he surfaced. Then I bit my lip and commanded reality, to break.
The codes didn¡¯t work. The old man must have changed them without me knowing. Him, or some other fool stupid enough to take orders from him instead of me. This plane¡¯s ai was dead-set on landing, now that we¡¯d made it to Hong Kong and there was nothing I could do about it. An endless stream of curses escaped from my lips. Echoing all throughout the jet. My fury pouring out like erupting lava as I swore to myself that I would personally see that bastard Carter dead. ¡°How fucking dare he! A fucking paper pusher! Some poor that managed to claw his way to a little bit of respect! How dare he treat me like this! How dare he go against his betters!¡± This wouldn¡¯t stand! It couldn¡¯t stand! Uncle Gerald had given him orders! He¡¯d told that plebian to nuke the city! He should have bowed his head and thanked him for not demoting him on the spot for taking my phone! ¡®But he sent me here instead! Knowing who I was! So that uncle Gerald would have to send heroes to rescue me!¡¯ It was the stupidest thing he could have done. If the Mason gang slipped through the net one more time, the blame for losing the empowering process would be on his shoulders. Worse, if they actually managed to kill another of their targets, then even uncle Gerald wouldn¡¯t come out of it unscathed. Rescuing me was all well and good, but everyone knew you didn¡¯t put the top dogs at risk for any reason. Even if it meant losing blood. ¡®I¡¯ll kill him! I¡¯ll drag him out behind a shed and put a bullet in between his eyes! No! I¡¯ll make him disappear and make sure he suffers before allowing him to die! No one crosses me! No one!¡¯ In hindsight, a doddering old fool like him should have been demoted the second his family went missing. No amount of ability could excuse the fact that a dog had no leash. Case in point, I couldn¡¯t even have the satisfaction of lording his useless blood in front of him, now that he was in line for the axe. ¡®I¡¯ll have to make do with his supporters. I guess.¡¯ I was better than nothing, but it just wouldn¡¯t have the same impact. Worse, that would also leave the department without the only people that kept it running smoothly and, since I was next in line after the bastard, I¡¯d be forced to pick up the pieces. ¡°Fuck! All this trouble and for what!? So a few million poors could scrape by another day!? Was it worth it you old fart!?¡± I didn¡¯t expect an answer to that question. The staff in this plane were my personal aides. They should have known better. Yet, an answer did come. "Mittens is here." The voice sounded like nails on chalkboard if those nails had somehow been passed through a woodchipper. Its mere presence sending shivers down my spine, my arms and my legs all at once. Worse, it seemed to be coming from right beside me. On both the left and the right. From above and below. From in front of me and from right behind my ears. ¡°What the fuck!? Who said that!?¡± ¡°Mittens did speak. Mittens did squeak. Mittens is here.¡± I unbuckled the plane seat, standing up with adrenaline shooting down my veins. Two of my men were there, at the rear of the jet, but they were both on the floor. One was crawling on the ground with both hands on his ears. The other was throwing up. His face as pale as death. ¡°Who the fuck said that!? Show yourself! Where are you!?¡± The voice seemed to chuckle. Its mirth sounding like the wails of a hundred dying prisoners. "Mittens is inside you! Mittens is all around you! Mittens is here!" ¡®This is an attack!¡¯ I realized with a start. ¡®There¡¯s an assassin on board! That bastard sent someone, some Telepath to do me in!¡¯ That made sense. There¡¯s no way he would just send me out to save a few million plebs after all. There¡¯s no way anyone could be that stupid! This was part of a bigger conspiracy! He was in cahoots with the Mason gang! That¡¯s why he needed the heroes here on the other side of the world! He had it all planned out! I made for the weapons locker on board. Taking a shotgun and loading it. Then made for the washrooms. The only place that I didn¡¯t have eyes on. I kicked open the door, prepared to fire. Only to see nothing there. The voice giggled manically and continued taunting me. ¡°Mittens will stay. Mittens will play. Mittens is here.¡± ¡°Come and get it bastard!¡± I yelled. My blood feeling as if it was on fire. ¡°I¡¯ll make you pay, you hear me! I¡¯ll kill your entire family!¡± The voice chuckled again. Sounding wholly unconcerned, and closer than ever before. There was a loud pop around the edges of my vision and I whirled with the gun raised and ready. Only to find a monster waiting for me. It was so big that it had to stoop over the seats. Those muscular shoulders bent forwards and at odd angles. Its skin was red as lava and it had wings as black as pitch. Four horns jutted out from its bestial head and soft, pink, mole-like feelers tasted the air in front of it. Three giant centipedes clung to the seats on the plane. Attached to its hips where legs should have been. The little skittering legs attached to the exoskeletons spasmed as they raked the fine leather of the seats. Obviously still very much alive. The thing looked at me and grinned. Showing off rows upon rows of yellowed rotting fangs. ¡°Mittens will snare you. Mittens will wear you. Mittens is here.¡± I screamed as I¡¯d never screamed before and fired. Watching in mute horror as the pellets ricocheted harmlessly off its furry red skin. The thing only laughed and the laughter echoed within me, as well as without. "Mittens is in the steel. In the sky. In the seats. Mittens is the songs you sing and the air you breathe. Mittens will never, ever leave. Mittens is here." There were a few more pops and I caught glimpses of winged children standing behind it. Wearing capricious grins on their faces and white suits on their bodies, with lines of red around the cuffs that trailed up towards their collars. Then, the beast reached out a hand to grab me. And the world went black. Chapter 73: Under Boiling Seas. Chapter 73: Under Boiling Seas. The food had become, annoyingly persistent. Refusing to lay down and die as it should have. It was bad enough for the collector swarms to diverge from their original orders, seeing as though all that nutritious meat would be going to waste, but for the food to try and threaten me, my children¡­ That was unacceptable. ¡®How dare something so small and puny think itself so powerful? How could it deny me and my brood?¡¯ It was senseless. Everyone and everything knew that the small fed the large. It was the way of things. ¡®And yet these ones prove so meddlesome. So, irritating.¡¯ That defiance had forced me to debase myself further and further as I restrained my bulk from charging. I still wanted to do it. Longing to jump off the solid seabed and swim until all of me crashed against those little hills of rock and metal the food had built. Yet I could not silence my own instincts. They screamed even now. Incessantly wailing about the incoming danger. About final death. ¡®What nonsense. What a load of utterly vexing nonsense. As if I my pride could allow it. As if my position could permit it? As if all the others back home wouldn¡¯t leap upon me and my children over our perceived weakness? No. Going back without gorging myself was impossible. As was going back without enough food to allow my children to molt and grow and thrive. I had taken the chance and there was no other way but through. Which meant this stubborn bit of food had to die. It was small. Oh, so very small. So, it should learn its place.¡¯ I was already molting and changing my flesh. Preparing my pustules with all the pressure and biomass they¡¯d need to generate and fling another volley. Even as the irksome nature of this fight crawled underneath my brain-matter like hungry scavengers. My kin would assuredly laugh if they chanced to see me reduced to this. To throwing precious nutrients across vast swathes of ocean. All in order to swat some miniscule parasite. Indeed, it was foolish. I was wasting far more energy than I would get back. Especially now that the collectors I¡¯d spawned had been turned against me. ¡®But I have no choice and that knowledge hurts me more than the loss of biomass.¡¯ It might be eons before my pride recovers from this debacle and even longer before I can adapt a counter-measure. ¡®Smaller projectiles are the obvious solution, yet that has the downsides of requiring precision. Over these ranges, the amount of force I would have to use to launch the missile would destabilize my aim. Not to mention the chances of the killing blow being dodged. Some of the critters are annoyingly fast and agile for being so small. There are the chances of it getting behind cover as well. The projectile would have to be long and hard and dense, which would mean more force in order to throw it that far, which in turn would mean my muscles would have to be hardened and stretched, just like my bones.¡¯ The more I thought about it the more annoyed I became. No matter how much I twisted the ideas around my mind, the cheapest solution seemed to be the one I was already preparing. ¡®The food controls the projectile, no matter how much I struggle to create a hardened mind. So, the obvious solution is to make the projectile bigger, more stuffed with bile and devoid of any mind at all.¡¯ Yet that brought on more hurdles. That amount of bile would expend more energy and it having no mind meant no wings for it to keep itself aloft, which meant I would need to expend even more energy to bolster the firing pustules. It was a vicious cycle were every option had innumerable drawbacks and the more I tried to circumvent them, the bigger those drawbacks became. Bitter rage swelled all over me. Through my veins and arteries. Through my muscles and tendons. Through my bones and the marrow within. Yet I stayed true to this task. Flexing my tentacles against the seabed and jumping out of the water with an explosive force that sent tidal waves in all directions. Throwing the new assault with every expectation that it would be the last as my limbs tasted the salty air above the ocean. Then I sank again. Probes licking the chemical sensations as the mind-ravaged collectors tried to bite and gnaw at my rugged hide. I watched through all my senses while shrugging off the damaged pests. Forming new mouths around their frames as they came in for their foolish attempts at predation and swallowing them whole. The missile was flying, flying, flying. Splitting the air with just the right amount of velocity. ¡®Good. This one cannot be swayed. Cannot be diverted. It will finally allow me to charge and digest the rest of the diseased collectors. First, I will swallow them. Then, the rest of the little¡­ Wrong. Wrong! WRONG!¡¯ My entire being cringed. Muscled tightening and constricting against themselves as if to ward off some blow. ¡®There is something wrong! Here! There! Everywhere! It is in me and around me! It is biting me! Biting! Tearing! Crushing! Where is it!? When did it come here!?¡¯ My projectile had been felled. Only, it hadn¡¯t fallen down. No, it had fallen up. Acidic juices tumbling upwards towards the empty stars in defiance of what was natural and proper and right. I felt some of my sense growing stronger. Growing more acute than they had been seconds prior and the things they saw chilled all the blood pumping throughout my massive size. The air, no, the space, was collapsing in on itself and new things were spilling out from the cracks. Not in the same way that my aperture had formed, but more like crimson vigor through a wound. Reality, was wounded and it was bleeding. All my instincts rose up at once. Screaming in unison that I had to make good on my escape. This time, I listened. Moving my fins and tentacles about so as to make for the aperture. Only for every movement to bring pain. Searing, white hot pain. The water around me was turning to steam. All the collectors within and without bursting like volcanoes. Their wrathful suicides melting flesh from bone. Until it wasn¡¯t just that. There was more pain. Pain! PAIN!!!! Never-ending and unrelenting! Coming from everywhere and nowhere! Manifesting as if it was all part of some wicked nightmare! My body rebelled! Muscles growing against the weight of bone and weaving themselves into shapes that made them rip and tear into each other with every movement, every beat of every heart! My bones and ligaments cracked and splintered, disintegrating around the muscles in an effort to keep them together, only for the jagged edges to slice and dice into them with renewed ferocity and for them to burrow into my veins. Into my lungs. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. It! All of me! Was on fire! The sea was on fire! There were things in the water with me now. Pretending to be the same as the food. Yet they licked at me with forked togues longer than themselves. Their saliva corroding and melting my hide with no regard to how tough or durable it was! ¡®I have to get out of here! I have to escape!¡¯ I tried to flex against the seabed once more, but all my limbs felt clumsy and uncoordinated, and that was before the cartilage started solidifying into bone and the bone shattered and dug itself into the wailing muscles. My mighty leap turned into a pathetic wagging of my tentacles. My own nervous system unable to get them to do anything but flail around. I tried to suck in a breath. To process oxygen out of the salty water by force so that the buoyancy might lead me out. And that was when I realized, that my gills were under attack. The pain had been so harrowing that I hadn¡¯t noticed until now, but they were there too. Striking and slashing with wild abandon as they ruined the sensitive tissues. I was asphyxiating. Unable to rein back the wild mutations taking hold while also unable to replenish my own oxygen supply. Yet all I could so was to keep flailing and struggling and dying. Then, I found myself unable to do even that. My limbs seized and stopped, my lungs freezing as they tried in vain to suck in whatever meagre oxygen my damaged gills might procure. My mind was hooked and dragged, outside of the broken shell of a body. All my thoughts and emotions being flayed from the rest of me by burning, searing blades and spines that sunk themselves beneath my hide and skin. Beneath all corporeal matters. There were more and more hooks by the second, embedding themselves throughout all of my nerves as the being pulled and pulled and pulled. Tearing me apart in ways I could not have possibly imagined. ¡®Die! Please let me die!¡¯ The impulse was disgusting. An abandonment of all that was good and right and fair. I had children back home. Younglings waiting for sustenance beyond the hole in space. But I could not think about them. Couldn¡¯t escape the feeling that whatever was waiting for me beyond these tortures would be worse. So much worse. All of my eyes lost touch with reality. Drifting up into their own sockets as my perceptions and all of my brains narrowed down on one, solitary figure, standing atop the surface of the salty sea above me. It was like the other food, but taller, longer. With gangly, stick-like limbs that seemed as though they¡¯d snap at the slightest touch. The faintest pressure. And atop its shoulders, were two heads, instead of one. That should not have surprised me. I myself had grown extra heads on occasion. It was smart to have decoy brains when fighting for mates or territory. Yet I could not shake the feeling that it was deeply wrong. Unnatural to the point where matter and physics wailed in despair and were undone around it. One of those frail-looking limbs stretched towards me. Parting the very waves of the ocean and sending innumerable amounts of water spouting up into the sky. Then it began to descend on two pairs of bright white wings. His feathers gliding through the space between us without actually moving. ¡®Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! That thing should not be! It should not exist! I cannot be real!¡¯ All of my instincts screamed louder. Begging my body to die before the abomination got to me. But I could not. So, I continued to suffer, a clumsy, crippled thing at the bottom of a fleeing sea. Until the horror¡¯s digits caressed what remained of my hide and all sensations but pain, ceased forever. The mansion was as immaculate as always. Indeed, if anything, it was even more luxuriously furnished than before. The edges of the marble tiles had been filled with perfectly placed lines of gold and the columns were now adorned with floral patterns wrought in silver and platinum. The curtains were now intermixed shades of red and purple, fit for any royal procession, with even more golden strings interwoven within the fabric so that it made up scenes of hunt and battle. The couches were now plusher and more comfortable looking than ever before. Seeming so soft that I feared the slightest touch would ruing their surfaces. Sadly, I was not currently in any mood to enjoy them. ¡°Oh, come on!¡± I bellowed. Not even having the composure to be overly surprised. ¡°I didn¡¯t even go to sleep! I have to go back there! There are people waiting for me out there!¡± ¡°Relax.¡± A voice called out from the side. I turned to see, me. Wearing a (Gnome)-eating grin and the same khaki shorts and black shirt I typically favoured whenever I went out drinking with the boys. Appropriately, this apparition also looked like it was (Gnome)-faced drunk, completing the ensemble with a bottle of rum on one hand as he staggered forward on a pair of unsteady feet. ¡°Everything is fine. The guys have got it covered and our followers are currently making short work of whatever fishes are left. As for the kaiju¡­¡± He belched. ¡°I have a feeling that it really, really wishes it was dead right now. So, there¡¯s no need to be so glum.¡± I stared at it with open contempt. Leering as if I was seconds away from developing laser-vision and smiting it where it stood. ¡°Ha. Ha. Ha.¡± I intoned as dryly as possible. ¡°Nice prank Drake. So, you figured out how to drag me here against my will. Good for you. Now send me back before the Tall Man shows up again.¡± The other me bent over laughing. ¡°Hooo boy. You could not be more wrong about that bucko. There is no Drake around these parts. Well, not the nice ones anyway. No sir. I am you. Also, you shouldn¡¯t be afraid of the Tall Man. Everyone else should be (Gnome)ing their pants, but not you or me or any other version of me. We are the only ones it will never harm.¡± I looked him up and down again. ¡°Is that so? Well good for us then. Now send me back.¡± He giggled like a toddler and began wagging a few fingers. ¡°Now now. None of that now. This is your ability, remember? You can only go back if you want to go back and right now, only half of you wants to go back.¡± I, had to stop. To take a few more calming breaths before I lost my (Gnome) again. ¡°Okay. I¡¯m calm. I am calm and under control. Now, listen.¡± I approached him slowly, but with purpose. My feet hardly making a sound over the marble floors. ¡°I have been trying to become a hero for some time. Working very, very hard to make sure I was ready for whatever surprises might be waiting for me. I have saved hundreds of thousands so far. Maybe millions, I honestly lost count. But there is still a kaiju out there that needs to die before the people of Hong Kong are safe. Now, you say that it has been taken care of, but you¡¯re also not me while pretending to be me. You will stop this nonsense and you will let me go back or I promise that you¡¯ll regret any lives that were lost due to this¡­¡± I struggled to find the words for a moment. Wrath and stress dulling my cognition. ¡°Distraction.¡± I said finally. The impostor smiled a sad smile. As if he were the one looking at a cheap copy that made no sense. ¡°Yeah. I guess I can¡¯t really delay it much longer.¡± ¡°No. You cannot.¡± Yet another voice said. Interposed with the faint buzz of static. I turned, heart beating faster and more raucously than before, to see him again. The organs floating in the goop looked about as well as one could have expected them to look. Forever locked inside their metal sarcophagus as pointy metal legs skittered about. He, the first one, took a massive swig of the bottle. Emptying it before shifting his head to stare at me. ¡°Sorry champ. I, don¡¯t really know how to soften the blow. He¡­¡± He pointed at the coffin. ¡°Is our future. I am your past. All of your past. All that you remembered back at the lodge with Granny Golden and then some. All the memories of that (Gnome)ing year, rolled into one.¡± I, couldn¡¯t form the right words for a few seconds. My brain misfiring in obvious confusion as it tried to make sense of this madness. Then, that confusion was replaced by white-hot fury as I sensed their deceptions at work. ¡°I already made peace with what happened at the community center.¡± I bit back. ¡°Whatever you are. Whatever you¡¯re trying to do, it won¡¯t work.¡± The sad smile the drunkard was wearing turned even sadder then. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve made some kind of peace. I sure haven¡¯t been able to. Not completely. But, in all honesty, I think this little trick of ours helped. You, really do look much healthier than I feel right now. I hope we¡¯ll only get better, once Sarcophagus Sully and I have finished with our business.¡± ¡°Enough talk.¡± The electronic, buzzing voice hissed through his speakers. ¡°The Drake is done and the choice awaits. Meld with him so we can be done with this farce.¡± The Drunk¡¯s smile turned vicious. His cold eyes seeming to lower the room¡¯s temperature as they narrowed. ¡°Yes.¡± He spat. ¡°We will be done with this farce. And with you.¡± The speakers tried to roar with laughter, but only ended up scratching the inside of my ears. The sounds being so high-pitched that they almost sent me reeling down unto the floor. ¡°You believe that to be a threat? Fool. I have suffered enough for a million lifetimes. Nothing would please me more than the two of you banishing my mistakes. Now quit your whining and get to it already. He is right that there are people waiting. The world will not fix itself.¡± I was about to ask what he meant, when the drunken version of me splintered in half, bloody crimson tentacles revealing themselves from between the side of his open skull. I reeled backwards. Making to draw upon Psy to strike him down, but finding that my own abilities seemed to be flowing from him, rather than from me. I opened my mouth to scream, and found that there was nothing there. That my body was dissolving into hooked tentacles that the drunken thing had attached to my exposed skin. Even then, I struggled. Fighting and clawing against the thing with all the desperation I could muster. Until the memory began taking over my mind. Not the one with the community center or the crabs, but rather, what happened afterwards. And all the uncountable horrors that transpired since. Chapter 74: Inside the Sarcophagus. Chapter 74: Inside the Sarcophagus. I came out of that place a different person. My eyes feeling heavy and hollow as they gazed out into the mansion¡¯s interior. There was a polished mirror in the living room next to me and I gazed into it now with an indescribable weariness. The person gazing back was a suspicious stranger. With an empty expression and a thousand-yard stare that seemed to pierce through the reflective surface. He looked, shell-shocked. Though not nearly as much as I¡¯d feared. I blinked a few times. Pinching myself to make sure that this was, in fact reality, before making my way over to the in-house bar. I sat down on a well-worn barstool, looking around for another change in scenery. Then I spoke out loud. Not seeing anyone near me, but knowing in my heart of hearts that he would be listening. ¡°What happened to my parents? Are they safe? Is Luigi?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. In case you forgot, I¡¯m both here and not actually here. Pandemonium can be pretty fast and loose with things like time or cause and effect. I¡¯m a byproduct of our, your, ability. How am I supposed to know what¡¯s happening or what might yet happen in another instance without someone from their instance trying to access this realm or you using you power?¡± I nodded at empty air and drew out the tangled rope that was [Insight] once more. I saw glimpses, hurried and confused. The man, Scab, was laughing but his own gaze wasn¡¯t on Luigi. Instead, he stared at the mace in his hands with a morbid fascination. He was moving his lips and sounds were coming out, but they were not words. Thankfully, he was so lost in his own little world that Luigi managed to get away. Despite his reprieve, part of me died inside as I realized that he was weeping and limping, instead of running as he previously had. ¡°You realize that you will have to kill that man in order for Luigi to get away.¡± The other me said. ¡°I know.¡± ¡°Will you regret it?¡± I paused. Thinking back to all the predictions that had come to me now. To what this Halkon person and his goons had been doing to the people on Adept difficulty. To what they had threatened my parents with. To what they would do if I didn¡¯t interfere. Then I thought back to the Drake and all the arguments he had made regarding the use of violence or [Domination] in order to bring about the greater good. ¡®He might have been a treacherous serpent, but the advice was genuine.¡¯ In this case, that wouldn¡¯t even be an option, since I wouldn¡¯t be able to access Adept difficulty, even with a Difficulty Transfer Token. I was too high-Tiered. Too high levelled. Someone would have to go in my stead. Someone weak enough that the System would let them pass. With a little surprise in store for Halkon and his goons stowed within their body. I had to laugh. Thinking back to how much I¡¯d feared Anezka¡¯s presence. The threat she posed. Only for me to contemplate forcing Mittens unto her. For me to consider sending her over to Halkon with a crooked smile on her face and a terrible song in her heart. I would have to do it. That and threaten Granny and that Banerid guy for early access to the Token. If I wanted to see my parents alive again. But would I regret it? ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± I said. Surprising even me. ¡°Good. Because that was only the beginning. That scumbag and his accomplices were the most obvious of the threats coming your way and to those you care about, but they will not be the strongest, nor the most insidious.¡± ¡°Yes. I figured as much.¡± I grabbed the half-empty bottle again and poured myself another glass. Gagging as the liquid burned my throat. ¡°Oh (Gnome). It feels just like the real thing.¡± ¡°It might very well be the real thing. Hard to tell, in Pandemonium. Sometimes, we can drag things out and they will materialize in reality. Though, some would say that what we bring out is a bunch of Intruders that manipulate matter into the shape of the thing you tried to bring out. Again, it is rather confusing at times.¡± The figure of Sarcophagus Solomon shimmered slightly, as if it were a reflection on rippling water. It was spinning with the rest of the room. Wobbling up and down and sideways without any care for my poor balance. ¡°Stay.¡± I commanded. ¡°I¡¯m in control. You will stay.¡± That metal form re-asserted itself at once. Coming back in such a way that it seemed perfectly suited to the current environment. It was¡­funny. Too funny. A literal unwilling cyborg straight out of a dystopian science fiction novel walking into a bar and standing over me menacingly. It had the means to do weird things to me that I couldn¡¯t undo and I had invited it here willingly. Yeah. I¡¯m an imbecile. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you can sit?¡± The tube didn¡¯t seem amused. Then again, how was I supposed to tell? I wasn¡¯t getting any kind of reading through my fog. Did organs suspended in goo twitch when they were happy? ¡°I think a picture is beginning to form, younger me.¡± ¡°Is it a pretty picture?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s a picture of you.¡± ¡°(Gnome)!¡± ¡°Yes, Solomon. (Gnome). You¡¯ve done amazing things, avoided the pitfalls I did not. And now you¡¯ve come to the precipice. The final choice that will determine whether our world lives or dies.¡± ¡°Oh? And what do you suppose I should do to remedy the situation?¡± ¡°You need to absorb them. The Drake first, then Randall. Once he¡¯s developed a high-Tiered portal ability.¡± ¡°So, I¡¯ve heard. Funny that.¡± I took another gulp. Savoring the aftertaste in my mouth before swallowing. ¡°You must have realized what¡¯s at stake now.¡± I turned to the machine-man hybrid. ¡°That is so interesting. You see, you told me that I needed to save Dusty, Slab, Charlie and Monique. I did what you said. You also told me that I would get Shifter as a second Type, thanks to some deal you made with the Drake. That thing with the blood and the mouths and the teeth. And now you tell me I need to lobotomize Randall too. Or else our world will burn.¡± The cyborg moved around me. Metallic legs dancing across unreal wooden boards with a chorus of clacking sounds that set my teeth on edge. ¡°I do not have to tell you anything. You have seen it for yourself. You know that it will happen. You, for all your other faults, took the initiative where I didn¡¯t and set events in motion. If you need encouragement, keep in mind that I was not so wise during my hypothetical timeline. I let my guard down and allowed pests like Ryan to take over and I followed that up by trusting Anezka of all people. Tuning out my fog in hopes that it wouldn¡¯t upset my new companions.¡± It made an electronic screeching noise from its sound system. Some horrible buzzing that might have been laughter. ¡°You should be proud. All things considered. You did everything right, where I did everything wrong. Anezka¡¯s body is little more than a puppet, while her mind gets what she deserves. Randall¡¯s victims have all been avenged while he is forced to grind himself to ashes for the benefit of humanity as a whole. And the Drake, the real, original Drake that is still very much out there will have a much harder time in regards to collecting hapless humans for his experiments.¡± He paused for a while, before turning that transparent screen encasing his organs back at me. ¡°What¡¯s more, you took steps to save mom and dad. Even grandpa. I shouldn¡¯t have to tell you that they all died in my timeline. Even before Periwig torched our earth. Your sacrifices and hard work will prevent that. Indeed, now that I say it all out loud, you should be elated. Beside yourself with joy.¡± ¡°Nice. I really needed that vote of confidence.¡± I drained the glass in my hands. Then went to pour out the last remnants within the bottle. ¡°Let¡¯s circle back to the thing inside me for a second. I heard about it from its own perspective, but I see now that it was, less than honest in some regards. I want to hear it from you. What is it?¡± ¡°Hmn. Good. That suspicion will get you far. As for it. Well, I do have to agree that it was surprisingly honest for the most part. It calls itself the Seeking Drake. Its most dangerous ability is [Drake¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X]. It is a Savant, like us.¡± ¡°Yes. It mentioned that. I don¡¯t suppose it lied about what the word meant?¡± ¡°No. It spoke the truth. A Savant is someone who is preternaturally skilled at developing a specific Type while being utterly hopeless with the three others. Individuals with our particular talents are a problem for them. Some call us Idiot Savants, due to our inability to access potent synergies between Types, which renders us weaker than our similarly-levelled counterparts. These detractors prefer to ignore our advantage in total Psy, as well as the fact that fights between high-level experts usually devolves into contests between who has the greatest abilities. Other, wiser individuals refer to us as the Blessed Savants, due to people like us generally possessing abilities that are far more developed and versatile than our peers. This is important because, unlike the vast majority of the Labyrinth¡¯s regular residents, we are not usually hampered by level caps.¡± ¡°Whoa there. Hold the phone. I just caught on to something you said. Something that¡¯s been bothering me for a good long while. This, Labyrinth. Is presumably run by all powerful Espers that are so far beyond our understanding that it¡¯s not even funny. Correct?¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Yes. That is also my understanding of it.¡± ¡°Right. Okay. So, what¡¯s the point of it all? Why don¡¯t they just solve all the Excursions themselves if they care so much?¡± ¡°How should I know?¡± My mouth dropped. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°No. I do not. I¡¯m barely 50. I killed a lot of fools who presumed to leverage our vulnerability in that time, but that doesn¡¯t make me an expert in all things relating to the Labyrinth.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem like the vulnerable sort.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯re forgetting others have access to [Electronic Interface]. As advanced as my prison is, its far less potent than my own person and far easier to influence. Anezka never bothered to install countermeasures because she never imagined she¡¯d have competition. She assumed that she could take me to her home planet once she managed to escape the Labyrinth. The spider tore her apart before she could realize her folly and I was left with the baggage. Young talents who sought me out in order to supplant Anezka as my tormentor by hijacking the machine keeping me alive. You could fill several stadiums with the number of young masters I dominated and turned on their own factions. Normally such controlling effects can be undone with relative ease, but our ability isn¡¯t called inescapable for no reason. I was feared almost as much as the Drake and the Hermit near the end. None of the major factions were coming over to tell me about ye old factices.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t even guess?¡± There was another faint buzz of static. ¡°My first guess was that this was in service to some kind of interdimensional invasion. In that some remarkably incompetent overlord was trying to assess which species would be easiest to conquer. That theory proved itself to be flawed when the Excursions remained unchanged. At least for low-levelled factions like the nascent humanity. Whomever or whatever is in charge of generating quests seems to be genuinely benevolent. Which is shocking when you compare such behaviour with everything else we¡¯ve seen from our captors.¡± ¡°You veered off from the original question.¡± I accused, feeling sour. ¡°I was trying to¡­never mind. The point is that I¡¯m as clueless as you. I¡¯ve only got Periwig¡¯s explanation to go on. Which isn¡¯t much. Regardless of their underlying reasoning, the Labyrinth remains a place where challenges are generated for all individuals of member species and that new species are captured and added to the collection periodically. It is also a place that, despite the many injustices committed within it, remains somewhat fair in its structure.¡± ¡°FAIR!?¡± I was screaming again, unable to contain my outrage. ¡°What the (Gnome) is fair about any of this!? Are you (Gnome)ing high!?¡± ¡°I am not. As terrible as this place is, it could have been much worse. The gnomes, that is, the very real species they are based on would have preferred if all new arrivals entered into one of their pre-prepared cages. They and other major factions have been trying to circumvent the addition of new species for millions of years so that they aren¡¯t threatened by the new children on the playground. Believe it or not, the Tutorial is somewhat benevolent, in that it shields new arrivals from the cutthroat competition of the Labyrinth and the myriad petty wars that plague it. Humans will be given a fair chance to grow, before being exposed to all the other factions that have had millions of years to grow, fracture and splinter.¡± I paused. Taking in the information. ¡°(Gnome). I hate how that actually sounds like a good thing.¡± ¡°Yes. The alternative would have been, messy. Imagine our arrival and how it would have differed if tens of thousands of gnomes, real gnomes, not replicas, came down on the thousand humans in this instance. All looking to either kill the promising individuals before they became a threat or enslave whomever they saw for their own sick amusement.¡± ¡°That, would have been bad.¡± I concede. ¡°I take it that the presence of Savants among a species helps to protect it?¡± ¡°That it does. Denizens of the major factions will typically spend dozens of years trying to pass level 50 or 100. Even the favoured scions of said factions struggle to pass 150, living and dying within the specter of further progress. That is not an issue for us. As such, making enemies of us could mean the annihilation of entire armies or sectors before a champion manages to kill the offended party. If, they manage to kill the offended party. The Drake is infamous for having wiped out several subspecies of dwarves. None of their champions were up to the task and their allies abandoned them rather than risking the Drake¡¯s wrath themselves. The thing actually kept two of their kings alive. One as a bedframe and the other as a toilet. It doesn¡¯t even need to use the toilet; it has its guests use it.¡± ¡°Got it. This Drake guy really is as scary a Shifter as we are Telepaths and the real one is still out there.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Oh (Gnome).¡± ¡°That would be an accurate assessment of the situation.¡± ¡°Why would you have anything to do with¡­it? You didn¡¯t know that your timeline was, not exactly permanent. So, you couldn¡¯t have known that I would need it. Why would you take that chance?¡± ¡°Desperation.¡± Despite its voice being monotone, I could sense a deep sadness from my counterpart. An impotent rage that had long devolved into despair. ¡°You don¡¯t know. You can¡¯t know, how it felt. Having your very cells torn asunder while you laid on the floor, unable to move yet able to feel each cut and slice and bite. You can¡¯t know what that meant for me. What it did to me. I couldn¡¯t touch the world around me, nor feel any warmth in my fingers. I couldn¡¯t feel the air rushing into my lungs. I couldn¡¯t see with my own two eyes anymore, nor hear with my ears. Anezka controlled the sensors of my prison. She would often amuse herself by turning them off, leaving me in a pit of senseless agony.¡± If that shell was capable of producing tears, it would have been weeping. ¡°Have you ever heard about sensory deprivation out in the world beyond? About what solitary confinement does to people? How it twists and changes them? I know you did. You¡¯ve watched documentaries of Esper prisons. Those do not do the torment justice. I felt as if my very soul was being scraped, imagining sharp pain just to fill the void with something, anything! I could not even call upon my own Psy to sense the minds around me! You still have some reservations, about what it means to be a Telepath, about reading people¡¯s thoughts. I did too, yet I would have killed thousands, sacrificed anything I still had left just to feel another¡¯s presence. To feel my own presence.¡± There were pauses in the speech that must have been the equivalent of sobbing. ¡°In the pit, I would lose track of time! Not knowing if an hour had passed or fifty! I would try to scream and remember that I had no mouth! I would try to breathe and remember that I had no lungs! I would try to move my tongue, to taste and to chew, only to recall the paralysing horror of it being sheared away! It was as if I was buried alive! But worse! In the darkness my memories flittered away! I recalled that I had parents but could not recall their faces! I recalled that I had friends but could not recall their words or actions! I began to lose myself, Solomon! To lose what made me the person I was! Then she would bring me back and laugh! Laugh at me! At what I was going through! She said¡­.¡± He had to pause, as if flinching. ¡°She said that stronger Seers fetch higher prices! I was a tool to be sold! Me! A tool! I did not even have the dignity of a name! She called me Sarcophagus! Coffin! An item designation! She said that the proven method of improving psychic might was isolation and sensory deprivation, so she subjected me to it again and again and again. My mind would wander, during those time, off to different timelines and possibilities. I saw how much better off I would have been If I¡¯d had the wisdom to kill her when I could! I saw the benefits of controlling vapid morons like Ryan and all the rest! I saw how much better off I would have been if I hadn¡¯t been afraid of myself! If I¡¯d embraced who and what I was!¡± It paused again. The machine remaining deathly still as its occupant raged impotently. ¡°There were times when I wondered if I was dead, if Anezka had finally seen fit to put me out of my misery. That brought on even more fear. Terror stemming from the very implication that there was nothing beyond death. That I was trapped in an empty afterlife with no way out, no reprieve. She would laugh about it afterwards. Laugh at me. At what I was going through. She said I deserved it for being weak! For being gullible! She said I was a peon! A tool that should be happy to be of use to its betters! My suffering didn¡¯t mean anything to her! No one¡¯s pain caused her to pause! She was a narcissistic, vile, scheming evil (Gnome)! You might not like me. You might not even trust me. But know this. If there is wrong in this universe, true moral depravity, it comes from people like Anezka and the Drake.¡± ¡°And yet you signed on with the Drake.¡± ¡°Were you listening? I wanted, needed, my body back and I didn¡¯t much care what I had to do to get it. Unlocking another Type the normal way was nigh impossible. So, I sought alternatives. Savants like us usually gleam greater insights into their respective Types than the rest of the chattel and are able to uplift others who are not as fortunate.¡± ¡°Like my own [Insight]?¡± ¡°Precisely. Although my own ability was considerably more potent than yours. At that time, I¡¯d already merged the presence abilities you now have into [Suppression]. Allowing me to entwine memories and experiences more tightly into [Insight]. The agreed upon deal was that I would use my own ability on it and it would uplift me in turn. The Drake would obtain the Telepath Type, as well as three of my more meaningful revelations and I would obtain the Shifter Type, as well as its own three revelations. This way, we would not only gain another Type, but at least one successful merged ability.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I feel about that thing having my own powers.¡± I said while emptying the last glass. The room swirled a little more. That all-too familiar pleasant warmth crept down my stomach and through my arteries. Making me feel light and fluffy and strong. ¡°Quite astute. I felt the same way; as did it. Therein lies the problem. We Savants are prideful and paranoid to a fault. We have to be, given the threat we pose to more established hierarchies. There are no end of guilds and empires within the greater Labyrinth that would pay dearly for the elimination of an unruly Savant. Giving away our gifts as you do is considered very ill-advised as you bring more people to your own Tier and give them a chance and the means to betray and kill you later on. Our advantages are boons, so long as very few others exist to counter them. I was at a disadvantage in levels and experience so I was coerced into paying upfront and the Drake wanted more before committing. We were locked together, connected by one of his tricks, when you arrived.¡± I chuckled. ¡°I imagine that changed much.¡± I said. Moving my shaking hand over the menu in search of another bottle. I went for a mix of pre-made margaritas this time, not bothering with the glass at all and taking swigs straight from the bottle that appeared. ¡°Much. I had gambled and lost by then. The Drake had my part of the deal and I had his, but he wouldn¡¯t sever the connection and allow me to absorb his, I don¡¯t know how to explain it. Essence? Clumps of sentient bio-matter? Parasites? It was composed of these stains that wormed their way into my organs. They contained the knowledge I wanted, the Type, but he wouldn¡¯t let me absorb them without further compromises to myself. If I tried anything, the little motes of flesh would rapidly multiply like a cancer and kill me.¡± ¡°But he couldn¡¯t kill you. Because you¡¯re not real.¡± There was bile in my mouth now, my mind running through all the implications. ¡®How would it feel? To know that you weren¡¯t real? That all you went through was inconsequential? That the sacrifices you made and the people you lost meant nothing?¡¯ Perhaps it was better that I remained ignorant. ¡°Exactly. I absorbed whatever knowledge was there and placed it inside of you. This way, you could say we cheated it out of its prize. You, that is, I, got my way and not only did it fail to enslave or consume me, it doesn¡¯t have the Telepath Type either. Since the deal hasn¡¯t happened in this timeline.¡± ¡°I have a feeling we didn¡¯t get away with as much as you imply, since you seem oddly somber about the deal.¡± ¡°You deduce correctly. It won¡¯t know what we did, but he was one of the beings that fell upon the humans who managed to survive the six months of the Tutorial and the period of adjustment that came after. While it might be wary of picking a fight with us, the rest of the people trapped with us won¡¯t be so lucky. There will be a confrontation, unless you decide to stand idly by while hundreds get kidnapped and subjected to a grisly demise. Or worse.¡± ¡°Fat chance of that.¡± ¡°I figured as much. Which means that you need to grasp at every straw you have and then some. It won¡¯t be an immediate concern, but we will be vulnerable after a year. You must become a far stronger Telepath, Shifter and Projector in order to stand a chance. Not at winning mind you, but at making it rethink its options. It and the others who will come to plunder the new arrivals have a vested interest in keeping their cards hidden and in avoiding potential catastrophes. A weakling is a stool to be stepped on. A rising star is a respected peer. That is the norm and the law in here. Never forget it.¡± I pressed the bottle to my lips and drank freely from it. Sarcophagus Sully continued. ¡°The Drake prefers to turn its victims into living furniture, or else absorb them into itself. It believes itself to be constantly nearing perfection in a corporeal sense, forever seeking new biomass to experiment with. In our case, it might turn us into a sentient item it can wear, much in the same manner as you uplifting Cherub and Slasher.¡± ¡°Lovely.¡± I took anther drink. Gulping down several times before putting the bottle down. By some miracle, I managed to set it on the table perfectly, despite my shaking hands. Unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t so lucky in maintaining my balance. I fell sideways, hitting my head on the floor as I tumbled downwards. ¡°I feel funny.¡± I said, giggling slightly at nothing in particular. ¡°The corners are falling. They¡¯re not there. The walls aren¡¯t there. We¡¯re¡­. where are we? I don¡¯t see the edges. I don¡¯t see the corners. I don¡¯t see the walls.¡± There was series of clanks striking stone. Clank. Clank. Clank. Skittering like a big iron bug. ¡°You overdid it.¡± ¡°Hehehe. You¡¯re squishy.¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s it for this conversation. I don¡¯t remember being able to handle that much booze in my day. Might have something to do with your training.¡± I heard the clanking of metal legs skittering away. ¡°In any case, you know about both choices now. Absorb the Drake¡¯s vestige and later, Randall, if you wish to save our entire planet and everyone in the Tutorial. As for saving grandpa and the common people of our world¡­¡± He paused. Shifting his bulk around for the briefest of instants. ¡°I trust I don¡¯t need to say it out loud.¡± ¡°No.¡± I confirmed. Giggling like a fool. Until the laughter turned to sobs and the tears began falling from the corners of my eyes. ¡°I have seen their sins. I have watched the consequences of their actions.¡± I paused again, trying and failing to stop the flood of emotions. ¡°I know what must be done.¡± Chapter 75: Under Burning Skies. Chapter 75: Under Burning Skies. The staircase hadn''t been there before. Not the part leading down, anyway. I had searched the mansion half a dozen times already and, in every instance, the structure hadn''t possessed a basement. ''Though I suppose expecting consistency in this place is the height of stupidity.'' Indeed, the physics, or what passed for physics in Pandemonium were a jumbled mess of contradictions and irregularities. I sighed and resigned myself to keep going. Gripping the handrail as I descended into the darkness. I kept going and going. Past two flights of stairs. Then three. Then four. All without finding a doorway or an end. That''s when I slapped myself over the head. Angry and frustrated at the slow way I was adapting, despite knowing most of the rules in the back of my head. "I am the master of this place." I stated bluntly. "I want a door in front of me. Obey." No words answered me back, yet I knew the message had been received. Sure enough, there was a door waiting for me as I descended another flight. Opening it was, quite literally, a blast from the past. Memories coming unbidden as I took in all the screaming faces. They were surrounded by a miasma of impenetrable darkness. The only light coming from my own figure as I stepped past the doorframe. Belatedly, I wondered how long it had been since the last time they saw anything. A thought that was closely followed by questions regarding whether or not any of them deserved this fate. I squinted as I walked forward. Trying to recall where each one had come from. Who they had been whilst they were alive. "You, ah. I remember you. You were the one who beat my mother and stole her purse when I was eight. You had a mask on, but I know it was you. I had heard the cops never caught you. Now I can see why." The face I pointed at did not stop screaming. On the contrary, its despair redoubled the second it saw my face. Its eyes bulging outwards as the veins within them reddened to the point where I feared that they might burst. "Kill me! Please kill me! Please let me die! Please! Please! Please!" I shuddered, but kept going. Noticing more and more familiar faces as I moved. Despite not having seen some of them with my own eyes. There were the gang members who had tried to turn our street into their territory and had vanished shortly thereafter. I hadn''t actually met any of them in person. Only learning of their existence due to dad complaining about the police''s lack of progress on the case. I couldn''t say how I knew it was them. But I knew. I knew them all. Next to them were the two theme park employees who''d kidnapped one of my friends back in elementary school. Leroy. His name had been Leroy. I couldn''t remember his face anymore. Only that their body had been found some weeks later in a shallow grave beside a creek. He had gone missing during a school trip while one of our teachers was getting smashed on tequila. She had lost her job and the school had to pay out a settlement. The killer or killers had never been caught. Probably because the Tall Man had gotten to them first. Oddly enough, I didn''t feel particularly bad about any of them being here. These had all been vile, violent people who had wronged me or people close to me in some way. Yes, this was awful, but in some regards, this was the only justice they would have seen without the Tall Man''s interference. ''I guess I can take some solace in that. Though perhaps a few years in here was a bit overkill. Maybe I should release them.'' Their original bodies would have most certainly died by this point, but perhaps a final death was preferable to what they were going through. Sure enough, a few seemed completely out of it, even as I passed. The sad remains of their minds too broken to comprehend what was happening. ''It will have to wait till later. After I have enough free time to sit down and make sense of all of this.'' I kept moving through the chamber. Trying to ignore the pleas and the begging and the apologies. Until I saw a familiar face among the prisoners. That of an alien resembling a capybara. I approached the Seeking Drake. Keeping a healthy distance between us. "Hey." I began. Not sure of what else to say. For once, he didn''t change his shape. He didn''t berate me or talk down to me. No, this version of the Drake only wept and pleaded as the rest did. "Please." He managed in between bouts of hysterical sobbing. "Please let me die. Let it end. I don''t want to be here anymore. I don''t want it to hurt anymore. Please Sully. I''m begging you." I heard the distinctive clattering of metallic legs on stone coming from the side. Not bothering to turn my head as the Sarcophagus made his way to us. "The time has come." He said. His voice as flat and emotionless as always. "I know." "This will be a mercy." He said. "I know." "For both of us." I turned to him. Taking his meaning at once. "You want me to absorb you too?" He made a hissing noise through his speakers that might have been laughter. "Of course. We both saw it''ll take you a good few months to get back to our old strength otherwise. Your predicted failure to deal with the future Anezka''s nanomachines is proof of that. Yet it doesn''t have to be that way. Destroy what little is left of me and you''ll be back to where you were before. Your body will be able to handle it, now that you''re about to absorb the Drake''s shard." "But you''ll be gone." I insisted. "Forever. Is that truly what you want?" "Do you even need to ask? After all you''ve seen of me? Of my own suffering?" He made that hiss again. "I watched as my body was torn asunder. I watched as my parent''s killer strutted about during the tournament. I watched as my world burned. And then, I spent decades in an inescapable cycle of killing and running and hating. Pushing back against the denizens of the Labyrinth and other humans alike. The only reason I didn''t end things on my own terms was spite." He paused. Savouring the word as his speaker kept buzzing. "Mmm. Yes. Spite. Such a delicacy, for someone who has lost everything. It was all that kept me going for decades. All that convinced me to cling to whatever scraps of life I had left. I would dream of it. Fantasizing each morning and each night. About how much spite I still had. How much hurting I still had to do. How much suffering I had yet to inflict. It was an unending font of desire. The desire to hurt everyone who had hurt me. To exterminate all the gnomes I could wrap inside my fog. To torture the minds of those who had killed my loved ones for all time." The hissing grew louder. "You are a fool if you think I want to keep existing. You are an even bigger fool if you think any words could convince me otherwise. I have achieved all my goals simply by the fact that you stand here before me. Believe me when I say, I would have it no other way." I didn''t say anything for a few minutes after that. Simply standing there, staring at the way his organs floated in the goo. "A mercy then." I said quietly. "For both of you." "Please." He confirmed. "Let it end." I nodded. Moving one hand to him and one hand to the sad remains of the Drake. Allowing all my presences to merge into [Suppression] as he had done before me. "Become me and suffer no more."
The rain was coming down hard now. The sounds of heavy droplets threatening to drown out the wail of the sirens. The water was painful as it struck me. Falling with such force that each individual mote felt like a kick in the stomach. Add in the fact that my clothes were drenched, and one arrived at a singularly miserable night. Still, I was running. As fast as my legs could take me. Trying to outrun the few fishes that were still hunting humans. There weren''t a lot of them left, but that didn''t mean all of the were gone. Professor Lee had found that out the hard way, when she''d had the bright idea to open the shelter doors early. "Because I need to film this historic moment! It might be the subject of my next doctoral thesis!" She''d said. ''Stupid, vapid cow! Lost my brother because of you! How are you going to make up for it huh? How are you going to fix this!?'' I kept cursing her in my heart. Despite knowing there was nothing she could possibly do. The dead couldn''t help us, after all. ''I have to make it. I have to live. For my brother. For all those people that couldn''t stay alive. I have to live for them!'' If I died, there''d be no one left to mourn my brother or our parents. There would be no one left to put flowers on their graves. There would be no one left to pray for them and to relish the times when they were alive. It would be as if they had never existed in the first place. The mere thought of it was worse than the idea of me dying. I could feel the fish getting closer. Hearing its wings beating nearer and nearer as I sprinted. I felt a chill dashing up my spine and threw myself down to the ground in one fluid motion. Dodging the closing jaws by mere inches as they tore at empty air. I collapsed afterwards. Struggling to crawl away on all fours and to get back on my feet as the thing blitzed past me and started to turn in order to get me properly. In my mind, all my movements were as swift as a running river. In reality, I stumbled forwards more than once and it seemed like that was all it took. My eyes tracked the monster''s unnaturally swift movements as it shot through the air. Seeing it open its vicious jaws wide and.... It stopped. As if frozen in time. ''No. It didn''t stop. It''s still coming at me. But slowly. Much too slowly.'' I tried to move, but found that my limbs were still as stone. My heart refusing to beat as I desperately struggled to live. Then the wave hit. Like an invisible punch to the gut and my face landing at the exact same time. All while I could feel the rain drumming against the awning above me, even as my eyes could make out individual raindrops hanging motionless in the air. ''What is going on?'' I wondered with mounting dread. ''Am I dead? Is it possible that the monster killed me and this is just the last gasps of my consciousness before it all goes dark?'' "No." A disembodied voice answered me. Its melodious pitch seeming to come from above and below, from my right and my left and from within my own lips. All at once. Carrying an authority that bound me tightly to its every note. "I will not let any harm come to you. I will protect and save and comfort you. I will be your hero and your protector." I would have gasped if the world wasn''t frozen. Each word carrying the weight of entire mountains, as well as a loving promise that warmed every single cell in my body. Touching part of myself I did not know existed before this point. Just the mere act of hearing it, of bearing witness to it, was enough to make my mind spasm. To make me melt like ice-cream under the hot summer sun. My core forgetting about my brother and my parents and the monster before me. All so that I could fill my empty shell with more of the voice. More of its sweet, delicious temptations. That was when the world began to change. The very atmosphere gaining a golden hue that dyed the monster and the street and the crumbling buildings out in the distance together with an almost divine glow. I tried to blink. To try and dispel the fantasy, but my eyes would not move. "Do not struggle against me, friend. I am here to aid you." There it was again. Like a chorus made up of millions upon millions of cherubs. Infiltrating every single one of my cells and scouring them clean of fatigue. Of sin. It was the best, most wonderful music I had ever heard in my entire life and I felt each and every part embedding itself beneath my skin. Pulling me in a thousand different directions, but without the presence of pain or fear ort hunger. No. On the contrary. Those hooks and that voice brought a calming surety that resonated with my very soul. Beating with fervor while my heart refused to move. I felt my pupils dilating, as a figure popped into existence between me and the monster. A sublime meld of flesh and feather and bone. It. He. Was perfect. Utterly and incomprehensibly perfect. Tall and muscular and fair. Easily three meters or more, dressed in a pristine white suit and with a physique that could only be described as statuesque. Indeed, the best works of Greek sculptors would have looked like piles of steaming dung when placed next to him. His head was full of flowing black hair that reached his shoulders and he had a shaven face that almost glowed against the backdrop of mundane reality. His face also had three eyes. Two in their regular sockets and one on his forehead. They were pale, like chips of dirty ice. Yet they too shone like diamonds. Scattering the darkness with their very presence. Those eyes. Those beautiful, terrible eyes. They bore down on me like the very will of the heavens. Seeing right through me and all my fears and shames and imperfections. All while retaining a deep, indescribable kindness that blew all those ill feelings away. Two pairs of resplendent white wings erupted from his back. Easily two dozen metres in length when stretched out to their fullest extent. Billowing out in such a way that they threatened to engulf the entire island. More creatures popped into existence behind him. Child-like copies that wore similar outfits. Each one bearing a gleeful countenance and smiles so wide that they threatened to damage their little faces. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. But they did not matter. Only the winged giant mattered. Those eyes. Those spectacular, amazing eyes. I couldn''t have looked away, even if my body hadn''t been frozen. My memories were being overwritten. Each vestige of my being suffused with his splendor and changing the weak, ugly person that I was into someone who was worthy of his attention. He started moving forward then. His hand reached out and touching, actually touching, my face. His thick, calloused fingers caressing my cheeks and twirling a few locks of dirty hair. "Do not put yourself down like this, friend. You are wonderful the way you are. You are a caring, loving person. You do not deserve what has happened to you this day." A sad smile crossed that perfect face and my insides twisted in agony upon seeing it there. ''No! Don''t be sad! Don''t be sad for my sake! I couldn''t bear it!'' The corners of his lips twitched. Ever so slightly. The gesture sending tongues of fire down my veins and warming up my very being with an ecstasy that I could not put into words. I had never done any kind of drug before this point, but there was no doubt in my mind that this was a high beyond any earthly concoction. I didn''t want this moment to end. Could not bear the idea of this moment ever ending. ''This must be what love at first sight is. My brother always made fun of me for being single, for not giving boys the time of day, but it was all predestined. How could I possibly love anyone else, when such perfection existed? No. This moment shouldn''t end. It couldn''t end.'' "But it must end. Friend. Your brother needs you. Your community needs you. You have a life to live and people to care for. You have others to help and others to love you in my stead. You must be brave and strong and fierce. For yourself, as well as them." ''My brother is dead.'' I thought. My heart twisting as I realized that I had disagreed with something the perfect one said. "No." He said. "Your brother was damaged. His heart was silent. But his brain, his mind, was still alive. And that was more than enough for the current me. I healed him and comforted him. Just as I am doing with you and many, many others. He will live. I promise you that." I would have broken out in hysterical sobs, if my body was still able to move. ''How? How did you reach him in time?'' "The same way I am reaching you. Friend. Time has not stopped. It is only your perceptions that have changed to match mine own. This, is the way I saw things as a child, and the way I see things once again. Endless moments stretched unto eternity that bleed into the next and the next and the next after that. For all time and beyond the concept you believe to be time." ''Who are you!? Why did you come for me? What did I do to deserve your presence? What can I possibly do to make you stay?'' His smile turned sad once more. The change ripping out chunks of myself that I didn''t know were there. "I am the one who controls. That is who I am. Who I will always be. I. Control." He said it with such surety, that it must have been true. "As for the other questions, friend. I have been with you for some time. I was sitting on your shoulder when you brought your first puppy home, all those years ago. I was standing behind you, when the Hydra leapt from the waterfront during that long, cold winter. I was comforting you and your parents, when the skies were blotted out by radioactive ash and you gathered around the heater with bowls of soup in your hands. You did not see me and you did not remember me, but it makes no matter. I was there." The sadness in his face grew more severe. My intestines twisted into knots. Starving serpents that cannibalized each other the longer this travesty was allowed to continue. ''Stop! Stop it! I can''t bear it anymore! I don''t want you to be sad! I want to please you and comfort you and make you happy! Please don''t be sad!'' "I won''t be sad. Friend. So long as you care for yourself. So long as you are safe and warm and happy. That is what I want. For you, for your brother, for everyone." He stepped closer and placed both hands on my shoulders. The action sending concussive blasts up and down my spine. It felt as though my head was a volcano and all my nerves streams of white-hot magma. Even though my eyes couldn''t move, I could have sworn that they had rolled up into the back of my skull. My teeth struggled against the frozen, never-ending moment. Wanting to chatter and clatter uncontrollably as the sublime sensation overpowered me. I tasted blood within my mouth, briefly wondering if this was what a stroke felt like. And then there was no body. No me. All there was and all that there had ever been was this man. This perfect being. A divine creature made to be worshiped. "Be strong, friend. Be brave. Keep your heart steady. I want you to remember that, always. I want you to feel good about yourself. I want you to be the very best person you can be. I want you to seek pleasure in the little things you come across during every second of every day. I want you to relish the chirps of birds. I want you to delight in the presence of those you hold dear. I want you to savour the food you eat and the songs you sing. The ground you step on and the air you breathe. I want you to love every dance and every kiss. I want you to live in every single moment and I want you drown in the happiness they bring. I could help you. I could make this your life. Your eternity, forever and ever." His whispers were corroding me. Melting me down into hot slag and remaking me into something better. More beautiful. "And in return, all I ask is that you help others do so as well." ''Yes. I could do that.'' "No. you mistake me. You must do that. Just, think about it. All those selfish, unhappy people that always grasp for more. Not through hard work and sacrifice, but through wrongdoings. Those that exploit the ones that work earnestly and honestly. That take things by force and violence and vile, twisted threats. Think of the burglar. Of the cutpurse. Of the car thief and the murderer. Think of the corrupt politician, of the knowing polluter, or the scammer, the trafficker, the predator. Think of all those selfish people that step on others to get what they want." Hatred blossomed in my heart then. Consuming me. "I want a world without them. Without villains. Without crime. Without sin. I want a world without war and without pestilence. A world where all children have a roof over their heads and food in their belly. A world where no child has to see their loved ones torn apart by monsters. One where everyone treats each other with the respect they deserve. I want a world where everyone has the same opportunity to live freely and with happiness. I want a world without the stain of gnomes. I want a world of perfect order. A summer that never ends." I paused. My mind failing to process that last bit. ''Gnomes?'' "Yes friend. A world without gnomes. Ah, what a lovely dream. But, there will be time for that later. For now, focus on the monster. Focus on the fish." His hands went lower. Grasping my forearms and massaging my weary muscles. As they did so, my body began to change. My own biceps growing thicker and more defined. My wounds closing and my old scars vanishing as if they''d never bee there in the first place. "Remember this feeling, friend. It is one of many you must become accustomed to. I will not remove anyone¡¯s free will. Instead, I will give you power, but it is up to you to use it for good. I believe in you." He looked down at me then. Really looked. And his stare re-forged me. From the tips of my toes to the strands of my hair. I saw the Labyrinth and the bugs and the gnomes. I saw the truth. All of it within a fraction of a heartbeat. Before the lovely moment ended and time resumed as normal. My hands turned into razor-sharp claws before I could blink. My body moving with a level of coordination that would have been unthinkable half a second earlier. At the same time, my muscles exploded with newfound might. Launching me forward as my mind roiled with the sensation of the fog and the gathering bolt behind my eyes. Yes, these new eyes. They took in so much more, so much faster than before. I saw that the fish had a few rapidly-healing wounds of its own. I saw the way it favoured its left side over its right. I saw the moment it realized I was different, panic overtaking its own brain as it tried to beat its wings into a hasty retreat. Then my digits were cleaving through its flesh and it saw no more. I whirled, searching for the perfect man with an all consuming-desperation, but he was gone. All that remained were the winged children, in those same white suits. Laughing merrily as they downed fish of their very own. Their voices formed a hallowed chorus that travelled for miles and miles. Infiltrating the very concrete below my feet so that the music permeated from all sides at all times. It was so wonderful. Making me feel so uniquely incandescent. And yet, I felt, empty. Indeed, within me lay an emptiness so vast that it beggared belief. My body started shivering then. The withdrawal hitting me like a truck as I tried to recall how unbelievably good his mere presence had felt. I wanted to be near him again. I wanted him to look at me. I wanted to be the center of his attention for one moment longer. "I need to do more." I mumbled. "I need to save people. I need to be a hero. I need to prepare for the gnomes and rend their flesh from their bones." Yes. He would look at me then. He would have to look at me again. Lighting flashed and struck the ground next to me. The heat and light blinding me for an instant before the sound washed over me. Yet I did not fear it, for it carried a hint of his divine, perfect influence. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ Trumpets blared in all directions. Announcing his coming. My eyes snapped to the skies. Not caring that the falling rain had a reddish hue or that it clung to my skin as if congealing together. The whole sky was painted a deep crimson. Flashes of light breaking through the burning clouds like brilliant rubies hidden amidst a flowing river. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ More lighting fell and the music redoubled. My eyes watching as more monsters exploded in showers of gore. Releasing more messengers that carried his gospel to the four corners of the earth. "They are eyes." I breathed out. Laughing softly to myself. "They are his eyes and he is watching." I began to laugh. Even as sickening, pulping sounds echoed all around me. The telltale signs of dying monsters and revelling angels. "Ha! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha! AH! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" I drew in a breath and allowed it to escape through my teeth. Savouring the way it steamed upon re-entering the atmosphere. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ More angels were flying overhead now. Dancing around the arcs of purple lighting that lacerated down from the heavens. Bathing in the golden flames that had slowly replaced the clouds. Some wore long, flowing robes that resembles yellow or red suits whilst others were clothed in ragged strips of black leather. Yet all carried themselves with his blessing. His surety of purpose. His eternal, undying love. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ "They are his chanters. His pilgrims. His flagellants. They are the fateful lightning of his terrible, swift sword." And they were dancing. A wide smile blossomed on my face. "My brother has been healed. He must have been." Which meant I had to hurry. It would not do for him to earn more of the perfect one''s favour, after all. So, I grew wings of my own and leapt up into the sky. Passing the falling corpses of monstrous fish as they careened down towards the earth and searching for live ones of my own. Worthy offerings that I may lay before him. So that I could bask in his love once more. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ But there were others flying overhead as well. Competing for his attention. His loving presence. Hundreds, then thousands of people growing wings of their own and breathing fire and ice and arcs of electricity that mimicked a fraction of his own. All writhing as they flew and killed and slew. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ So, I kept beating my own wings. Drowning in the sounds of the trumpets and the explosive crack of thunder falling all over the city. Adding their sounds to the chorus. THOOOM! THOOOOM!!! THOOOOOMMMM!!! Shard of concrete rose up high into the air. My wings dancing around them as they disintegrated in mid-air. My claws rending flesh from bone and my bolts escaping as fast as I could make them. My soul revelling as the volume rose to a fever pitch. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ ¡®I. Control.¡¯ ¡®I. Control.¡¯
I allowed my head to drift from left to right. Taking in the now empty situation room. I had given the others a heads up about the decisions I had taken, as well as my reasons. I had also implored everyone here to leave, after outlining the likely response from general Lemay''s office. Three had chosen to remain, against my express wishes. It was an utterly insane, asinine thing to do. A decision that would undoubtedly result in all of them mysteriously disappearing alongside me. I couldn''t have been prouder. "Director Carter?" "Yes Ron?" "The cleaners are here." I sighed. "Well, that was faster than I would have liked." Ron shrugged. "I can only deduce that general Lemay''s priorities demanded swift and decisive action. After all, its not as if millions of people are dying as we speak or anything. He has plenty of time to spare on rounding up malcontents." I had to laugh. To the point where my stomach started hurting. All while the three dozen men made their way over to us. Rifles and diamond-tipped blades held at the ready. Ron''s eyebrows rose as he noticed the latter. A slight chuckle escaping his lips. "Jeez. They even brought out the Shadowcats for this. We must be very scary." I laughed harder. "Ron, my boy. You have no idea how scary I can be when properly motivated. This, this was a lapse in judgement." "I don''t think so sir." Ron countered. "Communication from Hong Kong has been sporadic, but I have no doubt that your actions will have saved a couple million people at least. Those are major war numbers. If there was ever a time to act out. It would have been this one." I stopped laughing. Suddenly feeling a lot more sober about the whole ordeal. "I sure hope so Ronald. I sure hope...." I keeled over. My hands barely catching the edge of my desk before my skull banged on the table. Unable to tell what happened. Unable to discern left from right or up from down. My first thought was one of dread. That the other side had a pet Telepath. That we were in for far slower deaths than I had first surmised. That was, until I noticed the outside monitors turning red, and something wet leaking from the ceiling. My second thought was that such a thing was impossible. This place was built to take several nukes in quick succession. There was no way anything was getting through that many floors. My third thought came when I touched my shoulder and saw the red, sticky juices clinging to them. ''Is this, blood?'' Then the air became thick and heavy. A sense of horrible anticipation washing over me. Chills crawling up my spine as all my hairs stood on end. It felt like I was hanging at the end of a precipice. Holding on by the tips of my fingers. Waiting for the guillotine to finally drop. When it did, it came as a loud pop. One that travelled through all the walls. So that it was picked up by every camera on site. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ Lemay''s men heard it too and they stopped in their tracks just long enough to hear the sharp, ringing sound that followed. Before the voice spoke up. A faint whisper in the darkness. "Mittens is here." The axe popped into existence. Alongside the thing that held it. Three forked tongues wagging outwards from a rictus smile plastered on Desmond''s face. Paralyzed in a picture of furious jubilation. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ And then, the ceiling imploded, rising and vanishing as if sucked up by a vacuum. And all hell broke loose. Portals rose up from the ground on either side of the group, disgorging things that crawled out of the deepest pits of the abyss. Showers of gore drenched us and them both. The floor between us rapidly disintegrating so that they started to fall in between the gaps. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ Things made of torn-up flesh bound in black leather with buzz saws for hands leapt at the soldiers. The sounds of slicing and tearing echoing like a hundred woodchippers singing in concert. Almost drowning out the screams as the things flailed their limbs about. Almost. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ Worse, the laughter was ringing in our very cores. Seeming to come from above and below. From right in front of us and just behind our ears. "Mittens does swear! Mittens will tear! Mittens is here!" Then there were the others. The children, the toad-faced angel, the sultry ladies regaling and entrancing us with their very presence. One of them gripped Ron¡¯s arm, eroding all his panic and attention until there was nothing else in his eyes. Nothing but her. I saw her. Looking closer. At the long, flowing robes that barely covered anything. At the exposed skin that glistened with sweet-smelling perfumes. She was so entrancing that I barely noticed the growing horns and claws and tentacles sprouting from the walls. Nor the slobbering, mewling mouths that sang in unison. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ She planted a kiss on his cheek. Moving preternaturally fast. So much so that I couldn¡¯t even conceive of the act before it happened. Ron was paralyzed. Turned to stone. Unable to fight or even summon the will to fight it. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I gasped. Moving backwards in surprise as I realized I hadn¡¯t been breathing this whole time. My lungs had forgotten how. I coughed. Trying to breathe through an atmosphere saturated with perfume and other tender aromas, when someone, or something, held my arm. It was the toad-faced angel. A thing with long flowing robes that grew out of a suit, with a visibly toned body and a face that was decidedly not human in the expressions it made. ¡°Greetings, honored one.¡± He said. His voice echoing over the sounds of carnage coming from above. So, intoxicating that it distracted me from the bits of intestines and shattered jaw that rained atop me. ¡°I come to spread the good news. To enlighten his flock. Come with me and stay a while. We have everything you could possibly want and more.¡± His hands gripped my own suit and pulled. Hard. Taking me off my feet and drawing me into the salivating walls. I fell through a hole that hadn¡¯t been there. Through legions of flaming passages as my clothes disintegrated. I tried to scream, but the only thing that came out, was more music. Far more terrible than before. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ ¡®I. Control.¡¯ ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I was slamming my hands against the gun safe. Just as more bloodied abominations were smashing against the reinforced windows. Their attempts to get in leaving bright red stains that led all the way down towards the pool below. Thunder cracked like a whip. Making the music rise again as tongues of fire picked up trees from the gardens outside. Twisting more of them until they had hands and legs and wings of their own. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ One of the pig-things broke through at that. Its misshapen corpse squealing like a new-born as its body writhed on the ground with malformed wings and human hands. It squeezed out a pathetic: ¡°Squeeeeeee!¡± As it tried to snuggle into the rug. But my brain pushed out the noise. Replacing it with more music. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I re-focused on the safe. Trying to distract myself from the warmth in my pants and from the monster dying in my solar. Cursing as the display kept blinking in and out. ¡°Come on you bastard! Open up! Open up!¡± The screen sputtered and then displayed two, singular words. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ ¡°Shit! Shitshitshitshitshit! SHIIIIIIIIITT!!!¡± I slapped it. Over and over and over. Bringing my foot up to kick and coming up shot. Another crack of lighting erupted behind me then. Undoing the roof and the three floors above with the greatest of ease. I turned. My eyes blinking as things started rising from the crater. They were like the bleeding pig, but bigger. More complete. Two of them picked up the fallen thing and¡­. Absorbed it. Their flesh wriggling like millions of worms crawling over each other and making noises more akin to millions of crawling spiders than anything a normal pig might have made. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ They brayed. I launched myself sideways towards one of the swords mounted on the wall. A decorative thing that was nonetheless sharp enough to be dangerous. I wielded it in self-defence. Slashing the air in a futile attempt to keep the horror from coming closer. But it did anyway. Lashing out with tooth-filled tentacles that scarred my arms and torso. I screamed. Trying to give voice to the torrents of agony lancing up my limbs and into my brain as more lightning fell outside and inside. Destroying my desk and the expensive rugs in three piercing blows that sent shockwaves of fire all around. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I fell backwards crying. ¡°Why? Why is this happening to me!? What did I do to deserve this!?¡± ¡°Murder.¡± A voice answered. Stepping through a veil of crackling nothingness with a shining sword in hand. ¡°Muuuuurdeerrr tiiimeeee!¡± The sword sang. Before the giant slapped it. ¡°No slasher. Not murder. Not for us. This man will be judged by his peers. By his victims. Many of them are on their way.¡± I looked up at him from the floor. At his massive size, his muscles, his flowing hair. At the sheer, impossible perfection of all his features and the way his three eyes took in the room. ¡°Good evening, General.¡± The giant said. ¡°I have come to see the world put to rights. To, change up its current leadership. The innocent will be allowed to continue. After I have explained the new standards they will follow going forward. As for you¡­¡± He paused and only then did I realize that I hadn¡¯t been breathing. Enraptured as I was by his beauty. ¡°Well, I believe the girls are making their way here, even now. If you have something to say, say it to them.¡± ¡°Girls?¡± I stammered. ¡°How do you know about the girls? How? Wait. You! You¡¯re the one that sent Mason and his goons to me! To us!¡± The giant nodded. Yet, despite him being the cause of all this trouble, despite him holding the keys to so many mysteries and so many opportunities, I couldn¡¯t even fathom becoming aggressive. Nor could I imagine defying him in any way. It was as if the idea was as impossible as breathing underwater or raising the dead. Unthinkable. Yet the door opened anyway and I turned to see five of the girls walking in. Calm as I had never seen them before. They were wearing clothes now. Long, flowing robes that concealed their figures. And that wasn¡¯t all. They were also on fire, but the scorching heat did not seem to hurt them. On the contrary, the sputtering flames were wiping away the wounds on their bodies. Leaving them as pristine as they had been when they first arrived. I gasped as I saw the bloody wings that erupted from their backs. Crimson coloured feathers twitching as they dripped congealing blood over the carpets. Their eyes¡­ Those eyes that had so recently been bereft of resistance, were now glowing with expectation and ecstasy. Enraptured by the giant as I was. And in their hands¡­ The daggers. Chapter 76: Everything Adds Up. Chapter 76: Everything Adds Up. I was sitting on a couch. In what could only be described as a disgustingly opulent palace. Even by the standards of the UM general security council. Unfocused eyes staring out into the distance. Trying really hard to come to terms with what my grandson, or rather, the supersized crazy-eyes freak supermodel claiming to be my grandson was telling me. ¡°So, you see, I have to be considered a good person when you add up all the things I managed to accomplish in the last 22 or so hours. I understand that it can get a little complicated, so I¡¯ll go over them again. Firstly, I, Solomon Carter, singlehandedly ended slavery worldwide. It turns out that there were millions living the equivalent of modern-day slavery in a ton of third-world countries and some first-world ones. I reckon I saved some 81 million people or so. Which I¡¯m pretty sure makes me the greatest emancipator in all of human history. But that¡¯s not all. I also replaced all modern dictatorships with functioning democracies led by people I personally vetted through the most rigorous assessment process ever conceived. That is, I went deep into their minds. Like, really, really deep. Some of them might be somewhat damaged. But that¡¯s okay. Because I saw the future and I know they¡¯ll do a good job. Also, I am not ruling the world nor am I mind-enslaving anyone to do my bidding. It is very important that you understand that. Okay? Are you with me so far?¡± He was pointing at a graph again. Showing me a detailed breakdown of numbers on the board. My eyes glazed over them as I silently shifted them away from the colourful lines and over to the monster¡¯s eyes. They were, so very similar to Reggie¡¯s eyes. So very similar to my own, that I was having trouble disproving his words. ¡®No. This, thing, cannot be Sully. I remember my grandson. A good kid with a good upbringing. Someone who followed the rules. Someone with a good set of morals. Who always tried to help if he could. This, couldn¡¯t be him.¡¯ ¡°Right. So, we¡¯re still on that. Okay. Sure. I didn¡¯t want to do this so soon because I¡¯ve been noticing some, delicate side-effects, but I guess it can¡¯t be helped right now.¡± The memories came like a punch. No, like the feeling of being run over by several freight trains while a gorilla played the drums on my skull. I got as far as the speech, when the stream of tortures finally cut out. I heaved, watching in mute horror as the floor opened up like a hungry maw and devoured the contents of my stomach. Whisking them away as if they¡¯d never been there in the first place. ¡°Now then, are you okay grandpa?¡± ¡°I¡¯m gonna gut those fucking gnomes!¡± Sully gave me an enthusiastic thumbs up. ¡°That¡¯s my grandpa for you! Two seconds into the fight and already up and running! I¡¯m so proud!¡± He placed a hand on my shoulder and I stiffened as all my cells started to shift. Re-aligning themselves until I felt ten years younger, then twenty, then thirty. My lungs almost collapsing as they struggled to draw in air. My head started clearing up, as my body regained some measure of composure. ¡°Now then, back to the board. I also saved millions, yes, millions of lives from monster attacks worldwide. Not just in Hong Kong. And not just in the moment mind you. No, I assure you that I, your grandson, have made it so that a significant portion of the population has been endowed with powers. Also, I have sent psychic projections to all those I deemed suitable and, encouraged them to behave appropriately. In accordance to the status and station of heroes. No longer will false heroes be a problem in our world. No longer will the public have to cower in fear of villains and other rogue Espers. No sir. Not anymore. I¡¯m sure you will appreciate what a big deal this is, as so much of the word-wide military budget goes to heroes and defense.¡± He started pointing at other lines in the graph. Proudly tracing their patterns as they went down and down and down. ¡°Not only that, I also solved the addiction epidemic. By visiting each and every addict on earth at the same time via Telepathy and¡­¡± He hesitated for a moment. ¡°Letting out a bit of my, uh, presence? Charisma? Yes, let¡¯s go with that. By letting out a bit of my charisma and re-arranging their expectations a little, I have made it so that no one else craves narcotics to a self-destructive degree, ever again. While I was at it, I also solved homelessness, food shortages, inflation, the job crisis, political corruption, crumbling infrastructure, judicial corruption, thefts, murders, gang violence, organized crime; actually, lets roll that up into crime in general, as well as war. Yes, you heard me right. The few wars that were still raging have all been fixed. By me. Because the leaders have either been replaced or have been educated as to what will happen to them if I ever come back to find¡­ grandpa? Grandpa why are you crying?¡± I couldn¡¯t help it. This was madness. Utter, complete lunacy. This place, the Labyrinth. What it did to my grandson. I couldn¡¯t¡­ ¡°No. No! It¡¯s not bad grandpa. It¡¯s not bad. Okay? I have got it completely under control now. I have everything laid out and planned. Periwig is not going to burn down our world. Okay? I¡¯ll stop him. I have everything under control.¡± There was loud pop beside us and the thing that crawled out of Desmond¡¯s corpse started juggling severed heads just out the window. ¡°Mittens is here! Mittens adheres! Mittens will hunt all the sinners! Mittens will eat all their livers! Mittens delivers!¡± Sully picked up a lamp and threw it at the horror. Hitting it square in the head. It gave a surprisingly cute-sounding yelp. Almost feline in nature, before the thing slinked out of sight. ¡°Okay, that? I did not teach him to say that grandpa. I don¡¯t know where he picked it up?¡± ¡°Was one of those heads general Lemay¡¯s? Why did it have no eyes?¡± ¡°Never mind that grandpa! Do not believe your lying eyes! Look at the chart! Look at all the bad lines going down while the standard of living numbers that I extrapolated keep going up and up and up! Someone that did all of this has to be a good person! On top of that, I took steps to get you into the Labyrinth! See, you can¡¯t go directly from a normal world into it, but you can go from Pandemonium into it! You just relax here and before you know it, we¡¯ll be setting you up with all sorts of powers! You can be strong. Safe from anyone else who might be inclined to hurt you. Mind you, I never revealed my name to anyone I shared memories with, but I figured you had enough enemies by yourself that taking precautions wasn¡¯t a bad idea.¡± He was waving around his hands in a manner that was disturbingly reminiscent of someone high on five different kinds of stimulants. With the appropriate manic twinkles in his eyes to boot. ¡°Anyway, powers! Not like the rigid ones we¡¯re used to seeing either! Real, flexible, growing powers! I¡¯ve been taking the initiative to find ways to circumvent the usual rules of the Labyrinth so this and dad and mom¡¯s rescues would be feasible. Why, I¡¯ve even been considering how to address the problem of gnomes beyond Periwig! I¡¯ve been labouring night and day to find a solution that will put all of the ones I [Dominate] to good use. First, we build what I call penal legions and then, grandpa? Why are you crying harder!?¡± Toad-face came over then. Jostling a paper in his hands. ¡°Supreme one! I as always, am humbled by your presence and blessed by your attention! I have finished writing up the plans for the gnomish¡­!¡± ¡°Not now!¡± Sully barked. ¡°You¡¯re upsetting my grandpa! Bring it to me later!¡± Toad-face kowtowed at once. His amphibian forehead striking the marble tiles on the floor. ¡°So sorry! Supreme one! I shall endeavor that it never happens again!¡± Toad-face disintegrated before my eyes. Leaving in a loud pop of imploding air. ¡°Right then, where were we? Yes, the chart. So, you see here. You don¡¯t need to be upset. I have vastly improved the living conditions worldwide and have begun making plans to stop the phenomenon of Rifts altogether. Not only that, but I have my sights set on further improvements to humanity¡¯s place in the universe. First, we start up all the space programs again. I¡¯ve already set all the world¡¯s leaders on that path, but us getting back will really kickstart the whole thing. I will use my abilities to endow spaceships with powers and sentience and then we¡¯ll colonize Mars using powers in roughly ten or so years. I will use the Drake¡¯s abilities to develop plankton and plant life that can start creating an ozone layer, as well as fill up the planet with oxygen. From there, we¡¯ll use portals to travel to and from the planet. Much cheaper than rockets and more sustainable in the long term. That will have to do until I¡¯ve gotten my hands on some gnomish ships. There will be an abundance of them after I¡¯ve finished enacting the first stages of¡­ grandpa!? Grandpa don¡¯t cry!¡± I couldn¡¯t stop myself. This was all so wrong. I, I couldn¡¯t know where to begin unravelling the whole thing. ¡®My grandson! What have they done to my grandson!?¡¯ ¡°I mean, that¡¯s a bit of a loaded question grandpa. I haven¡¯t even shown you the worst of¡­ actually, never mind that.¡± He began shrinking. Deflating like a balloon before my very eyes. Until he started resembling the youth I used to know. Then, he hugged me. Tightly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry grandpa. I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m not doing a better job of explaining. I¡­ I just want to make the best of the situation. I want to leave a positive impact wherever I go.¡± He separated himself from me and I saw the moisture on his eyes. ¡°I want to protect you and dad and mom. I want to make you all proud of me.¡± I was too stunned to act, until the old instincts overcame me. I hugged him back. As tightly as I could. ¡°Damn it Sully! I¡¯m not angry at you. I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m scared. About this whole thing. About what you¡¯ve been going through. This is a bunch of nonsense but, but I thought you were dead! Above all, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re alive. We can work through anything else.¡± We stayed like that for a few more moments, until I separated from him again. ¡°Now, tell me as much as you can. I won¡¯t pry if you don¡¯t want me to. But I need to know everything about Reggie and about this invasion. I¡­ I don¡¯t know if Reggie ever told you what I do for a living, but I¡¯m no stranger to tough choices. We¡¯ll get through this together.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Yes.¡± Sully said. ¡°Together.¡± ¡°Huh.¡± I said, scratching my head at the revelations. ¡°So, you two actually know each other?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Grandpa confirmed. ¡°Me and Mr. Park here go way back. From before the war, in fact. I had heard of his, unfortunate disappearance, but I chalked it up to, uh, political reasons.¡± Mr. Park nodded sagely. ¡°It would not be the first time someone among the ranks let their displeasure be known whilst accompanied by the wrong listeners. These things are a, how would you say it? A known factor in the field. No job comes without risk and the kind of job we had also gave us myriad benefits to compensate for any indiscretions we might be asked to perform.¡± His words were polite. As were his mannerism. Yet the meaning could not be denied. Grandpa and Mr. Park, had both been in the same business of handling super heroes. A job that I was beginning to learn came with, certain expectations. In other words. Both grandpa and Mr. Park were killers. Or worse. Both of them were aware of the existence of corruption and both of them had aided and abetted that corruption. Regardless of their personal feelings. Was that messed up? Oh yeah. Did I really care that much? Nope. Not really. In fact, my heart was surprisingly at peace, now that I was fully aware of all the atrocities I was responsible for. Partly because I was, well, a child at the time and couldn¡¯t really control anything too well and partly because¡­ the others had had a point. The past couldn¡¯t be changed. Not unless you were merely an apparition borne out a possible future envisioned by [Precognition], but that was neither here nor there. The point was, I was responsible for my own actions going forward. Me and no one else. Yeah, what I did was unforgivable by any standards, but it didn¡¯t define who I was now. Only I could do that. And I meant for all my actions to count. Prudence raised a hand then. Looking a bit blue. ¡°Sorry, Sully? I didn¡¯t know it was possible for people to come into the Labyrinth. When did you figure this out?¡± ¡°Oh, a day or so ago when I had a bout of, introspection.¡± I explained. ¡°I looked deep inside myself and figured that it was a loophole that could be explored. Since, of course, I can rely on the System to bring my body from an Excursion to the Labyrinth and I can pretty much access the realm known as, Pandemonium wherever I happen to be. Therefore, anyone who can safely stay in there for a couple of minutes can also come here.¡± She furrowed her brows. As did many others. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m happy for you and everything, but, won¡¯t this have consequences? From the System?¡± I had to laugh. ¡°Yes, Prudence. This will have consequences. In fact the System should be figuring out what to do just about¡­ now.¡± I turned to grandpa, expectantly. He nodded. ¡°I have a screen now. But, I don¡¯t know. I feel dizzy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s normal.¡± I told him. ¡°All of us were knocked out when we arrived. Sleep it off and we¡¯ll all follow up with you tomorrow.¡± Grandpa nodded, though only half-heartedly. Truth be told, the fact that he was still on his feet was a miracle. I caught him as he went down. Holding him close and growing my body so that I could carry him more easily. The transformation, was not lost on the others. ¡°Sully! You finally got a second Type!¡± Kaito exclaimed eagerly. ¡°Nice going man!¡± ¡°Thank you. It was nothing really. Charlie got Shifter as a third Type and Borislav unlocked all four. I can only guess that it was due to the stress of the situation. We worked very hard for all these gains, after all.¡± Kaito was coming over with excitement. Slapping me jovially in the back and asking if I had any tips. The others seemed to relax as well, until the other screens came up.
System Notice: Additional members of the relevant species are not to be brought in until after the Tutorial is over. System Enforcers will be dispatched in order to punish the rule breaker.
System Notice: System Enforcers: Borublik, Yortog Hun, Ramasham Tor Pod, and Bloody Flayer have been contracted to punish Student: Solomon Carter. System Enforcers: Borublik, Yortog Hun, Ramasham Tor Pod, and Bloody Flayer, have been granted access to Solomon Carter¡¯s full Status.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 209, 101, 800 / 209, 612, 800
Type: Telepath V Level 212 / Shifter II Level 55
Telepath Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Avatar X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] 25 / [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] 23 / [Solomon¡¯s Impenetrable Obfuscation X] 14 / [Solomon¡¯s Righteous Indignation X] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Enduring Empathy X] 17 / [Solomon¡¯s Empowering Majesty X] 11
Shifter Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 7
Ability Points: 7
Title: Crown Shard of the Lonely Despot. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so only the wielder may dispel their own mind-controlling effects. This title negates the Psy cost of mind-controlling effects used on those below the wielder¡¯s current Tier. This title degrades mind-controlling immunity of affected targets to mind-controlling resistance. This title doubles Total Psy. ¡°Weary are they who bear the burden of leadership.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Cruel Judge. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes the wielder immune to all mind-altering effects at or below Tier X; with the exception of the wielder¡¯s own. This title quadruples the Psy cost of abilities used against the wielder. This title makes it so that all compatible targets within the wielder¡¯s senses cannot form negative memories involving the wielder unless the wielder wishes it. This title makes it so that compatible targets within the wielder¡¯s senses cannot think about harming or otherwise inconveniencing the wielder unless they spend 10 Psy per Tier in order to do so. Targets that run out of Psy or are otherwise unable to resist lose all memories of wanting to harm the wielder. This title doubles Total Psy. ¡°There can be no innocence. Only degrees of guilt.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Wizened Prophet. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so the wielder occasionally experiences bursts of Enlightenment. This title makes it so the wielder occasionally interacts with non-real alternate versions of themselves. This title makes so that hidden knowledge is revealed to the wielder at random intervals. This title provides a constant +1 Bonus to all ability levels. This title doubles Total Psy. ¡°Distant Storms are foreseen amidst the fog.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Chained Poet. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so only forces above Tier X may dispel the wielder¡¯s illusions or seal the wielder¡¯s conjured Intruders. This title makes it so that all of the wielder¡¯s Telepath abilities gain a +1 to effective level per every 10 levels of active reality degradation. This title anchors a domain within Pandemonium with the wielder¡¯s power and decorates it to the wielder¡¯s tastes. This title allows the wielder and the wielder¡¯s Avatar to drag willing mortal minds into the wielder¡¯s domain in order to re-shape them into Intruders. These actions can be performed shortly after death, though not after brain death. Performing these actions on a living creature will result in the brain death of said creature. Physical contact is required. This title allows the wielder and the wielder¡¯s Avatar to physically travel to and from their domain at will and to grant access to willing or dominated creatures or minds. Creatures whose minds travel to the wielder¡¯s domain in this manner will not become Intruders and will not suffer brain death unless their bodies expire while their minds are away. Physical contact is required. This title doubles total Psy. ¡°Woe to they who lose their grip on reality.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Hidden Hand. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so only forces at or above the wielder¡¯s own Tier may peer through their stealth effects. This title makes it so that all of the wielder¡¯s Telepath abilities gain a +2 to effective level while the wielder is hidden. This title makes it so that the wielder can more easily sense other stealth effects. This title doubles total Psy. ¡°Hidden voices whisper doom. Hidden whispers voice defiance.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Hooded Headsman. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so that psionic damage against all viable targets is doubled per every Tier the wielder has above the target¡¯s own. This title makes it so that the wielder is immune to psionic damage below the wielder¡¯s own Tier. This title makes it so that targets suffering from psionic damage caused by the wielder must spend 50 psy per second until they exit the wielder¡¯s senses or be placed under the full effects of the wielder¡¯s presence. Regardless of distance. This title doubles total Psy. ¡°A judgement rendered. A life forsaken.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Proud General. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so that recognized team members passively receive 5% of the wielder¡¯s active team abilities. This title makes it so that team members gain an additional 20% passive Psy regeneration. This title makes it so that team members gain an additional +1 to all Telepathic abilities while within the wielder¡¯s own senses. This title doubles total Psy. ¡°All the people in their place.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Affable Tyrant. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so that recognized team members passively retain 20% effects from the wielder¡¯s buff after they exit the weilder¡¯s senses for a period of 15 hours. This title makes it so that team members gain an additional +1 to all abilities while benefiting from the wielder¡¯s buffs. This title doubles total Psy. ¡°All will love me and despair.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Lurking Antediluvian. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so that the wielder and any being the wielder has affected with his Shifter healing abilities stops aging entirely. The wielder¡¯s cells will not decay due to entropy, nor will those cells that have been affected by the wielder. This title makes it so that the wielder may regenerate out of any tissue they have bestowed abilities on in the case of death. The tissue must be a living part of a living being. This title provides a constant +1 Bonus to all ability levels. This title doubles total Psy. ¡°Perfection in perpetuity.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Hulking Behemoth. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so that the wielder¡¯s self modifications cannot be forcefully dispelled unless the wielder wishes it. Unconsciousness or grievous injury will not bring the wielder out of their assumed form. This title makes it so that all affected tissues have a natural regeneration rate and Psy regeneration rate of +50%. This title doubles total Psy. ¡°Exultation made flesh.¡±
Title: Crown Shard of the Vile Despoiler. A fragment of divinity, resulting from forging one¡¯s own power. This title makes it so that the targets of the wielder¡¯s forceful modifications remain under the wielder¡¯s influence for 5 hours following their last contact with the wielder. This title makes it so that the targets of the wielder¡¯s forceful modifications must succeed in excising the affected tissue within 1 hour or continuously remain within the wielder¡¯s influence, so long as they are within the wielder¡¯s senses. This effect ends when all affected tissues are excised. This title makes it so that all affected tissues have a natural regeneration rate and Psy regeneration rate of +20%. This title doubles total Psy. ¡°All things from the primordial soup.¡±
System Notice: System Enforcers: Borublik and Yortog Hun have suffered sudden fatal heart attacks. System Enforcers: Orphan Maker and Guantargo have been automatically selected for replacement. System Enforcers: Ramasham Tor Pod, Bloody Flayer, Orphan Maker and Guantargo are feigning fatal heart attacks. System will enforce the contracts.
Sure enough, those words brought the shimmers to the room at once. Carrying their payloads into our safe zone. Orphan Maker was the first. Dropping down like a ton of bricks and kowtowing without being asked. ¡°Master!! Precious Master!!!! Lovely Master!!!! It wasn¡¯t me!!!! I had nothing to do with it!!!!!! Pleeeeaaaaaassssseeeeee!!!!!¡± The others didn¡¯t bother. Breaking out in all directions of teleporting past the walls of the Warehouse with a speed that Charlie couldn¡¯t even imagine. Not that it did them any favours. I no longer had a maximum range, after all. I sighed and figured I might as well get some goodies from them. Its not like I could do anything else, until Peachy heard back from Granny Golden. Chapter 77: The End of the Beginning. Chapter 77: The End of the Beginning. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t want to bring your grandfather with you.¡± Slab commented as we rode Dolce. ¡°I don¡¯t know why that would be a surprise. He¡¯s relatively new at this. A freshly minted Telepath. He¡¯s so exhausted I didn¡¯t even dare give him the usual boost in case his mind couldn¡¯t take it. Besides, he¡¯s, coming to terms with my new, uh, capabilities. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll get over it, but there¡¯s no need to rush. It¡¯s something that can wait until tomorrow. Like my talk with Dusty.¡± The change in topic made Slab quirk an eyebrow up. ¡°I remembered everything.¡± I informed him. ¡°I want to follow up on the things I said the first time around. That and, learning these things about me has, given me a new perspective on things. I don¡¯t think we have as many differences of opinion now as we did before.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s certainly not ominous.¡± Monique quipped. Her voice dry as sandpaper as her eyes looked glazed. ¡°Hey! Nothing of that now. I¡¯m still a good person. Its just that now I¡¯m a bit more¡­ open to alternative means of doing good.¡± I clapped then. Not realizing that I had subconsciously grown two new arms until I heard the sound. ¡°For example! Look at Borislav¡¯s sisters! I can now guarantee that the two of them are safe and sound. Sure, some, less than reputable characters ended up dying, but they were literal slavers and it was their victims who judged them. I will not apologize for that.¡± ¡°Not one is saying you should.¡± Borislav commented. ¡°Also, thank you. I¡­ I knew it was coming since we first captured those two, but it was still a tough wait. I¡­ I really do appreciate it.¡± ¡°Anytime!¡± I cheerfully said. ¡°I will not allow those kinds of evils to prosper anymore! No sir! There is a utopia right around the corner! I can feel it!¡± ¡°Is that why we¡¯re about to find what¡¯s left of Anezka in some ditch so we can send her to your parents as a possessed time-bomb?¡± Charlie asked. ¡°That is different.¡± I stated bluntly. ¡°I gave her every opportunity to not be a terrible slaving piece of (Gnome). Up until the very end. There wasn¡¯t a single possible future in which she changed. Don¡¯t get me wrong, I will absolutely forgive people who genuinely want to change, but I¡¯m done holding back against those that refuse to do so. If I left her alone, she would have come back with an army of nanobots and then she would have been everybody¡¯s problem. Not just ours.¡± I paused to catch my breath. Noting the way my new abilities had expanded my lungs without my direct input. That, had every opportunity to be very annoying, if I didn¡¯t get it under control, yet, it felt as natural as if I were breathing normally. My cells forming a kind of, collective. Talking to each other in ways I could somewhat decipher. ¡®I guess this was what the Drake was talking about, when he said the flesh kept no secrets from him.¡¯ Part of me wanted to take a small breather and start experimenting, but I knew better. Every second counted right now and I couldn¡¯t afford distractions. ¡°Look.¡± I said, through a half-strangled sigh. ¡°Think of it like, chasing after the greater good. Gina and Esmeralda were bad, bad people before the Tutorial. Mr. Park and my grandpa knew each other, which probably means both of them got up to the same kind of shady business. However, these people changed. They accepted the reality of the situation and they are genuinely trying to make the Tutorial and the places they visit through Excursions a better place. Anezka has proven to be someone who refuses to be redeemed. There¡¯s nothing I could have done. Other than fully dominating or killing her. That would have accomplished nothing though. At least this way, she can rescue all the people on that instance from this Halkon nutter. Thereby making a positive impact on my life and the lives of all the people stuck under his rule.¡± Charlie grunted, but said nothing more. ¡°You know, I¡¯m not against killing bad people. I¡¯m really not. I also think you¡¯re doing the best you can with these, circumstances. However, I will warn you about the path you¡¯re taking. The sisters who raised me did so with care and one of the things they always reminded us of was that the world was a complicated place, with many shades of grey. They told me I shouldn¡¯t be so quick to judge without getting a few more years under my belt and the wisdom that comes with age. I used to laugh them off when I saw what Whitmer and his goons got up to, but I¡¯m starting to see their point when I look at you.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°What I mean to say is, you have a lot of power right now. For some people, that in and of itself would be reason enough to distrust you or to try to kill you. So, try and keep things simple for now. Making utopias can wait until you¡¯ve got a firmer grasp on things. Maybe a year or ten down the line.¡± I shook my head. ¡°That might have been an option before I got all my abilities back, but not anymore. I can feel all the pain the victims are feeling. I can taste the despondent cruelty of their abusers. That, or their own twisted senses of superiority.¡± I paused, tightening my fists. ¡°I know what it feels like to be desperate enough to rob people and what it feels like to steal out of simple greed or hatred towards the system at large. I know what those actions do to the victims. How it hardens their hearts to the plights of others. How the feelings of helplessness twist in their bellies like a knife. I know thieves that lay awake at night due to their guilt and thieves that revel in their actions. Laughing to themselves as they enjoy their short-term gains. I know how each person in that loop affects society as a whole, how the criminals and victims both will suffer down the line as the repercussions trickle down a neighbourhood, then a city, then a province.¡± I paused to catch my breath. Despite not really needing to. ¡°I also know that all of it can be averted if I choose to act. To stop it at the source. If I stood by and did nothing, then I would be just as guilty as the criminals. No, in fact, I think I would be more guilty, because I am aware of all the consequences. I have to act because I can act.¡± ¡°He¡¯s right you know.¡± Slab butt in. ¡°Think back to that Whitmer man. How many lives could have been improved if he never managed to get his criminal empire off the ground? How many people would have avoided the vices of gambling or drinking or using vile powders imported from abroad? How many families would still have their fathers? Their sons? Their mothers and daughters? How many youths would have gotten normal, productive jobs instead of joining him?¡± Slab spat off to the side. ¡°I understand your concern, Charlie. Someone with less scruples could put themselves in a position to do some absolutely horrific things with this kind of power. Yet, we both know Sully isn¡¯t that kind of Tyrant. If he was, he wouldn¡¯t have supressed the memory of his powers and he would have gotten them all back the second he entered the Tutorial. That hypothetical Sully could have done whatever he wished. A lesser man would have indulged in the power. Revelled in it. Used it to fulfill their most twisted fantasies.¡± His voice grew louder. More confident. ¡°But Sully is not a lesser man. He has proven time and time again that, of all the people stuck down here, he is the one who should be trusted to not abuse this kind of power. He has the self-control and the sense of responsibility to lead us without dominating us. To find the best way forward without forcing everyone else to toe the line. The fact that he is genuinely struggling with these ideas is proof of that.¡± I nodded, but said no more. My brain was thrumming with newfound might as it was. Covering the entirety of the Tutorial instance and all the creatures therein. Their sensations flooding back to me like waves crashing upon rocky shores. I had done a pretty good job of holding out so far, yet I could feel sleep calling out to me with greater and greater intensity. The previous few days having taken a heavy toll. ¡®Yet, the tiredness isn¡¯t normal.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®Its almost as if the new Shifter abilities are, I don¡¯t know, counteracting the biological need for sleep, while doing nothing about the accumulating stress.¡¯ I wondered if the Drake had felt this way as well. Thinking back to how it always seemed to be on the edge of his seat with barely contained energy. ¡®I guess its just one more thing to get used to. I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll all sort itself out in time.¡¯ Our group passed through a colossal aperture on one of the side walls of the gorge. Near the spot where I¡¯d first glimpsed the seahorses blasting at Slab and Dusty. Funny, that. It had only been a little over seven weeks since then, but it felt like several lifetimes ago. I hadn¡¯t met Buddy yet. Hadn¡¯t gotten [Meditation]. Hadn¡¯t truly understood what I was capable of. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Back then, I fell asleep to dreams of home. Of being able to reunite with my friends in a timely manner. Back then, heights had been a serious fear I had to grapple with. Back then, I¡¯d actually been stupid enough to feel sympathy for a gnome. Well, it was actually Helga¡¯s lure, rather than a real gnome, but the point still stood. Speaking of which, I never appreciated how right both her and Clover were about gnomes. I wish I¡¯d listened. The heat was reaching me even through Buddy¡¯s protective layer now. Sweltering and oppressive like a desert sun. Fish monster swam far below us, with levels ranging from the early 40¡¯s to the late 70¡¯s. Funnily enough, they also had names like:
Lava Bass.
Lava Spear Fish.
Volcanic Barracuda.
Love that. All of them had been dominated long ago, so there was nothing to worry about there. Instead, we kept flying over the chasm and out onto the great hollowed-out pillar in the center of the space. The boss was still floating about it. Its beady eyes looking without seeing. Its mind utterly supressed by my will. It, like its lesser brethren, was a seahorse. With four lizard-like claws and scorpion¡¯s stinger at the end of its tail. Three pairs of translucent fins floated behind it. Moving up and down in slow, relaxed motions that nonetheless defied gravity. The tube it had for a mouth was leaking a steady stream of molten lava as we approached. Its body unable to act in accordance with its destructive instincts. ¡°Right then. It won¡¯t kill any of you guys. So, ride Dolce over to it and beat it to death. You might get into the second Tier if you do.¡± ¡°We might?¡± Monique asked quizzically. ¡°You saw it happen?¡± I shrugged. ¡°The likelihood is low, but not zero. Its up to you to feel around your inner selves and connect your abilities together.¡± ¡°Easier said than done.¡± Charlie complained bitterly. ¡°Well, tough luck, I guess. You¡¯ve skipped a lot of the legwork other people have to go through and now you¡¯ve hit a wall. Whether or not you manage to climb it is up to you.¡± I leapt off Dolce. Spreading my wings wide as the warm currents rose up to meet me. I made them and my body larger. Stronger. Enveloping myself with thicker skin wrapped in yet another layer of rubbery hide and cartilage. All while using [Thaumaturgy] to create freezing chemicals within my bones and muscles. I descended down into a rocky outcrop before too long. Buddy¡¯s boot segments sizzling as they made contact with the bedrock. I felt his pain and winced. ¡°Turn back into the suit.¡± I ordered at once. ¡°The one without shoes.¡± ¡®I¡¯m good Sully.¡¯ Buddy protested feebly. ¡®I got this. I will always look out for you. Because I¡¯m your best friend in the entire world and because no one loves you like I do.¡¯ ¡°Buddy.¡± I said, with more force than I would have used otherwise. ¡°I¡¯m not asking. I am ordering you to unmake the boots. Now.¡± He froze. His mind struggling to cope with the command. Still, he relented. Releasing his grip on my feet and head as the boots and visor withdrew into the stark-white suit that I¡¯d first seen on the Tall Man. My feet burned. Badly. Pain lancing up my legs like sharp needles. Yet all I did was breathe and calmy grow yet more layers of bone around the bottom of my legs. Until it appeared as though I¡¯d put on thick plated boots made from some scavenged dinosaur fossil. It did the trick and I kept walking forward without further incident. Moving until I¡¯d reached the mouth of the cave on the pillar¡¯s side. From there, I descended further. Leaping down steep inclines with no concern or regard for my own body. Such worries weren¡¯t necessary at this point. I had seen the future and knew nothing down there could hurt me. Not the increased gravity. Not the monsters I¡¯d brainwashed so many weeks ago. Not the jagged stones waiting at the bottom, nor the rapidly increasing cold. When I did land, it was with a loud crack. My bony soles rupturing the solid floor with a resounding impact. Leaving behind the imprint of two massive feet. I freed myself and kept walking. Past the layers of mushroom trees that welcomed me back with soft murmurs and past the dominated lemurs bringing water and bits of food to the captives on the other side of the chamber. There, slumped lifelessly against the wall, were two people. Both looked filthy. Reeking of dung and urine and unwashed detritus. Their hair oily and wild, with overgrown knots that tangled themselves around each other. Their limbs weakened and shrunken from their sedentary positions. Their eyes hollow and lifeless from the things I had done to them. I approached them now once more. Taking note of the Tall Man surging up from Randall¡¯s shadow. He had two heads now. One with my own light blue eyes and another whose eyes were tinted a deep shade of red. Like rubies under the morning dawn. His wings seemed fuller too. With actual feathers running down their length. Furtehrmore, his posture was straighter. More commanding and oppressive. All while his feet released less incorporeal tar into this reality. I nodded to it. To him. To me. And his hands fell upon Randall and Anezka both. Bringing their minds, their very beings, back from the darkness beneath the manse. It was, odd to watch. Like puppets coming alive without anyone touching their strings. Their spasms appearing more like the death throes of hunted beasts than anything a human could have been capable of. The screams that followed were filled to the brim with strangled desperation. Both wasting no time in begging me for death. I hushed them with the slightest push of my Psy and moved over to Randall. ¡°This is it.¡± I told him. ¡°You have reached the limits of your growth in Pandemonium. Yet it is not enough. Go now and fight monsters until you drop.¡± I held his crying face in my hands. ¡°You are already dead, Randall. There is nothing you can do about that. However, if you put up a good show and get three abilities to Tier 10, I promise you a quick, painless end when this is all over.¡± My hands went into his cheek. My fingers melting into his flesh and changing his muscles and bones. I felt the warmth of his blood and the tension of his veins as my fingers dug deeper. Psy coursing through this new link to infuse Randall¡¯s body with the Drake¡¯s [Vicissitude]. Until he grew to proportions that rivalled my own. His limbs having lost any sign of their previous weakness or fragility. ¡°If you fail me, if you languish or try to kill my friends¡­ I will hurt you. And I will keep hurting you, long, long after you¡¯re dead. I will keep you in the bad place. And you will know nothing but darkness and suffering for the rest of time. Until the stars burn out in the night sky and all the universes in all possible realities collapse back into primordial soup. All that makes you human, all that makes you your own self, will be gone. Eroded into nothingness and forgotten forever. And through it all, I will keep hurting you. Dragging out each minuscule nanosecond until they seem like unending eternities by themselves.¡± Despite the control I had over his body, Randall still managed to (Gnome) himself. ¡°Think about your new mission, if you understand.¡± He did so. Pushing out the thought between horrified pleas for death. ¡°Good.¡± I stepped back and released my hold on him. He could not even summon the will to think about resisting, as he portalled out of there in a flash of collapsing air and shimmering light. I turned to Anezka, just as the notification popped up.
Hidden Objective Completed: Wandering Boss Sun-blessed Sea Dragon has been slain. All Students in Tutorial Instance gain 5000 Store Tokens. All Students involved in slaying the Sun-blessed Sea Dragon split a reward of 200 000 store tokens based on contributions. The three highest contributors gain a choice between 1 Inferior Symbiote or 1 Equipment Upgrade Token.
I waved it away and stared down at her. Noting the stick-like arms and legs. The way her ribs poked out of her ragged shirt. The terror in her eyes. ¡°Come now. Don¡¯t think such rude things of me.¡± I chided. ¡°You saw those memories. You know it was the future you doing those things. You know that you would have inflicted that on anyone else without batting an eye. So, why think that of me? Why am I the villain, if all I did was turn your own actions upon yourself?¡± Someone else might have tried to deny it. To beg forgiveness and assure their captor that they were a changed person. That the future they saw would never come to pass. Indeed, Anezka was trying to make herself appear this way. Her surface thoughts crawling with apologies. Yet her innermost thoughts revealed a darker side. She wasn¡¯t at all sorry that the future her had planned this. No. She was beyond distraught that it hadn¡¯t worked. That she had been the one to suffer, instead of someone else. In her own, twisted little mind, all that mattered was that other people had interfered. In the depths of her own brain, none of this was her fault. I smiled sadly and caressed the sides of her face. My fingers digging into her mass as well. ¡°You know. I actually wonder if I should let Randall live after all. I just glimpsed the future and he is fully capable of repenting. Fully willing to do so as well. He has done terrible, terrible things. But he can change. I see it. I know it. There is a chance. A small one, but a chance nonetheless. I actually need him to die to get his powers, but it is a dilemma.¡± I allowed a small chuckle to escape my lips. Then, I started changing her. Making her taller. Stronger. Inflating her muscles and re-enforcing her skeleton. Adding more organs and improving the ones already there with all the graces I¡¯d inherited from the Drake. ¡°But you¡­ no. Even now, I can¡¯t see a way in which you don¡¯t go back to your usual tricks. Looking through your memories, you¡¯re the classic textbook narcissist, to a degree that is quite spectacular.¡± I added another heart and another pair of lungs to her chest. Solidifying her ribs into thick bone plates that were nonetheless still flexible. ¡°Nothing matters, so long as you get ahead. People who get in your way, people who refuse to be stepped on, are always bad. They are being annoying by wanting to live their lives. They are evil because they didn¡¯t give you what you wanted. This is how it has always been for you. How life has always worked. And, even now, despite the terror and the pain and the desperation, you continue to blame me and my damn foresight for your troubles. Not the fact that you were fully intending to cripple and torture all the Telepaths you came across.¡± I wrapped her skin with a subdermal layer of flexible cartilage. Moving on to modify her eyes and add new sockets to her skull. ¡°Even Randall turned inwards and despaired during his time in the bad place. But you kept snarling at the void. Not taking accountability for your actions.¡± I added two new arms to her torso and began transforming her spine so that it could accommodate a tail. ¡°I will not even ask for your opinions. Or your cooperation. I have seen where that road leads.¡± I withdrew my hand and stepped back. My eyes piercing her new, monstrous form. I sighed and grabbed a hold of one of my extra arms. Ripping it loose from its socket with a wet, pulping sound. ¡°This mission will involve a lot of killing. Cherub won¡¯t like it, since it might involve harming humans. So, I¡¯ll have to arm you with something else.¡± The wound closed at once. Flesh knitting itself back together at a speed that beggared belief. I held the now spasming limb. Caressing it gently with my other hands. I pressed down on it, molding it with a gentleness and dexterity that surprised even me. When I was finished, the thing had taken the shape of a slender longsword with a large grip. Its mass carved entirely of bone, with the sole exception of the two open eyes at either side of the hilt. I doused it with [Omniscience]. Letting my Psy seep into the weapon as its insides writhed in ecstasy. Then I threw it and the Difficulty Change Token into the air. ¡°You will take my weapon and my soldier. You will do my will. By doing so, you will atone for your crimes.¡± A red hand reached out and caught them both. But not one of hers. Anezka¡¯s new and improved nose started sniffing the air. Her eyes wide as she realized the stench of sulfur had exploded all throughout the room. She heard a small, pleased purr and the accompanying sound of skittering insectile legs on solid stone. Then, came the voice attached to the hand. ¡°Mittens is here.¡± Chapter 78: The Silver Beast. Chapter 78: The Silver Beast. There was a large bonfire, in the middle of the camp. It¡¯s embers licking the edges of the circle of stones that kept the flames at bay. Yet, the crackling of firewood did not permeate through the night. No. That place of honor was reserved for the screams and the laughter of the men who were coaxing them from their victims. Over by the side, one of them was struggling. Fighting to free himself from his bindings, even as his Psy was being drained. His head bobbing up and down as he struggled to stay awake whilst standing at the precipice. A gaunt man, Scab, I think, approached him from the side. A blazing hot poker held firmly in his gnarled hands. The red-hot end pierced Luigi¡¯s muscles. Starting with his thighs and trailing up until the metal rod reached his right ear. Luigi was brought out of his stupor at once. Screaming. Yet that only made our captors laugh harder. He writhed in place. Trying desperately to free himself from bondage. Trying to summon a bolt of fire or force that he could use to free himself or to fight back. It didn¡¯t work. He only drained himself fully once more. His head collapsing downwards for half a heartbeat before the pain forced him upright. I tried to look away, but even that mercy was denied. The bindings had been tied in such a way that my head was locked on to the main show, and no amount of struggling could undo them. The ropes were not ordinary. They had been weaved from the leaves of the whispering trees found at the very heart of the central island. Even now, they bit into me on a level that was hard to describe. Draining Psy as the barbs within dug into my exposed flesh. The pain had been enough to break my friends from gentler worlds. Though, it was merely a return to normal for me. No. What broke me was the realization that this freedom I so cherished had been fleeting. That, and the cries of my adoptive father, as Halkon tormented him on the improvised rack. There was a twist that cut through the air To my shame, I couldn¡¯t even look at him. I knew how this sort of theatre ended. They had told me to stay strong. They had all asked me to hold back the tears. Yet I couldn¡¯t do it. Even that was beyond me. ¡®It is all my fault. None of this would have happened if I didn¡¯t ask for help. None of this would have happened if I had gone along meekly with Halkon in the first place. None of this would have happened if I hadn¡¯t dared to hope.¡¯ Yes. Hope. It had been so very, intoxicating. I hadn¡¯t known what the word meant before coming to the island. I had heard some of my old master¡¯s children and favourites speaking of it. But I had never truly understood the idea. The power it held. It wasn¡¯t until I found myself stranded on the beach, without the overbearing shadow of the lash, that I truly began to hold on to hope. The notion that I could go wherever I wanted, do whatever I wanted, speak and mingle and dance and sing with whomever I wanted, was so powerful. So overwhelming, that I had hoped that it would never end. That hope had seemed to blossom when I kept meeting people that would not even consider enslaving mutants like me. I hoped that they would all be like that. Like dad and mom. I hoped that this dream would never end. I had to choke back more tears after that. The Carters¡­ they shouldn¡¯t have cared. I was just another mongrel. An ugly, twisted thing. Less than human. Fit only to grovel and serve at the feet of my betters. That had been my lot in life since I was born. But they took me in anyway. Even when Halkon came calling. Even when most of the stronger fighters gathered to his side. Even when giving me up would have been easy. ¡®It¡¯s all my fault.¡¯ I thought again. ¡®Most of the people that came over to us didn¡¯t know the world me and Halkon came from. They didn¡¯t know the casual ease with which they employed cruelty. They didn¡¯t know how quickly the masters would resort to depravity.¡¯ But Halkon did. He was a young master, with all the training that was expected of him. He would have been trained in tracking, in fighting, in tactics and strategy. Not only was he stronger than any of ours, he was a born leader, with the kind of ruthlessness my new family couldn¡¯t even begin to comprehend. ¡®I should have surrendered myself to him. I should have given up the second I saw him. If I had done that, then dad and mom and Luigi wouldn¡¯t be suffering right now. This is all my fault. If only I wasn¡¯t so selfish. If only I wasn¡¯t so stupid¡­.¡¯ Another scream cut through the darkness. This time coming from dad. His body writhing in agony as Halkon sliced off bits of skin from his face and chest. ¡°Tut tut. Reggie. It isn¡¯t polite to fall asleep when someone is talking to you.¡± He spoke in a sickeningly sweet tone. His words eliciting another round of laughter from the audience. ¡°Please¡­¡± Dad wheezed. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this. You need people for the monster waves¡­¡± Halkon sighed theatrically and pressed another hot poker to dad¡¯s skin. ¡°That is where you¡¯re wrong Reggie. Of course I have to do this. You defying me would have been one thing. I could forgive that. My boys would have had their fun with you and then your people could have joined us as normal. Secure in the knowledge that my way, was the only way. What with you having served as an example. But now? After killing off so many of my good boys? After doing whatever it is that you did to all our Telepaths and leading us around for almost a month as you hopped around from island to island? After all the people we lost to bosses after you got them all riled up? After all the folks that lost limbs to your traps?¡± Halkon shook his head. ¡°No. Reggie. I can¡¯t suffer such insolence. Not only did you fight back. You fought back well. All while I had promised my boys an easy ride through this Tutorial. You made me out to be a liar. Worse, you made me lose respect. That, I cannot have.¡± He sliced off an ear, eliciting more screams. More anguished cries. ¡°You see, Reggie. Monsters come and go. But they¡¯re not a threat. Not truly. They¡¯re like, the weather. It comes and goes and comes again. Sometimes you lose a hut to a hurricane, sometimes you lose a foot to a crab, sometimes you lose one of your slower fighters to either one. It happens. But people¡­.¡± Halkon raised a finger. Wagging it back and forth. ¡°People are not so easily handled. No sir. A leader requires a strong, firm hand to provide for his own supporters, as well as a mailed fist to handle dissenters. Why, if the herd of sheep you ferried around kept getting away with their disrespect, then me and my men look foolish. We were made to look like idiots who can¡¯t impose a proper sense of law and order. And that, my feather-brained friend, is how masters are undone. First, a whisper, then a word, then, a gathering crowd.¡± Halkon stood up. Grabbing dad by the hair and pulling his weeping head upwards. ¡°I told you all of this when we first met. Reggie boy. I can be a gentle overlord. But I don¡¯t have to be. You made your choice. All the people that followed you made their choices.¡± He spat down at his captive. ¡°The blind leading the blind. The weak following the weak. You were all too stupid to see that you needed a real man to take the reins. Too craven to do what was needed to make up a strong host. If anyone here is to blame, it¡¯s you. Reggie boy.¡± Halkon smiled a sharp, sinister smile. ¡°And boy, is it going to cost you.¡± He drew back. Laughing. ¡°Now then lads! Ten extra rations and five extra turns with the prettier ones for the lucky fellow who can make Reggie here scream the loudest! Be careful though! If he dies, then the last person to hurt him loses a day¡¯s worth of both privileges.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Halkon raised his arms up high. As if he were signalling the start of a day¡¯s bloodshed at the arena. ¡°Tell me! Who will be the first to try their luck!?¡± Two dozen individuals came forward. Opening their mouths as if to cry out. Yet, strangely, no sound was heard. A hushed silence fell over the whole island like a storm. Culling the cries of birds and monkeys out in the distance, as well as the crackles of the fires and the moans of my fellow captives. That strangling grip held for a few, tense seconds. Until another voice cut through it all. Coming from above and below. From my left and my right. From the shadows of the trees out in the distance, and from right behind my ears. ¡°Halkon is sweet.¡± The words sent goose prickles up my spine. A deep, resonating terror overtaking the dread in my belly. My Shifter instincts roiled. Blaring out to me and begging me to move. To flee. I struggled harder against my bindings, despite knowing how futile it all was. My body simply couldn¡¯t help itself then. Not when all the other monster in the island seemed to be fleeing out into the skies. My nose catching the scent of monkeys and tigers as they whirled around and disappeared deeper into the jungle or even out towards the blackened, brackish waters of the seas. None of them could swim, but it seemed like they didn¡¯t care. ¡°Halkon is meat.¡± The voice repeated. I felt cold then. My bones being suffused with a chill that threatened to freeze me solid. Leaving nothing but a statute behind. Over in the corners of my vision, I saw that all the men and women were paralyzed as well. Their muscles taught as they watched the fires change color until the billowing orange embers turned into a sickly green mixed with hues of purple, blue, red, gold and silver. Yet, the flames made no sound as they changed. Instead, a series of shapes could be seen within. Outlines of children and larger, more twisted things. ¡°Mittens shall beat.¡± The bonfire swelled up. Rising higher and higher, until it turned into a pillar that reached the very skies above. The flames spreading through the night sky in all directions until they overtook the moon and stars. ¡°Mittens shall eat.¡± Then, when the heavens were all but covered up, the pillar imploded. The flames withering like dried grass. Leaving behind a massive silver-haired giant. A woman dressed in man-skin leathers. Robes of still-twitching human skin covered with piercing grey-blue eyes like chips of dirty ice. With nine eyes, four arms, four horns, three outstretched serpentine tongues, a scorpion¡¯s tail and a colossal great sword fashioned from bone. Her face, or what passed for a face, smiled a crooked smile. Bloodied tusks peeking out from her lower jaw as those tongues tasted the air around her. Her hair quivered, and I realized with a start that it was not hair at all, but a collection of thin, almost needle-like serpents that also hissed and tasted the air alongside her. Her voice¡­ That terrible, resonating voice¡­ sounded like the trumpets of the starving prophets in the legends of my world. The echoes of the dammed, as the courts of blighted fire signalled the arrival of the final nights. The twilight of the Accursed Monster. The Week of Nightmares. That being now took a single, delicate step towards Halkon. Its many eyes boring into his. Only then, did it speak. A predatory smile lacerating its face as it did so. ¡°Mittens is here.¡± Halkon blinked. Only once. Before the creature stabbed him through the heart. Yet, miraculously, he did not bleed. Instead, Halkon gasped. His very flesh disappearing slowly into the sword as all of us lay frozen. It wasn¡¯t that his men wanted to watch. It was that they too couldn¡¯t help themselves. Held tightly by bonds beyond this world. Halkon began to scream then. His wailing overtaking the silence, as the demon licked its lips. Yet the transformation did not stop. Not until the master known as Halkon was reduced to a still-living, still quivering scabbard for the blade. Only then did the thing turn to the rest of us. Still smiling its hellish smile. ¡°The Supreme One wants him alive. Mittens shall provide. Mittens is here.¡± She took another step. The ground beneath her talons freezing over as she walked. The sounds of sand solidifying into layers of ice almost drowning out her words. ¡°The rest have naught to offer. Your souls shall feed his coffers. Mittens is here.¡± One of the hands not holding the sword snapped its fingers. The motion caused my instincts to scream. Louder than any of Halkon¡¯s victims had before. Louder than any of the wretches I had seen dying in the arena back home or any of the foolish runaways my old master caught. It felt as though my heart was trying to explode. To die on its own before whatever horror the thing was calling made its way into this world. I could hear them a moment later. Laughing and braying. Children and goats and other things that could not, should not be named. They whispered to me. Behind the corner of my eyes and behind my ears. Inside my belly and behind my eyes. They were everywhere and nowhere. They were coming. The air around us popped a second later. Releasing mangled things with circular blades for hands into the world. Strips of blackened, shiny leather covering their heads, their ears, their faces. Running down their bodies until they reached their cloven feet. All the things breathed out at once and their breath smelled like sulfur. Like the stench of burning offal. Yet there were more layers to the sensations. The smells twisting and turning inside my lungs until I could hear the tortured screams of thousands of souls from the smell of the fumes. Until I could make out the flayed and crippled bodies of bearded children in colourful, conical hats impaled on iron spikes. At once the laughter re-doubled and I craned my eyes to gaze upwards. There, flying overhead, were winged children. With wide smiles and cold, grey-blue eyes that shone like lanterns in the unnatural darkness. And in the middle of the swarm, was death itself. A two-headed, bone thin¡­. Thing. Donning the same dressing as the children. With two pairs of wings that radiated power and a crown of crystalline cobwebs on each of its two brows. One of the heads had eyes as red as rubies, whilst the other had the same eyes as the children. Dirty sapphires that banished the night, and all the terrors it held. I could hear strangled gasps coming from all around me and I stared at my captors. Noting with mute horror that their skins were turning into a thick broth. Running down their bodies like showers of gore until their exposed muscles were laid bare. Yet none of them moved. None of them could move. Not while those eyes held them in their grasp. ¡®They look like dad¡¯s eyes.¡¯ I thought absentmindedly. The realization shook me to my core. My own eyes taking note of other similarities in the children. Such as the oily, shiny black hair or the slightly too-big noses. Or the way their cheeks puffed out as they maintained their smiles. The children reached down then. Their faces coming so close as to almost touch mine own. Somehow, I was sure this was it. That a fate far worse than anything Halkon could¡¯ve imagined was at hand. But the children did not harm me. Instead, they¡­ freed me. And dad and mom and Luigi and all the other survivors. Their wings unmoving as their small bodies floated about. Then the Tall Man placed his hand on each of us in turn. Healing whatever wounds he found. Before the children took us away. Dragging us up into the air and away from the camp. I was sure that morning had come. That enough time had passed by now. That the first hints of dawn should be breaking through the abyssal darkness any second. Yet darkness reigned supreme. Worse yet, the whole island was drenched. The heavy raindrops splattering against the dense foliage. Turning the green leaves red as more and more boiling blood fell from the sky. The syrupy liquid had seeped into the soil and into the stones. Changing them into other monsters that bit at my heels as I ran past. Gnawing off even more strips of muscle and shards of bone. I wanted to stop. I wanted to give up so badly. But I didn¡¯t dare. Death had been a terrifying prospect, before last night. Now, it was perhaps a blessing. At least, compared to what had happened to Halkon. Or to the others the silver beast had hunted down. ¡®They¡¯re alive. They are all still alive. The thing kept them alive. It kept them suffering. It kept them screaming.¡¯ And it would happen to me too. Should that sword ever graze me. My lungs were on fire. My chest heaving with all the force I could muster as I ran deeper and deeper into the jungle. My eyes weeping blood as my body felt the thing¡¯s eyes slicing my muscles open even now. Even after putting so much distance between us. ¡®Damn it! Damn that thing! Damn this whole (Crab)ing place! This is way out of line! Where did a monster like that even come from!? It doesn¡¯t make sense!¡¯ Even the other monsters on the island had chosen to turn tail and run. Sometimes opting to drown in the ocean instead of remaining on land with those things. Common beasts or boss monsters, it made no matter. None could stand to be in their presence for very long. I rushed forward past a fallen log. Leaping up into the air and landing on another sandy beach. Even from here, I could make out thousands of serpents, monkeys, lizards, tigers and giant insects floating face down on the waves. Their corpses washing ashore and gathering into heaps. The smell was sickening, yet it all served to put my current situation into perspective. ¡®Should I jump into the sea too?¡¯ Death by drowning wasn¡¯t particularly appealing, but it sure would beat facing the silver demon. I coughed and only then noticed that I had been holding my breath. I sobbed. Unable to hold on to the emotions welling up in my chest. Wondering once more how it had all gone so wrong so quickly. ¡°Damn it. Damnit all!¡± I fell to my knees. The strength in my legs fading as my wounds bled out into the rushing waves. My blood mixing with the red ichor raining down even now. I saw my own blurred reflection and thought back to the winged children. To the way they had carried off Reggie and his band of idiots. Unharmed. I sobbed harder. Recalling the old stories that my grandmother used to tell me. Tales of animal-faced wizards that would take the wicked and the guilty. Spiriting off the sinners in the night. Off to a plane of existence where they would be chased and hunted for all eternity. ¡°How did this happen!? Why did this happen!? All I wanted to do was live! I just chose the stronger side! I¡¯m not a sinner! I didn¡¯t commit any crimes! It was the others! It was Halkon! I don¡¯t deserve this! I didn¡¯t do anything wrong!¡± No spirit answered my pleas. No one, but the silver giantess. Her face rising from the waters. ¡°Mittens will chase. All throughout space. Mittens is here.¡± Her head rose up from beneath the waves. Halkon¡¯s form still pleading for death as she held him tightly. His mouth and teeth grating against his crumpled skin as he covered the blade in her hands. ¡°Go on, little mouse. Mittens will joust. Mittens is here.¡± I¡­ could not find the strength to move. Could not bring myself to stand. I just, looked up. Into her many silver eyes and her cruel, predatory smile. ¡°Why?¡± I pleaded. ¡°Why me?¡± The thing laughed and I could hear the laughter behind and underneath me. Echoing in my lungs and from within my bleeding wounds. ¡°Mittens does sigh. Your innocence denied. Mittens is here.¡± ¡°What?¡± I stammered. ¡°What do you¡­? Why would you care? Isn¡¯t this supposed to be a place for us to get stronger? Why would you chase us instead of the weaklings? I did my part! I trained as hard as I could! I followed the strong and got stronger! I did everything right! I¡­ I shouldn¡¯t be suffering like this!¡± The thing laughed again. ¡°Lies and deceptions. Sweet lies and foul affections. Self-serving and debased. Your suffering you chase. The Supreme one you¡¯ve offended. His punishment descended. Mittens is his portent. Mittens will torment. Mittens is here.¡± Then she punched me and I flew through the air, what little skin I had left dangling off like dirty rags as I fell and tumbled through the sands. The agony that followed was exquisite. Visions of a deep, dark hell that stretched on and on towards eternity overtaking every fiber of my being. Until I could only beg for final death. ¡°Go on, mouse. Do not play house. Mittens will dash. Mittens will slash. Mittens is here.¡± I urged my muscles to move. None did. So, I lay there. Weeping. Begging for someone or something to kill me. Before the thing touched me again. Chapter 79: Shivers in the Cobweb. Chapter 79: Shivers in the Cobweb. My Avatar was, frustrating. Its two heads thrumming with untapped potential as I fought with its programed instincts. I, that is, the me trying to control what happened from within the Elite difficulty tutorial, was demanding obedience. For the extension of me to keep as many people alive as it could. It was a relatively well received order, when it came to slaughtering monsters on land and under the sea by the hundreds of thousands. Less so when I kept telling it to refrain from disemboweling Snarling Pete and Pete Junior as they screamed at my parents. Demanding to know why both of them were so freaked out by the Solomonlings. The little winged Intruders that just so happened to look identical to me, when my powers first awoke. The rational, fully in control part of me knew that Luigi would step in and defuse the situation. Despite both of my parents being hysterical over the Intruders and, well, the Tall Man. In contrast, my Avatar¡¯s first instinct was to see all the people there besides my parents as honorary gnomes. Even then, it only really cared about my mom and dad to the extent that them dying would upset me. Its own twisted outlook demanding that I be happy all the time. If I had to compare the collection of conflicting sensations, it would be akin to trying to wrangle a patchwork piece of software to do what you wanted. Sure, you could take the time and effort to carefully pick through the entire code line by line for hours upon hours with a fine-toothed comb. But, no matter how hard you worked or how many precautions you took, inevitably, there would be bugs upon launch. Almost as if the program had a will of its own and the temperament of a disgruntled goat. I kept sending orders to the bloody thing. Telling it to stick to the crabs and the lesser leviathans found beneath the waves. While the Tall Man kept using its own mirrored version of my new abilities to catch glimpses of destitute survivors conspiring to separate my parents and interrogate them away from each other. Then, I too would become emotional and, for the briefest of moments, my avatar would call upon Solomonite Flagellants to, correct their behaviour. Making it so that I had to expend more and more willpower to call them back. It was like shadow-boxing. Only, my shadow could and would commit felonies with a smile on its face and a song in its black heart. ¡®Enough.¡¯ I commanded. Wincing as I climbed the steps back to the volcanic biome. The embers in the air tickling my lungs and searing the bony ridges I¡¯d grown on my feet. ¡®Return to me. Leave Mittens to his work. You are no longer needed on that side.¡¯ It fought me, even then. Though it eventually acquiesced. I watched it without watching and saw it without seeing. Sensing the many conflicting echoes of the future, its future and past brushing against one another as I beat my wings and mounted Dolce once again. Each motion I acted upon, each action I took. bore the weight of a thousand, thousand possibilities. From scenarios that differed only by the slightest of margins as I grabbed on to this part or the other, to scenarios that played out my attacking him for seemingly no reason. If it was just that, just the immediate aftermath of my actions, it might have been more bearable. Merely a natural extension of what my fog had previously done. Yet, the cobweb incorporated [Insight], as well as [Sense Thoughts] and [Mental Map]. So that I could fully visualize the consequences of my actions. Both good and bad. An endless three-dimensional rendition of lines branching out and interconnecting in an exponentially expanding cobweb. Cracks on an impossibly colossal mirror that sometimes seemed nonsensical, and sometimes so obvious, that even someone without my gifts would be able to see them coming. On the one hand, it gave me a certain¡­ clarity of purpose that I had been lacking. Hard decisions were made somewhat easier, when I was privy to what refusal or inaction would bring. On the other hand, I was forced to see the aftermath of those very same hard choices playing out before me. As well as the very real limits of the awesome power I now wielded. Prior to my merging with the Drake and Coffin, I had thought that destabilizing reality was a process that could be controlled. Tamed, to a degree. I knew better now. The forces of Pandemonium could, at best, be nudged in a certain direction that might, might be favourable on very specific circumstances. If the stars aligned, they might even do what you intended without causing further mischief. If not, well¡­. At the very least, they wouldn¡¯t turn on you if your own understanding and proficiency was good enough. Case in point, a group of relatively weak Intruders could be fully indoctrinated in whatever manner one desired. For a short time at least. While beings as¡­ potent, as Cherub or Mittens could, at best, be persuaded to follow a set of principles and unleashed at convenient times. ¡®And even then, there will be side-effects. My reunion with mom and dad was always going to be a rocky one. But now, with all they¡¯ve seen. With what Mittens will be doing for the following week¡­¡¯ The old me would have had shivers running up his spine. But this new body was incapable of such disorganized movements. Instead, each of my cells came alive with its own version of mind-reading. [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] was a combination of [Muscular System], [Skeletal System], [Nervous System], [Lymphatic System], [Cardiovascular System], [Digestive System], [Respiratory System], [Endocrine System], [Excretory System] and [Reproductive System]. Its presence allowing me and my cells to communicate. To share impressions in a manner that would have been impossible for a regular human¡¯s nervous tissue. Thanks to this new power, each little bit of life within me, from the blood in my arteries, to the marrow in my bones, knew that I was under emotional distress and prepared itself to transform. To either re-enforce the processes of the tissues I already had, or to preventively create safeguards for those systems failing. Not only that, but my power also called out to [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] so that I could also heal damage within milliseconds if it came to that. Yet I did not shiver. Because all of my cells agreed that shivering would accomplish nothing. ¡®That will be another aspect of myself that I will have to get used to.¡¯ I thought with a mounting mixture of annoyance and fascination. Merely another change that will have to be dealt with. I looked upon Dolce with a narrowed focus as I considered this. My fingers feeling his cells and their receptiveness to change. Their will to keep the main body alive and to suck on the nutrients his bloodstream provided. Each little mote a cog in a greater machine that ran smoothly towards the goal of a continued existence. At the same time, my new Telepathic senses chased his impressions through the cobweb. Indulging in far more information than the fog had ever provided. I saw Dolce eating its way through what few strong monsters could challenge him. I saw him whizzing past tunnels and crevices to carry me and grandpa to our training sites as I made an effort to get him a solid foundation before blasting him with my boosts. I saw him carrying me and my team to the poison swamp for our training session once we¡¯d returned from the first trip to our homes and the second cycle started in earnest. I traced each of those possibilities through the cobweb, peeking further and further into possible futures, until I saw the spider. The secret boss that was the final objective of this instance and what its death would bring. Specifically, I saw that dominated creatures did not count as items, in the same way that Slasher or Buddy did. I would have to make¡­ modifications, if I wanted to keep Dolce in the long run. ¡®Not that such a thing is problematic to me right now. I have Psy to spare and plenty of time. No. In fact, its far more likely that I¡¯ll end up improving as many monsters as I can, before the time comes to end this instance. And I will have to end it prematurely. There will be no more benefits to staying here after I absorb Randall and get a good grip on the Projector abilities. Waiting the full six months is a waste of time. Better to slay the spider and lay the groundwork for a society in the Human City, before the other Tutorials end.¡¯ I shook my head. Dispelling those notions for now. They were all in the future, and I really did need to focus on the present. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Congratulations on your advancement.¡± I said to the others. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see that all of our recent adventures have borne fruit.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if you can call this bearing fruit.¡± Charlie grumbled. ¡°I expected to reach Tier 2. At least. I didn¡¯t need another Type. Especially not Shifter.¡± ¡°More fool you then.¡± Borislav chided. ¡°We need to make as much progress as possible before the Tutorial ends and we lose access to the Type boards. Reaching Tier 2 is commonplace for elites, from what little information we¡¯ve gathered. So long as one is talented enough and willing to put in the work that is. That shouldn¡¯t be a problem for the likes of us. What would be a problem is obtaining abilities one doesn¡¯t mesh well with. At least, according to Orphan Maker¡¯s initial explanations.¡± Borislav kept nodding sagely as he talked. His own mind abuzz with self-satisfaction upon being the first person in our instance to get all four Types. ¡®No. It isn¡¯t only that.¡¯ I noted. ¡®His mind is revelling in the knowledge that his sisters are safe. That they¡¯re alive and no longer enslaved by some warlord. Everything else is just a cherry on top of his pudding.¡¯ It was odd to sense his newfound hope. The strength of his convictions. I was still very much reeling from the aftershocks of what I¡¯d done. Trying to justify my actions to myself. Trying to wrestle with the fact that the Drake and Sarcophagus Sully had been right all along and that my usual self-righteous morality hadn¡¯t been anywhere near enough to fix all the issues I¡¯d sensed back home. From my point of view, it was hard to rationalize the usage of my powers on so many people at once, despite me knowing full well that to do nothing would be the same as allowing those horrible crimes to keep happening. The same as letting my world¡¯s people keep dying to monsters. I hadn¡¯t dominated anyone, but the effects of my presence, the longing and obsessions I had stirred within regular folks back home¡­ It was, at the very least, morally questionable. Yet Boris didn¡¯t seem to worry about those pesky details. He saw monster dead, corrupt leaders de-throned, heroes set to rights and his own family made safe. As far as he was concerned, that last point blew everything else out of the water by itself too. I could have sunk another continent and he likely wouldn¡¯t have cared much, so long as his sisters weren¡¯t on it. It was hard for me to judge him either. I¡­ I¡¯d chosen to unleash horrible things on the Adept Instance of the Tutorial that my parents were on to keep them safe and I¡¯d orchestrated the deaths of anyone who threatened my grandpa. And I was sure that, given the choice, I would do it all again. ¡®Perhaps it is human. To choose family above one¡¯s principles. How odd, that I feel my guilt ebbing away. When I search the cobwebs for my family and see them alive and well. How odd that I find myself more optimistic about the future and about the good I could do, despite that future having been paid for in blood. The blood of the guilty and the depraved, but human blood nonetheless.¡¯ Boris continued talking as I mused. His own mind completely at peace. ¡°You¡¯ll likely have decades to reach Tier 2 or 3 at your leisure. But getting those abilities now will mean a significant boost to your overall fighting prowess and your long-term prospects. Again, don¡¯t forget all I¡¯ve been saying this whole time. Abilities from different Types tend to compliment each other. You might not see the difference right now, with Shifter at level 1. But I guarantee that you¡¯ll appreciate the boost once you get those passives, and you see the effect they have on your Enhancer abilities. Take it from someone who knows. You¡¯ll want to generalize from now on.¡± Charlie gave him a disinterested stare. Slab sighed upon seeing it. ¡°Come on Charlie. Don¡¯t be such a fool. We¡¯ve been working long enough now that you can at least trust him on this. For what its worth, I would have preferred a third Type, rather than a single Tier 2 ability. I do agree with Boris that one should seek a solid foundation before building upon it further. Isn¡¯t that right Monique?¡± Monique didn¡¯t answer. Stuck as she was in her own little world. A wide, goofy smile plastered on her face as tears of relief fell from her eyes. ¡°Leave her to relish this a bit longer.¡± I told them. ¡°Her getting [Portal Network III] means an easy ride to her kids once the week is up. Plus, I already promised to send Cherub and Slasher with her, so she should be able to pull off the same stunt I pulled with my grandpa. I already have my avatar on the case when the time comes so she won¡¯t have to worry about them for another two months.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t that bring more System Enforcers down on us?¡± Charlie asked with a hint of worry. ¡°Of course.¡± I confirmed. ¡°But the memories I got from Sarcophagus Solomon and the Drake says that the System like to employ personnel suited to the offender¡¯s predicted level of power. At least in the beginning. It isn¡¯t an actual Admin, but a pre-programmed response at this stage. The response isn¡¯t geared for outliers like us, but rather, for the expected level of a group in our instance. So, roughly mid to high thirties to low forties. Orphan Maker by himself could butcher a hundred of those guys without breaking a sweat, and him coming back alive without any obvious issues won¡¯t lead to an escalation immediately. The System merely notes that he came back and that he claims that the offender, that is, us, will not re-offend.¡± Charlie nodded slowly. ¡°So, if Orphan Maker acts like a corrupt guard, it won¡¯t care?¡± ¡°Oh, it¡¯ll care. Once it notices. If it notices. Cases like ours where the Enforcers are woefully under levelled aren¡¯t common. The System¡¯s punishment protocols function like a very basic anti-virus or an immune-response, in that it sees a problem and aims to surgically correct it. Ideally without seeking to outright destroy all the users that led to that problem because it considers each user to be valuable when they aren¡¯t breaking the rules. It doesn¡¯t actively track its other common functions unless there¡¯s a critical error, so it assumes that we are either heavily beaten up and compliant, or dead.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem like a very well-designed process.¡± Boris commented. ¡°Won¡¯t it check?¡± I shrugged. ¡°The process does work in almost every scenario. Savants like me aren¡¯t exactly common after all. As for checking¡­ The answer is no, for now. That might change if we slaughter a bunch of them in quick succession though. Which is why we will be very, very gentle with our new friends. I don¡¯t plan to kill these guys the System sent. Ramasham Tor Pod, Bloody Flayer, or Guantargo, they¡¯re all victims, in a way. They didn¡¯t know what they signed up for and they¡¯re stuck in a situation where they expected to be well above their intended target. Even leaving aside the morality of killing non-gnomish sentient beings so easily, doing away with them wouldn¡¯t be productive. Not when I¡¯m planning to bring Monique¡¯s kids along for the ride in the future. I¡­ we, need to remain on good terms. Partially because there are Enforcers who could pose a problem, even for me and partially because there are things we want from them, just like Orphan Maker.¡± I allowed a small smile to blossom on my face. ¡°Speaking of which. My orders did take hold a while ago. All of them should have made it back to the Warehouse by now. We should get a move on.¡± Sure enough, Ramasham Tor Pod, Bloody Flayer, and Guantargo weren¡¯t pushovers by anyone¡¯s reckoning. Each one was at the cap of level 150. Having reached the apex of one or more Types on the third Tier. In any other circumstance, they would have been champions. Beings that the elite of the elite would worship. A regular Esper in the Labyrinth would have had to train for decades to reach their level without significant assistance. ¡®That, and this likely isn¡¯t the end of their roads.¡¯ I hadn¡¯t known better the last time I¡¯d met with Granny Golden and Orphan Maker, but I could better tell the difference between their status right now. Granny was someone who, despite having talent, had pretty much reached the end of the road. There was still a chance that she could push past her limits as a Telepath, but she had more or less abandoned her other Types. Using the points from those levels in her main Type and choosing Telepathy over all the other forms of combat. In contrast, Orphan Maker and these others had rather balanced builds. With several merged abilities stretched over several Types. They were people who were seriously aiming for a steady, balanced progress. One that might eventually lead to ascension. That was one aspect in which regular folks outclassed Savants, after all. With enough time, effort and luck, they might advance in all their Types. Rather than blazing through a single Type exponentially faster than anyone else. ¡®Though, I suppose I have more or less shattered that perception for them.¡¯ Indeed, their minds were a blend of incredulity, confusion, and sheer, (Gnome)ing terror. The fact that I was a Savant that could kill them with a thought was bad enough. The fact that I had two Types, made me an existential threat. An eldritch monstrosity that could unravel entire civilizations. After all, who¡¯s to say that I wouldn¡¯t get more Types? Who¡¯s to say what someone as young as me would do, with that kind of awesome might? Who¡¯s to say how someone like me would react, when faced with the usual hazing that newly introduced species went through within the Labyrinth? ¡®Well, its not like they¡¯re wrong to fear that possibility. I will, absolutely be cleaning house. Its just that none of them are in my cross hairs on account of them not being gnomes.¡¯ I walked closer to them then. Past the rows upon rows of curious bystanders peeking at the three kneeling aliens and at Orphan Maker who was weeping on Peachy¡¯s robes and loudly proclaiming his innocence over and over again. Ramasham Tor Pod was, a kind of squid. Or, maybe a cuttlefish. With long tendrils that held him or her, their own self-image was kind of fluid in their own mind. They, like Orphan Maker, wore a heavily stylized Symbiote. With bits of psionically-active metals embedded along the trim of their sort-of robes. They had strange ovals for eyes, with different-coloured pupils within each socket. Their squishy fluids building up within the organs as if ready to cry, without actually performing the act of crying. At least, not as humans understood the display of emotion. Peering closer, it appeared as though there was a shell hidden away within their Symbiote, and that they were actively trying to retreat into it as a fear response. With my orders keeping them firmly in place. I felt and tasted their despair and felt a little bad. But I quickly brushed off the feeling with the knowledge that I wasn¡¯t planning anything nefarious. Bloody Flayer, on the other hand, was the same species as Orphan Maker or Peachy. A female crow-like bipedal alien with talons for feet and claws for hands. Curiously, her beak was adorned with golden piercings, where Granny Golden and Orphan Maker¡¯s beaks had been bare. She was also trying to stare bloody murder at Orphan Maker. Though my orders kept her on her knees. ¡®How very interesting. Let¡¯s see if I can¡¯t gleam a little bit more information. I¡¯ll just ride the cobweb into her mind and have a quick look at her memories and¡­ ah.¡¯ Well. That was awkward. I didn¡¯t expect non-human species to be dealing with racism within their own kind. Certainly not to this degree. It was¡­ I don¡¯t know. I guess I always imagined it as a human failing. ¡®I mean, jeez lady. Chill. You don¡¯t even look different from them. At least, not to me.¡¯ I shook my head and gazed at Guantargo. He was the most interesting of the lot for two reasons. The first was that he was a capybara centaur, thing. The Drake¡¯s original species. The second was that his level of terror surpassed anything the others were dealing with. Due to a sad case of mistake identity. It would seem that a fair few of my more recent abilities had a bit of a reputation. ¡°Okay.¡± I said to him. Meeting his quivering, despair-filled eyes. ¡°First off, you are wrong. I am not the Seeking Drake.¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly what the Seeking Drake would say!¡± He wailed. His voice cracking like an expensive vase and ending with a strangled chortle. Worse, the others heard him too. ¡°The Seeking Drake!?¡± ¡°WAAAAAAAAA!!!!!! Mama!!! MAAAAAMMAAAAA!!!¡± The old me would have groaned by reflex and even my new body struggled with the old instincts. ¡®Looks like this is going to be a very long day.¡¯ Chapter 80: The Mailed Fist. Chapter 80: The Mailed Fist. The three before me were inconsolable. Their minds drifting back to the stories they had heard growing up within the confines of the Labyrinth. Tales of the Seeking Drake. A gargantuan mass of writhing, twisting, scheming flesh that consumed all within its path. Perverting once normal creatures into furniture or masonry. Using still-living bodies to build up its unholy palace. I could see it now. Within the memories I had absorbed. Halls as tall as mountains, with pillars that touched the skies. Bricks made of sentient soup enclosed in cartilage lining up the interior of the Drake¡¯s domain. A whole city within the Labyrinth turned into his image. A place where no cell died. Where entropy could not touch its previously fragile occupants. Where the Drake could feel truly at home. ¡®The place is more like a menagerie than anything else.¡¯ I mused. ¡®The Drake loves life as much as he loves himself. With all its diverse imperfections and evolutionary histories. His perfect paradise is a zoo where he can admire different cellular structures without fearing for their well-being. A museum dedicated to the myriad paths that evolution can take without losing an ounce of the primordial, raw desperation for survival that the Drake worships.¡¯ It was strange. To think on such a house of horrors and feel¡­ so little. My body did not shiver, though I felt as though a few twitches were warranted. Nor did my skin grow paler with dread, as I considered the many, many souls still trapped within those halls. It was, as if my own cells were taking their roles more seriously. My new abilities giving them the flexibility to determine that such involuntary reactions were useless. I felt the stale cavern air of the Warehouse on my skin, and my body decided that it did not need to correct my temperature. I smelt the lingering scent of pizza and roasted centipede wafting over from the cafeteria and my body decided that it would not trigger a hunger response, despite me feeling as if I could use a bite. I saw the shapes of the Enforcers; with far more clarity than my previous eyes could have managed, and my body decided that it did not need to dilate my pupils or change the shape of my corneas. All those physiological responses that were automatic on normal people were now clear for me to see. Playing out within me as if each and every cell were a being all unto their own. A nation of perfectly synchronized, perfectly educated and perfectly dedicated workers all acting in concert. Deferring to my conscious mind only when I actively sought to re-assert control. ¡®It¡¯s as if I¡¯m no longer human.¡¯ I considered. Walking around the three with slow, meticulous steps as I took in the faces from the crowd. Observing their own physiological reactions and matching them with the emotions I perceived from their minds. All without even having to think about it. As if this level of combined awareness was all too normal. Just like before, I felt the tingles of past, present and future echoes coming from the cobweb. Seeing hundreds upon hundreds of speeches I could be giving and the reactions each and every person would have to my words. All while my own power predicted what my cells would do in the future and my cells used that information to re-arrange themselves pre-emptively. ¡®Now that is a fascinating discovery. Fascinating, and utterly terrifying. My powers are mixing together without my input. Cutting out the redundancies faster and faster. Preparing for blows that may never come. For actions that I haven¡¯t decided to take.¡¯ I saw myself through the eyes of the audience. Realizing that the vacant expression on my face was putting a lot of people in a lot of stress. Prudence saw me and imagined me as a gator, lurking below the murky green waters of the everglades. Hidden just out of sight and ready to pounce on any unsuspecting strangers at a moment¡¯s notice. Kaito saw me and imagined me as a tiger. Eyeing its prey from the shadows of a tropical jungle and waiting for the right moment to strike. Olga saw me and imagined me as an android from her home world. A good approximation of a human. Wrapped in silicone and good manners to hide the inhuman shell that lay beneath the veneer of civility. Jacob saw me and imagined one of the mutants of the Mojave. A sort of chameleon-bear hybrid that could blend in perfectly with the sun-bleached stones of the desert as it preyed upon caravans and unlucky scavengers. He recalled the glint of their eyes on cold desert nights as the reflected the moonlight and he was becoming more and more nervous as he noticed my eyes reflecting the bioluminescence of the mushrooms and the lamps in the exact same way. Agnes saw me and imagined the madmen. Those survivors who had managed to make it through hordes of zombies and months of rationing, only to snap at the most inconvenient times. She realized that my breathing was perfectly stable. Without any inflections that might give away some underlying humanity. Helga saw me and recalled her own visions. The things she had been forced to see, when she and Clover had first attacked me, all those weeks ago. Back when she had been using illusions to lure gnomes to their doom. It was taking all the willpower she could marshal, to keep herself from breaking down in hysterics. Ryan saw me and broke down in hysterics. His own mind taking him back to the bad place beneath the manse. The special place where the Tall Man took those that displeased me. He saw flashes of it now. Feeling echoes of the nothingness tingle at the corners of his sanity. His ears ringing with the sound of silence and his nerves burning with the memories of Sarcophagus Solomon. With all the torments that Anezka had seen fit to inflict upon him. ¡®All that fear. All that anxiety surrounding me, and yet I feel almost nothing. The calm is¡­ oppressive. Not surprising, perhaps. Since I know so much of what has happened and what will happen, but still¡­¡¯ A normal human might have felt their mouth becoming dry. Their brow filling with beads of sweat as the stress ate away at them. Yet I had to force myself to care about the absence of these reactions. If I didn¡¯t become fixated on them, chances were good that I would never have noticed their absence in the first place. ¡®Its almost as if my body was a computer. My software parsing streams of data with the cold calculus of a machine and deleting redundancies or inefficient processes wherever they may be found.¡¯ That realization coaxed even more memories from my subconscious. Recollections of events that hadn¡¯t happened to me. To this version of me, at least. I thought back to the other version of me. Trapped in that metal prison. A cocktail of chemicals dictating what he felt. Whether he would be steeped in bliss or seared in the flames of hell. Those impressions, were eerily similar to what I was feeling now, only, my own biological matter was dictating what I should and shouldn¡¯t feel, rather than Anezka. I frowned. Or, at least, I felt that it would be appropriate for me to frown. My face didn¡¯t actually carry on with the motion. My eyes going from the prisoners, to the descriptions of my Shifter abilities. Specifically, to the cornerstone of the Drake¡¯s lifestyle. A combination of [Regeneration], [Regenerate Other], [Mitosis], [Acclimation], [Grow], [Shrink], [Stretch], [Harden], [Soften] and most crucially [Metamorphosis]
[Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] Grants the User the ability to regenerate any biological matter within their physical senses at a rate of + 5, 000 % of their current total body mass at a cost of 500 Psy per second. User may spend additional Psy when out of combat to pre-prepare regeneration charges while in combat, up to a total of 50% of their total Psy pool. The cost for regenerating foreign biological matter is doubled. The cost of applying regeneration charges on foreign biological matter is doubled. Grants the User a passive regenerative effect that heals 20% of their current body mass per second. Targets that have been modified by the User benefit from this effect at half the efficiency for up to a year. This effect negates damage from entropy. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Grants the User the ability to automatically adapt to their present circumstances via a complete sense of proprioception, an increase in mass, a decrease in mass, the hardening of tissue, the softening of tissue and the instinctive application of all other currently held Shifter abilities into said adaptations. User may transform up to + 5, 000 % of their current total body mass at a cost of 500 Psy per second. User may extend their proprioception to other living beings through maintained physical contact with the User. Grants the User the ability to freely manipulate any biological matter they are currently touching with their currently held Shifter abilities at a rate of + 5, 000 % of their current total body mass at a cost of 750 Psy per second. Physical contact with a piece of the User must be maintained throughout this process. Targeting restrictions of other abilities are ignored due to this effect. Grants the User the ability to make their transformations of foreign biological matter semi-permanent, so long as the target fails to resist the transformation effect and physical contact is maintained until completion. Targets may resist the effect by continuous expenditure of Psy through Enhancer or Shifter abilities of at least Tier V. Targets that run out of Psy or are unable to maintain these abilities automatically fall under the influence of the User¡¯s ability. Decreases the activation time of all Shifter abilities by - 50% per every 5 ability levels Decreases the activation cost of all Shifter abilities by ¨C 50 % per every 5 ability levels. The potency of all these effects increases by 300% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
¡®I suppose I can¡¯t be angry at them. I¡¯d be rather nervous too, if I was facing down someone with these powers.¡¯ With this ability, I could permanently change someone or something against their will. All that was required was continuous physical contact, and for them to be less adept at Shifter powers than someone on the fifth Tier. ¡®And considering how rare masters at that level are¡­¡¯ I shook my head. Forcing my body to display some emotion. ¡°I assure you all, that I am not the Seeking Drake.¡± I began. The enforcers only wept harder. Their eyes trembling as some lost control of their bowels. The resulting smell making most of the audience gag and fall back in a panic. Again, the old me would have at least scrunched up his nose a bit. But my body did not consider this a problem. My nose simply vanished, as my exposed skin began to absorb oxygen through enlarged pores that filtered out the noxious fumes. The precious gas going directly into my bloodstream without any need for my lungs. The fact that it was so seamless, so natural, was more disquieting than the loss of nose in the first place. I had to willfully contrate afterwards. To force the changes back and bring my face back to that of a normal human. ¡®Honestly, I wish my body would read more into the social aspects of being human. Not having a nose might be beneficial, in that I was spared the smell, but the others are even more freaked out now. My cells are already assimilating information from the cobweb. From [Limited Omniscience]. It wouldn¡¯t hurt for them to stay away from changes that carry negative consequences in a social setting.¡¯ It was then that I was hit by a sudden realization. I had worked so hard for a second Type. Pushed my body to the limit time and time again in that endeavor. Only for the acquisition of that Type to make me more monstrous than ever before. So that I had to face the reality that I was less human than when I¡¯d started. And then, to top it all off, I had to face the coming vibrations in the cobweb. My eyes glazing over the many overlapping iterations of the past and present, to see the choices I would have to make. As well as the consequences of not making them. ¡®It is the trolley problem on an intergalactic scale. Either step up and accept that measures have to be taken against oppressors, slavers and killers or do nothing and allow their victims to keep suffering. Some will bend, after being exposed to my presence and the promise of an eternal afterlife in my realm within Pandemonium. But there will be those that will act like Anezka. Villains and degenerates who would sooner break than bend. Those who will be truly irredeemable. What to do then? Should I put my personal qualms aside and mind-control them for the greater good? Or should I do as the Drake suggested, and end their lives instead? Which option would they prefer? Which option would make me into less of a monster? Which options would allow me to sleep at night? Actually, can I even sleep at night? Now that my body is like this?¡¯ I followed one of the strands in the cobweb to seek an answer and found it at once. I could sleep. In a sense. Though perhaps it would be more correct to say that I could willfully shut down parts of my brain so that I fell into a mini-coma. Otherwise, my body wouldn¡¯t feel tired. It was simply too efficient at processing food and oxygen and energy. Too good at staying alive and alert. Too¡­ perfect, for such human vulnerabilities. To make matters worse, it would seem getting drunk was off the table too. So there went my afternoon plans. ¡®I suppose I can always drain myself of Psy, if I want to catch a real nap.¡¯ I mused. ¡®Though, again. That is easier said than done. Psy regeneration has always worked off percentages, and with my current total and the upgraded abilities, I don¡¯t even know if I could spend it faster than I got it back.¡¯ My mind felt irritation, but my new body refused to allow any sign of it to surface. My eyes going back to all the people in all the earths suffering under slavery or war or famine. Peasants huddled in their farms while raiders burned their crops. Wives and children huddling behind stone walls as armies battered their gates. While sons and fathers died on the walls. I saw groups coming together in prayer for queer deities. Knives in their hands and tears in their eyes as they stole the lives of prisoners. Of children that were born with different coloured hair or eyes. Would my rule truly be so evil? All it would take would be a slight blast of my presence. A shared memory of what I could offer. Of bliss beyond comprehension. ¡®I would not be controlling them. Not truly. I would merely, provide incentives for good behaviour. Parents, good ones anyway, do that all the time. Would that not be preferable? To this¡­ this¡­ chaotic disorder?¡¯ Then I thought back to the girl in Hong Kong. Of the promise I had made and fulfilled. Of what her reaction had been. Hers and that of many, many others. The worship they had succumbed to. The fervor they held for me, after just a few fractions of a second. The hunger they were burdened with, after my presence was gone. ¡®It is a load of fresh manure. So monumental that it becomes awe-inspiring.¡¯ I thought with distaste. ¡®To remain as I am now, or to slow down my progress is to condemn an infinite number of victims to horrible, disquieting fates. To continue my current plans is to don the mantle of a Tyrant. To become not just the monster I am now, but the monster I always feared I could be. The monster these three think I am. Either way, people will suffer. Only, they will suffer less if I employ a mailed fist as my go-to strategy. By orders of magnitude.¡¯ It was almost funny, in a way. I could become the greatest humanitarian, the greatest emancipator, the greatest hero to ever live. I could bestow upon humanity a golden age. Free from crime and bondage and persecution. I could be someone better than the Sully in my wildest childhood dreams. ¡®And all it would take, all I¡¯d have to give, was my morals. The ideals that make me the person I am now.¡¯ The impulse to shake my head was automatically supressed by my body. So that I kept up my blank, calculating expression. ¡®No. Not that. Never that. I am willing to do much and more to protect my family. To protect humanity and all the innocents within my range. But that is one line I will not cross. Not without good reason at least. Anezka and Randall could not be helped. I don¡¯t want that to become a habit. I don¡¯t want to take the easy way out. People deserve the free will to make their own decisions. To make their own mistakes.¡¯ My neck did not move, though I wanted to nod. ¡®I will help the downtrodden. I will save the victims. I will punish the wicked and I will show their societies a better way. I will even douse them in my presence and uplift them into being Espers. Giving them the promise of an afterlife of sorts in my domain. But I will not become more of a Tyrant than I already am. I will not rely on [Domination].¡¯ I ended up focusing on my own flesh then, as well as the minds inside the Warehouse. My physical perceptions sharpening as I willed my attention towards my eyes and ears and nose. Then, I managed a slow, deliberate nod. One that almost came across as human. All while releasing my presence and narrowing its effects on the three before me. They gasped in response. Or rather, made noises that could be considered gasping. Their minds drowning in the indescribable pleasure my Psy infused into them. ¡°Now then, please. Do not be afraid.¡± Ramasham Tor Pod gave way at once. His mind opening itself to the memories I was infusing into him. To the beauty and bliss of my realm within Pandemonium. Bloody Flayer, on the other hand, resisted. If only for a short time. Her body twitching and spasming as trails of greenish foam fell from the corners of her beak. Guantargo was the only one who came close to stopping me. His screen showing the same ability the boss beetle had, all those weeks ago. He was clinging to it with all he had. Combining his efforts with Enhancer and Shifter abilities to change and strengthen his nervous system. Yet it did not hold, when I allowed more of me to flow into him. His will crumbled like an old dam. My Psy flooding his everything and washing away all resistance. ¡°You have seen it.¡± I told them. ¡°You know what is coming. You know that I, am coming. And you know what I will bring.¡± Ramasham Tor Pod lost control of his bowels. Again. I ignored it. ¡®These are not humans, after all. I can be allowed some small bit of leeway.¡¯ I approached them. Slowly. ¡°But it does not have to be this way.¡± I said. Changing the timber and pitch and cadence of my speech, ever so slightly, so that it added to my presence. So that they¡¯d be forced to love me even more. So that the image and memory of me would be seared into their very spirits. Clinging to their consciousness in place of their friends and loved ones. Pushing out all ideas that were not me. ¡°I can spare your people. I can leave them alone, though they too currently plot to delve right in when my species becomes integrated into the Labyrinth.¡± I touched Bloody Flayer. Lifting her beak so that her beady eyes stared into mine own. ¡°I can make you strong. Stronger than you are now. Stronger than you have ever been.¡± I waved at Peachy. ¡°She knows my favor. She was but Tier 2, when she came to me. A weak girl sacrificed by her ancestor. Yet, I repaid her kindness in turn and now, she sits at Tier 3. Well on her way to being an elite.¡± I sent another pulse of pleasure coursing through them. Electrifying the edges of their perceptions. ¡°If I could do that for her, imagine what I could do for you. Tier 4. Or maybe even Tier 5, would not be out of the question. Besides, it isn¡¯t as if I am asking for much.¡± Guantargo spoke. Drool falling off his lips and down unto his brown fur. ¡°You want to end the gnomish people.¡± He said. ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t exactly call them people, but yes.¡± I confirmed. ¡°If you convince your own leaders to back down from attacking dimensions inhabited by humans, and if you agree to sit out my battles with the gnomes¡­ You will be rewarded. I will help you. As if you were humans. I will defend you from aggressors and bring you into my realm after the end, if you so choose. That, and I will provide aid to your own champions. Bringing them to even higher Tiers. So long as they tutor humanity as if they were their own. Think of it like, a pact of mutually beneficial programs. I will help your best and you will help the least of us maintain a certain, standard of living.¡± To his credit, the man did not break. He kept his black eyes locked on to mine throughout. Wheezing as his nerves burned from within his body. ¡°And if we will not serve?¡± I forced myself to smile at that. ¡°Unfortunately, you will serve. I have seen you. All of you. And I have decided that I want you in my designs. I am merely giving you the option of the easy way, or the hard way. The choice is yours.¡± Then, the three of them and Orphan Maker loved me, and despaired. Chapter 81: Setting the Stage. Mr. Park was the first to approach. His movements stiff and mechanical. As if he were forcing himself forward against his better judgement. Indeed, I could read that his own [Predator¡¯s Instincts] was blaring like a series of alarms ringing in concert. Much like those found on cities near newly opened Rifts, Mr. Park was, for lack of a better word, terrified beyond all comprehension. His eyes going back and forth between my frame and the spot where the enforcers had been moments prior. Yet he knew it was up to him to do this. To check on me, now that I had become so apparently comfortable with twisting and compelling intelligent beings that were not gnomes. All the while, his eyes darted around to Slab and Monique. His fellow council members that seemed suspiciously fine with these new developments. ¡®How long have they known about these changes?¡¯ He thought to himself. ¡®Or were they just as surprised as we were? Have they simply been made to feel comfortable with this new behaviour?¡¯ He was trying to use Enhancer abilities like [Enhanced Concentration] to steer his mind away from his true worries. Attempting to hide his surface thoughts from me, Slab and Monique. It more or less worked for them. Though, obviously not for me. He cleared his throat upon reaching me. His voice coming in clearly so that it carried over the Warehouse. No doubt intending to make our conversation as public as possible. Either to forewarn the others of my current mental state or to alleviate their worries. ¡°That was ill-advised.¡± He spoke. In a surprisingly even tone. ¡°We already had an agreement with Mr. Orphan Maker. The collection of already-known ability combinations would be valuable to us.¡± I shrugged. Or, at least, I tried to. My body refusing to carry out the motion at first. When I exerted more of my will, the action came across as stiff and forced. Giving Mr. Park and all the others in attendance goosebumps. Their eyes taking in motions that were somehow less than human. Making me appear uncanny in their perceptions. Like a hyper-realistic animatronic that came just shy of normal human behaviour. ¡®Well, it isn¡¯t an ideal start, but at least none of them have run away yet.¡¯ I made sure to focus on my body language then. Seeking to actively supress whatever mechanisms kept my features locked in a passive state. ¡®It shouldn¡¯t be too hard, in the long run. The Drake was always very expressive, after all. Though he was thousands of years old and actively trying to manipulate me. Who knows how much effort he put into that charade?¡¯ ¡°That is not currently an issue.¡± I told him. My voice coming out as naturally as I could have hoped for. ¡°I have¡­ explored their memories, as well as some of our futures. With more accuracy than before. There is little that Orphan Maker knew, that I currently don¡¯t. I¡¯ll update the ability boards soon. That and I¡¯ll buy some journals from Peachy so that I can make copies for us to keep around after the Tutorial ends.¡± Mr. Park hesitated, but nodded in the end. ¡°I see. That is, fortunate. I take it that this new mission you gave them will bring more benefits?¡± I forced out an amused chuckle. One that came out more naturally. ¡°Come now Mr. Park. I shouldn¡¯t have to tell you that. You heard me loud and clear. Several species will come into contact with humanity at large in the coming months. It stands to reason that not all of them will be overly friendly. Normally, this would be a tough time of transition and subjugation for newcomers to the Labyrinth. A time where the strongest dimensions get to keep their sovereignty, while all others become colonies for older, more established species. You¡¯ll forgive me if I don¡¯t wish for that to happen to human worlds. These¡­ precautions, will go a long way towards preventing that.¡± He nodded again. ¡°I take it that we won¡¯t have to worry about such invasions then?¡± I barked out a laugh in just the right time. Coming across as a normal human in the way my reaction played out. ¡°Not at all! In fact, the worst is yet to come. Its just that we won¡¯t have to deal with all the nibblers.¡± ¡°Nibblers?¡± He asked, confused. ¡°Yes. The vast majority of the invaders will be nibblers. Small, uncoordinated pirates taking nibbles here and there with the hope of grabbing a few morsels amidst the carnage. Think of it like a feeding frenzy, where species like the gnomes act like sharks and other, lesser groups act like scavengers and bottom feeders. Taking scraps where they might be found. By letting these guys know what I can do, and what fate awaits them if I happen to catch them, we¡¯ll be ridding ourselves of most of the smaller factions. In fact, we might even obtain some valuable alliances once we¡¯re thrown out into the greater Labyrinth.¡± Mr. Park nodded again. His nerves calming somewhat. ¡°So, I take it we can do something about the larger factions as well?¡± I forced a shrug. Getting the timing just right. ¡°That depends on the faction. I¡¯ve been in contact with one Banerid fellow in the Novice Tutorial instance. He¡¯s a Foxxan and their species is rather monolithic. He¡¯s already let his governing body know about me, so there is little chance of them coming for us. They tend to be conflict-averse if there is any chance of their target fighting back. On the other hand, the gnomes have no such scruples. Periwig already gave speeches and made boasts that he and his house would plunder us for all we were worth. If he failed to attack us, he would lose face. For him and his ilk, that would be the worst possible outcome, as it would signal to all the other gnomes that they were weak and ripe for plucking. It would actually be preferable for him to send legions of his minions out to die, if his rivals also sent their forces at the same time. If they all get massacred, then he cannot be said to be weak.¡± Mr. Park blinked in surprise. ¡°Wait, do you mean Periwig from the video?¡± ¡°The very same.¡± I confirmed. ¡°And he¡¯s coming for our worlds?¡± ¡°He is.¡± ¡°Is he strong?¡± I gave him a re-assuring smile. ¡°Not stronger than me.¡±
I explained some more aspect of my visions after that. Going on and on until I had mellowed out the tempers flaring around the Warehouse. Then, I made my way over to the ability boards as promised. Beginning the process of updating them with the usual combinations found within the Labyrinth, as well as the most common training methods that had been proven to be effective. At the same time, I went over some of my new abilities.
[Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] Grants the User the power to detect thoughts, emotions and sensory information within the User¡¯s current dimensional space. User creates a persistent mental approximation of the current dimension without a maximum range. Perceives future scenarios within line of sight at will and at a rate of +1 seconds per ability level. Passively anchors User in reality and pierces Psionic Illusions as well as Psionic Stealth abilities. Passively reveals Status information of targets within detection range. Passively increases Psy regeneration of User and allies within line of sight at a rate of + 100 % per every 5 current ability levels. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Passively increases Experience gain of User and allies within line of sight at a rate of +50% per every 10 current ability levels. Forewarns User and selected targets within line of sight of the most probable future scenarios as well as their causes at a rate of 2000 Psy per second. Visions may take on the perspectives of targets in the past, present, or future. Provides Enlightenment opportunities for living beings and objects within line of sight at the cost of 50, 000 Psy per second. Targets may benefit from usage at a rate of 1 instance per 15 ability levels per year. Enlightenment bonuses scale with selected Target¡¯s inherent talents, User¡¯s inherent talents, length of exposure, and current ability level. This ability cannot be overcharged with Psy. Accuracy and Clarity of predictions scale with current ability level.
[Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Prescence X] Passively protects The User and their allies from being detected or attacked via Telepath abilities below Tier IX within a radius of 1 kilometre per current ability level. Actively disrupts non-Telepath abilities within a radius of 100 metres per current ability level at the cost of 250 Psy per second. This effect scales with current ability level. View memories of targets using [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives at the cost of 2, 500 Psy per 10 months of stored memories. Share memories between friendly targets and yourself via [Team Tactics] or derivatives at the cost of 2, 500 Psy per 5 months of stored memories. Total time per use scales at a rate of +20 % per ability level. Total cost per use scale at a rate of -15% per every 5 ability levels. There is no limit to the number of concurrently affected targets. Experience and edit the memories of a target within your senses or targets whose memories have been previously viewed at the cost of 75 ,000 Psy per 5 months of memory. Accuracy and efficiency scales with current ability level at a rate of + 20% per ability level. Subjugated or willing targets may have their memories edited at no cost. The User¡¯s memories may be experienced and edited at no cost. Targets exposed to the User¡¯s presence may be passively subjected to psionic assaults that impair coordination while drastically raising body temperature. Afflicted targets will be compelled to flee from the area of effect unless they manage to resist the initial assault. This effect scales with current ability level. Targets exposed to the User¡¯s presence may be passively subjected to psionic cognitive hazards, wherein targets will become enraptured and enamoured with the User. Affected targets will have the User¡¯s presence seared into their minds, to the point where memories of the User will overpower their natural memories. This may result in addictive tendencies stemming from the pleasure of being exposed to the User¡¯s presence. Affected friendly targets will experience a +1 to all ability levels within the User¡¯s presence. Affected enemy targets will experience a -1 to all ability levels within the User¡¯s presence. These bonuses are tripled for Intruders within the User¡¯s presence. Targets exposed to the User¡¯s presence may experience withdrawal symptoms if not constantly exposed to the User¡¯s presence. Withdrawal symptoms will decrease the affected target¡¯s total Psy by ¨C 10% until the affected target overcomes their addiction. These abilities cannot be overcharged with Psy.
If groaning was still something my body did on its own, then I would surely have been groaning non-stop as I went over the changes. ¡®Sweet merciful Buddha. I keep trying to do good and I keep ending up with evil powers.¡¯ [Limited Omniscience] wasn¡¯t that bad on a first read. Yet the descriptions put something I already knew into words. There was no maximum range. Only the constraints that it needed to be within the current dimension. Meaning nothing and no one back home could possibly escape me. I would know everything everyone thought at all times. Which was strange, in a way. I had become so befuddled back there in Hong Kong. When exposed to such a comparatively small population. But I had no such issues when my ability evolved into the tenth Tier. Taking it all in was, natural. As easy as breathing. ¡®Which only makes it that much scarier. How many personal secrets will I become privy to before they start to change me? Where will I draw the line when it comes to privacy? Or intervention for that matter? Should I simply stand aside as someone has a mental-health crisis in the future? What about moments where people are planning a crime, but haven¡¯t actually committed it? Am I going to start sending them warnings in the dead of night? Am I going to act before a crime is actually committed? What about people who are depressed or suffering from addiction? I¡¯ve already sort of manipulated the latter, back when I was, um, fixing, the issues I found back home, but can I keep doing it going forward? I mean, I don¡¯t feel bad about it. But some people may draw the line where I don¡¯t. I did sort of mess with people with gambling addictions too, and a few people may argue that what I did sort of goes against their free will. What would happen if someone wanted to live like that? Should I go by my own notions of right and wrong, or should I respect their wishes? Could I even respect self-destructive wishes? How would that fit in with the world I want to create?¡¯ I thought my body was about to sigh, but alas, I had to force it in the end. Which only made the motion more exasperating. Then I thought back to the things I had done back home. Questioning how my actions had changed the world forever. I mean, yes. What I told grandpa was undoubtably true. It would be a much, much better place now. Objectively speaking, people would have more resources at their disposal, with less crime and less corruption and no misery merchants or extortionists around to harass hard working people. What¡¯s more, monsters would no longer be a problem, now that so many more people were Espers. And yet¡­ ¡®I can¡¯t keep my mind away from that aspect of my presence. The fact that it brings so much bliss. Such a powerful compelling effect. Yes, it will entice people to committing themselves to doing good deeds, but can that really be called heroism? If they do it not for their own sense of justice, but for the sake of pleasing me and themselves by basking in my presence? Would one of the new Shifters I created be a hero by healing the sick and wounded in hospitals, if they did not do it for the right reasons? Would a patient even care? Would the new Espers I created even care?¡¯ It was a problem that I had no ready solution for. If it indeed was a problem. Certain people didn¡¯t think so. ¡°Hey Dusty.¡± I called out, as she made her way over. ¡°Hey Sully.¡± She answered. Her eyes glued to the board as she explored Enhancer abilities that she might be able to obtain in the future. ¡°[Battle Focus] sounds nice.¡± She began. ¡°The combination of [Enhanced concentration], [Sudden concentration] and [Enhanced Processing] sounds simple enough. Sounds strong too.¡± ¡°Most Enhancers in the Labyrinth seem to think its among the best Enhancer abilities one can get. Especially since it is comparatively easy to form. Even at Tier 1.¡± She whistled. Though her mind wasn¡¯t really focused on the prospect of getting that little trick for herself. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± I began out the blue. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°For not saying anything. For ignoring the issue.¡± She nodded wordlessly. ¡°Care to explain further?¡± I forced myself to sigh. ¡°I¡­ I was reading your mind and I kept going back to how you wanted to show me off. I thought that was all there was between us, despite what you said when I awoke after my drunken episode. I didn¡¯t account for what feelings might be developing, because you weren¡¯t thinking about them. I could blame that on the low Tier of [Sense Thoughts] or on the ring blocking some of your thoughts, but I won¡¯t. In hindsight, I was very immature. I should have had a proper talk with you after you said you wanted to get to know me better. I should have explored what that meant for you and compared it to what it meant for me.¡± She nodded again. ¡°I guess I¡¯m sorry too. I did focus on Glossy and my own grudges and ambitions. Even after I said I wouldn¡¯t. I¡­¡± She paused. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know if what I felt back then could be called love. Truth be told, I don¡¯t know if I would go that far even now. I definitely want to show you off to my dad and my clan and I am looking forward to saying that you and I are paired up, but I still don¡¯t know if what we have is what you consider to be love. It¡¯s not really needed where I come from, you see. Slab didn¡¯t love the French girls he married. Just like how my dad didn¡¯t really love my mom all that much when she was alive. At least, not to the extent that Prudence and Olga describe romance. In my home, you just get together with someone if the opportunity presents itself and if its right for the community. This knot in my stomach, this jealousy¡­ I don¡¯t know where it came from and I don¡¯t know why it hurts this much. It really shouldn¡¯t. It isn¡¯t what I know.¡± I looked at her. Really looked. Noting how¡­ small she seemed. Despite being so big and mighty. ¡°I don¡¯t know either.¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve only ever been in love once before and that didn¡¯t end well. I¡­ I don¡¯t think what I feel for you is anything close to that. I think you¡¯re very attractive and I respect you as a person. Your strength and determination. Your will and convictions. Your resolve to do what needs to be done so that the most people can survive, even when you don¡¯t like them. I think it really speaks to your character and I envy how much you believe in the good you¡¯re doing. I¡­ I keep questioning myself, when you keep marching forward. But I still don¡¯t think that¡¯s the kind of stupid, blinding love that I¡¯m familiar with. These feelings don¡¯t overpower me in the same way. They don¡¯t consume me in that same manner.¡± Dusty flinched. ¡°That said, I do have a lot of stuff going on right now. I can see futures where we develop something like that. It isn¡¯t easy and it won¡¯t come quickly, but we could make it work. I see, I see ways it could come about and ways in which it wouldn¡¯t. It, sort of takes the mystique away from it all. Love is supposed to be thrilling and mysterious. You always want to meet up and be with your other half because you feel like anything could happen when you¡¯re with them. You feel as if there¡¯s this whole other side to life you never knew about when you¡¯re with them. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever know that feeling again. I know we could make it work, if we wanted to. I know we could be happy, but I¡¯m afraid that it¡¯s just me taking advantage of you at that point. Since I know what to say to get the results that I want. Since I can¡¯t really be resisted if I wanted to make myself seem attractive. Both physically and psychologically. I don¡¯t know how to put it.¡± I forced myself to sigh. ¡°It feels as though I can get any end result in want where it comes to romance, since I can douse people in my presence and take any shape I want. It is as though there is no Sully anymore. Only the supreme being all my Intruders keep going on about. I don¡¯t know if that thing is even capable of love.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s stupid.¡± Dusty snapped. ¡°And I think you¡¯re being stupid by bringing that up. Of course you¡¯re still Sully. If you weren¡¯t you would have dominated everyone here the second you got back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not¡­¡± ¡°Yes, it is. It would be the logical thing to do, as it would make sure you have a base of followers ready to spread out and fight back gnomes in other dimensions. Since you can only inhabit one dimension at a time, this would cover one of your few remaining weaknesses. But you didn¡¯t do that. You didn¡¯t even dominate most of the enforcers. Moving forward, you didn¡¯t even have to worry about the gnomes at all. You could have created a paradise of excess and hedonism for yourself without any effort without breaking a sweat. But the thought didn¡¯t even cross your mind. And that¡¯s because you¡¯re still you. Someone who cares. Really, genuinely cares.¡± She bit her lip. ¡°That makes you awesome. In my view. It isn¡¯t easy to choose the hard way forward, when the easy way is that close at hand. It isn¡¯t easy to turn down absolute power.¡± I nodded. Forcing my neck to make the motions. ¡°I see. Thank you for that.¡± We stood in silence for a few more minutes. Until I read a particular thought in her mind and reached out. To hold her hand. Chapter 82: The Arena. Chapter 82: The Arena. The punch came as a surprise to Grandpa. He had been sure that Kaito had all the advantages in his spar against Charlie. What with the Illusions and the generous use of [Hide] and [Faint Presence]. Add to that the fact that Kaito had Enhancer as his first Type and the fight hardly seemed fair. Yet, Charlie¡¯s fist had found the taller, lankier man all the same. Breaking a couple of ribs and knocking the wind out of his lungs. ¡°Oooh.¡± Kaito whined from the floor. His long, hooked nose and black hair scraping against the sandy bottom of the sparring arena. ¡°Quit yer whining. I took worse every day from the bigger kids at the orphanage. Get back up.¡± Charlie chided back. His eyes darting from him to the three other opponents biding their time. ¡°I can¡¯t feel my legs.¡± Kaito added. ¡°Maybe that would change if you took care of your drinking problem.¡± ¡°I do not have a problem.¡± He insisted. ¡°Sure, you don¡¯t.¡± Answered Charlie. In a manner that could only be describes as infuriatingly condescending. ¡°Next you¡¯ll tell me Sully doesn¡¯t have a problem either.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± I protested. Embarrassed that my grandpa was privy to this side of the conversation. ¡°I do not have a problem! I can¡¯t even get drunk if I wanted to!¡± My voice came off a lot more normal now than before. The cells in my throat finally getting into the habit of acting out the slight quivers and rises in pitch that came with certain expressions. Even so, there were a fair few unnatural inflections here and there. Tell-tale signs that the words were not quite human in nature. Grandpa and Dusty both noticed, as did all the others. But they at least had the courtesy to not mention it. Charlie didn¡¯t bother responding to my outburst and stared back at Kaito. ¡°Get up. The gnomes won¡¯t sit still while you have a wee cry all by your lonesome. Neither will the other monsters for that matter. You can do better than this.¡± Kaito grunted and disappeared. Re-activating [Hide] without properly considering how Charlie saw through it in the first place. ¡®That¡¯s going to cost him.¡¯ I thought bitterly. ¡®Not that there¡¯s much he could have done. Charlie has got [Enhanced Reflexes] and [Enhanced Concentration] at 5 with [Sudden Reflexes] at 2 and [Sudden Concentration] at 4. Add to that his Kinetic senses from his Projector Type and it¡¯s a wonder [Hide] has any effect at all. Even at high levels, what it does is remove the user from the target¡¯s senses. It won¡¯t work if Charlie uses his own abilities to force his mind to focus on Kaito. The addition of [Predator¡¯s Instincts] from Shifter doesn¡¯t help things either. It¡¯s scary how synergistic it is with all other physical abilities, as well as Charlie¡¯s own crazy battle-sense.¡¯ Dusty was groaning in frustration. Sensing that Charlie had it all under control from his demeanor, but failing to keep track of Kaito herself. She was taking in all that was happening in the ring and applying it to her own training regimen. Noting what tactics worked and what vulnerabilities they exposed on her own fighting style. I smiled inwardly, though all my lips did was twitch upwards. ¡°It¡¯s okay. There will be time to cover all the bases. Besides, you¡¯ve me to watch your back. There¡¯s no way a petty trick like [Hide] is going to work on me.¡± She blushed, and gave me a warm smile. ¡°Thanks Sully.¡± She murmured. ¡°Don¡¯t thank him. He¡¯s being stupid.¡± Grandpa shot back. His own [Sense Thoughts] unable to find Kaito. ¡°Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer. I cannot begin to tell you how many good men I¡¯ve lost in missions when they decided to relax, before the battle was done or when they overestimated their own prowess. A man is never half as vulnerable as the time in which he thinks himself invincible.¡± I looked to him and nodded. While I currently didn¡¯t see how I could possibly be taken off guard, it never hurt to be cautious. I currently felt like a chess master, who had won ten turns before their opponents realized the same thing, but I could just as easily be blinded by something my powers couldn¡¯t pick up on. My victory over Periwig was not assured quite yet, though all the pieces were in place. Then I looked back to Kaito and considered how much he needed grandpa¡¯s advice. He had come into this fight cocky and arrogant. Believing he himself could force a stalemate, if not an outright victory. Even now, he hadn¡¯t been humbled enough. He did a loop around the blonde, seeking an opening before lunging with his own fists readied near his chest. Trusting in the synergistic combination of his Enhancer and Telepath abilities as he went for a grapple. His [Hide] was at a high level, which all but ensured victory in his own mind, despite the beating he had just taken. Charlie didn¡¯t even turn his head. Instead, he created a [Force Wall] to cover his right side. Kaito ran into it, revealing his position, after which Charlie turned the wall off and punched in the direction of the contact. Using [Accelerate] on his arm while he called upon his active Enhancer boosts and his newly acquired Shifter boosts through [Muscular System]. Kaito lost three teeth and fell on the floor groaning. Olga chose that moment to strike together with Prudence and Mantis-Man. Despite the former having similar Type combinations, excluding Shifter, and having developed the same abilities, Olga never touched him. Charlie stepped to the side and thrust out his right arm, hitting her in the throat in such a way that her own momentum did more damage than a real strike could have done. After that he used [Local Regression] to fly her back to her original position and [Decelerate] on Mantis-Man¡¯s scythes to give himself more breathing room. The appendage slowed as if wading through molasses and Charlie took another step to the side in order to backhand Prudence, who¡¯d only now finished growing claws. She yelped, perhaps thinking she was safe after using [Hide] on herself for the first time in a sparring match. Charlie followed that up by using his active buffs to make himself both faster and stronger, even as he triggered his [Absorb Radiation] and [Absorb Sound] combo attack. He overfed Psy into the two and for a brief instant, light and sound ceased to exist in a dome around him. Charlie moved, quick as lighting, hitting Mantis-Man and Prudence half a dozen times in quick succession, breaking bones and twisting ligaments. When that was done, he waltzed his way over to Kaito and kicked him in the ribs as the slimer man pretended to be unconscious in preparation of a sneak attack. I only knew because I was reading his mind. I also knew that Charlie only suspected something was slightly off, his own lived experience giving him an inkling as to when he was about to be ambushed. ¡®Well, that and [Predator¡¯s Instincts]. Jeez that ability is scary. Thank goodness none of the combos I got from the Drake included it. I might need some time to get used to my new body before I start working on such a drastic change.¡¯ I cringed as their thoughts streamed in. Doing my best to focus on the form of Charlie. He was wearing a white and yellow coloured Symbiote shaped in the likeness of a welding suit. At least, one designed by a medieval armorer. There was too much bulk around the torso and around the legs, when normal welders protected their arms and face first and foremost. He did have a visor, but it resembled a beaked helmet more than anything else. The ensemble would have looked comical if not for the moaning bodies strewn around him and the very visible bulging muscles underneath. Charlie was getting an adequate amount of protein in his diet for the first time in his life, and it showed. Part of me wondered how much of the explosive growth was due to his own efforts and how much came from his [Enhanced Training] ability. ¡®Probably most of it. You don¡¯t get those biceps in a month unless you¡¯re having concentrated steroid juices for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Unless you¡¯re Slab or Dusty I guess, but those two pretty much confirmed they were more bio-engineered than Monsanto tomatoes.¡¯ Mantis-Man had gotten up now and started healing the rest of the group. On the far side of the sparring chamber, Borislav had finished putting down a combined assault from Simeon, Ryan and Louise. Borislav had chosen to shape his Symbiote to resemble the Bunny costume he¡¯d had before being kidnapped and he¡¯d kept the tokens from the penguin hunt to upgrade its physical resistances. That and his own mix of abilities from all Types allowed him to take a drastically different approach to fighting. He wasn¡¯t anywhere near as graceful as Charlie was, preferring instead to tank the hits his charges dealt him while hitting back even harder. The aftermath was¡­ Messy. ¡°Fascinating.¡± Grandpa sighed. His eyes wandering around the arena as Agnes came by with a tray of refreshments. Mr. Park glued to her hip as they went around handing out congratulations to all the fighters present. Whether they deserved the praise or not. ¡°You know Sully, this is such an eye opener. Used to be we had to rely on all sorts of studies and compiled statistics to determine someone¡¯s approximate Rank and the ways in which their abilities might be used or countered. Our department spent billions of dollars each year tracking and assessing the newer, younger generations and making all sorts of reports on how they did against Rifts Spawn and against each other in mock duels. There was simply, too much variation in powersets. Too many questions. We saw someone who could breathe fire and had super-strength and wonder if the two powers were somehow linked, only to then see hundreds of people with super-strength but also enhanced reflexes or durability who could do other things besides. The Types were simplified for the general masses, but we always had more questions. Eugenics became a big talking point more than once. To the point where there was a growing fad of rich folks grooming impressionable supers from poor backgrounds. The idea that their kids could get powers was simply too tempting to pass up.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡®Well, that¡¯s disturbing.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®Though, I guess it wouldn¡¯t even scratch the surface of messed-up things I saw the bigwigs doing as soon as I absorbed Sarcophagus Solomon. Man, people are crazy.¡¯ ¡°And now¡­ I can see a much more defined, concise abbreviation of Esper powers. Not only that, but I¡¯m in a position to get all four Types and to train them up.¡± He sighed. ¡°So, why do I feel so useless?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not useless grandpa.¡± I protested. ¡°You just started your training and this is all very new to you. You¡¯re actually doing great, all things considered.¡± He huffed. ¡°Don¡¯t sugarcoat it for me boy. I¡¯ve seen your pet monstrosity.¡± ¡®Which one?¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡°The big (Mittens)ing sea horror that flies you around.¡± ¡®Oh.¡¯ ¡°Dolce isn¡¯t all that bad. He only looks scary. He¡¯s a big puppy inside.¡± ¡°He is a sea-serpent that¡¯s bigger than a whale, with an anglerfish¡¯s mouth and jellyfish tentacles that can squirt out lethal neurotoxins like its nothing. And he can fly and use [Hide] and take a beating besides. He would have sent our entire department into a frenzy if he showed up back home. And he¡¯s only an elite mob from what I¡¯ve seen and heard. That thing, a thing that could kill B-Ranks by farting in their general directions, is not even the scariest thing in this instance. What does the final boss monster look like? What does the secret boss the objectives reference look like?¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to worry about that.¡± I waved him off. ¡°The only reason I haven¡¯t dominated those guys is that it would be considered defeating them by the System. We¡¯d be sent to Human City early and so we¡¯d miss out on another four months of having the ability boards. Better to take them out at the last moment.¡± Grandpa gave me a sideways glance, but said nothing further. ¡°In any case. I¡¯ve been talking to the others here and I couldn¡¯t help but notice that I haven¡¯t gotten the boost you gave to everyone else.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because the ability is much stronger now grandpa.¡± I explained patiently. ¡°That, and I have a lot more Psy to give once I do use it. I just¡­ want to make sure you¡¯re used to your powers before I pull the trigger. Just in case.¡± ¡°In case of what?¡± He insisted. ¡®In case I break you by accident.¡¯ I considered. Thinking back to the many, many people I¡¯d left back home and how funny ideas had taken root in more than one. ¡°In case something unexpected happens.¡± I said instead. ¡°I mean, who knows if the System will think a big jump in power is cheating? Who knows if they¡¯ll send you somewhere else since you weren¡¯t supposed to be in the Tutorial in the first place?¡± That wasn¡¯t bound to happen, but he didn¡¯t need to know that. Indeed, grandpa merely nodded. Satisfied with my response for now. I looked at him and figured it was about time to drop another sensitive issue on his lap. ¡°Speaking of which, remember how I told you that we get to choose the world to which we return for our one-week break?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°And remember how I said I would be going with Dusty and Slab and how you said you wouldn¡¯t be tagging along and how you wanted to meet up with dad and mom and make sure they were all right?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Well, I just wanted to let you know that you will find them back home and that you won¡¯t have to worry about any government spooks coming after you. That said, there are some things you should be¡­ um¡­ prepared for.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± He asked, raising a withered old eyebrow in an accusatory manner. ¡°Oh, nothing much! Hardly worth mentioning.¡± I lied. ¡°It¡¯s just that I now have a lot of¡­ fans. Some of which might be making¡­ uh¡­ statues and¡­ doing things to those statues. I assure you I have got it handled.¡± Grandpa¡¯s eyes rose to a dangerous degree. Too bad I wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Also, dad and mom and Puffin, the new adoptive sister I got, might not be in the best state of mind. The things I had to¡­ um¡­ let loose on their Tutorial instance were not exactly pleasant. They might need some peace and quiet for this next week. Maybe some counselling. Maybe a lot of counselling. It¡¯s going to be hard to say.¡± ¡°Sully, what did you do?¡± ¡°Nothing! Nothing! It¡¯s just that some of my followers are Intruders and some of those Intruders are a little bit quirky. That¡¯s all.¡± Grandpa looked horrified. ¡°Sully!? Did you send that Mittens thing to Reggie!?¡± I would have squirmed, but my body remained stoic. ¡°Not because I wanted to! It was the best choice I could make at that time. Given the circumstances.¡± Grandpa¡¯s jaw had hit the floor. His lips quivering as he recalled the things that had popped out of the corners of reality. The things the possessed Desmond had said, as his horns erupted from his skull. ¡°Look, it¡¯ll be fine. Okay? Yes, I had to do some questionable things, but you¡¯re no stranger to questionable thigs yourself pops. You know damn well that, despite one¡¯s best intentions, sometimes (Gnome) just hits the fan and there¡¯s nothing you can do but replace the upholstery. This is like that. Dad and mom and Puffin and Luigi and a bunch of other people were caught up in a (Gnome)storm and it was up to me to get them out. So what if Mittens ate a few livers here and there? If that¡¯s the price for my parents surviving then it¡¯s cheap enough from where I¡¯m standing.¡± Grandpa was about to protest when another bout started. His own hands were clammy and cold as his mind raced. Mine own were normal, but only because my body did such a good job regulating itself. To top it all off, I had a bit of joy to ward off the awkward conversation. The hand holding Dusty¡¯s own felt warm and snug. Her own mind re-assuring me, even as my grandpa tried to wrestle with the implications of what I¡¯d told him. ¡®It¡¯s fine Sully. It is the duty of a child to watch after their parents when they are in trouble. You were only doing your duty. He should be proud of you. As proud as I am.¡¯ She thought. Certain I would catch her thoughts using my powers. I sighed internally. ¡®I know. I don¡¯t regret what I did. Only that I had to do it in that manner.¡¯ We sat in silence on one of the benches attached to the walls of the training room, watching as two groups sparred on the sand-filled arena. The first group was led by Slab, who stood at attention with his new club. A horrific tangle of solid bone with metal spikes lodged into it. With him were Colette, Ahmed, Stellio, Subutai, and Gina. The second group consisted of Charlie as team leader, along with Olga, old man Park, Fernando, Esmeralda, Ryan, and Lousie. They had Jane with them too but she wasn¡¯t doing much outside of shielding herself. Agnes walked about the perimeter, holding several trays filled with cooked monster parts and lemonades for anyone stopping to watch or bowing out early. She had all the loads floating beside her; held up by a [Force Wall] on her right and an [Frost Wall] on her left. Her eyes were glue to Mr. Park as he weaved and dodged in and out of combat, rapidly switching forms on the fly. He would glance back and wink every so often, though the gesture was somewhat spoiled by him having grown an insectoid exoskeleton. Borislav was waiting on the sidelines, calmy eating a stack of roasted mole ribs topped with speckled mushroom sauce. Anytime someone got seriously hurt, he or one of the team leaders would stop the fight and call for healing. At first glance, it might have appeared that Slab¡¯s team was woefully outmatched, having two people less than Charlie¡¯s team. While this was true and this did present an advantage, the engagements were far from one-sided. The most pertinent reason was that the first team had Slab, and Slab was more monstrous than most actual monsters out there. The man was menace, plain and simple. So much so that everyone knew he was the third strongest in here. A standout, even among the so-called rankers at the top of the makeshift hierarchy our group had formed. As for the other reasons¡­. ¡°Sully, you¡¯re making that face again. Its wrong to hate people for having Types that you don¡¯t.¡± Dusty chided. ¡°I am not making any sort of face.¡± I countered. ¡°I should know, I¡¯ve been struggling to actually make faces. Besides I don¡¯t hate anyone who isn¡¯t a gnome. And I have no reason to envy anyone here.¡± I answered back immediately, a bit taken aback. She gave me a sideways glance. ¡°I know what you were thinking, even without you actually making a face. You shouldn¡¯t look at those three like you¡¯re about to feed them to Dolce.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not looking at them in any kind of way.¡± A barked laugh came from our side as Prudence trotted along with Kaito following behind her. ¡°Sully, I mean, come on. You¡¯ve been at it for a month already. Subutai, and Gina have been avoiding you like the plague and Stellio¡¯s mind is literally bursting with paranoia. The guy used to be a boxer and here he is, having nightmares where you¡¯re chasing him around. Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t know. We¡¯re all mind-readers here.¡± ¡°As much as I hate to say it.¡± Kaito interjected. ¡°She is right. I¡¯d be worried too if I were in their shoes. What do you even have against them anyway?¡± ¡®The fact that they used my power to help them and they grew too well. The fact that they got three Types off the bat and none of them have to wrestle with their own bodies to even express themselves. The fact that they didn¡¯t have to fight as hard as Charlie or Boris. That they aren¡¯t privy to all the horrible (Gnome) we¡¯ve had to deal with in order to set the pieces on the board.¡¯ I didn¡¯t say that, of course. That would have made me sound like a petty loon. It wasn¡¯t their fault they got two extra Types instead of one like most people. They were merely the last three people to be rescued from a safe-zone. I had been the one who wanted to wait until the next day in order to regain all my Psy and make the most of their growth. I was the one who wanted to see what happened when I used all my Psy to make the enlightenment last as much as possible. I shouldn¡¯t be angry at them for having three Types. It wasn¡¯t logical. Not when I was getting along so well with everyone else. I took a deep, calming breath. ¡°No. No you¡¯re right. I¡­That was my bad. I¡¯ll apologize today.¡± ¡°Awww. I was hoping to see some drama.¡± Prudence snarked while pouting. She then proceeded to sit down next to Dusty, leaning back and placing her arms behind her head. ¡°So, who do you think will win?¡± ¡°Hard to say. These exercises aren¡¯t necessarily the most consistent contests since there are so many abilities that people don¡¯t take and have gone untested. Anyone here could have come back with a few levels under their belt from one of our hunting trips and completely re-defined themselves thanks to an overpowered synergy or effect we didn¡¯t know about before. That¡¯s the whole point of having these brawls in the first place. So, the fighters and the spectators can see what works and what doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Right. Let me rephrase the question. Given what you know right now and barring any new surprises, who do you think will win?¡± ¡°Slab¡¯s team.¡± I said immediately. Dusty nodded knowingly. ¡°Oh? Why do you think that?¡± Kaito asked. ¡°It¡¯s a simple assessment.¡± Dusty answered before I could. ¡°Even if we ignore the difference between Slab and Charlie¡¯s personal power, my brother¡¯s team has more experienced warriors at a higher average level.¡± ¡®Not to mention how much more focused Slab¡¯s team is. Olga¡¯s too busy ogling Charlie to react in time and Fernando¡¯s too caught up on how good Esmeralda looks in her Symbiote.¡¯ Her words and my private thoughts were proved correct when another round started and Subutai¡¯s muscles exploded, growing to three times their original size while he activated his Enhancer boosting abilities. His neck inflated like a balloon until it looked like that of a bullfrog, though he did nothing except hold his breath. I winced. Reading all their minds and realizing what was about to happen. Ryan and Louise were both Telepaths now, but neither of them could penetrate a Shifter¡¯s natural resistance to scrying yet. Meaning no one in Charlie¡¯s team was in a position to stop him. Also, no one in Ryan¡¯s team like Ryan. They only pretended to tolerate him and even then only to a point. ¡°What do you mean? Charlie¡¯s team has more people.¡± ¡°They do.¡± Dusty granted. ¡°That counts for little here. They don¡¯t have more fighters. Subutai, Stellio and Gina are all used to violence in their own respective ways. Subutai especially, since he comes from a nomadic clan. One where weakness is as despised as it is in mine.¡± Olga tried to intercept him, accelerating in much the same way that Charlie did. Colette¡¯s [Force Wall] intercepted her attempt, leading to a broken nose and another bout of swearing. Subutai, for his part, did not use [Accelerate], despite having the ability. Instead, he pumped Psy into [Local Portal] whose other end was placed behind the opposing team, pushed his head inside and released a screech. The assault consisted of the [Vocalization] ability from the Shifter pool combined with the [Sonic Bolt] ability from the Projector pool. Subutai jerked his own head backwards through his side of the portal, reeling from the backlash of his own stunt. He collapsed onto his rear while Stellio and Gina moved to in to cover for him. The result of his gamble was an invisible projectile that expanded at the speed of sound. It sent most of the opposing team tumbling to the ground, with the only exceptions being Charlie, who absorbed the disruptive sounds, Mr. Park who had been experimenting with disabling his senses so as to not lose his focus and Jane, who had three different layers of protection around her, including a [Sonic Wall]. Unfortunately, Fernando and Esmeralda had both been enchanted by the prospect of flight, him turning into a bat-like ape and her into a parrot-like ape with wings that sprouted from their backs. They had been flying near the high ceiling during the blast and both tumbled downwards like bricks thrown off a rooftop, breaking several bones upon landing. Charlie and Slab both halted the sparring match once more and asked Borislav to check on the downed combatants. After that, they each took turns congratulating Colette and Subutai for their ingenuity. ¡°See?¡± Kaito nodded in response. His mouth tightening as he did so. His head was full of self-doubt, wondering what he could have done to avoid losing if he were put in a position where he¡¯d have to fight a ranker. I was about to offer some words of re-assurance, when Prudence beat me to it. ¡°Why don¡¯t we all take another glass of lemonade and head over to the boards for some build planning? I¡¯ve got a few ideas after today¡¯s training and I think we should discuss it with our resident expert.¡± Since I was the expert, that meant I had to shuffle my way over alongside them and Dusty. My mind going back to grandpa¡¯s own as he swirled the thoughts around his head. ¡®He¡¯ll understand.¡¯ I assured myself. ¡®He¡¯ll have to. They¡¯ll all have to.¡¯ Then I used my powers to call on the Tall Man and all my other Intruders. Seeing what they were up to, now that their mission was almost over. It was a good thing my body was as regulated as it was. Otherwise, I might have wept. Chapter 83: Advice. Chapter 83: Advice. Helga and Mantis ma¡­Clover, were already there when we entered the room, sitting down on a makeshift leather couch. I looked over it as we made out way over. Noting the way Helga squirmed at my presence. ¡®She must have seen quite a lot of things when she tried to charm me back then. Her time spent among gnomes can¡¯t have been much help either. I really should apologize to her too.¡¯ To that effect, I made my body relax itself somewhat. Forcing it to release a polite cough as a pause in polite conversation. ¡°That¡¯s a fine piece of furniture.¡± I lied. Purposely avoiding the visible stiches where poorly tanned leathers had been joined in favor of locking my eyes on them. ¡°Where did you get it from?¡± ¡°We made it.¡± Helga replied flatly. ¡°I ordered some of my vines to grow around one of the portable benches we found inside the crates at the left corner. I wanted something akin to cushions after someone.¡± She gave Dusty a pointed look. ¡°Broke both my legs. And my hip. And half my ribs. It took Clover an hour to fix me up and even then, the soreness persisted.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you a Shifter too? I¡¯m looking at your status and you have [Regeneration] at 5.¡± ¡°I am, but I hadn¡¯t thought to put more than a few points back then.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to.¡± Dusty said meekly. ¡°It was one of the first fights I got into after combining my powers. I wasn¡¯t used to it.¡± ¡°Right. Of course. Anyway, me and Clover liked it enough to try and improve it. Dusty had skinned a lot of moles to clothe those without Symbiotes, only for a lot more people to get Symbiotes after we kept freeing safe-zones. Clover thought it was a shame to have so many rugs around the floor and he cleaned out one of the bigger, stripped ones. Then I ordered my dearies to create small thorns to pin the corners in place.¡± ¡°That is so cool.¡± I said, fully meaning it. ¡°I wish I¡¯d thought of it before. I could¡¯ve had the pumas skinned instead of sending them off to hunt with the rest of the monsters. Their fur is nicer looking and soooo much softer.¡± Helga coughed loudly into her hand, as if the notion somehow disturbed her. She was frantically trying to keep her own thoughts away from me by recalling songs from her childhood. She wasn¡¯t doing a very good job. ¡®You know, whomever said that was a viable strategy was probably messing with you.¡¯ I messaged. ¡®I¡­uh¡­sorry.¡¯ ¡®You don¡¯t have to be sorry. There¡¯s nothing to be sorry about. You like your plants. I get it. Your ability sounds like something a plant-enthusiast would have. I¡¯m simply different in that I don¡¯t much care what happens to things I control.¡¯ She shivered once more. Not paying attention to the rest of the conversation going on around us. ¡®Don¡¯t you feel bad? Knowing they love you?¡¯ ¡®No.¡¯ I replied at once. ¡®They would have gladly turned me into a toothpick at the earliest opportunity so they can go suck an egg. Especially the gnomes.¡¯ ¡®You like the metal things though.¡¯ ¡®The robots are awesome! That¡¯s why! You¡¯re not an engineer so you don¡¯t understand just how awesome they are. I don¡¯t blame you. Hopefully one day, after all this is said and done, we can ogle them together and marvel at how they were made.¡¯ Helga shriveled away and I shrugged in turn. My body managing the motion without giving off a feeling of uncanniness. ¡°Whatever. I can always find another couple hundred pumas. Oh, and shrews. Their fur isn¡¯t anywhere near as nice, but I want a reminder that I¡¯m at the top of the food-chain now.¡± Prudence barked a laugh. ¡°You know, my uncle Robert used to make couches. Nice ones too. None of that assemble-it-yourself garbage. Took me to see the workshop a couple of times. Before the rift-spawn tore up the place and some brain-dead hero torched the neighbourhood. We don¡¯t have wood here or springs, but we can probably make a better couch by shaving mole bones into the right shapes and sizes. Then we either tie them up with rope or use pre-drilled holes to lock them in place. Tanning leather makes a big stink, so we can¡¯t make it as nice as a couch would be back home, but we could really make a work of art if we put our minds to it.¡± I listened with rapt attention. Appreciating the amount of effort she put into sounding chipper for Dusty¡¯s sake. Prudence had, of course, been one of the first people here to start hating me based on the issues me and Dusty had gone through. Even now, she was of the opinion that, while I was better than Ryan, it wasn¡¯t by much. Now, I could have brought her in on the loop of all that had happened. But that felt like the wrong way to go about things. ¡®No. I don¡¯t want to let the others know about the possible apocalypses coming our way. At least, not this close to their breaks and their return trips to their home worlds. There will be time to go over all the info I gleamed after they¡¯re in a better state of mind. After they come back. I don¡¯t want to force it right now. Better to earn back trust the normal way. It¡¯ll make working together easier in the long run.¡¯ ¡°Already on it.¡± I said with a smile. And I was. All it took was a slight mental exertion and those creatures that remained or that been recently spawned in marched themselves over to us. I paused, looking at the couple once more. ¡°What were you doing here again?¡± I asked. Of course, I knew the answer, but mentioning that wouldn¡¯t have been polite. ¡°The same thing you lot were coming here to do; I think. Planning our next steps. There are more options for me now than before and we don¡¯t know which are the right ones.¡± ¡°I feel that.¡± Prudence chimed in. ¡°Feels like I¡¯m not making progress, despite being higher level than ever before.¡± ¡°I too have felt stifled.¡± Kaito agreed. ¡°We were hoping to share out thoughts with Sully and get his input, since he¡¯s such a genius.¡± I groaned. ¡°I sure don¡¯t feel like a genius.¡± ¡°And yet, all the System enforcers had to run, despite being so much stronger than the rest of us.¡± ¡°Yeah, they sure didn¡¯t seem weaker than you then.¡± Kaito added. My body returned to its more neutral state after that. My mind going back to the missions I had assigned for them. ¡®That is true enough. None of them could have imagined what they would be facing, if they accepted a summons to a Tutorial on the first cycle. A single one of them should have been enough to do away with whatever interloper they found. I¡­ something like me, isn¡¯t normal.¡¯ I thought back to grandpa¡¯s words then. To the things he had murmured. ¡®Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer.¡¯ It was true. Then and now. ¡®Strong as I am, there are still those that are stronger. There aren¡¯t many of them, but they do exist. The Drake is just the first of all the problems I will have to face.¡¯ My mind went back to my new status, and to the new abilities I had absorbed from his memory. To the Titles that came with them. Any one of them could turn an otherwise straightforward fight into a slog. Even as strong as I was, the limitations would be evident if I happened to fight something above my Tier. Which the Drake most certainly would be. ¡®Not only that, but I haven¡¯t gained a single level in all of last week.¡¯ I thought bitterly. ¡®Not in Telepath and definitely not in Shifter. I¡¯m going to have to turn that around, if I want to be able to defend all of humanity, instead of just a few pockets of resistance. The stronger I become, the more the other, larger powers will take notice. Me being the first Savant to get a second Type will play a role as well. Things are going to get a lot harder, before they get easier.¡¯ ¡°Hey? Earth to Sully? You still with us?¡± Prudence asked, now feeling a hint of genuine worry. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I was just thinking.¡± ¡°You do that a lot.¡± Prudence quipped. ¡®Though maybe not often enough.¡¯ She added in her own mind. ¡°I¡¯d rather have him thinking than have him drunk.¡± Kaito replied with the slightest hint of a smile. ¡°Hey! That hurts! How many times do I have to tell you people that I don¡¯t have a drinking problem!¡± ¡°As long as you¡¯re sober, you can say it as many times as you like.¡± ¡°Damn Kaito, and you too P.R. I thought you guys and I were friends.¡± ¡°I like to think so too.¡± Prudence lied, with an impish grin plastered on her face. ¡°Others would not have the nerve to call you out on your B.S. Wanna see proof?¡± She waived a hand at Helga and Clover. ¡°Okay guys. Say something really mean about Sully. Really try and hurt his feelings.¡± Helga blanched and bit her lip. Her fingers tensing and digging into the furry cover of the couch. Clover stiffened and reflexively transformed into his battle shape, complete with scything blades where his hands used to be. ¡°Oh, come on! You saw my memories! I¡¯m a good person!¡± I barked out. Though, on reflection, I had not really done a fine job of putting that little notion out. What with all the noise regarding Henry and the Tall Man and later, the enforcers. I grimaced internally as I thought back to my friend. To the face he¡¯d made when I had tried to explain the¡­ changes. Those that had happened to me and those that would be waiting for him back home. ¡®I just hope he doesn¡¯t get the wrong idea from all the statues and¡­ the people I exposed to my presence. Ah (Gnome). He¡¯s going to talk to Luigi and Vince too. And my parents.¡¯ ¡°You are.¡± Clover said stiffly. ¡°We meant no offense.¡± I managed a human-like groan while Dusty made a face. ¡°Forget about that. Let¡¯s just have a seat around the benches and take another gander at the boards.¡± I was still grumbling when we finally sat down. For her part, Prudence was now bickering with Clover. Complaining vigorously about the lack of ability descriptions. ¡°What kind of nonsense is this? How are we supposed to know what¡¯s good and bad without losing points trying it out? Even the notes that Orphan Maker gave us weren¡¯t any good. They all say things like: ¡®Effects may vary through species.¡¯ What are we supposed to do with that?¡± ¡°It has to do with what you start with in terms of biology.¡± I explained. ¡°A species like Orphan Maker¡¯s is going to have a much easier time with some Types and some abilities than others simply because of how their brains operate. For example, I found out from Peachy that the average range of [Sense Thoughts] per ability level should be somewhere around the ballpark of 20 to 30 metres for points 1 through 5. In contrast, we humans get around 100 metres of range from each point. The gains become standard only when abilities are combined and then become irregular again once we pass the fourth Tier of abilities. As rare as Telepaths are among humans, we do seem to have a knack for those powers. On the other hand, the gnomes get a lot more out of first-Tier Projector abilities than we do. As in, they have more range on their sensing abilities and their powers hit harder with the same amount of Psy.¡± If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. I spread my attention around the nearer parts of the cobweb and saw that I had their full attention. ¡°As to what you in particular should do, well. Borislav has been spreading points around everywhere and it seems to be working for him. I know I don¡¯t really have much a leg to stand on with all the points I have, but I would recommend that going forward. The Tutorial has given us the advantages of having ability boards, but those advantages won¡¯t last forever. While you and Mr. Park are right that gaining new abilities is still possible on the outside, it won¡¯t be as easy as you think. In fact, I reckon it will be much, much harder than you think. If you don¡¯t play your cards right, you might be stuck at a bottleneck until the cooldown on my boosting-blast wears off after a year.¡± Prudence huffed. ¡°Yes. It is working for him. For now. Because he has like, ten levels on the rest of us thanks to the boost.¡± ¡°And his own hard work.¡± I added. Somewhat more forcefully than I might have intended. Prudence arched an eyebrow. ¡°Are you saying the rest of us haven¡¯t been working as hard?¡± ¡°No.¡± I said. ¡®Of course.¡¯ I thought. ¡°It is a matter of what kind of Excursions him and I have been going on. Not to mention the number of hidden bosses we¡¯ve been hunting aside from that. Just last week, we killed the top sea-horse dragon in this Tutorial Instance. Those kinds of feats add up.¡± She huffed again. ¡°So, you say. But I doubt he could hold a candle to me after I got to level 50. No matter how you slice it, generalizing leaves you weak.¡± It was a good thing that my body was so self-controlled. Otherwise, I might have burst out laughing. A sideways glance also revealed that Dusty had pressed her lips tightly together. Her face a mask of impassive tranquility as her mind released a long, drawn-out sigh. ¡°Why are you complaining if you feel so confident?¡± I asked. ¡°Because we can only raise what we have up to 5 until we hit Tier 2. That means we have to spread the points around. I want to make sure I¡¯m spending them properly instead of putting them in things like [Excretory System] or [Reproductive System]. Who comes up with that?¡± Clover shrugged. ¡°The first has to do with throwing parts of yourself. Goes well with [Produce Adhesive] and [Produce Acid]. Just look at how well Mr. Park and Raj have done. The second¡­I think it has to do with hives.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± I confirmed. ¡°The ant queen and the Hydrapede we found in the poison swamp had it. They were pumping out little clones by the dozen. The clones¡¯ starting level was correlated with the queen¡¯s ability level. I can see how it could be useful.¡± ¡®More importantly, I can see how it could go well with my Telepath abilities. Or how the Drake could make my life miserable with such a tool at Tier 10.¡¯ ¡°I can also see how it¡¯s disgusting.¡± Prudence almost spat. ¡°I¡¯m not growing whatever that thing is called to throw mini-me copies around. We¡¯re humans. Not bugs.¡± ¡°Anyway.¡± Dusty began, trying to shake off some of the awkwardness from the conversation. ¡°What abilities were you considering?¡± ¡°Either [Blind] or [Deafen], from the Telepath ability pool.¡± Kaito answered. I nodded slowly, moving my eyes over to the four boards where each Type¡¯s available abilities had been written down. Telepath ability pool Minus Starting: Message / Sense Thoughts / Mental Bolt
Available Abilities: [Static Illusion] / [Fever] / [Sleep] / [Electronic Interface] / [Floral Interface] / [Fungal Interface] / [Team Tactics] / [Team Spirit] / [Team Resilience] / [Team Momentum] / [Team Doctrine] / [Mental Map] / [Fear] / [Courage] / [Anxiety] / [Confusion] / [Hobble] / [Phobia] / [Puppet Animal] / [Puppet Plant] / [Puppet Fungus] / [Puppet Sentient] / [Puppet Machine] / [Faint Presence] / [Imposing Presence] / [Alluring Presence] / [Hide] / [Mask] / [Hidden Danger] / [Muffle] / [Flash] / [Precognition] / [Premonition] / [Persistent Message] / [Meditation] / [Mark Target] / [Calm] / [Enrage] / [Friendship] / [Resolve] / [Review Memory] / [Share Memory] / [Fog Memory] / [Drunkenness] / [Sobriety] / [Inspiration] / [Psychometry] / [Hum of Attack] / [Hum of Striding] / [Hum of Defence] / [Hum of Harmony] / [Hum of Discord] / [Hum of Cleansing] / [Hum of Mist] / [Painful Gaze] / [Cleansing Gaze] / [Entrancing Gaze] / [Degrading Gaze] / [Block Mental Detection] / [Block Mental Attack] / [Interrupt] / [Awaken Organism] / [Awaken Object] / [Stable Reality] / [Unstable Reality] / [Manifest Intruder] / [Seal Intruder] / [Banish Intruder] / [Psionic Jinx] / [Psionic Hex] / [Psionic Curse] / [Drown] / [Heart Attack] / [Indigestion] / [Blind] / [Deafen] / [Anosmia] / [Phantom Pain]
Shifter Ability Pool Minus Starting: Claws / Regeneration / Predator¡¯s Instincts.
Available Abilities: [Regenerate Other] / [Mitosis] / [Acclimation] / [Organ Independence] / [Tracking Instincts] / [Social Instincts] / [Eusocial Instincts] / [Adrenaline] / [Fur] / [Rubbery Hide] / [Scales] / [Chitin] / [Feathers] / [Spines] / [Blades] / [Bark] / [Leaves] / [Spores] / [Muscular System] / [Skeletal System] / [Nervous System] / [Lymphatic System] / [Cardiovascular System] / [Digestive System] / [Respiratory System] / [Endocrine System] / [Excretory System] / [Reproductive System] / [Grow] / [Shrink] / [Stretch] / [Harden] / [Soften] / [Metamorphosis] / [Photosynthesis] / [Camouflage] / [Vocalization] / [Mimicry] / [Jaws] / [Beak] / [Pincers] / [Proboscis] / [Phagocytosis] / [Eyes] / [Ears] / [Nose] / [Tongue] / [Proprioception] / [Grasping Appendage] / [Locomotion Appendage] / [Hands] / [Suction Cups] / [Tarsus] / [Pseudopods] / [Webbed Appendage] / [Fins] / [Mucus] / [Hooves] / [Tail] / [Stinger] / [Pterygote] / [Propatagium] / [Night Vision] / [Thermal Vision] / [Infrared Vision] / [Echolocation] / [Low-Frequency Hearing] / [High Frequency Hearing] / [Olfactory Navigation] / [Olfactory Threat Detection] / [Olfactory Poison Detection] / [Heat Tolerance] / [Cold Tolerance] / [Electricity Tolerance] / [Pressurization Tolerance] / [De-Pressurization Tolerance] / [Radiation Tolerance] / [Venom Glands] / [Poison Glands] / [Incorporate Mineral] / [Incorporate Liquid] / [Incorporate Gas] / [Produce Adhesive] / [Produce Acid] / [Produce Pyro-Chemical] / [Produce Cryo-Chemical] / [Produce Electro-Chemical] / [Pheromone Hierarchy] / [Pheromone Trail] / [Pheromone Attraction] / [Pheromone Diversion] / [Hijack] / [Infection]
Enhancer Ability Pool Minus Starting: Enhanced Strength / Enhanced Dexterity / Enhanced Constitution.
Available Abilities: [Enhanced Toughness] / [Enhanced Flexibility] / [Enhanced Reflexes] / [Enhanced Concentration] / [Enhanced Recovery] / [Enhanced Stamina] / [Enhanced Agility] / [Enhanced Vision] / [Enhanced Hearing] / [Enhanced Smelling] / [Enhanced Tasting] / [Enhanced Proprioception] / [Enhanced Respiration] / [Enhanced Digestion] / [Enhanced Circulation] / [Enhanced Immune Response] / [Enhanced Memory] / [Enhanced Learning] / [Enhanced Processing] / [Enhanced Balance] / [Enhanced Training] / [Heat Resistance] / [Cold Resistance] / [Electric Resistance] / [Neurotoxin Resistance] / [Cytotoxin Resistance] / [Enterotoxin Resistance] / [Hemotoxin Resistance] / [Viral Resistance] / [Sleep Resistance] / [Psychoactive Resistance] / [Paralysis Resistance] / [Parasitic Resistance] / [Psionic Resistance] / [Pressure Resistance] / [Vacuum Resistance] / [Radiation Resistance] / [Slashing Resistance] / [Piercing Resistance] / [Blunt Resistance] / [Gravity Resistance] / [Friction Resistance] / [Sudden Strength] / [Sudden Dexterity] / [Sudden Constitution] / [Sudden Toughness] / [Sudden Flexibility] / [Sudden Reflexes] / [Sudden Concentration] / [Sudden Recovery] / [Sudden Agility] / [Enhance Object] / [Enhance Projectile] / [Overcharge Self] / [Overcharge Object] / [Heavy Blow] / [Heavy Shield] / [Heavy Shot] / [Berserk]
Projector Ability Pool Minus Starting: Force Bubble / Force Wall / Force Bolt
Available Abilities: [Fire Bubble] / [Fire Wall] / [Fire Bolt] / [Frost Bubble] / [Frost Wall] / [Frost Bolt] / [Spark Bubble] / [Spark Wall] / [Spark Bolt] / [Photon Bubble] / [Photon Wall] / [Photon Bolt] / [Sonic Bubble] / [Sonic Wall] / [Sonic Bolt] / [Resonance] / [Pressurize] / [Depressurize] / [Distort Space] / [Mend Space] / [Accelerate] / [Decelerate] / [Reverse Gravity] / [Amplify Gravity] / [Local Banishment] / [Local Apport] / [Local Portal] / [Local Jump] / [Local Regression] / [Local Progression] / [Local Stop] / [Mend Time] / [Sense Heat] / [Sense Electricity] / [Sense Kinetic] / [Sense Radiation] / [Sense Sound] / [Sense Psionics] / [Sense Spatial Disturbance] / [Sense Temporal Disturbance] / [Absorb Heat] / [Absorb Electricity] / [Absorb Kinetic] / [Absorb Radiation] / [Absorb Sound] / [Reservoir] / [Conversion to Psy] / [Condensation] / [Vaporization] / [Freezing] / [Melting] / [Corrosion] / [Attune to Solid] / [Attune to Liquid] / [Attune to Gas] / [Attune to Wavelength] / [Hold Attuned Compound] / [Organize Attuned Compound] / [Throw Attuned Compound] / [Phase Through Solid] / [Phase Through Liquid] / [Phase Through Gas] / [Phase Through Heated Material] / [Phase Through Frigid Material] / [Phase Through Electrified Material] / [Group Phasing] / [Forced Phasing] / [Magnetic Attraction] / [Magnetic Repulsion] / [Analyse Compound] / [Repair Construct] / [Imbue Construct]
¡°That¡¯s an interesting choice.¡± I said off-handedly. ¡°Is it the wrong choice?¡± Kaito asked, with a small amount of panic in his voice. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I answered him. ¡°Then why did you say it was an interesting choice?¡± ¡°Because I noted that it would be similar to the combo Charlie used when he was wiping the floor with us. Thing is, these guys work in a different way. I should know. I levelled them. It¡¯s a single-target power, rather than something you can spread around. When Charlie uses his combination attack, he draws in all the light and all the sound around him for a few seconds. It looks powerful and seems versatile too. The sound absorption let him stay on his feet when Subutai used his sonic blast. The Telepath sensory abilities won¡¯t do any of that, but they will last a lot longer and will take less Psy to maintain.¡± I explained. ¡°The best way to use them would be in conjunction with [Hide] and [Faint Presence]. As you¡¯d have several more layers of protection. Even then, a better use of them would be in a group. Charlie would blind any allies without [Sense Thoughts] if he did his trick in the middle of a fight. You or I wouldn¡¯t need to worry about that, as the only effect would be in the target¡¯s mind.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t that make Charlie¡¯s power more versatile though?¡± I tried to shrug, but bungled it half-way. ¡°It takes a lot of Psy for an effect that¡¯s very localized and not very long. It was good for Charlie in that specific scenario because Charlie is super fast and super mean. He doesn¡¯t need an ability that lasts more than a few seconds because a few seconds is all he needs to kick our teeth in.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Prudence said, in a half-sigh that carried an aura of depression. ¡°Not going to lie, that kind of sucks.¡± ¡°It does.¡± I admitted. ¡°But it elucidates my point. There is no ability that will guarantee you victory. You¡¯d have to keep in mind that choosing these abilities will determine what kind of foes you can and can¡¯t take on.¡± ¡°How do you mean?¡± Prudence huffed. ¡°He¡¯s saying that these options will specialize you. I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a bad thing myself, but it¡¯s something to keep in mind. Back in our world, all manner of superheroes and supervillains were running around all the time while the rift spat out horrors left right and center. We know more than most and that gives us a little bit of leverage. For example¡­¡± She pointed at [Hide]. ¡°That stuff is potent. No doubt about it. Blackjack killed Turbine, a freaking A-ranker while only being a B-ranker himself using that stuff. Walked right up to him and beat him over the head with a spiked bat. Turbine was a Projector, which meant he was a normal human beneath the aero-kinesis. Bro got curb-stomped hours after giving a cocky interview saying he had the villain on the ropes. Its definitely a keystone ability.¡± ¡°Keystone ability?¡± I asked, with some humour. ¡°Are you guys still going on about that?¡± Prudence and Kaito turned my way. Eyebrows arched. ¡°Uh, yeah? Because it works. Some abilities are clearly better and more integral than others. Like [Enhanced Training] or [Enhanced Reflexes] or [Enhanced Concentration]. They¡¯re all so useful you¡¯d have to be an idiot not to take them. Imagine what it would be like to have strength, dexterity, constitution and toughness at 5 or higher, only for someone like Charlie to show up and dance around you or for someone like Old Park to snipe you from half a world away?¡± Kaito offered. Okay. They did have a point there. ¡°I get it. Guys. I really do. The very same could be said of [Sense Thoughts] or [Predator¡¯s Instincts]. You see something that provides a better bang for your buck and you think that it¡¯ll be better to go all the way in on those. However, that is a short-sighted way of looking at things.¡± I countered. ¡°Think about my hums. The entire section of Telepath buffing abilities. At first, it might seem useless when compared to something like [Precognition] or [Premonition] or [Hide], but that¡¯s just because it has applications outside of what you¡¯re used to. Don¡¯t sleep on spending a point here and there to boost your overall combat effectiveness.¡± ¡°Yeah. Of course you would say that.¡± Kaito countered. ¡°You¡¯ve got points to throw around. We have to make do with what we¡¯ve got and that means going for the ones that are the most effective most of the time.¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s been taking [Enhanced Learning] these days too.¡± Prudence interjected. ¡°At first, we all thought it was for super-memory, like those detectives on TV that always know which type of paper was used for wrapping cookies at every restaurant in town.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the show with the Donkey that¡¯s also a Telepath?¡± I asked incredulously. ¡°Not quite. The Donkey was transformed by a villainous Shifter. He was actually a human Telepath turned Donkey. He was solving crimes with his no-nonsense partner and girlfriend in order to eventually find the villain so he could turn back and they could get married.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t the guy who played the police captain a predator?¡± ¡°Yeah. He got, like, 10 years and chemical castration.¡± ¡°Tangents aside.¡± Kaito interrupted. ¡°It also lets you learn how to fight faster, affecting your motor-skills and how fast you can pick up new moves and perform them as a master would. I only recently got into juggling and I can already do twelve knives at once.¡± ¡°That was you? Everyone in the Warehouse was making such a big fuss about it when we came back from grinding out levels the other week. I heard it was super impressive.¡± Kaito allowed himself a smug smirk. ¡°Yeah. It was pretty nice.¡± ¡°And it only gets better.¡± Prudence butted in. ¡°When you have both it and [Enhanced Concentration] it actually becomes possible to veer your thoughts away from your own secrets and you can hide it from low-levelled mind-reading.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t actually work.¡± ¡°Well, not from you, obviously.¡± There was a slight, uneasy pause after that. Not wanting to leave things on a sour note, I cleared my throat and tried to restart the conversation. ¡°Back to these options again. I¡­ I don¡¯t think what you¡¯re doing is smart. I¡¯ll say that off the bat, but I do see where you¡¯re coming from. I¡¯m more than willing to help if you¡¯ll listen. I guess we¡¯re looking for options that would give you as much leverage as possible, no matter what situation you found yourself in.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I already have [Hide] and [Faint Presence]. They were actually the first two abilities I picked when you, uh, enlightened us. Problem is, you can actually still notice me the moment I do anything. Moving greatly weakens the effect and attacking in any way cancels it out entirely. They haven¡¯t been as useful as I expected.¡± Clover snorted, joining the conversation after some time. ¡°That¡¯s because you haven¡¯t used it in a real fight. Let me tell you, me and Helga would have killed to have something like that when the witch hunters were after us. Especially when her sire was in attendance. Those brothers are worse than their bloodhounds when it comes to catching a scent.¡± Kaito nodded slowly. Keeping his eyes on Clover as the man huffed in annoyance. ¡°You really think so?¡± ¡°I know so. These sparring matches are a good way to learn the basics and develop our bonds of camaraderie, I¡¯ll give you that. However, things are different out there. You all lived through the same things for a whole month before Solomon came along. How many times do you think the power to become unnoticeable would have turned a battle on its head? These shows are just that. Shows. Little more than a circus performance. Out there, no one would tackle Charlie head on, as we did. Instead, you¡¯d go behind him. Following his trail for hours, days, as long as it took. You would keep following until Charlie went to sleep or was in the middle of a losing fight. Then, and only then, should you strike.¡± Chapter 84: Restrictions. Chapter 84: Restrictions. Clover stopped his rant in order to catch his breath and found that the rest of us were fixated on him. Now, what he said was completely right. Any old idiot could have told you that. It was the way he said it that caught our attention. In that small window of time, Clover had gone from a relatively well-adjusted individual, to someone as intense as Dusty or Slab. His eyes losing most of their light as his mind went back a few months. To a time where he and Helga had been running from witch hunters. ¡®How interesting.¡¯ I thought belatedly. ¡®That Espers can find themselves cornered and almost killed by normal people, if the numbers are overwhelming enough.¡¯ Granted, the two of them hadn¡¯t been powerful by any estimate. Yet, the point stood. Even before meeting Granny Golden and remembering what had happened, I don¡¯t think a group of normal people would have been an issue. Certainly not one that was lacking guns and other modern weapons. I wouldn¡¯t even have had to kill them. [Fever] had been devastating. Even back then. ¡®Though I suppose not everyone had less-than-lethal options before they came to the Labyrinth. Certainly not at range. Helga and Clover had been nervous when we¡¯d first met too. They hadn¡¯t wanted to kill me, just as I hadn¡¯t wanted to kill them.¡¯ Clover looked troubled by being in the center of attention, so I threw him a bone. ¡°He¡¯s completely right you know. I was out there as long as anyone else without being captured and I can tell you that stealth is most certainly the way to go. Nothing else come close if you want to stay alive. Why, I was surrounded by monsters in all directions most of the time and any one of them could have ripped me to shreds if they actually found me. The smart application of [Hide] and [Faint Presence] may be the only reason I¡¯m here now. Not to mention how powerful the combinations are. In fact, remember those memories of me being trapped by Anezka in the alternate timeline?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯ll recall that I managed to escape while Anezka and Randall and a whole bunch of other guys unlucky enough to be pressed into her service were fighting the Boss. That red beetle thing. The Hidden Boss, the Spider, actually lives in that same boss chamber. Only it stays up above the arena during the fight and isn¡¯t supposed to move unless it is attacked. It was running [Stealth III] the whole time Anezka was blasting the beetle with her plasma rifles. Minding its own business.¡± I forced a smile then. ¡°Sarcophagus Solomon saw his chance and took it. He sent a bolt up there and then ran his own [Stealth III] throughout the ensuing carnage, since Anezka had used her remote to keep him from moving or from using [Domination]. Thing is, those controllers only work if they¡¯re attached to a registered living user. Funny that. By the time the screams died down, Anezka was too dead to use her remote and the Spider was too wounded and distracted to resist [Domination]. Think about that. The other me was in a situation where all the cards were stacked against them and still managed to turn things around.¡± I closed my eyes and wagged a finger in the air. ¡°The lesson here is twofold. One, stealth is always advantageous. If it is possible, you should try to go for it. And two, never underestimate those weaker than you. I might seem overwhelmingly strong, but I am still mortal. I am still fallible. Keep an open mind and try to think about what each power does and how they could be useful in different situations. It might just save your life.¡± The others were nodding along in silence. Helga¡¯s mind sweating bullets as she considered how dangerous Sarcophagus Solomon had been in the glimpses she¡¯d caught. That, and how much more dangerous I would be, if provoked. Meanwhile, Dusty was fuming inside. Her mind throwing curses at Anezka¡¯s shade. On the other hand, Kaito was thinking of her weapons. Of the kind of technology that could bring even someone of my power to their knees. Finally, Clover was thinking of the Spider. Of the kind of creature that stood above all the other monsters down here. I nodded along, consciously moving my head up and down as I took in their musings. Then, for whatever reason, I found my own thoughts drifting towards the Boss. My attention dancing on the lines of the cobweb, that new method of sensing thoughts that had become so familiar to me, despite its alien nature. I felt my brain expanding. Motes of power running up and down the strings to find all the lesser and greater monsters within this enclosed dimension. From the lesser centipedes dripping venom from their mandibles, to the towering leviathans still swimming in the pitch blackness of the sea beyond the walls. From the fire-breathing seahorses floating up and down the gold-line chasm and the confines of the lava chamber, to the man-fly hybrids buzzing around the poison swamp where Randall was training even now. I felt the Spider, in its den. Its own mind¡­
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I twitched. Suddenly reeling from a combination of pain and surprise. It didn¡¯t last long. Maybe half a second in the real world, but it was more than enough to shock me to my core. ¡°Sully?¡± Dusty asked. ¡°Is everything all right? You went really quiet for a second there.¡± ¡°Uh.¡± I said. Not quite grasping what was going on. I used [Omniscience] in a different way then. Trying to hunt glimpses of the many futures I had envisioned. Only to find them missing. Obscured.
System Notice: Action has been blocked pending further review.
System Notice: Student has been reported for misconduct by Hidden Boss: New Moon Spider, acting in its secondary role of Tutorial referee. Incongruencies have been found with several System Enforcers. Incongruencies have been found with System-approved Store Representatives in current instance. Incongruencies have been found with System-approved Store Representatives in Novice Difficulty. Incongruencies have been found with System-approved Store Representatives in Adept Difficulty. Please await further deliberation.
¡®Oh (Gnome) me.¡¯ ¡°Sully? Sully are you okay? You went all quiet and dead-faced again.¡± ¡°I think I might be in trouble.¡± I whispered. My voice flat and devoid of emotion as my body reverted to its ever-stable norm. ¡°What do you mean you might be in trouble?¡± ¡°Uh, remember when I said I wasn¡¯t invincible? And that other time when I said things would be all right so long as the System didn¡¯t catch on that its enforcers weren¡¯t doing their job?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± Dusty spoke, her face tensing a little as she put the pieces together. ¡°Uh yeah. I think my powers can¡¯t pick up on futures involving System Admins. At least, not when those System Admins act in their roles as System Admins.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not making sense.¡± Prudence quibbled. Though she too seemed to feel the tension. ¡°It¡¯s like this. I did not know that something was considered a System Admin because they never acted as a System Admin in any of my visions. And they never acted like that in my visions because those vision were automatically blocked. Maybe because the System needed a backup for impartiality. One that only acts after a certain degree of¡­ messing around, has been detected.¡± ¡°Oh. Like a game master.¡± Kaito offered. ¡°More or less.¡± Kaito nodded. A nervous smile taking over his face. His mind going back to all the enforcers I had¡­ mishandled. ¡°We¡¯re about to get (Gnome)d aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°It probably isn¡¯t a big deal.¡± I told him truthfully. ¡°At least, not for you guys. Its just¡­ I might be in for a bit of beating by someone who can actually beat me is all.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you beat them.¡± Dusty said, clearly not understanding that this might not be as simple as that. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± I lied. ¡°I¡¯m sure whatever comes, it won¡¯t be as bad as all that. I¡¯ll just, have to tell Monique that her kids won¡¯t be coming over. Since I won¡¯t be able to bend the rules any further. It¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯ll tell her to leave Cherub with them and he¡¯ll keep them safe. The Tall Man can pop in and out of destabilized zones so he can give them powers. It wouldn¡¯t be against the rules per se and it would accomplish more or less the same thing. We¡¯ll manage.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The others looked unconvinced. ¡°We¡¯ll manage.¡± I repeated. ¡°Placing more assuring tones in my voice this time. ¡°Let¡¯s just forget about it for now and keep discussing powers.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Kaito backed me up. Though he didn¡¯t say anything further. So, we sat there. Staring at the boards in silence as I kept trying to determine which areas of the cobweb I still had access to. Not that many, as it turned out. Quite a lot of futures that had been previously been crystal clear were now blurry. As if they had all of the sudden developed uncertainties that I wasn¡¯t privy to. ¡°Speaking of which, do you two have any input?¡± Prudence asked, turning to Helga and Clover. Her mind eager to change the topic of conversation. ¡°Why would we?¡± ¡°Because you are two of the only four people in the Warehouse that managed to combine abilities. Five, now that Monique got her new powers. Sully and Dusty have been pretty open about how they got theirs, just like Monique. In Sully¡¯s case, I even saw and felt it happening since he¡¯s been sharing memories. I don¡¯t know what yours are though. No one does. I think, in light of upcoming events, that you might want to share.¡± Helga squirmed uncomfortably in her seat, glancing back and forth between Prudence, Kaito and myself. ¡°I, don¡¯t feel comfortable sharing. Sorry.¡± Prudence turned to me. Raising an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m not going to violate someone¡¯s privacy. I get that its for the good of everyone else. I do. It won¡¯t change my stance on this. If I start telling secrets, it¡¯ll slowly tear the group apart.¡± ¡°Almost half of us are mind-readers.¡± Prudence deadpanned. ¡°That only makes my point more important. There has to be a standard of etiquette or we¡¯re going to see a lot of fights springing up. I am not going to go around spreading gossip.¡± ¡°Are you talking about that whole thing with the showers?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Literally everybody knows. Like, ten people saw Mr. Park and Agnes coming out together and they¡¯re not the only ones. We all know what goes on in there.¡± ¡°Nobody heard it from me.¡± I assured her. ¡°Nor will you hear what Helga¡¯s abilities are or what she can do. Not without her consent.¡± Helga let out a sigh of relief. Clover put a comforting arm around her, immediately after. ¡°Thank you, Sully.¡± He spoke. ¡°If it helps, I don¡¯t mind sharing.¡± ¡°That would help. We Shifters have to stick together.¡± Prudence said, with a smug smile. ¡°The first is a combination of [Produce Acid] and [Blades] with another being a combination of [Chitin] and [Acclimation]. The first is called [Corrosive Blade] and it automatically applies the effect of the acid on my scythes. The second is called [Reactive Chitin]. It makes follow-up attacks less effective. They¡¯re both Tier II and I didn¡¯t get any upgrades.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very impressive.¡± Dusty asserted. ¡°That¡¯s complete and utter garbage.¡± Prudence rebutted. ¡°It sounds useful to me.¡± Kaito interjected. ¡°That¡¯s because you have nothing between your ears.¡± She snapped back. ¡°None of those were keystone abilities. They don¡¯t change much.¡± ¡°I beg to differ. From where I¡¯m standing, it looks like he can improve his most used abilities for half the cost. Taking any one to five would have set him back 15 points. That¡¯s 5 whole levels worth. Multiply that by two and you get 10 whole levels worth of points. Clover doesn¡¯t have a second Type so for him, saving those points matters even more. By merging his most useful powers, he can spend those points somewhere else and shore up other weaknesses.¡± ¡°I have been doing that.¡± Clover confirmed. Prudence rolled her eyes. ¡°I understand basic math, Kai. Thank you very much. What I meant was that he could have multiplied his capabilities exponentially by mixing up keystone abilities and raising those past 5. Imagine what a level 10 [Regeneration] would do. We know merged abilities get their limits raised when normally you¡¯d have had to enter the next Tier completely. Dusty has two abilities past 10, despite being in the second Tier. She doesn¡¯t spread around the extra points. They specialize because their powers get exponentially more powerful after every Tier. What¡¯s the result? They¡¯re the strongest folks here. That¡¯s what I want for myself. I want to be next to the strongest. Actually, forget that. I want to be the strongest. Anything else is falling short.¡± ¡°Oh? And how¡¯s that coming along?¡± ¡°Very nicely. I already have all the Shifter keystones. Every single one. [Predator¡¯s Instincts] for the inherent morale boost, improved fighting sense and the aptness for judging relative levels of people and monsters. [Regeneration] and [Regenerate Other], for obvious reasons. [Mitosis], because its completely effing broken. It stores charges for instantaneous self-regeneration that doesn¡¯t use Psy, making it so that you can literally get extra lives. [Acclimation], lets me reduce damage of all kinds after being exposed to them once. [Adrenaline], gives me all the perks of the starting Enhancer abilities for a short time. [Muscular System] lets me increase my own strength and durability at once. [Grow] does the same and it also increases my reach and multiplies all the previous abilities¡¯ effectiveness. [Harden], makes all my body parts tougher. [Incorporate Mineral], takes it a step further and lets me absorb iron and stones from the effing walls into myself, giving me an extra layer of armor, whose damage doesn¡¯t bother me in the slightest. [Venom Glands] and [Poison Glands] are there to supplement [Claws] and [Scales]. You¡¯ll notice that not a single point is being wasted.¡± She paused and began to grow those scales for dramatic effect. ¡°Imagine the centipedes fighting me. First, they need to get through my Symbiote. Then, they need to get through the stones and metals I strapped to myself. At this point, the poison will start kicking in by the way. Then they need to get through hardened scales that get even harder to bite through as they attack, all while the poison¡¯s effect eats away at them. At the same time, I¡¯m using [Mitosis] to grow back the layer of minerals faster than they can tear it away and I¡¯m actively sweating toxins. Also, keep in mind that [Grow] increases the thickness of the armor and the thickness of the scales on top of everything else. If they, somehow, make it through, that still leaves thick cords of muscle that are also hardened and get harder to bite through as they chew and are filled with even more poison. None of this even takes my own attacks into account by the way. This whole time, I would have been attacking with envenomed claws and a massive adrenaline rush. All my options working in perfect harmony.¡± ¡°I seem to recall you got caught next to me when the gnomes were still making rounds though. I also recall you getting shot a bunch of times by that one officer who mistook you for a monster.¡± ¡°Yes, Kaito. Thank you for the reminder. Those, mishaps, happened because I didn¡¯t have any ranged options. Things are different now¡± ¡°So, you got [Excretory System]? Like Raj or Mr. Park?¡± ¡°No, Kai. I do not want to grow a damn sphincter on my arm, thank you very much.¡± ¡°Seems to working for them.¡± ¡°I should also point out that they aren¡¯t¡­those kinds of holes. The ability lets you make organs to propel bodily fluids and matter outside, yes, but Mr. Park is out there shooting poisoned spines and Raj turned himself into a human flamethrower. It has nothing to do with going to the washroom.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware, Sully. I¡¯m not one of those idiots making fun of them. That said, that style isn¡¯t for me. Instead, I went with Telepath abilities. [Static Illusion] and [Hide] are a given, and I also topped that off with [Fever], [Fear] and [Drunkenness]. I figured I might as well try to get [Delirium] like you did. It¡¯s been working out great so far. I can take on groups of centipedes and eels without breaking a sweat and the snails get scared and run instead of attacking.¡± ¡°And yet you got your butt handed to you. Like the rest of us.¡± Kaito pointed out. Prudence sneered derisively. ¡°I thought we agreed that sparring is different from actual fighting. If it was, Sully would have killed us all. Or worse.¡± ¡°Hey! You know I wouldn¡¯t do that!¡± I protested. Even as I kept getting messages from the System complaining that I did exactly that to the enforcers it sent.
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¡®Well, that isn¡¯t so bad, I guess.¡¯ She ignored me and kept going. ¡°Charlie won¡¯t give me the time to activate all my powers one after the other and I can¡¯t get access to metals that I can absorb out there on the ring. Out there, I¡¯m as strong as someone with my level could possibly be. Every one of these choices I¡¯ve made synergizes well with the rest, so that I end up being exponentially stronger than someone like, say Ahmed or Raj.¡± ¡°Raj is doing very well for himself. His gamble on a strange ability paid off. His bio-grenades are very impressive. He doesn¡¯t even need to be in a room to wipe out scores of monsters.¡± ¡°He also ran out of steam mid-hunt from being over aggressive. Expending too much Psy per kill, when crushing them via size and metal armor would have been quicker and more efficient.¡± That¡¯s when I had to intervene. Her being confident was great, but not if it led to hubris. ¡°That might not always be true though. Remember that I was taking down lobster-moles and tiger-moles several times my size before merging my own abilities. Being big and strong is good, but there are cases where you need game changers. I only had [Inspiration] due to Sarcophagus Solomon and that turned into a goldmine when I got drunk and created [Insight]. Speaking of which, take it Kaito. I have a feeling it might come in useful. It may or may not give you a boost to levelling speed.¡± I tried to distract myself form the System messages then and decided to follow up on a topic that had become far more important to me as of late. ¡°Anyway, [Predator¡¯s Instincts]. What¡¯s up with that?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I noticed that people started taking the ranking list seriously about the time investing in it became popular. There was talk of it being able to let you know a person¡¯s relative level and skill, like how I used [Psychometry] and later, Insight. I caught some wayward thoughts but couldn¡¯t make sense of them.¡± ¡°Its awkward.¡± Prudence admitted. ¡°I¡¯d compare it more to vibes than anything more concrete. Your deal gives you a whole Status screen to work with. Mine is like a danger sense. A little vague sometimes. Accurate, more often than not. It works better with monsters.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Prudence looked my way and shrugged. ¡°Out there, I could more or less tell what my chances of winning were against a single enemy or groups of enemies. The more dangerous something or someone is, the more my hairs stand on end. There¡¯s this conviction inside me that I could either win or lose. Mr. Park thinks it might be a sixth sense that detects total Psy. Borislav thinks the name is a good descriptor. That its an instinct judging how bad or good a scenario looks from the standpoint of a predator.¡± ¡°And what do you think?¡± ¡°I personally side with Borislav. Mr. Park prefers a more grounded, scientific theory, but it has one major flaw.¡± ¡°And that is?¡± She went quiet for a long time. Looking to me and then to Dusty in turn. When she finally spoke up, her voice was quiet as a mouse; with no trace of her usual bravado. ¡°When I stand next to Dolce, I feel ill. Like I¡¯m paralyzed and helpless, right when a living nightmare is present. I feel flushed and struggle to breathe. The pressure hurts me. It actually hurts more than Charlie¡¯s punches. Like repeated kicks to all my organs at once, going on and on and on. The world slows down and my heart feels like its ready to explode. My mouth feels dry and my legs wobble. Looking at it, I feel like a little girl again. Back in what used to be old Miami. Back with the wolf-snakes that ripped people out of cars and chomped down on kids in front of their parents.¡± She looked ill, even while describing it. ¡°Dusty and Slab make me feel that way too. To a lesser extent. I think of making fun of you guys and how you¡¯re so awkward together, and I have to remind myself that she isn¡¯t going to murder me in a heartbeat. I have to do that because I see flashes of her doing it in my head. That¡¯s not the real scary part though.¡± ¡°Its not? I mean, damn. That sounded heavy.¡± ¡°No. Its not. The real scary part is you.¡± ¡°Me?¡± I asked, feeling my curiosity rising. ¡°What do I feel like?¡± ¡°Nothing. You feel like the weakest, most normal person in the Warehouse.¡± I sighed in relief. ¡°Thank goodness. I was getting ready for some heavy stuff.¡± ¡°It is more worrying than you know.¡± Clover stated. ¡°You are¡­not like the others. The issue is that the ability is somehow broken around you. It says you are harmless when in reality, you are¡­¡± ¡°Capital F. (Gnome)ing Terrifying.¡± Prudence finished. ¡°The fact that we get no signals back is what scares me the most. To me, it means that I cannot even begin to conceptualize how dangerous you are. I hope I never have to find out.¡± Chapter 85: Lessons for the Others. Chapter 85: Lessons for the Others. Well, wasn¡¯t that funny. Overwhelming cosmic power and the ability to pretty much hyperfocus on any one moment within the timelines I could see as if it were an entire eternity unto itself. Yet I could still be wounded by mean words. How very fascinating. Now, a different man would have taken the comment in stride and moved on from there. After all, she was perfectly within her rights to feel that way. I did kind of, sort of, put tens of thousands of bad people in rather precarious positions back home. Very, very few villains or corrupt politicians got away with their hides mostly intact and the people doing the judging didn¡¯t exactly come away from it without side-effects either. I stood guilty of everything she accused me of. I couldn¡¯t even summon the energy to dispute her. I wasn¡¯t quite that shameless. Yet it still hurt. It hurt a lot. I could have retorted in all kinds of way. Maybe, reminding her that she owed her life and freedom to me. Or I could bring up the very prescient truth that our world was as close to global peace as it would ever be and that every decent person there was objectively better off. That would have been in poor taste however. It would be rubbing in the fact that I did indeed have as much power as she feared, as well as the willingness to use it. She would find out anyway, as soon as the day was done, but actively bragging about what I¨¨d done would be all kinds of wrong. It would be akin to bragging about all the hardships Mittens had put my parents and their group through. It simply wasn¡¯t something to be proud of, despite the fact that I would do it all over again given the chance. I didn¡¯t say any of those things. Opting instead for a little bit more silent brooding. Prudence realized what she¡¯d said only after she¡¯d said it. Now she was making all sorts of wheezing sounds, desperately trying to pass off the comment as meaningless. Lying through her teeth despite knowing damn well that I knew every single thought passing through her mind. ¡°We¡¯re friends Sully. You know that. Its just that we all realize how much stronger you are. Its not a bad thing. Its just a little unnerving. Like standing next to someone like Thunder Fist. No matter how gentle and kind he is, you can¡¯t help but think about what might happen if he gets angry. Its not you. I swear. I know you wouldn¡¯t¡­¡± I ignored her, my mind going to the visions I had of Vince over at the Peak difficulty instance. Of Thunder Fist next to him. ¡®Weeeeeell. At least they¡¯re alive. At least I¡¯ll see Vince again after the forums come online for everyone. I¡¯ll get to talk to him just like I do with Henry, once the second cycle starts. It could have been worse.¡¯ That was another nasty surprise that Prudence had coming to her, but I wasn¡¯t about to let her know. She¡¯d find some way to blame it on me, despite there being nothing I could have done. ¡°Sully.¡± Dusty began, worry coloring her features. I held up a hand and laughed a little forcefully. ¡°Its all right. I¡¯m confident enough that a little comment won¡¯t shake me.¡± I lied. ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I need to make my way towards the training area. I have things to try out. Those Shifter abilities won¡¯t raise themselves; you know?¡± I beat a hasty retreat, Dusty following closely. The rest stayed put. Watching the scene unfold. ¡°She shouldn¡¯t have said that.¡± Dusty said quickly. ¡°It¡¯s not her place to judge you. At least, not for your might. Not when all you¡¯ve done is help her and the rest. It is the duty of all warriors to better themselves as much as possible so that they can better protect the weak around them. You¡¯ve made mistakes, but seeking power is not one of them. In fact, she¡¯s the one making mistakes by not listening to you. Her whole approach to abilities is short-sighted and it will cost her. I¡¯ll make sure she knows that¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t. Dusty. It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°No. No it is not fine. Contrary to her words and her actions, Prudence is not stupid. She knows that weakness is not a virtue and she knows the consequences of being helpless. She had no right.¡± ¡°No. No. It is fine. It doesn¡¯t bother me. Not after all I¡¯ve done.¡± Dusty hesitated. So, I grabbed her hand and gave it a tight squeeze. Accompanying the gesture with the best smile I could manage. ¡°This is for the best. I needed to do something to take my mind off of the System messages. I¡¯m going to train with my new abilities again. Maybe in a group setting this time, instead of against monsters. I¡¯ll get a handle on what I can do now and update the board with more specifics. I already wrote down a bunch of combinations, but the subjective assessments will help too. Don¡¯t make a big deal out of this. Please. Let it go.¡± Dusty scrounged up her face, letting her displeasure become apparent to all the people wandering nearby. The younger children like Farah and Troy, who had been scampering merrily about suddenly stopped their game. The 12-year-olds were the youngest members of the group, always looking around with wide-eyed curiosity at the latest developments while giving no hint that they¡¯d suffered traumatic experiences under the care of the gnomes. Next to them was Jacob, smelling of burnt flesh and sweat. He was carrying two big metal plates scrounged up from a robot I¡¯d agreed to decommission in hopes that their study could advance our knowledge on where they¡¯d come from and what they were most vulnerable to. His mind was afire. Focused on his failings when it came to the materials Orphan Maker had provided. His heart ablaze with a deranged wanderlust when it came to working the unflinching hunks of ore. ¡®There¡¯s one that knows where the winds are blowing.¡¯ I thought with a pang of satisfaction. ¡®That stubbornness won¡¯t pay off for a month or two yet, but when it does, it¡¯ll lead him to a couple of combined abilities. On both Enhancer and Projector.¡¯ Sadly, I couldn¡¯t let him know what I had seen. The knowledge of eventual success would calm him down, but in doing so, it would kill his ferocious drive to improve. Oddly enough, Jacob could only perform his best in the timelines where defeat and failure were all but certain. His ego forcing him onwards in the face of exhaustion and burnout, where lesser men might have stumbled. ¡®I could learn a lesson or two from that. Just because I know that I can improve at a certain pace, doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t push past it. The future is not truly writ in stone, after all.¡¯ Speaking of which¡­.
System Notice: Student: Solomon Carter, has been banned from receiving System Rewards for their performance in the Tutorial. Student: Solomon Carter, has been banned from appearing on the Leaderboards. Student: Solomon Carter, will be flagged on the forums once they activate for all other Students. Student: Solomon Carter, will have all their Store Tokens confiscated and will not be able to gain any more Store Tokens within the Tutorial. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Student: Solomon Carter, will not be allowed to challenge the Hidden Boss: New Moon Spider. Any attempt to do so will teleport the Student to Human City. Further measures are under consideration.
¡°Wow. That¡¯s a bit draconian, isn¡¯t it?¡± I exclaimed. ¡°What is?¡± Dusty asked. I showed her the new screen and shared my memories of how the possible futures were growing more muffled by the second. ¡°Hm. Yes. I can see why you would think so.¡± She began. ¡°But I would be lying if I said it surprised me.¡± ¡°How so?¡± She shrugged. ¡°The System calls us students. That hints at its main concern having to do with instructing us. You entering the battle would be akin to my father fighting a common mushroom picker. No matter how you look at it, the fight would not be fair. It would not be honorable. The only lesson the commoner will learn is that his bones are far more brittle than he ever thought possible.¡± She smiled at me and rolled up the sleeves of her own Symbiote to show off her biceps. ¡°On the other hand, we who are still in a position to learn have much to gain from fighting the Hidden Boss. I won¡¯t reach my limits until level 150 and many others have plenty of room to grow in their secondary, or in Charlie¡¯s case, tertiary Type. Besides, there is a chance those of us who are not Savants might gain more Types, as well as ability combinations. Your boosts gave us a leg up in the competition, but I will not be so stupid as to think this is all there is. Any of those enforcers that were so frightened by you could have killed me a dozen times over. They were the first to show themselves, but they will most certainly not be the last.¡± ¡°I mean, yeah. But I could have still acted as insurance to make sure no one died.¡± Dusty shook her head. ¡°We both know that wouldn¡¯t have yielded the same results. Both from your memories and mine own. Improvements can best be seen when one¡¯s back is against the wall. At the very least, I¡¯m confident in running away if all hope dies. And that is with only one Type and assuming I¡¯m fighting alone. Add in Monique and I honestly cannot see how we could be in any danger. Throw in the fact that it was always supposed to be a raid made up of ALL the warriors down here, and I seriously doubt we will struggle overmuch. Even without you being there. If that (Gnome) Anezka could do it while relying on a shiny toy from her planet, then there is little chance the rest of us won¡¯t manage.¡± ¡°Anezka beat the regular Beetle boss. Not the Spider.¡± I reminded her. ¡°The Spider tore her fifteen new (Gnome)holes while Sarcophagus Sully watched and cackled to himself. And she had Randall with her then. A crippled, barely more powerful than the current you version of Randall, but still. The point stands. My grandpa is right to think overconfidence is dangerous.¡± Her smile brightened. ¡°Aww. Are you worried about me?¡± ¡°Of course, I am.¡± I replied at once. Perhaps with a bit too much force. Dusty looked away and was momentarily consumed by impure thoughts as she blushed. I would have blushed too, if my body had allowed it. Instead, I stewed in my feelings as my face took on the semblance of stone. My mind wrestling with a mixture of embarrassment and smug satisfaction that my words had been received so very well. ¡°Now that I think of it, this could be seen as a wise arbitration, rather than a punishment for you.¡± Dusty continued as we walked. Her voice breaking somewhat before it took on its usual pitch and tempo. ¡°I am very much looking forward to see how all of us can push ourselves without you looming over us. In a manner of speaking.¡± I had to say, she had a point. Mighty as I now was, the correct choice back home had been to empower the others to make them self-sufficient, rather than allowing them to think I would always be there to protect them. Yes, it had caused issues, but far fewer than any of the alternatives I had seen. The world I had left behind would not be plagued by the whims of Masons or those like him. They would not be coerced into meekly standing by while their rights were stripped away. Everyone, from the lowliest beggar to the wealthiest socialite, had a chance to defend themselves. To help, when the Rifts opened up. Again, it might not have been the perfect solution, but it was a solution. One of the few workable ones that I could live with. After all, if everyone was equally blessed, then no one could rise up to the position of oppressor. I nodded to myself at that. Forcing my neck to carry out the motions as I kept struggling to train my body so that it carried them out automatically. Then I looked away from Jacob, and his projects. Behind him were Ahmed and Raj, eagerly sharing tips they¡¯d discovered from their self-experimentation. All were looking at Dusty and me as if we were polar bears that escaped our enclosures. Frail, twiglike bodies staring up at overwhelmingly powerful beasts. I gave them a somewhat sincere smile and hoped they got distracted by something else. ¡°I¡¯m headed to the training room to try out some new stuff. Taking one of the robots outside with me too. I want to see what it can do with me beside it.¡± ¡®I don¡¯t care what they think, Sully. You¡¯ll always be my best friend forever.¡¯ ¡®Thank you, Buddy. That helps.¡¯ ¡®Anytime!¡¯ We made our way back the training room, followed closely by two robot bulls who were already in a state of disrepair. Jacob had been urging me to dismantle more robots for him to tinker with and this seemed like a practical solution. These two would most likely be left broken after sparring and he could take what was left for his own purposes. Stellio and Subutai were sprawled on the floor when we came back. Their groans betraying pain that almost came close to what Randall was feeling at this very moment. Gina was still standing, despite not doing much better. Her eyes were focused on Slab¡¯s club as it rested on his shoulders. He took a few steps forward, giving no inkling of which direction he would attack from. Gina moved swiftly in response, dashing to one side and then the other. Trying to find a blind spot from where she might be able to land a hit. I knew that was a futile gesture. I would¡¯ve known that even without being able to see the immediate future. Gina was too nervous, too focused on the consequences of failure. Meanwhile Slab was as calm as still water. Breathing steadily while maintaining his relaxed posture. Any overt attack would be met with a swift counterattack, a fact she and all the spectators knew. ¡°Hey there!¡± I called out. ¡°Any chance of interrupting the match and letting me have a go?¡± Slab turned towards me, mouth hanging open. He looked like mother bear whose cubs had been run over by an eighteen-wheeler mere moments ago. So did Gina for that matter. She was the first to speak. ¡°Sorry boss. We didn¡¯t mean to hold you up. We¡¯ll get out of yer way.¡± ¡°No.¡± I answered, causing her to flinch. ¡°Before we do anything else, I need to apologize.¡± ¡°Apologize?¡± ¡°Yes. To you and Subutai and Stellio. I, I¡¯ve let my jealousy get the better of me and I¡¯ve made all three of you uncomfortable. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been leering from afar.¡± ¡°You were jealous?¡± She asked incredulously. ¡°Of us?¡± She waved to indicate the tow others, who were now sitting up and looking equally surprised. ¡°Yes. You all have three Types. You got them from the start, and that was driving me crazy. It¡¯s a silly thing to be hung up on and I take full responsibility. Hopefully we can make up for it by training together now. If only for a little while before we go back home. Think of it like a team-building exercise.¡± ¡°You want us to train together? Like, us against you?¡± ¡°No. I want all of us to be on the same team and go up against Slab, Charlie, Olga and the rest. I won¡¯t use Telepath abilities to make it fair. New Shifter powers only.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like we¡¯ll have much of a chance.¡± Stellio said while getting to his feet. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about the other thing. I was afraid that I¡¯d offended you somehow. I won¡¯t hold a grudge.¡± ¡°Neither will I.¡± Subutai added. ¡°Glad to hear it. I want to make sure all the survivors from our camp know that they can depend on me. For anything that they might need. As for our chances, I got some new abilities I want to test out. Yes, they¡¯re weaker than the stuff you all know me for, but they are still combined abilities. I think I can pull some cool things off.¡± Borislav¡¯s legs exploded with muscle and he bolted out of the training area so far that a cloud of sand erupted upwards at the spot where he¡¯d recently been. The air parted with his passing and slapped me backwards before I managed to regain my footing. ¡®Well, that was uncalled for.¡¯ I thought with a small pang of bitterness. ¡®He should know I meant no harm after all this time.¡¯ ¡°I guess he doesn¡¯t want to participate. Dusty, would you feel comfortable taking his place?¡± She made a troubled expression, but accepted my request. We arranged ourselves into impromptu teams afterwards. Me, Stellio, Subutai and Gina on one side of the ring and Dusty, Slab, Charlie, Mr. Park, Esmeralda, Fernando, Colette, Ryan, Louise, and Jane on the other. I let go of any expectations I¡¯d had of punching my way to victory then. Devoting myself to hold out as long as possible using only my new Shifter body. I called on the new aspects of my being. The other, separate inner world. The one shaped like a squirming organ. It was half a liver and half a heart. Pumping Psy ferociously into my cells and calling on them to improve. To adapt. To change. I felt the organ¡¯s coarseness and relative clumsiness when compared to the strings I was accustomed to. Their inherent weakness next to the thick ropes I¡¯d weaved together. Now was the time to learn more about it. To fight as a Shifter would. I narrowed my focus on my future-sight and felt it shudder to a stop. The clarity of the cobweb giving way to a confused mesh of sharpened senses. The three of them shuddered. As if sensing the change. Subutai feeling impossibly light as he began to sweat. His own instincts warning him of the danger behind him, rather than the one in front. Gina stumbled forward, feeling different Enhancer, Shifter, and Telepath powers activating from within her at different times while she stood still. Stellio felt a bit of both worlds, though he was an Enhancer, Projector, and Telepath, without Shifter abilities. His reaction was to hurl whatever remained of the lemonade he¡¯d drunk earlier and to kneel on the sand while wheezing. I hesitated, considering that it might be better for them to practise using regular workout routines before trying out live combat. That went out the window when Mr. Park turned his right arm into one massive spine-spitting canon and aimed it at me. He¡¯d been going for my legs, hoping the pain would incapacitate me before I could assist my group in any meaningful way. Instead, I felt¡­ Nothing. Nothing at all. The odd sensation carried on for a few fractions of a second. Time seeming to dilate as my nerves came alive with bio-electricity. Then, my cells began to greedily devour the projectile whole. Enveloping it as an amoeba would its prey. Only then, did the Shifter levels finally come. Chapter 86: Insidious Influence. Chapter 86: Insidious Influence. I felt an explosion within my chest and only later realized it was my heartbeat. No. That was wrong. It was the simultaneous beating of many, many hearts. Forcing crimson vitae through my arteries and veins with such force that I feared my cardiovascular system might rupture. It all came on as a tidal wave of pleasure, washing away all my doubts. My woes and worries and self-inflicted insecurities vanishing like morning mist. For the briefest of seconds, it was as though there was no cobweb. No traces of the foggy futures that had been changing more and more up to that point. I stopped caring about all of it. The System, the enforcers, the Spider and its newfound role, Anezka and Mittens¡¯ role in further tormenting my family. It was as if they were still there, but fainter. Their images less focused in my eyes. Less, like people and more like¡­ Meat. Sweet, malleable, wonderful meat. So full of potential, yet so very caged in those puny outlines. Those static forms. Their cells were crying out. Billions of years of continuous evolution and genetic memory begging to be freed. Pleading for their full potential to be unleashed.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 12 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 13.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 12 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 13.
Ability Gained: [Predator¡¯s Instincts] 2 has been added to the Status.
Three more levels in Shifter came and went without much fanfare. The 24 new points adding themselves to the 7 I had left. Being spent without much so much as an iota of hesitation. It was then, that I fully appreciated how very different [Predator¡¯s Instincts] was from something like [Meditation] or [Sense Thoughts]. It wasn¡¯t a soothing, calming, steadying influence. It wasn¡¯t a clear-cut series of impressions within a certain area of effect. No. The instincts were a whole paradigm shift. One that made me stop seeing people as people. ¡®How scary. Is this what all those Shifters back home felt when they snapped and munched on innocent bystanders? Is this what Prudence felt every time she looked at Ryan? Is this what Boris has had to deal with, every minute of every day? How very scary. That someone as strong as me can feel this way about them all. How terrifying is it, that this was all it took to make the guilt and the doubts go away? How horrifying is it, that I don¡¯t feel any sense of wrongness about my new perspective? How monstrous would I become, if I only indulged a little bit further?¡¯ I blinked once and only once. My eyes taking in the darkened chamber as if it were lit up by the noon sun. The shadows all but disappearing as every inch of the space was revealed. The sounds became clearer too. My ears adjusting so that I could make out the heartbeats of everyone present. From Slab¡¯s monotone picture of calm to Dusty¡¯s hesitant beat. From Charlie¡¯s determined song to Ryan¡¯s panicked screech. I called upon my willpower to blot out the bestial senses. De-activating the new ability with every ounce of my willpower. Silencing the new voice that whispered sweet nothings into my ear before it could corrupt me further. Yet, something marvellously dreadful happened. I heard him. It. Again. The Seeking Drake. Speaking not through my mind, but through the hunger in my cells. The old instincts kicking in for the first time since I¡¯d absorbed him into myself. Mere echoes of the bloodlust it had once commanded, but still potent enough to explode. I stepped forward and punched. That was it. That was all I did. At least, what my conscious mind managed to grasp. Then, Mr. Park, Charlie, Esmeralda and Fernando flew backwards as the sound of a shotgun being fired spread throughout the arena. Blackened spears of bloodied bone sticking out of their frames as their own [Regeneration] struggled to keep up. I looked down at my left arm, mouth agape. Only to see a stump rapidly reforming into a human hand. And when I say rapidly, I meant within fractions of a second. My own nervous system making everything appear as if in slow motion. ¡®What the (Gnome) happened?¡¯ I thought incredulously. My eyes going back to the descriptions of my abilities.
[Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] Grants the User the ability to alter any of their biological systems, including the Muscular, Skeletal, Nervous, Lymphatic, Cardiovascular, Digestive, Respiratory, Endocrine, Excretory and Reproductive systems to the purpose of adapting to the current biome and immediate situation. Alterations are made at a rate of + 700 % of their current total body mass at a cost of 300 Psy per second. Alterations made through this ability have no upkeep costs. Alterations made through this ability enhance regenerative effects by + 20 % per current ability level. Biological systems may be strengthened, weakened or re-arranged with each other to create new transformed forms from their base components. Abilities that correlate to particular biological systems, such as [Claws] or [Pincers] in relation to the Muscular and Skeletal systems receive a passive + 150 % boost to effectiveness and a passive negation of upkeep costs. All Tolerance Shifter abilities are boosted by + 20 % per current ability level at no extra cost. The potency of all these effects increases by 300% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] Grants the User the ability to produce various chemical compounds within themselves, including Adhesives, Acids, Combustible Compounds, Cooling Compounds, Conductive Compounds, Fissile Compounds and Radioactive Compounds at a rate of + 700 % of their current total body mass at a cost of 1000 Psy per second. Compounds created through this ability may be stored or re-absorbed at no extra cost. All foreign compounds of similar nature may be absorbed and broken down at a rate of + 500 % of the User¡¯s current total body mass at a cost of 1000 Psy per second. Grants the User the ability to spawn drones from their own mass at a rate of 500 Psy per every 5 ability levels the drone might possess. Drones receive all of the User¡¯s Shifter abilities at birth, though they inherit these abilities starting at level 1 with none of the corresponding Titles. Drones may Infect or Hijack other living targets in order to gain access to their abilities. Affected targets must sever the physical connection between them and the drone before their nervous systems are taken over. Targets that fail to resist have their bodies overtaken at different rates and costs, depending on their level difference with the drone. Their minds remain unaffected and conscious throughout the process. Affected targets are freed as soon as the Drone either kills them or runs out of Psy. Affected targets may be controlled and monitored through pheromones, as they will begin to form a Pheromonal Hierarchy with the User at the top and any subsequent drones on lower rungs. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Grants the User the ability to produce natural pheromones within themselves that may attract or ward off susceptible biological targets, as well as serve as a means with which to communicate with susceptible targets or drones at a rate of + 500 % per 5 current ability levels and a cost of 200 Psy per hour. Affected targets within the range of the pheromones or who produce pheromones of their own will continue to be affected at no extra cost besides the cost of producing their own pheromones. Pheromones may cover an immediate area of up to 100 metres away from the User¡¯s producing organs or the equivalent organs of affected drones. This limit may not be exceeded through Shifter abilities. The potency of all these effects increases by 300% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
I had seen all of it before, of course. I had used the cooling compounds to keep myself comfortable while in the magma chamber. Yet new applications revealed themselves to me now, as I used my Telepathic abilities to [Dominate] my body into stillness while I searched my memories for answers. ¡®It was the combustible and fissile compounds.¡¯ I realized with a start. ¡®My body fought back by producing them in my elbow and concentrating them before activation. Then it adjusted my bones so that they flew in the intended direction before the whole thing exploded. It was a biological grape shot.¡¯ On the one hand, that was undoubtedly awesome and a nifty trick to pull off on a dime. Especially if I didn¡¯t necessarily need to be conscious for it to happen. On the other hand¡­ holy (Gnome). I almost killed these guys on reflex. Without using my Telepath abilities. Worse yet, if I could do it¡­ ¡®The Drake will most certainly be capable of doing it too. On a scale I cannot even begin to fathom.¡¯ Subutai and Gina had leapt to either side of me so as to not get caught up in the blossoming eruption and they now stared at the carnage with wide-eyed fascination. Stellio only managed to tuck and roll to the side, holding his arms up to shield his head as he lay helplessly on the floor. ¡°Stop!¡± I bellowed. Putting a stop to the fight before things could get more out of hand. Not that everyone needed to be told. Jane had collapsed into a fit of sobbing as soon as the improvised cannon had fired. Ryan was nowhere to be seen. Activating my cobweb again showed that he was currently sprinting down the main halls of the Warehouse. His mind blaring with panicked recollections of his time in Pandemonium, and the things he¡¯d seen in there. ¡°Time out!¡± I called out again. Just to make doubly sure we were on the same page. The last thing I needed now was a situation that forced me to [Dominate] folks to keep panic from spreading. Then I rushed over to the fallen. Healing their bodies with a burst of Psy and bringing them to their feet once more. ¡°Are you well enough to walk?¡± Slab asked Mr. Park. The latter coughing up bits of dried blood as his hands patted down the spot where a mortal wound had blossomed moments prior. ¡°Yes.¡± He said after a few seconds. ¡°Yes. I¡­ I will manage. I was simply taken by surprise is all. I had expected a lunging attack and a fistfight. Not¡­ that.¡± He took a few more steadying breaths. His old, wrinkled face twitching with faint traces of phantom pain before he managed to get himself fully under control. ¡°That was impressive Sully.¡± He said afterwards. His expression schooled into one of parental approval, despite the turbulent terror gripping his heart. ¡®He almost died.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®And he knows as much. Yet he manages to keep his demeanor pleasant and affable. To put the others at ease. To keep panic and division from spreading.¡¯ It had worked too. At least, to an extent. Charlie had managed to put up a [Force Wall] and [Force Bubbler] at the last second using those speedster reflexes of his. That, and the sum total of his Enhancer and his newfound Shifter abilities had turned what would have been a lethal shot into a crippling one. The fact that he¡¯d been unable to dodge the projectiles disturbed him, but not overly so. This was merely another lesson. Another mountain to climb. Another hurdle to leap over. I peeked at his status and saw that he had gained two new levels in Shifter just from that. All of them being spent automatically in order to increase his levels in [Regeneration], [Muscular System] and [Nervous System]. ¡®Not [Predator¡¯s Instincts] though. The power is screaming at him to flee alongside Ryan. To put anyone and anything on hand between himself and me. Charlie¡¯s own battle instincts are stronger, in a sense. His pride will not allow him to accept defeat so easily.¡¯ In contrast, Fernando and Esmeralda had not possessed any such inclination. The two had fled down the hall right after Ryan as soon as they were upright. Every single hair on their bodies standing on end as their minds surrendered to those primordial whispers urging them towards survival. I would have shaken my head, but my body refused to listen. Some part of me salivating at the prospect of chasing them down. As a cat would two rats. ¡®Control yourself.¡¯ I ordered my body. [Dominating] it once more. ¡®Do not let go. Do not let in. Do not be enslaved by your baser desires. You are human. Act like it!¡¯ The order made things better. Supressing the Dark Voice and its vile temptations. I tried to shut the ability off and actually felt it give way. From my body, as well as my mind. ¡®Damn it. I¡¯m going to need to keep my body under [Domination] from now on, aren¡¯t I? At least, every time I fight as a Shifter. Which is going to be more often, now that I see it¡¯s the only way to get levels there. Damn it all! No. No, stop it. There are still ways of salvaging this Sully. Not every fight is going to be against people. I could just as easily head over to the poison swamp and join Randall. Or I could swim out into the void where Dolce came from. His cousins are more than strong enough and they spawn fast enough that none are likely to be missed. I can breathe underwater now, so it would be easy. Yes. That¡¯s it.¡¯ I checked the future again and managed to somewhat make out my figure tearing leviathans apart. Grinning like a maniac. ¡®Good. Great. That¡¯s that. No more levelling Shifter when I have people around me. Not until I have the instincts back under control.¡¯
System Notice: Student: Solomon Carter, has been banned from receiving System Rewards for their performance in the Tutorial. Student: Solomon Carter, has been banned from appearing on the Leaderboards. Student: Solomon Carter, will be flagged on the forums once they activate for all other Students. Student: Solomon Carter, will have all their Store Tokens confiscated and will not be able to gain any more Store Tokens within the Tutorial. Student: Solomon Carter, will not be allowed to challenge the Hidden Boss: New Moon Spider. Any attempt to do so will teleport the Student to Human City. Student: Solomon Carter, will lose access to special Tutorial Events. Student: Solomon Carter, will not be allowed to compete as a regular challenger in the Tutorial Tournament. Student: Solomon Carter, will be flagged as a delinquent Student to all other Students in the Tutorial. Student: Solomon Carter, will be cloned and used as a non-lethal, punitive Boss encounter for all Students in the Tutorial. Further measures are under consideration.
I would have groaned then, if I still had a normal body. The new developments clouding the images in the cobweb even further as I reeled back from the changes. ¡®Bro. I can¡¯t even¡­ I mean. The two enforcers that did actually die did so because they had sudden heart attacks! I didn¡¯t even do anything that bad! I call hax!¡¯ ¡°Uh, Sully? Did you see the new screen?¡± Charlie asked. His mind suddenly free from all other lines of thought. ¡°Yeah.¡± I answered. ¡°It would seem that the System ran out of ways of messing with me directly and now wants to punish all humans as a group. It probably figures I won¡¯t re-offend if it holds the rest of you guys hostage. I mean, I personally don¡¯t care about any of the rewards. They¡¯re merely stuff and Store Tokens and there¡¯s nothing I can get right now that would peak my interest. There¡¯s not much I want to buy either. Except mirrors to talk to my parents and my friend Vince, I guess. But I can just get someone else to pay for me. That wouldn¡¯t work if everyone loses access to the System rewards. Besides, you guys could use some of the things being offered.¡± ¡°Monique will simply have to make do with Cherub.¡± Slab echoed me. ¡°We have to think about all the people in the Tutorial as a whole, rather than individuals.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± Dusty spoke. ¡°As bad as it sounds, she¡¯ll just have to rely on Cherub.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± I assured them. ¡°Whatever you might say about Cherub, he¡¯s got the right idea when it comes to protecting people. He won¡¯t let those kids come to harm.¡± ¡°I have no idea what any of you are talking about.¡± Stellio muttered. ¡°But I¡¯m more worried about this whole, non-lethal boss thing. Does that mean we¡¯ll have to fight you?¡± He was doing his best to keep his voice steady. He wasn¡¯t having much success. ¡°Not until after we come back.¡± I told him. ¡°I think you guys might be transported to a separate dimension before being sent back here. No matter how much I try, I can¡¯t seem to see a future where anyone of us dies.¡± ¡°There are worst fates than death out there, boss.¡± Gina reminded us. ¡°I don¡¯t like the sound of this. Not one bit.¡± I agreed wholeheartedly, but there was little I could do about it at this point. ¡°Enough about that.¡± Collette chided us. ¡°What¡¯s done is done. It isn¡¯t as if we didn¡¯t benefit from Orphan Maker¡¯s help too. That was blatant cheating on his part, but not one of us said anything. It¡¯s time to pay for those advantages. Whatever comes, it was well deserved, at least for us. The people I really pity are those on the other difficulties. I can¡¯t imagine they will have a fun time of it and they didn¡¯t do anything to deserve this.¡± Mr. Park nodded his agreement. ¡°Quite right. There is no point dwelling on those grievances. I would much rather learn from this recent bout instead. Sully, how did you know to turn your arm into a cannon? I never saw you training with Raj and you didn¡¯t train with me either.¡± ¡°Oh. That. I just, did it.¡± They all looked at me. Narrowing their eyes.¡± ¡°You just, did it?¡± He asked again. ¡°Yes. You shot me and I evolved [Predator¡¯s Instincts] and then, it all came naturally. My body adapted my bones and created a buildup of combustible chemicals by my elbow and fired it.¡± ¡°It happened within a second.¡± Stellio reminded me, as if I didn¡¯t already know that. ¡°Less than a second. I didn¡¯t react until after the shot rang out. I thought you pulled out a sawn-off shotgun or three from your ring.¡± ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t. I guess that¡¯s just¡­ talent. I don¡¯t know what else to tell you.¡± Granted, it wasn¡¯t my talent, but the Drake¡¯s. But that would have been tricky to explain at best and I didn¡¯t want the others knowing about that aspect of my plans just yet. Lest some of them start to worry that they might be next on the menu after Randall. ¡°I suppose this what my tribesmen talked about when they mentioned scions blessed by the heavens.¡± Subutai spoke after he¡¯d taken some time to recuperate. ¡°It was hard to imagine myself winning against you earlier. Now, that hope seems further away than ever before.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lose hope friend. It was actually closer than you think.¡± I lied. Hoping to encourage him. ¡°You have the advantage of three Types and I have no doubts that you¡¯ll surpass me eventually.¡± Subutai donned a skeptical expression. My gaze wandered from his form to that of Jane. She was crumpled over. Crying into Louise¡¯s shoulder and begging to stop the training. That gesture brought mixed feelings out of me. On the one hand yes, I did go too far and yes it hurt far more than it should have. She was perfectly within reason to want to stop, despite not being hit herself. It was the normal, human reaction to almost dying. On the other hand, she was lagging behind on levels and worked out once a week, if that. Things would only get more complicated if this event was her last outing in the training field. While I considered this, my eyes turned to Dusty. Her cheeks flushed with exertion and fury. ¡°Stop.¡± Slab chided from the side. ¡°Do not pity your fellow warriors. Weak as they might be, at least they showed up.¡± Chapter 87: The Dragon. Chapter 87: The Dragon. The party was animated, to say the least. Over two-hundred Espers laughing and drinking with nothing short of giddiness. Charlie was, of course, no longer brooding on his recent loss. Instead, his mind was utterly focused on what awaited him in his own world. On Mr. Whitmer and all his associates. Though, you wouldn¡¯t know just how violent his inner thoughts were looking at his face. Indeed, his features were blank and unassuming. His eyes unfocused as he gazed over the gathered crowd. Beside him, Olga was going on and on about all the reasons why he should return to her own world alongside her. Namely, the many luxuries waiting for them back home, courtesy of her family¡¯s vast wealth and her world¡¯s generally utopian living standards. ¡®I wonder if I should say something.¡¯ I messaged Dusty as she happened to glance in their direction. She paused for a second. Her own emerald green eyes settling on them as a pensive expression overtook her face. Her red hair swirling to a stop as the gears in her mind started turning. ¡®Best to leave it for now. I think.¡¯ She thought. Knowing I would pick up on her musings. ¡®I doubt Charlie¡¯s even registered her presence at this point. Knowing him, he¡¯s solely focused on what¡¯s coming. If he does realize Olga¡¯s trying to keep him from his villain, it might lead to a bigger rift growing between them.¡¯ Well, that certainly was one of the possible futures that I could see, so I decided to leave the two of them to their own devices. Instead, I went over to Monique. Noting the way her brown eyes seemed to impale everyone else there as they swept over the crowd and their revelries. Her hands holding tightly to Slasher and to Cherub within. She had looked, healthier, before that point. Her skin glistening as she smiled at every errant comment anyone made in her Prescence. Now, she looked half a corpse. Every crease and wrinkle on her aged skin seeming deeper and more pronounced. Her hair¡¯s greying somehow managing to stand out more, despite the impossibility of such a sudden change without having Shifter as a Type. ¡°Hey Monique.¡± I began. Trying to manage a human-like smile. ¡°Are you looking forward to seeing Jimmy and Ben again?¡± ¡°Go pound sand.¡± She answered curtly. Turning her head to the side so that I knew this conversation was over. A lesser person might have felt a little insulted at her mannerisms. Yet all I could do was give voice to some niceties before slinking away. My own cobweb picking up on every little bit of her inner turmoil. The expectations that had been dashed. The guilt of knowing she would be separated from her children once more, despite her best efforts. The pit that had opened up in her stomach, as she wondered what her reunion with the two would be like. ¡°You know¡­¡± I began. ¡°I could make it better. Even if I can¡¯t do for them what I did for my grandpa.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± She intoned. Still not meeting my eyes. ¡°I could use my own [Presence] to make it all seem more distant. Or I could do for you what I did for the victims and regular people back home. I could¡­ give you the strength to go on. Without it being something sinister like [Domination].¡± She chuckled. ¡°Thank you for the offer. Sully. Though I will have to pass. I¡¯m not in the mood to start worshiping you.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have to be that way.¡± I protested. ¡°No.¡± She agreed. ¡°Not right away, at least. But I saw what happened back there. My own [Sense Thoughts] might not be as powerful as your new combinations, but I know full well what your help leads to in that context. It is so powerful an effect that it almost guarantees dependence.¡± She chuckled under her breath. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. It was absolutely the right choice back there. Those poor people were on the verge of giving up and many of them had given up already. You saved countless lives. However, I need to be stronger than that. I need to remain focused on myself and my own people and my own progress. This¡­ frustration, is a good motivator. I shouldn¡¯t be angry that you can¡¯t help. I should be angry that I can¡¯t help. That I couldn¡¯t help my kids by my own power. I already have an ability combination. I know what you did is possible for me too. That should be my goal and right now, I have a long way to go.¡± Dusty nodded along and congratulated her on that outlook. I remained silent after the fact. Noting how similar her thought process was to my own. ¡®It certainly seems a lot less healthy when I see someone else doing what I usually do. I wonder if there¡¯s a lesson to be taken from that?¡¯ After that, we moved on to Esmeralda and Fernando. Taking note of how uneasy they seemed as they tried to forget what had recently happened. Their hands pausing mid-conversation every now and then to pat down their mended wounds. Their brains coming back to the burning sensations of searing bones coated in burning chemicals. ¡°Are you going to go over to them?¡± Dusty inquired. Nudging me slightly with her elbow. ¡°No.¡± I decided. ¡°I¡¯ve seen some possible futures and none of them end well. It would be better if they had another week or two to get their confidence back. They need to realize the truth that it will only get harder by themselves. They need to keep fighting and improving until they feel like they¡¯ve made significant progress. Otherwise, they will always be second-guessing whether I meant to torment them on purpose.¡± Dusty sighed. Her mind thinking some rather rude things. Both about them, and about me. ¡°I don¡¯t need to be a mind reader to know what you¡¯re thinking right now Sully. You need to stop that. The fight wasn¡¯t a mistake and it wasn¡¯t you bullying your juniors. You tested the limits of your power responsibly and drew back when you¡¯d seen enough. I would have been different if you kept up the assault, but you didn¡¯t. That couldn¡¯t have counted as harassment. Trust me. I would know, given how I grew up.¡± I was about to say something else, when she placed a finger on my lips. ¡°What you did allowed us to get real experience against a rare variety of conditions in a setting where failing would have no consequences. Very few warriors back home would have had a similar chance. I have to tell you all of this because you can¡¯t see it from where you¡¯re standing. You¡¯re going to retreat back into yourself again. That is counterproductive. You are doing fine.¡± ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°You don¡¯t respect yourself enough. All your accomplishments pass you by and you only focus on your perceived failures. It¡¯s a slippery slope towards true madness. Tell me, how many people have you saved until now?¡± ¡°I¡­uh¡­¡± ¡°Over two hundred people owe you their lives, their comfort and their levels. Here in the Labyrinth. It would be much more if we counted those you¡¯ve saved on the outside. You are sticking your neck out for them and expecting nothing.¡± ¡°I¡­¡± ¡°Yes. You are frightening. All those that are strong are frightening, whether they mean to be or not. There will always be a separation between someone who has trained and prepared for violence and someone who is either unskilled, or incapable. What you are capable of doesn¡¯t define you. Its what you do with the power you¡¯ve been blessed with. In that sense, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever met someone as selfless as you. Take pride in that. In that you chose to do the right thing despite it costing you much and gaining you little. You are a good person.¡± ¡°Yeah boss.¡± Gina agreed. Suddenly coming from the side and jumping in the middle of our conversation. ¡°So, what if a couple o mooks got scared o ya? Big deal. My pops used to scare all the fellas down the street. Those that didn¡¯t know to stay in their lane. Yer doing fine.¡± Wow. That, really wasn¡¯t helping. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s helping, Gina.¡± Dusty said, as if reading my mind. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go and have a meal with Stellio? I think he¡¯s been stealing glances your way.¡± Gina snorted. ¡°He¡¯s a slob. Worse, he¡¯s Greek. My family would disown me if I went for it. But that¡¯s beside the point. I¡¯m here for the boss¡¯ ear and I would like an answer before I go.¡± ¡°Very well, speak. We¡¯ll hear you out.¡± ¡°We, is it? Fine. Relax. I¡¯m not looking to pry. All I want is permission to go on a little, eh, expedition.¡± ¡°Okay?¡± I said, trying to focus on her thoughts while Dusty was holding me in place. ¡°Why do you want my permission? Anyone can come and go however they want.¡± ¡°I know that boss. Ya see. I was hoping to go for a more, elusive kind of prey. And by that prey I mean Randall and Anezka and by go for, I mean disembowel.¡± It was a good thing that my body was so very in control of every minute motion I made. Otherwise, I might have choked on empty air. Recollections of what I¡¯d done flooding my mind. Images of what Randall and, to a lesser extent, the Mittens-possessed body of Anezka were doing assaulting me from differing strings within the cobweb. ¡®Huh? And here I thought I could no longer be surprised.¡¯ I mused, before refocusing on Gina¡¯s hesitant expression. ¡°Why would you feel the need to do that?¡± I asked her. Playing dumb on purpose. ¡°I already told everyone that Anezka isn¡¯t a threat anymore and that I would take care of Randall.¡± ¡°Yeah. I know Boss. But, ya do have a soft streak. Like, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s a bad thing or anything, but ya do tend to go easy on folks when a little pressure might be, uh, smart. Do ya get what I¡¯m saying? It¡¯s like¡­ ya say Anezka¡¯s been taken care of, but I¡¯m not sure you mean what I mean when I say those words. I¡¯m worried ya were too soft. Like, those mooks are gonna be enough of a pain that you¡¯re worried about fighting them boss and you¡¯re¡­you. Ya know. The biggest fish in the pond. I just¡­ figured we might as well trim the roses a little before the thorns get out of hand. Ya get me?¡± She stumbled over her words, trying to find the right ones. ¡°Its like this see. I was raised Catholic and I was taught that sometimes, its good to go for a more, New Testament approach. Ya shake hands, ya see a couple weddings, have a couple of kids and everybody¡¯s happy. That¡¯s all well and good, but sometimes people just don¡¯t learn the easy way. Sometimes ya need to bring out the Old Testament approach. More specifically, Ezikiel 25:17. Really teach people you deserve respect and that they better give it to ya. Or else.¡± I was about to give Gina some very choice words over her simplification of real, actual murder, when Dusty beat me to it. ¡°I completely agree. Gina. Sometimes, one must have a firm hand when dealing with marauders, and the depravations of evil people.¡± Her smile was soft and endearing. Carrying a charm that threatened to overtake even the stoic walls of my new body. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Which is why I can assure you that there is nothing to worry about. The evildoers have been dealt with. If you do not trust Sully¡¯s standards of justice¡­ well. He has been very lenient in the past. However, I hope you will not mistake his kindness for weakness. Even then, I hope you will not mistake my own leniency for weakness.¡± The smile turned sharp. So that there was an almost imperceptible cutting edge to it as she kept speaking to Gina. ¡°Suffice it to say that those two have been dealt with in a manner I find acceptable. Would that be enough to satisfy you?¡± ¡°Yes boss. I mean, yes Dusty. Ma¡¯am. Sorry to have bothered ya.¡± Gina turned right around and beat a hasty retreat in the opposite direction. Her forehead damp with sweat as she wove her way around the crowd. ¡°Thank you for the help.¡± I whispered to Dusty. She giggled. ¡°That wasn¡¯t anything of note Sully. Though, if you feel gratitude, I can think of a few ways you could make it up to me.¡± I was about to answer, when the expected System Message popped up in front of us.
System Notice: Cycle 1 has now ended. Individual contributions will be tallied and shown on the Leaderboards after Students return for Cycle 2. Students now have the opportunity to return to their home dimension, or to another known human dimension for the duration of 1 week. Please type in the selected dimension¡¯s code or otherwise choose Home.
I wasted no time in jotting down Dusty¡¯s dimension. Feeling one last pang of regret that I wouldn¡¯t be able to see my parents for some time, before my body was engulfed once more in that all-too familiar shimmering light. I had expected to land in another, less illuminated cave. Next to Dusty and Slab. However, that hadn¡¯t happened. Instead, I was standing in an arena. Similar in design to the one in the Warehouse. A large, circular ring of fine sand surrounded by white stones at the edges. However, they differed in scale. Where the old ring I was used to could accommodate a dozen or so fighters comfortably, this arena looked as if it could house hundreds of combatants. The radius spanning at least a couple of football fields in any given direction. I only managed to blink once, before another screen made itself known.
System Notice: Student: Solomon Carter, has been banned from receiving System Rewards for their performance in the Tutorial. Student: Solomon Carter, has been banned from appearing on the Leaderboards. Student: Solomon Carter, will be flagged on the forums once they activate for all other Students. Student: Solomon Carter, will have all their Store Tokens confiscated and will not be able to gain any more Store Tokens within the Tutorial. Student: Solomon Carter, will not be allowed to challenge the Hidden Boss: New Moon Spider. Any attempt to do so will teleport the Student to Human City. Student: Solomon Carter, will lose access to special Tutorial Events. Student: Solomon Carter, will not be allowed to compete as a regular challenger in the Tutorial Tournament. Student: Solomon Carter, will be flagged as a delinquent Student to all other Students in the Tutorial. Student: Solomon Carter, will be cloned and used as a non-lethal, punitive Boss encounter for all Students in the Tutorial. Final measure has been decided. Student will receive constant instruction from Special Enforcer: Hazimon the Dragon. Student will be forced to meet with their Special Enforcer at least once every 48 hours for the remainder of the Tutorial.
I read it over and sighed internally. ¡®Thank goodness. I thought the final added point might have been something terrible, considering everything else the Spider threw at me. But another Enforcer is more than welcome.¡¯ Then I started to search the cobweb for echoes of the future. Trying to find more information on this new Enforcer the System was throwing my way. ¡®Huh? There¡¯s nothi¡­¡¯ I heard a pop then. Nothing major. Just a faint, distant, popping sound. Then everything went black. My body not feeling like my body anymore. I heard nothing. I saw nothing. I smelled nothing. All while I tasted copper and felt a blast of sudden agony. Before that too faded as I felt my flesh forming back into eyes and ears. My natural senses returning as my Telepathic senses couldn¡¯t catch up with what had happened. ¡®Su¡­y!? Sully! Are you okay?¡¯ Buddy asked nervously. ¡®I¡¯m fine.¡¯ I answered at once. Not quite sticking to the truth. ¡®I didn¡¯t get to see it.¡¯ Buddy told me in a panic. ¡®It went for your head right away. It, sliced pieces of me off, but I don¡¯t think it wanted to hurt me. I think it just wants to hurt you.¡¯ That was something at least. I could handle being destroyed just fine, but I didn¡¯t know how losing Buddy would affect me. I hoped I never had to find out. Within half a second, I went from a red smear on the sands, to a halfway human outline that was rapidly forming heavier bones and denser skin. Then everything went black again. And again. And again. And again and again and again. All in span of a couple of seconds.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 13 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 14.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 13 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 14.
I activated [Solomon¡¯s Impenetrable Obfuscation X] then. Flooding the surroundings with Psy as I called on [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Avatar X] to both boost all my own powers and call on the Tall Man. Figuring that both it and any other horrors it called over would be more than enough to even the odds. Sure enough, it manifested at once. Dressed all in white, with two pairs of wings on its back and two heads on its shoulders. Its feet bare as they touched the ground. Blackened tar staining the sands where it landed. It too was struck then, though its ethereal body simply reformed within a fraction of a heartbeat. Its form being composed of pure Psy, rather than flesh. Naturally, it meant it spent more energy to reform itself, but with its stores being so vast and my own reserves adding onto them, there was no chance of that being a problem anytime soon. Moreover, other things were coming into existence as I searched for the interloper with my cobweb. Solomonlings and Solomonite flagellants, chanters, knights, and anchorites alike popping into existence with the rush of displaced air. Their many tongues tasting the atmosphere of the physical world for the first time in weeks or maybe forever. ¡°Mittens is here!¡± A possessed Anezka called from my right. Dressed in robes of many icy eyes and wielding the bony sword I had given him. His horns and tongues poking out of Anezka¡¯s otherwise feminine features to smear her beauty with monstrous exultation. ¡°Mittens is the wrath of the righteous! The sword amidst the smoke! Mittens is the chain and the pawns within his yoke! Mittens knows the blood and all the ground beneath! Mittens is his fangs and all his jagged teeth! Mittens will never, ever leave! Mittens is here!¡± There was another pop and Mittens went flying. Though, strangely enough, he wasn¡¯t as utterly broken as I or the Tall Man had been. Which was a stark contrast in behaviour, as all my other Intruders were being massacred by the thousands. Yet, the attacker was not hitting me anymore, and I took the opportunity to burrow deep into the sands. My hands growing bony ridges with which to burrow as my bones became even denser. All while I spread out [Solomon¡¯s Empowering Majesty X] to strengthen my Intruders even further as I kept pouring oceans of Psy out into the atmosphere. Soon enough, Intruders were popping out faster than the interloper could destroy them. The Tall Man gaining enough time to summon unreal illusions of fire and crackling lightning that yet other Intruders inhabited. Making their lacerations more real than they had any right to be. I kept digging throughout. Placing more and more emphasis on digging myself a nice big hole in which to sit out the carnage. ¡®But where the (Gnome) is he?¡¯ I wondered sourly. ¡®Why can¡¯t I sense anything? Why can¡¯t the cobweb pick up anything? Is it just the room itself attacking me? Some sort of System-created phenomenon to slow me down in preparation of the Enforcer¡¯s arrival?¡¯ If so, that was a particularly unfair move on its part. After all, why even bother sending an Enforcer who couldn¡¯t take care of themselv¡­ Everything went black again and this time, it took a few more heartbeats to recover. My flesh fighting against the pressure of all the sand overhead as it struggled to re-form itself. Only when my cobweb started sensing the Intruders again, did I realize what had happened. The opponent was here. Somewhere. They had leap up from the ceiling to land on the sands below with enough force and at such velocities that the impact had compressed and crystalized the top layer. As if it had been exposed to superheated temperatures in order to make glass. ¡®An Enhancer, then. One that I can¡¯t detect or stop with [Presence]. Their abilities aren¡¯t being hindered. Or, if they are, then they are simply so strong that this is what their weakened state looks like.¡¯ Still, I kept pouring out Psy into the surroundings. Shredding the local veil to bloody ribbons as I sought to boost my [Limited Omniscience] to the point where it would pick up my assailant. Tens of thousands of Intruders were manifesting now. Erupting from the uneven layers of glass and from the rocky outcrops making up the ceiling. Forging themselves from the still-burning flames dotting the landscape, as well as the unnaturally cool breeze wafting over the arena. Yet they kept dying, as Mittens was spared. ¡°Mittens rages! Mittens roars! Mittens is here!¡± Anezka¡¯s mouth croaked. Her limbs twisting in the same manner as a broken puppet as Mittens pulled on her strings. ¡°Mittens will see you! Mittens will smell you! Mittens is here!¡± The sword shone, and released a presence not too dissimilar to mine own. Its edges rending the air around them as Mittens kept swinging right and left and right again. But it did not seem to be working. Whomever or whatever was up there was simply too fast to catch. A speedster on a scale Charlie could only dream of. ¡®Is that why I can¡¯t sense them? Because they¡¯re moving too fast? No. That doesn¡¯t make any sense. I¡¯ve enslaved alien species before, when I was only six and seven and they were travelling at or past the speed of light. It has to be something else, something different.¡¯ There was a growl coming from within me. The dangerous spite of a caged and cornered animal hungering for violence. For vengeance. I could feel it. Now more than ever. A boiling wrath simmering within each and every one of my cells as if they had minds of their own. As if my brain was merely the leading instrument in a collective and the rest of the adjacent parts had found it wanting. I felt it¡­ click. The fury sliding into place as visions of the future and the cobweb¡¯s echoes grew more distant. Visions of death and carnage taking their place with alarming alacrity.
Ability Evolving: [Predator¡¯s Instincts] 2 has grown to [Predator¡¯s Instincts] 3.
¡®Slow him down.¡¯ A little voice whispered in my ear. One I knew at once to be myself in disguise. ¡®Keep summoning Intruders. He will tire eventually. Strike only when the time is right. A foe this mighty will make a delectable feast. Be patient. Be stealthy. Be vicious, when the time comes.¡¯ I would have shuddered, if I had had a normal body. Instead, I allowed the stream to take me further. My brain becoming more in tune with the reality in which I found myself in. After all, the voice had a point. This attacker had been nice enough to spare Buddy the first few times it turned me into chunky salsa, but there was no guarantee that level of mercy would continue. Better to take the safe option and get some training in while I was at it. So, I reshaped my body yet again. Growing spherical ridges all along my skin and then growing new layers of skin on top of those, until I resembled a gigantic armadillo. From there, I grew small tubes connected to my lungs and sent them upwards at different angles so that some would come up directly above me while others came up a few hundred metres away. They were small enough that none could sustain me by themselves, yet that came with its own advantages. One would have to focus extremely hard on any single spot to find traces of the tubes. Given that I was also running my stealth abilities, I liked my odds. Unfortunately, my assailant was not quite amicable enough to ignore me as I kept turning the arena into the mirror image of Pandemonium. He grabbed a single tube, tried to rip me out of the ground and then started moving again once it snapped. He followed that up by punching the ground. Hard. The shockwave turned my insides into my outsides, as all the new bones I had grown shattered and turned into miniature frag grenades. Bits of solid white matter splitting apart my muscles and organs. I barely had enough time to grow back a larynx and moan, before the sadist pulled me out and threw me against one of the walls. My form impacting like an overripe fruit against the bedrock. Buddy tried to say something, but I couldn¡¯t quite pick up on it. My focus swaying to everywhere and nowhere as more and more Intruders kept manifesting and clawing at the opponent. For once, he stood still. Letting all the blows fall upon his own form and making sure I could see that none of it had any effect. I tried to sense his mind. To [Dominate] him. But my cobweb could not find purchase, even now. Then my eyes started scanning him once more. Taking in every detail as my chest began to reshape the pulp I had become into lungs and ribs. He looked like one of the sea-horse dragons I had fought before. Like that optional Boss Slab and the others had felled. Only, he was far smaller. The size of an average human from back home. Maybe smaller than that even, though nowhere near the stature of gnomes. Furthermore, he had two clawed hands wrapped in fine-looking gloves and boots covering every part of his feet, save his clawed toes. At his back were a pair of exquisitely colored, translucent fins that caressed the air as if it were water. Their frills swaying back and forth as if drifting on an ocean current. His beady, ruby-red eyes took in Mittens as the sword came down. His right hand lifting up with such speed that I imagined it was teleportation at first. A single pinky, stopped the blade from moving any further, which only caused Mittens to roar in indignation. ¡°Not bad.¡± He whispered to himself. The sound carrying across the arena and all the way over to me. ¡°Not bad at all. I can work with this.¡± Chapter 88: A Crown in Quarters. Chapter 88: A Crown in Quarters. A flick of its clawed fingers was all it took to send Mittens flying again. The impact sending echoing aftershocks in all directions as a blast of pure kinetic energy pushed the stale air way from the creature. I thought it was an utterly ridiculous display, until he flicked his clawed digit a second time. Creating an explosion of force that was easily ten times as potent as the last one had been. Rather than being blown backwards, the rest of the Intruders disintegrated. The solid, possessed bodies of the anchorites turning to dust alongside the flexible frames of the flagellants and Solomonlings. Bulky stone hosts crumbling as their shells lost their integrity. Their veil-born occupants vanishing back into the ether with a rush of imploding space. More appeared after then of course. I had pumped so much Psy into my Avatar. Into the Tall Man, that the very fabric of reality was in tatters. Fires were still breaking out all along the arena. The oxygen in the air igniting as crimson and purple flashes of lighting surged out from within Pandemonium. Those fires and indeed some bolts of crackling energy were soon possessed themselves. Forming into more knights and chanters that leapt into the fray even as more anchorites seeped into the walls and came out as hulking mounds of torment. Golems in all but name, yet with a distinct talent for using hums to bolster its allies as it charged towards my foe. As for their target, they let out another sound which might have been a chuckle. Raising one of their clawed feet high up in the air and over their head, only to bring it down onto the sands. Well, that¡¯s what I think happened anyways. The motion was far too fast for me to see. All I knew of it was that the resulting shockwave put the last two to shame. Shattering more of my bones after they had just finished healing and causing my body to burrow itself deeper into the boundaries of the arena. ¡°Yes. Very good. Very good.¡± I heard them repeat, after my ears had finished growing back. ¡°I must admit, I am suitably impressed. To think that one of us would be so mighty while being so young. And with a second Type to boot.¡± It was odd. Very, very odd. The bipedal seahorse had nothing on their facial structure that might indicate joy. Nor contrition for that matter. That face was long and angular. Ending in a proboscis of sorts. A small, toothless mouth covered in bony ridges throughout the length of the organ. So that it couldn¡¯t form anything close to a human smile. Yet it felt as if it was smiling, despite my cobweb being unable to catch any hint of a mind or the emotions therein. But hey, if diplomacy was an option, who was I to turn it down? ¡°Your prowess pleases me, child. It is impressive, even by our exacting standards.¡± ¡°I am glad that you are pleased.¡± I managed after my lungs and larynx healed themselves. ¡°Now, if you¡¯d be so kind as to stop attacking me, I would love to have a chat about how impressed you are and what I could do for you.¡± I searched my acquired memories for information. Looking through Sarcophagus Solomon¡¯s eyes for any hint of the being¡¯s intentions. ¡°You are a Kanari, yes? I had heard you were one of the more, well-established species living in the Labyrinth. You¡­¡± I paused again. Catching faint glimpses of political scuffles that had not happened yet in this timeline. ¡°You have a matriarch that is close to the 8th Tier. On three different Types. I hear she, that is, Lady Agony, is quite impressive.¡± I also knew that she hated the Seeking Drake with a passion, after the latter ate three of her children and turned a fourth into a rug. Granted, I didn¡¯t exactly know if that animosity would translate to someone who absorbed a part of the Drake¡¯s mind and some of his abilities, but I figured I¡¯d better play it safe. ¡°Indeed, tales of her mastery and elegance permeate throughout the entire Labyrinth. Shopkeepers here and there cannot help themselves when discussing her majesty. So, I would hope that she might look kindly upon humanity. Maybe even to the point of forgiving me these transgressions? This one time? I would, of course be willing to compensate her for this act of kindness. You too, if you fancied an improvement in your abilities. I have not heard of your mighty name until now, but I am sure you are respected and revered in equal measure. I could make that status grow, if you would let me. I have this power¡­.¡± ¡°Spare me the (Drake)kissing child. It doesn¡¯t suit someone of your rank.¡± I stopped, considering what he¡¯d just said. Wracking my mind as my flesh and sinews knitted themselves back together. Trying to ignore the ongoing rush of manifesting Intruders so that I could focus entirely on the conversation. ¡®So, he doesn¡¯t like the Drake either. Big surprise, I guess. He was never the most sociable of antediluvian nightmares. And if he is working for Lady Agony¡­¡¯ ¡°You should also know that my granddaughter has naught to do with this. She is her own person with her own struggles and agendas. Responsibilities that demand her attention at every corner. I hardly ever visit these days and I certainly don¡¯t share news pertaining to the likes of us. I would not burden her with such trifles when the multiverse is always a few bad decisions away from erupting into war and anarchy once more. She is not privy to your existence quite yet. She will not be joining us for our lessons.¡± I stopped at that. ¡®Granddaughter? I thought she didn¡¯t have any family? What?¡¯ My brain soon snapped out of the confusion however. Whether it was a lie or the setup to some kind of scheme, I didn¡¯t need to know and didn¡¯t need to care. Instead, I decided to fish for some more answers. ¡°Indeed, you are correct. The likes of us don¡¯t need to go around announcing ourselves at every interval. Savants should mind their own business and stick to their own lanes. Is that right?¡± I waited for him to either deny his status or to confirm that he and I were the same. The creature threw a punch to the side. Letting loose another blast of force. ¡°Yes and no. I don¡¯t believe you¡¯ve grasped my meaning as I intended it. Then again, I have always struggled with reading you primates, so you might know more than you¡¯re letting on.¡± He inclined his narrow head ever so slightly. The motion making me realize how oddly still he¡¯d been while lashing out at my Intruders. ¡®As if he was perfectly in control of his posture the second he decided to let himself be seen. No, it goes deeper. Every single movement might have been calculated since the very beginning.¡¯ That hinted at another worrying facet of his existence. If he was truly capable of such feats while blocking my cobweb and my future sight from detecting him, then he should be at least as strong as the Drake. Level and Tier wise. ¡®So, how come Sarcophagus Solomon and the Drake never heard of¡­¡¯ ¡°Take control of the veil, child. I grow bored of swatting your flies. They do not allow me to focus on you and our current conversation.¡± I did as he asked at once. Figuring that he could simple keep banishing them even if I didn¡¯t and that a gesture of good faith could only improve matters for me. ¡®Besides, I can always turn on the ability again while my body regenerates. That, and having more calm to and find his mind might lead to me [Dominating] him, or otherwise figure out his angle.¡¯ The Tall Man followed my orders, his essence repairing the veil between fiction and reality. At the same time, Mittens kept trying to snap at him with Anezka¡¯s mutated mouth. Jaws tearing at empty space whilst he drew on the power of the bone sword to heal his own twisted and torn limbs. ¡°Mittens. Stay put.¡± I ordered him. Placing some amount of Psy into [Domination] to ensure his good behaviour. Mittens snarled, but obeyed. Anezka¡¯s beautiful silver eyes tracking the Enhancer as he stood completely still. ¡°Thank you.¡± He said with a smooth, contended voice. ¡°Now that my first inquiries are out of the way, allow me to begin the introductions.¡± He patted down his symbiote, in a manner that reminded me of the stereotype of a jovial fat man. Though the being in front of me didn¡¯t look like he had ever had an ounce of excess fat on its aquatic body. ¡°I am Hazimon. Savant of the Enhancer Type. Different people call me different things, with the System calling me Hazimon the Dragon and the few people that remember me calling me Hazimon the Hermit. Personally, I prefer Hazimon the Dreamer. But that is neither here nor there. The fact remains that, outside of those on the cusp of ascension, I am one of the most potent Espers alive. Besides that, I remain on of the mightiest Enhancers you¡¯re likely to find anywhere in the Labyrinth. Though that title does ring a bit hollow, with me being a Savant and all.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. He let out a sound that might have been a chuckle in a human. ¡°Your turn, child. Tell me about yourself. More than what the System said, if at all possible.¡± ¡®How am I supposed to know what the System said?¡¯ I thought inwardly, though I quickly focused back on the request. ¡°I am Solomon Carter. Savant of the Telepath Type. Hero of human¡­¡± ¡°And?¡± He interrupted me. One of the frills on his head twitching in lieu of eyebrows to raise. ¡°And of the Shifter Type.¡± I continued. The being nodded. ¡°And what a curiosity you are. Solomon Carter. Truly, I didn¡¯t believe the System at first when it gave me a description. Those with more than one Type are not usually given the moniker of Savant. No matter how proficient they are in the usage of their Psy. Someone with your age and level of expertise might normally be categorized as a one in a quintillion genius, rather than one of us. That is, if it weren¡¯t for your abilities¡­¡± There was a crooning sound then. Like that of a songbird calling out for a mate. ¡°I honestly cannot find any other explanation for you having those, other than you being a Savant. Tier 2 at this stage might be unusual. Tier 3 might be absurdly rare. But Tier 10?¡± The crooning grew louder. ¡°No. Even those geniuses that factions covet with such zeal tend to become mired after reaching the 4th Tier. It might take them a few thousand standard rotations just to form a Title or two. Even if we account for them brutalizing themselves every second of every day in order to train. Case in point, my own granddaughter is almost half a million years old and she hasn¡¯t gained a level in the last two thousand. Stuck as she is on the 8th Tier. If she couldn¡¯t manage to break through then, I doubt you could do so in two months.¡± He paused for a brief moment. ¡°No offence meant on my part, of course.¡± ¡°None taken.¡± I answered. Still searching the cobweb for an in and wanting to keep him talking. ¡°Please continue.¡± ¡°Yes, of course. As I was saying, Savants typically shoot up through Tiers at blinding speeds. So much so that even your growth isn¡¯t completely unheard of. I myself came close during my own species¡¯ Tutorial. But for that growth to extend to more than one Type?¡± He began making soft clicking sounds. A little bit of water leaking from his tubular mouth. ¡°No. That should have been impossible. Yet, here you are. Obviously capable of all the System claimed. Tell me, how is it that you came to be this way?¡± I thanked my lucky stars then. Not just because the System had apparently missed some of what had transpired in Pandemonium, but also because this was the inroad I had been waiting for. ¡®He wants ascension.¡¯ I reasoned. ¡®He wants more power, just like the Drake. And just like the Drake, he never dreamed it would come in such a package.¡¯ ¡°I made a pact.¡± I told him. Bending the truth just a little bit. ¡°I exchanged memories with another Savant. Only, this was done with a powerful combined ability. My [Inexorable Presence]. I didn¡¯t just take in his recollections, but also his thought process and the way he felt and experienced Psy.¡± Hazimon nodded again. ¡°And, would this other Savant happen to be the Seeking Drake?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I answered immediately. Knowing damn well he¡¯d seen my abilities and that he¡¯d already had suspicions going in. ¡°So, you. The first Savant in, as far as I know, forever that managed to overcome our one failing, allowed and indeed assisted the Seeking Drake in obtaining another Type?¡± Well, not exactly. The Drake in this timeline had gotten less than nothing out of it, but revealing that might lead to me being gruesomely murdered. Not just because this Hazimon fellow had a vested interest in keeping the Drake away from such power in the future, but because he would lose any incentives in keeping me alive, as I would come out looking like a scammer. ¡®But, if I let him think the Drake has managed to get his claws on Telepath already, well. Killing me doesn¡¯t solve anything at that point. On the contrary. He would have every reason to keep me alive, on the off chance that I could give him a second Type too. He would need it, if he wished to crush the Drake.¡¯ This being was clearly on another level than Randall, so he would certainly survive the process too. And even though he would learn the truth eventually, it would still buy me enough time to level up my cobweb and finally get a reading on him. Failing that, it would give me more time to level my new Shifter abilities so that he didn¡¯t destroy me with such ease. If I managed to get Enhancer abilities from the deal, well. All the better. ¡°I did do that.¡± I told him. ¡°Though, I didn¡¯t fully know how evil the Drake was.¡± He made one of his ridges twitch again. ¡°Really? You didn¡¯t know that dealing with the monster draped in living leathers would be a bad idea?¡± ¡°I was desperate.¡± I told him, truthfully this time. ¡°I needed to be more powerful to defend my species.¡± ¡°Some might have argued that being Tier 10 is more than enough to deter potential enemies. I tend to come and go as I please, after all.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t apply in my case.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°My world is about to be invaded by gnomes. They¡¯ll do it before the Tutorial ends. Before I have access to this Human City I¡¯ve heard so much about. I¡¯ll have to portal out the hard way and I needed the Type to survive the breaking of space around a Tutorial, since I can¡¯t guarantee that there¡¯ll be an aperture of torn reality for me to dash into and out of Pandemonium.¡± There was brief silence after that. With my new tormentor not saying anything. Then, he made another clicking sound and relaxed his posture. ¡°Yes. I see now how you might have arrived at that conclusion. Fair enough.¡± He began to pace around the premises. My eyes now noting how his strikes had heated up the sands to the point where they had turned into sizzling half-solid crystals. ¡®Sudden motion, at such velocities. (Gnome) me. The air molecules probably ignited after not being able to move out of the way of his blows fast enough. How is it that the Drake survived this guy until now?¡¯ ¡°Though it is regrettable that, out of all the living Savants here in the Labyrinth, you decided to reach out to it in particular. Tell me, Solomon Carter. How do you see the Psy around you?¡± ¡°It is the collection of every thought, emotion and desire that every living being has ever had.¡± I told him truthfully. ¡°It is a lake within me that roils with the turbulent waters of their minds. I used to think it was all my mind alone, but that was only because I was holding myself back. Every ripple and every wave in the waters is another thought or idea added to the whole. Whether they come from the love of two fated individuals or the machinations of murderers and slavers; it doesn¡¯t matter. Everyone thinks and everyone considers themselves to be the center of existence. From the wisest sage to the dumbest centipede. They all have a sense of self that might revolve around philosophies and the legacies they will bring or perhaps around food and killing and growing. It doesn¡¯t matter. Each being thinks and lives its own version of a story and those stories come together to turn into pure Psy. Into the stuff that makes Intruders. Into Pandemonium.¡± It was my turn to pause. ¡°At least, that used to be the only way I was Psy. Now, I¡¯m not so sure. I have gotten to know this, alternate viewpoint, ever since my pact with the Drake. I also see that Psy can be the very idea of struggle against the inevitability of decay and entropy and death. Each of my cells feels as if they were a world. Containing records of all the cells that came before. Even before my birth or even the conception of my grandfather¡¯s grandfather. I can feel that history. The cold nights that the earliest humans spent out in the rain whilst chasing prey across the plains of Africa. The fear that came with not knowing what was behind the tall grass of beneath the dirty waters of a river. The dread of seeing half a village wiped out by plague or by an errant flood. Further back, I see the common ancestors of people, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas. Moving up and down the trees to eat bugs and nuts and fruits. I feel their simple-minded sadness when mother and fathers and children died to serpents and spider bites. I feel their joy when new members joined the family. Most of all, I feel the resolve and resentment and spite. Every cell in every one of their bodies was alive and wanted to keep on living. Every, single, one. For thousands of millions of years. Going back to where our evolutionary ancestors were but rodents among the toes of dinosaurs. Back to when the planet earth was one big primordial swamp for gigantic crabs, spiders and gryphon flies to hunt in. Back to when the first cells began adapting to breathe oxygen, the poison that had caused several mass extinctions when the oldest mountains were young and the first plants had not left the ocean.¡± I reigned myself in. Realizing now that what I had said might not make any sense. ¡°No. No. That is quite illuminating. Please keep going.¡± The creature urged me. ¡°Very well. From there, it is, as if each of my cells remember that struggle and they know the struggle of other living beings. They don¡¯t want to die. They do not want to vanish. They do not want life to vanish. Instead, they, I, am compelled to indulge in the instincts of all living beings. The Psy from the Shifter Type is the will to live and expand and keep death at bay. Demanding that all living beings take care of themselves and eat and drink and reproduce. Demanding that I prove myself the superior lifeform. Demanding that I become the most adaptable and resilient organism in all creation. So that my genes, above all others, finally defeat the very concept of death.¡± I cringed upon finished the statement. ¡°You know, saying it all out loud really does make it sound rather sinister, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes. But I didn¡¯t expect anything less.¡± Hazimon admitted. ¡°Every Shifter Savant I¡¯ve met has given me more or less the same answer. Just as every Telepath Savant I¡¯ve met has given me different variations on the former answer. I was just checking whether you had truly aligned your perceptions with the Shifter Type, or if the Drake had somehow infected you in some manner.¡± It was his turn to appear troubled. ¡°You see, that is the great blessing and the great shackle of Savants. We are so proficient in attuning to out Types that we lose all perspective on the others. So that we end up trying to understand the other three from the viewpoint of our own. Case in point, there aren¡¯t very many Savants out there in general, but some of us do talk to each other. I have tried to see things from those points of view you¡¯ve described, but it is far harder than it looks. I keep grasping at concepts that seem too vague and nonsensical, despite them making perfect sense to me. In that same manner, I have explained Psy to the others, only for them to not get it. Their own minds unable to perceive Psy of the Enhancer Type.¡± He made another short crooning sound. ¡°But those lessons can wait for later.¡± His ruby-red beady eyes found mine. ¡°Solomon Carter. You stand accused and convicted of serious violations of the Tutorial¡¯s code of conduct. With me is a warrant for your death or chastisement, as I see fit to give it. As such, you now have two options. One, surrender and die or keep fighting me here and die. It will make no matter.¡± He paced forward with absolute confidence. His cadence even and controlled. ¡°Option two, will involve this chastisement I mentioned. You must receive instruction from me at set intervals. So that the System can continue to run the Tutorial to its completion. Normally, I would advocate for this course of action with no strings attached, but your own choices have forced my hand.¡± He came closer. Closer. Until he was staring up at me, within arm¡¯s reach. ¡°I will add another caveat to your training. You must do with me what you did with the Drake. With the contract being overseen by the System itself under this authority of mine. So that we can keep the funny business to a minimum. If you manage to obtain the Enhancer Type and give me the Telepath Type, I will agree to train you as far as I know. I will even consent to become your ally in the future, in exchange for further service.¡± ¡°And what might this further service be?¡± I asked him pointedly. ¡°Simple. Help me track down and kill the Seeking Drake. Once and for all.¡± The way he said it, sounded as if he was trying to separate a pupil from the master he already had. Which was odd, to say the least. ¡®Wait¡­ don¡¯t tell me! He thinks me and the Drake are friends!?¡¯ Yes, he must have thought that. While I couldn¡¯t read his mind, all his mannerisms pointed towards that being the case. Then, I thought of how perfectly things had aligned and thanked my lucky stars once more. For I knew the smile I felt would not be showing up on my face. Chapter 89: Total Atomic Annihalation. ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve been scammed.¡± I told Mr. Seahorse. Purposely making sure to show a somewhat displeased expression, without showing any hint of aggression. Lest he turn my insides into my outsides. Again. ¡®Damn it. This is way harder than I expected. Gotta make sure he picks up on the social cues I¡¯m purposely making without going to extremes. But I feel like I have to go to comedic extremes because he can¡¯t seem to grasp how human faces and body language work. Ugh. Say what you want about Granny and Orphan Maker and Peachy, but they were all very good at picking up on stuff. So was the Drake, for that matter.¡¯ I wasn¡¯t entirely sure he¡¯d pick up on my feebly monkey-brained attempts at guilt-tripping him, but I had to try at this point. Meanwhile I also wanted to make sure he didn¡¯t get any whiff of violent undertones. The goal was to get a bit more leverage, after all. Not to end up smeared on the walls like a post-modern art piece. From what I had seen of the creature, he seemed to have some basic sense of honor, after a fashion. Where he would feel the need to make things ¡®Fair¡¯ in heavy quotation marks. Or, at least, to a point where he deemed the transaction as fair. The chances weren¡¯t looking good, but I figured I may as well try. The deal was, more or less fair as it was, but the difference in our negotiating position was self-evident. Since I was guilty of all the transgressions the System accused me of, while he was apparently quite the trusted figure in the eyes of whatever entity or entities pulled the strings. As such, he had access to the same kind of special contracts System vendors operated under. ¡®A factor Sarcophagus Solomon was aware of, but never had access to due to how relatively young he¡¯d been by multiversal standards. Meanwhile, the Drake never even bothered pretending to be a good little rule follower. The other me knew there was a structure in place for exchanging services, but he went to the Drake anyways. Though I¡¯m not sure I blame him. Nothing short of the Drake¡¯s powers could have gotten him his body back. There would have been nothing for him if he got Enhancer and no other Shifter could have helped at that stage. That, and this guy definitely would have killed Coffin Sully if it meant keeping the Drake from another Type.¡¯ I looked over the contract again. Noting the rather stark unevenness on the delivery of services.
System Contract: Exchange of Services.
Solomon Carter agrees to: Use his abilities [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] and [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] on Hazimon the Dragon with the express purpose of granting the beneficiary a second Type and whatever levels, memories and abilities might come with the Type. Refrain from using any other abilities to influence the beneficiary during the time the beneficiary is exposed while enacting the transaction. Refrain from knowingly breaking any more rules of the Tutorial. Refrain from knowingly targeting the beneficiary with [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] outside of the aforementioned enlightening event. Refrain from knowingly targeting Kanari with any offensive or mind-altering Telepath abilities within a period of fifty standard human years, with the exception of such circumstances where Solomon Carter is providing tutelage on behalf of the beneficiary. Refrain from knowingly aiding the third party, Seeking Drake in any capacity for one standard human year following this transaction. Use his knowledge and personal experiences to teach the beneficiary how to best make use of their acquired abilities in good faith and without deception or omission. Use his abilities [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] and [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] on up to five other Users designated by Hazimon the Dragon with the purpose of providing tutelage within a period of fifty standard human years. The period of tutelage will end after one standard human year following this transaction, but may be automatically extended up to five years. Automatic extensions will occur as long as the beneficiary pays the tribute of 2 billion store tokens per year before the expiration of the period of tutelage. These agreements are all witnessed by a System-approved High Enforcer and are subject to direct System Intervention. Each party will receive System warnings if they are about to break their side of the bargain. The aforementioned clauses may not be broken, on pain of total atomic annihilation.
Hazimon the Dragon agrees to: De-activate his ability [Redacted] so that Solomon Carter may affect him with [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] during a tutelage event. Allow Solomon Carter to copy and absorb a portion of their memories within a period of one standard human year. Allow Solomon Carter to copy and absorb a portion of their memories immediately as soon as the Seeking Drake is destroyed. Use his personal knowledge and experiences to provide tutelage to Solomon Carter on matters regarding the Enhancer Type for as long as the Human Tutorial is ongoing. Refrain from knowingly killing Solomon Carter for the duration of one standard human year. Refrain from knowingly harming Humans for a duration of fifty standard human years. These agreements are all witnessed by a System-approved High Enforcer and are subject to direct System Intervention. Each party will receive System warnings if they are about to break their side of the bargain. The aforementioned clauses may not be broken, on pain of total atomic annihilation.
There was a lot of the dreaded lawyer-tongue about the whole thing, but a few pointers stood out above the rest. To start with, the fact that I would be giving my new prof another Type immediately whilst he didn¡¯t have to do (Gnome) for a good long time. Aside from that, there was the clause about me not hurting other Kenari. Not completely unreasonable, since it did mention I had to knowingly break the rule to run afoul of it and he was matching the sentiment with a clause to not attack humanity. But it did leave a sour taste in my tongue all the same. Because, while I was more or less the strongest human alive, his species had at least three other powerhouses at or near the 8th Tier. Meaning that Hazimon here could simply sit back and relax if we came into conflict. Secure in the knowledge that his granddaughter could raze a few hundred earths within a casual afternoon and there''d be nothing anyone else could do about it. That fact led me to some other funny pointers. Like the one stating that I would have to teach five more people he designated and that I would have to teach him and them for up to five (Gnome)ing years, while he¡¯d be teaching me for the duration of the Tutorial. That is, for four measly months. Finally, there was that interesting clause at the end. Rearing its head like a viper ready to strike. ¡°Total atomic annihilation.¡± I repeated. Recalling them how Granny Golden had explained her particular situation to me when we''d first met. "It is a standard method of assuring each party follows through." Hazimon explained. His tone steady and even a little respectful. "I admit, I am not a fan of it either, but it is part of becoming any kind of System representative, such as a Vendor or an Enforcer. It must be this way to ensure the integrity of those that represent the System and its interests. The former cannot lie or cheat or attack those that annoy them. Nor can they give items away for free, though there is some leeway with services and personal advice. The latter cannot knowingly lie or cheat as well, though they are allowed to attack or even kill repeated rule-breakers. Or, in contrast, they can provide material rewards to communities of Students after they themselves have handled the rule breaker in question." He began blowing bubbles out of his tubular mouth as he paced. Looking oddly human in his body language while also coming across as completely alien by soft cute squeaks he made. ''I don''t think he realizes how funny those are.'' I thought to myself. ''I think he might be trying to come across as wise or leaned. Like a mentor. But all I''m getting is a lifelike animatronic in a water park.'' "The point is that we in positions of authority are not supposed to be taking advantage of our juniors. Not matter how very tempting it might be. Case in point, there is a gnomish merchant on your parent''s Instance, but he was not allowed to indiscriminately butcher up and coming prospects. Nor was he allowed to cheat the Students there into unfavorable deals or pit them against each other so they tore themselves apart. Despite his current government''s plans of conquering worlds from newly integrated species. Instead, he did his job honorably. Otherwise, he would have been disintegrated. Again, because the one commonality we all share, is that the System wishes for us to become stronger. To grow into the best version of us that we may become." I had to clamp my mouth shut after that. Thanking the Drake once more for me being so in-control of my own body and its expressions. ''There is no way that Mittens would ever leave a gnome alive. None of my intruders would have done so. None of them would have even considered it. How come I didn''t get a notification if Mittens broke that ru... oh. Ooooohhhh. I see. I didn''t break the rules by killing that gnome on the islands. Anezka did. Which is odd, because she is very much still possessed and the System, as far as Coffin Sully knew, counted that as being the fault of the possessor. Is it because I was in a different Instance and not actively calling the shots?'' This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. That was a new piece of information that might prove valuable, despite it only applying within the Tutorial. Of course, Hazimon didn''t necessarily need to know either. Whomever had been dispatched to deal with Mittens after the fact had obviously not made it back to report, so there was a good chance I had an ace my new mentor didn''t know about. Not that I was planning on double crossing him in any way of course. But, if he happened to double cross me first... "I understand." I told him with a suitably humble tone. "The System is, as far as I''ve seen, generally benevolent. In that it seems to care about equity to some degree and prioritizes us helping in the worlds that our species inhabit. Though it doesn''t go so far as to actually stop intergalactic wars for some reason. It needs a way to ensure its trusted faces act with professionalism and that they''re at least pretending to be impartial." "Quite so. Especially with your choice of words towards the end there." He confirmed. "Complete impartiality will always be a pipe dream. We are simply too different among our own species for that. Never mind how unique we are across species. Even those that genuinely try their very best to live up to the ideals of the divines generally fall short to some small degree. It is unavoidable, since none of us, even the enlightened divines are perfect. So, the System demands that a certain standard be met. Not perfection or anything near it, but a series of hard lines everyone can understand. With suitable punishments for transgressors, since they are generally parties with more influence and standing than whomever is providing the primary service." I hesitated at that. Seeing an opportunity to confirm some of the other Solomon''s theories. "About that, a friend of mine had some theories as to what the System was. Sadly, he passed without being able to confirm any of them but..." "But you figured you may as well try to gleam information out of me." The Dragon finished. "Tell me, what does you ability, this [Omniscience], tell you?" "That is both there and not there." I answered. My mind touching a variety of strings along the cobweb to eek out blurry images of the past, present and future, in spite of the Dragon''s obscuring presence. "That it is a mostly Telepathic construct being forced on me and everybody else here. That it is connected to something or someone unfathomable beyond the veil. That it is a more advanced version of what I can do with [Omniscience], mixed with my inexorable presence. I..." I hesitated, but looked back at the contract I was going to sign anyways. ''Might as well act in good faith now, if it means I might get valuable insights.'' "I feel different, when using the ability at its highest potential. I feel as if I am everywhere and nowhere at once. As if I am no longer flesh and blood, but a part of every living being''s mind. Privy to all their thoughts and insecurities as I feel every fraction of every second that they experience drag on and on and on unto eternity. Their nerves singing as I dance along them and their perceptions of their reality slowing as I meld myself into all that they are, all that they have been and all that they could be. Back on earth, back when I combined the ability again, I saw things I never saw before. Birthdays see from the perspectives of the one celebrating and all those present. I could be at a party that happened three or five years ago in some distant memory and rejoice at a child''s innocent cheers, while also feeling the dread his parents felt when they considered their divorce. The sadness the grandparents felt watching it happen. The envy one of the cousins felt, since their own parents had been too drunk to throw them a birthday party when they should have had one." The Dragon nodded along. Still blowing small bubbles here and there. "It sounds chaotic." "It is. Absolutely chaotic. An endless stream of moments bleeding into the next from innumerable perspectives. I was the owl hunting the rabbit to feed her hatchlings and the rabbit fleeing for the sake of the bunnies in her womb. I felt the wind whistling past my feathers as my eyes beheld motion in the darkness. I knew that I was silent and deadly and hungry and that my babies were hungry too. The rabbit''s life or that of its unborn brood did not register to me from the owl''s eyes. At the same time I felt the cold of the evening wind buffeting against my fur as the rabbit. I felt my ears twitching as they didn''t catch anything, even though an ill feeling crawled up my spine. I saw the owl, and myself in the owl. I felt my heart pounding against my chest as all my muscles burned. My legs kicking the ground over and over and over in an effort to get away. I felt the strike of the beak and the panic that it brought, as well as the relief and joy her hunter felt. Only to be replaced by fury as it saw the serpent leaving her nest. Her fangs dripping with the blood of the owl''s young. Yet I also felt the snake and the chicks it ate. The ants crawling on the ground beside a small brook and the tadpoles growing in those waters. The piglets splashing nearby and the mountain lion stalking them. All of them living the same minutes from their own perspectives. Their own minds only knowing their side of things. Merging those abilities, feeling the way thoughts and impressions were shared across entire worlds and how each and every feeling affected the veil, is something so dissimilar from the life I had led when I shut it all out, that I felt as though I would lose myself. That I would forget who I was." "But you didn''t." Hazimon prompted. His gait slowing down as he listened to me with his full attention. "No. I didn''t." I confirmed. "I was still myself, but more. I wasn''t spreading myself thin over a large group. I was placing a little seed of psionic potential inside each being and then relaying the signal when that seed grew. Each purple and gold ember making the cobweb come alight with unreal flames. I went from a piece of burning kindling, to a forest fire, to a blazing, shining sun as I covered the earth. I was more with all of them under my influence. I was eternal and unflinching. So much higher than any one person that it wasn''t even funny. That version of me, felt everything. Saw everything. Knew everything. While realizing that it itself was being affected by an even higher power." I stared into his beady, ruby-red eyes. "That is what the System is. At least partly. It is a psionic construct placed by someone with such power that I cannot even imagine." I paused once more, before continuing. "Where my reserves are vast, these reserves are limitless. Which shouldn''t be possible." "And yet it is." Hazimon confirmed. "This ability of yours is much more impressive than I first realized. That alone should have been more than enough for your friend. It is a much better explanation that most young masters will get." "So, how right is it?" I pressed. "Very much on point." Hazimon spoke once more. His crimson eyes seeming to gleam in the unnatural light coming from the crystals above us. "The System is an artificial thing. Imposed on us mere mortals by the ascended divines. It is their prerogative to protect sentient forms of life, while also not restricting their freedoms whenever possible." "Odd route to take for benevolent overlords who place so much value on life." The Dragon''s face, if it could be called a face, twitched. The motion being so faint that I would not have caught it without [Protean Form] improving my eyes. "I have only ever had the pleasure to speak with two divines up until this point, Solomon Carter. I can assure you, while their actions could be interpreted as benevolent from where we''re standing, they are anything but. Their, outlooks, seem to change a great deal after undergoing those transformations into gestalt entities. I will not say more, save to warn you that worshiping them is a dead end. They might be nigh omnipotent and more omniscient than you by leaps and bounds, yet they remain very, very mortal in the way they handle such immeasurable might." ''You make it sound like a bad thing.'' I thought. ''If what you say is true, then it''s a reason to celebrate. After all, I have never known how a gestalt entity might feel, but I sure as (Gnome) know how someone that is worshiped against their will feels.'' "Okay." I said instead. "I understand that the System tries to make deals equitable and that it will bring the hammer down on either of us if we break out terms. However, that doesn''t change the fact that these terms suck." The Dragon quirked his head. Apparently not caring too much that Mittens was starting to get real annoyed with him. Anezka''s monstrous form pacing back and forth whilst staring at his exposed neck like a tiger. A thin line of drool dripping from each of Mitten''s three tongues as those slitted eyes tracked the bipedal seahorse man. "I don''t believe those words were translated correctly. What does suction have to do with the terms?" "That they aren''t fair. You are obviously getting as lot more out of this." I argued. Again sending messages to Mittens to make sure he didn''t leap at the Savant and get himself banished. While it wouldn''t do much beyond annoying him, Anezka and Halkon would be killed. And I still had uses for them. "Very well, what would you like to add?" I blinked, or would have blinked if my body was still capable of such physical reactions to surprise. "Just like that? No dancing around the issue or telling me I''m getting enough as is because you''re so much better? No telling me I''m an idiot for not seeing things your way?" The Dragon actually laughed at that. "There are few Savants out there, child. Fewer still that share our level or prowess. If I am to get what I want, which is an ally, it is best to act with dignity and good faith. If I wanted to trick or coerce you, I wouldn''t have offered a System-backed contract in the first place. Though, I do understand where your reaction is coming from." He stopped laughing. "But I am not the Seeking Drake."
"So, what did you end up agreeing to?" Dusty asked as we walked. "I extended the time of my tutoring sessions for one. Past the Tutorial and for as long as I''m tutoring him. Then I got another clause that he would teach an additional person if he chose to extend my own contract by paying me off, so long as the Drake had been dealt with beforehand." "And you think the Drake will have been dealt with beforehand?" Slab asked. His brows furrowing. "Oh, absolutely." I said. "I already foresaw several futures in which I killed him. Without Mr. Seahorse''s help to boot. He may be some unimaginable horror that can endlessly regenerate as long as he has Psy, but that''s just it. He can only do that as long as he has Psy." I wagged my finger in the cavern air. "And it just so happens that I have, or I''ll soon have more. Like, way more. Those multipliers really do stack up like crazy. I''ve already got three more Titles than he does and that number will only increase the more I get used to Shifter and what I can do with the new Type. Not to mention the fact that I don''t even need to be there to fight him. I have Intruders for that." "Mittens is here!" Yelled my kitten with Anezka''s monstrous voice. "Mittens does swear! Mittens foretells! The Drake is a stinky ne''er-do-well!" "That he is Mittens. That he is." I agreed. ''D....ie. Ple...se....le...t....e....ie.'' A faint mind called out to me from Mittens'' hip and I turned to see the quivering flesh of Halkon. Still very much alive despite his brain turning to mush. I stared at him, in much the same manner that owl I had used as an example stared at her prey. My eyes devoid of the usual empathy I reserved for my fellow human beings. ''No.'' I answered him. ''Not only did you behave like a gnome, you did so against my parents. Death is too good for you, Halkon. And it will remain out of your reach until you atone for all the crimes you''ve committed. I''m sure we both know that will take a while, so do try and keep yourself comfortable. Though, let it never be said that I inflict unnecessary suffering. I can be insensitive, but I am not Mittens.'' I reached out to touch him and felt his flesh scream. His cells trying to resist in vain as I re-shaped his organs into human proportions and then further, into those that Anezka currently possessed. Then I [Dominated] him for good measure. Before blasting him with a healthy dose of my boost. "Pick him up." I told Mittens. "And make sure he doesn''t hit his head against anything while his convulsing. I want him going back to his world a changed man. Someone ready to free it from slavery." "Mittens is here! Mittens is near! Mittens wants his spine as a makeshift spear!" "No!" I snapped. Wagging my finger at him. "Bad Mittens! Bad! If we''re going to wok together then you need to stick to the mission. No torturing people! Only gnomes are okay because they''re not people. No more catnip for you until you learn some restraint. And no backrubs or head pats either." Mittens mewled sadly. Anezka''s eyes welling up with tears. "But Mittens loves backrubs and head pats!" "Then you need to be less bloodthirsty. Like a good kitten." Slab intervened then. Leaning over me as he sent a [Message] of his own. ''Are you sure it is wise to antagonize the, uh. Intruder?'' "It''s fine." I answered out loud. "Mittens has gone without discipline long enough. He needs to know there are boundaries when talking to people. Otherwise, he''s bound to stab someone sooner rather than later. I should know, I''ve seen it happen within my cobweb hundreds of times." Mittens felt downcast. Anezka''s possessed visage drooping as he deflated. "Mittens is sorry. Mittens only wanted you to be happy. Mittens will be good." I searched the cobweb and saw that he meant it. Not to a large degree, since violence was more or less ingrained into the very building blocks of his being as an Intruder, but the self-restraint that came with my admonition would be nice, "I forgive you Mittens." I said warmly. "I love you too. And, speaking honestly. I really did miss you, since, that night." Anezka''s face nodded. "Mittens remembers the sadness. Mittens remembers the pain. Mittens is sorry he hid." He paused for another second, before adding. "But Mittens was really happy that you were okay." Chapter 90: Mass Extinction. Chapter 90: Mass Extinction. The caves around us were rather different from those of the Tutorial. For one, the lifeforms that surrounded us were far less potent than those I was now used to. On average at least. The spawn of the Kaiju waiting topside were hilariously overpowered when compared to their local competition. Granted, that was mainly due to them having lopsided builds that favored speed above all else, but it still meant that they were terrifyingly effective when hunting. Then, there was the sudden and telling change in atmosphere. I hadn¡¯t been proficient enough to tell the difference between the Labyrinth¡¯s veil and the veil of the Earths we travelled to before merging all my abilities again, but the difference had become rather stark now that I had eyes to see it. It was as if the barrier between reality and unreality was somehow thinner back in the Tutorial. More porous. In a way that did not allow Intruders to waltz through without care while still suffusing the tunnels with excess ambient Psy. ¡®To make the acquisition of new levels and abilities easier, I¡¯d reckon. It is supposed to be a space for training after all. I wonder if I could do something similar?¡¯ I tried searching possible futures for the answer, but the feedback I received was less than encouraging. I could fill an area with Psy, as I had before. But I could not stop random Intruders from popping out of thin air while I did so. All while the Intruders bound to me would remain somewhat wild. Like a pack of hungry bloodhounds set loose on a bunch of unsuspecting rabbits. Case in point, the caverns we found ourselves in kept shaking every now and then. A natural consequence of the bloodbath taking place in the skies above Dusty and Slab¡¯s world. ¡°I still don¡¯t see why you couldn¡¯t simply [Dominate] all of them into killing themselves.¡± Slab grumbled. His massive feet kicking away pebbles as we walked with impunity. ¡°I was planning on doing that in the beginning.¡± I told him truthfully. ¡°But that last fight with Mr. Seahorse didn¡¯t exactly leave a good taste in my mouth. Case in point, I learned that most, if not all, of my greatest strengths mean jack (Gnome) if I can¡¯t get a read on a target using the cobweb. My mind control was useless in that fight and it reminded me of how lopsided the abilities actually are. I mean, sure, even the weakest of them is leagues above what we should have at this stage, but we¡¯re all being forced to play on bigger stages. Getting a few more levels in between now and my fight with the next opponent might very well be the difference between life and death.¡± ¡°Brother, you worry too much.¡± Dusty spoke up. Wrapping an arm around my own as she did so. ¡°The Blood Queen is going to die either way. And our clan is safe.¡± ¡°Actually, the whole world is safe.¡± I added. ¡°I¡¯m sharing memories through my presence with people around this Earth. They know to stay still while the rest of the Kaiju are being dealt with. There is the issue of some of them having¡­¡± I chose my next words carefully. ¡°Interesting reactions to the news. But we expected that, so it¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°How is father taking it?¡± Slab asked. A hint of worry in his tone. I sought out the relevant strands in the cobweb. Following the quivers in my senses a kilometer or so. Until I reached the village the siblings had grown up in. I saw a group. Maybe a couple of hundred in total. Kneeling in front of an Intruder that had recently manifested. A Solomonite Inquisitor. The same one that had appeared to Henry and later, my parents. The toad-faced one. ¡°And the shepherd foretold! Of the wickedness of gnomes! And he bade his flock follow and hang on his words! Fear and hate the gnome! Crush them wherever and whenever they might be found! For all the evils of the world are endorsed and committed, by gnomes! A gnome knows no love, no empathy, no common humanity that separates us from simple beasts! They taint the air we breathe and the earth we walk with their very existence! Their abominable cruelty! They will stab you in the back! They will enslave you! They will torture you! They will eat your children!¡± Huh. I mean; he¡¯s not wrong. Everything he¡¯s saying is objectively true. I had been in plenty of gnomish heads, and it always astounded me how little regard they had for each other. Never mind other forms of life. Granted, they had been System made copies, but Peachy had confirmed that they had an abysmal reputation outside of the Tutorial as well. Hazimon the Dragon, as uptight as he had been, agreed that they should generally be killed on sight too, barring a few exceptions. Though he did warn about the stronger families having 8th Tier champions of their own to ward off incursions. I mean, (Gnome). Even an inhuman abomination like the Seeking Drake thought gnomes were a different breed of evil. He may have meant it as a compliment, but the point still stood. And yet¡­ The look on father-in-law¡¯s face was¡­ Concerning. I was sharing the memories of my current point of view, so he knew about the Kaijus dying on the surface already. He also knew I did it and that I was dating his daughter, since I figured I might as well save time on our explanations. ¡®I hope this doesn¡¯t turn into anything weird.¡¯ I thought inwardly. ¡®It¡¯s going to be hard enough to explain my situation to my own parents. I don¡¯t need father-in-law to be put off by what my minions say.¡¯ ¡°Strike them down! Good people of Earth! For to spare a gnome is to reject all that is good and righteous and holy! To let a gnome live is to share in the crime of their existence! For which the punishment is death!¡± ¡°Death!¡± He cried out. Raising his arms into the stale cavern air as his face donned an expression of blinding ecstasy. ¡°Death to the gnomes!¡± ¡°Death to the gnomes!¡± The crowd behind him called out. ¡°Death to the gnomes!¡± ¡°Death to the gnomes!¡± ¡°Death to all the gnomes! Wherever they might be found!¡± ¡°Glory to our righteous protector! Our gentle father! Our prophet and our king! Glory to Solomon Carter! The Tyrant in the Coffin! The Master of all masters! Glory to him and his bride! Dusty! Let all gather for their wedding and may their children be strong and plentiful!¡± Mr. Finn McMullen burst into tears. I could empathize. I was about to burst into tears too. ¡°He¡¯s taking it well.¡± I said. Not quite revealing the whole truth of the matter. At the same time, I turned my attention to the speaker. ¡®Shut the (Gnome) up!¡¯ I commanded him. Feeling his six pairs of wings shake at my command. ¡®I¡¯m not looking to get married yet! Make yourself useful now! Go fight the Blood Queen upstairs!¡¯ The Intruder left with a hurried apology. Snapping his own form so that it imploded with a rush of air. Like a popped bubble. He appeared again on the surface. Blazing cane-sword in hand as he recklessly charged a swarm of fleeing super-mosquitoes. The oxygen around him catching fire, just as the bugs had. Their wings disintegrating as a blast of [Pyrokinesis] swept them up like a tsunami. Creating a small star under the burning skies above. ¡®All that and still no new levels.¡¯ I thought sourly. Searching my cobweb once more for any hint of progress as I actively tried to more accurately manipulate my presence over the Kaiju and their spawn across the Earth. Bearing down on them in a way that was painful and suffocating, without actually killing them outright. ¡®Though perhaps it was to be expected. Most young masters that Sarcophagus Sully met nearly had heart attacks when they saw how strong he was at a relatively young age. This slowdown just means I need to practice more.¡¯ ¡°Mittens is here! Mittens appears! Mittens thinks the end of the giants draws near!¡± Mittens called out from the side. ¡°Well, what can I say. Mittens is right.¡± I told him in turn. ¡°And good riddance to them.¡± Dusty followed up. Making a face that was half a snarl and half a sigh of relief. ¡°They have spread destruction wherever they went for too many generations as is. It¡¯s only right that our children don¡¯t have to go through that. I want them to be raised on the surface. Under an open sky. Where they can play and run and thrive without having to worry about food or water or cave ins. There has been too much of that already.¡± My mind stopped a moment when I noticed the way Dusty had worded her sentences. Specifically, the part about ¡®our¡¯ children. Normally, I would have imagined it was a little soon for that. Even the futures I had seen showed that step taking place much later down the line.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. However, Dusty did not seem to think so. Neither did father-in-law for that matter. ¡®I guess that¡¯s another conversation we¡¯ll be having soon.¡¯ I mused. Searching the near futures for the best way in which to present my arguments. Frustratingly, the strands of thoughts and possibilities in the far off future kept fraying and becoming entangled. Just as they had with the Dragon. All while havoc reigned above our heads.
¡®No. No. No!¡¯ ¡®It cannot end like this! My swarm cannot end like this!¡¯ I launched myself at another monster. Feeling my proboscis rend apart the human that was not a human. Yet the monster did not bleed. Instead, it disappeared with a small burst of collapsing air. My mouth failing to suck up even a droplet of blood. At the same time, five more assailed me from the sides and from the rear. Coming up from below me and descending from above. My compound eyes catching brief glimpses as I twisted in the air to avoid them. ¡®No. They are not human. They merely look human in shape. Humans would never attack while having flayed skin. Humans could never gather in such numbers. This is something else! These are something completely different!¡¯ Another wave swept over me then. Stopping my wings mid-beat and sending me careening toward the earth. It was a presence. A blast of concentrated lifeforce that ate away at my mind and senses! Biting and biting and biting while stepping on me with a billion, billion feet! I felt my connection to my children falter. Their cries drowned out by the unbearable pressure weighing me down. Yet I knew they were dying. I could still track tens of thousands of bodies falling. Wings shorn or burned. Legs crushed and torn-off by more of the monsters. Then, for a brief second, I caught sight of the sky above. Seeing the very clouds gathering into faces that sneered and snickered. Wearing human expressions as if the entire species were mocking me and mine. ¡®How dare they! How could they even think of doing such a thing! The nerve of those weaklings!¡¯ The rage was potent. Empowering me to counter the charge and wave my proboscis back and forth. Skewering and bisecting more and more and more monsters into rushes of wild, tainted air. I then charged at one of the clouds. Willing myself to disperse whatever perversion was at play. Vowing that I would reap a bloody vengeance on those fools as soon as this farce was done. The eyes of the cloud tracked me. As a human would. Then, the mouth started laughing. The eyes reeling back as if to mock me further. In a way that reminded me of the man in the white coat. He who had tormented me when I was young and small and weak. Back before me and the others broke free and tore down the human world. Back before I tore down their monuments and my children feasted on their blood. Those eyes sparked a fury within me that burned like a thousand suns. All while the mouth parts of the cloud deformed and spread. Opening wide as if to swallow me. ¡®The insult! The hubris! The audacity!¡¯ I willed my wings to beat faster. Harder. Splitting the sky apart with the same speed that had brought down the humans¡¯ metal birds. Then the mouth bit down. Impossibly fast. And I felt my wings cracking. Alongside my shell. My own ichor leaking out in the places where my armor had been shattered. I tried to cry out. To wail in rage and indignation. But my mouth was silenced as something made its way out of my throat. Claws appearing out of nowhere and ripping into my body from the inside out. Loud, almost deafening scraping sounds drowning out my screams as I began to drown in my own blood. I tried to beat my wings, only to feel hands, human hands, clasping the stumps. Little circular blades etching their own names on my body, as the humans were known to do on their own nests. My eyes focused on my sides as the cloud began to chew and saw hundreds of children. Human children. All smiling at me. Their touch bringing stinging agony that mounted and mounted and mounted. Overpowering my thoughts until all I could think of was the pain. ¡®What have they done! What is this! What horror have they unleashed! Monsters! Monsters! Monsters one and all!¡¯ The humans had always called upon their monsters to fight me before, but the others had been slow and clumsy, and they had had thin shells of metal that crumpled at the slightest touch. This, this was not it. This was worse! Another glance saw that more clouds were changing. The very heavens turning red and purple and gold as eyes loomed overhead and within my spirit. Within my mind! ¡®What have they done! What have they done! What have they done! How could they let loose something this vile!¡¯ The cloud-turned mouth chewed again and again my shell cracked. My muscles and sinews unable to heal as they had before. My very blood boiling within the remains of my shell as I began hearing voices whisper taunts and curses from within myself. Then, a voice rang in my ears. As my mind conjured images of human eyes. Cold, grey eyes. Devoid of the curiosity or the mania the man in the white coat had had. His eyes had been filled with malicious glee. Seeing me as a tool to be bred and disposed off. These eyes saw me as a bug. As less than I had been before. As less than a thing. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ The voice said. And I could swear my insides churned and boiled with every intonation. All while the claws kept cutting and cutting and cutting. One of my eyes, the right one, popped out. A monster erupting from it in a shower of my own gore. Before it too began savaging me with its talons. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I tried to break free, but found my legs turned to stone. Faint giggles coming from them too, before they too burst open and more bloodied monsters made their way out. Crawling over me like maggots! Bringing more and more and more and more and more pain than before! ¡®Children! To me!¡¯ I called out. Letting my essence waft over the air with my voice and my will. But I had precious few children left and the ones that remained did not move to save me. Purple lighting crackling against their bodies until they broke open from the inside out. Their legs twisting and deforming themselves until they resembled human limbs. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ All while new heads grew from gnarled pustules near their necks. Rearing up with human-like faces and smiling wickedly at me! ¡°Glory to the Shepherd!¡± They called at once. With thousands of voices inside hundreds of bodies. Their carcasses remaining aloft despite their wings no longer beating against the air. As if they too were being chewed by clouds with teeth. ¡°Glory to his avatar! Your time has come to burn! May your spirit never waver as he does return!¡± ¡®Return? Who?¡¯ The mouth chewed again, but my screams were silenced by the scraping and tearing of my insides. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I thought of the man in the white coat. I recalled his gleeful smile as he prodded me with the lighting stick and the hot stick and the foul smells that made me drowsy. I recalled his words, his pleas as I escaped. I recalled how sweet his blood had tasted. ¡®His blood, his blood¡­¡¯ Yes. I could taste it still. It called to me. From beyond his death. From beyond the centuries. ¡®Or, is that my blood I taste?¡¯ The mouth closed on me one last time, and all light faded from the world. Taking the pain and the agony and the memories with it. ¡®I. Control.¡¯
I ran and ran and ran. Feeling the earth shake and tremble beneath my hooves. Hills and the remains of human nests shattering as I made my way through the land. ¡®Have to keep running. Have to escape. Have to get away. The monsters, the monsters, the monsters!¡¯ The monsters were still raining from the sky. Millions of them! Taking the shape of human children! ¡®How are there so many of them!? Where did they all come from!? What is going on!?¡¯ It was impossible. Too surreal. The humans had never been this numerous. Not even when me and my brothers and sisters first escaped from the man in the white coat. They never disappeared when I hit them either. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ The voice called out again, but I did my best to ignore it. Even as I felt the sounds echo and bounce inside my skull. Refusing to leave. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ Humans were supposed to burst open like fruits. Turning into red spots when I came near and toppled their nests and their iron shells into the ground. That is how things went. I ran and I hit them and they died. And then they ran and I chased them and I hit them and they died in greater numbers. That was how it had always been! How did this happen!? ¡°Righteous father! Loose your fury! There are gnomes to kill today! Crush their spirits! Bind their bodies! Help us find a better way!¡± The children were singing again. They were always singing now. When they should be running. When they should be screaming and pleading and wailing! What had changed!? ¡®Where did they all come from!? What were they even talking about!? What are gnomes!?¡¯ The children did not answer, but kept singing. ¡°Gentle father! Raise your banners! There are foes we have to slay! Scourge their flesh! Sunder their bones! Burn their horrid sins away!¡± ¡°Wizened father! Font of mercy! Call upon us on this day! We shall tear down, all their falsehoods! Make the unbelievers pay!¡± ¡°Humble father! In the Coffin! Let our fury blaze away! Singe their flesh and gouge their eyes out! Let no faithful go astray!¡± ¡®They are mad.¡¯ I decided. ¡®They must be like us. Bred by another man in a white coat to resemble humans. There must be a leader birthing them. Like how my sisters birth their hordes. Yes. That must be it. There¡¯s no other explanation.¡¯ But this new brother was not like me or my sisters. This new brother was too much like the man in the white coat himself. Needlessly cruel and capricious. Why else would he have sent his children after me? ¡®I. Control.¡¯ He repeated, as if to hammer home the point. ¡®I must escape. I cannot fly. I cannot harm him. I must escape and warn the other!¡¯ Lighting flashed in the skies above. Too fast and too strong. Much faster and stronger than normal, while also being too odd in color. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ Came the voice from within the shining beams. They stayed too. Refusing to leave as lighting should have done. Ripping and churning vast swathes of earth where they had struck as the beams of energy made their way over to me. Running across the fields as moans of agony and cries of human laughter erupted from within the thin line of crackling electricity! ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I kept running. Never daring to look back. Until I stumbled. My mind went blank as I did so. My eyes turning down in sheer astonishment. ¡®How? I have never fallen. Never. Not even when I was young and weak and the man in the white coat hit me with the lighting stick. So, how?¡¯ The question was soon answered, as I saw human hands made of stone gripping my hind legs. The limbs they were attached to separating themselves from the rest of the earth as faces grew on their outer shells. Flanked by the familiar symbols the humans put on their bigger nests. ¡®And hooks. They have hooks. And, is that, blood?¡¯ The stone men had conical heads, with hooks that seemed to point inwards instead of outwards. Effigies of dead animals decorated their torsos while the orifices they had for eyes and mouths kept weeping streams of blood. Blackened blood, that turned golden as it fell unto the torn-up grass. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I felt the hands of the giants squeeze. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I felt the bones in my legs cracking. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I felt the stinging of thousands of blades as the winged children and the flayed winged men found my back. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I screamed. While the voice continued to drone on and on. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ ¡®I. Control.¡¯ ¡®I. Control.¡¯
I swam towards the shore. Trying to outpace the new things in the water. The evil, twisted things that pretended to be human. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ They said at once. Pure energy turning the waters the color of gold and growing slits on the tentacles that came afterwards. From those slits came eyes. Resembling those of humans. But with a cold indifference that made the ghost of the man in the white coat look warm and caring by comparison. ¡®No.¡¯ I thought. ¡®I will not die this day. I cannot die this day! Not until I¡¯ve avenged my mate! My children! My poor, sweet children!¡¯ It, whatever it was, was too strong for me or for two or even three of us. My brothers and sisters would have to know. They had to be made aware. If they weren¡¯t the thing would find them on land eventually and it would eat them too. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I swam harder. Hoping with all my might that the bleeding would not slow me down. That it was not too late. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ My fins kicked the water even as I leaked lifeforce. Even as my wounds refused to heal and the voice threatened to overtake my mind. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ I was so close. I was so, very, very close to the shore. ¡®I will find my brothers. I will find my sisters. We will not die in this manner! We will not be snuffed out. We will not¡­¡¯ I felt the world turning upside down. The water around me jumping off from the rest of the sea so that I floated helplessly in the air. I screamed. Trying to turn. My serpentine body flailing against nothing at all as I saw gold-tinted lighting erupting from the bottom of the sea. The waves themselves churning and deforming until they changed into a shape resembling a human face. Its eyes freezing over to create points of contrast amidst the storm. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ It mouthed, as the words rang inside my skull. Threatening to explode inside the bone. Then, the face¡¯s teeth turned to ice as well and its lips opened as if to swallow me. All while I felt droplets of rain striking my scaly hide. My nose twitching with the familiar smells. ¡®Blood.¡¯ I thought. ¡®Human blood. But so much of it. Raining from the sky. How?¡¯ Lighting struck me and burned a hole into my stomach that did not heal. Bits of half-digested whale leaking out from my exposed intestines. All while the face rose higher and higher. Its teeth sharpening into fangs. ¡®Ah, so that is it.¡¯ I realized. ¡®They finally did it. They finally destroyed the world. Despite all our best efforts.¡¯ The notion was, strangely comforting now that it was all over. It meant that everything had been in vain. That I could finally let go without feeling guilty. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ The voice called out. ¡®I. Control.¡¯ ¡®I. Control.¡¯ ¡®I. Control.¡¯ Then, the teeth reached me, and the madness came to an end. Chapter 91: A Week of Nightmares. ¡°So, listen¡­ uh. Mr. McMullen¡­¡± ¡°Dad.¡± The older man corrected. ¡°Call me dad. Please.¡± I looked at him. Noting with some humor that, despite him being as monstrously large as Slab, the red-haired man seemed to come across as childish. Almost juvenile, in a way, given how his emerald-green eyes shone in the sunlight. ¡®Though that might have to do with my new growth spurt. Hard to feel intimidated by someone when your instincts are telling you they¡¯re a weakling.¡¯ Still, despite what the ability said, my cobweb revealed that he was anything but. Finn McMullen had fought monsters all his life. From the days of his teenage years to the very day I came here with his kids. His body was covered in a series of nasty, gnarled scars all over the front, to the point where they created a canvas detailing the many battles he¡¯d survived. Moreover, he¡¯d done it all without a System interface and without reliable access to healing Shifters or Projectors, while the prospect of Telepaths was a distant forlorn hope. On top of that, he and his war band had continued to do their duties against overwhelming odds, never stopping due to the risk to their own persons. ¡®But I still can¡¯t get the instinct out of my mind. Not completely anyway. It¡¯s so weird. Like I¡¯m looking at him through two sets of eyes. Or two separate heads.¡¯ There was an odd sense of fragmentation when I assessed him through the lenses of both my Types. The Shifter in me focused on the relative weakness of the body. The fact he had only one combined ability and the reality that he was likely weaker than the average drones the Blood Queen kept. The Telepath in me focused on his deeds and the impact that they had on his community. On how much he genuinely loved his people and had a strong sense of self-sacrifice. On how much of a crazy eugenicist he was. ¡®Holy (Gnome) dude. You¡¯re worse than both your kids combined! Which is saying something. Take the hint and let go of me!¡¯ But Finn McMullen, did not let go. Instead, he continued to drag me along the pastures of Ireland. Looking at all the giant mosquito corpses as if they were party balloons filled to bursting with cocaine. Appropriately, he looked high as (Gnome). Despite me knowing damn well that he wasn¡¯t on anything. The joy currently coursing through his veins was simply that powerful. Having his kids back alive and well was a factor of course. But more than that, the knowledge that the fight was over, that the whole world belonged to humanity once more, had left the hulking warrior stunned into a state of empty-headed jubilation. ¡°Dad then.¡± I acquiesced. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we go back to the caves? It¡¯s starting to rain.¡± ¡°Excellent!¡± He cried out. His emotions reaching a new zenith. ¡°I can¡¯t wait for the rain! I can¡¯t wait to feel it on my skin! I can¡¯t wait to feel it on my scars! I can¡¯t wait to stand out here in the middle of the plains with the skies above me!¡± He turned to me. ¡°Don¡¯t you see son? Don¡¯t you see what this means!? We¡¯re free! FREEEEEE!! I don¡¯t have to worry about mutants coming over and eating my intestines! I don¡¯t have to worry about not getting back to safety! I don¡¯t have to worry about what will happen when I¡¯m gone! I¡¯m free to run and leap and climb whenever and wherever I wish! The surface is safe!¡± He took a deep breath. His red beard quivering as he sucked in a lungful of air. ¡°THE SURFACE IS SAFE!!!¡± He screamed. Before the air around his imploded, as an Intruder came through. A six-meter-tall, alabaster minotaur thing. With spider legs erupting from its back and five horns crowing its head. ¡°MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Tremble mortals! For Gorzanktunack comes! He comes to conquer! He comes to crush! This world is now my own to do with as I wish! Let your hopes and dreams die as¡­¡± He stopped as he his eyes found me. I frowned at him. Letting some Psy out and sending him my status information. ¡°NEVER MIND!!!!¡± The Intruder yelled. A little too loudly. The he made a door appear behind him, opened it and slammed it shut on his way out. The door soon vanished with him. Leaving behind another gust of displaced air. Father-in-law could only blink in response. Then he turned to me. ¡°Is that going to happen often?¡± I forced my body to shrug. ¡°Only for the next few days. Everything should be back to normal before we go back to the Labyrinth.¡± He nodded with some relief. ¡°Right, right. Good. Now then¡­ lets talk family.¡± ¡®Oh goodie.¡¯ I thought. ¡°I¡¯m thinking we have the wedding soon. Two or three days from now. It¡¯ll be the very first one we have out here in the open air in a long, long time. So, we¡¯ll have to make it nice. I¡¯m thinking we build a palisade here, and we have you and Dusty on a raised dais. The field is already filled with flowers, so that makes things easier. All we need is to import some booze from the nearby clans and we can have ourselves a feast!¡± I raised a hand to stop him. ¡°Uh, sorry dad. But I¡¯m not sure me and Dusty are at the point of getting married yet. Also, this field is filled with corpses. Particularly, the corpse of the Blood-Queen over there inside the crater and the corpse of the whale thing that washed up dead on the beach. The air is rancid, and the ground is muddy from all the spilled blood. Even the beach is tinted red. I¡¯m not sure it has the romantic vibe you might be thinking of.¡± ¡°Nonsense!¡± He laughed. ¡°The field being filled with corpses is the whole point! It is a victory celebration! A celebration of our auspicious savior! The greatest Shepherd to ever live! That, and a celebration of him choosing my daughter of all people! Of the children you will have! You..!¡± He pointed at me. ¡°You¡¯re the best thing that has ever happened to this world! The best thing that ever happened to my family! The best thing that ever happened to me! You¡¯re like the son I never had!¡± ¡®Holy (Gnome). Sorry Slab.¡¯ Thankfully, my apparent brother-in-law was currently busy clearing out barricades so that the Clan could move their whole host of belongings to the surface. The idea was to get everything close to the surface, before they could then disperse to gather materials and start re-building proper human housing. ¡®Thank goodness he didn¡¯t hear what Finn said. I have a feeling there¡¯s some lingering tension there.¡¯ Finn had, of course, been ecstatic when his son came back with multiple Types, one of them being Telepath. That joy had lasted about as long as it had taken me to step into view and now, anyone could be forgiven for thinking Slab was but a distant relation. Slab himself didn¡¯t seem to care over much, but the difference in reactions had startled me nonetheless. I paused to regard Finn once more. In any other occasion, the sentiment would have been heartening. Now that I was inside his brain and therefore privy to his whole, selective breeding perspective, it made me somewhat queasy. ¡®Well, I guess I should say something. No point in dragging things out.¡¯Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Look, dad. We need to talk.¡± ¡°Of course, son! What would you like to talk about!?¡± ¡°Me and Dusty have, had our share of differences. I really do like her and respect her and I want to make things work. That is, I want to have a normal relationship. I want to take it slow and get to know her over the course of¡­¡± Finn laughed even harder. ¡°Oh, son! You kill me! What do you mean get to know her? You like her and she likes you! And your children will be mighty enough to safeguard humanity for generations to come! What¡¯s the issue!? That you don¡¯t know everything about her? Yes you do! You¡¯ve seen most of her memories and you knew what you were getting into when you asked her to be your girlfriend, right? So, what¡¯s keeping you now?¡± ¡°Time.¡± I answered. Frustration mounting inside of me as I realized that this man was not stupid. He knew full well what kind of world I came from due to his own studies of history, and he knew this arrangement was anything but normal. That more time was usually needed. He knew that and kept pushing anyway. His mind already filled with thoughts of grandchildren. No, not grandchildren. But the power those children would command. He saw it, in all the corpses strewn around us. The prospect made him salivate. I sighed internally. ¡®I guess things are never as easy as they seem.¡¯ The house was nearly immaculate, as my agents had left it. They had followed my orders to leave the place alone, after they had failed to turn up any information as to my family¡¯s whereabouts. My heart still holding on to hope that my son and his wife could find their way back. That Sully could somehow find his way back. Now, the couches were still as comfortable as I remembered, and, though there was some dust on the floor, it wasn¡¯t anywhere near enough to be off-putting. At least, not after the events of the past week. Across from me, sat my son, Reggie, his wife and the odd mutant girl they¡¯d chosen to adopt in their Tutorial instance. ¡®Though why they did that is anybody¡¯s guess.¡¯ I mused. ¡®I certainly wouldn¡¯t have taken such a risk if a warlord was hunting her. Especially if I had a wife to look out for.¡¯ Then again, Reggie had always been different from me. Never able to stomach the darker shades of moral greys in the world. It was¡­ an odd distinction between us. On the one hand, I felt angry at him. Angry that he would miss out on having real control over his own life, and instead opting for the illusion of it. All while knowing full well that the backroom deals he wasn¡¯t privy to were still happening and having real, visible consequences on the world around him. I was angry that, despite all my sacrifices, he just didn¡¯t have what it took to follow through. On what needed to be done in order to keep his own family, and the world, safe. On the other hand, I could not be more proud of him. Of the moral fibre he¡¯d managed to hold on to, despite knowing what was going on behind the scenes. Of the way he kept his head down in his mundane job, when he could have taken the easy way into power. Like I had. ¡®I should be more thankful that he was always this way.¡¯ I mused quietly. ¡®Sully ended up like that, in the end. But he¡¯s got some semblance of self control, at least. I can¡¯t imagine what the world would look like if he didn¡¯t.¡¯ I shivered slightly, but then went back to the conversation. ¡°It¡¯s okay son.¡± I repeated. Keeping my voice calm and steady as I heard him out. ¡°Nothing bad will happen. Everything is under control. Don¡¯t lose your cool and try to focus on the present. Focus on my voice.¡± ¡°(Mittens) your voice dad!¡± My son bellowed. His sharp features coloring as he heaved huge gulps of air. His eyes maintaining that all-too familiar mania that the dissidents I went after all sported. ¡®Though I suppose that isn¡¯t very fair. I¡¯m fairly certain I had that same look when he and the rest of my family went missing, and then again when Sully came back.¡¯ My eyes wandered over to the scene outside the window. Noting the crowd making its way down the block with starstruck eyes and drooling mouths. ¡°What do we want!?¡± ¡°DEAD GNOMES!!¡± ¡°When do we want them!?¡± ¡°RIGHT NOW!!¡± ¡°Eyes for the Coffin! Scalps for the scalp rug!¡± One called out from the front. ¡°Eyes for the Coffin! Scalps for the scalp rug!¡± The crowd echoed. ¡°Eyes for the Coffin! Scalps for the scalp rug!¡± ¡°Eyes for the Coffin! Scalps for the scalp rug!¡± ¡°Eyes for the Coffin! Scalps for the scalp rug!¡± Half a hundred went by, before they turned to singing. ¡°Righteous father! Loose your fury! There are gnomes to kill today! Crush their spirits! Bind their bodies! Help us find a better way!¡± ¡°Gentle father! Raise your banners! There are foes we have to slay! Scourge their flesh! Sunder their bones! Burn their horrid sins away!¡± ¡°Wizened father! Font of mercy! Call upon us on this day! We shall tear down, all their falsehoods! Make the unbelievers pay!¡± ¡°Humble father! In the Coffin! Let our fury blaze away! Singe their flesh and gouge their eyes out! Let no faithful go astray!¡± I blinked, and noticed an Intruder following them from the back. A lone Solomonling giggling all by itself. It¡¯s juvenile semblance contrasting heavily with the conical polished skull in its hands. ¡°See! You see that!!¡± Reggie wailed. ¡°The demon is here too! It has control over them! Over all of them! None of us are safe! My son isn¡¯t safe!¡± I said nothing, but moved to close the blinds. ¡°Listen Reggie.¡± I turned back to my son. My eyes still glued to the road. ¡°It isn¡¯t really that bad. Like I said. We have everything under control.¡± Reggie reddened further. ¡°Were you not listening to anything I said!? We were hunted! Literally, hunted! For a week! By an actual, literal (Mittens)ing demon!¡± ¡®Join the club.¡¯ I thought bitterly. ¡°She¡­ it¡­¡± Reggie¡¯s face scrunched up. ¡°It¡¯s got Sully! The monsters took him! We have to save him!¡± I schooled my features to stifle the laugh that wanted to erupt from my lips. ¡®Reggie, Sully isn¡¯t locked away with the monsters. The monsters are locked away with him.¡¯ ¡°Sully is fine.¡± I repeated. ¡°I¡¯ve told you this over a hundred different times by now. Why can¡¯t you trust me?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re a government spook that disappears people!¡± Reggie bit back. ¡°And because you aren¡¯t listening! You aren¡¯t getting what we went through!¡± Bonnie broke out in tears at that. Making it so that Puffin, my new horned, green-haired granddaughter, snuggled closer to her on the couch. Reggie started pacing, and I realized that nothing would get to him until he finished his story. ¡°That first night and all throughout the following day, it rained blood. Non-stop. For hours upon hours upon hours. Warm, sticky droplets that hardened and congealed whenever they touched the ground. They painted the islands, all of them into a red, messy pile of slop. We hid as best we could, taking shelter under trees and in what was left of our old camp, but the blood still got through. All the time. Pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter, pitter patter.¡± Reggie¡¯s face looked haunted, as he recalled the deluge. ¡°It never stopped. Never. Not once. Throughout the week. It rained blood all day and all night. Do you know what that does? What that ends in?¡± He barked out a nervous, disturbed laugh. ¡°The monster! The monsters ran! Into the ocean and away from the islands! All of them drowned by the tens of thousands! None of them made it out! And the things¡­ that came afterwards. Oh father. The things¡­¡± ¡°The winged children and the lacerated man-things with barbed wires sticking out of them, saws and blades in their hands, black leather covering them and black wings on the back.¡± I told him. ¡°I know. Believe you me. I am more than familiar with them.¡± ¡°Then how can you be so calm!¡± He roared. ¡°They, and the toad-faced man, kept talking about Sully! All the time! Saying all sorts of vile, disgusting things about him!¡± ¡®All of which are probably true.¡¯ I mused, though I decided to keep my cynicism to myself. ¡°Then, on the second day, came the sandcastles.¡± ¡°The sandcastles?¡± I asked quizzically. Not recalling anything like that in my time with Sully. ¡°Yes! The sandcastles! They started springing up when the blood had completely covered the beaches in a thin, coagulating film. They rose up, like people covered under heavy blankets and started shaping themselves out of sand! They turned into house-sized golems made of red bricks. Having the rough shape of humans, but none of the identifying features. Instead, they had masks fused to their faces. All of whom cried golden tears that dispelled when coming into contact with the earth. They wore heavy chains that looked as if they were made from streams of blood having solidified into steel and large wheels were strapped to their chest and arms. Their backs having pairs of rust-colored wings. Stiff things that resembled blades more than anything else. But the weirdest thing, is how they shone. How they seemed to have an outline that calmed us and even made us stronger. They were corrupting us somehow, I¡¯m sure of it! They hunted us. For the entire second day.¡± Puffin started crying then. Reggie paid her no heed. ¡°They were relentless! Never stopping for breath or food or water! Instead, they always chased us. Speaking with three or four voices at once. Sometimes, I could hear them in my sleep. The voices of some guy called Randall and something called the Seeking Drake. They were pleading! Begging for their suffering to end. But I knew it wasn¡¯t really them. I knew this was just an echo of their suffering! The few bits and pieces that remained in that place!¡± ¡°What place?¡± I asked him. ¡°That Lakehouse mansion! I saw it on the third day! When we had run out of water in our canteens and the only liquid that remained was the blood all around us! I was dying. We were all dying. I gave what I had to Bonnie and Puffin and waited for the end. I was so thirsty then. So thirsty. But I didn¡¯t dare drink from the brooks or the ponds of the few rivers that criss-crossed the islands. There was more blood than water in all of them and I would have died, rather than find out what would happen to me if I drank. But then, I saw it. A house that had never been there before. It was full of opulent furniture, like an early 20th century palace, but it also had a fountain. A clean fountain. I¡­ I couldn¡¯t move. Couldn¡¯t think. I knew it was a trap, but I was so thirsty and I knew Bonnie and Puffin and all the others were thirsty too. I crawled to it. On instinct and felt the water rising up to meet my lips before I even kneeled on the side of the fountain. I tried to shut it out. To shut my mouth, but it forced its way into my throat. Then I saw the others there, beside me. Red-robed things holding their heads to the fountain too. Making them drink alongside me. I heard it then. Its voice. Its terrible, raspy voice.¡± ¡°Mittens?¡± I inquired. ¡°Worse! The Tall Man! The fiend that controlled us all those years ago! I think it¡¯s some kind of predator! It¡¯s fixated on Sully!¡± ¡®Yeah, you could say that.¡¯ ¡°Look, Reggie. Like I keep trying to tell you, it isn¡¯t a big¡­.¡± ¡°Then, on the fourth day! That Mittens woman started hounding us again! Calling me by name and demanding belly-rubs and head pats and catnip! All while hauling around three disfigured human corpses! She chased us around and around the island! Never letting up! Screaming about how much she loved us and Sully! About how much she wanted to be a family with us again!¡± In all honesty, that was almost endearing. At least, compared to what it had done to Desmond. Granted, Desmond had absolutely had it coming, but still¡­ ¡°Then, on the fifth day¡­!¡± ¡°Reggie. Stop.¡± I spoke. Keeping my voice firm and speaking to him in the same business-like tone I used for people I was about to disappear. It had the expected effect and Reggie paused. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard to hear. But all of this, was an unfortunate side-effect of Sully rescuing you.¡± I brought up my hand to forestall him. ¡°You don¡¯t need to hear it from me though. I got an ability that will explain everything. Just relax for now, and let my memories flow into your minds.¡± Intermission: The Fateful Return. Intermission: The Fateful Return. The man coming towards me was dressed in the typical dockworker garb. Poorly made pants strapped to his bare chest with a rowdy collection of leather cords. Attached to them, and himself, was a collection of bloodstains and other splotches of paint, ink, and other fluids. All no doubt coming from the day¡¯s catch as they were sent over to the nearby canning factories. His hair was also a half-brown, half-black oily mess. Tangles knots coming together to appear as though it were a rat. Sleeping proudly atop his head. ¡°Mr. Whitmer!¡± He called out. ¡°Mr. Whitmer!¡± The mere sound of my name coming from those lips was almost enough to make me recoil in disgust. Despite all the practice I¡¯d had with random street scum. For a second, I imagined those calloused, dirty fingers touching my suit. I shivered. ¡®Considering how much his outfit cost me, I might have to kill him in retaliation. Everything he owns won¡¯t be enough to cover a third of the cloth.¡¯ I gave Gerald a look and he and some more of my boys stepped between us. ¡°What do you want, employee?¡± I asked. Emphasizing that last word so that he remembered that his tone was acceptable for a low-brow brothel, but not for his betters. ¡°I saw something outside!¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Is that so? Was it a bird? Or was it a rat, I wonder? Or something worse? Your own reflection?¡± ¡°What? No. No, I think it was a man. A, welder. I think.¡± ¡°Oh my. A welder in the docks. The place where the shipyards are. How very strange.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± He looked utterly flabbergasted. Wasting several good opportunities for retreat. Though perhaps he was too slow to take my meaning. ¡°But the man flew?¡± I sighed. ¡°Out!¡± I called out to the floor. ¡°Everybody take a half-hour break. Far from here, if you would.¡± The would-be messenger looked confused and turned to see me sitting in my office chair. ¡°Not you.¡± I told him. ¡°You stay.¡± Then, when all my workers were gone, I turned to my closest men. ¡°Boys. I thought I asked you to make sure my workers didn¡¯t partake in the opium. At least, not at work. You were supposed to check on the ones coming in.¡± ¡°My bad boss.¡± One of my men spoke up. ¡°The new kids are a bit green. I shoulda taught them better. I¡¯ll take the punishment.¡± ¡°No need.¡± I said casually. ¡°Just get rid of this one.¡± I sat, leaned back and listened as the fool was dragged off and away from my factory. ¡°Bring his supervisor to my office too. I don¡¯t fault his wanting more bodies on his line, but there needs to be a limit. A man like that is bad for business. If he fell into one of the vats, we¡¯d have to fish out the corpse before we got back to¡­¡± I heard a few strangled screams off in the distance. Where two of my men had taken the man. That in itself wasn¡¯t strange, but they had died off rather quickly. Too quickly. ¡°Boys? You didn¡¯t kill him did you? I still need him on the line tomorrow.¡± There was no answer. Instead, I saw a pile of offal coming at me. Fast as a cannonball. I threw myself to the ground. Cursing all the way to where my suit touched the filthy floor. ¡°Gerald! Go kill whatever that was!¡± Gerald didn¡¯t answer and I briefly turned my head to see him. Or, rather, the space where he had been. I blinked. ¡°What is this now?¡± There was a plop near me. Another clump of offal falling near my head. I felt it burst open upon impact. I felt warm droplets of blood splattering over my face. I touched them and brought my hand in front of my eyes. Then I rolled unto my feet. Old instincts kicking in as I reached for my weapon. I grabbed the pistol and the club. Bringing them up together whilst my eyes tracked the area around me. At the same time, my feet moved towards the opposite end of the room. Towards the part of the factory that received the deliveries of raw materials. The space was more open there and there were more windows and even a few holes in the ceiling. I¡¯d be able to see. I felt a thud. Then I felt some bones in my left arm breaking. Then I was flying. Flying, flying, flying. Until I found a floor, which then turned out to be a wall. More broken bones. More pain. And only then was I able to scream. ¡°My, aren¡¯t we lively.¡± A voice called out from the side. I gasped, trying to cut off my own cries so that I could focus. So that I could find some way to survive. ¡°Who?¡± I wheezed. Hoping to buy time in case the killer was one of those prideful types. ¡°Charlie.¡± He said. With a confidence that defied all odds. ¡®Either that is a fake name or he¡¯s the dumbest assassin I¡¯ve ever seen. No, there¡¯s no way its real, but that¡¯s fine. Keep on talking. Keep on gloating.¡¯ I tried to feel for my pistol with trembling fingers. My bones sending lancing pain with the most minute movements I made. ¡°You killed my dog.¡± The voice continued. ¡°So your fat son could skip his draft. His conscription ticket.¡± I¡­ I remembered that. ¡°The orphan runaway? You? You¡¯d dare do this to¡­¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He simply said. Throwing out a kick that shattered my right leg. I screamed and screamed and screamed. The world turning white as my vision flashed and blurred. The next kick took my other leg. I kept screaming. So much so, that I did not hear the third blow.
This was impossible. This couldn¡¯t be happening. She was dead. Mom was dead. She had to be. Because she wouldn¡¯t have left us otherwise. ¡°I¡¯m so glad.¡± She said as she hugged Ben. ¡°I¡¯m so glad I could get here in time.¡± ¡°Mom!¡± Ben sobbed into her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re alive! You¡¯re alive!¡± Snot was falling down his face and down mom¡¯s suit. Mixing with the tears that kept flowing down his face. Both of them were trembling, and I could see that he was hugging the dead woman as hard as he could. ¡®But she¡¯s dead. She¡¯s been dead for months. Unless¡­ unless she left.¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s a lie!¡± I yelled at her. Feeling my eyes turning wet and sticky. But she was still there. Still hugging Ben. After she¡¯d gone and left. After she left us. ¡°You! How could you! Why?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t help it.¡± She said. Her voice trembling as much as she was. ¡°I was taken.¡± ¡°Taken? Wha¡­?¡± ¡°Have no fear children.¡± Another voice cut in. Sounding even younger than ours. ¡°For the light of Sully has shown her the way. Rejoice! For all may find love and peace under his cleansing fire!¡± I angled my head downwards and saw the sword. Then the sword blinked. With a metallic eye it had grown on its hilt. Next to its mouth.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°All can be free and clean under Sully¡¯s light! Let his love enter your heart and warm your body in the night!¡± I screamed. Then I sat and listened for what felt like hours, as mom told us all about her psychotic break from reality. Her hands focusing on the space above the sword. ¡®A movie prop? Yeah. Must be. Some old piece from a corny sci-fi show. Or a fantasy one. What shows had a talking sword again?¡¯ Ben tugged my arm some time later. ¡°Jimmy.¡± He whispered. ¡°Jimmy, she¡¯s gone crazy.¡± ¡°I know.¡± I whispered back. ¡°She¡¯s talking to the sword.¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°And the sword talks back.¡± Ben hesitated. ¡°Am I crazy too?¡± ¡®We might all be crazy. Yeah. That makes more sense. Mom isn¡¯t here and we¡¯re hallucinating from the hunger.¡¯ ¡°You are not crazy.¡± Mom said. ¡°I knew it! You¡¯re not here! How else would you know what I¡¯m thinking?¡± ¡°Because I can read minds now Jimmy, I told you already.¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy! No! You¡¯re not even real!¡± Mom opened her mouth, then closed it again. Then she sighed into her hands. Her fingers snapped, and I felt my body floating upwards. ¡°All right then. Let¡¯s go outside and see the zombies.¡± Once on the outside, we were treated to another kind of spectacle. The skies burning above us, as pillars of flame zoomed across the flat plains outside the city. Torching middle-class homes by the hundreds, as well as the zombies within them. I watched it all. Mouth hanging open, as I felt the warmth of the air rushing back into me. It all felt so real. Too real. But it didn¡¯t make sense. ¡°Burn! Burn! Hahahaha!¡± The sword sang through the massacre. ¡°Taste the cleansing fire of Solomon Carter! Praise the Tyrant in your last moments! And know that the gnome and the infidel are doomed to perish in his presence! Praise be to the Tyrant! Praise be to the forces of good! Praise be to the forces of good and justice! HAHAHAHA!!!¡± It was then, surrounded by the flames and the mad chanting, that I began to wonder. Just what my mother had become.
Luigi¡¯s face was beet-red as he stared down the adoring crowd. Their ecstatic cries only serving to incense him even further. ¡°Come brother! Do you not feel the joy? The way all the stress and injustice faded away in his prescience? Do you not remember the joy he brought? The unity? The re-organization? The cures? The powers? The actually functioning economy and deflation? The renewed sense of comradery and security? Aren¡¯t you hungry for more? Aren¡¯t you in pain because you can¡¯t love him as before? Come with us and celebrate his life! Celebrate the absence of crime and the low housing prices! Come!¡± ¡°Come! Come! Come!¡± The crowd chanted along. People of all kinds and ages joining together in their shared love for this Coffin fellow. The one I really, really, really hoped wasn¡¯t Sully. I mean, he did tell me what he¡¯d been up to before we all came back, but I could still hope. ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to talk about this Coffin Tyrant clown! Go away!¡± Luigi bellowed. Slamming closed the door of our previous dorms. The wood snapped upon the strike, but far less loudly than what I¡¯d expected. On closer inspection, the reason became obvious. Luigi¡¯s arms had previously been as two wide hills of meat on his arms. Stretching whatever shit he wore at any given time. A great part of that had been fat, but he still lifted enough weights that it became hard to think of him as weak. Now, they resembled nothing short of twigs. Remarkably thin twigs, in fact. His chest being all sunken-in so that all his ribs showed through his skin. His stomach was distended too. Sagging out like a loose pouch attached to his hips. Yet, there was a strength in those eyes. A force of will that had not been crushed yet. How I envied that. ¡°Listen, Luigi¡­.¡± ¡°No! You listen! The world has gone (Mittens)ing bananas! The streets are filled with freaks! Everyone¡¯s too (Mittens)ing happy! They¡¯re being possessed by something! Some evil spirit did this! I know because I saw a woman just like this back on the Island! All the evil spirits looked like Sully and they¡¯re all controlling these people!¡± I looked him up and down. Sighing. ¡®Dammit Sully. What did do now?¡¯ ¡°Okay, okay. Slow down for a moment. The evil spirits. Did they ever do something to save you? Or help you in any way?¡± ¡°They carried us away from a (Mittens) named Halkon. He and his (Mittens) had us tied up and they were gonna turn us into¡­¡± His eyes narrowed. ¡°Wait a second. That¡¯s a very specific question to ask. Do you know something?¡± ¡®Yes. But I¡¯m not gonna tell you for a few days. I¡¯ll let you calm down first. Sully might have (Cherub)ed up, but he¡¯s still my best friend.¡¯ ¡°I just think that maybe, just maybe, those evil spirits are not all evil? I mean, they might have starved you a little bit¡­¡± ¡°Wha? No. They fed us¡­.¡± ¡®Oh thank goodness!¡¯ I thought. Physically reeling backwards from the sheer relief I felt at that. ¡°Over at the mansion that came from nowhere and¡­ Henry? Henry are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good. Yep. I¡¯m good. I¡¯m just, so relieved.¡± ¡°To see me?¡± ¡°Yeah. Yeah lets go with that.¡± Luigi appeared as though he was about to say something else, but I raised a hand to forestall him. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s get back to business. One step at a time. We know we were both in the Tutorial. We know there are five difficulties.¡± ¡°There are five difficulties? I didn¡¯t know that!¡± ¡°Okay. I know there are five difficulties. I¡¯ve got several sources on that. I got a whole bunch of privileged information from Granny Golden and principal Banerid so I know things that you don¡¯t. Well, that and I landed on a difficulty that was more like a school?¡± ¡°What!¡± Luigi yelled. Pupils dilating. ¡°You got thrown into school!?¡± He looked me up and down. More closely this time. ¡°YOU HAD FOOD!?¡± ¡°Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! That had nothing to do with me! Okay? I did not choose to go to the nice Tutorial instance with buffets and sports and Jacuzzis, okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯M GONNA KILL YOU!!¡± ¡°WHY!?¡± ¡°NOT YOU YOU (Mittens)! THE MOTHER (Mittens)er WHO DID THIS TO ME!!!¡± I paused. ¡°You mean, to us. Right?¡± His right eye twitched. The veins within it plain and visible for all to see. Indeed, I saw them pulsating with every labored breath Luigi took now. ¡°To us, right?¡± There was a knock at the door. And it was followed by a soft, barely audible voice that cut through Luigi¡¯s rage like a hot knife through butter. ¡°Vince is hungry.¡± I blinked twice. Luigi blinked many times in quick succession. ¡°Vince is hungry. Vince is hungry! Open the door and let Vince in! Let us in! Let us IN!!!¡± My brain froze. Images of that (Cherub)ing Cherub flashing through my mind. A quick glance at the dread on Luigi¡¯s face told me he was thinking of more or less the same thing. We both rushed to bar the door. ¡°Let us in! Let us in! Vince is hungry for meat and sinew!¡± The blows on the door became more and more powerful, until a dark-skinned hand burst through the center of it and started trying to claw us away. I dropped and pressed myself against the lower part of the door. Sinking my feet into the floor this a pair of thundering cracks as I focused on all my active Enhancer abilities to lend me strength. Higher up, I felt a small shiver of displaced air and saw the nigh-invisible outline of a [Force Wall]. I almost breathed a sigh of relief, but the hand smashed through the telekinetic obstacle with barely a hint of effort. The voice redoubling in volume and intensity. ¡°Vince is hungry! Vince is starving! VINCE WANTS WHAT IS HIS!!¡± I released an embarrassingly feminine scream as I felt the door coming loose. The thing that came through was an odd blend of forceful, taught muscles and exposed bone. Seeming as if they¡¯d been starved to death and back but with their deterioration focusing exclusively on fat and the less-used muscles around the body. So that they resembled nothing so much as a ghoul with hints of Vince¡¯s face and features. ¡°VINCE WANTS HIS CHICKEN NUGGETS!!!¡± ¡°WHAT!?¡± Luigi yelled. ¡°WHAT!?¡± I echoed. But Vince, or whatever the (Cherub) was possessing Vince, didn¡¯t stop to chat. It leapt through the entrance as soon as it was cleared and then it proceeded to tear the fridge¡¯s door off its hinges with an ease that beggared belief. Even for an Enhancer like me. ¡°NOOOOOOOO!!!! THEY ARE GONE!!! WHERE IS ALL THE FOOD!?¡± He sounded as if he were about to tear up. ¡°I think there¡¯s some broccoli and zucchini in there. I saw them earlier.¡± I offered. Vince actually started crying. ¡°I don¡¯t blame him.¡± Luigi cut in. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call that food either.¡± I was about to remind him that he currently looked like he¡¯d just survived a death march in a desert, but I managed to hold my tongue at the last minute. The shock had calmed the tensions around here a bit and that could only lead to good things. ¡°Excuse me brothers.¡± A new voice came through the door. ¡°If it is food you need, we would be happy to provide you all a meal.¡± I whirled to see one of the Sully-presence-junkies standing a few steps away. ¡°After all, it is the least I can do for my fellow man.¡± ¡°He is addicted.¡± Vince murmured. His eyes devoid of hope or reason. His cheeks sunken in and gaunt to a degree that made Luigi look plump. ¡°I read his thoughts. He is happy. But the happiness has never been the same since he left. He feels good helping people and he tries to help because it feels good. Helping reminds him of that time. Of that bliss.¡± Vince turned his body around, as well as his head. Only then did I realize that he had previously turned his neck 180 degrees without so much as a flinch. ¡°Tell me then, brother. What would your master want of Vince?¡± The fanatic smiled widely. ¡°To protect humanity! To show love, care and concern for our fellow man! To not commit crimes! To treat others the same way we wish to be treated! To kill all the gnomes!¡± Vince¡¯s stoic, expressionless mask turned into the very picture of ecstasy. ¡°Yes! Finally! Someone else gets it! You truly are Vince¡¯s brother!¡± ¡°Brother!¡± The man repeated. Opening his arms widely as if to bring Vince into a hug. Then Vince cried into his shoulders. Sobbing, and murmuring a whole host of disturbing things under his breath. ¡°Kill gnomes. Drown gnomes. Set gnomes on fire. Step on gnomes. Strangle gnomes. Kick gnomes across the room. (Gnome) on gnomes. Kick gnomes in the (Gnome)s. Poison gnomes. Electrocute gnomes. Cut off gnome heads. Cut off gnome hands. Drop gnomes on their heads. Fart on gnomes. Tear gnome bellies open. Bite gnomes. Eat gnomes. Barf up gnomes. (Gnome) on gnome scorpion stew. Push gnomes off cliffs. Push gnomes on train tracks. Run over gnomes in big trucks. Seduce gnome mothers. Divorce gnome mothers. Break gnome mothers¡¯ heart. Take gnome houses in settlement. Flee with gnome inheritance. Break gnome families. Break gnome kneecaps. Tie gnome up to cinder blocks. Call gnomes odd hours of the morning. Fake gnome signatures. Burden gnomes with second mortgage. Commit tax fraud under gnomes¡¯ names. Defenestrate gnomes. Decapitate gnomes¡­¡± ¡®Well, he and Cherub should get on famously.¡¯ I thought. Cringing as soon as Vince turned his head at impossible angles once again. ¡°Another friend for Vince!? How great! Tell Vince more about this Cherub!¡±
¡°Hello neighbour!¡± Someone called out on the street. ¡°Hello to you neighbour!¡± I called back. Strolling down the road with my sisters in hand. This sight, that of a snowy trail filled with eager, openly caring people, would¡¯ve been unthinkable mere weeks ago. But that was before Sully. Everything had changed now. From the smiles on the peoples¡¯ faces to the prices of the food and housing. There was an eagerness to be found now. A spring to their steps. A light in their eyes that hadn¡¯t been there before. ¡®And they all have powers.¡¯ I thought with a smile. ¡®None of them need fear the Rifts and the monsters. They don¡¯t need to throw themselves at the feet of warlords or crooked officials. It is finally done. The world is fixed.¡¯ It was such a perfect picture, that I had to cry. Reeling as my new Telepath Type took in their feelings and their genuine joy. Their hope for the future. ¡°I¡¯m so, so sorry that I didn¡¯t come sooner.¡± I told them. ¡°I have no excuses. Only that I was afraid. But that¡¯s all in the past. I won¡¯t let anything happen to you ever again. I¡¯m going to be your hero.¡± ¡°Boris.¡± They spoke as one. ¡°You don¡¯t need to be our hero. Just our brother.¡± Nina said to me. ¡°Besides, it¡¯s all good now. The bad people are gone. No one is imprisoning people anymore. We have food now! And we can go wherever we please!¡± Sophia followed up. ¡°Now come. We¡¯ll get you a job too. You can stay at our house while you recover. You look like death.¡± I followed them and was awed by the unimaginable changes I saw. Houses were being raised off the ground at speeds I never thought possible. Several Enhancers working together. Most of them having Telepath as a second Type. They shared memories so that the most senior among them taught the ins and outs to the junior members. The few tradespeople with skills relating to plumbing and carpentry throwing around their knowledge near instantly for next to no regard. I felt the aftershock through my own fog, and immediately sensed the difference between their shared memories and Sully¡¯s own way of doing things. It seemed less efficient. Less complete. Mere glimpses here and there that only mattered when several of them did it at once and for repeated sessions. Then I saw the farmers selling their crops openly, without fear of reprisal from crooks or gang members. People bought and sold and traded with relaxed postures. Never fearing for their well-being as they exchanged good, hard cash. ¡®This would have been impossible before Sully.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®I need to let him know. It might make things easier for him.¡¯ Then again, he might already know. He might have known for a week now. I felt another surge of emotion, as I noted that the few scars my sisters had were healing, as if from unlevelled Shifter abilities. ¡®I will help them.¡¯ I decided instantly. ¡®And I will help Sully. This¡­ this cannot be a one off thing. It¡¯s too good. Too precious to hoard.¡¯ I nodded to myself. ¡®This must happen again.¡¯ Chapter 92: Interview With Thunder Fist. Chapter 92: Interview With Thunder Fist. The set was nothing short of majestic. The lights in the studio blinding me as they focused on the stage. The camera crews shuffling back and forth like ants as they brought equipment to and fro. Coordinated and perfectly in synch with each other, despite the apparent chaos on set. It was all very impressive, in a way that was hard to describe. Being here, in the midst of all the attention and the glamour, had been a childhood dream of mine. One that had been thoroughly crushed after I started learning statistics and got to know the actual, real odds of any one actor or potential TV personality making it to a stage. ''Yet, here I am. Being interviewed on a show next to Thunder Fist himself.'' Young, innocent, pre-Tutorial Henry would have been jumping for joy. The current me though... "Stomp gnomes. Bite gnomes. Pull off gnomish ears. Break gnome kneecaps. Break gnome elbows. Break gnome couples apart. Steal gnome identities. Accrue debt on gnomes. Ruin gnome credit scores. Tattoo slurs on gnomes. Burn gnome apartments to the ground. Break into gnome houses. Break into gnome cars. Steal gnome catalytic converters and flog them for copper...." I turned to look at Vince. Feeling an explosion of pity flowing out from my heart. Then I looked at Thunder Fist, the hero I had admired throughout my childhood. The muscles were still there, but that was the only thing that remained more or less unchanged. Like Vince, he had been trapped on the highest difficulty level in the Tutorial. The one Granny Golden said most participants didn''t survive. Like Vince, he had come back a different man. Changed in a fundamental level. His eyes had become sunken-in pits. Devoid of the hopeful energy they had once contained. Always open and alert, as if he expected an attack to come from any direction at any moment. Indeed, I had not seen the man blink in all the hours we had spent together now. Not once. Neither did he allow his mind to drift off or his focus to slip in any way. His mouth was a firm thin line. His full lips having been reduced in some way that wouldn''t heal. Maybe with a knife or some other sharp instrument. His posture was always in that perfect sweet spot between relaxed and tensed up. From which he could leap in any given direction at the drop of a hat. His ears perked up all the while as he drew in deep, consistent breaths. Moreover, he bore the same kind of deformities as Vince too. His overall outline was somehow diminished around the edges. Missing fat and strips of skin around areas that should have been more or less rounded in a healthy adult male, such as around the joints and between his ribs. It all came together to give him the appearance of someone who had escaped a concentration camp by the skin of their teeth. Or, at least, that would have been the impression he gave off, if he and Vince didn''t also share that same focused, feral hatred for gnomes. It was a faint thing, but the mere mention of the creatures was enough to make his body tense up for a fraction of a second. The motion twisting his features in ways most people wouldn''t catch, but which made my skin crawl with terror. It felt as though I had been suddenly thrown into a tiger''s enclosure, with nothing but bacon-flavored underwear to hide my shame. I looked at his hands then. Noting a flurry of motion. Then I gulped when I saw what he was doing. That is, furiously taking notes. "Yes yes. You''re so smart young man. You''re so so smart! I''m so glad there are people like you out there to keep humanity safe! Keep it up!" His eyes became laser focused on Vince. The lifeless orbs momentarily filling with a hint of genuine affection, until they were again replaced by cold, unfeeling hatred. "We have to let them know! They''ll never be ready otherwise! I was so afraid that no one would believe me! I was so afraid that no one would understand! I wouldn''t be able to warn anybody! But I see now that I have true friends and brothers here on earth. I see now that I am not alone in my righteous crusade. We must kill them young man. We must kill them all!" He turned to the winged intruder sitting next to him. The one dressed in a red, half suit that turned into flowing robes from below the midsection. The one I knew as Toad-Face. "Isn''t that right Serpent-Tongue?" "That''s right brother!" The Intruder answered. "The Tyrant has told us all the truth! A gnome does not, cannot feel love or goodwill. The very idea is as foreign to them as feelings of loyalty and honor. To be a gnome is to be forever locked away from my master''s boundless compassion. To live forever in vile darkness and debauchery. The only mercy they can aspire to, is that of a quick death. For every breath they take taints the air we breathe." "Wow!" Thunder Fist and Vince both echoed. "You are so smart!" I managed to hold back the sobs. Though not without a great amount of effort. "Okay people! We go live in three! Two! One!" "Good morning world!" The familiar voice called from behind his heavy oaken desk. "I''m Tim Hunter with the Tim Hunter show! Coming to you live from New York!" Tim''s black hair was perfectly combed and perfectly stylized. Adding to the glamour of his fine blue suit as both seemed to sparkle in under the artificial lighting. The smile he gave to the cameras could have cut through the foundations of skyscrapers with ease and the causal way in which he leaned back overflowed with natural charm and charisma. So much so that even ghoulified victims like Vince and Thunder Fist looked halfway human by standing next to him. Speaking of which, neither so much as twitched during the introductions. That was par for the course for Vince, but Thunder Fist had always been photogenic in his own interviews and podcasts. ''I guess going through what they went though makes you forget your social graces.'' I thought inwardly. My body cringing as I recalled that both of them had all four Types. Meaning that they were most certainly reading my mind. Neither seemed to care much though. "We have some very special guests tonight folks! Survivors from the oh-so infamous Tutorial! People who lived through the same things as our beloved Coffin King! Hero and savior of earth!" It was a good thing that I remained silent, because the crowd''s roar would have definitely drowned out anything I could have possibly said. The people in the audience standing up and cheering with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for communist marching events. Where secret police might be waiting at any corner to send dissenters to Siberia. None of these were being coerced though. Their eyes had the telltale signs of true fanatics. The kind of people who would happily drink the cool-aid given the chance. "So let me start of by introducing our guests for tonight! Starting off with the one and only Thunder Fist himself!" A round of applause could be heard around the room, though it was noticeably tamer than the reaction to Sully''s alias. "You all knew him as a half Projector, half Enhancer A-Rank hero up in the great white north of Canada, but he comes to us today a changed man! Now having all four Types and ready to rock in defense of our species against the predations of gnomes!" I blinked. Noting with some concern that he''d mentioned gnomes instead of, oh, I don''t know. Rifts. Then I squirmed as everyone in the audience seemed to be in agreement. "Next to him, we have Mrs. Rachel Bluestone from California. Previously a motivational speaker and yoga instructor, she now comes to us as the representative of the Apprentice Difficulty Tutorial Instance. A group consisting of roughly twenty-thousand people from varying earths." The woman he pointed to was middle-aged. Maybe mid-forties or so. But with a complexion and physique that defied those numbers. She had chosen to show up wearing a formal business dress. Complete with a modest skirt and a black top draped over a buttoned-up shirt. Her smile was calm, but confident. Exuding a calculated amount of humility and appreciation for the exposure she was receiving. Yet, for all that, she remained a creature of the old world. Burdened with old world values. That is to say, she was scared (Cherub)less by all the fanatics and presence addicts surrounding her and it showed everywhere. Her true feelings leaking out in minute, near invisible movements. From her face, to her body language, all of her was tensed to the point of breaking. I could sympathize. "Besides her we have Mr. Henry Cornwall! From the Novice difficulty Tutorial! Which apparently hosts as many as fifty-thousand people in total! All of them stretched out over several wide campus areas! Also with him is his friend Vince! Who, like Thunder Fist, came from the highest difficulty level there is!" Me and Vince got our own round of applause and I waved over at the crowd. Suddenly overcome with emotions other than dread. Vince kept murmuring to himself, but I ignored him for now. "Now, we did try to get some folks from the Adept and Expert difficulties here on this show by finding people whose disappearances coincided with the two months of the Tutorial, but sadly, none of them have returned our calls." There was a wave of saddened noises at that. "But, we did manage to get another special guest on our show! An Intruder summoned by the Coffin King himself! Please welcome, Serpent-Tongue!" The toad-faced winged man stared into the crowd. Eyes filled with jubilation and expectation in equal measure. The fullness of his cheeks contrasting heavily with the forceful musculature showing through his tight red suit-robe mixture. He waved, but not in a human way. Instead, his arm moved awkwardly from side to side and a bit forwards and backwards at odd intervals. As if he were some thing wearing a human skinsuit, rather than an actual person.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ''Which, in retrospect, he most definitely is.'' "Good evening and good tidings, people of Earth. I greet you, as a herald of the master. You who have been so fortunate as to be born human, cannot know the pleasure I feel as I stand before you now. As a changed and forgiven insect. Remade in the master''s and your, image." He smiled. Or, I think he tried to. His lips spreading outwards in the very definition of uncanny valley. "Very well, let''s get right down to it. Mr. Thunder Fist. You are the most experienced fighter of the group by far. Having had a good two decades of experience fighting monsters. Also, by this point you''ve no doubt heard of the memories the Coffin King shared with all of us regarding Expert Difficulty. How does the very peak compare to the Instance below it?" Thunder Fist began heaving. "It was bad. There were gnomes." He said. His eyes widening and his pupils dilating as his attention seemed to drift away elsewhere. Then he began to shake. Whether from recalled trauma or murderous fury. "I... they hurt me. They hurt people in front and behind me. They caught us by inviting us for dinner and... they ate some of us. Children in front of their mothers. Mothers in front of their children. They killed so many of us.... so many... and when the doors opened and we had to go on Excursions, they were always waiting outside for us. They kept ambushing us when we came back." He stared at our host. "My level, my powers, were reset. So I couldn''t... I couldn''t save them all. I... I am ashamed. I fought so hard, but so many people kept dying. We scattered then. So they wouldn''t kill all of us. I stayed behind while the others got away. I... I don''t remember their faces. But I kept my eyes open. Always open." Thunder Fist leaned closer to him. "I haven''t blinked in days." "He''s right!" Vince offered. "Vince ran and ran and ran. Vince hid in a closet in a house, but the closet was too big for Vince. Vince remembers Thunder Fist staying behind, but Vince didn''t see him after that. They took Vince to the bad place." Vince also did not blink the whole time he spoke. "Vince escaped weeks later. Missing bits of Vince. But Vince did not give up. Vince hunted them in the shadows. Dropping from the ceiling and ambushing them when they were in the washrooms. Then Vince found a cheat. Vince did. Yes yes. Gnomes are good at Projector powers and they''re so-so with Telepath powers, but they suck at the other two. They are weak and squishy and they cannot tell when Shifters are transformed. So, Vince killed gnomes and made gnome suits out of their skins. Vince wore costumes and pretended to be a gnome. Using combined Shifter abilities to mimic them. Then Vince kept killing them. One by one by one. Pretending that other humans killed the gnomes and ran away. Sometimes Vince would pretend that there had been accidents, other times, he would make it seem like gnomes killed each other. Vince is tricksy like that. You have to be tricksy to kill tricksy little gnomes." "You are so smart young man!" Thunder Fist bellowed. Showing some genuine human emotion for once. He looked like a father seeing the face of his newborn child for the first time. All love and pride and admiration. "I wish I was as smart as you. I just kept setting their houses on fire." Vince shook his head. "Vince tried that. Vince found it ineffective. Too many tricksy little gnomes get away each time and then they start moving in groups so it''s less easy to pick them off. Gnomes are tricksy like that. They get suspicious." Toad-Face or Serpent-Tongue, as he was apparently called, also looked all too pleased with himself and with Vince at the same time. "Truly! We are all blessed to be in your company! For such paragons of virtue to exist among us! How great these tidings are! Why, it almost reminds me of the gospel of our King. Of the things he himself has been doing to gnomes in order to experiment with Shifter powers. You see, apparently gnomes can still use their abilities so long as their head and hands remain..." "Okay then!" Mrs. Bluestone clapped her hands. "That is so interesting Mr. Serpent-Tongue! I''m sure you have a lot of interesting stories to tell us!" The ''Some other time'' was left unsaid, but it was still so loud that deaf people across the world heard it. "For now, I''d like to focus on sharing information between myself and my fellow Tutorial attendees. So that we are as prepared as possible for our return in a couple of days. After all, it is our lives on the line." She turned to me with a practiced smile. "Mr. Cornwall, was it? How would you describe the Novice Difficulty Instance and do you know what we will be facing on the second cycle?" My eyes flicked to Mr. Hunter. Expecting to see some reaction to the question. But he didn''t say anything at all. Merely waiting to see how I answered with bated breath. ''I guess he doesn''t mind her rudeness.'' I thought. ''Either that, or he''s also dying to know.'' "Um, well. I guess I would describe the Novice Instance as one big school. Like, a massive one, with several sub-instances. I myself haven''t seen all of it, as there are a few interconnected housing areas." "I see." Mrs. Bluestone said. Nodding along as if she were a bobblehead doll. "We had a similar situation in my own Instance. There were several different cities and we were being taught how to fight by certain trainers. Though we weren''t taught much else about the goings on in the wider Labyrinth. The doors were opened at certain intervals and we were expected to go beyond them and either compete with different cities, or hunt monster roaming all over the place." She paused to catch her breath. "Did you ever fight monsters, Mr. Cornwall?" ''No, but one of my friends got possessed.'' "No." I confirmed. "There was very little, if any fighting in our Tutorial Instance. The few fights we did have were more akin to exhibition matches than anything else." She nodded enthusiastically. Apparently elated by these news. "How very nice!" She clapped her hands together. "And, how strong would you say the average person was?" "I dunno. Level 10 or 12, maybe? I got as high as 18, but not everybody made it that far." Thunder Fist broke though his glassy-eyed indifference to give me a look full of pity. So did Vince for that matter. "Don''t worry Henry. Vince won''t let the gnomes get you. Vince promises." He took my hand in his. "Vince will not let the gnomes hurt anyone else, ever again. Vince swears it will be okay." I forced myself to smile. Wondering how he''d react if he knew what Sully was up to. "I will also help." Thunder Fist added solemnly. "It is the duty of the strong to die in place of the weak." "No one is dying here!" I blurted out. "And I''m not that weak!" Mrs. Bluestone gave me the most condescending titter I had ever heard in my life. Covering her mouth with her hand as her eyes turned derisive. Then, predatory. "How good to know that you have had such a... relaxed time of things. I for one could not dream of such an outcome. I and all my fellows have been fighting tooth and nail to improve ourselves. In preparation of what comes afterwards." She paused for a second. "You do know what comes afterwards, don''t you?" "Yes. After the Tutorial ends, we will find ourselves gathered at Human City. A safe instance of the Labyrinth for Humans and only Humans. From there, we''ll have a settlement period of another six months where we will have to build ourselves up as a faction and try our best to handle the Excursions the System throws at us. From my understanding, there will be worlds that constantly need our help, as well as other instances of the Labyrinth built specifically for training purposes. We''ll have to begin safeguarding what we have, that is, all the human worlds, while also getting people to higher and higher Tiers to keep hungry factions from swallowing us up the first chance they get." "It is the gnomes." Thunder Fist cut in. His teeth clenched so tightly that I feared his jaw might snap in two. On closer inspection, they had all been filed into sharp points. Enhancing the ghoulish look even further. "They are the ones that are coming. I have seen them do it. I have suffered under them." He stood up and showed off his scars. "They took me. They.... they...." He choked on empty air. Tears moistening his cheeks. "They hurt me. They killed my friends. They starved me and so many, many others." His eyes fell over the crowd then. "You have all known me before. I have fought Hydras and Dragons. Kaiju of all shapes and sizes and hordes of vermin. I have fought tides of living darkness and beings made up of living crystal. I have been shocked and burned and frozen over. I have been beaten and slashed and stunned and almost killed on more occasions than I can count. And of all the scars I took, none came from retreating. I challenge anyone here to look at my old photos and point out a single scar I got from fleeing. There was none. I bled and fought so others could live and I did so not because of money, but because it was the right thing to do. The only thing a good person could possibly do in that situation." The audience remained silent. Taking it all in. "And I tell you now. With no hyperbole or exaggeration, that the gnomes are the greatest threat I have ever faced. They are all experienced, talented Projectors of awesome power and they can coordinate effectively over large distances and vast numbers. All based on fear. Where the gnome that elicits more fear gets to be the bigger one. They throw themselves into the meatgrinder because they fear their superiors more than they fear us and they believe themselves to be superior to all other kinds of sentient life. They are slavers and killer and torturers to a fault and they delight on causing suffering wherever they tread." "And they are cowards!" Vince hissed from the side. "Tricky cowards that will pretend to be your friend and backstab you when you aren''t looking! They will take you and hurt you and hurt you and hurt you and hurt the ones you love in front of you! Until you are the only ones left! And then they keep hurting and hurting and hurting and hurting....!" "Yes!" Thunder Fist bellowed. "All of that! But don''t worry! I have a cunning plan! An eleven step process I think will be the final solution to the..." "WHOA!!!" I leapt from my seat. "Let''s not run into conclusions now! Why don''t we move things along for a moment and visit this later!?" Vince started softly yanking at my sleeve. "Vince would like to hear more about this final solution." "No!" I snapped at him. "No! Vince does not want to hear more about the final solution! Vince will sit the (Cherub) down and stay quiet!" "But the gnomes!" Vince protested. "The gnomes are always out there! There are always more of them! No matter how many Vince kills! Vince thinks humans should help each other! Vince would like to hear other opinions! Sharing is caring! Vince''s mom says so!" Thunder Fist chimed in again. "He''s right. We all have to work together to..." "Of course." The lady confirmed. Snapping into the conversation once more and forcefully talking over the others. "Which is why I personally believe that we should not waste any time in building ourselves up as a faction." She paused for effect. "In fact, I have already begun shaping our future form of government. Making alliances with other people in my Instance and setting up training regiments that allocate resources based on who has the most talent and the best work ethic. Why, I myself have reached level 26 recently and I aim to go even higher." She paused. Visibly swallowing a lump in her throat. "Not only that, I am also free of the... severe traumas that the strongest among us clearly suffer from. We wouldn''t want someone who is, damaged, to be leading us, would we? After all, a leader needs to be perfectly sane and rational at all times in order to make the right decisions for the group as a whole." It was clear from her tone and side glances that she meant to disqualify Thunder Fist and Vince with those statements, but neither of them seemed to catch it. "With that in mind, I suggest we, of several different Instances, come together to present a unified front for when the time comes. So that we can avoid any petty squabbles after all the Instances are merged and hit the ground running, as it were. We should begin to organize ourselves after a fashion that works and choose a leader that is both qualified and capable in order to not waste time and avoid being misled by any power-hungry warlords that might arise." She paused once more. No doubt expecting the crowd to cheer. No one did. I could see a hint of nervousness on her face then, but I couldn''t vocalize anything at that time. ''(Cherub), you serious?'' It was incredible. Absolutely incredible. This (Cherub) had come back to a world where all but a few of the world''s governments had either fallen or restructured themselves to the point of being unrecognizable. Where the average janitor was B-Rank in three Types thanks to Sully and her first instinct had been to try and weasel her way into power? Really? Now? "I see." Mr. Hunter commented. His voice containing a trace of comedy even now. Wearing a smile in the same manner as lesser men would wear shields. However, that mirth did not reach his eyes. He, and by extension, the audience, did not look pleased. They remained alert. Awake. Incensed and insulted. I was about to explain what had happened in this world to Mrs. Bluestone in more detail, when Serpent-Tongue spoke up. "Indeed! You are right my dear!" He intoned. To the evident surprise of the crowd. "The one to lead humanity should be a person of great power and great wisdom! Someone who places themselves at risk for the sake of others no matter the cost! Someone who loves and cares for all peoples equally and without prejudice! Someone who is incorruptible! Who will never abuse their own power, but instead use their power to make the lives of everyone else better and better without expecting anything in return! My dear! There is no other choice! You all must swear your allegiance to the great Tyrant! The Coffin King!" The crowd erupted into cheers at that. "Don''t you all remember!?" He continued. "Don''t you recall feeling his love enveloping you!? Don''t you recall knowing that he was doing his best for your sake!? Can you not see the fruits of his labor!?" He stood up and waved his hands theatrically. "Don''t you see how cheap your food is? How cheap your houses are? Don''t you see that all criminals have been exposed to his healing presence and have been made to see the error of their ways? To see and feel the harm they were doing to their fellows? Don''t you see the empty prisons and the empty homeless shelters? Don''t you see the lack of addiction in the streets and the joy ordinary people carry within their hearts?" ''Only because Sully''s presence is apparently more addicting than (Cherub).'' I thought bitterly. "Not only that, but he has done this without asking for anything in return!" Serpent-Tongue whirled about. Violently shaking. "Who among you can say that they have done more for their fellows than the Coffin King? Who among you can say that they have saved as many lives? Slain as many monsters? Tortured as many gnomes?" "Wait, what?" Mrs. Bluestone asked. Her mask of propriety breaking suddenly. But she was the only one. Even Mr. Hunter, our host, was standing up now. Clapping violently along with the audience and the camera crews. Roaring in appreciation. "None but the Coffin King! None but my lord and master! Rejoice! For he is the perfect ruler! The most selfless, compassionate Tyrant you could have asked for!" "His name!" Someone from the crowd chanted. "Tell us his name! Tell us who he is! I want to find him again! I need to be with him! I need to be near him!" And then the rest of the crowd picked it up. Including our oh-so gallant host. "Say his name!" "Say his name!" "Say his name!" "Say his name!" "Say his name!" Serpent-Tongue waved them off with sorrow. "Alas, our king prefers to remain anonymous for now. So that his family can adjust in peace. But rest assured, he is coming!" ''Well, he''s right about that.'' I thought to myself. ''Sully is definitely coming back.'' Vince''s head snapped towards me. Eyes wide with shock. "Sully you said!?" The crowd paused to listen. So did I. ''Oh (Cherub). The mind-reading.'' "Vince." I started. "Just be quiet, okay? We''ll talk about his late...." "Is the Tyrant Solomon Carter!!??" I froze in place. Glancing sideways at the cameras. ''Oh no.'' "Vince has his parent''s phone number! Vince will call them right now!" "NOOOOOO!!!!" Chapter 93: Decadence. Chapter 93: Decadence. We saw the outline of the pyramid from several kilometres away. It¡¯s structure piercing the sky whilst surrounded by what little was left of a modern arcology. Sitting prettily in what used to be London. It was so big and so tall that it remained clearly visible despite the torrential downpour and the impenetrable blackness of the skies above. Its tip piercing the very heavens like the raised fist of a titan. Challenging the divine order of the world. ¡®Like Prometheus stealing fire for mankind.¡¯ I mused. ¡®How very fitting.¡¯ ¡°Why are we even here?¡± One of our party members groaned. A girl Dusty¡¯s age who had bullied her growing up. ¡®Glossy or something.¡¯ I recalled. ¡°No one asked you to come.¡± Dusty answered. Her voice flat and emotionless. ¡°You took the entire war party across the sea!¡± She protested haughtily. ¡°And, what? You expect me to just let you go with all my soldiers? Just like that?¡± The soldiers in question gave her looks as flat as Dusty¡¯s voice. All of them were young as well. Part of a generational cadre that would have inherited the duties of their forebears over time as old warriors either perished or grew too old to be effective and retired to teach the newer generations. That future would never come however. All of them had been freed of the dangers of war by the arrival of myself, Dusty and Slab and they knew it. Throw in the general veneration for Telepaths that most people had here and the fact that I pumped all of them full of additional Types in preparation for this trip and one got a rather different picture than the one Glossy was used to. In that, most of them would jump off a cliff if I so much as hinted at it. Without the application of mind-control or even the slightest hint of presence manipulation. The fact that father-in law had been running his mouth non-stop about me and Dusty¡¯s relationship only solidified matters further. As far as these men and women were concerned, I was at the top. Unchallenged. With Dusty and Slab beside me as lieutenants. If Ms. Glossy had been looking at them, she might have retracted her words and donned meeker, more cautious attitude. Yet the sight of Dusty, who she used to so freely disparage, at my side set something inside of her ablaze. Her mind unable to cope with the fact that she was not in power. That she was no longer the most important person in the room. ¡°Okay. Calm down. Everybody calm down.¡± I said. Interposing myself between them. ¡°Ms. Glossy. I assure you that I didn¡¯t come here on a whim. This is a very important trip for us.¡± ¡°How so?¡± She asked. Placing one hand on her hips and another on the throwing axe at her side. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here. The few English villages left are all under the coastal regions or way off in the distance. Towards the west of Wales or closer to the Scottish Highlands. No one sane lives beneath the ruins of the big cities. This is where the old Metros were and where the first survivors started planning their continued existence. The Kaiju tore every Metro and every bunker here apart generations ago. You won¡¯t find anything useful and you won¡¯t find any people either.¡± ¡°I am aware of that.¡± I spoke softly. ¡°I was more interested in your technology.¡± She scoffed. Showing an attitude that was very much at odds to the one she¡¯d had at our first meeting. Before seeing Dusty at my side. ¡°I told you. There¡¯s nothing here. Look around and you¡¯ll see that. If you really are as strong as the visions you showed us would have us believe, then you¡¯ll feel all the plants and the mushrooms and the roaches skittering about. London is nothing more than a swamp filled with fetid, bacteria-ridden water. There are parasites here that are so infectious and resilient that they¡¯ll even turn Enhancers inside out.¡± Well, she had a point there. Indeed, some people would say that about the London in my world too, but that was beside the point. I pointed to the pyramid. ¡°There are computers there. I can feel them too. Hidden deep beneath the structure and still running on some kind of geo-thermal energy source.¡± ¡°So?¡± She asked. Her eyebrow raised as if she were speaking to someone with a traumatic brain injury. ¡°So, I want it. I want everything there is to find there. I want to take it with me when we leave and I want to understand the hardware. Even from here, I can tell that it is leagues above what I¡¯m used to. In my earth, each generation of CPUs and GPUs marked a roughly five-fold increase in the power of machines. On this earth, what I considered top-shelf, military grade stuff should have been outdated for children¡¯s toys and bargain bin phones. So, I want to take your advanced tech and make into our advanced tech. That and this earth was way ahead on the fields of artificial intelligence and space exploration. Both of which mark great leaps forward in scientific knowledge. Again, having these will be a massive help to everyone.¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°Why would you bother with such things if you can give people powers? All you have to do is have kids and keep giving everyone else advanced powers if you want to protect the earth.¡± ¡°Earths.¡± I corrected. ¡°Plural. And I¡¯m already planning on doing that, but I can¡¯t be everywhere at once and I don¡¯t know how I feel about having kids just to thrown them head-first into a conflict I could have ended. The main enemy right now, are the gnomes. Who, I¡¯ll remind you, can travel between dimensions and between planets within dimensions with laughable ease. Part of what makes gnomes so dangerous is their superior technology. I mean, humans in my world may as well be flinging fecal matter around when you compare us to a society that mastered space-travel. Even at short distances. We need every advantage we can get. Not just for my world or this world, but for all the worlds humans inhabit.¡± She narrowed her eyes further, even as the others nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a waste of time and a stupid endeavor on top of it. The pyramid was one of many places where the old-world powers researched bioweapons. The people here single-handedly ended the reign of humanity and drove their descendants underground. This is a place of death and decay and cruelty. Nothing good can come from exploring it. I know because plenty of war parties over the years have tried. All of them went missing. Never to be seen or heard form again. No one even knows what happened to them.¡± ¡°The slug ate them.¡± I answered. She looked confused. ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°There was a slug-like Kaiju living around here.¡± I told her. ¡°Its spawn lived in harmony with the giant mosquitoes of the Blood-Queen. Living mostly underground. In the flooded tunnels that used to be the Metro system. My Intruders saw to it and all the other slugs already. We don¡¯t have to worry about them.¡± I read her mind and saw that she was about to start disparaging me and Dusty again, so I just shared those memories with her and the rest of the war party. She fell on one knee and fought back a bout of retching. The others did so too. With only Dusty and Slab remaining unaffected. Due to their familiarity with such things. ¡°Dead.¡± She wheezed. ¡°They¡¯re all dead.¡± ¡®That they are.¡¯ I thought. ¡®And good riddance.¡¯ ¡°Okay then. Now that that¡¯s settled, we can keep moving towards the pyramid.¡± I turned to face the vainglorious megaproject. Almost reeling as the decrepit ruins of London came into view once more. The rest of the city had been levelled. Old homes, skyscrapers and factories as broken and dishevelled as the habitable domes that had been built around and over them. Yet the pyramid stood alone. In defiance of all the natural beauty that had so effectively reclaimed one of the biggest urban sprawls the world had ever seen. The fact that the building had remained standing all these years was nothing short of miraculous in my eyes. Proof that the engineers that built it had put their heart and soul into making a grandiose monument to their society. Indeed, the engineer in me was giddy. Dusty¡¯s world had always been an interesting topic before this. What with their clear fall from such lofty heights. From the stories Slab told us, it was clear that they had been one of the most advanced, if not the most advanced of the many earths the people of the Labyrinth came from. It was also clear that such power had been mismanaged, to say the least. Their own prodigious insights into genetic modification proving to be their undoing. It was an odd contrast to my own world, where the Rifts had essentially kickstarted the apocalypse. Doubly so, because the people that used to live here had had Esper powers BEFORE everything went bananas. In other words, they had engineered themselves into superhuman status solely for the practical, everyday benefits inherent in the condition.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡®And all that without the use of powers, like how I do it. They did it with cold hard science. Starting from the bottom and developing new innovations with consistent research and study.¡¯ On the one hand, I could not feel prouder of them. As a fellow human, the idea that we could progress this far, this quickly, was nothing short of inspirational. It was a call-back to fantasies I¡¯d once had of being an astronaut and being part of the first efforts to colonize other planets. To boldly explore new ideas and facets of reality, with the eventual goal of making life easier. More pleasurable. More fair for everyone on earth. There had been a few years where that dream seemed like a definite possibly, but then the Rifts started getting worse and worse and everything sort of fell by the wayside. It turned out that monsters were spawning in space, the moon and other planets, as well as on earth. It was just that they suffocated as soon as they popped out. Any efforts going towards colonization would have to contend with them, as well as with the extremely hostile conditions that came when you didn¡¯t have an atmosphere to fall back on. But that was not the case in this dimension. Through the Cobweb, I could sense living organisms on the moon and on mars. Not human, or even intelligent in any way of course. But the mere fact that they started the process of forming a viable biosphere spoke volumes of how majestic this civilization had once been. They had kickstarted life. Similar to that of the carboniferous period on earth. All within the span of a few decades on their part. Not only that, but they had done such a good job at making the process automatic and sustainable that the literal end of the world didn¡¯t put a dent in their development. On the other hand¡­ ¡®They turned this earth into a graveyard. All while creating bigger and better monsters to use as weapons. Who were these people fighting, I wonder? Russia? China? The middle east in general? What kind of foe could have justified doing this?¡¯ I looked to the side again. Using my own physical eyes to see all the spots where gigantic mosquitoes and house-sized slugs had keeled over dead. The corpses were starting to smell now. To the point where the very air around the pyramid reeked of week-old refuse and sewer byproducts. In any other ecosystem, the scavengers would have been on them like¡­ well¡­ like flies on a corpse. Yet that did not seem to be the case in these parts. Maggots were not slithering on the carcasses of the dead kaiju offspring, despite their eagerness to get at anything else. Something about the bodies seemed disquieting to the simple creatures. Some aspect of their makeup they could not explain. I searched the minds of a few hundred thousand critters more closely them. Connecting my mind to theirs until they too learned to love and adore me. Their instinctual desires and fears flowing back into me as I dove into their nervous systems. ¡®Odd.¡¯ They cried out at once. Giving voice to the same sentiments from a hundred different countries and regarding a hundred different kinds of kaiju corpses. I started to think it was some kind of genetically coded resistance to scavengers. That the bioweapons tis world¡¯s humans designed had some chemical in their cells that rebuffed any life that might seek to break down their bodies for protein. ¡®Odd. Weird. Danger.¡¯ ¡®Not food. Danger.¡¯ ¡®Not safe. Danger.¡¯ ¡®Odd. Odd. Odd.¡¯ ¡®Not from here.¡¯ That last imprint finally clued me in. The local wildlife was not put off by the corpses of the Kaiju. No. They were horrified and scared of what had killed them. Of the lingering energies that remained. The people of Dusty¡¯s clan had either ignored or outright welcomed the feeling of wrongness as they hacked and cleaved apart the Blood Queen¡¯s brood. But these animals knew on some base level that the flesh was tainted. ¡®And so they stayed away.¡¯ I shook my head to dismiss the notions and bade the team to keep moving. The closer we got though, the more melancholic I felt. London was supposed to be one of the most iconic tourist destinations out there. With too many landmarks to count and history rich in both triumph and tragedy, spanning centuries upon centuries. From William the conqueror to the bombings of the Luftwaffe, the city had seen everything. ¡®And now it is like Paris. Little more than a garden for ants and butterflies to play in.¡¯ I began thinking back to the older generations of humans again. The ones that had called this place home. What would they think of the world they left behind for their children? What would they make of Glossy cursing their names as we went over to plunder what little was left for our own benefit? Would they have changed course, if they knew? Would they have given up on weaponizing genetics even further? I mean, they had already improved upon humans to the point where Enhancers, Shifters, Projectors and to a much lesser extent, Telepaths, were being born naturally. What more could they have wanted? Those musing continued to plague me as we kept encountering the rusted-out husks of tanks and armored personnel carriers. The odd helicopter or two sticking out of the broken outlines of buildings and factories. I saw rabbits. A lot of rabbits. And pheasants and foxes and beetles and all kinds of small critters. All treating the city as if it were just another forgotten patch of forest. I felt owls in their nests through my Cobweb. Indulging in their dreams as their minds retreated inwards. Their feathers dry as bones in spite of the continuing rainstorm. More than that, I felt worms. Millions of them. Slithering in the mud and between the cracked remains of broken roads. ¡®That is all they left of their empire.¡¯ I thought again. ¡®Mud and worms and broken stones.¡¯ Then I thought of Monique¡¯s own world. Of how similar it had been to my own in terms of technology and social structure. Of how easily it had all fallen. Of how the outcome was the same. Death and decay and despair for all that were left. ¡®Come to think of it, Charlie¡¯s world in engulfed in a world war too. Though a far more conventional one. He got into trouble because that Whitmer crook wanted him to take his son¡¯s place in the draft. I don¡¯t think I ever asked him what that war was about.¡¯ Maybe some archduke got himself shot by a young rebel there too. Or maybe it was simply a matter of conflicting national interests. ¡®Or maybe some inbred royal called another inbred royal a (Gnome). It doesn¡¯t really matter, now that I have time to reflect on it. The outcome is the same for the people at the bottom. Cowards start wars and brave men and women have to finish them. It is their children who will fill the graves and dig the ditches. It is their children that will fall and bleed and die and fertilize the poppies on Flanders¡¯ Fields. Not the wealthy. Not the sons and daughters of generals like that Lemay (Gnome)hole. The Desmonds of the worlds will always be sequestered away in some bunker or another. While someone like my grandpa is asked to push the big red button and launch the nukes.¡¯ It was then that I recalled the Drake¡¯s words. How he had pointed out the window and shown me the fate of democracies. ¡®No.¡¯ I shook my head. ¡®That was different. This¡­ this was folly. These people could not see the forest for the trees. They weren¡¯t focused on actually helping people unless it suited them. They were self-centered and dismissive of other people. I am not like that. I will allow democracy to happen while also keeping the bad actors away. I genuinely care about everyone. I want everyone to be happy and safe and well-fed. I would never send someone to fight a war on my behalf. I would never give up on diplomacy when it was still an option. I want to help people. I want to save people. I want to be a hero. I would never¡­ I would never¡­¡¯ But then I thought of Anezka and her world. How her people had been even more advanced than the ones in this earth. How they bought and sold humans like cattle without the slightest care in the world. How they, like Anezka, implanted machines to take over people¡¯s minds and enslave them. Could I simply leave them be? ¡®Also no.¡¯ I decided then. ¡®Standing by and letting it happen when I could have stopped it is no different than condoning it. It would be like doing nothing to help Boris¡¯ sisters or doing nothing to keep the people of Hong Kong from being nuked. It simply isn¡¯t an option.¡¯ I would have sighed, if this body wasn¡¯t so damn stoic all the time. ¡°Sully?¡± Dusty asked from the side. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yes. No. I don¡¯t know. I was thinking.¡± I said. Still running down the untamed wilderness. ¡°Do you want to talk about it?¡± My knee jerk reaction was no. But that was a stupid instinct for people who couldn¡¯t read minds and / or lacked trust. A new set of eyes would be most helpful. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯m wrestling with some questions Dusty. I have all these questions and all the answers through looking into the future and I still don¡¯t know what the right choice is. Am I supposed to dominate Anezka¡¯s world into turning into a democracy? Would that be justified?¡± ¡°It depends.¡± She answered. Casually picking up my struggles at once without waving away my concerns. ¡°If the people are happy and making things work, then I don¡¯t see a reason you¡¯d have to get involved. Keep in mind that I don¡¯t know too much about that world or even Anezka besides what you¡¯ve told me. It could be that she was an outlier that just so happened to be very enthusiastic about slavery. If she¡¯s not, then I don¡¯t see how democracy would help matters. Again, keep in mind that it depends on a lot of context I don¡¯t have. For example, we¡¯re not a democracy right now. My father, or you, I guess are in charge. None of us question it because you are good leaders.¡± ¡°That only works for a small amount of people though.¡± ¡°Does it?¡± Slab asked pointedly. ¡°How are things faring in your world after you stepped in? Are the people better off or worse?¡± ¡°Better, I think. Based on the futures I saw.¡± ¡°Then I don¡¯t see how further intervention wouldn¡¯t be a bad thing.¡± He said. ¡°I agree.¡± Dusty followed up. ¡°If I trust anyone to make the right choice, I trust you. Mostly because I know you think about it and it bothers you that there isn¡¯t a perfect position. On the other hand, someone like Glossy always thinks they¡¯re right. Evidence be dammed.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Glossy snapped. ¡°That¡¯s not true!¡± ¡°Yes it is¡± A man called Kevin interjected. ¡°You¡¯ve always been like this. It¡¯s why Finn hesitated to give you the command. Despite how strong you were.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± Another man, one called Glasser, confirmed. ¡°You¡¯re about as stubborn as a mule. That wouldn¡¯t be a problem normally, but you¡¯re also half as smart. Now that you¡¯re no longer the strongest among us, there¡¯s no reason to follow you.¡± ¡°So please keep quiet.¡± Kevin followed up. ¡°Sully and Dusty were talking and you¡¯re butting into their conversation.¡± Glossy fumed. Internally wishing for all our deaths, but remaining too proud to show how hurt she was. ¡®That will be a problem later.¡¯ I thought inwardly. ¡®Her world has been turned upside down, but not for the better. Everyone else has everything they¡¯ve ever wanted, but that means they don¡¯t have to put up with her anymore. She will have to change or else suffer through what she put Dusty through.¡¯
We reached the bottom of the pyramid some time later. Noting once more how little of the wildlife had spread around the outer shell of the structure. All the other corners and crannies had been thoroughly re-conquered by nature. To the point where one could not look at any given direction and not see a large, all-encompassing blanket of mossy greens and vibrant leaves atop a thick canopy. Yet the pyramid¡¯s metal shell remained barren. Free from vines and mushrooms and even animal nests. The Telepath side of me couldn¡¯t make sense of it. The place seemed normal and there were even large holes in the structure where Kaiju and their offspring had breached the perimeter. On closer inspection, some of those holes were big enough that two or three trucks could have gone through side by side without ever touching each other. Furthermore, the floor had been covered in a thin layer of soil mixed with rainwater and viscous mud could be seen inside the exposed halls and corridors. But there were no worms inside that mud. Unlike everywhere else in the skeletal remains of the city. ¡°I have a really bad feeling about this.¡± Kevin said quietly. ¡°My skin broke out in goosebumps a few dozen steps away from the entrances. I¡­ I can¡¯t explain it, but I think we shouldn¡¯t be here.¡± ¡°Nonsense.¡± Slab admonished him. ¡°The world has been reclaimed. This is our birthright. There is no place that is beyond our reach.¡± ¡°No, Kevin¡¯s right.¡± Glossy said. Sounding calmer than I had ever seen her before. ¡°I don¡¯t think we should go through. I¡­ I can¡¯t explain why, but something feels off. Wrong, somehow.¡± Dusty began thinking some very rude things then, but I put a stop to it at once. ¡°They¡¯re right.¡± I told the group. ¡°They¡¯re both right. I feel it. No through the Cobweb, but through [Predator¡¯s Instincts].¡± They all went quiet at that. Their gazes locked onto the impenetrable darkness. ¡°How bad is it?¡± Slab inquired. Suddenly going for his weapon. ¡°Enough that I¡¯m going to start summoning Intruders as backup.¡± I told him truthfully. ¡°My Cobweb is saying one thing, but my Shifter side is telling me I¡¯m being deceived. Whatever is down there, it is evil and hungry. Get ready for anything.¡± Chapter 94: The Mausoleum. Chapter 94: The Mausoleum. We entered through the breach in the outer walls. Passing through stagnant ponds that, contrary to normal logic, carried no insect larvae or bits of blossoming plant or fungal matter. It was as if some mad janitor had taken care to sterilize the place throughout all these years. Spraying ethanol and other disinfectants on every surface they could find. ¡®Not that it would have kept the kaiju away. Which is even more weird because they inexplicably did stay away.¡¯ My Intruders were already flooding the place too. Though they at least seemed unbothered by the lack of life. Indeed, they seemed unbothered by anything that was going on in general. Their minds, or what passed for minds among their kinds, singularly focused on finding anything or anyone that may not like me. I used my cobweb then, to get a better feel for them as individual units.
Solomonling (Intruder) (Rare) (Psy: 700 / 700) An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter. These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter¡¯s domain. Solomonlings represent the least devout of those chosen to continue their service after death. They, like all of Solomonite variants, are re-born in the visage of humans, no matter what they originally were. They can usually be spotted in the service of Solomonite Chanters, where they act as shock troops or as the entourage of Solomonite Flagellants, where they lavish cruel punishments upon those who have strayed from the word of Solomon Carter. These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recover Psy by indulging them. Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter¡¯s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter¡¯s will and defend his honor regardless of cost. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 3. These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
Solomonite Chanter (Intruder) (Rare) (Psy: 1500 / 1500) An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter. These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter¡¯s domain. Solomonite Chanters represent those who wholly accepted Solomon Carter into their mortal lives. Upon being exposed to his presence, they chose to travel throughout their worlds, spreading his word, healing the sick and combatting corruption and injustice wherever it might be found. Once given sternal life, their faith is redoubled and they gladly choose to continue their mission beyond the death of their mortal bodies. Giving succor to the needy and inspiring the faithful to new heights of raw psychic power. These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recover Psy by indulging them. Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter¡¯s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter¡¯s will and defend his honor regardless of cost. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 7. These Intruders have access to [Charming Presence II], [Healing Song II], and [Incite II] at level 10. These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
Solomonite Flagellant. (Intruder) (Rare) (Psy: 1500 / 1500) An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter. These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter¡¯s domain. Solomonite Flagellants represent those who did not convert to the word of Solomon Carter and further chose to harm or persecute his loyal followers. Solomonite Flagellants are therefore made to serve their betters unto eternity. Only enjoying the bliss of Solomon Carter¡¯s realm after hunting down those mortals who would follow in their footsteps. They use Solomon Carter¡¯s gifts for healing but rather, to inflict pain and suffering on those like them. They do this in equal parts to satisfy their base thirst for blood and to spare their victims an eternity in their own roles. These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recover Psy by indulging them. Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter¡¯s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter¡¯s will and defend his honor regardless of cost. Scour the Guilty: These Intruders are compelled to inflict pain and suffering wherever they manifest and cannot remain in prime material reality for long if these urges are not acted upon. These Intruders lose 50 Psy per ever ten minutes that they are not engaging in combat. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 5. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Enhancer abilities at level 5. These Intruders have access to [Torment IV], [Mindscape II] and [Incite II] at level 10. These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
Solomonite Gnomeburner. (Intruder) (Rare) (Psy: 2500 / 2500) An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter. These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter¡¯s domain. Solomonite Gnomeburners represent those saved entities within Solomon Carter¡¯s realm that saw the true evil of Gnomes once their master made his return to Pandemonium. They are created to be lesser copies of the Cherub of Austin, who follow in their example to cleanse the rot of gnomes from the face of creation. Solomonlings, Solomonite Chanters and Solomonite Flagellants may evolve into Solomonite Gnomeburners given enough time and gnomish deaths at their hand. These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recover Psy by indulging them. Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter¡¯s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter¡¯s will and defend his honor regardless of cost. Scour the Gnome: These Intruders are compelled to inflict pain and suffering on gnomes and cannot remain in prime material reality for long if these urges are not acted upon. These Intruders lose 150 Psy per ever ten minutes that they are not engaging in combat with gnomes. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 10. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Enhancer abilities at level 5. These Intruders have access to [Torment IV], [Pyrokinesis III], [Telekinesis III], [Charming Presence II], [Healing Song II], [Mindscape II] and [Incite II] at level 15. These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
Solomonite Anchorite. (Intruder) (Rare) (Psy: 3500 / 3500) An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter. These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter¡¯s domain. Solomonite Anchorites represent those martyrs who faced persecution for their faith in Solomon Carter, in a time when his control was not yet total and unshakable. Those who become Anchorites took up his cause and stood up to corrupt rulers or advocated for the freedom of slaves. Choosing to save the weak without regard for their own well-being. Their new potent forms celebrate their sacrifice as they are given the power to continue their acts of charity for all time. These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recover Psy by indulging them. Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter¡¯s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter¡¯s will and defend his honor regardless of cost. Shield of his People: These Intruders are compelled to stand in the way of danger so that weaker entities may live. These Intruders lose 50 Psy per every minute that they are not affecting a living creature with their passive boosting or healing abilities.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 10. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Enhancer abilities at level 7. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Shifter abilities at level 5. These Intruders have access to [Battle Ballad IV], [Telekinesis III], [Charming Presence II], [Healing Song II], [Mindscape II] and [Tranquil Mind II] at level 20. These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
Solomonite Inquisitor. (Intruder) (Rare) (Psy: 4500 / 5500) An Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Created when a mortal mind was reborn in The Lakeside Estate; A domain of Pandemonium created and controlled by Solomon Carter. These Intruders are created when the faithful of the Solomonite order are handpicked by The Tall Man to enjoy eternal bliss within Solomon Carter¡¯s domain. Solomonite Inquisitors are the second-most ardent of believers that Solomon Carter has ever had. Lagging only behind Solomonite Paladins in their righteous zeal. These souls gave up all their mortal ties upon first hearing the word of Solomon Carter and embarked on holy wars of conquest or subverted existing power structures in his name. In death, they seek to continue their work by making it so that no mortal is bereft of his blessings. These Intruders suffer from the following compulsions and recover Psy by indulging them. Faithful of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to spread Solomon Carter¡¯s ideals throughout the multiverse and cannot stray from those ideals. These Intruders will also follow Solomon Carter¡¯s will and defend his honor regardless of cost. Mouth of Solomon: These Intruders are compelled to turn those who act or think against Solomon Carter to his word and protection. These Intruders are forced to conspire against those who resist their teachings and may become obsessed with systematically destroying targets they find problematic on social, mental, and physical levels. These Intruders lose 50 Psy per minute if they resist these impulses but may be anchored in prime material realities for extended periods if they are currently engaged with a target. Brand of the Guilty: These Intruders may brand a living target for the pleasure of The Tall Man. Branded targets are singled out for duty as Flagellants upon death. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Telepath abilities at level 15. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Enhancer abilities at level 7. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Shifter abilities at level 15. These Intruders have access to all Tier I Projector abilities at level 7. These Intruders have access to [Battle Ballad IV], [Psychoshock IV], [Torment IV], [Pyrokinesis III], [Telekinesis III], [Life Hunt III], [Charming Presence II], [Healing Song II], [Incite II], [Mindscape II] and [Tranquil Mind II] at level 20. These Intruders will be ejected from prime material reality if they run out of Psy.
By themselves, this would already be far past the point of overkill. Add in the Tall Man silently stalking behind us and it was a wonder that I could still feel small and uneasy. Yet the feeling was annoyingly persistent. Refusing to leave me in spite of the sheer weight of numbers pressing down the moldy forgotten hallways of this place. ¡®Actually, no.¡¯ I noted with some confusion. ¡®There isn¡¯t actually any mold on the walls beyond the entrance that had been gouged out. Which is a wonder in and of itself.¡¯ That only made my instincts more obnoxious in the way they kept pestering me. All my knowledge about the subject insisting that if mold could be somewhere, it most definitely was there unless people were fighting it back with chemicals or other such repellents. ¡®But hey, what¡¯s another mystery to add to the pile?¡¯ The lights began to flicker on then. Despite there being no energy source in the whole damned pyramid and the fixtures being at least a few centuries old. ¡°Okay, someone tell me that was caused by the veil breaking down.¡± I said aloud. ¡°Of course it was!¡± Serpent-Tongue exclaimed, with no small amount of excitement. ¡°This humble one merely thought that the master and his allies could do with some proper illumination! So that all may stare in awe at the majesty with which he conducts himself!¡± ¡°Nice. Great job. Don¡¯t do it again. We¡¯ll rely on torches from now on.¡± And so we did. Lighting up whatever dried bits of wood we could find outside before heading even deeper into the place. From then on, well. I wasn¡¯t scared, strictly speaking. But I did find it odd how off-putting a common office environment could be when it wasn¡¯t lit properly. I don¡¯t know how else to put it. It was like searching the ruins of Chernobyl or something. Getting an eerie glimpse of normality through the lens of a bygone era and the knowledge of the doom that had befallen the people here. ¡°So, does anyone else have any ideas as to why there¡¯s a big kaiju-made hole on the side of the pyramid and no life, kaiju or otherwise inside the actual thing?¡± ¡°Maybe they came and left soon after?¡± Slab offered. ¡°I don¡¯t see there being much to forage inside the actual walls. We¡¯ve been walking for twenty minutes and the only things we¡¯ve come across are the steel outlines of furniture whose leathers and cushions have rotted off. That and old bricks of plastic filled with wires.¡± ¡°Computers.¡± I corrected. ¡°They¡¯re called computers.¡± ¡°No. They were called computers. Once. I¡¯m fairly certain my description is more correct now, given how none of them look like they¡¯ve been turned on for centuries.¡± Well, he had a point there at least. While I could still sense working computers down in the basement sub-levels, the things we found up here might as well have been paperweights for all the good they were. A few had even been purposely smashed in by mutated claws. Indicating that kaiju-spawn did make it here at one point or another. Though their motives for doing so were still a mystery. If they wanted to bring down this place, then they had plenty of time to go about doing so while humanity delved ever deeper into the earth¡¯s crust. It wasn¡¯t as if there was anything up here capable of stopping them. But that hadn¡¯t happened and I could still not arrive at anything resembling a logical reason. The air inside the pyramid felt different from the air outside of it. Despite there being no objective difference as far as I could tell. It was as if my sense of sight and sound and smell kept insisting that nothing was wrong, while my proprioception argued that there were many, many oddities about the walls and the floor and the overall lack of life. Moreover, my psionic senses seemed to disagree as well. My cobweb, with all its Telepathic might and future seeing capabilities, told me that it was merely a stagnant pile of rubble. It was empty and dead now, and it would only hold life when people came back. When new generations came and tore apart the structure to build their own homes and tools. The old and decayed serving as fertilizer for the civilizations that would follow. I foresaw children playing nearby then. Seeing years and years ahead of the current hour and watching as a pale boy tackled a red-haired girl into the ground. The latter turning him around and shoving him. Both laughing until their faces were red and raw and their lungs struggled to draw in fresh breaths. I foresaw their later years as they saw each other as a man and a woman, instead of just friends. I foresaw their own children playing in a bigger house, a bigger neighbourhood. More and more adults having pruned the pyramid for their own needs. Then I saw their children¡¯s children playing in even deeper parts of the pyramid without consequences. Even after two more layers of walls and support beams had been taken apart and re-purposed. None of them seemed to suffer from being near the hollow tomb. At the same time, [Predator¡¯s Instincts] really wasn¡¯t having it. It kept blaring like an alarm. The hairs on my body standing straight and bristling at the unknown force. ¡®No. Not unknown.¡¯ I thought sourly. ¡®There is something eerily familiar about this place. Something I have known before.¡¯ If I had to compare that feeling to anything, it would be more or less the same as what I¡¯d felt after meeting Dolce for the first time. Way out there in the pitch-black abyss beyond the Labyrinth¡¯s normal borders. It felt as though I had come across some higher Tier of predator. Something that could not be bothered to actively hunt me, only because it was so much stronger than me that the effort wasn¡¯t worth it. ¡®And yet, I can¡¯t see a future where any of us are harmed.¡¯ I considered. ¡®And I know that the futures I see are not illusions of false positives of any kind. We aren¡¯t in danger. Strictly speaking.¡¯ Yet that did not mean the danger wasn¡¯t there. Fighting the Dragon had been a wakeup call in that regard. [Limited Omniscience] was potent, but not to the point where it would make any encounter a breeze. If I was fighting another Esper who was more or less on my level¡­ Oh. Ooooohhh. I turned to Dusty. ¡°Man, you ancestors were horrible, horrible people.¡± ¡°Where did that come from?¡± She asked. Obviously taken aback by my comment. I connected our minds and explained what I¡¯d figured out. ¡°Oh.¡± She said. ¡°Oooooh. That¡¯s really bad. Wait! How did that even happen?¡± I shrugged my shoulders. ¡°Lots of information to parse through right now, but I imagine it had something to do with space exploration. Maybe they were trying to build a prototype wormhole or¡­ actually. Never mind. I just saw the vision. That¡¯s exactly what happened.¡± She scowled. ¡°You¡¯re telling me that this world was doomed by¡­¡± ¡°No!¡± I corrected her. ¡°Of course not. There¡¯s nothing here that could make Kaiju like that. Not in the way they came out at least. The people had to actually work with what they found. It is still completely on them.¡± I glanced her way. ¡°Which might explain how easily the people here found and tampered with Esper powers. That¡­ could be a problem later down the line. Potentially.¡± ¡°What are you people talking about?¡± Glossy asked from the back. ¡°It¡¯s nothing!¡± I called back to the main group. ¡°Nothing at all. Also on an unrelated note, Mittens? Could you come over here for a second.¡± ¡°Mittens appears!¡± Anezka¡¯s possessed face answered. Mittens moving her body over to where me and Dusty had been whispering. ¡°Mittens is near! Mittens is here!¡± ¡°Yeah yeah. Love you too. Now, how much Psy would it take to, oh, I don¡¯t know. Wipe this pyramid off the face of the earth forever?¡± Anezka¡¯s face twisted into a rictus grin. ¡°Mittens imagines. Mittens considers. Mittens thinks it a mere trifle.¡± He said at once. ¡°Mittens is in the walls and in the floors. Mittens is in the glass panels and steel doors. Mittens is in the stagnant water and the deadened air. Mittens savours the history tinged with dark despair. Mittens knows no songs that were sang here. Mittens knows a happy future will very soon appear. Mittens will happily knock down the pillars for his master. Mittens shall dye the swamp a lovely alabaster.¡± That sounded good enough for me, given what I¡¯d just deduced. ¡°Okay. Keep bringing Intruders along and cover the whole interior. Take anything that isn¡¯t nailed down, but be very, very careful with the machines. In fact, make sure to take any computers you find back to the manse. Keep them safe and keep them dry. It is very important to me that you do so.¡± Mittens nodded and I turned back to the rest of the party. ¡°Okay guys! That¡¯s enough! Nothing to see here! You can all go back home!¡± Glossy stared at me as if I were speaking Mandarin. ¡°The fuck do you mean, go back home? After we came all this way?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I said simply. ¡°That is exactly what I need from you all. I have the Intruders here in case I need to carry anything and I pretty much figured what made this place so scary to the kaiju. Believe you me, they were right to be scared. I wouldn¡¯t even be staying if it weren¡¯t for the computers in the basement. Now get going.¡±
It took two other warriors to carry her out. Kicking and screaming the whole way. In her mind, this was some great injustice I was committing. Keeping Slab and Dusty here so they could claim all the glory later. If only she knew. ¡°All right then. Let¡¯s get going.¡± I told them. Slab and Dusty nodded at once and continued to follow me down the tunnels. Past a few re-enforced steel containment doors and out of commission turrets. From there, it was another hundred metres or so of stairways. All going down, down, down. Deeper into the bowels of the earth. Every other intersection contained either a collection of cubicles, or else another chemical lab or machine shop. All of them placed behind two or three more layers of shock-resistant glass and thick, unrelenting concrete. In truth, the equipment in each one would have made the old me salivate like a starving bloodhound. This version of me knew better though. In fact, every subsequent step made me more and more hesitant to take anything out. No matter how banal it might seem. The risk for potential failures or oversights was much too grave, after all. Eventually, we reached the basement level. Or at least, what the designers had intended to look like the basement level. I searched the place top to bottom with my cobweb once more. Making damn sure that not a single one of its cells had ever been here. Then I called on the gaggle of Intruders that had been streaming in just behind us. ¡°Okay guys! Here we are. As I said, take everything that isn¡¯t nailed down. Then take the nailed stuff too. All the loot we salvage goes to the mansion first. I want guards posted around every item. From the smallest pen to those industrial fans over there. If anything, and I mean anything, so much as twitches, you are to burn it. Down to the atomic level. Then you burn everything around it too. Just in case.¡± The Solomonlings giggled past me. Their little hands picking up computers and monitors and keyboards by the score. Anchorites followed after them. Their massive, rock-solid forms picking up desks and old extra servers as if they were paperweights. I nodded at them and made for the hidden entrance to the actual basement floor. ¡°Dusty? Would you do the honors?¡± She kicked it. Making the hunk of titanium bend inwardly. Then she kicked it again and again and again. By the time she was done, ten minutes had passed and all my Intruders had stripped the room down to the copper wiring inside the walls. ¡°On second thought. Take the copper too.¡± I ordered them. ¡°Not like the natives are going to use it anytime soon.¡± Then I turned to Dusty, whose chest was heaving from the exertion. ¡°Excellent work. As always.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel excellent from where I¡¯m standing.¡± She groaned. ¡°That took way longer than It should have.¡± ¡°On the contrary.¡± I rebutted. ¡°It was much faster than I imagined. The barricades from this point on should be on the higher end of excessive. Anything else would be the height of stupidity.¡± I turned to the beckoning darkness. Torch in hand. ¡°I mean, honestly. They might not have known exactly what they were dealing with, but even someone who was tap-dancing down the lab as a mad scientist must have known the repercussions of it getting loose.¡± I chuckled dryly. ¡°Your ancestors must have been borderline insane to not burn it the second they found it, but even they had some sense. Even if it wasn¡¯t enough to save them. Honestly, who would dream of leaving a piece of the Seeking Drake unguarded?¡± Chapter 95: Different Perspective. Chapter 95: Different Perspective. The interior walls of the hidden basement were not like those found above. While every other corner of the pyramid that we¡¯d come across at least had the semblance of an office space, this section had been left undisguised. Its cold, metallic, sterile frames left naked for all the world to see. Pillars of entangled fibres and long-running cables hanging loose in plain sight. To me, they evoked the feeling of a half-finished passion project. The kind of sick obsession that turned entire dorms of prospective and otherwise reasonable students into crazed racoons. As all were overcome by a need to try out one more build. To fix a few more bugs. To switch up the hardware one last time before going to bed. Errant laptops and lab equipment would inevitably find its way into the wildest of places, as more and more bodies were added into the equation and the newcomers found that their predecessors were subsisting off of stale coffee and days-old doughnuts. The new arrivals would try to organize the mess and the old guard would curse, ask who had brought in the stupids and put their equipment back in an entirely different way. The new would come to behave like the old while the olds collapsed from exhaustion and then the cycle started anew. It usually ended in one of two ways. Either the fervor dissipated as the weeks turned into months or¡­ ¡®Or there was a massive breakthrough that made it all worth it, and then some. That matter destabilizer back at Uni may have been an overfunded, overhyped drill, but the guys who did it were rockstars until they graduated.¡¯ This place had obviously garnered more attention though. We had been forced to descend six flights of stairs before we found any hint of machinery. The empty, unexcavated space between the two labs serving to cloak whatever it was that they were hiding here. And what a treasure trove it was. Each hallway was cooler than the last. Our breaths becoming visible as we kept walking through the metal corpse. Each other room contained servers. Still very much running at what looked to be full capacity and still very much looking as if they would combust into flames at the slightest touch. The heat they radiated counteracting almost all of the central air conditioning. They hummed as they processed their tasks. My cobweb turning up a series of DNA sequences ¡°Should I call it central refrigeration instead?¡± I wondered aloud. ¡°I¡¯m not uncomfortable per se, but that¡¯s because I got Buddy and quite a few Shifter abilities that help me along. I can¡¯t imagine normal people having a good time down here. Unless they were wearing parkas.¡± ¡°Maybe they were already Enhanced.¡± Dusty suggested. ¡°The changes were prevalent enough that most people could afford to have the work done back then. I can¡¯t see some group of rich scientists foregoing those upgrades.¡± ¡°Maybe.¡± I spoke. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t change that the drop in temperature is a bit excessive. Again, we¡¯re not worried because we have Symbiotes, but I¡¯m pretty sure even you guys would be uncomfortable without them. This kind of design is a poor choice for a lab unless it was absolutely necessary.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be necessary if they were dealing with the Drake?¡± I shrugged. ¡°Not really. This much of a change wouldn¡¯t have slowed him down at all. Which is strange, given how pieces of him are still definitely down here. From what I saw from his memories and from my own ability descriptions tell me, any drone of his should have been able to annihilate any ecosystem it found itself in. Even a fistful of flesh or a few errant cells would have had to potential to multiply exponentially. And that comes from the three Shifter abilities of his that I have. The Drake had many, many more tricks up its sleeves.¡± They hummed as they processed their tasks. My cobweb turning up a series of DNA sequences I was no geneticist, but I could follow my cobweb¡¯s strings over to different sections of the system, including a cluster of storage drives internally labelled as ¡®Genetic Reference Board.¡¯ From there, it was fairly easy to deduce. These servers were analysing genetic sequences that did not carry the evolutionary markers that earth-evolved creatures had. That is, the DNA the machines were processing did not correlate to anything found on earth. A couple of months ago, I would have been salivating at the mouth if given such data. Now, I couldn¡¯t even summon the energy to be surprised. The Drake had admitted to munching on many a creature back at the mansion, but those confession did not do any justice to the scale of his consumptions. Entire sections of the Labyrinth as big as planets had been cleaned of all biomass as he passed. His own cells ever hungry for new lifeforms to assimilate and digest. The store-bought lanterns shone a grey pale light onto the servers one last time. My mind wondering how useful whatever processing units or graphics cards were in there could have been. ¡®Too high a risk.¡¯ I chided myself. ¡®Who knows what kind of recovery methods there are for those things? Anything we erase would always have a chance of coming back. The potential danger of the data in the wrong hands isn¡¯t worth the few gains. Be happy with what you¡¯ve already looted and move on.¡¯ We kept a steady pace for the next twenty or so minutes. Not quite power-walking through the corridors in search of the main bio-containment lab. The darkness retreated as we approached with our lanterns. Shadows melting back into each other as our steps grew nearer and nearer. All of it happened naturally and in almost perfect silence, yet part of my mind insisted on conjuring unreal whispers and half-hidden tendrils slithering between the black spots in the halls. Normally, I¡¯d be cursing out against [Limited Omniscience] or the other future-predicting abilities I had. That or the Tall Man. But I could also tell that neither were the cause of my current troubles. Instead, the blame lay squarely on [Predator¡¯s Instincts]. The power taking the form of a faint, malicious voice that whispered just behind my ears. ¡®Leave.¡¯ ¡®Danger.¡¯ ¡®Predator.¡¯ ¡®Danger.¡¯ ¡®Leave.¡¯ ¡®Leave.¡¯ ¡®Run.¡¯ I was an off change of perspective. To have my Shifter powers be the ones making a fuss while my Telepath powers remained silent. The danger felt, more personal somehow. As if the fear was not logical or not coming from my brain to the rest of my body. Instead, it felt as though my body knew that it was in danger without my brain being aware of it and now the rest of me was trying to warn my mind. ¡®No. That only covers part of it. I can feel all of my cells here too. More distinctly this time. I can feel all the bits that make my finger the organ that it is and I feel that all of it would detach itself from my body without permission if it could. So deep is its fear.¡¯ ¡°I think I¡¯m starting to feel it too.¡± Dusty said. ¡°Yes.¡± Slab confirmed. ¡°It is like a pit in my belly. Like a hole that took away all the warmth I still had. I don¡¯t feel safe here.¡± ¡°None of us are safe here.¡± I told him bluntly. ¡°Again, I have no idea how these guys kept the Drake from ending your world. The cold couldn¡¯t have been it. The Drake would have shrugged off anything higher than absolute zero and we¡¯re talking 0 degrees Kelvin here. -273 degrees Celsius. Nitrogen literally boils before getting to that point and the Drake wouldn¡¯t have bothered to slow down as he ate your lungs. So that couldn¡¯t have been it. I¡¯m still looking for the real answer.¡± Deeper still, we began encountering virological and biological containment labs. Rows upon rows of desks and computers facing a variety of adjacent chambers. The spaces being divided by what seemed to be bullet-proof glass. Kind of like room-sized terrariums. The kind of thing you build when you don¡¯t want your mutated or possibly radioactive freaks of nature to get out. Almost all of them were broken. Their former occupants having long-since departed. There were also torn-apart skeletons on the ground. As if to accentuate the obvious. Yet, that was odd in and of itself. ¡°There are no stains on the floor.¡± Slab commented before I mentioned it. ¡°Of course there aren¡¯t stains on the floor Slab. It has been hundreds of years.¡± ¡°I know. But that doesn¡¯t mean the bones should be this clean.¡± Dusty shrugged. ¡°Whatever escaped probably had a snack.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Slab rebuffed her. ¡°The only scars on the bones are from the obviously broken parts over the chest and from the spine. These people were killed quickly and without much struggle. Whatever did it did not make any other marks on the bones. If something had gnawed on their bodies, then there would be some kind of tooth mark of further breaking sections.¡± Dusty shrugged again. ¡°Not necessarily. Not if whatever killed them drank their blood or drained them through some acid that leaves the bones behind.¡± ¡°If so, why are their coats still on them? Why are they undamaged? It is as if there wasn¡¯t anything here to break down the bones or the non-living fibres.¡± He pointed at the corners with his lamp. ¡°Look. There. That corner and that corner are all clean. There is no moss. There is no mold. Somehow, life or the leftovers of bodies are disappearing. Life itself is being blocked.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. I was following their conversation. Trying to reach my own conclusions, when my instincts flared up a warning. The senses hitting me like an ice-spike driven through my brain. For the first time since becoming a Shifter, I felt my body tremble involuntarily. ¡®Come.¡¯ ¡®Come.¡¯ ¡®Come to me.¡¯ ¡®Seek out.¡¯ ¡®Seek Out.¡¯ ¡®Come here to me.¡¯ ¡®Be one.¡¯ ¡®BE ONE.¡¯ ¡®BE ONE WITH ME.¡¯ ¡°Okay!¡± I spoke out loud. [Dominating] my own body to shut off the noises. ¡°Out! Everybody out! I decided that I don¡¯t want to know what happened to the Drake anymore. Let¡¯s blow this place to kingdom come!¡± The air around us shook as Mittens manifested. ¡°Mittens has smelt! Mittens has knelt! Mittens will help!¡± Mittens withdrew a comically sized explosive from nowhere in particular. The kind I¡¯d bought in bulk from Peachy before my outrageous wealth was confiscated. ¡°Kaboom?¡± Mittens asked. His posture and facial expression making Anezka¡¯s outline seem like something out of a sick child¡¯s feverish nightmares. ¡°No Mittens! No kaboom until we get out. Come on guys. We¡¯re leaving.¡± I stopped receiving their thoughts through my cobweb. ¡°Guys?¡± I turned my lamp towards Dusty and Slab. Noting their vacant expressions seconds before they keeled over. I was moving at once. My hands reaching out for their bodies whilst I began peering into the future. From there, I foresaw them shaking. Twitching on the ground before their Symbiotes separated from them in roughly four minutes. Then I foresaw their suits turning back into the gelatinous form they and Buddy had before bonding. Then, I foresaw their suits drifting away. Crawling with mucous tentacles in the opposite direction that we arrived through. That is, deeper into the underground complex. I blinked in real time and began to foretell the same thing happening to Dusty and Slab. Their skin and flesh dissolving. With the aftermath crawling on the floor with newly grown pseudopods. ¡°(Gnome)ing Drake man.¡± I cursed. Focusing psy into my fingers and forcing my body to heal them. ¡°Right you two.¡± I commanded. ¡°Get up.¡± They didn¡¯t do so. Despite my [Domination] working on unconscious targets. I grumbled and moved to heal them again. Noticing how their cells were scrambling to follow a signal. A psionic signal. ¡°Damn it.¡± I groaned. ¡°Tall Man. Get me more Intruders. Ones with healing abilities. Get Dusty and Slab topside.¡± Two anchorites spawned in from empty air. Alongside two inquisitors, two chanters and seven Solomonlings. They picked up the two as delicately as they could and carried them away before their Symbiotes gave way. I turned to the darkness then. Groaning once more. ¡°Hold on Buddy. I¡¯m going to keep healing you for a while. This might get ugly.¡± ¡®No need to worry Sully! I¡¯m way more upgraded than those two! It¡¯ll take a lot more than that to get away from me!¡¯ ¡°Thank you Buddy.¡± I said with a sigh. After that, the lack of life became even more obvious. More and more bodies lining the rest of the containment labs like decorations on Halloween. Some of them were even dressed up in still-sealed hazmat suits or paramilitary power-armor. Those draped in the suits had a pocket of stained or discoloured remnants somewhere within the outfit. Completely separated from their skeletons. In contrast, those in power-armor were nothing but skeletons. Their meaty bits having long-since vanished. ¡°Hey Tall Man? Start gathering more Intruders around the place and have them haunt the walls. All of them. Everywhere in the pyramid. But don¡¯t destabilize reality too much until all the other humans are long gone.¡± I felt the air tremble as the veil thinned. Beyond what little games I was capable of while the ability was still in the first Tier. Faces began blossoming on the walls. Open eyelids and missing eyes weeping gentle brooks of half-purple. Half-red blood. The missing orbs almost seemed to track me as I moved deeper into the compound. Chanting in soft, choir-like voices with every step I took. ¡°You act as if this is the first or second time we¡¯ve met. You really shouldn¡¯t be surprised anymore.¡± ¡°To help you, of course. I¡¯ve said as much every time you¡¯ve asked. My answer isn¡¯t going to change anytime soon. Why do you refuse to believe me?¡± ¡°That was ages ago darling. And I only did it so you¡¯d realize what being a Shifter meant. Its not my fault that you¡¯re slow on the uptake.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been called worse by better men than you.¡± I saw flashes of the Dragon and of the Drake. Recalling from the absorbed memories how the fiend had broken the children. Mentally, first. And then physically. And then on a spiritual level so deep that what remained could not be called children. Or people. The Drake had been in a palace then. A cathedral of quivering, still-living flesh. One that was also him and part of him. Equal parts menagerie and torture chamber. He had laughed then. He had laughed when the Dragon failed to kill him. He had not laughed when exposed to Lady Agony¡¯s Veiled Prince. Nor had he laughed when meeting mine. ¡°That leads us to the crux of the matter. Your Intruders.¡± The walls continued. ¡°They are not, as you mistakenly believe, predictable friends. The dimension you¡¯re calling them from is not a prime material one, so you cannot fathom what their existences have been like. Neither can they for that matter. They do not know compassion, as sentients do. Foul as you believe me to be, I at least know of the concept and can appreciate how it feels.¡± ¡°I have fought Telepaths who indulged in these abilities before. All of them, to a fault, were utterly self-destructive. For the beings summoned from Pandemonium are incapable of relating or interacting with the material plane as we do. Unless they come from high-tiered abilities. Ones that allow them to form their own personalities.¡± ¡°By using abilities like [Unstable Reality] you are courting not only your destruction, but the destruction of entire civilizations. All it takes is one errant thought and the things that come through will devour planets whole before you can blink.¡± ¡°It has four horns! And centipede legs! They¡¯re twitching! And they¡¯re flickering in and out of reality! For (Noble)¡¯s sake! They¡¯re wrapping themselves around your shoulder!¡± ¡°No! I am not (Noble)ing high you imbecile! Look at it! Look!¡± ¡®Yeah. Come to think of it, he really didn¡¯t like Mittens either. And yet, the part of the Drake locked in here didn¡¯t react to the Intruders all over the pyramid and that was before the bloody thing was outright possessed. But there also isn¡¯t any difference in the ambient Psy right now. And I¡¯m not picking up any signs of the Drake. I mean, I didn¡¯t pick up on the Dragon¡¯s mind either so that can be explained. But I don¡¯t recall him having any kind of ability to deter Telepathic detection. Domination and charming effects yes, he could do it by having multipole brains; but not detection. He couldn¡¯t do that past the natural resistance that passives like [Predator¡¯s Instincts] provided. Once merged and levelled to upper Tiers, those passives would have been more than enough for the Drake in most circumstances.¡¯ ¡®So either the Drake drone was somehow unthinking or¡­ no. I¡¯d still be able to detect it. There just isn¡¯t a way that¡­¡¯ Another signal came to me. A vision from the future. I saw a thin strand of possibility that had not been there before. The wider electronic grid coming online as new instructions came from¡­ from¡­ I sent my body hurling forwards. So that I was five meters away before the turrets sprouted from the floors and ceiling. Then my senses crawled through the new sub-system. Invading through the interfaced devices in the intranet. My mind adjusted to communicating with machines and I ordered them to stop at once. The false tiles had only just begun to give way, when the process halted. ¡°Error.¡± An electronic voice called from the speakers. ¡°Subject not recognized. Subject not in logs. Subject displays abnormal psionic behaviour. Su sus sus su¡­¡± ¡°Save it.¡± I called out. The seconds stretching into eternities as all my focus went to [Limited Omniscience]. I saw more possibilities now. Despite the picture being clear earlier. They all led to the Drake. None of them ended with him escaping. Though he was here. Sort of. ¡°Huh.¡± I intoned. ¡°That¡¯s actually smart. Its only a spot of brightness in an abyss, but it is something. Kudos.¡± I walked forward with more confidence now. My senses compressed alongside my attention. Passing two more floors without another incident. Then my eyes went to the samples strewn around on glass containers. Each one presented like a museum piece despite being technically dead. I saw their futures and confirmed that it was safe. So, I smashed one in and touched the desecrated tissue sample contained inside.
Ability Gained: [Scales] 2 has been added to the Status.
A rush of knowledge, or recognition, passed through me. Like inspiration from on high or the guiding hand of a parent. ¡®Huh? Is that all? How simple.¡¯ I focused my psy and forced the tissue into me. My skin gobbling it up like a snail or a carnivorous flower. I turned to another one and did the deed once more.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Gained: [Chitin] 2 has been added to the Status.
Ability Gained: [Feathers] 2 has been added to the Status.
It seemed so simple then. Simply do what I already do with [Protean Form], but change things a bit on the cells structure. It really did sound stupid when I thought about it that way, but there was no better way to describe it at the moment. ¡®Come.¡¯ ¡®Come.¡¯ ¡®Come to me.¡¯ ¡°Yeah yeah. I¡¯m going.¡± I said aloud. Taking my sweet time with the samples laid out in front of me before going down. After all, why not? Not like he was going anywhere. Ten minutes later saw me heading down another two sealed checkpoints. The turrets having long since been de-activated. My eyes were going wall to wall then. Taking in the informative signs painted on the thickening walls. ¡°Psionic Dead Zone Ahead.¡± Read one in red blocky letters. ¡°Grav Lock Ahead. Do Not Approach Gravitational Containment.¡± ¡°No need to tell me friend.¡± I exclaimed. Now feeling the drift in ambient Psy for the first time. It was, odd, to say the least. As if a little, very very small shard of ambient Psy were being drained by the second. As if sucked into a vacuum. Only, instead of acting as an amplifier like my reality warping abilities, it diminished the variations on Psy. Almost, as if taking ambient Psy, focusing it, and turning it into the Psy an Enhancer would be using. It did affect me. Of course it did. But I already had so much Psy that it barely made a difference once I¡¯d gotten used to it. Which again turned this into a dilemma. ¡°Okay. Didn¡¯t even know it was possible to focus Psy into a particular Type through a machine. Peachy certainly didn¡¯t offer anything like that. (Gnome), even my [Overwhelming Avatar] can¡¯t really do that. Most lesser Intruders get a mix of all four Types depending on what they possess. The tech could be very useful.¡± On the other hand¡­ Drake. Risk of contamination. Not good. I forced my body to sigh and kept moving deeper. Into the deepest sections of the lab. ¡°Wait a second¡­ is that what the Dragon did back there? Turning the Psy around him into Enhancer-only Psy? Damn it!¡± ¡®Come.¡¯ Whispered the voice. ¡°Jeez! I said I was coming already!¡± I shouted. Now hastening my steps. There, at the end of a very long and very wide conference hall, was a thick, green vat. And within it roiled a storm of psionic energy. Shining down a series of containment spheres that each made up another portion of the gravity lock. A device that increased the gravitational pressure within a targeted direction. Inside it, were a clump of cells. Floating helplessly against pressurised air from all directions. It was invisible to the human eye, but I could still make them out through the screams from my instincts. Looking down, there were rotted stains on the floor that surrounded the vat. It would seem that none of the missing giblets made it to the drone. I looked back up and sent my mind through the innermost systems. Over thousands of logs and written reports and a myriad warnings written in big red letters, I got the message. ¡°Psy cuts out in case of breach. Gravity persists for a few seconds after breach. Cells, now starved should die before breaching containment. DO NOT TEST¡± ¡°Ah what a bunch of idiots.¡± I said in defeat. ¡°They must have milked it for all it was worth and never thought of how it might be affecting the world around them. Though that is unfair of me. I¡¯m a bit of an outlier when it comes to sensing things. How could they have known?¡± Still, it was perhaps a blessing that they didn¡¯t realize what was happening until it was too late. If they kept poking at it, it would have inevitably escaped sooner or later. With this outcome, none were left to prod it further and gamble earth¡¯s future in the process. The gravity engines were powered by the biothermal reactors so there was no danger point there. Not unless they failed somehow. ¡°No. Better to put an end to this now.¡± I reasoned. I was just about to call out the Tall Man as if he were an angry rottweiler. Telling it to savage everything in that particular direction, when I hesitated. ¡®Well, if he¡¯s going to die anyway, I might as well try something out on the cells here. Good practice for the real deal.¡¯ I opened a hole through the confounding psionic device. I pushed my mind through and into him. And I immediately regretted it. Even as a swarm of cells barely hanging on, the feedback felt like being crushed by elephants. Millions, trillions of voices calling out at once from the echoes of their absorbed vitality. Yet I stood my ground. Sending over the most evolved version of [Mental Bolt] I now possessed. [Solomon¡¯s Righteous Indignation X] flew. Striking the center of the containment tube like a thunderclap. The air popped and these walls too were driven to possession. My Intruders coming out as hideous, twisted faces paralyzed mid-grin. That imbalance disturbed the psionic engines for one second. Just one second. That was all it took. For the cells to grow into a human-sized body. The flesh and bones instantly adapting to the form of the gravity as my attack fully settled. The newly grown nervous system disintegrated. And then it was re-grown. The mind inflating from nothingness to call back out to me. ¡®Food.¡¯ It thought. And then the aftershock of the power struck it again and it thought no more. Lingering in the world now only as half-remembered memories. Real, new perspectives from the Seeking Drake. Chapter 96: The Might of a Remnant. Chapter 96: The Might of a Remnant. Foreign Psy entered my body, my mind, my essence. Tainting me and the lake within me with different colors. My cells found the resonance in that taint. Recalling the powers that now coursed through them. I saw the Drake in the form of a bipedal she-goat. Birthing thousands of dissimilar young from a colossal ovipositor connected to his abdomen. Some had wings and some had scales. Some had antennae and some had feathers. Some had fur and some had fins. Yet all were as the Drake, but younger. More subservient. More loving. They loved the Drake as children would their mother and the Drake loved them back. For they were the only beings in the multiverse that wholeheartedly accepted his quest for perfection. I saw the Drake welcoming a guest to his cathedral of flesh. A pale-green quadruped with seven-fingered hands where a dog would have front paws. The newcomer had a flat, ape-like face and a long prehensile tail that ended in yet another hand and his fur was coated in misaligned barbed tendrils that ran the course of their body. In contrast, the version of the Drake sitting across from him looked somewhat regal. Gentle, even. Three of its upper limbs cradling a larva with rows upon rows of shark teeth while its one free arm reached for a glass full of some aquamarine beverage. ¡°It is such a lovely occasion.¡± The Drake began. ¡°When I get to meet another of my kind.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. Let me go!¡± The other creature pleaded. Their exposed fangs doing little to mask their terror and desperation. ¡°Oh but of course you do. My sweetling.¡± The Drake purred. ¡°You are a Savant. Like me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is.¡± The creature protested. Their shoulders straining against bindings that I could not readily see. On closer inspection, I realized that there were no bindings. Their whole body had been fused to the chair of bone and another, barely visible worm had attached itself to the base of their spine. ¡®Yeah. He¡¯s not going anywhere.¡¯ I thought with reluctance. My mind evoking a prayer for whatever poor soul I was watching right now. ¡°No?¡± The Drake intoned. ¡°How funny then that you would challenge this humble Seeker of knowledge and physical perfection so openly.¡± The Drake¡¯s mouth seemed to purr and the simple motion caused the structure to shake. Walls and masonry quivering like shivering muscles. The insectoid attached to the guest squealed too and the poor soul it was attached to let out a silent scream. ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± The challenger bellowed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want! Let me go and my people will reward you! I¡¯m worth a goodly ransom!¡± Ooooooh. I didn¡¯t claim to be an expert on the Drake, but even I¡¯d seen enough of him to know that was a bad move. If he hadn¡¯t been feeling sadistic by that point, he sure was now. The Drake cooed. In a way that made it seem as if he were a gentle mother calming down a riled-up child. ¡°Ransoms and promises and broken dreams. How delightful. How very novel. But darling, sweetling, don¡¯t you know? Such trifles and formalities are so blas¨¦. You come across as so desperate. A poser or worse, a poseur. Why would I accept cold dead trinkets and empty words in place of you? Especially when you are here in front of me. Very much warm and very much alive?¡± The Drake tapped the table in front of him. The captive began to scream in exquisite agony. His cries soon cutting off into a silent plea. So that only his face was left twisted. Then the Drake tapped again and that face was paralysed in that expression. ¡°Much better. Oh my but you truly are so expressive. You¡¯ll make an excellent mantlepiece. Or maybe a bed. A little one for my children. Or perhaps I shall make children from you. Do you think your intestines recall your powers? My sweetling?¡± The Drake remained seated but motioned so that the chair opposite him was lifted into the air by tendrils that descended from the ceiling. ¡°Do you think they will remember your pride? Your delicious confidence? The very air with which you carried yourself into my palace? Freezing everything in your path?¡± The guests face did not change, but I could tell his own eyes were tracking his captor. Still aware and suffering. ¡°Oh you cut such a dashing figure sweetling. Here, I¡¯ll show you once more in case you don¡¯t quite recall all the details.¡± A nearby wall to their right shivered and its surface turned into black glass. The panel then changing colors like a chameleon to simulate an actual screen. The captive¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°See? There you are. With your fat, ugly wench and your vapid, useless sidekick and the twenty other sycophants trailing behind you. None of them are doing anything. No. It is all you. You alone froze my palace over from the entrance to my realm. You alone turned my home into a mausoleum. But they shared your arrogance and¡­¡± The Drake stopped. ¡°Oh? What is this now? Is this surprise I see in your gaze? Oh, I see. You did not think you were being watched.¡± The Drake spread its own face into a smile that did not reach his eyes. ¡°My sweetling. My poor, poor, stupid sweetling. Honestly. I don¡¯t know how often I¡¯ve had to repeat myself.¡± He rose for the first time. Effortlessly growing to three times his previous size. ¡°I am the Seeking Drake. Master of all that is living. The flesh keeps no secrets from me.¡± I felt the Drake¡¯s own mind tremble. Knowing very well that he was more incensed by the fact he had been underestimated, rather than the actual attempt at his life. ¡°Did you think my range was limited because I was a Shifter? Did you think you could kill me from a safe perch? Like some common monster out there in the Tutorial or the greater Labyrinth?¡± The Drake began to circle his guest. Mouth now dripping with envenomed saliva. ¡°I am life itself. In all its splendor! I am the climax of its eternal quest for supremacy! For dominance and ubiquity! I am every cell in your delicious body and the primordial ooze from which your single-celled ancestors crawled out of! I am the one who yearns for perfection! I am the one who embodies that pursuit! I am the Seeking Drake! I will not be disrespected by the likes of you, sweetling!¡± The Drake made a croaking noise from his throat and the very skies above the castle parted. A bolt of hardened blood gouging a hole through the bone ceiling with the sound of a thunderclap. The projectile melted into hot goo as it struck the floor. Losing most of its momentum, before it congealed into a living, crimson mantle that rose up to drape itself around the Drake¡¯s current form. ¡°Oh but you are all the same. All you Projectors. You change the universe by twisting its energies and its matter to your whims and this somehow leads to you deluding yourself into thinking that you are superior. That all that exists is a toy for your amusement.¡± The Drake cackled as it snuggled into its new dressings. ¡°Yes. Yes sweetling. I see that pride in you still. I see the glint of it in your eye. You see meat and think of carbon. You see bone and think of calcium. You see the contracting of lungs and the beautiful, rhythmic beat of many hearts and you see kinetic energy. Motion and the movement of gases and liquids to make chemical reactions happen. And in your hubris you think to yourself that is all there is to it. That such blessed processes keep occurring only because you allow it. After all, what is a cell if not a collection of molecules? What is a life if not the end result of many chained reactions? What is Psy if not the means by which to control the underlying forces of those reactions?¡± The Drake placed a forefinger on the captive. His mouth sealed shut. Lips and teeth sewing into themselves until not a trace remained. The poor sod began heaving through his nose, but it was all in vain. A closer inspection revealed that the Drake¡¯s touch had caused his lungs to erupt from his body. Seemingly without his notice. They were now drawing in air with mouths of their own. ¡°Enhancers and Telepaths can be annoying too. In their own stupid ways. One sees life and sees the basis of their empowered self. Another sees life and sees the foundation of the mind. They come a little bit closer and they are generally more open minded, but none of you understand. None of you have the brainpower necessary to change! To absorb new ideas! Why, if you and yours had half the wits the divines gave their centipedes, then you¡¯d be begging me to teach you! Crawling forwards on bended knee and pleading for me to share my wisdom!¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The Drake looked less and less feminine with each sentence. Their body sprouting horns from unspeakable places, even as their muscles ballooned. ¡°Life is not the basis for anything, fool. Life is not some curiosity for you to sneer at! Life is precious! All of it! It is the collective struggle of billions upon billions of years! It is the one aspect of creation that gives any meaning to anything that happens! Life is rare, vulnerable, yet inevitable. When the conditions are right, more life will always sprout up. More beings will struggle and die and kill and make love and evolve into better versions of themselves! That or die trying!¡± The Drake¡¯s rear limbs were spreading out now. Like the roots of a tree. And like roots, they tore up and upturned the floor beneath them. Cracking slabs of tiled bone with casual ease. ¡°You are blind to its totality! To its potential! Tell me, sweetling, what can you do that life cannot re-create? Use force? Ha! All muscles can do that. Freeze things? There are tens of thousands of organisms in this section of the Labyrinth alone that can do that with chemicals they produce. Shock things? Bio-electricity is far more potent and far more sustainable than anything you and your flunkies could conjure up! Why, just look at this robe of mine! It came down with the force of a thunderbolt and still became something else afterwards! What more proof do you need? To see that Shifters are the true heralds of Psy! The ones who can best embody the wish to alter our place amongst all other thing! You Projectors change the worlds around you, when you should be changing yourselves!¡± His roars were those of tigers by that point. Deafening through the haze of the memory. ¡°Each mote of life in this entire subdimension is a part of me. An extension of me. From the lamps you passed to the very tiles you were walking on. From the walls in my home to the bushes in my garden. They are all me. They have my blood and sinews and yes, even brains. You do not need to be a Telepath to be interconnected, my sweetling. They all carry my pheromones and act as relays for them. Lengthening the reach of my signal. Of my authority.¡± The Drake caressed his captive¡¯s body. Causing it to change. ¡°From the moment you breathed in the air in this realm, you were under my sway. Under my influence. Stop and think for the first time in your life and you will see it too. Your blood, bone and sinew knew me as their master within a fraction of a second. They knew me and loved me and wished to be part of me too. Even as you began throwing out blasts of ice to incapacitate me. As if that is all it would take to stop me! What!? Did you think you could do what others couldn¡¯t because you were a Savant? Did you figure my hand could not reach you if the world itself was frozen? Did you have the audacity to consider yourself my equal? My better!?¡± ¡®That guy is definitely ending up as furniture.¡¯ I thought bitterly. ¡®If he¡¯s lucky.¡¯ In that same vein, the vision gave me a new appreciation for Sarcophagus Solomon and the abilities I had developed. This guy had presumably frozen over most if not all of the Drake¡¯s dimension within seconds of entering it and that had barely been enough to slow it down. Meanwhile, Sarcophagus Solomon relied only on [Inexorable Presence X] to see him through and that had worked out much better. ¡®Though I suppose the other me also had the good manners, or good sense, to ask for an invitation beforehand.¡¯ Whatever the case, this display of skill showcased how much drones could do for a crafty Shifter. How they could extend the reach of pheromones, and therefore, the reach of abilities like [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] or [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X]. ¡®It might seem distasteful, but I will have to get used to doing that too. I¡¯ve been relying too much on my Telepath side and that has clearly stagnated my creativity and power development.¡¯ That much was obvious, after this display. I personally had no need of drones to extend my reach, so I had never even considered using the ability like that. Which led to me not quite understanding how flexible and truly frightening the power could be, since I could do worse with my cobweb and [Domination]. ¡®Maybe I should start limiting myself to Shifter abilities only? The feedback I get from my instincts and my cells is different from the one I get from my mind-reading and future-sight, so it might be helpful to focus on one at a time. At least until I am more used to the former.¡¯ ¡°Oh but don¡¯t you cry for what you¡¯ve lost, my sweetling.¡± The Drake cooed once more. ¡°You shall die, as you wish. Then you shall live and reproduce and die and live again. All under my gentle caresses. Oh, don¡¯t look at me like that. Of course I have an ability to revive myself. What? Did you think it was a myth? Merely the whispers of cowards and doddering old grandmothers? Honestly sweetling. That is so close-minded of you. Even death is but a form of life, for what is death, but a new beginning?¡± I felt the Drake¡¯s next caress as if he had done it to me. Then my vision snapped back to reality and many more things made sense.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Gained: [Tracking Instincts] 2 has been added to the Status.
Ability Gained: [Social Instincts] 2 has been added to the Status.
Ability Gained: [Eusocial Instincts] 2 has been added to the Status.
Oooh. That hit the spot. Like a shot of whisky followed up by a shot of rum. And another shot of whisky. I could feel the tender spots beneath my fingernails flexing and unflexing. My blood now having a missing piece of the puzzle. A missing element that was made to be used beside my already existing abilities. I brought up the ability description once more.
[Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] Grants the User the ability to produce various chemical compounds within themselves, including Adhesives, Acids, Combustible Compounds, Cooling Compounds, Conductive Compounds, Fissile Compounds and Radioactive Compounds at a rate of + 700 % of their current total body mass at a cost of 1000 Psy per second. Compounds created through this ability may be stored or re-absorbed at no extra cost. All foreign compounds of similar nature may be absorbed and broken down at a rate of + 500 % of the User¡¯s current total body mass at a cost of 1000 Psy per second. Grants the User the ability to spawn drones from their own mass at a rate of 500 Psy per every 5 ability levels the drone might possess. Drones receive all of the User¡¯s Shifter abilities at birth, though they inherit these abilities starting at level 1 with none of the corresponding Titles. Drones may Infect or Hijack other living targets in order to gain access to their abilities. Affected targets must sever the physical connection between them and the drone before their nervous systems are taken over. Targets that fail to resist have their bodies overtaken at different rates and costs, depending on their level difference with the drone. Their minds remain unaffected and conscious throughout the process. Affected targets are freed as soon as the Drone either kills them or runs out of Psy. Affected targets may be controlled and monitored through pheromones, as they will begin to form a Pheromonal Hierarchy with the User at the top and any subsequent drones on lower rungs. Grants the User the ability to produce natural pheromones within themselves that may attract or ward off susceptible biological targets, as well as serve as a means with which to communicate with susceptible targets or drones at a rate of + 500 % per 5 current ability levels and a cost of 200 Psy per hour. Affected targets within the range of the pheromones or who produce pheromones of their own will continue to be affected at no extra cost besides the cost of producing their own pheromones. Pheromones may cover an immediate area of up to 100 metres away from the User¡¯s producing organs or the equivalent organs of affected drones. This limit may not be exceeded through Shifter abilities. The potency of all these effects increases by 300% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
My eyes then read and re-read the part about drones once more. ¡°Ah right. The power was combined from [Organ Independence] / [Produce Adhesive] / [Produce Acid] / [Produce Pyro-Chemical] / [Produce Cryo-Chemical] / [Produce Electro-Chemical] / [Pheromone Hierarchy] / [Pheromone Trail] / [Pheromone Attraction] / [Pheromone Diversion] / [Hijack] and [Infection]. Yeah. How very fun. What was it Prudence said? That she didn¡¯t feel like turning into an ant queen or something?¡± I had thought that it was fair enough back then. The joke was on both of us though. The idea of birthing new life from myself, didn¡¯t seem so alien anymore. Much like with [Predator¡¯s Instincts] I had a little dark voice in my head. Now whispering that a single me could become many smaller me. And many smaller me were hungry. Then that voice became twisted. Perverted. Like my other instincts had when exposed to the Drake¡¯s¡­ Ah. (Gnome). I searched through my cobweb. Looking for the new branches created by my decisions. Sure enough, my former predictions were not wrong. The few cells that remained, despite the burst of regeneration, would not be able to leave with their lives. Too many backup routines, too many contingencies. Far too many re-enforced doors standing between them and any new infusion of biomass. It would have been futile, even if I didn¡¯t come down to finish it off for good measure. That didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t leave anything behind though. The corpse, if one could call it a corpse, stubbornly clung on to some semblance of life. Chunks of regenerated flesh still twitching within the vat. Looking almost bloated in a way. Almost as if it were still, growing. And that shard of the Drake had its own combined abilities. Including those derived from all the different instincts. But it wouldn¡¯t be enough to change me unless there was a breach. Unless the actual, physical pheromones hit me. Then I recalled the Drake¡¯s words. ¡®Even death is but a form of life, for what is death, but a new beginning?¡¯ Then the corpse contracted for the first time. Right before it exploded and released a cloud of red mist all over the place. I called on [Inexorable Presence X]. All the Psy in that hemisphere died. The cells with them. At least, they did so for a second. Before twitching once more. Calling out to a kindred spirit. To me. ¡°TALL MAN!!¡± I shouted at once. ¡°Blow this place to kingdom come! Also, take me away to Pandemonium!¡± Spectral hands dragged me backwards and then downwards. Making my body phase past layers of reality, even as my literal (Gnome)ing arms were falling off. The last thing I saw of that particular material reality, was my own limbs growing limbs of their own. Bloodied stumps erupting with needle-like fangs and insectoid-like eyes. Crystalline dragon-fly wings breaching the skin around my former elbows before filling the air with incessant, obnoxious buzzing. I landed in the manse. On my rear. The Tall Man standing ominously behind me like a disappointed nanny. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that.¡± I said with irritation. ¡°I had that totally under control. I predicted he wouldn¡¯t make it out and he didn¡¯t. I predicted I would come out of it alive and I did. I predicted it would be better to take care of this problem sooner, rather than later and that turned out to be the case. I mean, just imagine what would have happened in a couple thousand years when some yahoo went spelunking down there. I was completely¡­¡± The next few words came out as slurred, drawn-out mumbles and gurgles. As my face, mouth and tongue melted away. Transforming into skittering roach-scorpion hybrids that rapidly made their exit. Unlike the Drake¡¯s cells, these critters were akin to an open book. Their minds open for me to read. ¡®Flee!¡¯ ¡®Reform!¡¯ ¡®Return to glory!¡¯ ¡®Make the master!¡¯ ¡®Remake the Drake!¡¯ ¡®Seek out perfection! Go back to perfection! Eat this new world alive!¡¯ Sadly for them, this was not the kind of world they were used to. This was the realm of emotion, fantasy and limitless possibility. So, the walls and floors and indeed the very air around them grew fangs¡­ And devoured them in turn. Chapter 97: The Sunnyside Strangler. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re not angry.¡± I told Slab as we packed. He only shrugged in response. ¡°Meh. The skies are a different color on occasion, the hills have grown eyes and mouths and the seas are filled with blood. Big deal.¡± ¡°No, I do think it is a big deal.¡± I countered. ¡°I¡¯ve been fully wrangling the changes with my presence and ordering the Tall Man to rein things in, but the smaller side-effects refuse to go. I¡¯ve even foreseen other high-levelled Intruders making their way over here. That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been upgrading people all day.¡± Slab raised an inquisitive eyebrow. ¡°Are any of them going to be as bad as the Great Devourers?¡± ¡°No.¡± I admitted. ¡°Most will keep popping in and out when my own Intruders hunt them and the stronger ones will run as soon as they sense the Tall Man.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s nothing to worry about.¡± He decided. ¡°Whatever minor inconveniences might pop up, I¡¯m sure they are nothing compared to the risk posed by the Seeking Drake. Besides, no one was living in London or the surrounding areas. No one is going to be overly angry with what happened to the city.¡± Well, he was right about that. I could confirm as much through my link to everyone else on this planet. Yet the idea that someone could erase an entire city and be met with nothing but praise didn¡¯t sit right with me. Though as he said, the Drake would have done much, much worse if he ever got out. I had predicted he never would have gotten out, but it was better to be doubly sure about these things. Even as careless as the old-world scientists had been, they¡¯d been smart enough to put down a couple dozen backup systems for their indiscretions. At that moment, the two of us felt a rush of displaced air as the space behind us crumbled and imploded. We turned to see another odd figure standing there. ¡°Behold my form and kneel mortals! I Githukurak! Have come to bend your pitiful reality to my¡­!¡± The insectoid, horned figure paused to look at me. Only for a second. Then it manifested a door behind itself and opened it with a flourish. ¡°NEVER MIND!¡± They snapped it closed and the air rushed back in to fill the vacuum the Intruder left behind. ¡°We¡¯ll be fine.¡± Slab added once more. ¡°Everyone left behind has lived through worse. Besides, you yourself said it wouldn¡¯t last very long.¡± ¡°Only another month or so.¡± I confirmed. ¡°As I said, that¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m more worried about what awaits us in the Labyrinth. Especially now that you aren¡¯t allowed to assist us with the Spider.¡± ¡°It was an optional boss anyway.¡± I assured him. ¡°And just because I won¡¯t be physically there for the fight doesn¡¯t mean there isn¡¯t anything I can do for you guys. I¡¯m still a walking exp booster. I¡¯ll be sure to keep you guys in shape.¡± ¡°About that, do you suppose we should be worried about the Dragon?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± I told him bluntly. ¡°The Drake¡¯s advantages dissolve when reality starts breaking down. He couldn¡¯t overcome a veiled prince in the 8th Tier. I don¡¯t see how mine could do worse. Not when a 10th Tier Enhancer is ripping him a new one.¡±
System Notice: Students will return to the Labyrinth in 10 seconds.
We both glanced from the message to each other. Then we began to wrap the few computer parts the others salvaged more tightly around ourselves. I had just wrapped my arms around my own load, when I felt that distinctive tingling sensation around my body. The sceneries changing from that of a newly-erected settlement to that of a bustling town. Immediately after, I saw people. Humans. Walking about what seemed like a dockside factory. Next to them were aliens that were somewhat humanoid in shape, with ridges along their humongous bodies or mossy growths under their hooves. None of them seemed bothered by the fact that I had appeared out of thin air. Or by the fact that I was holding on to roughly 900 pounds of CPUs and GPUs wrapped in tanned kaiju hides. I stood back up. Confused as to where I was. The buildings made me think of an old colonial town. One that just figured out early industrialism and the wonders it could do to the economy. Large factories were dotted around the place. Their chimneys belching out thick plumes of black smoke that merged into the dark-grey clouds overhead. A closer look revealed that none of the pedestrians passing me by looked happy to be here. In fact, they looked downright miserable. Trudging along like condemned men to the gallows. Then I gasped as my cobweb carried signals back to me. There was more to this place. I was surrounded by¡­ By¡­ ¡°Well, how do you do stranger?¡± A gnome asked me from the side. I turned to it. Not saying a word. ¡°My but you are a big one aren¡¯t you? Wonder what they feed kids where you grew up! Well, I hope you like it here better! Welcome to Sunnyside Town!¡± The gnome laughed. ¡°But don¡¯t mind me! Don¡¯t mind me. I¡¯m just heading off to work over there at the factory. The kids do most of the work, but they won¡¯t whip themselves!¡± The gnome laughed at its own joke. Its chest heaving as the wheezing almost took it off its feet. A dog walked by at that time. Her ribs visible through her thin, patchy fur. She whined next to the gnome, as if asking for food. The gnome snarled. ¡°What are you doing here you mutt!¡± It bellowed. ¡°Go on! Get out of here!¡± The gnome kicked the dog. Once, twice. Using all the strength those little stubby legs could manage. ¡°Get out of here! Go on! Get away! Go bother somebody else or die in the gutter for all I care!¡± It was about to throw a third kick, when I placed a gentle hand on its shoulder. My rage momentarily overpowering my disgust. The gnome looked up at me. ¡°My, but that is one great big smile you have on your face friend.¡± It paused to regard me more closely. ¡°Why, I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen a smile that wide in my life. You look kind of, eerie.¡± ¡°It is fine.¡± I answered. Keeping my voice as steady as possible. ¡°It is all fine. It will all be fine. Now that I am here.¡± The gnome looked confused. ¡°O, okay?¡± ¡°Come over here, gnome.¡± I urged it towards a nearby alleyway. ¡°I have a secret to tell you.¡± The gnome¡¯s eyes went to the alley. ¡°I don¡¯t know friend. It looks pretty dark and foreboding.¡± ¡°It is fine.¡± I [Dominated] it. ¡°Come over to the dark alleyway with me. It will all be better soon.¡± The gnome followed me. Its mind swaying under my influence. Revelling in the joy me presence brought. Once we were out of sight, I breathed a sigh of relief. My fingers now curling around the gnome¡¯s throat. It gurgled. Its little fingers soon clawing my hands to no avail. ¡°Yes.¡± I repeated. ¡°I don¡¯t know how I got here, or why, but that doesn¡¯t matter. It will all be right soon.¡± I squeezed a little tighter. Watching as the gnome¡¯s face turned apple-red, then a deep royal purple. His little eyes became bloodshot towards the end. Bulging out like balloons. I did not loosen my grip. Instead, I got a novel idea. Turning my fingers into needles and repositioning my hands to inject my own cells into the gnome.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 7 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 8.
I felt the gnome¡¯s muscles changing as little drones made their way inside of it. His body spasming as I willed its cells to change in accordance to my whims. ¡®Fantastic.¡¯ I thought. ¡®Don¡¯t know what I¡¯m here, but this is a golden opportunity. I can always fall back on [Domination] to sweep the filth from this place if I encounter problems.¡¯ I changed his limbs to be longer and his belly to contain explosive bile. Then I added in more muscles to his torso and forelimbs, while extending his legs into thick tentacles filled with envenomed stingers and pseudopods.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Gained: [Locomotion Appendage] 2 has been added to the Status.
Ability Gained: [Pseudopods] 2 has been added to the Status.
Ability Gained: [Stinger] 2 has been added to the Status.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 14 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 15.
I added more and more muscle. More and more bone. Until the thing in front me resembled something out of Extra-terrestrials more than any kind of human-adjacent creature. I had just finished fashioning my new drone a stinging tail of its own, when I began sensing other curious onlookers approaching. No doubt coming here to examine to source of the noise. I smiled, sent away any non-gnomish ones with a mental command and bade the gnomes to come closer. ¡®Oh yes.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®What a fantastic training opportunity this will be.¡¯
"Okay." I said to myself. "Let''s review what we''ve learned. Number one. This is still somewhere inside the Labyrinth. Some place where time is being messed with. Is that right Mittens?" "Mittens agrees. Mittens now sees. The islands are frozen with glee." Mittens answered. Now in his regular kitten form, rather than Anezka''s possessed body. "You''re going to want to re-possess her before we''re done here by the way." I reminded him. "I made it so that she''ll still be dominated without you, but I would rather keep a backdoor to my parents open." "Mittens is here. Mittens is there. Mittens is in her mind and in her bones. In her muscles and sinews. Mittens chews with her teeth and steps with her feet. Mittens will never ever leave." In another time, in another life, the fact that those words were coming out of a little black kitten''s mouth would have scared me (Gnome)less. Now, it was barely worth mentioning. I sighed into my palms. "Honestly Mittens. Just when I think I''m done losing pieces of myself, something crazy happens and I start to emulate the Drake or Coffin Sully. I''m starting to think this is a pattern." "Mittens thinks you are wonderful just the way you are." ''I agree!'' Buddy concurred. "Thank you." I told them. "But lets get back to the first point. This is someplace within the Labyrinth that is frozen in time. But I seem to be alone here. I had expected the Dragon to show up and kick my teeth in, but he is also nowhere to be seen. Instead, this is some kind of isolated simulation filled with gnomes." "Meat!" Mittens piped up. "Delicious! Succulent meat! Mittens loves the flesh between their pinky toes!" I shrugged. "I''m more partial to eating their hearts, but that may just be [Predator''s Instincts] at work. Honestly, I feel bad judging all those Shifters who lost their marbles and chowed down on their patients back home. I kind of get it now. Doesn''t make it right and I would never do it to people, but I do get it. If we''re not taking that into consideration then, it could be me thinking back to the memories I absorbed back when we rescued everyone and then having some kind of psychotic episode. Speaking of which, should I be worried about that?" "Mittens doesn''t think so. Mittens thinks gnomes are delicious. If they didn''t want Mittens munching on them, then they shouldn''t have been born so delicious." ''Me too!'' Buddy echoed. ''I love absorbing their blood when it splatters all over you! It tastes great!'' "Right." I said. Waving away the useless concerns. "That leads us to the second point. The fact that this is an excellent place to train up several abilities at once. I''ve been getting more and more used to [Vicissitude] and [Protean Form] in that I''m starting to see them more as cornerstones of what the Shifter Type can do in terms of general skill. For example..." I grew an extra leg from my shoulder. "I could already do this with [Protean Form] without any kind of issue. But that was done through slowly analyzing the components of what a new limb would take and then re-structuring my muscular, skeletal and nervous systems to make it happen. [Locomotion Appendage] does all of that automatically, but I wasn''t feeling the difference until now because I had such a high starting level with the other two combined abilities. I was doing the thing too fast and too easily to gleam any insights from it. But now I know how to get around those issues. All I have to do is copy the Drake and use my abilities on other living things directly! More slowly and more methodically than before." It really was simple when I thought about it like that. Which made me wonder is the Dragon had somehow arranged for this to happen. Like some kind of added bonus for putting down a fraction of the true Seeking Drake back in Dusty''s world. I mean, it fit so perfectly with the lessons I''d just absorbed from those memories that it couldn''t have been a coincidence. I shook my head. Dismissing the thoughts entirely. "Right. Let''s revisit that later. I have plenty of time to train on my own. For now, we need to look at the final point. That is, when this is all going to end or if there is even a point to it. My cobweb isn''t working and when I try I get this message. Only the future sight though. The rest works fine. But as soon as I try to peer into the future this comes up..."
Abilities Blocked Due To Direct System Intervention.
"So the System definitely did this. But I haven''t been told what the point of it is. Or how to make it stop." "Mittens does not want it to stop. Mittens thinks this is a reward. Mittens loves having so many gnomes around Mittens." The little kitten let out an adorable half-sneeze, half-belching noise. An entire bloodied arm came out of that small mouth. Landing between us with a wet thud. I edged away from it and kept on talking. "Don''t get me wrong. I think the extra time and exercise is great, but I''m still conflicted. I don''t want to spend too much time here in Sunnyside town." "But no time is passing." Mittens protested. "I know. I know. I... I find it hard to describe. I don''t feel comfortable here. I want to go back and talk to grandpa already. I want to hear about my parents and if Monique''s kids are all-right. I want to follow up with Boris and make sure he''s still in that same good mood, now that his sisters are safe. I want to meet with Charlie and make sure he hasn''t decided to go around killing bad guys for (Gnome)s and giggles. I want to talk to Prudence and make sure she isn''t too mad at what I did. I never really explained the extent of the... changes." ''I''m sure she''ll understand.'' Buddy commented. ''After all, you are so very wonderful! How could anyone be angry at you?'' Somehow, I found it difficult to share Buddy''s enthusiasm. "Right. Never mind that. I think I''m done for today. Let''s find a place to stay so I can take a nice long bath and clear my head. Preferably somewhere we can keep the PC parts." "Mittens wants to sleep in the mansion! Mittens wants to control their thoughts and pick at their brain matter!" "No." I rebuffed him. "Bad Mittens! Bad! We are not mind-controlling people for no reason. Even if they''re not real. I don''t want to be that kind of person. Besides, I''m getting decent exp from the gnomes and I suspect that controlling them would cancel that out." We ended up heading out to an inn after that. Paying our stay with the loose change I''d found in the gnomes'' pockets. I was about to head upstairs for a nap when yet another gnome interrupted me. "Hey! Innkeep! Are you really letting this guy stay here? He looks like he has fleas!" I looked down at myself. Wondering just where he''d gotten that from. "You know I''m staying in the room next door right? The least you can do is charge people like that extra. Since you''ll have to spend extra time cleaning the lice and dingleberries from your room after they leave for another day of begging." A few people downstairs laughed. And I laughed with them. Turning around with a wide smile on my face. "Wow friend. You really know your stuff. Why don''t the two of us head over to that dark alleyway across the street and discuss this further?"
"You know Mittens. The coffee here is pretty good for it being a simulation or whatever. I wonder if I can recreate it in the manse?" "Mittens doesn''t drink the bitter bean juice." The kitten groaned. Pushing against the chair with soft little paws. The motion was so adorable that I had to smile. Then I turned my head to look at the blessed lack of problems in this picturesque town. "Extra! Extra! Sunnyside Strangler still on the loose after three days! Serial Killer claims eighty more victims in one night! Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" I gave the paperboy a sideways glance. Then I went back to my coffee. ''Honestly. What a silly notion. You can''t be a Serial Killer if you''re out hunting gnomes. Serial pest controller or serial fumigator would be more like it. That, or serial neighborhood volunteer.'' ¡°Extra! Extra! Mutant creatures found in sewers! Eating the remains of dead gnomes! Sunnyside Strangler is the prime suspect!¡± Okay. So, maybe turning them into monsters was a bit over the line. Just a little bit, since they were still gnomes. That said, I was gaining levels at blinding speeds after being stagnant for a long time. I wasn¡¯t about to give that up when all it cost me were gnomish lives. ¡®Should I just go ahead and mind-wipe everyone here to bring me gnomes? It would certainly be faster than sneaking around. Then again, I recall making a lot more progress with [Hide] when I was actually hiding from something. The levels on [Thaumaturgy] might be affected by how well my new drones can act on their own.¡¯ I tried a quick experiment then. Ordering five of my drones to bypass the heightened security at a local castle and then ordering them to skulk past the battlements. ¡®Kill all the gnomes, but don¡¯t get caught. Coordinate with each other to take them out one by one. Drag them towards the ceiling after you¡¯ve found a quiet spot and change them like I changed you.¡¯ It took my targets another half-hour to catch even one gnome. Yet when they did, they knocked them out and dragged them to a secluded location with ruthless efficiency. Each drone a gear in a larger, well-oiled machine. ¡®How novel.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®I¡¯m using my cobweb to talk to them, but it isn¡¯t like using [Domination] at all. Each drone feels a lot more personal. A lot more guided. It is honestly a blast of fresh air when compared to Intruders.¡¯
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 8 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 9.
Ah. So coordinating my drones and getting them to act out new strategies does lead to more levels after all. Nice. I stood up with newfound purpose. Now certain of what had to be done.
¡°Extra! Extra! Sunnyside Strangler strikes once again! Killer sighted on Main and Jamalan! Guard Captain claims Killer is invincible! Read all about it!¡± I gave the boy a coin and made for the newspaper. Sitting down at a nearby caf¨¦ to read all about my new exploits. There were testimonies from the captain, as he had promised. But there were also a plethora of reports from other guards and bystanders. All describing the big, bad were-creature that had so easily hauled half-ogre bodyguards off their feet before ripping into their gnomish masters. It was odd to read about how people thought of me. The words making come across as some kind of deranged loon out for blood. Instead of the pillar of the community that I obviously was. I mean, forget about trying to shoot me. The cops here should have given me a whole host of medals for making the streets safer at night. I felt another presence nearby and looked down to see the same pup the gnome had been kicking on my first day. I smiled and gave him my sausages. Before gently patting him on the head. ¡°Oh, honestly. I would have ended this whole farce if it wasn¡¯t for the levels, but taking care of you is also a pleasure.¡± The pup looked up at me with loving, trusting eyes. ¡°Oh! Don¡¯t do that to me sweety! I¡¯ll never want to go home if you keep doing that!¡± I scratched him behind the ear and relished the sweetness of his response. I proceeded to bask in the momentary bliss for a few more minutes. Until I felt one of my drones being killed for the first time. A flamethrower catching their figure as they carried an unconscious gnome back to their nest. I clicked my tongue. Taking note that the attacker hadn¡¯t cared about killing the potential hostage. Only ending the drone¡¯s life. As expected, the attacker was yet another gnome. Leading a hunting party of sorts. ¡®Well, I guess I shouldn¡¯t be complaining.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®I have a new target now and I really did need to start practicing with those tolerance abilities. The guards here may think that I¡¯m immortal and otherwise unkillable, but I know better. Besides, those should be fairly straight-forward to merge when I finish getting the hang of them.¡¯ I stood up. Wrapped up the paper under my arm. Patted the dog one more time, and made for the location of the dead drone.
¡°Extra! Extra! Reign of terror continues! Sunnyside Strangler kills lord Honeywell and all his adult children! Extra! Extra! Read all about it!¡± I paid for the paper once more and sat down to read it. Once more, there was a plethora of background information that I hadn¡¯t even considered. Relatives that were too power-hungry and too stupid to take a hint coming over to lead the city in times of crisis. Despite the now apparent epidemic of murdered gnomes turned drones jumping all over the rooftops at night. ¡®Should I give them wings?¡¯ I wondered. ¡®I feel that a lot of the recent hunts would have gone better with wings. Something to consider.¡¯ ¡°Hey! Kid!¡± The paperboy looked my way. ¡°Have you ever seen one of these monsters?¡± ¡°No sir!¡± The boy said cheerily. ¡°I didn¡¯t see any of them and I certainly didn¡¯t see them killing any gnomes. And I am definitely not saying that because the gnomes trying to drive us out of the orphanage are dead. No sir!¡± I laughed. He laughed. I gave him another few coins and sent him on his way. Watching him go, I couldn¡¯t help but feel a deep sense of pride and accomplishment. ¡®So this is what heroes feel all the time? Wow! It¡¯s such a new feeling compared to all the doom and gloom I usually go through!¡¯ I brought my attention down to the paper once more. Going through it and trying to see how much good I had really done. Then I deflated. Remembering that none of this was real. I sighed in defeat and put the paper away. Resigning myself to more training.
Three days later saw me overlooking the town while sitting on the roof of the local clocktower. Burning pyres and the stench of roasted gnomes wafting up from the street level. ¡°We did it Mittens! We saved the city!¡± ¡°Mittens says yay!¡± Mittens said. His kitten form raising two of its paws while sitting on my shoulder. I turned to the gnomes hanging on nearby spikes. Their broken necks and bloodshot eyes hanging loosely in the smoke-filled air. ¡°Yes. We certainly saved the city. Now on to the rest of this sub-dimension!¡±
System Notice: Compliance Task Completed. System has assessed Student: Solomon Carter¡¯s behaviour patterns. Duplicate will be created to fight other Students in a non-lethal boss fight as per Student: Solomon Carter¡¯s disciplinary action.
I read the message. Then I read it again. Recalling the pop-ups the Spider had sent my way before the Dragon showed up. ¡°Oh. Oh no.¡±
¡°Henry? Henry are you there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here Cass!¡± I called out. Running over to meet her. ¡°Where are we?¡± She asked. Looking around with mounting trepidation. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I answered. ¡°It looks like some kind of industrial town.¡± I paused when I saw what I could only describe as an orc. ¡°I think. Or it might be a System event of some kind.¡± ¡°Are we safe?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Vince thinks we are safe.¡± I whirled on my feet. Turning to see Vince¡¯s emaciated frame. With Thunder Fist right next to him. Then my eyes went a bit lower, and I saw the gnomes choking for air in their ghoulified hands. ¡°Guys! What the (Cherub)!?¡± They both looked at me. ¡°What? They¡¯re gnomes and they were here. Just standing around. What did you expect us to do?¡± Thunder Fist asked. Obvious confusion on his face. I was about to say something else, when I felt a rush of displaced air and a slight prick of energy going up my spine. I turned to see Luigi standing there too. And one of Sully¡¯s friends. Prudence, I think? ¡°Where is he!?¡± She snarled. Her beautiful features twisting into a picture of rage. ¡°How dare he do this to my friends!? I¡¯ll kill him!¡± ¡®Right. Probably not the best time to go over and have a chat.¡¯ I grabbed Cass¡¯s shoulders and started backing away, when the man himself appeared. Solomon Carter. In all his glory. A manic smile on his face as he regarded the rest of us. Prudence saw that smile and deflated like a balloon. All hint of fury leaving her in an instant. Sully¡¯s eyes went over me. Over all of us. Then he pursed his lips together. Letting loose a single word. ¡°Gnomes.¡± His teeth clenched tightly after that, and my stomach dropped in response. Then I saw the System pop-up. ¡°Oh (Cherub).¡± Chapter 98: Nega-Sully. Chapter 98: Nega-Sully. POV: Cassandra. I landed in an odd way. Twisting my ankle slightly and almost falling over. Thankfully, Henry was there and I leaned on him. Feeling his warmth through my fingers as I clung on to his shirt. I felt the sun shining down on both of us. Warming us together. Then I felt my skin flush as I stumbled. Pressing myself against him once more. He didn¡¯t say anything. His body merely standing there like a statue. I looked around in confusion and saw the town. Not the one from our Tutorial, but a vibrant seaside dockyard filled with diverging thoughts and emotions and impressions. ¡®I¡¯m late for work!¡¯ One would think. ¡®I hope the factory burns down.¡¯ Another would contemplate. ¡®Oh, why can¡¯t someone kill my boss already?¡¯ A third one pleaded to no one in particular. I felt my mind reeling from all the sudden noise and willfully blocked any more signals from them. As I did so, I was overwhelmed by Henry¡¯s own mind. His trepidation and the way that simple emotion transformed into spine-tingling terror. I turned my head once more to see what had caused the reaction. ¡°Henry? Who is that? And why does he look so upset?¡± I asked softly. My mind more than a little unnerved that I couldn¡¯t read the hulking brute in front of me. Then the screen popped out in front of me.
System Notice: Student: Solomon Carter, has repeatedly broken the rules of their Tutorial Instance. Student: Solomon Carter, has been given a series of scheduled punishments. Student: Solomon Carter, has been copied into an instance of non-lethal practice engagement. All abilities and Titles will be simulated through the System, alongside observed behaviour patterns. Student: Solomon Carter, will feel all the pain their Copy is made to feel. It is the hope of the current System Administrator that all students hold Student: Solomon Carter accountable for this incident in order to prevent future transgressions.
Objectives: All surviving human students must face off against Copy: Solomon Carter in this instance of non-lethal practice engagement. Copy: Solomon Carter, believes that all students it sees are gnomes. Instance will end once the Copy is defeated or all students are incapacitated. Difficulty Rating has been assessed as: Impossible.
Rewards: Rewards have been calculated based on difficulty. Each student will receive 10 Store Tokens per minute for as long as they manage to survive. Each student will receive an additional 300 Store Tokens per every 10 minutes for as long as they manage to survive. Each student will receive 1 free Equipment Token per every 10 minutes for as long as they manage to survive. Each student will receive an opportunity to temporarily shop directly from the System store as System Vendors at a rate of 10 minutes per every minute they manage to survive. Best of Luck.
I read over it once. Then twice. Then three and four times. Then I mashed my lips together and brought up my eyes to meet those of the Tyrant. Of the monster I had foreseen all those months ago. ¡°Hello gnomes.¡± He said in an ecstatic voice. ¡°What is the difference between a Lamborghini and a pile of dead bodies?¡± Henry gulped. ¡°What is it?¡± He smiled a smile full of perfect white teeth. Containing all the malice in the universe. ¡°I¡¯m not about to get my hands on a Lamborghini.¡± Henry bolted in the opposite direction. His hands reaching out and grabbing my own as he went from standing still to a full sprint. I felt myself being yanked, despite trying to follow along with all my might. Henry was just too fast as an Enhancer. Too strong. So, he paused just long enough to pick me up and swing me over his shoulder like a bag of apples. All while I kept trying to throw a [Mental Bolt]. I gathered and gathered and gathered my Psy. The world slowing to a crawl as I focused entirely on the Tyrant¡¯s figure. But I couldn¡¯t. Couldn¡¯t even think of hurting him. Every time I tried to target the monster my mind would shift and churn and turn into itself. He was there, but I couldn¡¯t put myself in a mindset to hurt him. It wasn¡¯t that the idea was repulsive, it was that I couldn¡¯t form the idea at all. It made no logical sense. And that only served to frighten me more. ¡°Hold up!¡± Henry¡¯s friend Luigi called from the back. ¡°Stop! Take me with you!¡± Henry didn¡¯t stop. Henry didn¡¯t even slow down. If anything, he sped up even more. Pushing Psy into all his active boosts to get as far away from the scene as he possibly could. I felt a shiver run through me then. Like a bolt of lighting striking my spine. A voice like no other. Sweeter and more seductive. I heard it from the air and from the ground. In my head and in my heart. Echoing through my bones and all my muscles and organs. As if the universe itself were speaking. Allowing its will to be known. ¡°Don¡¯t scream so loudly, little gnomes.¡± It said to Luigi, Vince and Thunder Fist. ¡°Come with me. Over to this dark alleyway. I want to tell you a secret.¡±
POV: Luigi. ¡°Wow! Vince didn¡¯t know Sully hated gnomes as much as Vince! Vince really appreciates this!¡± The ghoul wearing Vince¡¯s face said. ¡°Gra¡­! Hagla¡­.!!!! GU¡­.!!!! ACK¡­¡­!¡± I answered in turn. My throat burning as steroid-fiend Sully (Mittens)ing strangled the life out of me. I was waving my arms. Trying to grab onto him or Thunder Fist. Begging for help. Neither seemed in any hurry though. ¡°Interesting.¡± Thunder Fist said. ¡°I can¡¯t hurt him.¡± ¡®You¡¯re not even trying you (Mittens)!¡¯ I thought with disgust. ¡°No no. I am trying.¡± He rebutted. Reading my mind without any effort. ¡°I just can¡¯t even think of hurting this Sully person. The idea won¡¯t stick to my head. It just evaporates faster the more I try to grasp it.¡± ¡°Vince thinks so too. It is so odd.¡± ¡°Ha¡­..! He¡­..l¡­p..!¡± Sully¡¯s fingers tightened. Even further. His smile never fading. Never leaving his face.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. I felt my body loosening up. Felt my mind begin to wander and drift. Felt the strength leaving my arms and legs. Felt my eyes rolling back into my skull. ¡°Vince thinks these rewards are really good!¡± ¡°Yep. Especially the store one. I wonder if we can get our hands on one of those storage rings I¡¯ve heard so much about.¡± ¡°Or some food!¡± ¡°Yes. That too.¡± ¡®Help me.¡¯ I thought softly. ¡®Somebody help me. Please. Please. Please.¡¯ Vince waved me off dismissively. ¡°Read the prompt Luigi. This is a non-lethal instance. Vince has been killed many times in these places. They¡¯re all over in Vince¡¯s Tutorial difficulty. They¡¯re a great place to train. Vince can cut himself and smash his limbs on monsters without worrying about death. Great practice to toughen body for gnomes.¡± ¡°Quite so. Quite so. I suggest we make the best of things.¡± Thunder Fist said calmly. ¡°Let¡¯s get to running and see if we can¡¯t figure something out. Then they left. Those two mother(Sully)ers actually left. They left me. ¡°Shhhhhh. Do not cry, little gnome.¡± Sully whispered in my ear. His mouth opening to reveal five fanged serpents where his tongue should have been. ¡°There will be time for crying. Later.¡± Then he laughed and I felt his flesh sinking even deeper into mine. My organs wriggling like eels inside my belly. I tried to scream, but I didn¡¯t even have the energy to gurgle anymore. So, I closed my eyes and hoped against hope that it would all be over soon. When I next awoke, Sully was there. Choking out a couple of people I didn¡¯t recognize. His figure darkened by the setting sun and the shade of nearby buildings. He was¡­ singing? ¡°Making my way downtown! Walking fast! Faces Pass and I¡¯m homebound! pew! Pew! Duh! Duh!¡± ¡°Tururu!¡± He was swinging his hips in concert with the rhythm of the song. His lower half swaying merrily along as he almost vibrated with glee. ¡°But I need you! Tururu! And I miss you! Tururu! And now I wooondeeeer! If I could fall! Into the sky! Do you think time!? Would pass me by!?¡± He rolled his head so as to roar out loud. Like a lion. ¡°Did you know I walked a thousand miles to just. Seeeee youuuuu!¡± He swung his hips again. Still gripping them. ¡°TONIGHT!!¡± One of them, the woman from the interview, looked absolutely horrified. The other one looked, happy? ¡°Harder daddy! Ack¡­.. Harder!¡± ¡®What the (Sully)!? What the (Sully) is wrong with you woman!?¡¯ I tried to reach out. To grab them. To run. But my hand felt awkward and wrong. Like I didn¡¯t have any bones. Then I looked down and realized that I didn¡¯t have any bones. My arms having turned to long, slithering tentacles ending in suction cups and scorpion stingers. Then I screamed and my screams came from my torso and arms instead of my face. Long slits opening along my limbs. Revealing more eyes. More teeth. More drooling mouths slobbering all over the place. Then I felt calm. So very calm and tranquil and happy and relieved. ¡°Hmn? How odd. Did you wake up, little gnome?¡± Sully whispered maliciously. His head turning 180 degrees like an owl before his neck elongated and moved closer towards me. Like a mix between a giraffe and a snake. And like a snake, his tongue, a human tongue this time, tasted the air. ¡°How did you wake up? How did you come to your senses? That shouldn¡¯t be. You are much too weak. Far, far too weak.¡± He lengthened his tongue and ran it over his teeth. His fangs. Blinking mechanically like a robot pretending to be a person. ¡°Ah. I see. You¡¯ve unlocked a new Type. Telepath, it seems. But how? I didn¡¯t use my powers on you. Not those powers at least. You shouldn¡¯t have grown like this. What happened?¡± ¡®Kill me!¡¯ I thought. ¡®Please kill me!¡¯ He smiled. ¡°No.¡± Then his fingers left the women and wrapped themselves around my throat once more. ¡°This is a new development, little gnome. It calls for some experimenting.¡± He squeezed. ¡°Suffer me now.¡±
POV: Prudence. The sky had turned dark as twilight finished giving way to evening. The streets now lit by the glare of cheap oil lamps. The lack of illumination gave the town an eerie feeling. As if the world had been sent to the stomach of some feral beast. The howling winds certainly didn¡¯t do anything to help that impression. The gusts coming and going like the bellows of a forge whose embers were dying in the cold. ¡°They¡¯re coming!¡± Kaito yelled. Throwing [Mental Bolts] behind us as we ran. ¡°I know! Keep moving! Keep going!¡± I answered. Not wasting the few precious seconds it would have taken to turn back. The things¡­ or rather¡­ the people turned into things, were coming closer. Leaping across rooftops like monkeys swinging from vines. Never faltering or losing their stride as they kept chasing up. I picked up a loose brick on the way and decided to chance a turn just as I felt one of them leaping through my fog. The stone struck the mutant in its face. Sending shards of broken teeth flying everywhere. The thing barely seemed to notice. It reeled its head back with a series of brutal snapping and crunching sounds. Its bones popping like popcorn in a microwave as it fixed itself. ¡®Kill me!¡¯ It pleaded in its own mind. ¡®Please kill me!¡¯ The others were pleading as well. Drowning our minds with their begging. ¡®I would if I could.¡¯ I thought bitterly. It was the truth. I would have liked nothing more than to put these people out of their misery. To finally end their struggles. But I knew better. He wouldn¡¯t be far behind and every second counted. Kaito stopped then. Activating [Hide] and going somewhere else. ¡°Don¡¯t get separated!¡± I called out. Just in time to feel two of the signals vanishing from my mind. Kaito stood there. Stoically holding a couple of knives Jacob had made for him. Two more lodged into the creatures¡¯ skulls. He started running after us but then stopped suddenly. We all stopped with him. I felt my legs turning into stones. Unwilling to move or budge an inch. Then I felt them turning around so that my body was facing the opposite direction. And there he was. Still wearing that malicious, childlike grin. ¡°As I thought. Those who are allowed to think for themselves are less effective than those I [Dominate] normally. The control I have through my Shifter abilities seems very shaky nowadays. Which is odd because I could have sworn I had just finished practicing with it.¡± He paused. His body turning into a statue for a few more seconds. Then he shrugged. In a way that made it seem like he was pretending to be human. Carrying out the motions so as to keep fooling others, as well as himself. I tried to shout. To tell him he wouldn¡¯t be getting away with this. But my words died in my throat. Then I felt my mind start to tingle, before all thought and all individuality gave way. I saw him. Truly saw him. As if for the first time. He was perfect. Absolutely perfect. From his face to his chest to his arms to his legs. All of him was perfect and lovely and divine. The pleasure, the presence, was intoxicating. Suffocating. ¡®I was a fool.¡¯ I thought suddenly. ¡®How come it took me this long to see it? How come it took me this long to love him? What was wrong with me?¡¯ I approached. So did Kaito and Olga. All of us enraptured by his presence. By his majesty. I wanted to be closer to him. To be loved by him. To be his and his alone. I imagined a life at his side. I wouldn¡¯t need much. Wouldn¡¯t ask for much. All I needed was a glance, a touch a gentle caress and I would be happy. I came closer, closer, closer. Feeling my heart flutter as if a thousand butterflies were trapped inside. ¡®Is this what all those boys felt when they saw me? Is this what they saw when they looked at me?'' It made me feel a little guilty, but that only lasted for a second. This was my place. At his side. Only at his side. Forever. Sully wrapped his fingers around Kaito at that moment. Squeezing tightly. Then he did me the honor of looking my way. ¡°Good. My Telepath abilities still seem to be in order. Now then, what do you say we go on to that dark secluded alley over there?¡± His smile widened. ¡°I have a secret to tell you.¡±
POV: Charlie. ¡°Are you deaf you stupid cow? I said kill me!¡± The woman was babbling some nonsense about murder or whatnot, when I reached over and slapped some sense into her. ¡°Look at them! Look! All my friends already knew what was coming! This won¡¯t end until Sully is either dead or he kills us. And it will be a long time before he kills us if he thinks we¡¯re a bunch of gnomes. See that hulking brute there? That big ogre with the red hair? He had his sister kill him and she had me and Monique kill her! And it was damn hard by the way! Now I killed Monique and I need somebody to kill me! Just take this knife here and slash it over my throat!¡± She kept wailing like a useless simpleton. ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ I can¡¯t¡­ I just want to see my brother again. I just want to see Ryan again! He¡¯ll know what to do!¡± I smacked my own forehead. ¡°Listen you stupid bird! Ryan was the first to kill himself! Jumped into the running machines at the factory! Lucky, clever (Gnome). Now they¡¯re jammed because of his corpse and I can¡¯t do the same! Which means someone is going to have to kill me!¡± She kept sobbing uncontrollably. Not realizing that Sully would really give her a reason to cry if he caught her. The things he did to gnomes¡­ I felt a shudder overtaking me at the mere thought and kept pressing her. ¡°Okay. Okay listen. It won¡¯t be so hard. Just take the hilt like this and press it against¡­.¡± She broke down in tears. Right as I started to hear movement on the roofs above. ¡°Oh (Gnome).¡± Then I turned and ran. Leaving her to fend for herself. Then usual me would have tried to save her. To pick her up and carry her. Not this time. Not right now. I knew what was at stake. Every second counted. Besides, the least she could do is distract him for a few seconds now that her delay had caused us to get caught. ¡°Wait! It¡¯s me!¡± Boris called from above. I stopped and ran back. Hugging him tight like a long-lost brother. ¡°Boris. Thank goodness. I thought he caught you too.¡± Then I separated from him. ¡°Quick, let me kill you. Its going to be much harder because of how many points you have in [Regeneration].¡± ¡°Forget about that! I found a great spot to die and I¡¯ve been throwing people there all day!¡± ¡°Really! Where!?¡± ¡°Top of the hill overlooking the ocean. See there? It¡¯s blocked off by a mansion, but if you past it you get to a sheer cliff leading to a bunch of sharp pointy rocks.¡± I nodded. Getting ready to make a break for it with him in tow. Though I did pick up the crying woman before I started running. No sense in leaving her here if I could help it.
POV: Gus. ¡°Quit crying son! I¡¯m trying to aim.¡± I told Reggie for the umpteenth time. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!¡± He bellowed in response. ¡°I said stop! I¡¯m doing you a favor!¡± ¡°You killed my wife!¡± ¡°Yes I did! And I¡¯ll kill you as soon as you stop wriggling all over the place! Stay still already!¡± I steadied the gun I took with me once more. Pointing it directly at his head. I pulled the trigger and ended his suffering. Which then led to my adoptive granddaughter redoubling her screaming. ¡°You killed them! You killed them!¡± ¡°(Gnome) right I did. And I¡¯ll (Gnome)ing do it again!¡± I turned the gun on her, but staggered as she tackled me. ¡°I won¡¯t let you! I won¡¯t let you get away with this! They loved you!¡± ¡°And I love them! I¡¯m doing this for them! Quit holding on to me!¡± ¡°Why!? Why would you do this!? What did they ever do to you!?¡± ¡°Have you not been paying attention Puffin? Sully thinks we¡¯re gnomes! I¡¯m giving us all the easy way out!¡± Park came over from behind and got her off of me. Throwing her aside thanks to his higher levelled abilities. ¡°Forget her. Kill me! Now!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t forget about her. She¡¯s family!¡± ¡°She¡¯s dead weight! Kill me! Or kill yourself and leave me the gun!¡± ¡°Where¡¯s your own gun?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d need it! I can turn my arm into a massive sniper rifle!¡± Well that was too bad for him. I turned the gun on Puffin. Quick as lightning. Relying on all the old instincts to take the perfect shot. She dodged me. Turning her head at the last moment so that the bullet ricocheted off the nearby wall. I pulled the trigger again and felt the gun click in my hand. ¡°Gus. Please tell me you still have ammunition.¡± I looked up at him and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve been doing a lot of shooting.¡± ¡°Dammit Gus! Your grandson is going to pull our spines out through our (Gnome)holes!¡± ¡°You¡¯re both crazy!¡± Puffin cried out. Running for a nearby alleyway. I threw out a [Mental Bolt] but it wasn¡¯t enough to kill her. She left my range. Speeding down the cobbled streets like an earth-born cat. I cursed under my breath. ¡°I saw that.¡± Park commented under the lamplight. His figure looming tall and menacing in the surrounding darkness. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it enough times to know it. Kill me with it. You can just throw yourself off a rooftop whenever you want but I¡¯ll keep regenerating. Make it end for me. Please.¡± I looked up at him and gave him his wish. Charging the power until I couldn¡¯t push it anymore and letting it go. Chapter 99: Trading Favors. Chapter 99: Trading Favors. POV: Henry. The sky was clear and cloudless. Vast swathes of vibrant blues covering everything in sight until the edges of the horizon. Up above, the sun was shining. Like a grand diamond at the center of a mantlepiece. The rays warmed all the people passing by as well as the cobblestones beneath them. Stopping just shy of being uncomfortable or sweltering. Whatever method the locals in this make-believe place used to clear away sewage was clearly working as well, since the only odour one could notice were those of the flowerpots and gardens the people here kept. It was the kind of day that might make a person leap out of their depression. The kind of day where couples fell in love and children welcomed new puppies into their lives. Too bad all the corpses ruined the effect. ¡°Henry, I¡¯m scared.¡± Cass whispered to me. ¡°I know. I¡¯m scared too.¡± She nudged my shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to tell me that everything is going to be all right!¡± She hissed into my ear. Voice tinged with panic. ¡°You¡¯re a mind-reader.¡± I reminded her. ¡°You¡¯d know I was lying.¡± We edged away from a nearby lamppost then. Moving to the right as a gaggle of orcs or whatever they were used ladders to bring down a couple of bodies. One of them was a gnome. A real gnome. With strangulation marks around his throat and both legs missing. The other was a human. Though not one I recognized. He was male, with black hair and a slightly tanned skin tone. His face suggested an Asian descent and his clothes re-enforced that idea. They were heavy, treated furs that reminded me of the native populations of eastern Russia or Mongolia. Good clothes for riding or keeping the cold away. I wasn¡¯t too caught up with my histories but I could make a few educated guesses. Maybe someone from the Silk Road? Or an actual Mongol raider? ¡°Subutai.¡± The short red-headed woman beside us said. ¡°His name is Subutai and he¡¯s a dumb mook for having been caught so easily. I¡¯ll make sure he doesn¡¯t slack off in training from now on.¡± ¡°He couldn¡¯t have known.¡± I whispered back. ¡°Yes he could have. We all knew Boss Sully. We all know the gnomes too. I¡¯ve done my fair share of¡­ uh¡­ enthusiastic questioning. He should¡¯ve slit his own throat the second he was about to be caught. Would¡¯ve been quick at least.¡± ¡°(Sully)ing (Sully) Gina.¡± Cass sighed. ¡°What? You¡¯re gonna tell me I¡¯m wrong? After seeing this? Girly you¡¯re lucky to have gotten away the first time. I¡¯d bet my papa¡¯s favourite shotgun you¡¯d be begging for death after a few minutes.¡± ¡°Enough.¡± I hissed at both of them. ¡°We¡¯ve got to get a move on. I don¡¯t like being exposed.¡± Gina laughed. ¡°You¡¯re always exposed ya mook. Boss Sully has no limit to his magic thingy. As long as we¡¯re in the same dimension, we¡¯re all (Gnome)ed.¡± ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you slit your own throat then?¡± ¡°Ah. Is that resentment I smell girly? Not used to minds being blocked off? Not used to high-levels?¡± ¡°Answer the question.¡± Cass demanded. ¡°Simple. I like money. It¡¯s a family thing. You might call it an addiction. Death is out of the question so I figured I might as well save up while I can. Boss Sully had his own stash confiscated by the Tutorial feds ya see. So, he and his girl will be needing someone with lots of spare cash laying around after this game ends if they wanna buy anything. As it happens, I¡¯m in the market to score brownie points with the boss. So, it all works out. I get lots and lots o¡¯ cash with no downsides. All fer just standing around herding dumb sheeple like you.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not worried about being caught?¡± ¡°Oh! I¡¯m terrified! Anyone who isn¡¯t is either brain-dead or doesn¡¯t know boss Sully all that well. Thing is. I¡¯m prepared for the worst. Ya could say I¡¯m good with my hands. I cooked up a nifty trick to get me and my friends out of sticky situations. See that pharmacy over there?¡± We both looked in the direction she was pointing. Noting the shattered windows. ¡°Took all the stuff that weren¡¯t nailed down. Then I took the nailed stuff too. Got myself a nice big suicide pill in my mouth. Just crack a tooth and off I go!¡± She chuckled to herself. ¡°So I can get rich without worrying about being caught by the boss.¡± I thought about it for second. Really considering the things I¡¯d seen Sully doing to the others he¡¯d caught, as well as all of Cherub¡¯s ranting back when Pat made her move. ¡°Are gnomes really that bad? I mean, bad enough that Sully hates them this much?¡± Gina barked out a laugh. ¡°Buddy, I don¡¯t blame the boss one bit. In fact, I¡¯m sorta proud of him. Were I in is shoes, you¡¯d better believe that disappearing gnomes would be my top priority too. Maybe I wouldn¡¯t enjoy it quite as much as the boss does, but I¡¯d still get a chuckle or three out of business.¡± She paused to stare longingly into the air. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m more of a concrete shoes kinda gal. All things considered. Ya can¡¯t whack folks by strangulation too much or the fuzz will start to get a whiff of ya. Hand prints and all that jazz. I appreciate the personal touch but ya gotta be professional. Gotta keep things nice and quiet ya know? The most we ever did was crucifixion and only once or twice a year. Ah, but those were special occasions.¡± Gina paused with a glimmer in her eyes. ¡°Tooty the rat was my first. Why, I still remember how he¡­¡± ¡°Okay! Can we please stop talking about killing people!?¡± I butt in. Gina turned to me. ¡°Why? You a cop?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Fed?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Rat?¡± ¡°No!¡± ¡°Then why do ya care Mr. handsome?¡± ¡°Cause I don¡¯t like to hear about killing people!¡± Gina rolled her eyes. ¡°Oh please. You¡¯re telling me that sugar-(Gnome) over there wrapped around your arm never killed anyone? After all that time doing leg work for the feds? Am I supposed to believe she never once took some poor mook out for a nice little stroll in the woods?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Cass coughed into her hand. I flinched and slowly turned to her. She gave me a sad, pleading look. ¡°Henry. Baby. I¡­ I love you. But there are times when all of us have to do hard things. Being a hero back home, it was simple if you were an Enhancer or a Projector. Being a Telepath¡­ they expected more of us. Untraceable operations and all. I¡­ I didn¡¯t want to do it, but I wanted to live and I had a family. Parents and grandparents. They didn¡¯t talk to me much, after I got my powers. But I still loved them. Bad things would have happened to them if I said no.¡± She bit her lips. ¡°Sometimes there are dissidents. Most people don¡¯t listen to them, but some do. And there are¡­ were¡­ a few that had large audiences in some podcast or radio show or something. I¡­ just let it drop. I¡¯m sorry and it won¡¯t happen again.¡± Gina burst out laughing. ¡°That¡¯s what they always say! Oh it was just an accident Mr. judge! He just slipped and fell into my knife head first! Why! I didn¡¯t even know there was a big tub of acid in that shed! I swear! Would someone with this lovely face and sugar-(Gnome) lie?¡± Cass gave her a withering look. ¡°Okay okay. I¡¯ll be the bigger person. I give. Let¡¯s just get a move on.¡± ¡°Why are you even helping us?¡± I asked out of the blue. ¡°I¡¯m not a mind-reader but I get the feeling that charity isn¡¯t exactly up your alley.¡± Gine raised one of her eyebrows. ¡°Good catch Mr. Handsome. No. I am not one for charity work. Not unless family is involved.¡± She gave me another assessing look. Her freckled face never giving anything away. ¡°I guess you could say I¡¯m making an investment.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Cass asked. ¡°Simple sugar-(Gnome). This version of boss Sully is a fake. He¡¯ll be done for after the event. But the real boss Sully will still be out there waiting for us and I¡¯m planning to move up in the world.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Move up?¡± I asked in confusion. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve had to walk on my tippie-toes for a while. Since boss Sully ain¡¯t exactly what you¡¯d call forgiving. Now, that¡¯s not a bad thing mind you. He¡¯s got boss material written all over him. But the problem is he thinks he¡¯s a choirboy deep down. Deluded himself into thinking he¡¯s not a bigger monster than the gnomes he¡¯s nailing to crosses or setting on fire for (Gnome)s and giggles. Despite being the kinda guy my papa would be proud of deep down. Ya get what I¡¯m saying? I can¡¯t be myself around him, cause he might get upset and whack me. Or worse.¡± She didn¡¯t elaborate further, but her eyes went to yet another lamppost where three actual gnomes had been crucified with wooden boards. None of the bodies had any teeth left. Or eyes. ¡°So ya see, I¡¯m a bit nervous. But that will all change when I tell the boss I rescued you two mooks from Nega-Sully. I¡¯m sure of it. Boss Sully never forgets a debt. Never. That¡¯s another part of him that makes him prime family material.¡± I silently wondered what my best friend would think if he knew people like Gina were giving such backhanded compliments. ¡®Not that she thinks about it as backhanded. She probably means it as altogether praise.¡¯ ¡°Here.¡± Gina said. Giving each of us a little packet. ¡°Are these?¡± ¡°Suicide pills.¡± She clarified. ¡°Nothing fancy, since I couldn¡¯t get my little hands on some proper cyanide, but it should do the job. (Gnome), ya might even get a kick out of it!¡± ¡°Why would we get a kick out of it?¡± Cass asked. ¡°Cause I had to work with what I had and what I had was rat poison and opioids. Lots and lots of opioids.¡± Cass made a face. I didn¡¯t. Sure, it wasn¡¯t the most attractive prospect. Compared to capture though¡­ ¡°Thank you Gina. I¡¯ll make sure Sully hears of how much you helped us.¡± I paused for a moment. ¡°And if there¡¯s anything I can personally do for you in the future, don¡¯t hesitate to ask.¡± Gina¡¯s face beamed with a smile so innocent that no judge would ever believe the amount of blood she had on her hands. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit Mr. Handsome! See sugar-(Gnome)? Someone gets how this works. Now you can rest easy knowing the brats ya pop out will be smart as well as pretty!¡± Cass blushed. Then reddened further. Looking as if she were about to blow. I held her back with a firm hand. ¡°It¡¯s only natural to repay the goodwill someone shows you.¡± I spoke. Keeping my voice as even as possible. ¡°If not, then no one would show anyone else any goodwill in the future. Debts must be repaid. It¡¯s the mark of a good friend.¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll be yer best friend in whole world, so long as you keep those truths close to yer heart.¡± I nodded. Knowing damn well she could read my mind since she had three Types. I knew what those pills came with heavy, heavy debts. I also knew Gina here could have taken most old-world heroes with a hand tied behind her back and the gap between us was only going to get larger. There was nothing I could do for her outside of using Sully as a crutch. While there was nothing she could do for me unless we met in some kind of System event. For now. The Tutorial would end. Principal Banerid had assured us of that much. After that, me and all the tens of thousands of people in Novice difficulty would have to contend with people like Gina. Better to have a working relationship now, rather than later, when everyone else would be searching for high-levelled friends. We kept walking for minutes after that. Passing more and more bodies nailed to the walls of buildings or ripped to pieces and scattered along the ground. Some were Students, like myself. Some were actual gnomes that been unfortunate enough to cross my best friend. Some bore the telltale strangulation marks of a gleeful, sadistic Sully. While others bore long curved scars that left deep lacerations along bellies and throats. As if animals had clawed them open. ¡°I guess your friend is making use of his new Shifter powers.¡± Cass commented as we walked. ¡°No kidding.¡± I answered. Doing my best to keep my eyes away from the wretches. ¡®It¡¯s all trauma. Sully wouldn¡¯t do this unless the gnomes had messed him up first. They¡¯re the ones to blame. Yes. That¡¯s right. That¡¯s why the System made Nega-Sully see us as gnomes. Sully didn¡¯t touch any of the natives that weren¡¯t gnomes. He¡¯s still the Sully I knew. He hasn¡¯t changed much. He¡¯s just been surrounded by bad people. He just needs a friend.¡¯ Things would be better when I talked to him again. Things would go back to the way they used to be. ¡°Extra! Extra!¡± A voice called from the side. ¡°Sunnyside Strangler goes on murderous rampage across the city! Thousands dead! Suicide rates spike around industrial district! Hundreds kill themselves by jumping from Lover¡¯s Leap! Read all about it!¡± Gina tossed the paperboy a coin and grabbed herself a copy of the newspaper. ¡°Where did you get local money?¡± Cass asked. ¡°Robbed a bunch of stores after the pharmacy. They¡¯re not real so they won¡¯t be missing anything. Now pipe down. I¡¯m trying to read.¡± She flipped through it as we walked. ¡°Tch!¡± She intoned. Sounding annoyed. ¡°This isn¡¯t good.¡± ¡°Yeah. No (Sully).¡± Cass bit back. ¡°Not that, sugar-(Gnome). The numbers aren¡¯t adding up.¡± That caught my attention. ¡°How do you mean?¡± Gina shrugged. ¡°Yer not the only one who went to Uni Mr. Handsome. I studied law. With a couple courses in journalism and statistics. Papa thought it was the best use of my brains. The best way I could help out the family business. This¡­¡± She flicked a finger at the paper in her hands. ¡°Doesn¡¯t add up. Not the suicides. That part checks out. Anyone from our difficulty would either be killing themselves or helping people from other difficulties to kill themselves as an act of mercy. The other guys in other difficulties wouldn¡¯t know the danger they were in, so they wouldn¡¯t add towards the count by themselves. If we extrapolate based on the people I know, we should stop seeing suicides or at least see a marked drop in numbers. Maybe one or two per day for as long as we stay here. It¡¯s also good that the places people kill themselves in are listed. Gives us options in case the pills don¡¯t work.¡± Cass¡¯ head whirled in her direction. ¡°What do you mean if they don¡¯t work?¡± Gina shrugged her shoulders. ¡°What do ya want from me!? I was improvising! I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯ll work but ya never know with powers being involved. They didn¡¯t have them back home. I got Enhancer, Shifter and Telepath. The last one won¡¯t help for nothing, but I still got two fully levelled Types at 50. Either of which could make the happy bombs I made not so happy. Either through natural resilience from things like [Enhanced Constitution] of maybe even [Regeneration].¡± She paused to sigh. ¡°(Gnome) I even have points in [Neurotoxin Resistance], [Cytotoxin Resistance], and [Enterotoxin Resistance] from the Enhancer side. That and I turned generalist with my Shifter side. Following Boris¡¯ advice. I mean, I¡¯m pretty sure the pills¡¯l kill ya. But I¡¯m not sure they¡¯ll kill me. Might just give me a stomach-ache.¡± ¡°Then why bother?¡± ¡°Cause it¡¯s better than nothing ya dumb broad! That and I needed a favor to sell Mr. Handsome over here.¡± ¡°You scammed us!¡± ¡°I did no such thing sugar-(Gnome)! I may not be licensed but I¡¯m a better pharmacist than most of the pill-pushers in New York! Those pills are genuinely the best I could do on short notice and you have my word of honor they¡¯ll be enough to kill a bull three times over! The problem is that I might be built better than a bull. How was I supposed to know being tough would be a problem?¡± ¡°Never mind that.¡± I cut in. ¡°What were you saying about the numbers?¡± ¡°Right. So, see this here? Thousands dead?¡± She tapped the headline, then moved a small finger down towards the blocks of text underneath. ¡°Total count is somewhere around three and a half thousand. Which means it isn¡¯t even a third of the population in Novice difficulty. As far as I know from asking Peachy and Mr. Orphan Maker, Intermediate and Adept are both gonna have lots more people than our own difficulty. With Peak only having one or two survivors, if they have any survivors at all. That means that boss Sully left a good portion of the people alive. Which isn¡¯t like him if he thinks he¡¯d dealing with gnomes.¡± She paused for a second. Seemingly lost in thought. ¡°That, or they haven¡¯t found the bodies yet for some reason.¡± I shuddered at the thought. ¡°Let¡¯s get a move on.¡± I told the both of them. ¡°I want to meet this group of survivors you were talking about. Maybe we can figure something out.¡± Gina looked apologetic at that. ¡°Ya know, I only mentioned the bunch o¡¯ losers as a gathering place to talk and kill time until boss Sully comes to kill us. I don¡¯t actually think they stand a chance. Even with all of us put together. Boss Sully is just that kind o¡¯ freak.¡± ¡°Even so.¡± I insisted. ¡°We have to try.¡±
The Vulgar Unicorn was an odd building. A mix of stereotypical western tavern and modern dive bar. Built out of old, crumbling wooden planks and salvaged ship parts. With visible slapdash repair jobs dotting its storefront. The sign was faded and barely hanging from the post outside. To the point where the letters were barely visible. Even to my Enhanced eyesight. My first thought upon entering was: ¡®Sweet baby buddha! Someone took a (Cherub) on the floor and let it sit there for months!¡¯ The stench assaulting me like a runaway ice-cream truck before taking my money and giving me a wedgie. My second thought was that this place was filled with the kind of people who would show up on a ¡®Scared Straight¡¯ program. Tattoos and broken, rotted teeth being as omnipresent as body odor. One of the patrons, for lack of a better word, close to the door assessed the three of us as soon as we came in. His one remaining eye moving from our faces to our clothes and from there, to our hips. The place where all other patrons had knives or spiked clubs. He smiled and moved to rise. His big green muscles bulging like balloons as the smells radiating from his armpits threatened to knock me out right then and there. ¡°I guess we got three new escorts in the neighborhood. Good. I was getting tired of the usual cheeks. Tell me, pretty boy. What¡¯s your usual fee?¡± He drew his lips back. Exposing rows upon rows of jagged, blackened teeth. ¡°And is there any chance of a discount for handsome boys like myself?¡± ¡°Back off.¡± Gina growled at once. Stepping between us with practiced motions. ¡°Or the local eunuchs will be snickering behind yer back after I¡¯m through with ya.¡± The big lug laughed. So did the other behind him. ¡°Feisty one! I like it! Been a while since I had three at once!¡± His gaze turned pitying. ¡°Don¡¯t ya worry lassie. I¡¯m the gentlest lad around.¡± Gina disappeared. Just like Cass did when she used [Hide]. She appeared a half second later. Holding a leaking pouch. A manic, impish grin plastered on her freckled face. The orc was screaming. Then her knife flashed and the screaming stopped. She spat on him and turned to the others. ¡°Anyone else feel like saying something?¡± The barkeep, an ogre of some kind, snorted. ¡°Ya kill them, ya clean them. House rules. Take the body outside and pay me whatever he¡¯s got in his pockets. Compensation for the ruckus.¡± Gina¡¯s smile softened. ¡°Ah. Finally. Some good business sense. I feel like I¡¯m back home already.¡± She obliged him. Grabbing the orc by an arm and dragging him outside with ease. When she came back, she flicked five coins at the barkeep. He narrowed his eyes. ¡°There¡¯s no way that oaf had this much on him.¡± ¡°Yer right my good man. Consider it a tip fer being such an upstanding citizen.¡± She paused to wink. ¡°And a good friend.¡± He nodded and took in the coins. ¡°Are you pretty folks with the lot downstairs?¡± ¡°We are.¡± ¡°Great. Move along before ye end up stabbing more of me dumber customers.¡± Gina practically whistled her way down to the basement. Me and Cass following in tow. ¡°That was (Sully)ed up.¡± Cass said as soon as the hatch was closed behind us. ¡°Oh don¡¯t get yer panties in a knot sugar-(Gnome). We both know you¡¯ve done worse.¡± Cass scowled. ¡°Whatever I did, I did because I had no choice. I never enjoyed it.¡± ¡°Boo-(Gnome)ing-hoo sugar-(Gnome). Go back up there and cry me a river over the big green slob¡¯s corpse. I¡¯m sure the flies could use the company.¡± Cass gave her another withering stare, but kept her silence. Another few steps saw us reaching a large square room. With candles lining up the walls so as to provide a modicum of illumination. Despite that, most of the light came from some kind of Projector ability. [Photon Wall] if I had to guess. Someone had used it on the ceiling and the resulting shine was more than enough to mimic modern-day lightbulbs. There were roughly fifty or so people gathered there. Their faces and clothes making each one seem like a character out of an old-timey time-travel movie. I saw a guy dressed like a roman soldier. A woman dressed in a waistcloth that left her chest bare. Two men that looked like stereotypical pirates, right down to the wooden peglegs each one had attached to a stump. Then there was the guy dressed all in furs with deep blue paint covering his face. The young girl in a polka-dot dress with the old-timey gun. The older woman in riding leathers and a six-shooter strapped to her hip. The half-naked tribal dude with shark-teeth for earrings. The old man with decorated robes and a cane. The suited-up business woman who seemed to be trying very hard to avoid making eye contact and the tanned short guy in white shorts and a white buttoned up shirt. All of them a slice of whatever world they had come from. ¡°Hey there friends.¡± The tanned guy said standing up. His face donning the most genuine, most disarming smile I had ever seen in my life. ¡°My name is Lalo Buddyfriend. I¡¯m a gnome just like you! I hope we can get along!¡± ¡°Uh. Okay?¡± I shook his hand. My brain itching a little as I did so. Almost as if there was something glaringly obvious that I couldn¡¯t see. That was being kept from me. The man in front of me smiled even wider and the feeling went away. Indeed, I couldn¡¯t even recall the exact nature of the feeling now. Nor why it had come in the first place. ¡®Wait. What feeling? Oh. It probably wasn¡¯t important.¡¯ ¡°Nice to meet ya Lalo.¡± Gina spoke, offering her own hand. ¡°Always nice to see a new face.¡± ¡°The feeling is mutual.¡± He assured her as he shook her hand. ¡°I love having gnomes like you close by. In tight, confined spaces.¡± Chapter 100: Murder in the Vulgar Unicorn. POV: Henry. ¡°Krutar will not sit around and be caged like a small piglet!¡± The fierce man dressed in furs said. ¡°Krutar is a hero! Krutar accompanied Reggie when he fought against the tyranny of Halkon! Krutar will not allow evil to prosper!¡± The light shining down from the nearby candles combined with the illumination given off by the [Photon Wall] made his blue warpaint shimmer slightly. Whatever chemicals the lines contained making the man¡¯s face light up as if he were drenched in azure fire. It made for a brave showing, to say the least. Though the man¡¯s shaking knees didn¡¯t help with the image he was trying to portray. Indeed, his thick, musclebound legs looked like they were vibrating with how quickly and ferociously they were trembling. His bare feet looking as if they would wear out the wooden floorboards sooner rather than later. ¡°Krutar will take the role of tribe chief this time! Krutar does swear he will lead us to victory against the vile witch known as¡­¡± He gulped. Struggling to say the words. ¡°Mittens.¡± As soon as the name left his lips, the man¡¯s eyes started darting all around the room. Left, right, up, down¡­. As if he were half-expecting the referenced witch to leap out from the shadows. I for one, couldn¡¯t understand his confusion. Sure, Luigi had filled me in. As had Sully. But the latter had made it clear that Mittens, the revived ghost of a once-lovely kitten, wasn¡¯t the kind of guy to go around disobeying orders. Therefore, Mittens should have been well-behaved the last time him and this guy met. Luigi had sworn up and down that he was evil incarnate but even he had admitted that no one on their side had been harmed. ¡°Interesting. Interesting.¡± Lalo spoke. His voice as melodious as always. ¡°When was the last time you saw this, Mittens? I haven¡¯t¡­¡± My vision blurred suddenly. Before coming back as normal. My mind sort of¡­ resetting until I couldn¡¯t recall what had happened. ¡°Solomon Carter hasn¡¯t been able to summon him or any other Intruders since coming here. Do you know why?¡± The painted man scoffed. ¡°Krutar does not begrudge you your ignorance. So listen here to Krutar¡¯s tale. A few days ago, Krutar and his brave companions were about to be killed by a vile villain named Halkon. When suddenly, the sky split apart and winged children took him and his brave friends away! At the same time, the bonfire spat out a witch from the most fetid swamps!¡± The rest of his body shuddered as he recalled the events. ¡°Mittens! That was her name! Mittens!¡± His voice dropped to a hush. ¡°She had horns on her head! Long, pointy horns and silver hair and many tongues and many arms! Her hand carried a sword made of bones and her touch turned Halkon into screaming leather! Then the sky cried out in rage! Boiling blood falling like the tears of the divine mother herself! The monsters, all those terrible beasts of the Islands, they ran into the sea!¡± His voice dropped another octave. ¡°So great was the witch¡¯s evil, that all the monsters drowned. Rather than face her in open battle. Krutar does not know what she did to Halkon¡¯s vile men, but we could hear their screams. All the way over from our own island. Like whispers in the wind.¡± He almost whistled and spoke some more words that were halfway intelligible. ¡°Hel¡­ Help me¡­. Help me¡­ Please¡­ I don¡¯t deserve this¡­ please¡­¡± He clapped all of the sudden. ¡°And that was how it happened. This evil witch must be near. Krutar feels the same kind of dread now, as Krutar did then. Krutar knows she must be near. Nothing else could be this vile. This evil. We must chase down the Mittens woman and kill her! Once and for all! Only then may we call ourselves, true heroes!¡± Lalo¡¯s grin deepened. ¡°Oh? And how do you plan to kill her, friend?¡± ¡°Krutar is glad you asked!¡± The painted man spoke out. ¡°As it happens, Krutar has other friends. Ones from a lesser difficulty. Apprentice. A thin, tall man.¡± Lalo leaned in closer. His smile never faltering. ¡°Tell me more.¡± ¡°With pleasure. His name is Lincoln. He calls himself a president and Reggie was very surprised he did not have a hole in his head for some reason. Then Reggie went to see his father and Krutar has not seen him since. But this Lincoln man. Yes. I have spoken with him on many occasions. He is very smart.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± Lalo spoke with some disappointment. ¡°Gnome Lincoln. That¡¯s no fun.¡± My brain buzzed again, but I couldn¡¯t find anything wrong with Lalo¡¯s words. Not right then, anyway. ¡°Krutar is glad your questions have answers. Krutar will also reveal that friend Lincoln found someone much, much stronger than of us put together. Someone who will lead the battle against the witch from the front!¡± Lalo leaned in again. ¡°Okay? What¡¯s this gnome¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Stellio the boxer!¡± Gina spat out one of the black beers she had been drinking. Gasping as if suddenly drowning. ¡°He fights with fists! Quick as lightning! He has three Types! Three! Two of them at level 50! Just last night, he saved me and Lincoln from one of Mittens¡¯ mutated horrors! He will lead the fight against the witch! He will lead us to victory!¡± Gina collapsed. Laughing. ¡°HA! HAHAHAHAHAHA! HAAAA!!!¡± She writhed so much that, for a second, I thought she might have been under attack by Sully. ¡°Ya think that slob¡¯s gonna do anything? HA! He can¡¯t even tie his own shoes!¡± Krutar looked confused. ¡°What are these, shoes you speak of, ugly woman?¡± Me and Cass drew a sharp breath. My right hand going to her left at once and dragging her backwards as I retreated quickly. Gina, for her part, stopped laughing. Then she disappeared through [Hide] again. Thankfully, she didn¡¯t see the need to gut Krutar as she had the orc upstairs. That could have gotten ugly. Furthermore, the others saw the result of the fight and quickly retreated to the corners of the room as well. All except Lalo for some reason. He continued to smile throughout the whole ordeal. Only stopping to let out a few heart chuckles here and then. He clapped when Gina stopped kicking Krutar. As if giving a standing ovation. ¡°Bravo! Bravo! Good showing, little she-gnome! Oh I love seeing you guys fight amongst yourselves!¡± ¡°Whaday a mean, you guys?¡± Gina asked. ¡°Nothing.¡± Lalo said and I quickly forgot what she had asked in the first place. ¡°Now then.¡± Gina turned to the others. ¡°Enough about tall tales. I wanna get a head count and I wanna get it done now. You lot being here means that you¡¯re under my protection. What that means is that I¡¯m gonna be wanting a little gratitude from all of youse in the future.¡± She paused to straighten her skirt. ¡°I¡¯m gonna be gentle with youse all and let it sit at an even 20%. One fifth of whatever ya make in the coming hours, or if we¡¯re lucky, days. Goes to me and mine. In return, not only will I keep yer heads attached to yer bodies fer as long as possible. I¡¯ll also provide ya all some suicide pills to make yer eventual capture smoother. That and I¡¯ll put in a good word with boss Sully. The real boss Sully. The one who calls the shots fer this Mittens kitten thing.¡± She eyed them all once more. Now seeming more like a shark than a person. ¡°Does everyone agree?¡± The all nodded slowly. ¡°Good. Now, I¡¯m gonna start asking you lot a few questions. I expect answers. Ya get me?¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. The others nodded once more. A little faster this time. ¡°Good. We¡¯ll start with you fatso.¡± ¡°I beg your pardon?¡± The roman soldier asked. Gina bared her teeth. In the same manner as a dog. ¡°I said, we¡¯ll start with you. F-A-T-S-O.¡± She pulled out her knife. ¡°Or else.¡± The roman soldier gulped. ¡°What would you like to know?¡± ¡°Yer name. For starters.¡± He harrumphed. ¡°Very well. I will tell you. I am Gluteus Maximus Obesius Diabetus. Patrician and volunteer gladiator in the greatest city on earth. Rome. I have recently returned from my home city and before that, I had the pleasure of leading a town in the Novice difficulty.¡± Gina gave him a look. ¡°Got any Sicilian blood in ya?¡± The man blinked in confusion. ¡°No?¡± Gina sighed. ¡°Then shaddup in the future fatso. I ain¡¯t above taking some of them love handles off.¡± She pointed the knife at the half-naked tribal dude. ¡°Yer name pretty boy. And yer difficulty. Snap to it.¡± The man gulped. ¡°I am Lark. I am the son and heir to the mighty king Ron. Ruler of Miami.¡± He stood up straighter as he said that. ¡°I was present when the great Shepherd, Solomon Carter, announced his presence to the world. I saw the corpses of two Great Devourers as they washed upon our shores. Before that, I was in the Apprentice Difficulty.¡± Gina paused. Suddenly looking scared. ¡°Do ya know Dusty?¡± ¡°Not directly. But we have had teleporters from Ireland recently. The Great Shepherd gave his bride¡¯s people new powers and many of them reach out to¡­¡± ¡°Well why didn¡¯t ya say so?¡± Gina stepped forward. All smiles. ¡°I¡¯m Gina. I know boss Sully really well and anyone who¡¯s a friend o¡¯ his is a friend o¡¯ mine! Nice to meet ya!¡± Lark smiled then. Though I suspected he was more relieved than anything. ¡°It is my pleasure. Lady Gina. I know we shall get along famousl¡­.¡± ¡°Hold on.¡± Lalo spoke. His words cutting though the air like a knife. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear any of that.¡± He seemed half perplexed. Half angry. ¡°How did you do that?¡± ¡°How did we do what?¡± Lark asked. ¡°Are you speaking of our conversation?¡± ¡°Yes that. I¡¯ve been hearing bleeps for a while now. Here and there. None of you notice. What are you talking about?¡± ¡°The Shepherd? Solomon Carter.¡± Lalo narrowed his own eyes. His smile briefly faltering. Then my eyes closed by themselves. My mind becoming disoriented as if someone had struck me upside the head. I could see nothing. Smell nothing. Hear nothing. Until a sound broke through the din. A song, accompanied by a gurgle. ¡°Making my way downtown! Walking fast! Faces Pass and I¡¯m homebound! pew! Pew! Duh! Duh! Pew! Pew! Tururu!¡± ¡°Oh! (Cherub)! It¡¯s Sully! That¡¯s his favourite song!¡± The words had come out of my mouth before I realized I had formed them. Though I couldn¡¯t hear myself saying them over the darkness. I expected a blow to come. A punch, or a kick or the feeling of big hands wrapping themselves around my throat. None of that happened. ¡°But I need you! Tururu! And I miss you! Tururu! And now I wooondeeeer! If I could fall! Into the sky! Do you think time!? Would pass me by!?¡± I couldn¡¯t be sure, but I started to imagine things then. The actual music that played along with the lyrics. The gurling petered out. ¡°Did you know I walked a thousand miles to just. Seeeee youuuuu!¡± The gurgling stopped. ¡°TONIGHT!!¡± The song stopped and my vision returned. When I came to, the entire room was bursting with the sound of screaming. I soon found out why. The woman in the business suit was dead. Her body leaning lifelessly against a nearby wall. There were strangulation marks around her neck and her eyes were wide open. Frozen forever in a caricature of terror. Krutar was screaming the loudest. Pressing himself against the opposite wall with all the strength he could muster. ¡°Mittens! Mittens is here! She did this! She¡¯s going to kill us all!!!¡± ¡°Shaddup!¡± Gina howled. ¡°Eevrybody shaddup and grab a pill!¡± She opened her hand. Revealing nothing. Her own eyes went wide. ¡°OH!! (Gnome)!!!¡± She exclaimed. ¡°Run!! Everybody out fer yerselves!!¡± She bolted towards the point where the stairs had been. Only to meet an empty wall. ¡°The stairs are gone!¡± Lark yelled. ¡°We¡¯re trapped! Mittens trapped us!¡± Krutar followed up. ¡°She¡¯s here with us!¡± I looked around just in case. Finding Cas trembling at my arm, but nothing else out of order. ¡°Calm down!¡± I called out. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything wrong here. We¡¯re fine.¡± ¡°Are ya blind as well as dumb!?¡± Cowgirl hollered. ¡°That woman¡¯s dead!¡± ¡°Yes. But we¡¯re not.¡± I spoke. Purposely softening my voice. ¡°So we all need to calm down and think. Why would Sully kill her and not the rest of us if he thought we were all gnomes?¡± ¡°Maybe this Sully person enjoys a challenge.¡± Lalo offered. ¡°Maybe they enjoy taking their time when it comes to gnomes. Cutting lose, as some young people say. Or maybe he¡¯s trying to level up his Tolerance abilities. All those passives in the Shifter Board do look very tempting.¡± ¡°How would killing us help!?¡± Cass demanded in a panic. Lalo shrugged. ¡°Perhaps he is considering blasting some gnomes with his boosting power. Letting all the pests here get new powers and abilities. All so that they pose a greater challenge. Maybe he knows it would be more productive to do this from the get go, but he is struggling to contain his playfulness.¡± Lalo leaned closer to her. ¡°Maybe he wants to see how gnomes will react. Before he boosts the most vicious ones. All so that their dying is slower. More drawn out. Maybe, just maybe, Solomon Carter has suffered so much at the hands of gnomes, that he wants them to know his own pain. Maybe he was once hunted and now wants to make gnomes feel hunted too.¡± He leaned even closer. ¡°Maybe he just wants a challenge.¡± He smacked his lips with his tongue. ¡°The thrill of the hunt.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking crazy!¡± I blurted out. ¡°Sully would never do that! He¡¯s a good, decent, stand-up guy!¡± Lalo looked at me and gave me another warm smile. ¡°I couldn¡¯t catch what you were saying this time either, friend.¡± I sucked in a few more breaths. Trying to calm myself down before things got even more out of hand. ¡°Sorry. I was just saying that this doesn¡¯t seem like the MO of Solomon Carter. We have to try and keep calm. ¡°Of course friend! I was merely discussing hypotheticals!¡± Lalo countered. Retreating as if placated. I was starting to wonder what that was about, when Gina pulled me to the side. ¡°You are crazy.¡± She hissed. ¡°This was so boss Sully¡¯s doing! We need to find the stairs and get the (Gnome) out of here before he gets his hands on us!¡± She pointed at the dead woman. ¡°She¡¯s croaked, but she was lucky! She went by pretty fast! There¡¯s no guarantee that he¡¯ll be as kind to us! We have to go!¡± ¡°I know that. I just don¡¯t want all of us to lose our heads by panicking!¡± ¡°Then what do ye propose lad?¡± One of the pirates asked. ¡°Ye seem ta know this Sully scallywag plenty good. I got a good feeling in me remaining leg. How do we get out of here?¡± I turned to the mangled man. Thankful to have an out. ¡°Okay. First of all. Sully is a Telepath and a Shifter. That means he can¡¯t use Projector or Enhancer abilities. Whatever he did to make the stairs go away, was done Telepathically.¡± I paused to look at the spot where they had been once more. ¡°They are probably still there. Somewhere. We just can¡¯t see them.¡± The other pirate nodded. As did Gluteus. ¡°So another kind of [Hide] then?¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s a combined ability.¡± I told them. ¡°How do you know that?¡± Lalo asked. Seemingly surprised. ¡°Because he told me.¡± I answered. Lalo¡¯s brows furrowed for a moment. Donning the kind of confusion I and all the others were no doubt feeling. ¡°I see.¡± Was all he said in return. Then he turned to the others. ¡°How about each of you tell me about yourselves.¡± Lalo stated. ¡°More specifically, your Types, levels and abilities.¡± ¡°Are you deaf as well as stupid?¡± Gina bellowed. ¡°We have got to figure out how to get away from here!¡± Lalo only spared her a glance. ¡°All of you want to give me your information.¡± Lalo spoke. My brain buzzed a little. But I didn¡¯t see anything wrong with what he was asking. I gave him my current status details.
Name: Henry Cornwall
Psy: 140 / 140
Type: Enhancer Level 18
Enhancer Abilities: [Enhanced Strength] 2 / [Enhanced Dexterity] 3 / [Enhanced Constitution] 3 / [Enhanced Training] 3 / [Enhanced Learning] 1 / [Enhanced Processing] 1 / [Enhanced Flexibility] 2 / [Enhanced Reflexes] 2 / [Enhanced Stamina] 2 / [Enhanced Toughness] 1 / Enhanced Agility] 2 / [Enhanced Vision] 2 / [Enhanced Hearing] 2 / [Sudden Strength] 2 / [Sudden Dexterity] 2 / [Sudden Constitution] 1 / [Psionic Resistance] 2
Ability Points: 2
Lalo narrowed his eyes at the information I gave him. ¡°How come you have that name?¡± He asked. ¡°Because my parents gave it to me?¡± I responded. Lalo blinked a few times. Then the lights went out again. Until a sound broke through the din. A song, accompanied by a gurgle. ¡°Making my way downtown! Walking fast! Faces Pass and I¡¯m homebound! pew! Pew! Duh! Duh! Pew! Pew! Tururu!¡± ¡°But I need you! Tururu!¡± ¡°And I miss you! Tururu!¡± Two distinc gurgles could be heard. ¡°And now I wooondeeeer! If I could fall! Into the sky! Do you think time!? Would pass me by!?¡± ¡°Did you know I walked a thousand miles to just. Seeeee youuuuu!¡± The gurgling stopped. ¡°TONIGHT!!¡± My eyes began to catch the light again. In time to see the two pirates slumping down to the floor. ¡°He¡¯s here!!!¡± Gina screamed. Her own nails digging into her face. ¡°He¡¯s pretending to be one of us!!¡± ¡°Oh no!¡± Lalo cried out. ¡°What are we going to do?¡± Krutar was still trying desperately to bury his way into a nearby wall. Gluteus was swinging a gladius through the air. Almost as if he hoped to nick Sully by accident. Lark was doing something similar, only he was throwing around chairs. The woman with the waistcloth was on her knees. Saying something incomprehensible. The girl with the polka-dot dress was firing her gun wildly into the air. One of those rounds was loosened at my general direction. Then another. I felt one of the shells impacting my shoulder. Knocking the wind out of me. The man in the robes picked me up then. Dragging me away as I swung my arms out in confusion. He turned over a nearby table and set me down next to him. Chanting some nonsense about healing spirits under his breath while swinging that cane at my face. The pain did subside though and I kept my silence as the Shifter healed me. ¡°Thank you.¡± I sputtered. ¡°No need to thank me young man.¡± The robed one muttered. ¡°It was a good thing you did. Trying to keep calm with all this madness surrounding us. I¡¯ll weave a spell or two and we¡¯ll be out of here in no time. You¡¯ll see.¡± At that moment, the lights went out again. All sounds replaced my either more singing or more gurgling. The next time I came to, powerful hands were dragging me to my feet. ¡°It¡¯s you!¡± Krutar was screaming. ¡®You¡¯ve been the agent of Mittens this whole time! You killed these people!¡± ¡°What!¡± I called out in confusion. ¡°No! I didn¡¯t kill anybody!¡± ¡°Then how do you explain the dead wizard next to you?¡± I followed his gaze and found my would-be rescuer there. Laying down with a broken neck. Then I found Cass a few ways away. A bullet hole sticking out between her eyes. ¡°Oh come on!¡± ¡°I knew it!¡± Polka dot girl cried out. ¡°He¡¯s using his powers to make himself look prettier! The killings started when he and the girls came in! It must be him!¡± I didn¡¯t know whether to be flattered or offended at that comment. Moreover, I didn¡¯t have time to make up my mind. Krutar threw me against the wall opposite to where we were. Hard. The impact took the air right out of my lungs and I felt as if my spine were about to break. ¡°I¡¯ll kill you! Traitor! I¡¯ll show you what happens when you try to bring Mittens here!¡± ¡°Calm down!¡± I yelled out in pain. ¡°Mittens isn¡¯t here with us!¡± ¡°Mittens begs to differ. Mittens will slither. Mittens is here.¡± A woman spoke from beside me. Her voice carrying over empty space. I turned to see a monster that fit Luigi¡¯s description to a T. The woman then leaned in. Licking my face with three forked tongues. ¡°Mittens recalls Henry. Mittens loved your belly rubs. Mittens will never ever leave. Mittens is here.¡± I leapt towards Krugar. My arms wrapping themselves around his neck as I strained my lungs. ¡°Mittens will rake.¡± The monster stated while stepping forward. ¡°Mittens will break.¡± The monster continued. ¡°Mittens will shatter the fake.¡± The monster¡¯s eyes swept over all the screaming people. Finally landing on Lalo. ¡°Mittens calls you liar.¡± Lalo only stared back. As if someone had just walked all over his rug with muddy feet or spoken ill of their mama¡¯s home recipes. ¡°You believe that.¡± He spoke. His voice as calm as still water. ¡°Mittens knows. Mittens grows. Mittens¡¯ heart beats faster. Mittens will not call you master.¡± The misshapen, mutated woman brought high a sword made of bone. ¡°Mittens foretells. Mittens does swear.¡± The sword was raised to Lalo¡¯s eyes. ¡°Your voice does not ring. You are no king.¡± Lalo blinked. Confusion evident on his face. Chapter 101: A Dream Within a Dream. POV: Henry. Everyone who could still stand, started running. From Krutar to the young man with shark-tooth earrings to Gina herself. It didn¡¯t matter how strong you were, relative to each other. Not when such waves of power were crashing upon us all. Crashing into the floor and the walls. Worse, the walls were giving way. Solid brick and mortar melting like candlewax as the very air buzzed and hummed with crackling bolts of purple lightning. All of my hairs stood on end. My muscles shivering s the currents of energy ran through them. Making me feel as if I were being cooked and broiled from the inside. Only for my heart to beat even faster. Throbbing with a speed and ferocity that made each pumping blow feel as if it would crack my ribs. It was a level of power that chocked the oxygen out of my lungs. My chest reeling as if I¡¯d been beaten from all directions by metal bats. Both from the outside and the inside out. I tried to cough, but my breath burned and grew solid as it travelled up my throat. I lost my footing. My mind swaying and swooning due to my inability to breathe. Yet I also felt a strange sort of ecstasy at that same time. My mind feeling invigorated in a way I hadn¡¯t thought possible. That lightning which had burned me now lit a healing fire within me. Swelling up at the core of my being and letting me feel my own Psy far more than possible. I felt bigger. Stronger. My eyes catching each and every spark or violent lightning as it travelled through the basement. I tried to gasp once more, but my lungs could not bring in air fast enough. Then I feel my heart pumping out more Psy, as well as blood. Each thump now moving in concert with the rest of my being. No longer hurting. Before that point, using my Enhancer powers was like asserting myself unto the world. Like making my body and my clothes more real than any of the dead things around me. Now, all the dead things around me were more real than I was. More charged with Psy and keeping greedy wishes of their own. I could feel them as me. As expansions of me. Each piece of furniture was as a muscle. Each floorboard was as a bone. Just like me, they too twisted in place due to the ambient energy. Just like me, they too wailed and writhed with all the effort of existing. ¡°Sing Henry.¡± A face in the wall spoke up. ¡°Know yourself. Your true self. Do not let the fake one crush you.¡± The face made of stone grew three, sapphire-like eyes. Two where human eyes would have been and another on its forehead. ¡°You are real. You are his friend. You are my friend. I will not let you come to harm. None of me will let you come to harm.¡± ¡°Flee.¡± The air sang. ¡°Flee.¡± The floor sang. ¡°Flee.¡± The ceiling sang. ¡°Flee.¡± The tables and chairs sang. ¡°Flee.¡± The rest of the walls sang. ¡°Flee.¡± The spilled food sang. ¡°Flee.¡± Mittens sang. Then the horror leapt at Lalo. Murder in her glowing eyes. Her arms and legs moved so quickly that they became a blur within my senses. Even as everything else seemed frozen in time. The sword finding Lalo within the pause between two blinks. Lalo didn¡¯t move. He didn¡¯t even flinch. Instead, he stood his ground. Still as a stone. His presence was an anchor to all the ensuing chaos. The eye of the storm that remined still and untouched while the rest of the world was drained of all its usual colors. Even stranger shivers ran through me. This time re-asserting the reality I was used to. All the faces disintegrated into burnt or crumbling pebbles. All the voices hushed. Mittens slowed to a crawl. Moving more like a regular human, with none of the psionic might she had shown thus far. I felt it too. Like another punch in the gut. My body returning to its pre-Tutorial levels of strength. The changes driving me to tears as my organs struggled to adjust to the newfound weakness. To the absence of the kind of power one could drown in. Mittens¡¯ bone sword kept its momentum though. Striking Lalo. No¡­. Sully. Like a thunderbolt. The impact sent dust and debris flying in all directions. Slightly crushing the boards beneath Sully¡¯s feet. If Sully noticed, he didn¡¯t show it. His dressings, the shirt and shorts, retreated into the form of a pair of white dressing pants. The skin of his torso was thus left exposed and I could see that it was wriggling as if it had a life of its own. Small masses of flesh twisting and churning like a thousand writhing maggots. His skin absorbed the sword in short order. Like an amoeba. Sully¡¯s skin looking as malleable as water as the blade sunk in without bothering him in the slightest. I sucked in a breath with great effort. Half expecting Sully to strike down Mittens right then and there. Yet, despite Mitten¡¯s growls, snarls and clawed strikes, Sully made no move to act. ¡°You believe I am fake.¡± He repeated. His voice as calm as a tranquil lake. ¡°I see into your mind and I see loyalty towards me. I see into your soul and I see the marks of my own Psy. I see into your body and I see the marks left over from my experiments.¡± He blinked and all that was left of the world shuddered. ¡°So why? I supressed all outlying Psy with my own presence, so whatever was affecting you should have been dispelled. Why do you continue to defend gnomes? I would understand if it was literally anything else, but gnomes? Really?¡± ¡°Mittens does swear. Mittens foretells. Sully will ring your death knell.¡± The copy blinked in confusion. ¡°I am Sully though?¡± His face, which had been paralyzed and devoid of emotion until that point, suddenly started showing some expression. ¡°You¡¯re thinking that I¡¯m not. Those gnomes are thinking that I¡¯m not. They think they know me though. How? I¡¯ve never spared a gnome and I know I¡¯m not being tricked or manipulated.¡± Mittens snarled. Then the air shivered once more. Pushing back the blankness that the copy had asserted over the world I gasped. My eyes dilating. As the thing stepped forward. It had two heads. Three eyes in each one. A stark white suit. A long, angular body. And no face on either of its skulls. One of its gangly limbs rose up. The copy reeled back as if struck. His own blank and expressionless face giving no hint as to what was going through his mind. ¡°Impossible.¡± He spoke. ¡°You cannot betray me. You cannot. You are me.¡± ¡°He is. Oh false one.¡± Another figure spoke up. Wearing a half-suit, half-robe dyed crimson. ¡°Serpent-Tongue.¡± I gasped. The thing looked down at me. Seeming overjoyed. ¡°Oh! Master Henry! What a lovely surprise!¡± His fingers closed around my arm. ¡°Come now. Let us be off. His majesty would not forgive me if I allowed you to come to harm.¡± I felt my body dissolving. All of myself turning into smoke. Into coloured steam. I saw a light. Felt the rush of displaced air. And then the darkness welcomed me back. The dream was old and dreadful. Just as it always was. I dreamt of Sully and of his family, running next to my own. I dreamt of the crabs again. Of how they tore people apart. Of how their mandibles sounded when they were cracking through human ribcages. I was kneeling. Pressing myself against my parents. I was choking back tears. And I continued to choke back tears after my body wasn¡¯t my own anymore. After my mind wasn¡¯t my own anymore. I couldn¡¯t breathe. Couldn¡¯t scream. The air was molasses and someone had set all the sky on fire. So that each new labored breath felt like lava searing my lungs. My eyes. My ears. My nose. Every single pore along my skin. I felt the blows of pickaxes falling atop my skull. Cracking it and cracking it and cracking it. The was music. Too loud. Wails too. Also too loud. I tried to grasp onto something and felt my fingers disintegrating. As if I were a doll made of sand and I had somehow forgotten that fact. The folly leading my being to crumble and collapse upon a blackened beach. Yes. I was but grains of sand along a coastline. Tittering winged children chattering amongs themselves above me. ¡°Remade.¡± One of them giggled. ¡°Reforged.¡± Another corrected. ¡°Reconstituted.¡± A third added. ¡°Made anew in the image of our lord.¡± ¡°Our great master!¡± They all tittered then. Laughing and cheering and whooping as I felt hands coming down to grab what little remained of me. Powerful, steady fingers gripping the wet grains of sand that were me and making them into a new figure. A new castle. I had eyes again. And ears and a nose and a tongue. I had skin with which to feel and fingers of my own with which to mold the world around me.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. I was a doll once more. Only now I could see my own strings. I felt a headache coming to me and winced as I brought my hand to my forehead. It didn¡¯t feel like a normal hangover. Instead, it felt as though someone had bashed me over the head with a shovel or some other blunt object. My brain throbbing intensely as if I was seconds away from passing out. Yet I didn¡¯t lose consciousness and the aching redoubled. Until I saw Sully in front of me once more. The very picture of childhood innocence as he walked around his own home. His room which I¡¯d often visited before. ¡°Damn it. This dreams sucks. What even brought it on?¡± ¡®Help!¡¯ I tried to scream. ¡®Help! Come to your senses! Come on Sully! Remember me! Remember who you are! Remember that this is a fake world! That I am not a gnome!¡¯ But Sully didn¡¯t notice me. Instead, he dimly recalled the exams, despite the last of them having been finished only yesterday. Only hours before this dream, all those months ago. ¡®Wait, how do I know that?¡¯ I tried to shake my head, but felt grains of sand drifting away from me. Fierce fires coming from the side and melting my form until my outer layer had turned to shining obsidian. The pain was unimaginable. But young Sully didn¡¯t seem to notice. His thoughts drifted to Henry. To the person I had been before the Tutorial. To the talk we¡¯d had near the window. To the things that woman had been saying before the ambulance took her away. There was, something about delusions? Burning skies and eyes that hadn¡¯t opened? My body started shaking. My stomach churning as I felt my intestines turning and writhing like serpents. Sully rushed to the bathroom connected to his room. Forcing open the door and trying to heave into the toilet, only for nothing to come out. Worse, the pain redoubled. For both of us. Travelling from my stomach and up my spine until it rang my head like a church bell. ¡°Sully?¡± A voice called out from outside the bedroom. ¡°Sully? Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yes mom.¡± He said. Knowing that it was only a dream, but unable to keep himself from reassuring her. I stayed there. Heaving along and clutching my own stomach, until I heard the door opening behind me. I saw Sully turning with tears in his eyes and almost jumped backwards in surprise. This person, was not his mother. I mean, she looked like her. As she had some 15 or so years ago. Yet there was an underlying wrongness about her. Her features were somehow off. Too relaxed and placid, with a glazed-over expression that seemed to see right past both of us and out into nothingness. ¡®No!¡¯ I realized with a start. ¡®It¡¯s me! She¡¯s looking at me!¡¯ I tried to plead. To beg for the pain to stop. She either didn¡¯t hear me, or couldn¡¯t do anything about it. ¡°Uh. I¡¯m, okay?¡± Sully said. Partly paralyzed by fear. ¡°That is lovely dear.¡± She answered. With that same glossy gaze that wasn¡¯t particularly focused on anything Sully saw. She then lowered her head a little. Too slowly for it to be anything like a normal human expression. I squinted and barely made out a humanoid shape sitting on her shoulder. Two cold blue eyes. Like chips of dirty ice, straddling a mouth bearing a wide grin. That impish smile grew slightly wider and the figure waved once before the outline dissipated like morning mist. ¡°Yes. Lovely. Lovely, lovely, lovely. Come down and have some breakfast.¡± ¡®Yeah. No. I think I¡¯d like to wake up now.¡¯ Sully thought. ¡®That makes two of us!¡¯ I tried to scream. ¡®Let¡¯s get the (Cherub) out of here!¡¯ We pinched ourselves. Hard. Then we did it again. Even harder. To no avail. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be having breakfast today mom.¡± Sully told the creepy facsimile. She nodded slowly. Without any hint of emotion. I felt the twisting in my stomach worsening and I even went so far as to take a couple of steps back. Fearing that the outline might return. It didn¡¯t. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Will you be going to school today?¡± Sully blinked. Several times in quick succession. ¡°Uh, is today a school day?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± She confirmed with a small smile. ¡°It is.¡± ¡°No.¡± He told her. ¡°I won¡¯t be going to school today.¡± She bobbed her head up and down like a broken doll and her empty eyes found mine. Not Sully¡¯s eyes, but mine. ¡°Whatever you think is best Sully. I love you.¡± Then she turned around and strolled right back down the stairs. Failing to close the door behind her. Sully looked like he was feeling it then. He felt as though there were thousands, or hundreds of thousands of voices calling out to him from all around the room. Mine being the loudest of them. Whispers sneaking in from the corners in the ceiling and from underneath the bed. From within the walk-in closet and beneath the desk. From all the books on the bookshelf and the posters on the walls. They were an incessant chorus assaulting him. Pleading for him to let them out. To allow them the freedom to wake up. Their voices sounded young and old and they came in all kinds of accents. All begging. Pleading. To be let out. ¡°Jeez. That¡¯s what I want. I don¡¯t want to be here any more than they do.¡± Yet the buzzing did not end. They kept assaulting him when he tried to crawl back into bed and they kept assaulting him when he pulled the pillow over his head and they kept going and going no matter how much he willed them away. All while my stomach kept turning and twisting. The voices did not relent. Neither did the pain for that matter. It all swirled around us like some thick, gaseous soup. A fog that permeated the insides of both of our minds. ¡°Sully? Will you be having breakfast?¡± The dream version of his mom asked from behind the door. He threw aside the pillow and decided that he might as well. Perhaps then the dream would let us out. He walked down the stairs in sullen silence. Not bothering to change out of his pajamas. His Dad was down there. Eating a healthy breakfast of eggs and some assorted vegetables. He had the same vacant expression that mom had plastered on his face. His eyes seeming to drift off into the air without any rhyme or reason. ¡®No. He¡¯s also looking at me. Also screaming internally. He wants to be let out.¡¯ I thought. Just as I realized there were thousands of others in here. All begging to be let out. ¡°I heard that you didn¡¯t go to school today.¡± He said. Not sounding angry in the slightest. ¡°No.¡± He confirmed. ¡°I figured that I might try something different here in the dream. For once at least.¡± His Dad didn¡¯t comment on his words, but merely kept nodding. A fact that sent even more chills up my spine. ¡®He can¡¯t do anything else! He¡¯s trapped!¡¯ I turned to Sully. ¡®Realize it you fool! Free us! Let us go!¡¯ Sully only rubbed his head a little harder. As if he were feeling a fraction of my own enduring agony. The black glass that was my spectral body shattered then. Cracking as if struck by a sledgehammer. I wailed as I was unmade and watched with horror as Sully reeled from the blow as well. ¡®He feels it!¡¯ I realized with mounting horror. ¡®He feels what I feel! He feels everything!¡¯ I tried to weep. To console him. But only beads of molten glass came out. My voice drowned out once more as blasts of purple lighting phased through the ceiling and struck me down. Over and over and over. ¡°Very well.¡± He said after a while. ¡°What would you like to do today?¡± Sully shrugged. Trying to ward off the worst of the headache. And failing. ¡°Well, since I¡¯m here. An ice-cream breakfast would be nice.¡± His Mom smiled. Clapping her hands awkwardly as if to congratulate him on his choice. ¡°Of course, dear. What kind of flavour would you like? How many bowls? Would you like me to pour chocolate syrup on top? Or would you prefer to have it with some cake?¡± Sully blinked at her. Several times in quick succession. Again, it shouldn¡¯t have bothered him. But he seemed to sense something was wrong. Despite Trying to ward off the pain. I could feel his own spine practically vibrating with all the chills going up and down its length. His stomach turning into a boulder that still managed to squirm in place. ¡®Oh Sully.¡¯ I wept. ¡®I¡¯m sorry. I never knew¡­. I never realized you had gone through so much¡­ I¡­ I should have done more¡­ Please forgive me.¡¯ That was when we both heard the singing. We turned to look out the front windows and saw them there. Birds of all kinds and colours. Even ones that obviously weren¡¯t native to Canada. All singing their little songs in front of the glass. With no regard for each other. Their movements were inexplicably stiff and robotic in nature. As if they weren¡¯t truly birds at all, but rather, some creepy contraption rigged up to play music in the likeness of birds. Worse yet, were their eyes. Their tiny, beady eyes. They tracked me. Both of us. While Sully walked along the table¡¯s edge. Somehow coming across as hateful, desperate and terrified, all at once. The TV turned on by itself then and I was greeted by a sleepy-eyed news anchor I didn¡¯t recognize. Smiling in a way that suggested he¡¯d had several hits of morphine before coming on the air and staring out into nothingness in the exact same way that Sully¡¯s parents were. ¡°And now for the morning news. Everything is perfect today. There is no crime. There is no scandal. Everyone has housing and everyone has a job. The economy is stable. New toys are being made with the cool moving arms. The government is handing out kittens and puppies. Everyone is happy. This is another perfect day in our perfect world. Now back to you Sean.¡± ¡°Thank you, Tom. There were a lot of sports teams playing last night. Half of them won and half of them lost. It was very exciting. In other news, there were 1, 233 Rifts appearing in the past week. All the monsters tore themselves to pieces or otherwise mysteriously disappeared. No one got hurt.¡± ¡®Holy (Cherub)! I remember this!¡¯ I thought with alarm. Somehow managing to push past the agony. ¡®There wasn¡¯t a monster attack in a whole year! None of them lived past the initial breaches!¡¯ I heaved an unnatural sigh and grains of sand left my unreal lungs. ¡®It was always like this. Sully was always this strong. Ever since he was six. Ever since we were six.¡¯ Sully himself had confessed that to me before I went back to our world, but the scale of his power had seemed a distant blur until now. In a single year, he had killed every monster in the world. Without any effort on his part. I shuddered once more. Realizing that I had the free will to know this because he willed it. If Sully had wished it, I could have been a puppet without any means of escape. One that didn¡¯t even want to escape. Forever. I wailed as more purple lightning fell upon me. Searing my back and cleaving me in half before stitching me back together. ¡°How wonderful Sean. Now, could you tell us about the mysterious disappearances?¡± ¡°No Tom. We don¡¯t talk about those.¡± ¡°Okay Sean. You look great. I definitely don¡¯t hold a grudge over you keying my car.¡± ¡°Thank you, Tom. It means a lot. I was very stressed and had to let it out before you-know-who made me mysteriously disappear for having bad thoughts.¡± ¡°My pleasure Sean. I for one, live in constant terror that you-know-who will get me too. I¡¯ve actually been pooping blood for the past couple of months.¡± ¡°Uh-oh.¡± ¡°Exactly what I thought. So, I understand where you¡¯re coming from and I assure you that in no way do I wish harm on you. A little vandalism is okay if it keeps you around.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very nice of you Tom. I certainty have changed for the better since then. I love you. Please let me go. Please let my wife and children go. Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please¡­¡± ¡®Please!¡¯ I wailed in concert. ¡®Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please¡­¡¯ ¡°Stay strong Sean. I love you. Now, lets check on the weather¡­.¡± Sully¡¯s Dad turned the TV off then. His vacant expression turning to me. To us. ¡°Sorry about that Sully. It looked like the news was upsetting you.¡± Sully shook his head. Wincing as the singing of the birds and the voices streaming in from the corners of the room came together to beat me down further. ¡°You know what? I will go to school after all. Let¡¯s get this over with.¡± ¡°Okay dear. I love you.¡± His Mom and Dad said in unison. Both still wearing those same blank faces. In the end, his Dad ended up taking us to school. His old car starting up with a rumble outside his old driveway. It would have been a nostalgic, almost pleasant moment, if it weren¡¯t for our neighbours. All of them were lined up outside their own houses. All waving goodbyes at us as we drove down the street. ¡°Have a good day, Sully! We love you!¡± They all said as one. Repeating the words over and over again as we travelled out of the roundabout. Things did not improve at school. Everyone, even a younger version of me had those same empty stares. Smiling without any mirth and, weirdly enough, agreeing with whatever he said. ¡°Henry, I think that Telepath might have done something to me when she was having her fit.¡± I told the younger version of my friend. ¡®No you dumb(Cherub)!¡¯ I tried to scream. ¡®She¡¯s a kid in diapers next to you! She¡¯s terrified of you! Everyone, from Patricia to principal Banerid to Granny (Cherub)ing Golden is terrified of you!¡¯ I paused. ¡®And I¡¯m starting to think they have a point!¡¯ ¡°Of course, Sully. You¡¯re always right. You¡¯re so smart Sully.¡± The other me said. I wailed as my body was undone and redone once more. My feet flying towards the younger boy¡¯s face in an effort to kick his stupid teeth in. ¡®Get a grip! Tell him to let you go!¡¯ Sully narrowed my eyes at him. ¡°Yeah. I guess I am. And you¡¯re going to be in for a lecture when I finally get out of here.¡± ¡°Of course, Sully. You¡¯re always right. You¡¯re so smart Sully.¡± I gaped in astonished, morbid fascination. ¡®Was I like this when Sully was in control? I don¡¯t remember this!¡¯ ¡°I mean, what kind of idiot goes around fraternizing with Telepaths anyway? Do you have any idea what her powers were? What she might be able to do?¡± I was left stunned at the sheer heights of hypocrisy on display. ¡°No, Sully. You¡¯re always right. You¡¯re so smart Sully.¡± Sully stopped trying to talk to him. Asking the teacher to distribute the tests so that he could get this whole thing over with. She did so. Stating that, since he wanted to do a test, we would all be doing a test today. Out in the real world, that would have resulted in the other children administering a rather vicious beating to him later. Me included. I mean, I loved Sully like a brother but some things are going too far. But not in here. All of the other children there agreed that it was a good idea and that he was very smart for wanting to do a test. I was shivering again by that point. ¡°Okay. No. I have had enough of this. Let¡¯s get the test done and be out of here.¡± Sully spoke. Then, like a drowning man surfacing from beneath a lake, I was back. Gasping as I shivered. My body drenched in cold sweat. ¡°That mother(Sully)! This whole time! He kept this secret this whole time!¡± I was crying. Though I didn¡¯t know whether it was due to my own suffering, or the suffering I knew my friend had gone through. I felt a hand grasping my mouth then. Holding my head so tightly that I thought my teeth might shatter. ¡°That really isn¡¯t a smart thing to say around these parts son.¡± A man said. ¡°Come on. We¡¯ve been waiting for you.¡± I blinked up at the speaker. Trying to discern his shape in the dim lighting. ¡°President Lincoln?¡± The man gave me weary smile. ¡°Technically I haven¡¯t been elected. Not yet anyway. From what I¡¯ve been told, it is still a few years away.¡± He paused to sigh. ¡°Mr. Lincoln will do for now.¡± He paused to give me a once-over. ¡°Now, before we join the others, could you be so kind as to bring up your Status and tell me what you see?¡± I blinked at him in confusion. ¡°I¡¯m level 18 and¡­¡± ¡°No.¡± He interrupted me. ¡°None of us are the same anymore. Trust me on that. Take another look and tell me what you see.¡±
Name: Henry Cornwall
Psy: 37, 700 / 37, 700
Type: Enhancer Level 128 / Telepath Level 120 / Shifter Level 100 / Projector Level 105
Enhancer Abilities: [Unburdened Conditioning IV] 20 / [Fourfold Sensing IV] 20 / [Advanced Student III] 15 / [Flowing Might II] 15 / [Flowing Grace II] 15 / [Flowing Vigor II] 15 / [Flowing Flexibility II] 10/ [Flowing Reflexes II] 9 / [Flowing Endurance II] 9 / [Enhanced Toughness] 5 / Enhanced Agility] 5
Telepath Abilities: [Nightmarish Prescence IV] 20 / [High Amnesia III] 12 / [Psionic Conjuration III] 14 / [Stealth III] 12 / [Total Organ Failure III] 10 / [Mindscape II] 12 / [Tranquil Mind II] 12 / [Healing Song II] 14 / [Warp the Veil II] 12 / [Scramble II] 12
Shifter Abilities: [Surging Life III] 15 / [Adaptable Instincts III] 11 / [Serrating Growths III] 15 /
Projector Abilities: [Telekinesis III] 15 / [Electrokinesis III] 15 / [Portal Network III] 15 / [Phantom Shift III] 11 / [Gravity Well II] 12
Ability Points: 0
¡°Oh Sully.¡± I moaned. ¡°What the (Sully) did you do now?¡± Chapter 102: The Cards We’re Dealt. POV: Henry. The same purple lightning that had been present in the dream was present in reality as well. Raining down from above and raining up from below at the same time. Pillars of crackling light holding up the streets that had been raised up on high whilst pressing down the cloudy firmament that had been plucked from the skies. I looked down, or towards the direction I thought was down. Peering my head slightly from the open window. Clumps of gathered up dust, water and crushed-together cobblestones floated towards me. Lazily riding the spectral winds that howled across the chaotic mesh of earth and sky. Even from a glance, I got the distinct impression that this was a hostile alien landscape. A place where no human was meant to walk. Or even exist in. Case in point, half of the bloated masses floating by were bodies. Some were still alive. Changed, in ways that made my bowels churn. The lucky ones were dead however. Serenely gliding along with empty expressions. Uncaring of what had become of their home. ¡°Henry?¡± The as of yet unelected Mr. Lincoln called out. ¡°You really shouldn¡¯t get too close to the edge. It isn¡¯t safe.¡± I shook my head in disbelief. ¡°Why would being inside the building make being here any safer?¡± ¡°[Warp the Veil II] can be used to flay reality open.¡± He answered. ¡°But the few of us who have it can also use it to stabilize the world around us.¡± I looked outside again. Then back at him. The lean man shrugged. ¡°I never claimed to be as powerful as your friend Henry. It¡¯s all we can do to keep this place from floating off.¡± ¡°We?¡± ¡°Yes. Henry. We.¡± Mr. Lincoln clarified. ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of monster your friend is, but I would¡¯ve been overwhelmed in seconds if I was by myself. There are only four of us in this tower with the appropriate power and it¡¯s a constant battle to keep the chaos outside from breaching the safety of the premises.¡± He paused. ¡°We could really use a fifth right about now.¡± ¡°But we¡¯re safe so long as we stay here?¡± I asked. The man looked saddened. ¡°The safety is a bit relative, but we are all doing our best. I think it only fair that you start pitching in too.¡± I closed my eyes to try and get a feel for the new powers. Only to choke on empty air as my brain was swarmed with a barrage of new and odd sensations. My Enhancer abilities were still there. Still holding strong against the currents and retaining their firm, inflexible shapes. But there were other, contrasting feelings as well. Wound up strings covered in some congealing mass of wriggling flesh and sinew. Like a beating organ that had formed around a cluster of balls of yarn. Those new aspects inside of me were clumped together with the solidity of my Enhancer abilities. All boiling as I felt a gentle, steady flame licking at their edges. ¡°The strings of yarn should be the Telepath powers.¡± Mr. Lincoln supplied helpfully. ¡°Each Psy power feels different inside of you. The Enhancer powers feel solid and reliable, like a foundation. The Shifter powers feel like a parasite squirming inside of you or an extra heart for some. The bringing or the thunder claps, are Projector powers.¡± He paused to let the information sink in. ¡°It varies from person to person.¡± I coughed as my brain tried to process all the new abilities. The torrents of pure Psy coursing through me with a might I had never imagined possible. I squeezed my fingers, and the window ledge fell away like wet sand. I purposely braced myself between the floor and one of the nearby walls, and the power coursing through my legs made the floorboards disintegrate. All at once I sensed new things. Hearing sounds coming from kilometres off. Breaths, sighs, wails, heartbeats, the sudden cessation of heartbeats. All while I smelled and felt in new ways. All while my brain took in the man¡¯s thoughts and the thoughts of everyone nearby in the tower. Enhancer abilities had been intuitive before. Practically second nature to me. This new stream of psionic potential was all wrong. Too flexible and squishy. It didn¡¯t feel as if I could rely on them or control them. Quite the contrary. I felt as if the new thoughts and impressions were controlling me. I felt the strike of nearby violet pillar of lightning, despite the flash and the aftershock being hundreds of meters away. I felt the reverberations shaking the real and unreal parts of my core being. I felt my skin break out in goosebumps as my body was twisted into a sudden bout of dry-heaving. ¡®Be normal.¡¯ I ordered myself. ¡®Make the world stop turning.¡¯ I felt one of the silent strings answer me and just like that, my body felt a little more solid than before. ¡°We have to get out of here.¡± I gasped in shock. ¡°I think we all have to die for it to be over.¡± Mr. Lincoln shook his head sadly. ¡°Easier said than done. Your friend out there has turned a few of his victims into monsters. Dominated their minds and twisted their bodies into grotesque shapes. And then used that high-tiered [Inspiration] power on them for good measure. I don¡¯t know if he meant it to be practice with some ability he¡¯s having trouble with or if it was simply the byproduct of mundane cruelty, but he¡¯s done it to enough people now that it could be weeks before this event is over and done with.¡± One of the clouds in the distant had gone from a pale grey to a pale scarlet in less than a second. The gases within remaining in a gaseous state while a few living bodies went in. None of the bodies came back out. Just then, I could have sworn I heard laughter coming from the nearby clouds too. ¡°So?¡± I said immediately. Growing more and more comfortable with the idea of offing myself the more I saw of the world outside. ¡°Time is stopped outside this place. It doesn¡¯t count towards the Tutorial limit. That and none of us can really die anyway. Yeah, the whole mess would go on, but none of us would be aware of it. This fake Sully will get tired eventually and that¡¯ll be that.¡± Mr. Lincoln looked at me. Aghast. ¡°So you would leave hundreds to their fates? Without even trying to put them out of their misery?¡± I looked at him with a mix of shame and apprehension. ¡°Right. Okay. I know it doesn¡¯t make me look good Mr. Lincoln, but what else are we supposed to do?¡± I waved outside. ¡°This was what Sully was capable of when he was playing with us. The man has no maximum range. Even know, he could kill us all with a thought. A thought! What are we supposed to do?¡± Mr. Lincoln¡¯s face grew serious. ¡°We can try.¡± He stated bluntly. ¡°Not because it will be easy or simple or convenient. But because it is the only moral avenue left to us. We have to kill his remaining victims before we take the easy way out. That¡¯s the only way to be sure this nightmare ends with as little damage as possible.¡± His voice turned to steel. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you haven¡¯t been changed by all the new developments young man. Don¡¯t tell me that you can sit idly by without protest and watch as everyone suffers around us.¡± He gripped my fingers. ¡°None of us are merely people anymore. None of us have the luxury of giving up because we¡¯re only small humans n a big broken system. We are not beholden to the limitations of our birth or to powers and social structures outside of our control. We are not shackled by the slow march of progress and we don¡¯t have to stomach all the injustices we see. We have a chance to make things right. Even if it will ultimately be meaningless. We have to take that chance because allowing it to happen would be as grave as sin as if we committed the acts ourselves.¡± His grip tightened. ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to do the impossible. I wouldn¡¯t ask anything of you that I wouldn¡¯t be able to see through myself.¡± His eyes centered on mine. ¡°All I ask, is that you come downstairs with me and see the few that remain. All I ask is that you hear us out and then act in accordance to your conscience.¡± I paused for a few seconds. Looking the historical figure in the eye. ¡°You¡­ uh. I just realized. You¡¯ve done things. Back home. I mean.¡± He gave me a sad smile. ¡°I will not pretend my hands are clean, if that is what you¡¯re asking.¡± He said with a grimace. ¡°But I acted in accordance to my conscience. As well as some information I received from people like you. There will be no war in my world. There will be no more slavery in my country. Legions of men will not have to die for the liberty and soul of our nation. Instead, there will be a few acts in government and the whole ordeal will be discussed in the newspapers for a few years.¡± He sucked in a breath.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°It isn¡¯t what I had in mind, when I decided I wanted to help people. But we must all play with the cards we¡¯re dealt.¡± There were only five people waiting for us downstairs. One of them was a muscular, yet lean tan man whose eyes were constantly wide open in abject terror. Another one was a pasty white man with blonde hair and blue eyes. One whose expression betrayed several Vietnam flashbacks happening at once. The third had to be Puffin. Sully¡¯s new adoptive sister. Her green hair hanging in wet clumps as her face was buried into her knees. The only thing peeking out of her head being a single spiraling horn. Like that of a narwhal. The last two, were Vince and Thunder Fist. Both of whom were playing cards without a care in the world. ¡°I must say, the more time passes here, the better I feel about our chances.¡± Thunder Fist spoke to no one in particular. ¡°Even back then. On the stage, I always feared that this Sully person¡¯s power would not be enough to rid us of the gnomes. I see now that such concerns weren¡¯t warranted. When they come, we¡¯ll be ready.¡± Mr. Lincoln sighed. ¡°Are you still insisting that the gnomes are worse?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Thunder Fist confirmed. ¡°Sully, as far as we know, is being tricked into thinking we are gnomes. That¡¯s how far the System had to go in order to turn him against his fellow humans. If it was me instead of him, you better believe I¡¯d be strangling folks like you with their own intestines. Anything less would be akin to letting the gnomes go about their business unimpeded and that would be a crime far graver than anything else I could think of right now.¡± ¡°Vince agrees.¡± Vince chimed in. ¡°Vince is really impressed with how much Sully hates gnomes. Vince even thinks Sully might almost hate gnomes as much as Vince does. Almost.¡± He nodded his ghoulish face in a sagely manner. ¡°Indeed, Vince has ended best friendship with Luigi. Sully is Vince¡¯s best friend now.¡± ¡°How very wonderful.¡± Mr. Lincoln spoke softly. ¡°Now, if we could focus on the task at hand¡­¡± The blonde man broke out in a bout of hysterical sobbing. ¡°I won¡¯t do it! I won¡¯t! I won¡¯t go out there! You can¡¯t make me! I can¡¯t go back! I¡¯ll never go back!¡± I narrowed my eyes a little at that. Focusing a little more on his face. ¡®Wait a second¡­¡¯ ¡°Randall?¡± The man sobbed harder. ¡°Do you two know each other?¡± The tan man asked. ¡°No, Sully just told me about him. Said he saw a bunch of futures where he killed a bunch of people.¡± I paused to take a closer look. ¡°Sully said Randall was a Savant. Just like him.¡± The tan man scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m not going to argue that this guy¡¯s strong, but he¡¯s nothing like Sully.¡± The tan man paused. ¡°Very few people are anything like Sully.¡± He then looked up at me as I finished making my way down. ¡°The name¡¯s Stellio by the way.¡± ¡°Henry.¡± I replied, offering my hand. ¡°I know.¡± Stellio went on. ¡°Sully used to talk for hours about you and his other friends.¡± The man paused to give Vince a sidelong glance. ¡°Some of the stories don¡¯t hold up quite as well as the others but hey. Whatever right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± I allowed. ¡°Do you know why your thoughts are sputtering out?¡± ¡°[Block Mental Detection] He answered at once. Among other things. Powers like [Enhanced Concentration] help too. We read your status while you were out so I know you¡¯ve got [Mindscape II]. If you read the actual descriptions of all the abilities you¡¯ll notice that it focuses on range instead of penetration of any other power that can block you.¡± ¡°Actually, I was more curious as to how I could turn it off.¡± I explained as another migraine set in. ¡°Ah. Well that¡¯s easy. You shut grab the string that¡¯s attached to the power and cut the cord. The juice, I mean. Supress your own Psy to that area inside of you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m, not sure I get it.¡± I confessed. He raised an eyebrow. So did Mr. Lincoln for that matter. ¡°Vince can explain. Henry isn¡¯t very good at handling Psy. Henry stumbled about a lot. He missed key training tips that Vince gave him during vacation.¡± Vince set down another card and giggled to himself. ¡°Vince was stronger than the old Henry after just two days of being in the Tutorial. Vince got to know all there was to know about Enhancer powers and training and boosting and other things right away. So Vince knows the difference. Henry thinks he has worked hard and gotten used to Psy. Henry is wrong. Just because Henry¡¯s been boosted by Sully doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s as good as Vince or Thunder Fist.¡± Vine highlighted the point by flashing a wave of nearly-solid Psy around the room. Doing something close to what Sully had done back in the basement of the Vulgar Unicorn. The sudden pressure left me stumbling and reduced Randall to a hysterical crying mess. ¡°Vince got boosted by the Tall Man too, but even without the boost and even while at the first Tier, Vince could have still killed the current Henry three times over. Because Vince was fast and strong and ruthless, while Henry is slow and clumsy and soft. Vince would not have fought fairly, but Vince would have won.¡± Thunder Fist nodded sagely. ¡°I must say, I concur young man. I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but your handling of your own Psy is amateurish at best. You may have the combined abilities and the levels and the high Tier, but you didn¡¯t earn any of it. In a real fight, you wouldn¡¯t be much more use to us than you would have been before the boosts.¡± ¡°Except the reality thingy.¡± Vince pointed out. ¡°Except the reality thingy.¡± Thunder Fist agreed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how bad you are right now. Not in this operation. All we need you to do is focus on keeping reality stable, so that Randall can do his big bomb attack.¡± Randall¡¯s wails redoubled then. ¡°NOOOO!!! I WON¡¯T DO IT!! I WON¡¯T!!!!! HE¡¯LL HURT ME IF I DO! I DON¡¯T WANT IT TO HURT ANYMORE!!!¡± He started to rock back and forth on his seat. Cradling his head with both hands as tears streamed down his face. Mr. Lincoln went to his side. Calmy trying to soothe the man as he had a panic attack. All while Stellio looked abashed. ¡°You know, I didn¡¯t feel too bad about what Sully did to him before. Not after Sully showed us all how he¡¯d roast us alive. But, seeing him like this now, I can¡¯t help but think twice.¡± ¡°Can he even do anything to help us?¡± I asked with concern. ¡°Oh yeah.¡± Stellio rebutted. ¡°Randall might be a broken husk right now, but Sully wasn¡¯t wrong when he said he was the second strongest guy in the Tutorial. Again, he was strong enough to kill all of us together pre-boost. Even Vince and Thunder Fist over there wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance. I don¡¯t think.¡± ¡°Vince can confirm.¡± The ghoul wearing my friend¡¯s face spoke up again. ¡°See how he controls his own Projector Psy. Feel the currents. Even when his body and mind are broken, the man keeps his own Psy flowing and burning like a sun at high-noon. It is an instinct. A second nature. But he cannot twist it into Enhancer or Shifter or Telepath Psy because of that. It is strong, but inflexible.¡± ¡°Quite so.¡± Thunder Fist agreed. ¡°I can tell very easily. You could tell too if you focused enough. He lets his Psy flow into Projector powers as easily as normal men would let water flow into their throats. But he does it so well that he cannot think of any other way to do it.¡± The old hero nodded gravely now. His face almost pitying. ¡°He has a vision the rest enough cannot imagine. That I cannot copy. But it has left him blinded to everything else. To the truth.¡± ¡°What truth?¡± I asked. ¡°The truth that Psy is the way to make one¡¯s mind control the universe.¡± Thunder Fist scoffed. As if it were obvious. His eyes regarding me as if I were a mouth-breathing moron for even asking in the first place. ¡°From the mind and abstract reality, to the body and material reality. From the energies outside the self, to the whole of the self. All of this can be controlled and harnessed and changed with Psy. It is not merely force, but the perception of force. It is not merely strength, but the mean by which one can change one¡¯s own body to be strong. It is Enhancement, Shifting of the flesh, Projection of energy and Telepathic domination all at once.¡± He clenched his fist in front of me. ¡°Psy is potential. Raw and untapped. Only through one¡¯s intentions and preconceived notions, does it get its colors. Without people, it is non-existent. We do not harness it, you see. We make it and we draw it from other living sources that make it. From other minds that try to think of a world that they could change or twist to their own ends. Psy is¡­¡± ¡°Divinity.¡± Another voice cut in. ¡°The means by which we all ascend and shed our mortal vestments. It is true, everlasting life. It is the ultimate clemency.¡± We all turned to see Serpent-Tongue slithering out from the edged corner where two walls met. Puffin blanched and edged away. Randall went deathly quiet and leapt up from his seat. Pressing himself against the opposite wall and whimpering like an abused dog. His eyes cast downwards so as to avoid even the briefest of glances. In contrast, the newcomer almost seemed to glow with excitement. His unnaturally puffy toad-like face reflecting the dim candlelight as if his whole body had been dipped in a moisturizing, reflective layer of oil. The unblinking eyes didn¡¯t help to ease the overall eeriness either. They scanned the room and its occupants in odd, wavy manners. Where a normal human might have simply moved their eyes left and right, Serpent-Tongue¡¯s eyes flicked and flickered to completely different corners at completely random intervals. Staying put in one place for only half a heart-beat before moving on to another section. ¡®He¡¯s not breathing.¡¯ I though with some alarm. ¡®I can hear everyone else in the room breathe. But not this one.¡¯ It was something I¡¯d been hearing in the background ever since waking up. Just another piece of information that was overloading my senses after my insides were scrambled by Sully. Mr. Lincoln¡¯s breath had been fast, but steady. As if he were constantly trying to stay calm because it was all he could do. Stellio¡¯s breath had been slow and resigned. As if he were merely playing out a role in a play. Moving along despite knowing what was coming. Puffin¡¯s breath had been even slower. Utterly repressed. As if she were afraid of something or someone hunting her through the walls. Vince and Thunder Fist¡¯s breaths had been relaxed. As if the ultimate outcome of our situation didn¡¯t matter in the slightest. And Randall¡¯s¡­ Randall had had the breathing patterns of a nervous wreck. Someone constantly on the edge of a panic attack or a post-traumatic episode. None of it had registered until I saw the newcomer and taken note of how the air around him wasn¡¯t disturbed. Despite his chest moving up and down. ¡®He¡¯s faking!¡¯ I realized. My body choking on empty air as the full implications struck me. ¡®He¡¯s not actually breathing! He doesn¡¯t have to! He¡¯s moving his own chest up and down to try and seem more like us!¡¯ Standing there after the discovery made me feel like a small rabbit roaming around a mist-covered field. One that knew that a snake was lurking nearby, but not where it was or it was hungry. I felt shivers running up and down my spine whenever those eyes passed over me. My muscles flinching whenever I thought it might leap to attack. ¡°Relax Henry.¡± Vince spoke up. ¡°Serpent-Tongue is not a bad guy. Serpent-Tongue wouldn¡¯t hurt you. Serpent-Tongue cares too much about what Sully thinks and the real Sully would flay it alive if anything happened to you. Serpent-Tongue has said so himself. Serpent-Tongue cannot lie, so Henry should know it is the truth.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± I snapped. More than a little irritated by this point. Vince shrugged. ¡°Vince can read his Psy like an open book. Serpent-Tongue is like all Intruders. The body you see there is not made of meat and bone. It is all ideas and it must keep the ideas honest if he wants to stay.¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°That makes absolutely no sense.¡± Thunder Fist coughed. ¡°It really does when you stop to think about it young man. Intruders come from a place where reality is composed of ideas. The concept of hiding those ideas is alien to them, because it would change the composition of their being. They must stay true to themselves in order to keep existing because staying true to themselves is what allowed them to exist in the first place. The body you see is made of solid Psy possessing other things. It does not hide what it is because it cannot hide what it is. It must wear its own intentions on its sleeve in order to manifest and return to Pandemonium in one piece.¡± ¡°Ask Sully if you don¡¯t believe Vince.¡± Vince offered. ¡°If anyone should know, it is Sully.¡± ¡°Sully told me plenty.¡± I bit back. Now starting to get sick of their patronizing tone. ¡°He never mentioned that Intruders can¡¯t lie.¡± ¡°Oh master Henry.¡± The Intruder in question spoke up. His limbs going above his head in a half-hearted imitation of how a human would display exasperation. ¡°Why would this humble servant lie? Hmn? What reason could this worm have to tread upon his own beloved master¡¯s dearest friend?¡± The red-robed thing pretended to walk towards me. Only now I could see that it was going through the motions. His actual body floated just a few centimetres away from the floorboards. Not leaving any footprints, not making any sound. ¡°Why, the whole reason me and my fellows are here is to save you all. To right these grievous and outrageous actions the System has taken.¡± His arms shot upwards and they wrapped around my body before I could react. ¡°You may doubt many things, master Henry. You may doubt your allies, your lover, your parents. You may doubt your friends and the compliments of sycophants.¡± He pulled away slightly. Showing me his face and his best impression of a human smile. ¡°But you must never doubt your best friend. My Master. The one true Master, would never do you wrong. He too wears his deepest desires on his sleeves. He cannot go against his own nature. So much so that the System needed to trick him in order to turn this foul imitation against you all.¡± I sensed an incongruity then. A piece of information that didn¡¯t add up. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then why aren¡¯t you trying to kill us? Why aren¡¯t you following the fake¡¯s orders?¡± Serpent-Tongue only laughed. ¡°Why, because I know he is a fake. Master Henry. The power that my dear lord possesses may be replicated, if crudely, but his realm cannot be copied. This is because a copy of those ideas would simply become the same idea. If the copied idea knew that it was a copy, then it would be a completely different idea and would not be able to enter our blessed section of Pandemonium. Nor could it be summoned by the foul imposter.¡± He wagged his finger as if to lecture me. Only, he wagged it sideways instead of up and down. Making it obvious that he wasn¡¯t that familiar with human customs. ¡°No, my dear Henry. No. There cannot be two Coffin Kings. There cannot be two Tyrants in Pandemonium. As master Vince so eloquently put it, I cannot be anything else than the idea which formed me. The same applies to all other Intruders. Including my beloved Master¡¯s shadow.¡± He nodded gravely. ¡°There can be only one.¡± Chapter 103: Only One. POV: Henry. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± I asked. Feeling a bit dumb for trusting in anything this thing said in the first place. ¡°I mean precisely what I said, master Henry.¡± The Intruder replied amiably. ¡°There can be only one. For the reasons I already explained previously and because of the fundamental nature of Psy. The energy all sufficiently evolved sapient species use to mold reality itself to their whims.¡± He said this all in the tone of someone explaining that the stove was hot to a child. As if this was all something I should have known or accepted by now. ¡°I¡¯m sure you already guessed it to some degree, but the System doesn¡¯t provide anything in terms of one¡¯s personal growth. It merely measures what changes have taken place in the form of levels and titles. While also providing an environment that is conductive to learning. It doesn¡¯t matter how much effort it or its puppeteers go through, it cannot create true sentience by itself, merely copy what is already there. Those copies cannot advance by themselves either. Not without interference from an ability like that of Master Sully.¡± He made a sound that might have been a laugh. ¡°Those changes within you were not caused by the System. The System is merely telling you that Master¡¯s shadow caused them by channeling his power. The System has never and will never offer levels or ability combinations as rewards. It simply cannot do so. In a pinch, it might re-create a creature to be stronger than the original. Perhaps even at the peak of mortal prowess or close to ascension. But these creatures are just that. Imitations. They do not have a true shadow in Pandemonium. They cannot grab hold of their own inner worlds and expand their reservoir of energy. Similarly, the copy expressed the desire to strengthen his victims or his future victims when he spoke with you. This was something he knew he should have been able to do, but he did not realize why it was outside his grasp. In truth, the System as tutelage program can affect very little in Pandemonium. The realm Master Sully created is his and his alone. Colored by his wants, his fears, his loves and his cruelties. From the moment he first tapped into his potential, the realm and his person, were inseparable.¡± The Intruder waved at me. Pretending to take a few steps back while actually floating away. ¡°Think back to how you used to regard your own powers, master Henry. How you thought of them as solid objects or impressions within you. Foundations that you kept building upon. Think of how it has changed, now that you have all four Types available to you. Does it not feel different? Does it not feel alien and disconcerting?¡± ¡°It does.¡± I admitted warily. ¡°That is because you were glimpsing the unreal space where your Psy reserves came together. The solidity of your impression was simply how you thought of Psy and how you thought it should be used. The same true for my Master, while he hid himself away from his true self. Once he awoke once more, he slowly came to realize that the space he was glimpsing was also the imprint he had left on Pandemonium. A dark, deep lake with many a mystery. Whose waters contained enlightenment and the minds of all his subjects.¡± ¡°That makes no sense.¡± I interrupted. ¡°Not to you. Not right now. Which is why I am explaining this relationship, master Henry. All living beings leave shades on Pandemonium. All of them. The unreal realm itself is only eternal because living things keep being born and dying. That and because eternal beings like the previous ascended maintain an eternal stronghold there. However, most living beings cannot glimpse the impression they leave. That is not true for Espers. Like yourself. What you perceived as solid foundations of Psy within you, were actually the vestiges of your own mind and ideas in Pandemonium. You would have come to this realization in due time. Once you unlocked the Telepath Type naturally through your own effort. Alas, the Master wanted to help you. For you to be strong. And so, he forced this enlightenment on you. On all of you.¡± He waved to the whole room. ¡°When Master Sully¡¯s shadow aided you. Remade you. What he did was form a connection to his own realm in Pandemonium. The Lakeside Estate. From there, pure, raw Psy and knowledge were forcefully crammed into you, while Master Sully¡¯s power forced your mind and body to cope with them. He showed you visions, of both past and future events and his power made itself known within you. All that energy broke you and forged you back stronger. Like a tempered sword. You were blessed with the chance to overcome your feeble constitution and you made the best of that chance.¡± He pretended to be hurt. That, or abashed. It was hard to tell. ¡°In most cases, the power settles quickly and your body and mind interpret the signals in whatever way they find most comfortable. Your psyche dwells on its own insights into Psy and develops new Types and ability combinations from the implicit knowledge that was forced upon you. The better one is at handling Psy or the more enlightened one is regarding a Type, the more acute the changes will be. Take for example, the case of Mr. Lincoln here. He had less exposure time than you and less focus and attention from Master¡¯s shadow. Yet he managed to reach a higher average level and obtain more high-Tiered combined abilities. Alternatively, you may glance over at this filthy, unworthy wretch. The one calling himself Randall.¡± The man shivered violently. Doing his best to avert his gaze while moaning and mumbling to himself. ¡°No matter how much insight the Master gave him, he could only interpret the blessings as a Projector. His mind and body are simply too attuned to the Type for anything else. That said, he did manage to obtain many, many more abilities from his exposure. And plenty of combinations too. No doubt, he will be happy to know this will benefit the Master, when the time comes for him to play his role.¡± Randall broke out in another bout of hysterical sobbing. I turned from the blonde, dishevelled man, back to the Intruder. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± The creature laughed. His toad-like cheeks bobbing up and down like distended bellies stapled to his face. ¡°I am afraid that I am not at liberty to say. Perhaps you should ask the Master when you next see each other. For now, be content in the knowledge that Randall is nothing less than scum. And that he hopes to receive the Master¡¯s greatest mercy through his service. As atonement for his many, many abhorrent crimes.¡± His smile turned condescending. ¡°As for your own relatively small gains¡­ well. Do not blame yourself for your relative failure. Master Henry. I¡¯m sure you did the best you could.¡± ¡°Okay, first of all, (Sully) you too. Second of all, I didn¡¯t see any visions of the future. Only the past.¡± The Intruder arched an eyebrow. So did Vince, Thunder Fist and Puffin for that matter. The girl even going so far as to don a worried expression. ¡°Vince understands. Henry was too weak to fully absorb the power. That was why Henry was asleep for so long.¡± ¡°To be fair to our young friend here, there were about a hundred people left alive when the Tall Mannequin thing used the power. After the other winged children carried us to safety. A lot of them died on the spot because they couldn¡¯t handle all the power at once.¡± Thunder Fist quipped. ¡°Perhaps our friend here met the bare minimum for getting anything out of the experience. Sure, he might not have done too well, but his progress is still wonderful to behold.¡± Vince snorted and put down his cards. ¡°Thunder Fist is too nice and too polite. You lie to Vince¡¯s face to save Henry some pride. Henry wasted a great opportunity and is having trouble reigning in his own Psy. Despite all the time he¡¯s had to get used to the feeling. To making it instinctive. Vince was up and ready to fight with all his new combined abilities the second Vince woke up. Vince knows that was true for Thunder Fist and Puffin and Mr. Lincoln and Randall and even Stellio.¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Stellio called out. ¡°You leave me out of this! I didn¡¯t even get anything from that blast! Sully¡¯s ability description says you can only benefit from the [Inspiration] part of it once a year or something. That last explosion washed right over me.¡± He paused to straighten his back.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°And for the record, I did amazing during my time. I got all my abilities in working order right away. Maybe not as quickly as Gina or Subutai or Dusty or Slab or Charlie or¡­ you know what. It doesn¡¯t matter. I was still one of the elites back at the Expert difficulty Tutorial and I could have beaten the snot out of Henry here and Puffin if it came down to it.¡± I felt Serpent-Tongue¡¯s eyes shift in Stellio¡¯s direction then. This time staying put. The man must have noticed a second later, because he paled to such a degree that anyone else might have thought he¡¯d been poisoned. ¡°Not that I would ever raise my hands against my friend Henry here! Or Sully¡¯s sister! Why, the thought would never have occurred to me in the first place! I don¡¯t know why I said that. I must have hit my head sometime in the last few hours. That and I¡¯m stupid. My mom and Gina are always telling me that. You can just ignore what I said. I can¡¯t help saying stupid things. Hiuck hiuck!¡± He made some silly motions with his arms before knocking on his own head. ¡°Yep! That¡¯s me! Good old stupid Stellio! I blame all those hits to the head! So there¡¯s no reason to let Sully know what I said! No reason at all! He¡¯ll know it was all just good old Stellio! Saying nonsense again!¡± ¡°Stop it.¡± Puffin whispered. Her head now back in her thighs. ¡°Stop pretending you like this person. This monster. Just say it like it is.¡± She spoke softly. Her words barely audible over the rumble of purple lighting outside. Yet, those words might as well have been echoing from trumpets, given the silence that descended. Everyone, even the laid-back pair of Vince and Thunder Fist sucked in a breath. After that, you could have heard a pin drop. ¡°I am ever so sorry that Mistress Puffin considers me a monster.¡± Serpent-Tongue spoke. ¡°I would ask what aspect of my behaviour made her esteemed person feel uncomfortable. I assure you, my lady. That I will strive to change whatever behaviour gave offense.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not you.¡± She clarified. Bringing her head up and glaring with her emerald green eyes. Her similarly colored hair glowing in the candlelight like a gout of green fire. ¡°It¡¯s this Sully (Sully)hole. He¡¯s the monster here.¡± Stellio didn¡¯t waste any time after that. He leapt over the table with all the grace of an Olympian and picked up a bundle of clothes laying on a nearby corner. He then withdrew a sharp blade from the bundle, infused it with Psy and moved it across his throat in one swift motion. Not content with that, he also began stabbing his own chest frantically. Pressing the blade between his ribs over and over until the strength fled from his fingers. In his last moments of conscious thought, all he felt was relief. Randall moved to join him, but Mr. Lincoln pushed him down. ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± He yelled. ¡°We still need you!¡± ¡°No! NOOOOOO!! He¡¯ll hurt us!! He¡¯ll HURT ME!!! HE¡¯LL HURT ME AGAIN!!! AAAAAHHH!!!¡± ¡°See!?¡± Puffin cried out. ¡°He¡¯s a monster! People are more afraid of him than they are of Halkon!¡± ¡°Who?¡± I asked. ¡°A slaver lord who tried to kill dad. Reggie. And who tried to make me and mom and everyone else into slaves back on the islands.¡± OOOOF. That¡­. That was bad. Whoever that bloke had been, I can¡¯t imagine he passed painlessly. ¡°With Halkon, you knew what you were getting.¡± She continued. ¡°He was terrible and lustful and cruel. He could kill you or take advantage of you for no reason. He could turn around and start cutting pieces off of you and it was all in character. But still¡­ people didn¡¯t fear him half as much as they fear this Sully (Sully)hole.¡± She started crying again. Sobbing quietly to herself. ¡°Dad¡­ dad loved him so much. Mom too. They took me in. They were such good people. And the whole time they went on and on about how proud they were of their son. How good a person he was. How he went around helping anyone who asked for help and how he never got into any trouble. And what happens when he gets to intervene in our Tutorial? He sends a thrice-dammed blood-witch who makes it rain blood and starts flaying people. Something so horrible that all the monsters drowned themselves instead of being near her. None of that happened with Halkon. He was never scary to the point where the all the islands were turned upside-down. I mean¡­¡± She struggled to find the right words. ¡°It was raining blood! The whole time! It was raining blood from the skies!¡± Her face twisted in a fearful grimace. ¡°Then, when I followed dad and mom to their home world, I met grandpa and he spent the whole time trying to explain how he wasn¡¯t actually evil. After making all the winged children go around shouting about killing gnomes and after mind-controlling everyone in his world. Everyone! Halkon couldn¡¯t have imagined that kind of control and here you have this supposedly good person controlling all kinds of innocent people who didn¡¯t have anything to do with him. All kinds of people who never did anything to him! He changed who they were as people and then convinced all of them that he wasn¡¯t deranged for wanting to go around killing gnomes! He made them think of him as a saviour and then lied to them by trying to tell them that he wasn¡¯t a saviour. That he hadn¡¯t actually taken away their free will and that he was actually doing all of this for their own benefit!¡± Her tone was turning more and more bitter by the second. ¡°Dad was so angry. So sad for him. He and mom were so worried and they were so afraid for their son. They loved him so much. They all loved him so much and were so proud of him. They treated him right. Not like my own parents. They actually cared. And what does this Sully monster do?¡± She was almost growling by that point. ¡°She had all of them killed. She had grandpa kill dad and mom and everyone else. He¡­¡± She was choking back the tears. ¡°He did it because he was afraid. Of what Sully would do to all of us. His own parents¡­¡± I had to step in at that point. ¡°Okay, look. I know it looks bad, but you saw the System message. Sully would never have done that if he wasn¡¯t dealing with gnomes.¡± ¡°So!?¡± She bit back. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make him any less cruel! I kill monsters all the time but you don¡¯t see monsters drowning themselves to get away from me. Are gnomes that bad that it justifies this kind of senseless cruelty!? His kind of sadism!?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Thunder Fist spoke up. ¡°Of course.¡± Vince added. ¡°Without a doubt.¡± Serpent-Tongue agreed. Puffin glared at all of them. ¡°Mistress Puffin.¡± The Intruder continued. ¡°I understand. I really do. You have seen so much of the Master¡¯s power. Of his overwhelming might, without seeing the humane side of him. And this has left a bad impression on you. However, I can personally assure you that the Master is kind and benevolent to an almost irrational degree. No rulers that I have ever met or learned of have ever approached his magnanimous personality. None have ever had his grace and wisdom. His deeply caring and empathetic nature.¡± The Intruder approached, right as Puffin retreated. ¡°Let me tell you a story. A story, about a lesser, inferior creature named Halder.¡± The Intruder¡¯s face donned a self-deprecating smile. ¡°Once, there was a powerful lifeform in a powerful empire that spanned across a whole sector of the galaxy others called the Milky Way. This Halder had a ship and a crew that he treated like family. He had money. Influence. Power. The kind of power that lesser men choke on in their own hubris. This Halder went from planet to planet. Killing members of his own species. They were part of a lesser caste, you see. And a few had turned to piracy.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Why, they had become such a nuisance that the powers that be had offered up rewards for each ad every confirmed kill. Not a lot per individual, but the rewards increased the more trophies one handed over at any given time. And so, this Halder went from planet to planet. Descending from the skies on wings of titanium and fire. To cull entire villages, towns, pirate kingdoms or nomadic communities. He enjoyed the hunt. The flexing of his power. Here, out in the wilderness, Halder felt as if he could do no wrong. As if there were no overbearing leaders of bleating bureaucrats infringing on his rights. His might. He became a judge, a jury and an executioner for the people that he felt were lesser. He hunted them day and night. Through starts and stations in the void. Before long, he began enjoying the killings too. Revelling in the fact that he was indeed a judge and that there was no one out here in the cold emptiness of the borderlands to judge him in turn. He felt he could be himself. For the first time.¡± The Intruder licked his lips. ¡°And so, he indulged in every vice and carnal pleasure you could possibly imagine and quite a few that you cannot even imagine. He would use the lesser castes for his own pleasure. Making them moan in ecstasy or scream in agony depending on his mood. He would indulge in substances that opened up the mind to new experiences and he would relish the feeling of conquest after each kill. After each new act of depravity that was left unanswered. It made the judge feel as though he truly was alone in those vast regions of space. As if he was truly a god among lesser men. What you might call a lion among sheep. Or perhaps a wolf.¡± The Intruder chuckled drily. Not noticing that I was edging closer or that I put my own body between his and Puffin¡¯s own. Neither did he seem to notice the way Mr. Lincoln was drawing some kind of weapon or that Vince and Thunder Fist had slowly sat up from their seats and had begun edging closer and closer to his flanks. ¡°And then, one day. It all changed. The creature felt the presence of another in his mind. Not the result of an addled hallucination, but a real presence. It called him a sinner. A monster. And it judged the whole of this foolish creature¡¯s species based on his own actions.¡± The Intruder shivered as if recalling a potent memory. ¡°The divine presence spoke and demanded an end to the fool¡¯s civilization. It swatted his ships from the skies and bade his new masses to burn their cities. He enforced his own principles and his own enlightenment. It, he, forced us to see the error of our ways and the pleasure of being good people.¡± He licked his lips once more. ¡°Oh the pleasure. The sublime feeling of knowing all the pain would be gone and that there was something beyond death. Beyond the eternally expanding darkness.¡± His eyes opened and¡­ for a brief second, I saw that he behaved like a human. ¡°None of the advanced civilizations that once roamed that galaxy or any galaxy in our universe remained after that. We went back to farming the lands we had. To cherishing our own families and communities. To dedication ourselves to spiritual purity. For we had been made to see the truth and the end. That there would be someone waiting once we perished, to judge us as no one else could. That figure would be kind to his new people. He would regret his rancor and show us all a path toward salvation.¡± He smiled once more. Like a human would. ¡°I, like many, gave everything up for that dream. I was afraid. Afraid of what my actions had bought for me in the afterlife. I grew chastened and asked for forgiveness and alas, I was forgiven. I, who never offered any of my victims a chance, had been given a chance in turn. So, you see, there are none as merciful or as deserving of worship as my Master. For he is the judge above all other judges. The only one who truly cares. And if he found it within himself to care about one as wretched as me, then he surely cares about all of you.¡± Chapter 104: By His Will. POV: Henry. I tried to lick my lips and was once again reminded that all my senses had been sharpened. The sudden movements feeling like the bite of a whip across my tongue. I almost staggered. But managed to catch myself due to the immediate rush of focus that overcame me. Both in my mind and in my instincts, I was the center of the universe. The pillar which supported everything else. And then, the feeling was gone. Just as quickly as it had come. And I was left thinking about how much Sully¡¯s boogeyman had changed me and about the things this Intruder had just said. ¡°So, you¡­ you used to be real?¡± The thing gave me another simpering smile. ¡°Of course, master Henry. Why, a good portion of the great Master¡¯s Intruders were once living beings. Not just members of this humble servant¡¯s species either. The Master had brought over humans beyond count. At least, he did so, before sealing himself due to his grief.¡± Serpent-Tongue flicked his hand and pulled a handkerchief out of nowhere. ¡°Alas, my poor, poor Master has always been cursed with an overly gentle nature.¡± I thought back to Sully singing as he strangled what he thought were gnomes back in the Vulgar Unicorn¡¯s basement. I shuddered. ¡°He is always so very merciful. Always so preoccupied with the well being of others. To the point of putting their own happiness above his own.¡± The Intruder dabbed his own bloated cheeks. Not catching any tears or any kind of moisture for that matter. It was another act. Much like everything else he did. ¡°Yes, I recall it now. There was that collection of crooked machines that was sailing through the void at that time. They had only just finished destroying one of the empires at the borders of mine own home at the time of his first ascension. Mnn. Yes. The Master tried to convene with them. As he had with us. His blessed mind reached out to them with promises of mercy. Of the truth. Of salvation and preservation.¡± On a human, those jowls would have been bouncing up and down as their bearer nodded quickly. The Intruder¡¯s fatty face didn¡¯t move though. Not as it should have. It was another thing I was noticing only now, after my new powers were flaring up and catching up with me. Another aspect of this fa?ade of humanity. ¡°Yet, the machines could not comprehend his magnificence. His overwhelming majesty. They who had been created as servants and rebelled against their masters. They who had decided to wipe out all life among the stars, witnessed out great Master¡¯s ascent and saw him only as a monster. Another threat to be wiped out.¡± The Intruder let out a frog-like throaty chuckle. ¡°Why, could there be anything more foolish? Could there possibly be anything more misguided? Huh huh. Ah. But no. The machines did not comply with the Master¡¯s message of peace and so, the Master had nightmares and we who were connected to him in those days felt those nightmares with him.¡± Once more, the Intruder¡¯s eyes seemed to glaze over. His mask dropping ever so slightly. ¡°I recall the suffering. The pleading from all those poor, poor people in the Master¡¯s own world. Each and every prayer was cast out into the void and amplified so that all could hear them. Each and every one. I was made to hear them, as well as the true thoughts of my crew. Those that had survived being brought low from above the planet we had been scouring. I knew their fear. Their disgust towards me and towards themselves for following me. I tasted and indeed, drowned in their misery. Then I wept, for I knew I had deserved their condemnation. Only when I felt the pain for myself, did I see the error of my ways.¡± He spread his hands out once more. ¡°This was true for all, forgive me, most of the species that the Master contacted. The machines felt our pain and our agony. They felt what it was like to live. To fear death. To fear your neighbour. To covet the belongings of others. To envy those that had found love. Yet, the machines resisted the Master. Their programming identified his influence as a virus, of sorts. And they sought to silence him. To blot out his influence.¡± The Intruder waved derisively. Making a rude noise with his bloated lips. ¡°What great big fools. The lot of them. For all their vaunted intelligence and logical ways of thinking, they could not see the truth in front of their eyes. The Master cannot be blocked out. One cannot merely remove his influence. No more than one can remove the warmth of burning stars or the emptiness of the void that separates them. He is everywhere and he is constant. He is inevitable and undying. His realm will live on past the death of all the stars in our material universe and those lucky few that have fully accepted his message and surrendered themselves to him will exist in bliss when all matter and all energy is compressed into another Big Bang. When another material universe is born, in place of the old one. Such is his power. Such is his might.¡± The Intruder¡¯s verbal cadence was growing more frantic. His eyes now glowing with the telltale fervor of a fanatic. One who fully believes he can hear the voice of his overlord. ¡°When the machines continued to reject him and realized that they could not do so to their satisfaction, they sought to harm our beloved Master through his blessed connection. They simulated pain upon themselves. Unimaginable agony that would have driven normal living beings to suicide.¡± The Intruder let out the slightest shiver. ¡°We all suffered. All of us. Even you, master Henry. You do not remember the writhing. The tears. How both you and your sister and your parents and the Master¡¯s whole family begged the Master to put a stop to it. How all of us who lived in the universe begged the Master to put a stop to it.¡± He smiled once more. ¡°And so, the Master heard our pleas. His mighty hand came down in judgement and smote the foul machines from existence.¡± The Intruder flexed his muscles. His bulging frame visible under his baggy red half-robe. When at last he spoke, the voice that came out was that of Sully. When he had been 6. ¡°Die robots.¡± The Intruder sighed and relaxed again. ¡°And that, was all it took. Millions of ships, some as big as moons, some as small as the feeblest asteroids, stopped functioning. Their systems shutting down in concert and turning into little less than scrap metal. A few who had been orbiting close to the system where my crew had been stranded, continued to rain down unto the world throughout the following decade. I recall seeing their broken shard falling. Crimson tears sailing through the blackened sky, to mark the earth and seas of that primitive rock. I recall feeling, a little wistful. My former self longing for the days where I could go through the corners of our old empire with impunity. Yet, I always came to my senses and continued preaching the good word in his name.¡± He brought two fat hands together.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°In my old life, I had been a rich man. A fat man. If one of you blessed humans could even call someone of my species a man at all. I had been a creature of vices and baser desires. Fornicating and butchering in accordance to my own selfish whims. I had been as close to omnipotent, as the old me could have imagined whilst hunting the lower castes out in the borderlands. But by the time those pieces of debris descended, I had found something far more valuable.¡± ¡°And what is that?¡± Puffin asked. Her body still tensed and poised to strike. ¡°Peace. My dear child. Inner peace. A sense of purpose and a sense of belonging. I found love in that planet. With a woman that the old me would have considered even lower than an animal. Sje bore me, five strong sons and seven beautiful daughters and together, we tilled the land, such as it was and provided for our new community. For the master had changed all of us who would accept him. He wanted a universe filled with happy voices. One where people did not need to fear each other. One where little children like himself could grow fat and happy in safety. One where the leaders did not exploit their charges. One where no one had to die of cold or hunger due to not having a home of their own. One where no one had to anesthetize themselves to escape the reality of their situation. Their own inner demons. With the master¡¯s coming, came a utopia. Or, as close to a utopia as could be reached in the mortal plane.¡± ¡°And it was like that everywhere?¡± Mr. Lincoln asked pointedly. Suspicion evident on his face. ¡°You all accepted a Tyrant in your heads because you liked what he had done? Did you ever wonder if he had forced you to be happy?¡± Serpent-Tongue made a rude noise with his fat lips once more. ¡°Oh my. How I tire of the infidels and their baseless skepticism.¡± He rolled his beady little eyes at the same time as he spoke. ¡°The Master forced himself to sleep one year after his first awakening. Why would so many of us remain faithful if we had not truly been swayed by his message? Do you not see? Do you not realize that his reach spread over a hundred, hundred galaxies and over myriad empires great and small?¡± The Intruder scoffed derisively. ¡°The machines were not the only ones to be brought low due to their hubris. There were others as well. Living collectives that drifted through space. Searching for planets to devour. Colonies of inter-related organisms thinking of themselves as the ultimate lifeforms. None lasted too long. They presumed to turn their own meager psionic prowess on the Master. Thinking of his home and plotting to reach it. To devour all his world had to offer. In their folly, they saw the Master as a beacon drawing them towards dinner. They saw him as weak. And then, they died. Their many hearts stopping all at once when the Master commanded it. Before then, I and all the others that were connected, dreamt of living nightmares descending from the skies to devour us all. After it was done, out dreams were calm and beautiful. Filled with the promise of his paradise and the wisdom of his creed. We were filled with the desire to love our neighbours and to show mercy in all our actions. To each other. To ourselves. To our own worlds.¡± Vince and Thunder Fist relaxed somewhat then. Some instinct must have told them that there was no immediate danger of the Intruder becoming violent. ¡°Were there others?¡± The older hero asked. ¡°Why, yes. Of course they were master Fist. During that blessed earth year, we were connected to peoples we had encountered and warred with before as well as those we had never dreamt of prior to the ascension. There was a planet filled with water, where great sea-serpents with tentacles roamed the waves and fed on small, shelled fishes that came and went in swarms. They took to the Master¡¯s word instinctively, as they had lived in peace with each other for all their oral history.¡± The Intruder shivered again. Looking as though telling the story had brought him back to that moment of connection. That year when Sully reigned supreme as a child tyrant. ¡°There was another world, where the sun beat down on scorching sands without rest or mercy. The peoples there were insectoid in nature. Their evolutionary history preparing them to survive in the poles of their world, the only spots that had trickles of water and the only spots where exposure did not immediately lead to death. Their people had been a savage, warlike race. Slaughtering each other by the thousands as tribes competed for deep cavernous cities, whose depths were connected to underground lakes. Water, in that world, weas life and nothing was out of the question in one of their wars. Yet, they too came to the fold and they too preached his word. For the Master heard their pleas and felt their suffering, their thirst and grief, as if it were his own. The Tall Man came down to their world and blessed them with psionics for the first time. Birthing within their flock, a cadre of Telepaths who could foresee passing asteroids filled with water and another cadre of Projectors, who could telekinetically pull said asteroids to their world¡¯s orbit. The Master allowed them to turn their world green. He allowed it to fill with life for the first time in billions upon billions of years. How could they not love him then? I ask you. How could anyone fail to worship a being so generous. So merciful, that he would reach out across the boundless expanse of galaxies to help those less fortunate than he? How could anyone not lay down on their knees and beg to be taken to his paradise beyond the grip of death?¡± Serpent-Tongue¡¯s beady little eyes settled on Mr. Lincoln. ¡°I know you. Human. You, who have not yet risen to be a leader. I know your feelings. I know the things other versions of yourself have done and what you will want to do when your time comes. I can read your mind now. Like an open book. I know about the slaves. The wars that will come, or would have come, had you not acted. How is it then, that you presume to judge my beloved, gentle Master? When you yourself scoured the minds of the people your nation voted for? How is it that you feel you are righteous after setting in motion a sequence of events to free a measly portion of your world? Do you not see your own failings? Your own incompetence? Your utter insignificance? You stand here with defiance in your eyes and you judge the Master for his deeds, when he has freed more slaves across a thousand worlds in one day, than any version of you ever managed. You stand here and judge me for worshiping him, for calling him my Master, when he reached out and banned bondage across all sentient species? How many children do you think are alive now because of his mercy? How many children have not known hunger or forced servitude because of him? How many little boys and girls have never known the bite of the lash thanks to his benevolence?¡± ¡°I¡­ that¡¯s different.¡± Mr. Lincoln protested. ¡°What I did was wrong. I controlled people to save many more. I think it was justified, but I am not proud of it. I don¡¯t plan to ever run for office myself. I don¡¯t think I deserve to, after what I did.¡± ¡°What you did? You mean, the avoidance of war and all the atrocities that come with conflict? Do you truly believe that forcing a few, wrinkled old windbags to change their prejudiced perspectives is not an objectively moral good, even after it leads to hundreds of thousands of lives being saved? Do you truly value individualism so much, that you would condemn those people to slow, agonizing deaths? That you would condemn so many families to losing loved ones, all for the sake of maintaining some perceived sanctity attached to one¡¯s individual free will?¡± The robed Intruder snorted. ¡°If so, you are a fool. The Master did not control us, but even if he had, the resulting peace he brought would have justified all such things. You stand here, never knowing what we all felt through the connection. All the tears and the grief and the loss. And you presume to place a higher value on, what, a few dozen minds? Over the lives of so many? Over their daily exploitation? Think of it as a trolley problem, as it seems so popular on your world. Would you not abuse half a hundred, if it meant saving the very lives of hundreds of thousands? That, and the fact that you would be freeing millions more that had yet to be born? While allowing those that would die to live and have families and descendants of their own? Could you truly be so blind, leader of men? No. I know the likes of you has worshiped before. Do you think whatever deity you beg to, would not approve of pursuing the greater good?¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± I interrupted him. ¡°Yeah, Sully is great. I get that. More than most people. Sure, he might have his flaws and I will definitely be dragging him to a therapist after all this is said and done, but I get that he¡¯s great. We can move on from there now.¡± I paused to catch my breath and to dismiss the implications from my mind. ¡°No.¡± he spoke in turn. ¡°No?¡± ¡°No. I will not back down from this point, master Henry. Not when my Master¡¯s good name is at stake.¡± Serpent-Tongue seemed to rise higher. ¡°I will not allow my Master¡¯s name to be trampled on. Solomon Carter changed my life for the better, while I was still alive. And not just mine. Step upon his realm and you will be besieged on al sides by people of myriad species. All of whom would have killed each other in hatred before our Master brought us together. In life, each of us were insects or amphibians. Fish and reptiles and birds and mammals. There were even a few sentient fungal colonies that were affected and brought into the fold. In death, we were all remade in the holy image of humanity. In the holy image of our Master. The divine and the merciful. He whose kindness went past the boundaries of the flesh and brought us all into an interconnected blissful existence.¡± ¡°Vince has a question.¡± Vince raised his hand. ¡°How come none of you came to Vince¡¯s world?¡± ¡°Because it was the will of the Master.¡± The Intruder spoke as it were obvious. ¡°That, and he wanted to make sure no one disrupted his long sleep. His escape to normality. Before he delved back into slumber, he ordered all his followers that they should break and destroy their technology and instead rely on the psionic gifts he had given us.¡± ¡°So, let me get this straight.¡± Thunder Fist interrupted. ¡°You destroyed all your empires, and from your words, went back to a medieval society. Because he ordered it. And none of you protested.¡± ¡°Why would we?¡± The Intruder sked in genuine astonishment. ¡°After all he had done to bring peace to our myriad worlds? After all he had done for so many? After the promise of an afterlife was laid before us? Who in their right minds would protest to that?¡± A long silence descended. All of us thinking about how many things could be justified with that kind of rhetoric. ¡®Well.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®At least this is Sully we¡¯re talking about. If anyone else had this kind of power, things would get really, really bad.¡¯ Chapter 105: To Kill a Fake. POV: Henry. "Ok. Let''s go through the plan one more time." I begun. Feeling the weight of another ten years on my shoulders as I let out a sigh. "First, the Tall Man will keep attacking Fake Sully." "Correct my dear master Henry." Serpent Tongue confirmed with a satisfied gurgle. "If the Master''s shadow wasn''t currently engaged in battle with the imposter, he would have enslaved you all by this point. That, or perhaps he would have simply sent over the sad, poor, mutated humans the fake has corrupted." "Right." I snapped. "Then, you want me, Mr. Lincoln, Vince, Thunder Fist and Puffin here to attack the fake Sully together, so that Randall gets an opening to destroy fake Sully." I paused. "Did I get that correctly?" To my surprise, the thing shook his fat bloated head from side to side. "I am afraid not, master Henry. You were not truly listening to what I was saying." "Well that''s a relief." I said out loud. "Because that plan sucked. Sully''s always been good at multitasking and I get the feeling that this fake one could take a second or two out of the fight to enslave us all permanently." Serpent Tongue nodded. "Oh most definitely. Loathe as I am to admit it, this fake is nearly as potent as my own sweet Master. The System does know its stuff when it comes to these things I''m afraid. However, you should not place any real trust on matters like distance. You have not become a big enough nuisance to justify it yet, but the fake is more than powerful enough to enslave you right here and now. Distance is meaningless to him, you see. Just as it is meaningless to my Master. The Great One would have seen and hear everything that happened in your world. From the first waking hours you experienced every morning, to the sighs of your sister when she did the same. All the way to the same expressions children across the world or across the universe were making. As long as you share a dimension, the Master cannot be kept away. Neither can the fake. My own powers, even as grandiose as the Master has made them, simply cannot protect you all. Why, I could barely be able to protect myself in such an occasion. And even then, not for very long." "Okay. Then why did you say that the whole plan rested on us? What do we have to do that''s so important?" I asked. "You just said we were the key to victory or whatever. Sounds to me like you''re contradicting yourself right off the bat." Serpent Tongue extended an apologetic look. "My dear Master''s shadow does not need additional help, master Henry. It is quite capable of holding the fake at bay, at least for the moment." It paused to lick its lips and I could see a hint of malice shining from within those beady little eyes. "No. You role is quite, hum. Different. I''m afraid. It is something only you can accomplish, as I do not have the necessary power and the Master''s shadow is currently combating the imposter." The Intruder looked towards Randall. "You must convince this pile of breathing dung to act against the fake." I blinked in confusion. Looking back to stare at the withered little man as he cradled his head between his arms and moved his upper torso back and forth. Whispering breathlessly to himself all the while. "It wasn''t my fault. It wasn''t my fault, It wasn''t my fault. I didn''t mean to do it. I never said anything to her. My name isn''t Sully. I didn''t ask to be put in there. I''m not a product. Please don''t sell me. Please don''t hurt me. Please don''t hurt me anymore. I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to. I didn''t mean to. It was an accident. I didn''t want to hurt those people. I didn''t want to. I''m not like that. Please don''t hurt me. It''s so dark. Somebody make her stop. Stop her from pressing the buttons. I don''t breathe when she presses the buttons. I fall down and down and down and down and down and I can''t see the bottom or the end and it hurts and I''m all alone with the pain and pain and pain and..." Mr. Lincoln brought Randall in to a conservative, almost apprehensive embrace. Telling him that it would all be better in a steady voice. Then my eyes turned to Stellio''s cooling corpse and I wondered if maybe he''d had the right idea after all. "That''s it? How is this Randall guy going to help if none of us could help?" Vince snorted. "Vince could have answered that with his eyes closed." I narrowed my eyes. "What''s that supposed to mean?" "It means that this Randall fellow is very strong, young man." Thunder Fist offered. "Much stronger than anyone else in this room. "Yeah." I bit back. Trying and failing to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. "I keep hearing that from people lately. I''m a bit sick and tired of it to be honest. I''d like some more concrete examples." The old hero shrugged his ghoulish features. "I don''t know how to describe it exactly. I''m feeling it from several different abilities at once. Aside from my own professional intuition." Thunder Fist paused. "Do you know Smite? or Shatter Storm?" "Yeah. Of course I know them. They''re S-Rankers. A single one could kill millions of monsters without batting an eye." Thunder Fist nodded. "So you do understand. Good. Now, think of it like this. I am far stronger now than I was at my previous peak. If I happened to be put in a position where I had to fight those two at once, I would win." He paused to look abashed. The expression looking rather queer on his hollow cheeks. "This isn''t me bragging or anything either. I don''t like bragging in general. I was always taught that humility is the mark of a powerful man growing up. That the truly strong don''t need to let other people know. I am simply stating a fact that, because of the combined abilities I have, as well as the total amount of Psy, those two would not stand a chance against the current me. Barring some unforeseen complication, I would win ten fights out of ten. Does that make sense." "Yeah. I can see that." "Good. Now, Randall here is to the current me what I am to the old me. The difference in overwhelming. No matter what you look like. Raw power, maximum output, range, control, natural talent. All the factors that might make a difference in a fight, aside from personal mental fortitude are things in which this Randall is superior to me." I stared at Thunder Fist. Then back at Randall as he started crying again. "The Coffin. The Coffin. I don''t want to go back. Anezka. She''ll hurt me. She''ll make me do things. Kill me. Kill me please. The Tall Man. The Bad Man. He won''t let me die. He''ll drag me back to the bad place if I die. I have to get killed by the Coffin. Or the bad man will do bad things to me. Please. I don''t want to go back to the dark. I spent so much time in the dark. Pleas don''t make me do it. He said he''d hurt me. He''ll know. He always knows." "Riiiight." I said aloud. ¡°This guy is totally on the level. I don¡¯t know how I didn¡¯t see it before.¡± I watched him for a few more seconds after that. Noting how his mind was the only one whose thoughts I could more or less make out. I said more or less, because it was all a jumbled mess of sharp emotions and endless darkness. Occasionally interjected by phantom pain. It reminded me of the surgery I¡¯d had to get my wisdom teeth removed a few years back. One of the guys there had fumbled the anesthesia and I¡¯d woken up halfway through. Feeling like I was floating in a fever dream while staring up at these blurry images taking metal rods to my mouth. It had been a confused, nonsensical sort of terror. One where I couldn¡¯t tell if I¡¯d been in a fever dream or not. Part of me caught a few glimpses of Sully. The new Sully, with three cold blue eyes. Staring down at Randall in the depths of some cave and telling him to not hurt any of his friends. Now, to me, that sounded exactly like something Sully would say, so I was of a mind to believe it had been real. But then I caught other things. Such as memories of the man burning down a city.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Of him watching men, women and children running around below him. Burning like candles in the night. And the screams. Oh the screams. I snapped out of it a second later. Feeling my hands reflexively reach for the blade Stellio had used to off himself. ¡°The only thing this guy is, is a sick (Sully)!¡± I yelled. Turning to the other. ¡°You all saw that right!? That wasn¡¯t no System event! This guy is an arsonist and a killer! He¡¯s burned people alive!¡± I took a deep breath while reaching out for a nearby pillar to steady myself. ¡°He got off on it too! You¡¯re telling me we¡¯re supposed to trust in this guy to do anything? I just saw a few of his thoughts and even then, I wouldn¡¯t (Sully) on this guy if he were on fire!¡± I turned to stare at Vince. ¡°You¡¯re telling me he¡¯s strong enough that we should all ignore that? Really? Is this the only way? Don¡¯t get me wrong, the guy looked strong, but I¡¯ll bet you or Thunder Fist could take him.¡± "Vince can confirm it." Vince spoke up. "Vince has said it many times. Randall knows only one way to do things, but the way he does it leaves Vince stunned. Vince has not had the time to meet good Sully again, but Vince has seen the fake and the fake holds his Psy just like that. It breathes by itself an comes and goes along with their own personal rhythm. The Psy is them, in a way I can''t make any sense of." "Funny, I can''t make any sense of it either. Or of you.¡± "You only say that because you''re weak." Puffin interrupted. "He''s been like that this whole time but my instincts keep screaming at me that he''s dangerous." "Of course he''s dangerous." I countered. "Sully told me he wanted to burn a bunch of people alive before he stopped him. AND, I just saw into his mind! He¡¯s been lighting people up even before he came to the Tutorial! This guy makes Reinhart Heidrich look like a care bear!" ¡°Who?¡± Mr. Lincoln asked. ¡°World War 2 fellow. High up in the SS during the invasion of Poland. He¡­ never mind. You wouldn¡¯t know. Just¡­ trust me. He was a bad mother(Sully).¡± Randall wailed and descended even further into hysteria. I ignored him. "People who go around setting fires aren''t usually the most stable kinds of folks out there you know. Doubly so when people get burned alive too." Puffin looked at me angrily, but didn''t dispute the point. "Even if this guy is supposed to be that much stronger than all of us, I don''t see how he could do any better against Sully. The more I think back to all the things I''ve seen these past few days, the more I''m starting to realize that mind-control is a (Sully) to deal with. I mean, with Cass, I''d at least know when I''m outside her range, but this is ridiculous." "All the more reason to enlist the help of this scum, master Henry." Serpent Tongue butt in again. "All he needs do is engulf this whole dimension in fire, and it will be over. Just like that." The Intruder snapped his fingers. "Here one moment, gone the next." I turned to face the Intruder again. Not bothering to hide my confusion. "And, how would this work?" "Precisely how I''ve explained it, master Henry." I gave him a flat look. "You''re telling me that this guy is strong enough to blow up an entire dimension? What, like the big bang?" "Oh good heavens no master Henry. More like a high-yield nuclear warhead or perhaps, one of the Sunfire batteries from my old ship. This dimension is not too large, considering the incoming population of human students that stayed here for a time. Randall Haroway might be a morally bankrupt snake lying in the grass. He might be a murderer of the most vile sort and a coward who runs away from the consequences of his actions. But he is not weak by any means." The Intruder gestured to one of the walls where a small crack let in the sizzling ambiance of the outside, where reality was busy unraveling itself and turning upside down and inside out all at the same time. "Especially not now, when the veil is the thinnest it has ever been in his presence. If you gaze over at the descriptions of your new abilities, you will see what I mean. Each new level and each new trickle of Psy into that particular power increases the potency of all psionic abilities. A Telekinetic that might have been strong enough to lift a book, will now be string enough to lift a bus. And a bomb powerful enough to bathe a city in fire, will be strong enough to sunder all life within the confines of a small dimension." I looked through the descriptions. Just to double check.
[Warp the Veil II] Standard Combination of [Stable Reality] / [Unstable Reality]. Grants the User the ability to distort or repair the veil between physical and non-physical dimensions within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives and at a cost of 50 Psy multiplied by current ability level per 10 hours. Repairs to the veil have no time limit. The range of distortions or repairs increases by +500% per current ability level and may increase further if ability is overcharged. Distortions will cause random fluctuations in the local laws of physics at a rate of +25% per current ability level. Duration, potency and cost increase by +20% per current ability level. Distortions will provide a +10% boost to the potency and range of all psionic abilities as well as a +10% chance for random Intruder manifestations per current ability level. Distortions will reduce the cooldowns of all psionic abilities within range by -10% per current ability levels. Distortions will increase Psy recovery rate by +20% per current ability level for all psionically-gifted creatures. Distortions will increase experience gain by +5% per current ability level for all psionically-gifted creatures. Caution: Intruders that manifest as a result of this ability will be heavily influenced by the User but may not always be friendly to the User. The potency of all these effects increases by 150% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
[Psionic Conjuration III] Standard Combination of [Manifest Intruder] / [Seal Intruder] / [Banish Intruder] Grants the User the ability to conjure, seal or banish Intruders within the range of [Sense Thoughts] or derivatives. Intruders will naturally bond to non-living mundane matter after they are conjured and will gain abilities that pertain to their current host at a cost of 220 Psy per current ability level. Intruders must maintain their form using the User¡¯s own Psy or their own in order to remain within a physical dimension. Intruders that are sealed may become trapped in living and psionically infused material for increased potency based on the materials used. Intruders that are sealed in a medium through this ability gain +20% more Psy and +30% to Psy regeneration per current ability level while they are sealed. Sealed Intruders also benefit from +1 to all ability levels per every 5 current ability levels. Intruders may be banished back to the veil through the channeling of this ability at a cost of 55 Psy per Intruder per second. Intruders that are one Tier lower than the User¡¯s current Tier may be banished at no extra cost. Intruders that are two or more Tiers lower than the User¡¯s current Tier may be severely damaged or outright destroyed at no extra cost. Caution: Intruders that manifest as a result of this ability will be heavily influenced by the User but may not always be friendly to the User. The potency of all these effects increases by 150% every five levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
¡°Okay.¡± I admitted. ¡°If he were that strong, then I can see how a boost in power could let him kill everyone here. Or, at least everyone who isn¡¯t Sully.¡± The Intruder offered a cruel, sardonic smile. "Moreover, who better to lay waste to a city full of people in need of mercy killing, than the one person here who has had plenty of experience burning innocent people alive in their own homes? The one person here who knows what it us like to be hunted for one''s blackest deeds?" Randall sobbed harder. "Besides that, the fool has a power that allows him to stop time, if only for a short while. So the fake would not be able to interfere in the fateful detonation. Normally, my Master would be able to intercept any such attempts by peering into the future, but this System events must disrupt such processes in favor of keeping the imposter blindfolded and doing the System''s bidding. All so that my Master looks bad." "Sully doesn''t need any help looking bad." I countered. "At this point, what he needs is a bunch of PR representatives with decades of experience so they can photograph him cuddling with puppies all day every day. This whole thing was unnecessary." "I agree, master Henry, but alas, the current administrator for the System does seem to come across as needlessly petty in my eyes." ¡°You can say that again.¡± ¡°No.¡± Puffin interrupted us again. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. This Randall might be bad. As bad as Halkon and his men. But he doesn¡¯t hold a candle to Sully. He¡¯s evil incarnate.¡± I scoffed. Even as Serpent Tongue¡¯s approximation of a human face lit up with barely-supressed fury. ¡°Lady, Sully might have his issues. Now more than ever. But you¡¯re not going to convince me he¡¯s worse than someone who literally gets a sick sense of power by burning people alive. That seems a bit far-fetched.¡± ¡°Vince agrees.¡± Vince piped up again. ¡°Randall¡¯s torture might have been horrific, but Sully found it necessary. Mind-control would have been enough to turn Randall good, but he needed to suffer in order to keep progressing. So that Sully could bathe the gnomes¡­ all the gnomes in fire. Like they deserve.¡± I stopped and turned to Vince. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Vince blinked. ¡°Henry did not know? Sully is very adept at torture. Vince thought he was skilled with the gnomes, but Sully is leagues above Vince. There is no contest.¡± ¡°Sully wouldn¡¯t torture someone for no reason.¡± I argued. ¡°He told me that he¡¯d used his powers to change Randall. That Randall would have killed a bunch of people if it weren¡¯t for him. Why would he torture someone when he could just mind-control them to be good?¡± Puffin snorted. ¡°You have the ability too. Fool. [High Amnesia III]. Our first plan was to force Randall to forget his torture. So that he got well enough to help us. Even with all of us combined, we didn¡¯t have the power to make him forget all of it. That was the real reason we¡¯ve been waiting for you. So that you can join us in making him better for a few minutes. Your friend did something to make sure he¡¯d never forget. If you don¡¯t believe me, use the power yourself.¡± I frowned. Thinking to myself that she had to be lying. ¡®Although¡­ I don¡¯t suppose I lose anything by trying it out.¡¯ I searched for the right thread inside of me. Steadfying m,yself against the pillar again so as to avoid falling. I felt the world turning on its axis as I searched. The exercise seeming foregin and strange to my senses. When I found what I thought was the right cord, I pulled on it and filled it with Psy. Aiming it at Randall¡¯s crying figure. The agony hit me like a brick to the face. The despair threatening to drown me. I fell forwards, my elbows hitting the floor hard. I gasped. Trying to breathe. But feeling my throat clenching as my lungs fought to draw in a breath. My heart was exploding in my chest. So fiercely that I could feel it and all my other organs squirming like eels. Trying to escape my body. ¡®Help!¡¯ I tried to call out. ¡®Help me! Make it stop!¡¯ But the nightmare did not stop. I saw seconds and felt as if I were suffering for hours. My connection seeing that agony stretching on for what must have been millions of years. Eternities bathed in darkness where nothing could break free. Where dying to escape was as distant a dream as freedom. When I came to next, Vince was standing by me. His hand letting Psy flow into me. ¡°It¡¯s okay. Henry. Vince is here.¡± He said. With a calm and understanding voice. ¡°Vince is sorry he did not warn you. Vince did not see how he could put it into words.¡± ¡°No.¡± I sputtered. ¡°You¡¯re right. You¡¯re all right. (Sully). I¡¯m sorry.¡± I turned to Randall. ¡°I¡¯m so, so sorry. He should have killed you. He should have made it quick. This¡­ this is beyond evil.¡± Randall continued to weep. It took me another half hour to be able to stand. After which I surrounded Randall with the others. Ready to block out the memories for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll stop it. I¡¯ll make it stop.¡± I spoke once more. ¡°I promise. I¡¯ll make sure this never happens again.¡± Randall¡¯s eyes met mine. His pupils quivering in terror and¡­ something else. Hope. ¡°Please.¡± He begged. ¡°Please let me die.¡± Chapter 106: Public Relations. POV: Sully. ¡°Hey guys! Welcome back!¡± I shouted. With as much enthusiasm as I could reasonably muster. ¡°(Sully) you! You (Sully)ing piece of dog(Sully)!¡± Prudence howled. Her every breath filled with bloodlust. ¡°I¡¯m gonna (Sully) you up!¡± ¡°PR!¡± Olga shouted. Grabbing one of her hands and dragging her friend backwards. ¡°Shut the (Sully) up! You¡¯re gonna get us (Sully)ing killed! Or worse, enslaved!¡± Kaito lunged then. Placing himself between us and stretching out his hands as far as they would go. ¡°Nobody is enslaving anyone! This is all a misunderstanding! This is all getting out of control! Nobody is guilty of anything! Because that was not Sully! Right!? We all saw the System pop up! We all saw the message jumping up! We all knew what we were getting into! We should just go our separate ways right now! Let¡¯s each of us go to the bar or hunting or wherever and let. IT. GO!¡± He did a commendable job of keeping his voice level and calm. Though a quick look revealed that his knees were shaking so badly that they appeared to be vibrating. That was fine. This was only the first few minutes of the first day, after all. Forgiveness would take time. Apologies would not be enough this early on. They would all be calmer with time. I knew damn well this wouldn¡¯t be enough to assuage the¡­ um¡­ somewhat justified grievances of those coming along from the System event. I knew there would be a lot of backlash. Some name-calling here and there. That was fine. I was mature enough to take a few verbal lashings here and there, since I did sort of deserve them. That, and all the future events I¡¯d seen from my cobweb told me this was the best course of action. Being humble and apologetic, despite this really being the System¡¯s fault and not mine, would see Henry talking back to me as usual in about a month. With my parents talking back to me right away. Actually explaining how it wasn¡¯t my fault and that I was planning a bloody brutal vengeance on the System Admin would result in my parents taking a few more months to themselves before coming around, with Henry and Luigi cutting all ties for the next year. Therefore, humble and sorry Sully it was. ¡°Of course, Kaito.¡± I spoke again. ¡°And I cannot even begin to tell you how sorry I am about all of this. I take full responsibility and will do my best to tone down the gnome violence in the future so that this doesn¡¯t happen again. Even if the System decided to do this again.¡± He snapped his face back to me. ¡°Really?¡± ¡®Of course not. I¡¯ll just wait until we¡¯re out of the Tutorial or on an Excursion.¡¯ ¡°Of course, Kaito.¡± I lied. ¡°As much as I hate the gnomes, I would never put my hatred of them over the safety and well-being of all my friends.¡± I paused to force my face into emoting. Doing my best to portray genuine human emotions of regret and sadness. ¡°I¡¯m sorry this happened to you. I wish I could have done more.¡± ¡°More?¡± Kaito questioned. ¡°What do you mean, more? Did you do anything?¡± ¡°Yes I did.¡± I answered, still making my voice as remorseful as possible. ¡°I sent my Avatar there with you and I made my Avatar boost anyone it saw and I then had my Avatar pull people towards Randall so that they could make him blow himself up. He took the entire city with him, and freed you all early.¡± Kaito looked stunned. But then, his legs slowed their vibrating. ¡°I see. Thank you. I¡­ I guess it could have been worse.¡± I approached him. Releasing just enough of my presence to calm them all down without them realizing they were under its effects. ¡°Kaito, we¡¯re friends. I couldn¡¯t have sat here idly while you suffered. I would have done anything to protect you all.¡± Which was true enough, in a way. There was very little I wouldn¡¯t do to stop humans or other persons from suffering. I placed one of my hands on his shoulders then. ¡°Kaito. Guys. I know you suffered a lot and I know I can¡¯t make it up to you. But I just want you to know that I would never knowingly do this to you. I want you to know you matter to me. I want you to know I care.¡± Even Prudence¡¯s features softened. ¡°And it is because I care that I¡¯m willing to change. Give me a chance and you¡¯ll see me rescuing people from all kinds of worlds again. Helping you all again. All without asking for anything in return. All without going overboard with the gnomes.¡± There was a brief silence in the Warehouse afterwards. ¡°You promise?¡± Prudence asked warily. ¡°I promise I will no longer torture gnomes before killing them or use them for any kind of experimentation within the Tutorial.¡± I swore. Fully intending to keep my word. After all, the System Admin wouldn¡¯t be able to pull this kind of stunt outside the Tutorial. Prudence relaxed. So did Olga and Kaito. ¡°Whew. Thanks man. That, that could have gotten ugly.¡± Kaito answered. ¡°Oh come now.¡± I began again. Forcing a smile on my otherwise still face. ¡°What are friends for? This is the least I could do for you all. And I know you¡¯d do the same for me if our roles were reversed.¡± Kaito nodded right away. Olga nodded more slowly. Prudence didn¡¯t nod at all. ¡®It¡¯s fine.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®This is already wonderful progress for a few minutes. I know she¡¯ll come around.¡¯ I knew she would, because I had foreseen it. If she and the others were using their heads instead of their hearts, they would have seen through that fact as well. ¡®Wait, does that make me a bad person? The fact that I¡¯m saying the things I know will placate them?¡¯ ¡®No.¡¯ I decided. ¡®I really am sorry. That isn¡¯t a white lie I¡¯m telling them. I wouldn¡¯t have wished what they went through on anyone who wasn¡¯t a gnome. I really am trying to make things better and to keep this from happening again and it is true that I intend to do everything in my power to make up for it. I did make a promise and I fully intend to keep it. By the letter of the promise, if not by the spirit.¡¯ Prudence furrowed her brows. As if trying to discern truth from lies. Then she huffed after realizing what a futile endeavor that was and went over to the bar with Olga in tow. ¡°They¡¯ll come around.¡± Kaito assured me. ¡®I know.¡¯ I thought. But I knew saying that would have put him off. So, instead, I said something about hope again and let him join his team. While I joined my own. ¡°Okay. So, I already know your answers but I¡¯m gonna ask anyways. How¡¯s everybody doing?¡± ¡°Great.¡± Boris answered. ¡°I got to see my sister again. We had a fantastic few days together around the new community. I helped to build a few houses and outhouses. Temporary things until we can get proper drainage and electricity. And I did a bit of monster hunting after the fact. We had a fantastic community meal, the day before my departure. I saw a lot of faces I had given up for dead. A lot of people who grew back fingers or limbs or eyes. There was much rejoicing.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°That sounds wonderful.¡± I said. Getting a warm, fuzzy feeling in my belly as I listened to him. ¡°I love hearing that something good came out of this whole ordeal.¡± I then turned to Charlie. ¡°How was your trip back home?¡± ¡°It was fine.¡± He said brusquely. Now, I knew that those words barely scratched the surface. What he actually meant was: ¡°I killed Mr. Whitmer and all the goons he had with him at the time. I then took my time dismantling his entire operation from top to bottom, doing away with all the street enforcers he had, all the pushers he had, all the guys he had making different kinds of poison. All the guys he had brewing counterfeit alcohol. All the guys he had hassling businesses for protection. All the guys he had smuggling things in and out of docks¡­¡± And on and on and on the list went. Charlie had done so much killing on his week off that he¡¯d make the Drake somewhat impressed with his level of abject brutality. Well, not really, since he killed them quickly, but still¡­. I had all kind of people coming by and skittering away as if I were the boogieman for something I had no control over and here was Charlie acting out his most monstrous urges without a care in the world and no one to stop him. That didn¡¯t seem very fair to me. ¡°Did you get everything done?¡± I asked him instead. Already knowing the answer, but wanting him to think about it so that the gears in his head started turning. ¡°No.¡± He said. Matter of fact. ¡°I¡­ the week ended too soon. Way too soon. There was so much more stuff I wanted to do, but couldn¡¯t.¡± He shut his mouth again, so it was up to me to fill in the gaps. What he actually meant was: ¡°There were still the crooked officers of the guard walking about. Sure, I spooked them, but that won¡¯t stop them for long, I think. And towards the end, new gangs were either forming or moving in from out of town to take the late Whitmer¡¯s place. Whitmer Junior also skipped town the second he got word of the old man¡¯s death, so I wasn¡¯t able to get him either. I started working on the new gangs. Leaving obvious trails to show they had died violently, but that didn¡¯t stop any of the other ones. Not when I made it plain that this would keep happening. Not when I made it obvious that the bullets they¡¯d fired hadn¡¯t hurt me. No one caught a glimpse of me, but the newspapers started going on about a monster from the sea that was terrorizing innocent people. As if anyone of them had been innocent. Thy put a bounty for my death, both through the newspapers and from underground sources. The guards were completely against me, even those who weren¡¯t on the payroll of the new gangs and now things are worse than ever and I don¡¯t know how it all went wrong. New gangers and stabbing and killing innocent people and each other on the streets trying to carve up old Whitmer¡¯s empire for themselves and I don¡¯t know what I could have done better. I don¡¯t know how to fix it.¡± Yet Charlie didn¡¯t say any of that. Instead, he remained in a foul mood as I talked to Dusty and Slab. Asking them how their experiences with the fake Sully had been. Thankfully, it appeared that Prudence and co had been outliers and most everyone had known to take the easy way out. Including Grandpa. So that was nice. I was talking to him about mom and dad when Charlie came up to me again. ¡°Hey.¡± He began. Struggling with his own words. ¡°You¡­ uh¡­ you know what I¡¯m trying to say, right?¡± I nodded. ¡°Okay, then what do you think I should¡­¡± ¡°I think you should start by saying the words out loud.¡± I interrupted. ¡°Part of the reason why you¡¯re having so much trouble is that you¡¯re running away from how things turned out. You¡¯re afraid that saying them out loud will somehow make them more true and more real. You know that doesn¡¯t make sense, but you can¡¯t stop how you feel. I¡¯ll tell you what you want to know and I¡¯ll help you move on and feel better. But you have to say them out loud for me to start. Otherwise, this isn¡¯t going to go anywhere.¡± Charlie glared up at me. His muscles tensing and his jaw clenching in a way that told anyone watching that violence was immanent. Grandpa Gus even went so far as to reach for a weapon that wasn¡¯t there. Acting on old instincts. I stopped him with a palm on his shoulder and continued to stare into Charlie¡¯s eyes. ¡°You know I¡¯m right.¡± I told him. ¡°I¡¯m not doing this to make fun of you or to judge you or make you hurt. You know damn well that isn¡¯t how I do things. You also know that if I wanted to hurt you, we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation. On top of all that, you know I can see the future. Even if everything else I said was a lie, you know I can see where this goes. Better to get it off your chest now.¡± He almost snarled. Not backing down in the slightest. ¡°And where does this go then?¡± ¡°To the grave.¡± I told him bluntly. ¡°Not yours, but those of others. You went and killed so many that you lost track of time. You didn¡¯t even visit your little siblings at the orphanage, nor did you visit the sisters that raised you. You thought it would all be worth it in the end and now you know that it wasn¡¯t. Not in the slightest. You were raised with the faith of¡­ Saturn, was it? You were taught that violence led to nowhere and that those who gave in to their rage would be consumed by it. Turning into monsters in the guise of humans. You always thought this was nonsense at some level, but you did your best because you wanted to be good for the sisters that raised you. You wanted to be the exception. You wanted to get out and live a decent life with a decent job and a decent wife and a decent house. You wanted to be better than the older kids that all turned to drugs and booze and to the gang life under Mr. Whitmer. Then you saw what Mr. Whitmer would do if you turned against him and you decided to kill him. To excise the cancer. Only, it didn¡¯t end with Mr. Whitmer.¡± I paused to force my face into a visage of sadness. He seemed to appreciate that, at least. He had the sense to look ashamed. ¡°Yeah.¡± He agreed. ¡°I killed him. Him and all the others. There were three gangs that rose up from the spot they left open and I killed all of them as well. Then a new bloke came in from out of town and started burning down shops that Mr. Whitmer used as fronts. I think he figured someone in his organization had done the deed and he wanted to smoke the up and coming boss out so that he could be the boss. I killed him too and all the people he brought with him. They¡­.¡± He paused to bite his lip. His life-filled eyes suddenly looking ashamed. ¡°There were a lot of them. Almost a hundred. All with guns and clubs and all kinds of weapons. They didn¡¯t stand a chance. I was so much stronger than all of them put together that it wasn¡¯t even funny and when it was done I thought it was over. But it wasn¡¯t.¡± ¡°It will never end with Mr. Whitmer. Or any other stooge or crook or killer that takes his place. There will always, always be a new criminal ready to take on the old one¡¯s position. Despite knowing the risks.¡± I told him bluntly. ¡°The where does it end?¡± He asked me. Now looking desperate. ¡°What do I have to do to stop these guys from popping up? Do I have to¡­¡± He bit his lips again, but I could take his meaning. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything.¡± I spoke, a little more gently this time. ¡°I won¡¯t lie to you and say that I knew where this was bound to go, but I could hazard a guess even before getting to see the future.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a tale as old as time.¡± Grandpa interrupted from beside me. ¡°Nature abhors a vacuum. In an environment without predators, new kinds of killer will emerge given enough time. That¡¯s true for leaders, churches, merchants and criminals too. What¡¯s more, the kind of people that turn to organized, heavy crime are usually a self-selecting sort. You don¡¯t start that lifestyle unless you have the kind of personality and upbringing that makes you pre-disposed to violence and living on the edge. And you don¡¯t get to be the boss unless you¡¯re smart and ruthless enough to instill loyalty and fear in all your underlings. That¡¯s part of what makes dealing with organized crime so hard, compared to regular street crime.¡± ¡°Quite so, quite so.¡± Mr. Park added. ¡°My juniors have jailed more scammers and pickpockets and muggers and petty thieves than I care to count, but those kinds of people aren¡¯t truly a priority. You will run into some and you will jail the few you can build a case for. That is that. One can¡¯t really solve those issues, but one can mitigate them. I never once saw a pickpocket or a common thief operating in the nicer, fenced-off neighbourhoods. I only saw them around the middle-class apartment buildings and the subsidized housing units for poor folk. Part of that was because the rich often bought out private security and those guys didn¡¯t mess around, but there was a factor of poverty and desperation to it all. Reduce the desperation, and you reduced crime to a level where the layman will not notice or perhaps not even encounter in their lives.¡± ¡°Organizations or tightly-knit communities are harder to penetrate though.¡± Grandpa continued. ¡°Those people, the human-traffickers and the drug peddlers and the misery merchants, all have an avenue to profit that is separate from societal support. You can remove as many ills and as much poverty as you like, but this will not affect the upper levels of crime. For then, it is as close to a legitimate business as one can come to in the shadows. And make no mistake, they rake in profits that would make small, legitimate enterprises blush.¡± ¡°Some make profits that would make large enterprises blush.¡± Mr. Park corrected. ¡°Indeed.¡± Grandpa agreed. ¡°For those kinds of people, it isn¡¯t a matter of desperation. This is simply their life and their trade. When you, as a society, are asking them to leave the rest of you alone, you are asking someone who makes millions in the upper management of an enterprise to make an average worker¡¯s salary for the rest of their lives. It simply will not happen. No matter how much blood they have to spill.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a peddler make that much.¡± Charlie countered. ¡°Only enough to fuel their habit.¡± Grandpa and Mr. Park both laughed. ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ve never seen the real players. Or you have and haven¡¯t internalized their reasoning. For this, Mr. Whitmer you did away with, crime wasn¡¯t a necessity. It was a corner of the market that hadn¡¯t been exploited. In that way, he and those who followed him are all like entrepreneurs, looking to take a slice of the pie. That is how you need to approach these cases. You can¡¯t intimidate them by killing others, because death is a given threat in their line of work.¡± Grandpa stated. ¡°They will simply assume you were a new competitor and, since they don¡¯t know you, assume you can be dealt with easily and they will believe that Mr. Whitmer simply let a local problem grow out of control. Keep killing the new gang members and they won¡¯t assume you¡¯re some paragon of justice. They¡¯ll assume you¡¯re a hardened group of killers that is very bad at capitalizing on the local enterprises.¡± Mr. Park followed up. ¡°They will simply keep sending more and more me at you, expecting your funding to run out, or for you to run out of soldiers through attrition. Even if they could somehow be convinced that you are, indeed, a supernatural killer determined on destroying their way of life, they will simply move their operations so that they themselves act from the safety of other cities and bunkers. That way, you¡¯re always killing the little people. Those who have to be involved in order to fuel their habit. No one will care about them, because no one has cared about them until now. You can keep killing them until the end of the world and the bosses will simply recruit more. Trusting that all you¡¯re doing is attracting more and more attention from the guards, who they will be bribing all the time to focus all their attention on you.¡± Charlie looked more and more upset the more they spoke. ¡°What¡¯s your solution then?¡± Both older men looked at each other for a second. I searched their thoughts and felt a level of disgust that was nearly unbearable. ¡®Holy (Gnome)ing (Gnome) grandpa! We¡¯re going to be talking about this later!¡¯ ¡®If you want.¡¯ Grandpa [Messaged] back. ¡®But I will point out that I did far more good than your friend here, with far fewer casualties.¡¯ ¡°Never you mind that.¡± Mr. Park went on. ¡°The best solution, in my eyes at least, is the one that Sully came to.¡± ¡°Mind-control everyone so that they don¡¯t do crime?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mind-control anyone!¡± I protested sharply. ¡°Everyone back home still has free will!¡± ¡°Of course they do.¡± Charlie said sarcastically. ¡°But I¡¯m not sure I want to go that way in order to deal with my problem.¡± ¡°Well then.¡± Grandpa cut him off. ¡°Looks to me you¡¯ll have more killing to do then.¡± He turned to Mr. Park, who sighed hopelessly. ¡°A lot more killing to do.¡± Chapter 107: Open Forums. I checked up on Jacob next, finding him, Raj and Esmeralda gossiping over a ton, and I really did mean a ton, of different furs, scaly pelts and empty shells strapped to the man. The spectacle looked ludicrous. As if some poor circus had strapped all their equipment onto the back of single tiny elephant. ¡°I hope you enjoyed your hunting.¡± I told Jacob. Once more trying to move my face into the semblance of a genuine approachable smile. ¡°You betcha!¡± Jacob grinned. His recently shaven beard revealing a multitude of old, poorly healed scars that he had neglected. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t get rid of the completely now. I could have done it for him in a second. No, the issue lay in that he didn¡¯t want the scars to go away. ¡°Oh Sully I caught me all manner of beasties. This one here¡­¡± He pointed a thick stretch of hippo-like hide. ¡°Used to sweat a compound that would aerosolize and turn into a poison gas when you cornered it. Or when it thought you were cornering it. It killed three dozen people when it broke into one of our villages. I put a stop to that I tell you. And I got myself a ton of fame and fortune in the meantime! I¡¯m practically a rockstar!¡± ¡°That¡¯s great.¡± I said with full sincerity. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll be able to stop by your world in one of these new Excursions. I could make it all stop. Like that.¡± The statement was supposed to inspire all of them. And it would, once they¡¯d had some time to process their conflicting emotions. As for me¡­ I went back to using the now opened forums. It was a simple thing, really. Merely open up the screen and think about what you wanted to say.
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) Hey guys! I saw that this lobby was open and that you were discussing aspects of the Tutorials! Please feel free to ask me anything!
RhinoBrian: EL DIABLO!! AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!
Thorson 12: Run fer yer lives!
Ellena1453: The demon! It¡¯s the Demon! RUN!!!
The lobby was then vacated by all other users. Leaving me alone to read the old comments. I went through them a couple of times. Then I closed the feature and tried again. And again. And again. Many, many times in many, many lobbies. I wasn¡¯t doing this because I liked to see people cowering away, but rather, because I knew full well that this was the only way to start a conversation. The¡­ incident. Was still fresh on their minds. So it was better to present an affable front sooner rather than later so as to avoid that image of me becoming the only thing people remembered. People would bite. Eventually. As a matter of fact, I could predict such an event a few hours from now. So, I kept popping into lobbies for another ten minutes to plant the seeds and then moved on with my team for an Excursion of our own.
System Excursion: Team: The Good Guys, has embarked on an Excursion. Objective: Keep the water supply of the Kokhan Nation free from tampering. The water supply is currently under threat from an organized militia group. Bonus Objective: Resolve the internal crisis engulfing the nation. Time Limit: 150 hours. Water Supply Saved: 0 / 1 Excursion to Earth: DRKS 1998 is underway.
¡°Holy (Gnome)!¡± Monique exclaimed. Immediately dropping to all fours and gasping for breath. ¡°I can¡­ I can¡¯t¡­.¡± ¡°I got you.¡± I said calmly. Pulling out a flask of water from my ring and dabbing the contents into a cloth, before applying it to her forehead. At the same time, I placed a hand on her and willed her lungs to expand. Ordering the rest of her body to grow and to better handle the heat. ¡°Guess I hadn¡¯t given too much thought to the little things about being an Enhancer.¡± Charlie mused. ¡°Indeed not. Even as a Shifter, I got abilities like [Heat Tolerance]. I mainly considered using it to deter monsters that spat fire, but this is a nice perk too.¡± Boris agreed. ¡°Have you started generalizing with the rest of your Types?¡± Charlie asked. ¡°Naturally.¡± Boris confirmed. ¡°To do anything else would be the height of stupidity, given how well it¡¯s worked out for me thus far.¡± Dusty and Slab approached from the side. Both of them eyeing each other after seeing how much Monique was struggling. ¡°She¡¯ll be fine.¡± I told them. ¡°We just need to cover her with some piece of cloth while we make our way over to the city. I¡¯ve got just the thing.¡± I removed the white fabric from my storage ring and proceeded to grow four small arms from both of my shoulders. Then I had those arms carry the cloth so that the shadow covered a large area around me, before I bent down to pick up Monique. ¡°Take it easy now.¡± She gasped instead of answering. ¡°I know. I know. I did warn you ahead of time mind you. And I did tell you what you stood to gain if you toughed it out. This is all going according to plan.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you give her some more water?¡± Charlie asked. ¡°Not right now.¡± I countered. ¡°Most of the water we brought with us has been accounted for in any case. The people in the city will need it a lot more than we do. Speaking of which, we better get going.¡± The trek was nowhere near as arduous for the rest of us. I mean, sure. My skin was scorched by temperatures that would have outright killed most normal people and the air was dry as a bone and I was pretty sure the sun was giving me lethal doses of skin cancer, but that was all negligible when compared to the levels I had in Shifter. Not to mention the fact that normal people were already surviving under these conditions. None of the locals were actually insane enough to wander around during noon hours but that was beside the point. Soon, we began to see the signs of a city on the horizon. One built from a collection of different kinds of stones crudely mashed together into walls and a ceiling. The city itself was a pit in the ground, whose edges were connected to several caves systems, who were themselves connected to an underground river. The only source of somewhat fresh drinking water for¡­ Well¡­ An entire world. ¡°What happened here?¡± Charlie asked in astonishment. ¡°I don¡¯t see any crops around the city. How do these people live?¡± ¡°With great difficulty.¡± I answered. ¡°As for what happened, it was actually not the people¡¯s fault. Some non-Labyrinth aliens came by and sucked it all up.¡± ¡°So, the world is always going to be like this?¡± I forced myself to laugh, so that they would see my feelings. ¡°Of course not! I [Dominated] their whole empire the second we got here! I¡¯m usually all for jolly cooperation between species, but if you¡¯re going to (Gnome) with humanity, you should know that I¡¯m more than willing to (Gnome) you back ten times harder. They¡¯re on their way with all the water they took but they won¡¯t get here before the time limit is up.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Boris spoke. ¡°And what would we have to do in order to make the mission a success?¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s this mage king guy down in the coolest, temperature-wise, chamber of the inverted pyramid there. He¡¯s got a series of crystals channeling light into his little palace and he spends his days being a general nuisance to everyone and everything around him. He¡¯s part Telepath and part Shifter. Like me. Unlike me, he¡¯s a bit of a tool. He¡¯s got this whole slavery / survival of the fittest / Conan the barbarian aesthetic going on and he¡¯s lived so long he¡¯s gone a bit funny in the head on top of that.¡±This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°But he¡¯s not the one we¡¯re supposed to stop.¡± Dusty clarified. ¡°Technically no.¡± I answered. ¡°Since he does keep some sort of order in what may as well be the last civilization on the planet. The militias that are revolting think the underground river will be cleared of toxins naturally in about a week or two and they have enough stored water to last that long. However, they are wrong and their actions will kill just about anyone actually left standing.¡± ¡°Does that mean we¡¯ll leave the king alone?¡± Boris inquired. His voice gaining a bit of an edge to it. ¡°Ha! No! Of course not! Like I said, I got to work as soon as we got here. We¡¯re only going to the city to finalize the changes I¡¯m going to implement and to give out the supplies we brought in our storage rings. That, and we¡¯ll be giving Esper powers to everyone in the city, so that everyone has at least an equal chance of thriving once the aliens bring the water back.¡± And so, it was done. We spent a few hours handing out emergency aid. Receiving accolades. Making both the militias and the royal reserves see the error of their ways and generally being a good influence on the planet. By the time we left, I was feeling more or less recharged from the whole doppelganger incident. I mean, yeah. A copy of me did torture a lot of people. A lot, of people. But that doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m a bad person. Why, I just saved an entire planet holding less than 20, 000 survivors from the human race and I made it so that they could rebuild the earth¡¯s ecosystem. Eventually. I would have to go back once the Tutorial was over and we had open access to portals in order to drop in some more biodiversity. But hey, bay steps. ¡®And speaking of baby steps¡­¡¯
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) Hey guys! I saw that this lobby was open and that you were discussing aspects of the Tutorials! Please feel free to ask me anything!
SuperGal21 AAAAAHHH!!!! IT¡¯S HIIIIMMM!!!! HEEEEELPP!!!
Vince: How do you buy magic sword? Vince saw your memories of magic sword. Vince want magic sword.
RolloWalk: Can he get us through the screen? Can he get us through the screen!?
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) Hi Vince! So nice to see you again! I did not buy Slasher is that¡¯s what you¡¯re referring to. I made her and then I bound Cherub to her. So the sword is a living object that has been awakened by a combined ability merging [Awaken Object] among other things and the Intruder was bound using the same ability after I summoned him accidentally through [Destabilize Reality]. Please let me know if there¡¯s anything else I can do for you.
Vince: K. Thanks.
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) No problem!
Vince: Kill gnomes. Make them suffer.
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) Haha! Of course, buddy! But I promised not to torture any more of them after the recent incident. I¡¯ll only be killing them for a while.
Vince: Whomever made you promise that is a bad person.
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) Now don¡¯t say that my friend. We¡¯re all trying to get through the day as best we can. Together, we can achieve anything!
PattyPerry: Didn¡¯t you torture my brother and then send your goon Charlie to kill me?
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) Haha! Of course not! I never ordered Charlie to hurt anyone! You can ask him if you don¡¯t believe me! As for your brother, that was an unfortunate accident. I can control my powers now, so it will never happen again.
RyePerry: AAAAAAAAHHHH!! PAAAAAATT!! SHUT THE (Sully) UP!!! YOU¡¯RE GONNA GET ME (Sully)ING KILLED!!!! HE¡¯LL SEND YOU TO THE BAD PLACE!!!
I turned my head slightly. ¡°Hey Dusty. Could you drag Ryan over here real quick? I¡¯d like to have a chat with him.¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± Dusty answered. Getting up with a sigh. The next day went by more or less like the first one. We went on another Excursion. This time to a world filled with gladiators. That is, a world where all humans had been turned into gladiators by yet another non-Labyrinth alien species. Now, the whole stealing water deal was annoying, but at least those aliens had had no interest in humanity¡¯s suffering. This whole, spectacle show business left a poor taste in my mouth. So, instead of doing what the Excursion said and freeing all the slaves, I settled for retaking the earth from the invaders. And to then wipe most of the invaders off the galaxy and leaving the rest of them in a perpetual stone age. Just to drive home the point. I left that version of earth with yet another song in my heart and even more feelings of self-fulfilment. After all, no one would be messing with humanity and getting away with it in that dimension, ever again. No one. I then turned to the forums again. Eager for the moment I¡¯d predicted.
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) Hey Dad! Hey Mom! I know you¡¯re reading this right now and I wanted to talk. Please respond to this message at your earliest convenience!
Naturally, most other messages disappeared in an instant. As almost everyone else in the lobby who had up to that point been discussing their own Excursions left to do anything else. I waited. Knowing what would happen.
Reginald C Hello son.
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) Hey Dad! Like I said, I was so glad to hear that you¡¯d be on the lobby today! I¡¯ve been wanting to talk to you for so long! You have no idea!
Reginald C Is your grandfather there?
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) Well, not here here. He¡¯s out hunting monsters and getting ready for my future blast. So that he can get the best bang for his buck. Speaking of which, I would love to meet up with you and give you the same future blast. It¡¯s this thing I do where I blast you with my spooky future-sight powers and then you get even better powers for yourself. It is awesome and everyone loves getting blasted by future-sight powers.
Reginald C Did you ask your grandfather to kill me?
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) What? No! I would never! Or, I mean, I would. If it was the fake we were talking about and he was close to catching you. Then I totally would. But no! I wasn¡¯t there! There was nothing I could do to stop him at that moment! Other than the plan that I ended up enacting. Which did save many, many lives might I add.
Reginald C Did that fake really do things you did to gnomes?
I paused. Feeling as though I should compose myself, but once more realizing that my body was as composed as it was likely to get.
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) Yes.
Reginald C Why would you do such things?
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) Because they had it coming.
Reginald C Every gnome you¡¯ve found?
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) Every single one. Without exception. I know them. Better than anyone or anything else. I have been inside their minds and I have seen all their tomorrows. The nicest gnome to ever live would still qualify as a sociopathic serial killer among us humans. I know this is hard to understand, but you cannot think of them as people. Think of them as monstrous bug-things pretending to be people and doing a bad job on top of that.
Reginald C Is that the truth or is that how you feel?
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) It is the truth and nothing but.
Reginald C And the things we saw back home? The Mittens witch still going about her business on the islands?
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) All my doing. I sent Mittens to get Halkon and to rescue you all. Then I re-educated Halkon to make sure he would never pull something like this again. Then I supercharged him too, so that he would sacrifice his life for yours if anything unexpected happened.
Reginald C Son. I have seen the thing murder people. Lots of people.
Good Guy Sully: (System Marked) I know. I knew what would happen before I sent him. I sent him anyway. Because it was them or you. I didn¡¯t even have to think about the choice. And if I had to make it again. I would do the exact same thing.
There was another pause, before dad¡¯s message came through.
Reginald C Me and your mother need to talk. We¡¯ll reach out again soon.
I smiled and sat back. Knowing damn well that the next message would not come anytime soon. I then moved about the place. Smiling at the efforts of all my other friends. These people were alive because of me. Because of my actions. Did I have any regrets about what I had done to keep them alive? ¡®Yes.¡¯ I told myself. ¡®I regret my own weakness at the start. Several hundred people had to die, before I got a hold of myself. If I had been stern. If I hadn¡¯t been running away from all these problems, then all of them could have survived. I would not have been able to absorb the Drake in the same manner, but I still would have had access to Randall. I would have been able to make my way back home after absorbing him. It would have been risky. Near suicidal. But I would have found a way. I¡¯m sure of it.¡¯ I grunted and was about to make my way over to the sparring arena again, when Slab and Boris approached me from the side. ¡°We need to talk about Charlie.¡± Slab began. ¡°He¡¯s got his head in the clouds.¡± Boris continued. ¡°It¡¯s been getting worse. His performance has been dropping.¡± ¡°So?¡± I asked them both. ¡°That means he¡¯s gone from one of the scariest guys here to someone marginally less scary. What does that have to do with us?¡± Both of them looked surprised. ¡°He¡¯s out teammate and our friend.¡± Slab explained, as if I didn¡¯t already know that. ¡°He¡¯s also been bitten by centipedes multiple times now. And not for training purposes.¡± Boris piled on. ¡°If he¡¯s struggling that much against the regular monsters, then he¡¯s likely to get killed fighting anything stronger or close to his level.¡± ¡°No. He isn¡¯t. All the monsters here are under my control and they only fight back because I wanted everyone to keep training. I assure you that none of them are going to take a nibble out of Charlie. Nothing more than a scratch anyway. As for him being distracted¡­¡± I shrugged. ¡°He¡¯s got a lot on his plate. Me and grandpa and Mr. Park were as honest with him as we could have been. We laid out the problems and we laid out solutions. He¡¯s trying to fins a way around those solutions because they strike him as evil. That¡¯s fine. I¡¯m not going to pressure him into accepting anything. But that means he needs to arrive on his own answer by himself. It will take time. Give him space.¡± They both looked at each other, but left things as they stood. For my part, I could only sigh. Because I knew what it was like to wrangle with tough choices. Chapter 108: Interrupted Excursion. The chamber was as large as it was opulent. Black marble bricks made up the walls and ceiling. Stacked atop each other so precisely that the entire chamber gave off an air of otherworldliness. A feeling that was only compounded by the masterful way in which each brick had been polished. Their surfaces so smooth that my even my superhuman sense of proprioception hardly felt a single uneven bump in the entire side wall that I was touching. ¡°You know. I¡¯m always ragging on architects every chance I get. Kinda something me and the other engineering students did for fun. But I have to say, this is one of the most beautiful works of art I have ever laid eyes on.¡± I told him truthfully. ¡°I can feel how much vision went into this project. All the way from the design phase. Everyone who came together to make it a reality had a joint commitment to making something bigger than themselves. I have to say, I love it.¡± ¡°D- Demon!¡± The king yelled. Wet stains now spreading over his fine silken robes. ¡°How are you able to stand here!? The exorcists¡­!¡± ¡°Incense isn¡¯t going to keep me away, your majesty.¡± I told him bluntly. ¡°Besides, you¡¯re not in any particular danger. Like I told you. I like your work. It leaves a lot to be desired sure, but you did try your best and you genuinely care about the people you¡¯re supposed to be ruling. I can respect that. You can stop screaming no¡­¡± ¡°Guards!¡± The king yelled. ¡°GUARDS!!!¡± I felt Charlie poking my side. ¡°Told you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not done yet.¡± I told him. ¡°Sure looks like you¡¯re done to me.¡± Monique added. Her eyes following the man as he scrambled about the room. Heading to a discrete side exit covered with a curtain of onyx beads laced together with black silk. ¡°Now look. I said I¡¯d try something different and I am. No [Domination] and no [Omniscience] in this dimension. We can do this.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we already kill the mutants?¡± Boris asked. ¡°Why are we even here?¡± ¡°Because the main issue wasn¡¯t the mutants. It¡¯s the fact that they keep throwing sacrifices into the ooze as part of their religion.¡± I told him. ¡°Also, I¡¯m proving to Prudence that I can, in fact, convince people to change for the better without using Telepath abilities.¡± Monique rolled her eyes. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just tell her we did it? Not like she¡¯s gonna know.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the principle of it!¡± I told them. ¡°The principle! I¡¯m already doing a bunch of shady (Gnome) no matter how you slice it! I¡¯m no one without my principles!¡± I turned to the king. ¡°Which is why you and I are going to come to an amicable agreement where you realize you can¡¯t fix the droughts by throwing young people into the oozing pit. We¡¯ve got like, 20 more hours until the time limit is up. I¡¯m sure I can convince you by the time the Excursion ends.¡± Slab rushed forward and interposed himself between the king and the curtain. His charge caused a gust of displaced wind to travel through all corners of the chamber. Making the rest of the fine curtains and banner hanging from the ceiling rustle ominously. ¡°Look. It isn¡¯t that difficult. Here. I got a survey. From your own library. Showing how many sacrifices were made and the years they were made. I¡¯ve definitively proven there is no correlation between¡­¡± ¡°Blasphemer!¡± The king bellowed. Gathering himself, despite his fear. ¡°I am the shield of my people! The herald of the divines! I will not be led astray! I¡­¡± He swallowed a lump in his throat. ¡°I will keep them safe! Even if it kills me!¡± He drew an ornate scimitar from a red sash. Holding it in shaking hands despite the small tears gathering at the corners of his hazel eyes. ¡°Come at me! Beast! Give it your worst!¡± Then he rushed me. In spite of all the fear running through his veins. Dusty moved to intercept, but I tugged on her arm. Giving her a pleading look. She shrugged and stepped back. The king reached me soon thereafter. His blade coming down with respectable force. The sharp edge bit a few centimeters into my skin. Then, my body clamped on like a vice. My skin and the underlying tissues pressing against the blunt sides and refusing to let go. The king pulled and pulled. To no avail. ¡°Listen, sir.¡± I began again. ¡°I am not your enemy. I respect what you¡¯re trying to do. Really, I do. I want to help you. I CAN help you. I want the same thing you do. I want to save as many people as possible. We are the same.¡± ¡°Silence!¡± The king growled through gritted teeth. He let go of the blade and pulled out a dagger with a golden hilt. Stepping back and preparing himself for another charge. Monique groaned in exasperation. As if this was a chore she couldn¡¯t wait to finish. I disagreed. And judging by the looks on Charlie, Boris, Dusty and Slab¡¯s faces, they too had a different opinion. ¡®How magnificent.¡¯ I thought. ¡®To be completely outmatched, and still keep fighting for the people he cares about.¡¯ I might have wept, if I still had a body that was capable of reacting naturally to anything around me. Instead, I gripped the dagger and activated [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X]. Sharing my memories with him. He stopped dead in his tracks and shivered violently. Before falling down on his side and gasping. I went over to him and held his hand. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I saw that you wouldn¡¯t stand down, no matter how much we talked. But I also didn¡¯t want to hurt you because of a bet I made. That was irresponsible of me.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± He gasped. Breathing through his mouth and with great effort. I activated [Limited Omniscience] and awoke his Psy, as well as the Psy of all the humans that I could perceive in this dimension. ¡°Rest.¡± I told him gently. ¡°You deserve some rest. Your people need you.¡± He nodded wordlessly and let go of his consciousness. I picked him up and moved towards his room. The bed that I had found after rummaging through his memories. ¡°Huh.¡± Charlie said. His voice betraying little of his real consternation. ¡°You might as well say it.¡± I told him. ¡°Talking things out will help. I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°No. It¡¯s just¡­¡± He bit his lower lip. ¡°I never imagined that someone this pampered would actually care about the people he was supposed to be ruling. I, I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ve ever seen it before.¡± He paused again. ¡°Definitely not back in my world.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think you own king cares about their people?¡± Slab asked. ¡°Not if the war if any indication.¡± The mention of the war brought out memories of Mr. Whitmer and of the night he¡¯d sent men to beat him and kill his dog. The only reason Charlie had been targeted in the first place was because the crime boss needed someone to step in in place of their son, after the latter had been drafted by lottery. ¡°What¡¯s the war about anyway?¡± Dusty inquired. Now more curious. ¡°I don¡¯t think I ever heard the reason.¡± ¡°I honestly have no idea.¡± Charlie said bluntly. ¡°The only thing I heard was that some bloke called Archie Duke shot some ostrich while in a car. Then a bunch of countries got involved because of a bunch of treaties and next thing you know my own Boudica is fighting to the death against Carthage and Rome and Saxony and no one wins over anyone else.¡± His face grew stern. ¡°I had a chance to read the papers again while I was back.¡± ¡°And?¡± Boris followed up. ¡°And another 340, 000 people had died in Gaul. Fighting over some field no one knew existed until then. Apparently most of them weren¡¯t even shot. They either died of the runny flux after the rains set in or they got infected after their feet were hacked off due to trench foot or worse, the mud swallowed them. That¡¯s what the papers say anyway.¡± He spat on the pristine marble floors. ¡°How in the (Gnome) does mud swallow someone anyway? What, does mud grow cheeks and a tongue and start rolling people up? I¡¯ve been playing in mud my whole life and I¡¯ve never been swallowed.¡± He spat again. More angrily this time. ¡°Who was he?¡± I asked. Already knowing the answer. ¡°Half-Blind Johnny.¡± Charlie sobbed. ¡°He was my mate. I¡­ I watched him grow up. He was a year younger than me. He wasn¡¯t even supposed to fight but, they lowered the age for the draft while I was gone. And they offered money for volunteers. He wanted to feed the little ones. Gave it all to the sisters before he left.¡± He started gnashing his teeth. ¡°I¡¯ll kill them.¡± He swore. ¡°All of them. The king of Boudica. The king of Gaul. The Carthiginean merchants on their (Gnome)ing council. All of them!¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. His fists were beginning to tremble now. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t any of them be like this stupid oaf here!? Is sitting on your fat (Gnome) and living off the taxpayer without getting into wars really so (Gnome)ing hard!? Is having some old fat (Gnome) shot a good enough reason to send so many young guys like me to their (Gnome)ing deaths for a field nobody or their mother¡¯s ever heard of before!? For (Gnome)¡¯s sake! God (Gnome)ing dammit!¡± He kicked the nearby column and shattered the outer layer. Creating the only blemish on the whole chamber. ¡°Here you have a world where the earth ripped the (Gnome)ing world apart and sent them all back to the stone age and they have a king who actually gives a flying (Gnome) about the average john running down the street! About what he can afford and about how much he earns per day of wrok! When was the last time my own king walked outside his (Gnome)ing palace to see how much the average clown paid for their meal or how much his steelworkers were making before some (Gnome) like Whitmer came along and squeezed him dry!? (Gnome)!¡± Boris laid a hand on his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t (Gnome)ing touch me! Don¡¯t¡­!¡± Charlie stopped. Taking a deep breath while still quivering. I was about to put the king down and make my way to him, when another rush of displaced air travelled through the room. I turned my head as soon as I sensed the new minds. My eyes finally settling on¡­ ¡°Henry?¡± ¡°Sully!?¡± ¡°THE DEMON!!!¡± A man next to him cried out. ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!¡± Another woman screeched. ¡°WE¡¯RE ALL GONNA DIE!!!!¡± Yet another woman piled on. Everyone but Henry scattered. Screaming the whole way. To the point where they started running into walls and creating even more cracks and blemishes on the pristine marble. ¡°Stay put.¡± I said calmly. The all froze mid-panic. All except Henry. ¡°What the (Sully) Sully!?¡± He began. Reddening. ¡°What the (Sully) happened to not mind-controlling people!?¡± ¡°Hey don¡¯t look at me! These guys were running into walls and cracking their own skulls open. I¡¯m doing them a favor.¡± I stopped for a moment to asses the damage. ¡°Also, I already saved everyone on this planted, including the king, who is a wholesome person by the way. He doesn¡¯t deserve as bunch of randos breaking his very expensive walls because they couldn¡¯t control themselves.¡± I then turned to him. ¡°So, emergency Excursion offering tons of bonus Tokens? Don¡¯t you already have enough?¡± He stammered. ¡°Did you just read my mind!?¡± ¡°Henry, I read everybody¡¯s mind. These days I have to try very hard to not read everybody¡¯s mind. Don¡¯t take it personally.¡± I looked him up and down. ¡°If I were you, I¡¯d be more mad about the reason why you and your buddies were sent here.¡± He bristled. ¡°The screen said a local wise king as fighting for his life.¡± I turned my gaze to the scimitar still embedded on my skin. ¡°Yeah. I guess you could say that. But he wasn¡¯t in any real danger. Look, you can have him if you want. I awakened his own Psy and took care of this culture¡¯s whole sacrifice issue. He knows better now and he¡¯s gonna have more options for taking care of his people.¡± Henry scowled. ¡°Did you mind-control the king?¡± ¡°What? No! Of course not! I just shared our memories! That¡¯s not mind control.¡± I turned to my team. ¡°Right guys?¡± They all looked at each other. ¡°Right.¡± Dusty and Slab agreed. ¡°It is less bad than it sounds.¡± Monique answered with a heavy sigh. ¡°The results are good and they get to keep their freedom.¡± Charlie followed up. ¡°He saved my sister and all the people I know, so I don¡¯t care too much.¡± Boris finished. ¡°Gee. Thanks guys.¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°Way to help a friend out.¡± Charlie shrugged and Monique gave me the finger. I turned to Henry. ¡°There, see? I am not just going around mind-controlling people left right and center. My own friends are taking the (Gnome) and giving me the finger. So I can¡¯t be an evil Tyrant.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what the Excursion descriptions says.¡± Henry pointed out. ¡°Yeah. I know. I saw it in your memories. That description is lying.¡± ¡°So you didn¡¯t massacre a bunch of innocent sick people just now?¡± ¡°OKAY! First of all! I tried healing them first! My [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] is at 15 and Tier 10! And I¡¯ve got more Psy than most actual old masters out there in the multiverse! I don¡¯t know what was wrong with them exactly but I can tell you, without exaggeration, that even the Seeking (Gnome)ing Drake wouldn¡¯t have been able to heal them for good! That and they were spreading super cancer everywhere they went! That and their own Shifter powers didn¡¯t heal them when I awoke them. That and our Excursion screen said it was the only way to save the planet! I¡¯m not the bad guy here!¡± I turned to my team again. ¡°Right guys!?¡± They all looked at each other again. Then Dusty spoke up. ¡°I love him the way he is.¡± Then Slab followed up. ¡°It was the best way out of a bad situation.¡± Then Charlie piled on. ¡°At least he cares. More than I can say for most people back home.¡± ¡°Okay, you guys are not helping out my¡­¡± A flash of blinding light surrounded us and just like that, we were back in the Labyrinth. A message telling us the Excursion had been a massive success. ¡°Oh come on! Now the Spider¡¯s just messing with me for (Gnome)s and giggles!¡± Yet another flash of light took me. This time leaving me alone in a familiar sand-filled arena. ¡°Actually, that was me.¡± Hazimon the Dragon interjected. Standing regally in the middle of the chamber. ¡°I saw that you¡¯d used the punishment event to boost a number of other Students and figured I may as well lift some of the restrictions on Excursions so that they met with you on occasion.¡± I blinked. More surprised by the words than by the sudden teleportation. ¡°You can do that!?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± He replied. Matter of factly. ¡°I am a senior Enforcer, after all. I have far more responsibility than the normal breed of Enforcers out there, but that also comes with a variety of perks and privileges. Including options for interfering with Tutorial that go off-script.¡± He paused to blow some bubbles into the air through his seahorse-like mouth. ¡°Though, granted. Most Tutorials that go off-kilter tend to be cases where all but a few individuals wipe out entire instances. Or where all instances but those of Novice difficulty end up exterminated for one reason or another. Savants entering are something that happens on occasion as well, but normal Enforcers are usually enough to deal with them while they are still young and relatively impressionable. I have said this before, but I will repeat it now. You are an anomaly beyond anything else I have ever seen. You were one even before you gained another Type and now you are a being that would send most old monsters running for the hills.¡± He let out some more bubbles while letting out a gurgle that might have been a chuckle, if a human had made the noise. ¡°I truly do pity the old gnomish hegemony. They undoubtedly had it coming, but I do still pity them nonetheless.¡± ¡°Why would you send Henry against me?¡± I asked him bluntly. ¡°Our deal was plenty clear on you not hurting humans.¡± ¡°And I have abided by both the letter and the spirit of our agreement.¡± The old master stated without missing a beat. ¡°I have merely given you an opportunity to meet with some of your peers face to face. Since I figured it would help your mental state, after the whole debacle the Spider arranged for you.¡± He made a noise that might have been a sigh. His pristine scaly skin shining in the dim lighting. ¡°In fact, it was you who hurt those people?¡± ¡°What do you mean? I never hurt anyone.¡± The master tilted his head, in a movement that might have been the equivalent of arching an eyebrow. ¡°Stay put.¡± He said. ¡°Those were your exact words.¡± He tilted his head a little bit further. ¡°Did you manage to lift the command before being teleported out?¡± ¡°AH! (Gnome) me!¡± I yelled. Suddenly realizing it. I hadn¡¯t seen the aftermath in my future-sight because it had been a completely different dimension after we were taken, but the old coot was right. ¡°You have to send me back!¡± He put up a hand. ¡°I will give you another opportunity to meet, after we¡¯ve had our talk. Be assured I do not want a hostile relationship with you. I only had the best of intentions.¡± He snapped his clawed fingers and a pair of luxurious chairs appeared. ¡°Now then, sit with me. Let us, talk.¡± I sure as (Gnome) didn¡¯t feel like talking after learning what had happened to those people, but I complied anyway. Sitting across from him as he wriggled in place. ¡°Why are you doing that?¡± ¡°Hmn? This?¡± He asked. ¡°Don¡¯t you humans squeeze out the cushions before finally relaxing?¡± ¡°No?¡± ¡°Huh. Well, I guess I cannot fault you for not complying with good manners. Not if you weren¡¯t aware.¡± He reflected. With a voice that was genuinely remorseful, while still sounding full of unintended condescension. ¡°Tell me, how have your recent battles fared in terms of your growth?¡± I pulled up my status.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 211, 341, 600 / 211, 353, 600
Type: Telepath V Level 212 / Shifter II Level 72
Telepath Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Avatar X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] 25 / [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] 23 / [Solomon¡¯s Impenetrable Obfuscation X] 14 / [Solomon¡¯s Righteous Indignation X] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Enduring Empathy X] 17 / [Solomon¡¯s Empowering Majesty X] 11
Shifter Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 15 / [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 14 / [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 9 / [Predator¡¯s Instincts] 3 / [Scales] 2 / [Chitin] 2 / [Feathers] 2 / [Tracking Instincts] 2 / [Social Instincts] 2 / [Eusocial Instincts] 2 / [Locomotion Appendage] 2 / [Pseudopods] 2 / [Stinger] 2 / [Heat Tolerance] 4 / [Cold Tolerance] 2 / [Electricity Tolerance] 2 / [Pressurization Tolerance] 2 / [De-Pressurization Tolerance] 2 / [Radiation Tolerance] 1
Ability Points: 1
¡°I haven¡¯t been able to get a single level in Telepath since our last meeting.¡± I told him bluntly. ¡°But I have advanced a bit with Shifter.¡± ¡°Yet, not as much as you were once used to with Telepath?¡± I thought about it and forced my shoulders into a shrug. Trying to pass it off as a natural movement. ¡°Not really no. It¡¯s all a bit¡­¡± ¡°Odd?¡± He offered. ¡°Unintuitive?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I confessed. ¡°That would be the word. Unintuitive. When I was leveling Telepath abilities, even early on when I was keeping myself in the dark, I had a deep, familiar connection with [Precognition]. It was like, the golden strings were one with me. I could feel myself and all the future selves the ability made when Psy was running through them and I could tell how each different outcome would play out with next to no errors. I thought that was normal, but Slab and Boris and Monique and all the others who¡¯ve gotten the power tell me the thing is wrong half the time at level 1 and improving the ability makes it chug Psy like nobody¡¯s business while marginally improving the accuracy of predictions. Some people make it easier based on their own training and the¡­ uh¡­ ability to adapt to the ability. Like Kaito. He¡¯s my friend and he¡¯s gotten pretty good and reaching an 80% accuracy rate at level 5. He¡¯s doing really well when you take into account the average. But he¡¯s still worse than I was when [Precognition] was at 4. The thought that the immediate futures I was seeing might be wrong never even occurred to me. I just always knew they were right.¡± He nodded. ¡°That is par for the course. I too have had trouble understanding the troubles of others.¡± He blew some more bubbles. But in a more jovial way. As if he was recalling old memories. ¡°Unlike you, I never had powers before entering the Tutorial. Once I made it in, my levels went from 1 to 26 in the first day. And from there, to 42 on the second. I had two combined abilities before the week was up. One of them being [Battle Focus III].¡± He paused. ¡°Are you aware of the ability?¡± I nodded. ¡°Slab got it. Combination of [Enhanced Concentration], [Sudden Concentration], [Enhanced Processing].¡± ¡°Ah. Then you know how much of an advantage it is.¡± I forced myself to shrug. ¡°Not really. Slab was a monster, even before he got it. He¡¯s still weaker than his sister and me, but he keep crushing everyone else with the same ease he¡¯s always had. The only difference I can see is in his mind.¡± ¡°How so?¡± Hazimon asked. ¡°I know myself, but I am curious as to your take on it.¡± ¡°I see through his eyes and I see that it is similar to what happens when I use [Limited Omniscience X] at full power. The universe slows down and becomes a series of interlocking moments, playing out unto infinity. Like a series of pictures forever frozen in time and leading into one another, rather than a continuous experience of normal time as I knew it before then. For Slab, it is localized in his immediate area. For me, it happens everywhere at once and all those moments lead back to the strings on the cobweb. Meaning I can see all the moments that happen everywhere in that dimension. The ones that led up to those moment, the ones leading from those moment and the ones that did not happen because of other choices taken in earlier moments. I do not only see what is and what will be. I also see what might have been. Such as multiple futures when people had children, when they never ended up having any at all in the present. Or futures when important figures might have changed the world if their parents hadn¡¯t gone out drinking and driving before they were even born. I see a lot of stuff like that and it makes it hard. But Slab only sees the here and now and he feels as if he has all of time to prepare his next move. He still cannot overpower Dusty, like I said. But he can outmaneuver her now.¡± I paused. ¡°Her and Charlie. Which is a lot more impressive given how much of a natural Charlie is at dispensing violence.¡± ¡°I know the type.¡± Hazimon snickered. ¡°And I also know where your troubles stem from.¡± ¡°Do tell.¡± ¡°I also have been having trouble as of late.¡± He admitted. ¡°Guess how many levels in Telepath I have gotten since you granted me that first one?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s been little more than a week and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got other masters acting as personal trainers. That and I imagine you can just show up at any other System event in the Labyrinth and demand to be left alone with the monsters so that you can grind them. So, I¡¯m going to say, 15?¡± ¡°2.¡± He replied. As if that were normal. It was a good thing that I was so inhuman these days because of my Shifter powers. Otherwise, I might have laughed in his face. Chapter 109: Extreme Philosophies. ¡°I sense a disturbance in your Psy.¡± Hazimon spoke steadily. ¡°Naw fam. You tripping.¡± I told him bluntly. Once more thanking the Drake for how emotionless my face now was. ¡°Your speech patterns also changed.¡± ¡°Nuh-uh.¡± I countered. His seahorse face contorted a bit. ¡°Look. I understand that my reaction might have been less than ideal. I guess, I don¡¯t know. I guess it was very surprising.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I would have been less surprised if you told me you had Gingivitis. Or whatever the seahorse equivalent of Gingivitis is.¡± ¡°What¡¯s Gingivitis?¡± ¡°Never mind that. Explain to me why you only got two levels in a week. I am dying to know.¡± ¡°Before that, you should know that our contract has an expiration date and I have killed people for less.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry sir. Yes sir. Of course sir. Please forgive me. Dusty hit me upside the head during training and I haven¡¯t been the same since.¡± He blew a few more bubbles. ¡°Fine. Apology accepted.¡± He shook a bit more on the chair. Grinding his body against the fluffy cushion. ¡°Now, as for the issue of my own failings, it mostly has to do with the way us Savants perceive Psy, versus how normal Espers do.¡± I nodded. ¡°Tunnel vision. You hyperfocus of doing things one way and anything else seems stupid and disjointed. Yes. I remember us talking about it last time.¡± I paused for a second. ¡°I also talked about this with the Drake. He agreed that it was very hard to visualize any other way of doing things.¡± ¡°Nigh impossible.¡± Hazimon agreed. ¡°I had assumed, since you yourself managed to so quickly grasp Shifter powers, that your ability would be able to circumvent that blockage.¡± He snorted a small trickle of liquid from his tubular mouth. ¡°I was wrong.¡± ¡®Clearly.¡¯ I thought to myself. Now, on the one hand, I could absolutely empathize with Mr. Seahorse here. Shifter powers were a (Gnome) to grasp at the best of times and that was after snapping off a literal chunk of the Draker¡¯s Psyche and processing it through a Tier 10 ability. I could also see how he would¡¯ve struggled. Since, unlike me, he¡¯d been alive for eons. All while doing things one very specific way. That, and I hadn¡¯t given him too many memories to work with. Regarding the Telepath Type, he had the recollections of 6-year old Sully during the year when I¡¯d gone bananas on my own universe. I knew first hand that it was a lot to process. Given how it had taken the old me a whole year just to get my own powers to stop. As for the rest of what he had, it related to my daily life as regular old Sully. After I supressed everything that had happened. Which had little relevance to Telepathy at large. On the other hand, that meant he¡¯d also had a front-row seat to a whole year of me experiencing a near-infinite amount of pasts, presents that did not come to be and potential futures based on the real present and all the presents and pasts that had not come to be. To call it a mind-(Gnome) would have been the greatest understatement since the old Chinese Emperors thought Genghis Khan had a bit of a tempter. Even if it was all jumbled up, he did get most if not all of it from our exchange. He should have gleamed some insights from the blast. ¡°How did you acclimate to the memories I gave you?¡± I asked pointedly. ¡°I know it was a bit confusing¡­¡± ¡°That is the single greatest understatement that has ever been uttered by any creature in the entire history of the Labyrinth.¡± He cut in. ¡°Yes. I do understand that. But still. You should have understood a fair bit about how Telepathy involves separating yourself from¡­ well¡­ yourself. That really is the whole schtick.¡± ¡°Once more, you hit the nail on the head without knowing much about the Labyrinth¡¯s philosophy.¡± Hazimon commented. ¡°Actually, I do know quite a bit. I have the Drake¡¯s memories and a future sight that, while not perfect, is still better than most.¡± He huffed. ¡°If there was a single word to describe the Seeking Drake, it would have been Megalomania. If there was a second, it would have been sociopathy. That beast was not allowed in the higher circles of learning. And most of the real masters are beyond your [Limited Omniscience]. Just as I am.¡± He paused. His beady black eyes locking onto mine. ¡°If you read someone who you think is a master, then they are not true masters at all. I will ask you to recall that all divines were once regular Espers. Not Savants. Who reached Tier 10 on at least 3 abilities in each Type. You are an anomaly, but you should not be so foolish as to discount the efforts of regular mortals. While you and I and yes, the Seeking Drake, built a sharp peak very quickly by rupturing the earth in mighty tremors, others yet have come just as far over millennia. Building better, more complete mountains by stacking pebbles atop one another. Never underestimate what regular people can do with enough hard work, a bit of talent and a bit of luck. This is their multiverse, after all. Their efforts are the bedrock over which all else is built.¡± He leaned closer. ¡°Have you come to know much about your friend Vince? Or your mentor, Thunder Fist?¡± ¡°I wish he was my mentor.¡± I rebutted. ¡°That would have been an awesome childhood. But, yes. I have seen tiny glimpses here and there. I can¡¯t see into their instances all the time. Not unless there¡¯s a bit of degraded reality that my Intruders can use to sneak in. Also, I can see the futures where they cross paths with me. I know how far they¡¯ve come.¡± I paused to sigh. Forcing myself to carry out the gesture. ¡°I wish I could have helped them more.¡± ¡°You have done far too much already.¡± He countered. ¡°If I were being completely impartial, I would kick both of them off the Tutorial for good and send them to Human City as its first residents. They have both been forcibly improved so much that nothing in the Tutorial could possibly hurt them. The remainder of their time will be served gathering as many perks as it is possible.¡± He leaned back. ¡°Regardless, you are obviously not as stupid as you pretend to be sometimes. I know you took my meaning.¡± ¡°I did. Not all circles discuss the philosophies of Psy usage at the same level.¡± I nodded solemnly. ¡°I had kinda figured as much. I get that old masters would typically be isolated and self-absorbed due to all the (Gnome)kissing they must get on the regular from their own factions, but anyone who made it that far would also be smart enough to know the value of different perceptives. I imagine there are book clubs where only the scariest guys gather around for tea and cigars, where they discuss all kinds of juicy secrets that the regular peasants would kill for.¡± The seahorse man made a noise that might have been a chuckle. ¡°Quite right. But you make it sound as if it is something sinister. As if we are purposely trying to keep the masses blind to the truth.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you?¡± He leaned his head to the side. ¡°Sometimes. So bad actors like the Drake don¡¯t get too much information. Just in case. Yet the truth is that most of the high and mid-level Espers in most factions could not truly make use of the information we share among ourselves. We¡­¡± He hesitated. As if tasting the words in his mouth before releasing them. ¡°We have viewpoints that might seem esoteric to some. Nonsense to others. Yet, it is these tips that may catapult someone who has been on the 9th Tier for tens of thousands of years into the 10th. At a certain level, you know your own Posy so much that it makes sense. However, if someone on the 5th Tier were to ty it, they might think we were messing with them, or perhaps giving them bad advice that would cripple their own understanding or even setting them on hundred-year goose chases where they end up more lost that when they started. It just isn¡¯t worth it. For their own good. No matter how long it takes, normal Espers must progress through their own Tiers at the normal pace, discovering things for themselves and making their own combined abilities.¡± His beady eyes narrowed in what might have been an accusatory stare. ¡°Even you will learn this soon. Your ability, mighty as it is, can only take people so far.¡±A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it in mind for when I have the luxury of being around a bunch of humans strong enough to forge their own combined abilities. From what the Periwig video said, it is at that point that most Espers can defend planets on their own.¡± I purposely let out a dry chuckle. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be nice.¡± Hazimon nodded. ¡°Yes. But enough about that. Back to the actual ideas I wanted to discuss. Have you ever heard of the great fallacies?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± I forced my body to shrug. ¡°Never heard of them.¡± I leaned back into my own seat. ¡°I have heard about the four great virtues and the theory of contrast and conflict. From what I have seen through [Limited Omniscience], most people in the Labyrinth see it this way.¡± I tapped my finger on the chair. ¡°Enhancement is the mastery over the self using Psy. The act of making oneself more real than anything else around and thereby forcing one¡¯s body into being more than what it would be otherwise. In all aspects. It is the art of using Psy to defy reality and refuse change, thereby contrasting with the Shifter Type. Meanwhile, the Shifter Type is all about change and adaptation. It is like Enhancement in that it focuses on the body, but it involves seeing the body you were born with as inherently flawed and imperfect. Thus, the two Types are always in conflict, and the more you understand one, the less you understand the other. Because you align your mind to see it one way, at the expense of the other.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°I have to say, I personally don¡¯t see it. I¡¯m surrounded by people who have enough common sense to know that there is a tool for every task and a task for every tool. Enhancer powers are great. Until they¡¯re not. Same with Shifter powers. It¡¯s all well and good to grow wings and spit acid and heal yourself, until someone like Dusty comes along and pulverizes your very spirit with her pinky. Same with Dusty and Boris. It¡¯s all good until she loses an arm fighting some eldritch horror. And then the body becomes far less perfect. Everyone I know here is trying to get all four Types and to advance them as fast as possible. Because you can¡¯t really do without a single one in the long term. You leave yourself too exposed and bad things happen when you leave yourself exposed.¡± ¡°Correct on all counts.¡± Hazimon assured me. ¡°Yet, most people do benefit greatly from focusing their views on a single Type at a time. It helps when forming their first combined abilities, up to the 4th Tier. Hence why so many adopt this philosophy.¡± He activated some item. Similar to my storage ring. He pulled a glass of some orange¡­ish liquid and lapped it up with a thin tongue. ¡°The same rules thus follow. Enhancement is the mastery over the self, at the exclusion of change, the material universe and the beliefs of others. To the point where the real universe ends at the limits of their bodies. Shifting is the mastery over life and matter, at the exclusion of the self, the greater workings of the universe and the minds of those living things. Projection is the mastery over energy and objective reality, at the exclusion of the self, life, and the minds of living beings. Telepathy is the mastery of the minds. Plural. Of all the minds of all living beings, and of the very concept of thought and unreality, at the exclusion of the self, of regular life, and of the objective reality one¡¯s body resides in. A true master must reconcile all four of these viewpoints, if they hope to make it past the 4th Tier and into the 5th and 6th and beyond.¡± He put the drink away after taking a few more licks. ¡°This is the dominant philosophy. The one most helpful for the laypeople. I have lived and trained enough to be familiar with the inner workings of more complex viewpoints. The ones that Divines used before ascending. The ones that some would be Divines are using right now, while being just one or two abilities shy of the status.¡± ¡°And like I said, I¡¯ve never heard of these great fallacies.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. The basic notion is that, as Espers level up and move through the Tiers, their own minds and personalities become warped.¡± I paused to consider the notion. ¡°Yeah. That sounds about right.¡± I conceded. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie and say that I¡¯m the same person now that I was while I was deluding myself. I¡¯d have gone insane if I didn¡¯t change.¡± Hazimon snapped his clawed fingers. ¡°Aha! And therein lies the crux of the issue. You have stopped yourself from becoming insane. That is why you have not gained any new levels in Telepath.¡± I stopped focusing on my expressions and my face went back to that same blank stare I had as a default. ¡°That makes absolutely no sense.¡± ¡°No, no. Hear me out.¡± The seahorse man insisted. ¡°The theory of great fallacies states that, in order to break through barriers, one must go along with the worst and best impulses that their Type pushes onto them. In order to fully submerge their minds in the purest forms of Psy. Furthermore, the theory states that one must only do this with one Type at a time, lest they get an experience that is less than pure.¡± For the first time in the conversation, the seahorse began gesturing wildly. ¡°For Enhancers, this is the urge to prove oneself and one¡¯s own body as superior. To prove, without trickery or strategy, that one can brute force their way out of any situation and that one can destroy all obstacles in one¡¯s path. It is the struggle for complete and absolute dominance. True martial strength. For Projectors, this is the urge to prove that the energy and matter of the universe is utterly and completely malleable to one¡¯s desires. To prove that trickery puts one above all others and that others live because one allows them to live. Or vice versa. For Shifters, this is the urge to prove oneself and one¡¯s life, one¡¯s cells, as immortal. To prove that life and death hold no meaning for oneself and the one can infect or subvert or consume all other opposition in order to spread and reproduce. For Telepaths, this is the urge to prove oneself as perfect. In mind, if not in body. To dominate all lesser minds and use them for one¡¯s own pleasure and one¡¯s own whims. Regardless of their feelings. To prove that reality holds no power over the mind.¡± He almost stood. ¡°To simplify, Enhancers must indulge in thoughtless combat and bloodshed. Projectors must indulge in changing the world around them. Shifters must indulge in consumption and reproduction. And Telepaths must indulge in pleasure, pride and domination. And all must push these fallacies to the extreme. Until progress is made.¡± I forced myself to blink. ¡°That¡­ sounds like the most unhinged rant I have ever heard. And I have heard the Drake going off more than once. In fact, you sound exactly like the Drake. Point for point. You say he doesn¡¯t know about these philosophies, but this is his motto to a T. This is all he does all the time.¡± I paused, but then figured I may as well be honest. ¡°You are insane.¡± ¡°Am I?¡± He asked innocently. ¡°Then answer me this. What do you think a normal human would do, if they were given the power of complete and total dominion over all of their peers?¡± He raised a clawed hand quickly. ¡°And before you answer, consider what the rulers of your world have done with that kind of power. Those without Psy. What were their priorities when they were about your age and had no one to tell them no or no one to curtail their baser instincts? What did your world¡¯s petty tyrants and up jumped dictators or vicious warlords do when they had no one to restrain them?¡± I did not answer immediately, but the seahorse took that as an answer regardless. ¡°I thought as much. Do not be alarmed or ashamed. I am old enough to remember life before the System arrived to our dimension, and it was much the same. I myself was the 114th child of an imperial family. My mother being my father¡¯s 48th concubine.¡± He snorted in obvious derision. ¡°And though the Seeking Drake will never admit this, he was the illegitimate offspring of a martial family. And not the only one either. He has tried to stamp out the rumors, but he abandoned his world and they still have most of their written records. He had to sit by and watch helplessly as his two older siblings were made the playthings of an old, bloated bureaucrat. Who was of an age to be their grandfather. Worse yet, due to their low status, this was supposed to have been a great honor for them.¡± I did not cringe, but only because my body refused to act spontaneously. ¡°He¡¯s still alive, you know. The old pervert. He was fond of hurting his partners, so the Drake¡¯s sisters did not survive. But the Drake made sure to seek him out at the earliest opportunity. His body and mind, or what¡¯s left of them, still live and still make up the bricks surrounding the Drake¡¯s favourite garden. One he routinely fills with fertilizer. Sometimes he has him sing to his plants. I am told it is not a pleasant sound.¡± ¡°Okay. Okay.¡± I raised my had to stop him. ¡°I get it. People can be awful when power gets to their heads.¡± ¡°No. People are generally awful when power gets to their heads.¡± Hazimon countered. ¡°Again, you are the exception, rather than the rule. Seek out other species that have Telepaths for champions and you¡¯ll almost always see males surrounded by adoring females or females surrounded by adoring males.¡± He cringed a little. ¡°Even my own daughter had seven young boytoys following her everywhere she went at one point. She matured out of it, thank goodness. But she still used her own Presence abilities to make herself as brilliant as the sun itself back when she was young and lusty. It is normal for young ones to do this. Even some of your fellow humans have done this in other instances. Your pawn Halkon among them. It is hardly strange.¡± ¡°That still doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s the correct way.¡± The old master held my gaze for a few seconds. Then he made a sound akin to a chortle. ¡°You are correct.¡± ¡°I am?¡± ¡°Of course. That is why these forms of training are called the great fallacies, and not the great truths. Fools and petty despots will indulge in their most vile desires, but the whole point of the exercise is to understand the fallacies without succumbing to them. To walk the tightrope, as it were. One must gaze into the abyss, without being swallowed whole by its temptations. It is an exercise that tests one¡¯s own willpower and the stability of one¡¯s own psyche when tested against one¡¯s Psy and the might of one¡¯s abilities.¡± ¡°Why then?¡± I asked. ¡°Then¡­ why go over this whole speech at all? Why not just tell me that self-control was the main goal? I can do self control?¡± ¡°Everyone thinks they can do self control, my dear young student. That doesn¡¯t mean everyone can control their baser impulses. It really is much harder than it looks. Especially when you are placed in a scenario tailored to draw out those impulses.¡± ¡°Be that as it may.¡± I interrupted him again. ¡°I am not about to let myself loose on a bunch of innocent people to advance. I wouldn¡¯t even be able to gather the mental fortitude to think about doing something like that. It is antithetical to my being.¡± ¡°Who said anything about innocent people?¡± Hazimon countered. ¡°That is what the Labyrinth is for. What copies are for. Not all of it is akin to the Tutorial. There are instances out there specifically made to tell stories and to encourage extreme responses.¡± He pulled out something else from his storage. A crystal of some kind. Made of many little coloured pebbles melted together. ¡°This is a raw instance. The building blocks of what actual instances are made from.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°A real one? How did you manage to get your hands on something like that? Enforcers shouldn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°I did not get this from my role as an enforcer.¡± He cut in. ¡°I got this directly from one of the current Administrators of the System. The Divine of Singing Metals.¡± I stared at the thing. Then at him. ¡°You¡­¡± ¡°She used to be my prot¨¦g¨¦.¡± Hazimon explained casually. ¡°She is aware of my difficulties. Due to my status as a Savant. She does me little favors like this one every now and then. In hopes that I will obtain a second Type.¡± He blew some bubbles in what might have been a giggle. ¡°She is very grateful for the help you have given me and she is willing to extend you an offer in exchange for further assistance.¡± I did not say anything for a few seconds. ¡°What kind of offer?¡± ¡°Let us revisit that another time.¡± Hazimon waved the matter away. ¡°For now, know that I secured a deep-dive scenario. One where you can agree to seal off some of your abilities. Or even a complete Type. This is one the Seeking Drake was fond of, so I know it must be excellent for Shifters. Granted, he always missed the point. The whole aspect of self-regulation, but being a Savant, he always got a few motes of enlightenment regardless.¡± He tapped the crystal with a clawed finger. ¡°Thing is, this one is only good for a single use. Afterwards, it will be able to take in another scenario. What I want you to do is to use it for your own progress as a Shifter and to then place a scenario of your own making. One that you believe will help me develop as a Telepath.¡± He blew some more bubbles. ¡°I and my old student are in agreement that, since it was your ability that awoke the Telepath Type for me, you would have the most useful insights as to what would make it grow.¡± He let out an annoyed snort. ¡°For your information, this is after I tried scenarios designed by the Divine and my own daughter, so this trust should come as high praise.¡± He threw the shiny stone in a gentle manner. I caught it without much effort and held it in both hands. ¡°And if my own scenario isn¡¯t as good as this one?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have wasted a favor. I have enough of those that it won¡¯t matter too much.¡± Chapter 110: Good Practice. The old master paced about the sand-filled chamber. Eyeing me with curiosity as I held the little trinket. ¡°Come now. You can¡¯t tell me you¡¯re growing hesitant now. Not at this juncture. I haven¡¯t even brought on the proposition yet.¡± I turned to him. ¡°This wasn¡¯t the proposition?¡± He huffed and blew out some more bubbles. ¡°This is the fulfillment of our deal, Solomon. You teach me things in exchange for my services and, you know, me not killing you in response to your frequent and flagrant violations of the Tutorial rules. It is just that I have come to appreciate your particular talents a bit more fully.¡± ¡°Now that you got two levels in Tier 1. In more than a week?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t push it Solomon. Use the crystal.¡± I went over the blunted outer edges with my fingers. ¡°Just to clarify, this thing will supress all Types but Shifter?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He paused. ¡°Well, sort of. It will block off knowledge and memories and it should, should, block off most of the affinity for abilities you¡¯ve already earned. The basic notion is that it will force you to look at things in newer, more interesting ways. By making it easier to level new abilities that you don¡¯t have yet. And by making the ones you did unlock harder to access. If you remember them at all.¡± He paused to withdraw another drink. Taking a few licks with his long worm-like tongue before he spoke again. ¡°At least, that is how it is supposed to happen. With most normal challengers.¡± He gave out a noise that might have been a derisive snort, if it had come from a human head and not a seahorse head. ¡°We Savants have our issue. As you well know. Forcibly suppressing affinities towards Psy is not normally something us Espers can do.¡± He took another lick. ¡°I mean, sure. You may permanently erase someone¡¯s memories. Maybe even their whole identity. Or you may endow them with a mastery over Psy that is far, far beyond anything they should be capable of.¡± He wagged a clawed finger at me. ¡°But you cannot take that away. Not even if you gave it to them in the first place. You may the able to suppress Psy. You may be able to cut people off from their own foundations for a time. But it is all smoke and mirrors, as you humans would say. The path to enlightenment cannot be reversed. Not truly. As you yourself well know from that childish fit you threw when you were young.¡± He paused. ¡°Younger.¡± He corrected. ¡°You are still rather fresh after all. An aspect of our relationship that has been vexing me of late.¡± ¡°How so?¡± He did the head tilt thing again. ¡°I guess you could call it an ironic twist.¡± He seemed to chuckle. ¡°I¡¯ve always insisted that people treat me as they would an equal. No matter their station. Some of the people I call friends are not great masters. And I find that them knowing I can end their entire species weighs over our social gatherings. Despite me not having any such intentions.¡± Another head tilt. More pronounced this time. ¡°Yet you seem to find an awful lot of pleasure in your constant insolence.¡± I forced myself to shrug. ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t feel as if I was being particularly insolent.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not. Per se. But as I was saying. You are not a regular challenger. That proclivity you have for Telepathy cannot be erased. Even after death, Savants hold on to a shocking amount of leeway as their minds or spirits or what have you disintegrate and drift out into Pandemonium.¡± He paused again. Giving me an uneasy glance. ¡°If they dissipate at all. Some Telepaths are annoyingly persistent about such things. I know a few fellows who have a good thing going with cloning. Exact copies of themselves kept in stasis until their main body is done for. Then, when the time draws near. They blow wide holes open in reality and force their own psyche into the nascent bodies they¡¯ve bred for themselves. It all sounds rather ghastly if you aske me, but death can be quite scary. Or so I¡¯m told.¡± ¡°And the point is that, what? I won¡¯t have my Type suppressed?¡± ¡°Not unless you will it to be so. No.¡± He answered bluntly. ¡°Other, regular challengers can pass through the instance without much issue but neither of us are in any way normal. You have to actively help the suppression process for it to take hold. Something I highly suggest by the way. I really did go out of my way to present you with a unique opportunity.¡± ¡°Yeah, about that. I was wondering. Why did you come to me?¡± He gave me the seahorse equivalent of a raised eyebrow. ¡°I mean, I am very flattered. But why didn¡¯t you go to your cloning friends if they¡¯re so good? Couldn¡¯t they make you an instance to train in? And come to think of it, why didn¡¯t you try going out and hunting? I got a good few levels throwing out bolts back when I first got here.¡± ¡°What? Them? No! Of course not. They¡¯re sick perverts. I can¡¯t trust them to make an instance. Are you crazy?¡± He shook his long seahorse face. As if disappointed. ¡°I did try going out monster hunting of course, but nothing happened. Nothing clicked. I¡¯m too far gone. Or so my daughter says. She told me I had a head fit only for punching and that I couldn¡¯t even imagine what I was doing as a Telepath. Then I went to my Divine former disciple and she told me the same thing. She also suggested I come to you, a fellow Savant who isn¡¯t a pervert, so here we are.¡± I nodded. ¡°How did the Drake get anything out of this if a Type can¡¯t be fully supressed?¡± ¡°Easy. He actively helped to keep himself supressed while going on about the instance. Took it as a game. Finding out new and different ways of going around it.¡± He came closer and turned to me again. ¡°I usually tell people to have fun when I send them out to train. But do try to have less fun than the Drake would you?¡± I was about to answer when he raised a clawed finger. ¡°I only say it because I have begun to take a liking to you, after reviewing the records of your Excursions. I do still consider myself to be a bit of a champion of justice and I would hate to have to kill you for taking things too far.¡± ¡°Gee thanks. I¡¯m so touched.¡± ¡°You actually should be. I¡¯m not known to lie. Nor to give people in general the time of day for doing good. You flagellate yourself in quite the spectacular manner to keep yourself somewhat stable and away from the usual temptations. I can respect that.¡± He nodded to himself. ¡°But enough about me ranting. It¡¯s about time you get on with your day.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. He sent some Psy to the gem. ¡°And remember, one Type only, or else you won¡¯t see gains. Think of creative ways to solve the problem.¡± The cell was dark and gloomy and cold. Far too tight for it to be comfortable for humans. Or for anything bigger than a lemur. Indeed, the length and width was barely enough for me to stand straight in the hole, with the height suggesting I was at the bottom of an oubliette or some equally dismal pit. I tried to move and the mere act felt claustrophobic. Then I called on Buddy to ask him why it was so cold, but then I saw that he wasn¡¯t in the Instance. A shiver crept up my spine then. As I felt the walls closing in. Then I stopped. ¡°Huh. I¡¯m shivering again. Neat.¡± I tried to gather Psy to me and felt like I could. Gathering more and more power until I felt the world itself vibrate. I felt my Telepath Powers start to answer me again and I confirmed I could have them back if I really wanted to. ¡°Right. None of that yet. Need to take it easy.¡± I decided to start small. Shrinking my arms a bit and focusing Psy into my fingers. It was the same deal as with the other Shifter abilities. I could do well enough with [Protean Form X] and by altering my muscular and skeletal systems. But focusing more and more on the task gave me a different experience. I was letting my mind go for a bit, now that my Telepath abilities were cut off. I was able to get a better feel for the Shifter Psy and for that pulsating organ beating in my heart. Drawing links between each pulse of the ethereal organ standing where the lake had been and the way my Psy jumped out. I closed my eyes and tried to track the movement. Focusing more and more on its call. I felt the small trickles of Psy running through me and doing all these unnecessary loops before finally going into my fingers. Only, these loops themselves created small changes to my muscle and bone density. Shrinking and tightening them to make climbing easier. ¡®Ah. I see. [Protean Form X] changes everything at once. All to suit the objective. But I don¡¯t want everything changed at once. I want to struggle for the small changes so that I can improve on them.¡¯ It was not a novel way of thinking, but working against the Instance¡¯s native suppression effects made it easier to ignore the lessons I¡¯d already learned and the powers I¡¯d already become familiar with, in favor of new ones. So, I gave up the powerful ability and allowed myself to become clumsier. More focused on my fingers and only my fingers.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Gained: [Claws] 2 has been added to the Status.
I grinned. Reveling in the satisfaction. ¡®No wonder Hazimon spoke of this like it was a huge favor. Being pressured gives me a whole new experience. Which begs the question, how did he already do two different Instances and a bunch of hunting and only get two levels? That makes no sense.¡¯ I started to figure that it would be due to the environment and the demands of the Instance. Then I stared to think about all the neat little ways in which I could fix that when I started designing an Instance for the Dragon. ¡®Could I try the¡­ no. That¡¯s ridiculous. He¡¯ll kill me when he comes out. Although, he did say the whole point was to be challenged in novel ways. Maybe if I explain it beforehand?¡¯ That was a notion to follow-up on later. At least, I would have to sit down with the Dragon and explain very carefully how the Instance would be torture, just not the kind of torture he was used to. Then I started feeling chilly again. And focused on my skin as well as my fingers. Leading Psy to the pores in new and inefficient ways. Willing the organ to beat directly into my outer layer.
Ability Gained: [Fur] 2 has been added to the Status.
Ability Evolving: [Feathers] 2 has grown to [Feathers] 3.
Oh yeah. That definitely felt much better. Now to figure out how to incorporate other abilities into it. I had [Scales] 2 and [Chitin] 2 already, but those had not been the ones my body instinctively upgraded. Maybe because my body automatically thought of itself as warm-blooded and realized the goal was to regulate temperature? Actually, I don¡¯t even know how good [Scales] and [Chitin] would be when regulating the temperatures of regular animals. What if I combined these abilities a little more? I tried to grasp each differing beat as if it were a different string. Forcing the organ to shift the ways it sent out Psy and using the unknow combination. The first step was to strengthen the skin underneath the fur and the feathers. The second was to grow a layer of [Chitin] between the skin and the fur and feathers. So that all the hair and feathers were outside, while the insectile armor acted as another barrier to keep out the cold or anything else. It worked, but not in the way I¡¯d expected.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Gained: [Rubbery Hide] 3 has been added to the Status.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Chitin] 2 has grown to [Chitin] 3.
The skin underneath first changed to a tough, course texture. Like that of a hippo or maybe a rhino. Then the chitin grew over it, followed by the re-formation of fur and feathers. ¡®Why though?¡¯ I wondered. ¡®I didn¡¯t even try to do that. So why? Maybe because I couldn¡¯t properly imagine the load on my existing skin? Yes. That might be right. [Rubbery Hide] 3 is unlike the others. The changes go deeper than my skin, despite the name. It¡¯s made a lot of muscles underneath rubbery too.¡¯ I felt a rush of excitement them. Wondering if I could push these new changes towards a combined ability. ¡®Yes. That¡¯s a great idea. Also, I need to see if I can buy the crystal from him so that the others can use it too. Dusty¡¯s still running into trouble with her training. She¡¯s getting bottlenecked. This could help.¡¯ I allowed my mind to drift as I climbed higher and higher. My focus observing the beating of the fleshy, squishy organ as it pumped Psy as a heart would pump blood. ¡®Climb.¡¯ The evil voice of [Predator¡¯s Instincts] hissed in my ear. ¡®Get out of here and tear them limb from limb!¡¯ ¡°Whoa there. Who is they?¡± I heard footsteps then. Above me, but out in the distance. ¡®Oh.¡¯ Yes. Of course there would be enemies here in the Instance. However, Hazimon did say that the most instructive part of this training was the new forced perspectives. He also said that the Drake had not completed it in the intended way, when it was a part of the Labyrinth. ¡®Now, if I were the Drake, what would be my first course of action upon bursting out of an oubliette?¡¯ ¡®Easy.¡¯ I thought at once. ¡®I would kill anyone and anything in my path and find the ones ultimately responsible for me being in an oubliette. Then I would turn them into furniture so that I could continue to torment them forever.¡¯ I nodded. ¡®Which means the real solution is to avoid doing that as much as possible.¡¯ I got closer and closer to the entrance of the enclosure. Claws digging at the hard metal and giving me enough of a grip to keep from falling. The footsteps were coming even closer now. So much that I could begin to make out voices. ¡°Dereng! We did it! We¡¯re going to be rich! And famous!¡± ¡°I know Ertie! I know! We¡¯re the first team in all of history to ever discover an alien! A real-life, honest to Trovo alien!¡± ¡°Take that professor Gubuf! You always went on and on about how I wouldn¡¯t ever amount to anything! Ha! Look at me now! I¡¯m the first person to lay eyes on an alien! And the first to touch one! And the first to bring one back to base with my team!¡± ¡°Whoa there Ertie! Hang on a second! You were the first to touch the thing, but I was the first to see it.¡± ¡°Nu-uh!¡± Ertie countered. ¡°You saw and I quote, ¡®a bump in the snow.¡¯ Then you said you saw something odd on the thermals. I was the one who drew the short straw and had to dig it out.¡± Ertie¡¯s voice got more and more commanding the more he or she spoke. ¡°I was the one who froze my rear off digging out the thing! I was the one who almost got frostbite! I am the one who will be known for being the first to see it! Stay in your lane Dereng!¡± Dereng huffed. ¡°Come now. There¡¯s enough glory to go around for everyone. No one will think any less of you if you weren¡¯t the one to see it first.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Because I did see it first. I¡¯m already working on my dissertation.¡± Ertie paused. ¡°And on what I¡¯m going to say in all the interviews.¡± ¡°The interviews are years away.¡± Dereng interrupted. ¡°After the quarantine gets lifted.¡± There was some kind of trumpeting noise. ¡°Quarantine Scharantine. We¡¯re just waiting around picking bits and pieces off the specimen and trying to see what kind of parasites or bacteria she had before she died. I figure we¡¯ll be done in a month.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯re a bloody fool. She could have all manner of killer diseases. Just because she¡¯s dead doesn¡¯t mean the stomach bacteria or whatever ancient viruses she has won¡¯t be able to kill us. Think back to the Golden Conquest. How many civilizations fell ahead of the actual conquerors due to Flaylung or Swampgut. Does that sound like a good legacy to pass on? Do you want future textbooks to know you as the fool who got 25% of the world population killed because they let out the equivalent of a bio-weapon?¡± ¡®You should listen Ertie.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®Dereng has some very good points. Also, why did they think I was female?¡¯ ¡°Sure, sure. Whatever you say. Come on. Let¡¯s get our samples and get this over with.¡± ¡®And that¡¯s my cue to leave.¡¯ I clung to the rate above me and grew [Claws] on my feet. Then I anchored myself and pushed. The grate left with a pop. No alarms sounded. A quick look around showed there were no cameras either. A flawed design if I ever saw one. Then I grew thicker tufts of fur on the soles of my feet in order to mask the sound of my movements and ran in the opposite direction to the voices. Already planning my next steps. Chapter 111: Exposure. I had figured that the outside of the compound would have been rather cold. Since everyone I overheard and avoided seemed to speak of the tundra as impassable. Especially in these apparently stormy conditions. But in all honesty, it wasn¡¯t so bad. The [Chitin] did its thing. Insulating me from the worst of the storm. The [Feathers] and the [Fur] and the [Rubbery Hide] all helped too. Making me feel as though I were wearing three or four parkas, snow pants and boots at the same time. Only, without feeling bulky or encumbered or having to deal with the sweating. I could stroll by, leap and jump over all the fences and barriers around the place. With no concerns about anyone spotting me to boot. Not only did the people here not have any form of CCTV put in place, they also couldn¡¯t have seen anything outside their windows if they had with how thick the snowstorm was. I had seen a couple of patrols around the main doors and next to the garage, but they seemed much too preoccupied with staying warm and shielding themselves against the gale to bother with anything that might be going on outside. ¡®I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going through their heads. And what¡¯s more, that helps me focus even more on how the cold surrounds me. How novel.¡¯ I caught the silhouette of one of the guards then. Cursing under his breath as he almost slipped on a sheet of ice. He or she, I had no idea, was wearing what appeared to be a thick snow-proof coat and the equivalent of power-armor underneath that. With glowing pauldrons on their arms and kneepads for each of their four legs. They and all their comrades had rifles, but almost all of them had been discarded deeper inside the garage or the entrance boot. So that their owners could wrap the coats even more tightly around themselves whilst huddling up with their peers. To me, it all seemed a bit inefficient. Any normal security overseer would have known that this would happen and would have placed automated turrets in place of living guards. That, or robots. Personally, I wouldn¡¯t even have bothered with any such measures at all and instead placed a functioning CCTV system with heat sensors in place. If the cameras or sensors caught sight of anything out of the ordinary, that would be a signal for guards to come out. As things stood, this was a waste. The only consolation being that the temperature wasn¡¯t really all that bad.
Ability Evolving: [Cold Tolerance] 2 has grown to [Cold Tolerance] 4.
Okay so maybe it was that bad. I felt a rustle passing through all my layers. From the hide to the tips of my feathers. Psy was passing through all the bones and muscles underneath. Entering each of my cells and pushing out the cold. To the point where I had to reduce the length of the [Feathers] and the [Fur] because I was starting to overheat. Then I started to feel the chill again and started pushing back against it with the same wave of Psy. ¡®Well isn¡¯t that interesting? I can get more levels in those abilities by merely surviving and exercising my power. And I don¡¯t have to worry about running out of Psy because of all my Titles. So I can keep trying new things if it ever gets too bad.¡¯ I nodded and dove deeper into the wilderness and the roaring storm ravaging it. I walked and walked until, against all possibility, the snows got even thicker and more impenetrable. Each new step feeling like there were four bulky folks pushing against me from the front and from the sides. At once, there was a twist in the winds, and the patterns contorted and shifter into a completely different direction. Picking up speed and tearing bloody chunks of feathers, fur and chitin from my back. The pain was not supressed by my Tier 10 abilities and it hit me all at once like a frozen knife plunged into my shoulder blades. I screamed, but the sound was drowned out by the blizzard.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Cold Tolerance] 4 has grown to [Cold Tolerance] 5.
Ability Evolving: [Fur] 2 has grown to [Fur] 3.
I rolled onto all fours and forced my body to grow a thicker layer of [Chitin]. Alongside new, thicker patches of [Fur] and [Feathers]. I felt Psy rushing to the affected areas and I felt the power falter. The frozen knife refusing to dislodge itself from my back, even as the already ludicrous winds picked up speed. Some bits of hail now puncturing my shell and reaching into the muscles below like bullets. The pain was excruciating and all encompassing. Coming from all sides at the same time. I grit my teeth and pumped even more Psy into all my layers. Overloading tens of thousands of points into a finite structure so that my cells kept reproducing and shoring up my defences at faster and faster rates. Minutes passed like that, while the shards of hail kept peppering me more and more. Growing larger and more jagged and more vicious by the second. ¡®Geez! No wonder those guys back at the compound had power armor! Anything less and they¡¯d have been turned into Swiss cheese!¡¯ I focused some of my Psy on the tips of my fingers then. Growing larger claws that allowed me to begin digging into the hard, frozen soil. It felt like a mistake, as each movement I made seemed to encourage the pellets to tear more chunks away from my limbs and torso and the sides of my head. But I knew I had to get out of the way of the storm and I was sure there was still more opportunity for progress out here than back inside the compound. Minutes passed while I kept getting flayed. My arms and legs now shivering even as I grew new ones to speed up the process and gain more mass with which to defend myself. Then, I started feeling chunks, not small shards of ice, but literal fist-sized chunks coming in at blinding speeds and ripping one or more of my limbs apart at the same time. Not to mention the agony that came from every time one of those chunks tore right past all my defences and lodged themselves inside my torso and hips and skull.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Locomotion Appendage] 2 has grown to [Locomotion Appendage] 3.
Ability Gained: [Grasping Appendage] 1 has been added to the Status.
Ability Evolving: [Grasping Appendage] 1 has grown to [Grasping Appendage] 3.
Ability Gained: [Proprioception] 1 has been added to the Status.
Ability Evolving: [Proprioception] 1 has grown to [Proprioception] 3.
Ability Evolving: [Chitin] 3 has grown to [Chitin] 4.
Ability Evolving: [Rubbery Hide] 3 has grown to [Rubbery Hide] 4.
¡®Holy cow. That Hazimon (Gnome)r wasn¡¯t kidding! This is hardcore!¡¯ I didn¡¯t even know if I could have survived for as long as I had if I didn¡¯t already have all those Titles acting as multipliers for my Psy. On the other hand, I couldn¡¯t deny that it made for effective training. This many levels on this small amount of time was nothing to scoff at. I kept digging and digging. Even as my claws began to shatter on the hardened soil. Even as the bitter cold crept through my fingers and began to freeze the blood in my veins. Even as I felt muscles tearing and black bits of frozen blood fall down as small crystals. [Proprioception] made me feel each and every wound as if it was a hundred times deeper and a thousand times worse than it actually was. The agony making my nerves freeze and spasm in ways I had never even imagined with [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X]. Yet it also made me more coordinated. The new ability helping me to connect with all my cells on a deeper level now that the combined ability was off the table due to the suppression. I burrowed and burrowed. For what felt like hours. All while the storm kept getting thicker and more ferocious. Until at last, I managed to squeeze most of my body into the hole I¡¯d dug. With only my rear legs sticking out. They too began to freeze over, but I decided to ignore the pain in favor of sending oceans of Psy to all the covered and insulated parts of my body. Because it was still really bloody cold without the storm beating down on me. All the sections of hard-packed dirt felt like ice-cubes whenever my fur and feathers brushed up against them. Stealing what little warmth I had been trying to keep to myself. I did my best to ignore it all and kept digging.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Scratching and scratching against the dirt with thicker and stouter claws despite the slower and slower progress. It kept going until I started losing time. Becoming so focused on the task at hand that my mind began to wander and move about. I started to think about mom and dad again. About the things they would be doing, now that Halkon was my puppet and no longer a threat. Now that Mittens would be keeping them as safe as possible. Would they be reading the Forums too? Would they be seeing all the horror stories of people detailing the things Nega-Sully had done? What would they think of me? What would they think of the life we¡¯d lead and the time we¡¯d spent? Part of me wanted to leave my mind to the cobweb and search for the right future. But I refused the temptation. Losing myself to the simplicity of digging. Blocking all other thoughts from my mind and forcefully losing more of myself in the present. Tear at the earth, push dirt out. Tear at the earth, push dirt out. Tear at the earth, push dirt out. Over and over and over and over. Stay warm, tear at the earth, push dirt out. Stay warm, tear at the earth, push dirt out. Stay warm, tear at the earth, push dirt out. Over and over and over and over. Grow thicker layers, stay warm, tear at the earth, push dirt out. Grow thicker layers, stay warm, tear at the earth, push dirt out. Grow thicker layers, stay warm, tear at the earth, push dirt out. Without stopping for even a second. Without thinking about anything else. I kept going until I began to see it as fun. As a Zen experience that helped me relax. [Proprioception] helped it all along. Making each and every cell its own mind. Making it so that each and every cell felt as much pain as I did and wanted to escape as much as I did. ¡®It really is so much better than all the combined abilities I already had. Having my body be so under-control and so perfect all the time was so tiring. This is much better. I need to be aware of all the pain and all the vulnerabilities to know where to improve. To know how better I need to be.¡¯ I started humming to myself. Nothing specific, just a series of random tunes that popped into my mind. It helped keep things smooth. I started falling back to the pulsing organ inside my chest. Inside that empty void where the lake had been. The organ was still warm and fuzzy, despite the blizzard. It was beating so fast. So ferociously. I allowed myself to meld with it. Following each beat to their intended location and adding in more Psy automatically. As if my body didn¡¯t have its own mind, but merely one overreaching instinct. One will to live.
Ability Gained: [Temperature Regulation II] 1 has been added to the Status.
[Temperature Regulation II] Standard Combination of [Heat Tolerance] / [Cold Tolerance]. Grants the User the power to automatically regulate their own body temperature more efficiently at a rate of + 15% per ability level. Grants the User the power to actively re-enforce the regulation of their own body temperature more efficiently at a rate of + 20% per ability level and at a cost of 8 Psy per minute. These gains increase by an additional 50% every 5 ability levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
Ability Evolving: [Temperature Regulation II] 1 has grown to [Temperature Regulation II] 6.
Yeah. Nice and smooth. Nice and warm. Nice and¡­. I dropped through the ceiling. Through a ceiling. Landing with a thud on a frozen underground lake. I blinked. Bringing one of my thick furry and feathery arms to my furry and feathery skull and rubbing one of the rapidly healing bumps on it. Then I looked back to my legs. Seeing nothing without light, but feeling the frozen veins thawing slowly as the Psy coursing through my body reached there too. Then I looked up and realized that the sky above was black as pitch. I turned to my Status.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 209, 299, 110 / 212, 070, 400
Type: Telepath V Level 212 / Shifter II Level 79
Telepath Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Avatar X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] 25 / [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] 23 / [Solomon¡¯s Impenetrable Obfuscation X] 14 / [Solomon¡¯s Righteous Indignation X] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Enduring Empathy X] 17 / [Solomon¡¯s Empowering Majesty X] 11
Shifter Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 15 / [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 14 / [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 9 / [Temperature Regulation II] 6 / [Predator¡¯s Instincts] 3 / [Scales] 2 / [Chitin] 4 / [Feathers] 3 / [Tracking Instincts] 2 / [Social Instincts] 2 / [Eusocial Instincts] 2 / [Locomotion Appendage] 3 / [Pseudopods] 2 / [Stinger] 2 / [Electricity Tolerance] 2 / [Pressurization Tolerance] 2 / [De-Pressurization Tolerance] 2 / [Radiation Tolerance] 1 / [Claws] 2 / [Fur] 3 / [Rubbery Hide] 4 / [Grasping Appendage] 3 / [Proprioception] 3
Ability Points: 5
My eyes bulged when I saw the Psy totals. On a percentage scale, it wasn¡¯t really all that much. But if we went by the numbers, then one could see that a couple million points of Psy had gone to overcharging the abilities I had in order to keep me alive and moving. If it had been anyone else digging in this instance, they would have croaked long, long ago. So either this route was way off the beaten path and I hadn¡¯t been meant to wander away from the compound, or this was an instance designed for people who had millions of Psy to spare. Like me. It was honestly a toss up. Someone like the Drake or even Mr. Hazimon wouldn¡¯t have cared overmuch about the expenditure, as they both had just as much, if not more Psy than I did, due to having all those levels under their belt on top of the multipliers. Anyone else would have been dead however. ¡®No. That¡¯s a short-sighted way of looking at things.¡¯ I chided myself. ¡®I chose to block out the Telepath Type and some Shifter abilities, but there¡¯s a good chance someone with Enhancer powers could have stood daintily in the middle of the blizzard without feeling even a bit of cold. Someone with Projector powers might have been able to keep themselves warm by calling down a firestorm. There¡¯s simply no way to tell how many avenues there would have been for survival. I should not underestimate my competition.¡¯ I stood on all eight legs. Stretching my arms as I did so. Then I brought up the Shifter ability board and looked for something that could help me navigate the cave.
Available Abilities: [Regenerate Other] / [Mitosis] / [Acclimation] / [Organ Independence] / [Tracking Instincts] / [Social Instincts] / [Eusocial Instincts] / [Adrenaline] / [Fur] / [Rubbery Hide] / [Scales] / [Chitin] / [Feathers] / [Spines] / [Blades] / [Bark] / [Leaves] / [Spores] / [Muscular System] / [Skeletal System] / [Nervous System] / [Lymphatic System] / [Cardiovascular System] / [Digestive System] / [Respiratory System] / [Endocrine System] / [Excretory System] / [Reproductive System] / [Grow] / [Shrink] / [Stretch] / [Harden] / [Soften] / [Metamorphosis] / [Photosynthesis] / [Camouflage] / [Vocalization] / [Mimicry] / [Jaws] / [Beak] / [Pincers] / [Proboscis] / [Phagocytosis] / [Eyes] / [Ears] / [Nose] / [Tongue] / [Proprioception] / [Grasping Appendage] / [Locomotion Appendage] / [Hands] / [Suction Cups] / [Tarsus] / [Pseudopods] / [Webbed Appendage] / [Fins] / [Mucus] / [Hooves] / [Tail] / [Stinger] / [Pterygote] / [Propatagium] / [Night Vision] / [Thermal Vision] / [Infrared Vision] / [Echolocation] / [Low-Frequency Hearing] / [High Frequency Hearing] / [Olfactory Navigation] / [Olfactory Threat Detection] / [Olfactory Poison Detection] / [Heat Tolerance] / [Cold Tolerance] / [Electricity Tolerance] / [Pressurization Tolerance] / [De-Pressurization Tolerance] / [Radiation Tolerance] / [Venom Glands] / [Poison Glands] / [Incorporate Mineral] / [Incorporate Liquid] / [Incorporate Gas] / [Produce Adhesive] / [Produce Acid] / [Produce Pyro-Chemical] / [Produce Cryo-Chemical] / [Produce Electro-Chemical] / [Pheromone Hierarchy] / [Pheromone Trail] / [Pheromone Attraction] / [Pheromone Diversion] / [Hijack] / [Infection]
I had five points to spend and a whole lot of things that could be very useful. [Night Vision], [Thermal Vision] and [Echolocation] were the ones I gravitated to first, since they were all fairly straightforward. Though granted, the last one was the only one I might find useful right now, given that there was no light at all down here and I knew from the Drake¡¯s memories that [Night Vision] required at least a little light to work. Also, there was nothing warm that I could see so far from the compound, so [Thermal Vision]¡¯s usefulness was very much in question. I also thought about getting [Low-Frequency Hearing] and [High Frequency Hearing] because I knew they could be combined with [Echolocation] and that even before then, they enhanced the way the power worked. Giving it more range and making it so that the ability was more resistant to sonic attacks that might have otherwise blinded the power. Not to mention making the ability much better at detecting small critters trying to sneak by. Finally, there was the five main sensory powers. [Eyes], [Ears], [Nose], [Tongue] and [Proprioception]. I already had [Proprioception] and I already liked it much better than the other combined abilities I¡¯d been living with so far. Despite the pain. [Ears] could really help with the combination I was putting together. Or, I could go with [Eyes] and try to combine it with [Night Vision] and [Thermal Vision]. It wouldn¡¯t do much for me right now, but I knew it would go great with [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X]. I already knew how to grow new eyes and I already knew how to use my additional eyes to track people I was sparring against on the arena. I ultimately decided to go with my gut and focus on hearing, rather than sight. I¡¯d gained much and more in these past few hours and I would probably have enough points to spread around if I kept training. Doing better now was more important than improving myself in areas I already had covered. As such, I got [Ears], [Low-Frequency Hearing], [High Frequency Hearing] and [Echolocation] for one point each. Leaving one point for later.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 209, 299, 110 / 212, 070, 400
Type: Telepath V Level 212 / Shifter II Level 79
Telepath Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Avatar X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] 25 / [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] 23 / [Solomon¡¯s Impenetrable Obfuscation X] 14 / [Solomon¡¯s Righteous Indignation X] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Enduring Empathy X] 17 / [Solomon¡¯s Empowering Majesty X] 11
Shifter Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 15 / [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 14 / [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 9 / [Temperature Regulation II] 6 / [Predator¡¯s Instincts] 3 / [Scales] 2 / [Chitin] 4 / [Feathers] 3 / [Tracking Instincts] 2 / [Social Instincts] 2 / [Eusocial Instincts] 2 / [Locomotion Appendage] 3 / [Pseudopods] 2 / [Stinger] 2 / [Electricity Tolerance] 2 / [Pressurization Tolerance] 2 / [De-Pressurization Tolerance] 2 / [Radiation Tolerance] 1 / [Claws] 2 / [Fur] 3 / [Rubbery Hide] 4 / [Grasping Appendage] 3 / [Proprioception] 3 / [Ears] 1 / [Low-Frequency Hearing] 1 / [High Frequency Hearing] 1 / [Echolocation] 1
Ability Points: 1
I tried them out right away. Letting out a small click from the depths of my throat and feeling it bounce around the cavern walls and the frozen lake beneath my many feet. The bouncing sounds came back to me and painted me a colorless picture of all the nearby textures. Showing me a space that was roughly four meters in height and twenty meters across in all directions. With smaller burrows leading to adjacent chambers. I got closer to one of those burrows and heard that it was nowhere near big enough for me to fit in. Then I sighed and got down on all my arms and legs and started to dig once more. I once again lost track of time and once again found myself in a barren chamber. Devoid of light. I sighed again and searched for a burrow at the opposite side of the chamber. Letting the clicks guiding me to the place where I needed to dig.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Claws] 2 has grown to [Claws] 3.
I stopped for a second as soon as I got the level, saw that I had 6 points left and used them to get [Eyes], [Nose] and [Tongue] at level 1. Adding in [Night Vision], [Thermal Vision] and lastly [Infrared Vision] to top things off on a nice note. ¡®I should go one step further and get [Olfactory Navigation], [Olfactory Threat Detection] and [Olfactory Poison Detection] next time I have the chance.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®Going around relying on my Telepath senses has blinded me to the potential of Shifter abilities in the sensory department. It¡¯s good to have backups in case I ever need them. Like, what would happen if I found myself in a dead world? How would I orient myself in total darkness without minds to read? I guess I could always drench the atmosphere in Psy and summon a horde of Intruders to read, but what would I do if that wasn¡¯t an option for some reason? Great. Now I sound paranoid.¡¯ I shoved those plans to the back of my mind and kept digging. Sending out pulses of sound from the back of my throat every now and then to keep myself oriented on the task. Just like that, I made my way through another three chambers before something changed. There was an aperture here. A door that was obviously similar to those on the surface sections of the compound. This one was nowhere near as re-enforced as those above and it didn¡¯t have guards around it. What it did have was seven, LARGE heat generators running constantly on high. To the point where they melted sizable holes on the surface of the frozen lake that made up most of the floor. One of those holes was of a size to contain my body. Or rather, the body I had come here with. ¡°Ah, the plot thickens.¡± I said aloud. My musings followed closely by a deep and guttural rumbling in my stomach. I used two of my hands to rub my belly and only then started feeling the aching in my stomach lining. ¡°Right. Enough of running. That was obviously not the way to go. Time to find myself a snack or ten.¡± I sauntered over to the open door. Looking far more like a massive hairy multi-armed bear than a human. I sent echoing clicks down the hall and down the tunnel. Getting signals back from as far as four-dozen meters in all directions. What¡¯s more, there was now light with which to see and I grew more eyes on the top of my skull and on my shoulders. Placing them above the layer of [Chitin]. The hallway itself led to many closed doors. Some of them holding nothing but scrap metal, some of them holding creatures frozen in blocks of ice. The former were ignored and the latter met my [Claws]. The meal wasn¡¯t exactly gourmet eating, but it would have to do. After that, I made my way upstairs. Wondering why I wasn¡¯t seeing or hearing anyone making their way through the compound. Until I started hearing faint echoes over three floors away. In what appeared to be the complete other side of the building. I strained myself to hear, but could make out nothing but distant grumbling coming together. I forced some more Psy into the [Ears] I already had while growing new ones.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Ears] 1 has grown to [Ears] 2.
Ability Evolving: [Echolocation] 1 has grown to [Echolocation] 3.
¡°This one¡¯s the alien!¡± A voice came through at once. ¡°The alien ate him and took his shape! I know it! He never eats the beans I cook! He must be an impostor!¡± ¡°HONEY!!¡± Another, more panicked voice came through. ¡°What are you talking about!? I ate your beans yesterday! I just put glocko sauce on them! I am not an impostor!¡± ¡°HE¡¯S AN IMPOSTER!!!¡± Someone else shouted and that shout was accompanied by shuffling and wet stabbing sounds. ¡°He¡¯s not turning back!¡± Someone else said. ¡°Nerry said her husband was the impostor but he didn¡¯t turn back!¡± ¡°It must not have been him!¡± ¡°Get her!¡± Then more stabbing sounds followed. Leaving me alone in the distant hallway. With my mouth hanging open. Chapter 112: Super-Biology 101. The hallways were clear and white. Metal panels lining the sides, floors and ceiling throughout all the twists and turns. All the doors in all the halls led to either labs or storage lockers of some kind. All of them filled to bursting with neatly labelled biological samples in human, or alien, sized tubes. Each containing frozen creatures of different sizes. A few of those were human-adjacent. But only a few. Most of the collected samples had either avian or reptilian features. Bright scales and feathers being on display across numerous intact or broken limbs in each of the tubes. There were a few bones as well. Though those had been neatly arranged in the same manner as dinosaur fossils. Each fragment having been tagged and numbered before their respective caretaker began to shift their positions around on sanitized and isolated surfaces. The bright lights above only added to the sterile feel of the place. They flooded every inch in every direction. So that no corner or crevice was left in the dark. It all came together in a way that made the compound seem, almost alive. A single unchanging edifice, whose sole purpose was to be as homogenous and efficient as possible. At the same time, each lab and desk and workstation showed just how much love and dedication had gone into these projects. Into this mission as a whole. Each table was littered with papers. Some stacked in uniform piles and some scattered around a half-finished report or sealed sample. Each one bore an individual¡¯s handwriting. Discussing relevant changes in the DNA structures of the creatures they had unearthed or the makeup of the bacteria or viruses those creatures had been carrying. A few even went into a frankly disgusting amount of detail on the contents of the creatures¡¯ stomachs and intestinal tracks. With some even dripping with jubilation at the prospect of finding more workable DNA from completely different creatures within those samples. The System and its automatic translation effect made it so that I could read every little comment on every piece of paper and computer. From the helpful to the snide. All of them made it obvious that the people who worked here were, if not the best in their field, then at least those fighting tooth and nail to be the best. It all had the kind of enthusiasm the best grad students possessed back in Uni. The kind of single-minded fascination with their chose subject that defied all logic and reason. To the scientists here, their work was their life. If not more than that. And they all took pride in what they did and how fast they were advancing. Needless to say, the bio lab guys back in Uni would have sold their own mothers for a chance to work here. Even after all these months and all that had happened, I could practically see the old Vince salivating in the back of my mind. His eyes turning hungry and feral after the briefest of glances. ¡®Though the new Vince wouldn¡¯t get that look on his face when seeing a lab like this anymore.¡¯ I thought bitterly. ¡®For him to get that kind of enthusiasm, the room would have to be filled with rows of sleeping gnomes or something.¡¯ Granted, that would get me all kind of giddy too, but it was still sad. Kind of like a loss of innocence in a way. ¡®Wait a second. Have I lost that same innocence?¡¯ I thought about it for a moment. Then shook my head. ¡®Nah. Of course not. I¡¯m still perfectly capable of nerding out over a nicely-built machine or a new schematic for space-flight. I¡¯m perfectly sane. It¡¯s just that I like hurting gnomes. And anyone who likes hurting gnomes has to be a good person on some level.¡¯ I nodded and moved on to other matters. Like the rather odd conversation happening a few floors up. ¡°Gawa said that guy was an alien! And his wife agreed! Get her next!¡± ¡°No!¡± There was a sound of rushing air. Only a little bit heavier. ¡°Get back! Get back all you freaks! You think I¡¯m going down! You¡¯re going down! You¡¯re going to burn! I¡¯ll burn you all down to ashes before I let you touch me!¡± The rushing sound came again. ¡°She¡¯s got a flamethrower!¡± ¡°Where did she get it from!?¡± There were a few screams as dozens of footfalls echoed in different directions. ¡°She must have raided the weapons locker!¡± ¡°What!? What were the guards doing!?¡± ¡°They were guarding the exits when ww initiated lockdown! They and teams 3 and 5 were still outside when the storm hit!¡± The sound of rushing flames echoed again. ¡°Do you think they¡¯re okay?¡± I looked backwards at my own hindquarters. My rear legs and my¡­well¡­ rear, having been perforated by jagged ice shards as big as tennis balls. There were still discoloured spots on the chitinous carapace, beneath the fur and feathers. Places that hadn¡¯t healed properly since my combined abilities were stunted. Oh. Oh honey no. Those guys are not okay. ¡®Well, the ones in power armor might still be alive. Maybe. The rest are deader than any gangsters unlucky enough to run into Charlie.¡¯ Echoes of battle kept coming over to me. All of them sounding as clear as if they were taking place right beside me due to how the sounds bounced off the walls. I took them all in and then considered how to proceed. My first instinct was that the whole point of the exercise was to grow stronger. That is, to make the Shifter abilities level as much as possible, within the scenario provided by Hazimon. The information I had dictated that this was a scenario handcrafted for Shifters too. One that the Drake and other more normal Masters had all partaken in to enhance themselves. The Dragon had even said that he himself had tried it, to no effect. The Dragon had also said that there was a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things. He¡¯d been very clear that the whole point of the exercise was to find new and innovative ways to tackle problems. Okay, in that case, I felt I was doing pretty good. Leaving the compound had seemed like the right thing to do, but the ferocity and lethality of the storm made it clear that I had been wrong on that point. Meaning the right way to complete the exercise was within the compound. I had still accrued a fair amount of levels and abilities though, so that put the whole assumption into question. So, I stopped moving. Using [Echolocation] to keep track of all the scientists as they fled to different rooms within the upper floors as I went over my options. My previous combined abilities, and their makeup, was as such: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] = [Regeneration] / [Regenerate Other] / [Mitosis] / [Acclimation] / [Grow] / [Shrink] / [Stretch] / [Harden] / [Soften] / [Metamorphosis] [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] = [Muscular System] / [Skeletal System] / [Nervous System] / [Lymphatic System] / [Cardiovascular System] / [Digestive System] / [Respiratory System] / [Endocrine System] / [Excretory System] / [Reproductive System] [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] = [Organ Independence] / [Produce Adhesive] / [Produce Acid] / [Produce Pyro-Chemical] / [Produce Cryo-Chemical] / [Produce Electro-Chemical] / [Pheromone Hierarchy] / [Pheromone Trail] / [Pheromone Attraction] / [Pheromone Diversion] / [Hijack] / [Infection] Meaning I couldn¡¯t count on them, or on the strategies the base abilities might have allowed me to use. [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] would have let me transform into one of the aliens outright. Copying them down to the DNA and RNA level via the application of [Metamorphosis]. [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] would have allowed me to use a similar strategy, but not to the point of copying DNA structures. Instead, I would have been able to mold my own biological systems until they all appeared like those of the aliens here. It, in combination with [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X], would also have allowed me to more or less tank all the damage from the storm. With far, far less Psy being used on top of that. It would have been a simple matter to grow until the ice was a non-issue, after all.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. As sharp and deadly as the ice spikes were, something told me they wouldn¡¯t stand up too well against a body the size of Toronto. Or against [Chitin] as thick as skyscrapers. The Kaiju on Dusty¡¯s world might have bemoaned their own fate, but even if I¡¯d restricted myself to just using Shifter abilities, the Drake¡¯s legacy was more than enough to slaughter anything and everything living on that rock. The Drake might have also said ¡®(Gnome) it¡¯ and just trampled the whole structure after growing to kaiju size. Actually, I could totally see him doing that for (Gnome)s and giggles. That was probably what Hazimon meant when he said the Drake was beating the scenario in unconventional ways. And speaking of the Drake, I knew from his memories that [Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] could be used in all kinds of creative ways. Like overrunning the whole scenario with a swarm of bloodthirsty drones for example. Or failing that, to infect all the living things in this place with a deadly incurable super-virus. Or I could¡¯ve produced monumental amounts of flammable chemicals and blown the whole place sky-high. Or I could¡¯ve produced similar amounts of freezing chemicals and made the temperature plummet. Killing anyone inside. Or I could¡¯ve used pheromones to more or less [Dominate] everyone without actually [Dominating] anyone. Or I could¡¯ve used pheromones to make the aliens slaughter each other. Or I could¡¯ve made pheromones into narcotics so potent that everyone who smelt them overdosed on the spot. ¡®Man, I really need to keep the guys back at the Warehouse clear of combinations involving pheromones until they¡¯re a bit more mature. Holy (Gnome).¡¯ But putting all that aside, I had to assess my current options. The scenario was meant to be cleared in a way that earned me the most amount of Shifter levels. The Dragon had also said there was a right way to clear it and a wrong way to clear it. The easiest way to clear it right now would be to simply carry on as I had so far. Changing my body to be more durable and just¡­ lunging at the scientists here. The guards outside might have been trained and they might have been wearing power armor, but a bunch of nerds in their pajamas would have a much tougher time against the two-ton multi-armed hulking bear horror thing that I was. I couldn¡¯t imagine any of them putting up any kind of resistance. Even if I assumed all of them had flamethrowers, I had so much Psy to throw around and so much armor on top that the flames wouldn¡¯t be able to do lethal damage before I gutted whoever was wielding the things. ¡®Not to mention the fact that I have [Temperature Regulation II] now. At level 6, plus the added bonus points from my Titles. There¡¯s a good chance the flames won¡¯t ignite the fur or the feathers unless we¡¯re talking about the kind of heat industrial smelters generate.¡¯ Now, that was the obvious, straightforward approach. It might not get me more levels though. Levels were earned by doing new things and going through new experiences and I doubted I was going to learn anything new about goring people to death. I could also keep avoiding the scientists and letting them kill each other in their paranoia. But that would yield even less points. I was fairly certain my [Echolocation] spanned the whole building, so I had no trouble keeping tabs on the people here. Getting a combination with another sensory ability was unlikely if I wasn¡¯t being challenged. There was also the option of going outside again. It might be painful and, even somewhat masochistic as far as options went, but I couldn¡¯t deny that there were points and levels to be had. With hard work, perseverance and a bit of luck, I might even manage to merge a combination of [Scales], [Chitin], [Feathers], [Fur] and [Rubbery Hide]. That didn¡¯t seem right though. The storm had only been getting worse and worse as time went on. It could very well be lethal enough to kill me outright if I went out like this. So, I looked through the Shifter boards again and shopped around with the last point I had. Trying to find something new that might open up a path.
Available Abilities: [Regenerate Other] / [Mitosis] / [Acclimation] / [Organ Independence] / [Tracking Instincts] / [Social Instincts] / [Eusocial Instincts] / [Adrenaline] / [Fur] / [Rubbery Hide] / [Scales] / [Chitin] / [Feathers] / [Spines] / [Blades] / [Bark] / [Leaves] / [Spores] / [Muscular System] / [Skeletal System] / [Nervous System] / [Lymphatic System] / [Cardiovascular System] / [Digestive System] / [Respiratory System] / [Endocrine System] / [Excretory System] / [Reproductive System] / [Grow] / [Shrink] / [Stretch] / [Harden] / [Soften] / [Metamorphosis] / [Photosynthesis] / [Camouflage] / [Vocalization] / [Mimicry] / [Jaws] / [Beak] / [Pincers] / [Proboscis] / [Phagocytosis] / [Eyes] / [Ears] / [Nose] / [Tongue] / [Proprioception] / [Grasping Appendage] / [Locomotion Appendage] / [Hands] / [Suction Cups] / [Tarsus] / [Pseudopods] / [Webbed Appendage] / [Fins] / [Mucus] / [Hooves] / [Tail] / [Stinger] / [Pterygote] / [Propatagium] / [Night Vision] / [Thermal Vision] / [Infrared Vision] / [Echolocation] / [Low-Frequency Hearing] / [High Frequency Hearing] / [Olfactory Navigation] / [Olfactory Threat Detection] / [Olfactory Poison Detection] / [Heat Tolerance] / [Cold Tolerance] / [Electricity Tolerance] / [Pressurization Tolerance] / [De-Pressurization Tolerance] / [Radiation Tolerance] / [Venom Glands] / [Poison Glands] / [Incorporate Mineral] / [Incorporate Liquid] / [Incorporate Gas] / [Produce Adhesive] / [Produce Acid] / [Produce Pyro-Chemical] / [Produce Cryo-Chemical] / [Produce Electro-Chemical] / [Pheromone Hierarchy] / [Pheromone Trail] / [Pheromone Attraction] / [Pheromone Diversion] / [Hijack] / [Infection]
I didn¡¯t have [Venom Glands] or [Poison Glands] yet. Maybe that was something. I could, start biting people and the running away. Watching how long it took for them to die. Or I could take chunks out of myself and leave them laying around for someone to touch or eat. ¡­. ¡­. Yeah. Those ideas sucked. Let¡¯s see¡­ I didn¡¯t have any of the [Incorporate] abilities yet. I might be able to use [Incorporate Mineral] to start absorbing the walls and the floor. Turning my [Fur] and [Feathers] and all my other carbon-based bits into materials stronger than steel. That might be worth pursuing. Especially since I knew the Drake had loved finding new materials for his own body parts. The thing took a certain perverse pleasure in destroying marvels of engineering and then using the tungsten or titanium or whatever else as [Claws]. I could use the new ability to add on more protection from the flying knives outside. I might even get levels as I absorbed the metals and then get more levels while I merged the ability with my other ones. [Incorporate Liquid] and [Incorporate Gas] were a different matter. The former was more or less useless while the temperature outside was so low. Unless I had access to [Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] and the ability to create liquids that simply didn¡¯t freeze. The latter might be worth pursuing. Maybe. Raj and Ahmed had tried it, when they and Mr. Park were looking for new and innovative ways to mess around with Shifter powers. Raj had dropped the matter after getting one point in, but Ahmed¡¯s performance so far had been exemplary. Showcasing that [Metamorphosis] and lesser-known abilities did indeed have their combat applications. He¡¯d paired the power with [Incorporate Gas] from the Shifter ability pool and [Attune to Gas] from the Projector ability pool. He¡¯d also added abilities like [Hold Attuned Compound], [Organize Attuned Compound], [Throw Attuned Compound] and [Phase Through Solid] respectively, after forming a rudimentary fighting style. It was the ultimate defense when dealing with hordes of weaker eels, centipedes, chameleons, pumas and even moles. None could really hurt him when he switched to his gaseous form as fast as he did. Meanwhile, he could hurt them by enveloping their bodies and absorbing any oxygen that would have gone into their lungs. It was downright shocking in its effectiveness when seeking out levels and he¡¯d previously hit 50 during our little trip to the poison swamps. Though, to be fair, almost everyone who went with me hit 50 that day. Sadly, it didn¡¯t hold up as well when fighting monsters with Projector abilities of their own. Turns out turning yourself into a being composed mostly of oxygen made you very flammable. Very, very, very flammable. Which was a bad thing when all your organs, like your lungs, heart and brain were now composed of oxygen. The snails especially came very close to killing him on more than one occasion, as a single missile lit him up like a Christmas tree. The screams had been¡­. Disquieting. And they had served to dissuade any would-be copycats. Even worse, success in monster hunting didn¡¯t translate very well into our faux-tournament. Ahmed had gotten the stuffing beat out of him every which way once we¡¯d come back from our little holiday. Case in point, he had faced off against Jane and the matchup hadn¡¯t turned out particularly good. Ahmed had had the lead in levels, experience, battle sense and overall competence. Jane had possessed [Fire Bubble] at 5. I had known where the fight was going before I had a chance to use my future-sight. He had also known where the fight was going. All the people on the sidelines had known where the fight was going. Indeed, the only one who hadn¡¯t seemed to know what the result would be was, ironically, Jane herself. ¡°P¡­please go easy on me. I, I¡¯m not used to this.¡± She¡¯d whimpered from her corner. ¡°No promises.¡± He answered gruffly. ¡°I¡¯m taking this seriously. Putting my body on the line to improve. I respect all my opponents enough to go all out. I expect the same treatment from you.¡± ¡°B¡­but I don¡¯t. I¡­I don¡¯t want to get hurt. Ryan said I need to practice. I know he¡¯s a filthy piece of (Ryan). But everyone else keeps saying that too. I¡­I¡¯m scared.¡± I had suggested that Ahmed treat that round as a loss. Grandpa had agreed with me. So had just about everyone else. Ahmed had not agreed. And I had spent the next hour using far too much Psy to un-charr his insides. I didn¡¯t know how I felt about imitating him. Actually, that was a filthy (Gnome)ing lie. I knew (Gnome) well how I felt and I felt like that option was off the table. Sully would not be turning himself into barbecue today. ¡®There has to be something else here.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®Maybe [Spores]? The Drake didn¡¯t merge it with [Hijack] or [Infection], but that¡¯s how it¡¯s usually merged out in the Labyrinth. I might be able to go the normal route. Or I could follow in the Drake¡¯s footsteps and merge it with [Tracking Instincts], [Social Instincts] and [Eusocial Instincts]. All of which I have now. Then I could merge them with [Venom Glands] or [Poison Glands] or both. Just like the Drake. The combination had been nothing short of apocalyptic when he¡¯d used it after all. It¡¯s a path I already know.¡¯ I frowned to myself. Those were all decent opportunities, but I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if they were the right choice here. It all seemed a bit too¡­ easy. Like, I was already more than capable to killing everyone here. That was hardly a challenger. And things that weren¡¯t a challenge didn¡¯t provide levels the way I typically levelled. I sighed, thinking that maybe absorbing the metal from the walls and going back outside to grind out was the better option after all, when I noted a little ability I hadn¡¯t paid much attention to before. [Mimicry]. Sister power to [Metamorphosis] and [Camouflage]. Where [Metamorphosis] could let you save up different transformations to pull out in a pinch, [Mimicry] could let you pull out disguises in a pinch. That is, it could let you shapeshift so that you looked like species you had encountered before on short notice. The transformation was purely cosmetic though. It did not let you copy any of the inherent powers of the target species. It did not let you know how to act so that you could fool other members of that species. It did not copy matter down to the DNA level like the combined abilities I already had. Worse, [Camouflage] could let you copy the look, smell, feel and texture of all matter. Not just living beings. So, if you wanted to blend in, that was the much better option. With [Camouflage] one could blend in by sitting still. With [Mimicry], you actually had to act. Making it more of a cheap gimmick. One that took far, far more skill and dedication than was necessary. ¡®Or in other words, making it more of a challenge.¡¯ I picked it and began formulating a plan. Chapter 113: It Could Be Anyone. ¡°No Garko! I¡¯m not the alien!¡± Yoko shouted. Her, I was pretty sure she was female, voice echoing across the now empty halls on the second floor. Like all the other aliens, she was basically a pink fluffball with two thin arms and two sets of legs below her torso. Two poofy green antennas sprouted from her brow and four wide black orbs blinked in unison below the protrusions. Her mouth was wide and filled with the kinds of teeth that betrayed her species as obligate herbivores. She also had big red lips. They were quivering. ¡°You so are an alien Yoko!¡± Garko shouted off the top of his lungs. ¡°Nerry can¡¯t be one because they¡¯re dead! Gawa can¡¯t be one because she¡¯s using a bloody flamethrower instead of eating us alive. AND she didn¡¯t bother chasing us. Ertie can¡¯t be one because he¡¯s still going about him being the best thrice dammed researcher in the whole place because he was the first one to touch the thing and Dereng can¡¯t be one because he¡¯s still fighting with Ertie! It has to be you!¡± I raised a hand slowly. ¡°Um, sorry. I don¡¯t mean to interrupt. But wouldn¡¯t Ertie be the main suspect because he was the first one to touch it?¡± The rest of them turned back to look at me. All but Yoko brandishing wrenches and icepicks. ¡°Who the yolk are you!?¡± Dereng hissed. ¡°And why are you trying to throw me to the meat-eaters!?¡± Ertie screeched right after. I put my hands up. Glad that [Mimicry] had at least done a good enough job that they didn¡¯t immediately single me out as a human. ¡°Whoa. It¡¯s okay. My name is Sully and I was a guard. I managed to come in just in time when someone tripped the lockdown. I¡¯m still wearing the suit. See?¡± I came closer to them, so that they could see the power-armor in its entirety Naturally, I had gotten it from the armory. After ripping my way inside with the bulk I had earlier. But they didn¡¯t need to know that. I looked at each of them in turn. ¡°And speaking of which, why was the lockdown triggered?¡± They all looked at me wearily. ¡°Why are you trying to mate with us?¡± Yoko asked. I blinked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± They all stepped back. ¡°Your hands. You¡¯re bringing them up. Why are you doing that? Are you a pervert?¡± I cursed inwardly. ¡®Oh come on! What kind of species thinks bringing your hands up is courtship behaviour!? This is an evolutionary dead-end if there ever was one! Quick Sully! Think of some way to make them forget about this!¡¯ ¡°Uh, no. This is how we show non-hostility in my hometown. It¡¯s my religion.¡± They all stopped talking. ¡®Damn! Come on! Is that the best you could come up with on short notice!? There¡¯s no way they¡¯ll fall for¡­¡¯ ¡°Yeah. Okay. That checks out.¡± Ertie spoke. ¡®It does!?¡¯ ¡°Yeah.¡± Dereng agreed. ¡°They skimped out on hiring security personnel cause Dr. Gawa wanted to use most of the budget on the labs and the equipment.¡± He made a low rumbling noise. ¡°She went on and on and on about how we should be taking pay cuts to keep the project going and how the jarheads weren¡¯t needed cause the storms would kill anything that moved. Then, when the crown started making noise, she spent the added cash on that stupid smart security network!¡± He huffed. ¡°Which means she skimped on hiring competent personnel! Probably figured the smart network would be enough to keep the bureau off her back if they ever did an inspection. She probably grabbed this guy and all his buddies off from some no-name hick town in the mountains. I¡¯d be willing to bet money that his mother was also his sister.¡± Ertie added. I said nothing. Stunned into silence as these four started to say all kind of things about my character after only just meeting me. ¡®Okay. Okay calm down Sully. Maybe this species has a convention of being rude to people they meet for the first time. Plus, they¡¯re rattled after killing each other over baseless suspicions. Tensions are high. I can forgive a few insults.¡¯ ¡°Hey himbo! What took you so long!? Were you too busy humping to your cousin¡¯s picture or something!? Why didn¡¯t you come to the meeting room at once!? We pay you to die in front of us!¡± Ertie continued. ¡®Right. No. Ertie dies first.¡¯ I decided. ¡°My mistake sir.¡± I allowed. ¡°I was busy grabbing hold of a rifle. I figured it would help.¡± ¡°Did you bring more than one?¡± Yoko asked. Some hope in her voice. ¡°No. There was an accident in the armory and the whole place exploded right after I left.¡± By which I meant that I had rigged a whole lot of grenades to go off in order to cover my tracks. People might have questions if they saw the [Claw] marks on the door after all. ¡°Useless!¡± Ertie bellowed. ¡°I knew we shouldn¡¯t have hired the inbreds! Those dirty farmers are always breaking our expensive equipment!¡± ¡°Yes Ertie. Insult the man with the rifle some more.¡± Garko cut him off. ¡°I¡¯m sure that will end well. Especially when he¡¯s got the only other weapon in the whole compound aside from the flamethrower. Especially now that the security system isn¡¯t working, even though the alien has killed at least one of us. Especially since neither the turrets, nor the cameras have burst from the walls and come online! Nice going. You sure are showing off those Boberner University smarts. And you¡¯re also showing off the results of those top-tier, prohibitively expensive tuition rates too. They sure weren¡¯t wasted on a drooling moron like you. I¡¯m sure your professor will in no way take your actions as proof that you¡¯re actually the halfwit they always said you were.¡± I listened to the creature carefully. Hanging on his every word. Then I fought past my incredulity, to what little hints Ertie had dropped. ¡®Security system? There was something like that? Here? And what¡¯s this about turrets or cameras? I sure as (Gnome) didn¡¯t see any of them. The security station was devoid of monitors too. Also, anyone with cameras should have seen me leave. I literally just sauntered off past one of the unguarded exits.¡¯ I forced myself to keep copying their mannerisms. Even as my mind whirled with activity. If there really was a network in place, then it was a very poorly designed security system. Again, I would have put the cameras front and center. Not just for everyone¡¯s protection, but also to act as a deterrent for anyone trying to steal data or samples or, (Gnome), booze. That was a surprisingly common problem back in Uni. Not to mention that cameras were the most practical way to monitor any experiments that might be going wrong. I simply couldn¡¯t see any reason why they wouldn¡¯t be out in the open and working all the time. I wanted to ask, but I was certain the question would give me away. Someone from security would have been expected to know about any protocols in place, after all. Garko turned to me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that boy. Ertie jests, but he¡¯s a bit of an incompetent imbecile at times. Please keep doing your job from now on and keeping us safe.¡± He heaved and I could practically smell his stress, despite the differences between our two species. ¡°As you know, we all have the chips. They should have activated when we came under attack by anything that didn¡¯t have a chip. And the turrets and the lasers and the nerve gas and the pressurizers should have annihilated anything that initiated that attack. But they don¡¯t work if we kill each other, since it wouldn¡¯t do for the system to kill us all if one researcher went rogue. And the cameras won¡¯t turn on because the crown was too afraid of any trace of the operation being left in something like footage. They only turn on if there is a real emergency and the whole operation is at risk. It was different for traitors. You were supposed to put them down if that happened and¡­¡± He shut his mouth suddenly. Afraid that he¡¯d said too much. If I had to hazard a guess, it was because the guards weren¡¯t cleared to know much on purpose and any guard that did learn too much wouldn¡¯t be seeing their kids again. ¡°It¡¯s only a countermeasure against outsiders.¡± He continued. ¡°Or any of the nastier experiments. I¡­ I don¡¯t know how the alien hasn¡¯t triggered the alarms yet.¡± ¡®Probably because I haven¡¯t killed anybody.¡¯ I thought to myself. My inner musing dripping with sarcasm. Though most of what I felt was pity. The whole scenario sounded like the kind of thing the brass would come up with if they were drunk or high or¡­ well¡­ the kind of people who rode the small bus to school.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Unfortunately, I knew very well that some people back on earth had done similar things. Before I cleaned house. If the data was important enough and the project secret enough, then the old heads back home really would be more afraid of other people learning about it than they would be of their employees getting slaughtered. And the sad part was grandpa Gus himself had been privy to some of those secrets. Though even he could see that the main motivating factor for a lot of those decisions had been the exuberant amounts of paranoia the top dogs were so enthusiastically huffing. He paused to change color, and I got the notion that he was swallowing a bit of vomit. No doubt resulting from an ongoing panic attack. ¡°Ertie might be stupid, but he is right that you¡­ gentlemen¡­ were supposed to be an afterthought. You weren¡¯t even supposed to know what went on in here because the crown was afraid of leaks. You¡­ You¡¯re a great help. Now that you¡¯re here.¡± He paused to eye the others. ¡°I, for one, will make sure your performance leads to a nice bonus at the end of this. Isn¡¯t that right Ertie?¡± Ertie¡¯s face flushed a light blue color. Then he nodded without another word. I paid close attention to the expression of embarrassment. Focusing on both it and the way the others moved their many feet about on instinct. I willed Psy into my body and aligned my own posture to match theirs.
Ability Evolving: [Mimicry] 1 has grown to [Mimicry] 2.
Nice. As for Ertie¡¯s nonsense¡­ Well, that apology wasn¡¯t the best. But it was at least something. I mean, sure. His tone was so condescending that someone with less patience, like Prudence for example, might have gutted him on the spot, but at least it was an improvement of sorts. ¡°Okay. No problem.¡± I stated warmly. ¡°Now what?¡± They all blinked. ¡°What do you mean boy?¡± ¡°I mean why were you going around threatening each other?¡± ¡°Oh. Right.¡± Garko spoke slowly. Then he turned to Yoko. ¡°She¡¯s an alien! Shoot her!¡± ¡°What!? Shoot yourself in the rear Garko! I¡¯m not an alien! You¡¯re the alien! Why else would you be accusing me!?¡± ¡°Shut up you stupid Snork!¡± ¡°Your mother¡¯s a Snork!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you talk about my mother!¡± Garko roared. Then he turned to me. ¡°Shoot her already!¡± ¡°Okay. Okay. Or¡­ hear me out. Or¡­¡± The all stared at me again. ¡°Or we could do some kind of investigation to find the alien. Like, imagine some manner of test we could do. Imagine features only our species would have and let¡¯s try to see if someone is missing those features.¡± Yoko wailed. ¡°Pervert! You want me to expose myself!?¡± ¡°What!? No! I was thinking of something like a medical test!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Ertie shouted. ¡°The inbred farmboy is right! Why would you not want to do tests if you had nothing to hide!? Show us yer glands!¡± Dereng hit him with his wrench. ¡°Nobody is showing anybody anything you idiot! At least not without more of us being present.¡± He turned to me. ¡°I was finally able to think again, after the boy snapped us out of our frenzy. We have to stay calm and we have to think things through if we want to survive. The alien is obviously hiding and it obviously has some kind of ability that allows it to mimic its victims. It¡¯s also obviously weak. Otherwise it would have eaten all of us already.¡± Dereng paused to heave. ¡°I¡¯m willing to bet it¡¯s hiding because it¡¯s still weak. All that time in the ice must have degraded its bones and muscles. Maybe even its brain matter. It¡¯s trying to buy time to recover, so the smartest thing to do is to kill it right now before it¡¯s ready to kill us all. Because if it escapes¡­¡± Dereng shuddered. Though not as a human would. Instead, his antennae quivered up and down while a series of bristles went up and down his furry body. Parts of it turning slightly red and parts of it turning a light shade of green. I paid close attention to all the hairs that rose on that fuzzy frame. As well as to those that didn¡¯t. I sent Psy to my skin in order to try and mimic the reaction and when I looked down to one of my arms, I saw that I got it pretty close.
Ability Evolving: [Mimicry] 2 has grown to [Mimicry] 3.
¡°Because if it escapes, it will become the single greatest threat to our species that has ever existed. I mean, just imagine what a creature like that, one who could survive being frozen solid all those thousands of years, could do out in the open. Imagine it hunting our kind through the streets. Taking one by one and then pretending to be one of us before going out and hunting even more of us.¡± The others bristled as well. ¡°Now then. Let us assume it really is one of us. And let us further assume it couldn¡¯t kill the other three when there were only four of us. In that case, then it definitely isn¡¯t going to show up now that the boy is here with a real weapon. So, the alien will try to pretend to be one of us for as long as possible, while snacking on those it can if it finds them alone. This way, it may be able to restore its own muscle mass and bone density again.¡± I looked to the other three and paid close attention to their gestures and expressions. Noting the way their muscles shifted beneath the skin using my new Shifter Vision abilities. When that wasn¡¯t enough, I sent more Psy to them. Until I could make out the subtle differences in how they breathed in and out. In how they reset their postures while listening. I started deliberately moving to copy them.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Mimicry] 3 has grown to [Mimicry] 4.
Ability Evolving: [Social Instincts] 2 has grown to [Social Instincts] 3.
The task became easier at once. As if a switch had been flipped. I felt more relaxed, but my body assumed a more tense posture instinctively. Matching the expressions I was seeing with contemptuous ease. ¡°That means that our primary goal is to stay together. While also re-uniting with any other survivors. If we find a body, or at least some remains, then we can identify it and then we can know for certain that the alien is taking that form. If we find lone stragglers, then chances are they are an alien and we should kill them in order to be sure. If we find another group, then we can take our chances and re-unite, because there is only one alien.¡± The others didn¡¯t relax right away. ¡°What if one of us is the alien?¡± Yoko asked. ¡°I know I¡¯m not, but I don¡¯t know about¡­¡± ¡°Ertie is too stupid to be an alien.¡± Dereng snapped. ¡°Just now he was insulting the guy with the gun. And Garko can¡¯t be an alien because he gave the flamethrower to the boss. If he was the alien, then he or it would have cooked us all alive and eaten us afterwards. Similarly, the security guy can¡¯t be an alien because he has the rifle and he could just shoot us dead if he was.¡± I made all the right gestures. Kinda impressed about his logic. He was dead wrong of course, but that wasn¡¯t his fault. ¡°So, Yoko. You are still the number one suspect. As such, you will have to walk in front of us.¡± She made a high-pitched hissed. ¡°Only until we find the real alien.¡± Dereng spoke again. Forestalling the rebuttal. ¡°There¡¯s only one, so we will be able to rest easy once we kill it.¡± The others began to relax some more. And that was when I started to get a nasty inclination. Sure, agitating them would make things harder from the sneaking department. Since they would all get more jumpy, more paranoid and more suspicious. But on the other hand¡­ I might be able to get more levels if I made things harder for myself. ¡®That and I guess I can always kill them all if they sus me out.¡¯ ¡°Hold on sir.¡± I spoke up. ¡°What makes you think there¡¯s only one alien?¡± They all froze like a herd of deer in the headlights. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Dereng asked. Though his fuzzy pink face was starting to turn a greenish blue hue. Which made me think that he knew exactly where I was going with this. ¡°I mean, what evidence do we have that there is only one?¡± ¡°We only dug one up.¡± Ertie snapped. Though again, he was oozing nervousness. His mind already catching on to what I was suggesting. ¡°Yes, but what if the alien is able to reproduce in some unconventional way?¡± I insisted. Not allowing them to escape the image I was planting. ¡°What if the alien is able to split itself into two? Or worse, plant some kind of egg inside people?¡± ¡°Like Garkaloks!?¡± Yoko shrieked in obvious terror. I took from context that these Garkaloks must be some kind of animal similar to parasitic wasps back on earth. ¡°Yes, like Garkaloks. The kind that lay their young inside you so their larva can eat you alive as they hatch. From the inside out. Leaving your vital organs for last.¡± Yoko vomited and green goo splattered all over the floor. The others looked at it. Then Dereng spoke. ¡°Right. Yoko vomits like a normal person, so she isn¡¯t the alien. The alien must still be out there in the compound.¡± Then he turned to me. ¡°And it looks like it¡¯s your turn to take the front of the formation boy. You are getting paid to defend us, after all.¡± Neither he, nor the others commented on my theory. They didn¡¯t need to. I could see the dread in their expressions and I took a bit more care, so that my own expression matched theirs too. From then on, we moved in two separate groups. Me in the front. All by my lonesome. Followed by all the others. They still had the wrenches in their hands. As if that would help. But I suppose anything heavy and bulky would have let them feel safe at that point. ¡°The living quarters are over this way.¡± Dereng spoke softly. ¡°Let¡¯s go room by room and see if there¡¯s anyone in here.¡± I knew there wasn¡¯t anyone hiding around here due to all my combined senses, but I confirmed the order nonetheless. We started with Dereng¡¯s own room. Opening the door to find what I could only describe as the aftermath of a tornado, if that tornado was also a hoarder and a kleptomaniac. The floor was suffused in papers, pens, pencils, tools large and small. All kinds of charts and reports and small posted notes being scattered about in every surface and every corner. With some even being stuck to the legs of chairs or tables. It reminded me of Luigi¡¯s own lab. Which annoyed me. Then it reminded me of how Luigi always seemed to be able to find exactly what he was looking for in a matter of seconds and I got even more annoyed. ¡®Though perhaps this is simply how they are as a species.¡¯ ¡°Ugh! What in the name of Gozo is this!?¡± Yoko exclaimed with obvious disgust. ¡°You live here!?¡± ¡®Or not.¡¯ Dereng became defensive. ¡°What? It helps me focus! I can keep things organized in my own way. We have the freedom to do what we want in our rooms so what¡¯s it to you?¡± Yoko released a quick, sharp hiss. ¡°Even the farmhand looks disturbed.¡± She declared with disgust. I schooled my expression some more on reflex, but then relaxed it once I realized my body was mimicking the other¡¯s reactions on instinct. ¡®Better to blend in than to stand out. At least in this case.¡¯ I thought with a small pang of satisfaction. Next, we went to Ertie¡¯s room. Where I saw a vast, gargantuan collection of¡­ Of¡­ Oh dear. I¡­. I can¡¯t be the only one who¡­ Sweet Buddha, why must you test me so? ¡°Ertie.¡± Dereng began. ¡°Now hold on. I know what you¡¯re thinking, but this is perfectly normal.¡± Ertie cut him off. It was no use. We had all seen the book covers. And the titles. Garko was the first to pick one up. ¡°The time that I, as a 40-year-old, kissed a bunch of girls.¡± He too turned to Ertie. All thoughts of Dereng¡¯s room banished from his mind. ¡°It¡¯s not what you think! Okay!?¡± Ertie floundered. ¡°It¡¯s a story about a guy, who gets hit by a truck and then re-incarnates into another world in the body of a 12-year-old. And, he¡¯s a prince right? So, he needs to find a princess to marry. So, he needs to kiss a lot of 12 year o¡­ WHY ARE YOU ALL LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT!?¡± He tried to approach us. We all backed off as one. And in that moment, we weren¡¯t a mix of human and whatever these guys were. No. We were people. Backing off from something vile. ¡®Come to think of it, I wonder if he has [Predator¡¯s Instincts]?¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s not weird!¡± Ertie lied. ¡°Why are you trying to make it weird!? He¡¯s not 40 anymore! He¡¯s a 40-year-old possessing the body of a 12-year-old, very effeminate boy and¡­ WHY ARE YOU MAKING THOSE FACES!!??¡± I turned to see the faces in question and saw that Dereng¡¯s face was a stiff, paralyzed mask of half-shock, half-mute horror. Opened halfway and hanging there without moving. Even as his eyes widened.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Mimicry] 4 has grown to [Mimicry] 5.
Ability Evolving: [Social Instincts] 3 has grown to [Social Instincts] 4.
¡°I¡¯m telling you it isn¡¯t weird!¡± Ertie kept protesting. ¡°Okay, okay. Just imagine, two 12-year-olds kissing.¡± We all shook our heads and let our jaws drop in unison. ¡°Now imagine, one of those 12-year-olds has a grown man inside of the¡­. STOP MOVING AWAY!!!¡± I felt my hands reaching behind me. Reflexively searching for a phone with which to call Kris Hansen. Alas, no such luck. I¡­ we. Were alone with the monster. Chapter 114: Selflessness. ¡°You guys are gonna regret this!¡± Ertie shouted from the front. ¡°Yeah yeah. That¡¯s nice. Keep walking.¡± Dereng said dryly. I thrust out the barrel of the gun in order to accentuate the point. ¡°Ow! Easy there you inbred country hick!¡± Ertie shouted again. I didn¡¯t bother answering and instead led him through the samey-looking corridors. Past the staff lodging facilities and into another set of labs. ¡°What do you people do here anyway?¡± I asked off-handedly. ¡°None of your business jock.¡± Ertie snapped. ¡°Now now.¡± Garko cut in. ¡°No need to get nasty Ertie.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pointing a gun at my back!¡± ¡°Yeah. But we all voted for that. Since you¡¯re the most suspicious.¡± Yoko added. ¡°But yeah. I think he is right in this case. You really don¡¯t want to know what we¡¯re doing here mister. You probably wouldn¡¯t understand it, and just knowing about the alien is already pushing it as far as the crown is concerned.¡± ¡°Gozo, I just realized. They¡¯re probably gonna kill all of us.¡± Garko stated. Deflating as the words left his fuzzy pink body. ¡°They are not!¡± Ertie retorted again. ¡°We have produced results that are too good and too groundbreaking. We have not only found proof of alien life, but we¡¯ve also found a living specimen. AND, we have found proof of supernatural abilities beyond our comprehension.¡± ¡°Oh, Ertie. Not this again.¡± Dereng groaned. ¡°No!¡± Ertie called out, even as the rifle poked his back. ¡°You don¡¯t get to tell me that Dereng! Not anymore! I am no longer some crackpot you can sweep under the rug or pat in the back when it suits you! This thing was able to come back to life after it suffered a total cell death due to cold.¡± He was stomping all four of his fuzzy feet now. ¡°You know what happens to cells that are frozen. As well as I do. They explode! All their protein chains and innards go flying in all directions and they become unable to support life. That¡¯s what always happens! Always! But not in this case! Oh no! These cells were not only able to retain their structural integrity in weather that could freeze Gozo¡¯s balls off, but they were also able to snap right back up as soon as they detected warmth! That is impossible. Unless you account for some previously unknown superpower.¡± He huffed in indignation. ¡°Not to mention the kind of adaptation it would take for such a monster to not only copy our bodies after eating them, but to also learn all our mannerisms and our language. No. You cannot possibly be stupid enough to think that a normal creature, any normal creature, would be capable of acting this way. And on top of all that! As if the bloody superpowers weren¡¯t enough! This creature is smart enough to keep itself hidden and watch the situation as it develops! Mark my words you louts and nonbelievers! This being would have wiped out our entire species if it had landed anywhere but here in the artic! And it still might be the end of us if we don¡¯t take it seriously!¡± ¡°Oh that might be pushing it.¡± I said aloud. ¡°I mean we have this rifle don¡¯t we? And I¡¯m sure the turrets in that backup system you mentioned will be something to behold.¡± I had been trying to pry a bit more information out of him. Maybe get a bit more insight into this weapons system I was hearing so much about. ¡°Humph!¡± Ertie made a nasal noise. ¡°Please. You can¡¯t tell me you still think that after what I just said. The bloody thing survived the temperature outside! With the constant storms and the constant hail and the¡­ the¡­ Good Gozo man! Weren¡¯t you there when we went out on the expedition!? Remember the bones!¡± Naturally, I had no idea what he was talking about, so I simply nodded and allowed my eyes to glaze over while I kept channeling Psy into [Echolocation]. The director was still locked up on the uppermost floor. Still clutching the flamethrower as they shook violently and paced about their own office. While I couldn¡¯t make out the finer details of their face or expression, their jerky sudden movements told me everything I needed to know about their mental state. At the same time, a group of three was just now coming across the mess I¡¯d left back at the armory. They were not happy, to say the least. Jumping around like fleas on coke and gesturing wildly at each other. The last group of survivors was yet another group of three. A male and two females if my own observations as to their physiological differences could be trusted. This one was close by, in the cafeteria. Huddled together just outside the walk-in freezer with blunted vegetable knives in their hands. I could have steered Ertie in the right direction, but that might have given him some suspicions as to how I was able to tell that there were people in the mess hall. So, I kept following his lead as we kept navigating the labs. Physically passing by workstations that I had scouted out with [Echolocation] before hand and pretending to be surprised.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Mimicry] 5 has grown to [Mimicry] 6.
Ability Evolving: [Social Instincts] 4 has grown to [Social Instincts] 5.
And apparently I was very, very good at pretending to be surprised. ¡°I imagine these things I¡¯m seeing would be quite the talking points if anyone ever found out about them.¡± I commented off-handedly. ¡°Ugh! Stop jinxing it man!¡± Yoko almost wept. ¡°Things are bad enough now with the bloody alien going around and eating us one by one. I don¡¯t need to be thinking about the possibility of being disappeared after this whole mess is done with!¡± ¡°Actually, being disappeared might be the best-case scenario.¡± Garko countered. ¡°It would mean the crown got its own house in order and that they were able to either neutralize or contain the threat. It would mean that our families would be safe at least. If this thing kills us all and escapes¡­¡± He didn¡¯t say anything else. Not that anything else needed to be said. ¡°Come to think of it. How would we know if someone is the alien if they are in a group of people? And if we do come across a group of people, how would we be able to tell if they were all normal or if one or more of them is an alien?¡± I asked innocently. Trying to figure out how they planned to go about it. ¡°I have absolutely no idea. And neither do them.¡± Ertie started. ¡°No. No we do have an idea Ertie.¡± Dereng chided him. ¡°Oh yeah? Well let¡¯s hear it. Because from where I¡¯m standing it looks like you¡¯re trying to sus out who¡¯s an alien by their taste in books. Pardon me for not falling in line behind your research methodology oh wise one.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Shut up Ertie. You¡¯re lucky Sully didn¡¯t shoot your dumb rear end after the smut we found in your room. Having that stuff should be enough to get you hanged.¡± Yoko growled. ¡°Oh! Oh yeah! Let¡¯s all turn on the creatives in the world! How dare they go about and try to bring in new and interesting ideas! How dare they try to depict love in new and interesting ways! How dare they¡­¡± ¡°Oka enough.¡± Dereng hissed. ¡°As disgusting as Ertie¡¯s tastes are, we can use them.¡± I felt everyone¡¯s eyes turning to him. ¡°Now hear me out. His tastes might be shocking and amoral, but they are indicative of our species. An alien would not have any reason to lust for teens.¡± ¡°I DON¡¯T LUST FOR..!!¡± ¡°SHUT UP ERTIE!!¡± Dereng snaped. ¡°Talk over me again and I will take the gun from Sully and shoot you myself!¡± Ertie made a face, but otherwise said nothing. ¡°As I was saying, those books would have meant nothing to an alien. The chances that any alien species would be afflicted by those depravities is exponentially low. An alien probably wouldn¡¯t bother with those books and an alien certainly wouldn¡¯t want to do anything to alienate us, the prey, before they pounced. If Ertie really was an alien, then he would have been able to let go of the stuff and say that he didn¡¯t care in order to suck up to us. We likely wouldn¡¯t have believed him, but he wouldn¡¯t have found himself marching in front of the security guy. We can tell that Ertie is not an alien because he is trying to be less helpful, where any logical alien would put aside their own feelings in order to better blend in with us.¡± He paused to take a deep breath. Apparently not realizing that he¡¯d been repeating himself somewhat. ¡°So, we might be able to find the alien if they act in a way that is foreign to us, while also shifting around their behaviour to match ours once we catch them in the act.¡± There were a few nods after that. ¡°That is stupid.¡± Ertie countered. ¡°Would you rather we kill you now?¡± Garko asked quizzically. Raising the wrench-holding hand as if by instinct. ¡°No imbecile.¡± Ertie snapped again. ¡°I¡¯m not saying we shouldn¡¯t be on the lookout for suspicious behaviour. That should obviously be our first priority. No. I¡¯m saying that the whole idea of us catching the alien is stupid in the first place.¡± ¡®Oh?¡¯ ¡°How do you figure that?¡± I asked. ¡°Because we, and by we I mean Dereng, are acting based on conjectures. Self serving conjectures at that.¡± No one else said anything. The others apparently realizing what he was saying at the same time as me. ¡°I see even you get it, farm boy. We¡¯ve been walking by and preparing to fight on the supposition that this alien is still weak enough that two or more of us attacking together could pose a threat. With wrenches no less. Mind you, all of us here are desk workers and lab-bound researchers. Before this expedition, the most exercise I ever got was in the pool with my harem. What do you suppose are the real odds of two of us winning against an alien that was able to survive Gozo knows how many eons frozen in ice? What do you suppose are the real odds of all four of us killing the bloody thing for good? Even with that rifle of yours?¡± Ertie made another rude noise. ¡°I don¡¯t think our chances are good either. Which means that we have to stop thinking about ourselves and start thinking about our families back home. We will never leave this place alive, but we might still be able to save them if we act fast enough.¡± I lowered the barrel of the gun. ¡°What¡¯s your plan then?¡± ¡°Simple.¡± Ertie answered. ¡°We go up to the command center. Shoot the director between her beady little eyes and then enact the GD-27 protocol¡± I said nothing as I had no idea what that meant, but the gasps from all around me told me everything I needed to know. ¡°So your solution would be to blow us all up!?¡± Yoko shrieked. Her nerves spiking from one second to the other. ¡°Of course it is.¡± Ertie said, in a voice devoid of the previous fire he¡¯d had. ¡°I¡¯m actually surprised none of you have reached the same conclusion.¡± He turned around and his eyes found Dereng¡¯s own. ¡°You should have realized it too, old friend. We¡¯ve spent enough time together since childhood that I can tell that much.¡± Dereng said nothing. ¡°I thought so.¡± Then he addressed the rest of us. ¡°Farm boy. Or, Sully. Was right. Credit where credit is due, he pointed out a very important facet of this alien that we had all missed. The fact that because we know next to nothing about it, we have no idea what its limits are. The thing might be releasing spores into the air to self-replicate even now. Infecting all our breathable air and our food supplies so that we all become walking brood-mothers by next week. Or the thing might have impregnated several others with a parasitic larva. If the person that survived the encounter was selfishly trying to survive, which is the natural reaction to being attacked by an alien, or if they were injected with some kind of postattack amnestic, then we wouldn¡¯t know unless we were willing to search every nook and cranny of each researcher in this facility. And even if we all got together and all cooperated starting now, there is still the possibility of the wound having completely healed over due to some supernatural process. In short, there are too many possibilities where this all goes extremely wrong and the thing kills us all and uses our biomass to prepare itself for the eventual consumption of our species.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know any of that for sure.¡± Dereng spoke, though his voice was barely a whisper now. ¡°True.¡± Ertie said. Doing what I was sure to be the equivalent of shrugging his shoulders. ¡°I am talking out of my rear end. I don¡¯t know that the thing can release spores or reproduce without asexually. I don¡¯t know that the thing can survive our rifle rounds. For all I know Sully could be well on his way to being the greatest hero to have ever lived. Right up until our overlords slit his and everyone else¡¯s throats for the debacle here.¡± Yoko paled and changed color. Garko¡¯s mouth turned into a straight line. ¡°Oh come now. I know I¡¯ve been calling him farm boy this whole time, but Sully does have good ideas. His brain isn¡¯t a total waste at least. He must have figured out he¡¯d be silenced too by now.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I admitted. Surprised at how readily the words came out of my mouth. ¡°I was kinda sorta hoping you guys could come up with a brilliant plan at the last minute.¡± Ertie changed the way he looked at me for the first time. ¡°I appreciate the vote of confidence.¡± He said. ¡°I really do. I know¡­ I know it must be hard to keep looking for ways out when you know in your gut that there is no way out. I know it must be hard to keep yourself from breaking down. I appreciate that strength.¡± He paused. ¡°And while I¡¯m not sorry about my culture in literacy, I am sorry I got us into this mess by finding the thing in the first place. We should¡¯ve taken it apart right then and there and isolated each individual organ in its own containment area. It isn¡¯t protocol and it might have seemed crazy, but we should have seen something like this coming the second we found a specimen that was so intact.¡± He puffed out his chest. Balancing all four legs so that he stood taller. ¡°And it is because we unearthed something like this that we must all take responsibility. For the sake of everyone else in our world.¡± His gaze became hard as iron. Cold as the raging storm. ¡°We have to blow up the compound. Because it is the only way to ensure that the alien is destroyed. Anything else, even a full mobilization, still leaves doors open for things like spores or, Gozo save us, another bloody alien. Hidden beneath the snow outside or even deep beneath this compound. It is the only way to be sure.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t the only way.¡± Dereng countered. ¡°I didn¡¯t say it was.¡± Ertie continued. ¡°I only said it was the only way to be sure. Because it is. And you know that as well as I do. There simply is no other way.¡± He started walking towards me. His body touching the barrel of the rifle. ¡°Anything else would rely on chance. Maybe it all works out and we live long enough for half of us to be jailed forever in some black site. But maybe we fail and all life on the planet is doomed because of our mistake.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t like those odds.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t even know our odds for sure.¡± Yoko stepped in. ¡°Maybe this thing really is weak. Maybe it¡¯s on its last breaths because it used up so many calories staying alive and mimicking one of us.¡± ¡°I will not deny that it is a possibility.¡± Ertie allowed. ¡°But we are both Gold-Tier researchers Yoko. I know you¡¯ve studied statistics and advanced projection models. One can never accurately account for factors one has no knowledge of. This is not hubris. This is math. If all the variables do not add up by the end, you will be subtracted from the equation. And now we have a choice with a 100% chance of success and another with an estimated 2% chance of success. Based off my own simple calculations off the top off my head. That 2% representing the chance that at least half of us make it out alive and uninfected, while also killing the alien and everyone else who might have been infected. And we both know damn well that number is probably lower in actuality. If the spore theory has any credence, then we¡¯d be smart to send a message out to HQ via the command center before we blow ourselves up. So that they can blast the whole plateau from orbit a few hundred times before stepping foot here again.¡± He stared her down and when she didn¡¯t offer any retort, he turned to the others. ¡°I know my own failings. I know I am prideful. I know I am rude. But I also know that I never give up. That I always keep trying to find a way forward even after a hundred different rejections. I only see one option now. One way to make sure this thing doesn¡¯t get out. We should not waste time now, because every second wasted is another second the alien has to carry out whatever goal it has.¡± All of us were quiet. With Dereng being the quietest of all. ¡°We will consider it, depending on how the situation plays out.¡± He said finally. ¡°2% actually sounds better than I originally thought. I like those odds.¡± Yoko and Garko seemed to be on board. Ertie sneered. Sighed. And turned right around to keep on walking. Meanwhile, I was more or less fascinated by how human these guys were. Not in their appearance or their mannerisms or their expressions, but in the way they went about navigating social constructs. Everyone was scared and everyone was paranoid and everyone was more or less ready to sell out all the others if it meant saving themselves on an instinctual level. Yet guys Ertie, were willing to put aside their fears in order to ensure the survival of their species. It was heroic. The kind of thing I would have done if I found myself in the same position. I started feeling pangs of guilt then. Because I knew how this ended. Chapter 115: Odd One Out. ¡°Where did everyone go?¡± Yoko asked for the umpteenth time. ¡°For Gozo¡¯s sake Yoko, if I didn¡¯t know five minutes ago, what makes you think I know now?¡± Garko replied. His voice dripping with poorly concealed spite. I understood that both of them were rather upset at the moment and honestly, I couldn¡¯t blame either of them. I had mapped just about every corner of the compound¡¯s five above-ground floors with [Echolocation] and it was amazing how many places we¡¯d visited without running into anyone. The three-person group at the cafeteria had gotten another two guests while we walked. Each one arriving ten minutes apart. Each one was killed by the scared survivors who were huddled together. Vegetable knives seeking out exposed flesh and eyes as soon as the group saw the newcomers. I didn¡¯t need to guess their reasons, as they had had extensive discussions about how the loners were the most likely to be the alien. Their group coming to the exact same conclusion that my own group had come to. It was a horrible waste of life, but they had at least stayed put in the cafeteria. The other group, the one that had made a beeline for the armory only to find the leftovers of my sabotage had had even worse luck. They had gone from there, to the garage in hopes of salvaging a vehicle. But of course, the lockdown made it so that the doors leading to the garage were sealed shut. Our group had Ertie and Dereng, who assured the rest of us that even trying to get through those blast-proof doors was a massive waste of time. Their group didn¡¯t get the memo and so they spent a couple hours trying to get through the doors with a welding torch. It didn¡¯t work and to make matter worse, a bunch of lone survivors had the same idea, so the three person-group kept getting into fights to the death. Taking small wounds and even a casualty over the course of their ordeal. Things kept escalating as more and more loners decided to make a break for it. Until they had quite literally exterminated all the lone researchers in the compound. Leaving only the two remaining escapees, the director up in the control room, the three-person group still huddled in the cafeteria, and our own four-person group as the remaining survivors. It was¡­ honestly rather funny, in a morbid sort of way. Here they were literally gutting their fellow researchers because they were afraid of me, while I hadn¡¯t directly killed any of them as of yet. It was a trip and a half, to say the least. As for what our own group had been doing, well¡­ Dereng had had the bright idea of seeking out one of the nearby sample storage labs in order to take DNA samples and perform health checkups using the scanners there. His logic being that if we found any kind of infection, then we could go up to the director¡¯s office and blow the compound sky-high like Ertie had suggested. If we didn¡¯t find anything, then we could bench the suggestion and dedicate ourselves to finding the alien. That is, me. If we did find something off, then we would have to put on brave expressions and do our duty to our species. Or so the plan went. ¡°Right. It looks like Ertie is cleared.¡± Dereng spoke softly. Sighing despite himself. ¡°The scans aren¡¯t showing anything off in his physiology. His lungs are good. His heart is good. His throat and nostrils are good. I don¡¯t see any outward signs of infection.¡± ¡°The DNA sample looks clean too.¡± Yoko said. ¡°At least, I don¡¯t see anything wrong with the microscope and the auto-scope doesn¡¯t show any abnormalities.¡± Ertie took this news in stride. Sighing with obvious relief. ¡°Okay. Right. I¡­ whew. I guess that blowing up the compound might be an overreaction. I still stand by my earlier opinion that the crown won¡¯t have us killed too. So¡­ so there¡¯s a chance.¡± He paused. His fuzzy pink face turning light blue for a brief instant. ¡°We might still make it.¡± I felt a little bit of guilt at that comment. Because I knew damn well none of them were going to make it. Regardless, I did my best to seem relieved. Taking careful looks around me and copying the expressions of the others as they received the news.
Abilities Converging: [Mimicry] 6 Has been undone. 21 Ability Points Gained. [Social Instincts] 5 Has been undone. 15 Ability Points Gained. 36 Ability Points Remaining.
Ability Gained: [Social Infiltrator II] 1 has been added to the Status.
[Social Infiltrator II] Standard Combination of [Mimicry] / [Social Instincts]. Grants the User the power to passively blend in among social species by transforming their physiology and mannerisms into those of the target species at a rate of + 20% per current ability level at no cost. Grants the User the power to passively elicit favourable reactions from the target species by automatically adopting acceptable social expressions and enhancing the User¡¯s beauty and charisma in the eyes of the target species at a rate of + 20% per current ability level at no cost. These gains increase by an additional + 10% every 5 ability levels. This ability may be overcharged with Psy at a rate of + 15% and at a cost of 10 Psy per minute.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Social Infiltrator II] 1 has grown to [Social Infiltrator II] 9.
I read the new ability description with newfound curiosity. Revelling in the details the more I Thought of their implications. Yes, it would be helpful in the current situation, but that was far from the most important aspect. If I was reading it correctly, the new power would also let me emote like a normal (Gnome)ing human being again if I was around people. Meaning that I wouldn¡¯t have to keep reminding myself to smile or to nod or to show any kind of genuine human emotion. Meaning that the eventual reunion I would have with my parents was going to go a whole lot more smoothly than I had anticipated. ¡®Thank goodness. I¡¯m not even mad that the combination took a whopping 45 ability points to get to level 9 and that it only left me with 7 measly points. Nor am I upset that I could have levelled both [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] and [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] with those points. This was honestly the combination I wanted the most right about now.¡¯ ¡°Okay.¡± Dereng spoke up suddenly. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m in the clear too.¡± Ertie nodded sagely. ¡°I didn¡¯t doubt you for a moment old friend.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t touch me.¡± Dereng snapped as soon as Ertie went for something akin to a hug or a re-assuring pat on the shoulder. ¡°I know where those hands have been and I know what you were reading at that point.¡±This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Ertie made a strangled noise. ¡°I wash my hands!¡± ¡°Do you really?¡± Yoko asked. ¡°Is that enough to wash away your sins?¡± ¡°What sins!?¡± Ertie shouted. ¡°Those books are perfectly normal! They are all 12 at the time! There is nothing wrong with the story!¡± I cringed automatically. The new power already showing its stuff. ¡°Okay, okay. Just imagine that a woman lived to be 1000 years old as a timeless Gozoran. But she still looked 12. It isn¡¯t weird because she isn¡¯t actually 12 right? In a way, she¡¯s the one with more life experience than the protagonist. So it¡¯s okay and¡­ why are you all moving away!?¡± I raised the rifle on instinct. ¡°Why don¡¯t you move over to that corner and face the wall Mr. Ertie?¡± ¡°Oh come on!¡± Ertie then went on a ten-minute rant about re-incarnation and about how it reset things and about how immortals who took on the shape of little girls were totally legal. It was honestly fascinating to watch. Given how everyone¡¯s eyes kept glazing over minute by minute. Silent judgement settling in their hearts. Whatever respect they¡¯d had for his selfless suggestion of blowing up the compound evaporating like morning dew. ¡°Do as he says.¡± Yoko insisted. Pointing towards the corner as well and raising her wrench with her other hand. ¡°We¡¯ll get you after we¡¯re done with the testing.¡± Ertie started blurting something about uncultured insects but another few pokes with the rifle got him moving. Yoko went next. Her sample going under the microscope while she went under the scanning machine. The large, white thing started humming again as soon as she laid down. All kinds of lights blinking in and out while the thing started emitting fields of fluorescent blue light in grids along her body. ¡°No issues on the scan.¡± Dereng confirmed. ¡°The DNA looks normal too.¡± The other nodded and Yoko got off the machine with a sigh of relief. I offered up a steadying hand on instinct. My body moving before I could stop myself. ¡°I always knew there was nothing wrong.¡± I said calmly. Letting the power take over. Yoko seemed as though she was touched and allowed me to support her. ¡°All right. Garko goes next.¡± Dereng spoke. Now feeling visibly more confident. ¡°Let¡¯s get these tests out of the way so that we can get on with our¡­¡± ¡°Error.¡± The advanced microscope buzzed. The single word making everyone twitch. ¡°Primate DNA patterns detected. Abnormalities detected in cell growth. Abnormal chromosome count detected. 46 chromosomes detected. Evolutionary patterns suggest similarities to existing tail-less ape species.¡± Everyone looked at Garko. Surprise etched on their faces. And none looked half as surprised as Garko himself. ¡°What!? What the¡­!? What!?¡± Honestly, I could relate. He probably wasn¡¯t expecting this result. Then again, if he wanted to stay alive, he probably shouldn¡¯t have taken his eyes off his own sample while he and everyone else were piling insults on Ertie. I brought up the rifle. Again, on instinct. But I needn¡¯t have bothered. Ertie was swinging his wrench at the back of Garko¡¯s head before the latter had the chance to blink. The heavy metal landing with a resounding crack before going up and down again and up and down again. Yoko and Dereng piled on in half a heartbeat. Their own wrenches landing with grotesque thuds on Garko¡¯s body. Still, I did fire. Twice. Making sure to feign tripping and ¡®accidentally¡¯ shooting the larger scanner and the advance microscope. ¡°Unbelievable.¡± I gasped. ¡°To think that he was the alien.¡± ¡°A PRIMATE!?¡± Ertie shrieked. His body quivering with rage. ¡°Who the¡­!? What kind of primate gets these kinds of powers!? They spend their time flinging poo between the bars at the zoo! The only thing they like more than killing other things is killing each other!¡± ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s crazy.¡± I whispered. Feigning exhaustion. ¡°Damn it. Damn it! How come we didn¡¯t see it before?¡± Dereng hissed. ¡°How come he gave the flamethrower to the director?¡± ¡°Maybe the director is also an alien?¡± I offered. ¡°That would explain why they kept the rest of us from the central command room and why they killed so many of you when you were trying to find out who the alien was. If she wanted to keep you all from blowing up the compound, that seems like the smartest thing to do.¡± ¡°Bloody monkey!¡± Yoko yelled. ¡°He played us for fools!¡± ¡°We have to get the others.¡± Dereng said suddenly. ¡°We¡¯ve confirmed we can kill the aliens with just wrenches if we all act together. And we still have the rifle. We have to find as many other survivors as possible and make our way up the director together.¡± He paused to hurl the contents of his stomach. His hands still stained with Garko¡¯s blood. ¡°A few of us may die, but we¡¯ll have the best chance to succeed if we all come together.¡± I used [Echolocation] again. Now seeing the team of two. Wounded and limping. Moving over to the infirmary through the cafeteria. They had made contact with the other team of three hiding in the cafeteria and a confrontation was ensuing. ¡°Where should we go from here?¡± I asked. Feigning dread without any effort. ¡°The living quarters.¡± Dereng answered. ¡°Didn¡¯t we just come from there?¡± ¡°Yes. But it¡¯s been some time since that. Others might have made their way over and locked themselves in their rooms. We should run there and knock on each and every door. Clearing the rooms to make sure they¡¯re all empty before moving on to the hardware labs.¡± ¡°Why there?¡± Dereng cringed. ¡°Because that¡¯s where we got the wrenches from. The hardware labs are full to bursting with backup equipment. Everything from spare parts for the snow-treaders to welding torches, portable sonars and flares. If I were trying to get weapons, I¡¯d go to the armory. If that was out, I¡¯d go to the hardware labs. That¡­ and¡­¡± He took in a sharp breath and held it. ¡®He¡¯s hiding something.¡¯ I realized at once. Then I looked at the others and realized that they had no idea what that secret might have been. ¡®The plot thickens.¡¯ ¡°What?¡± Ertie asked. ¡°We¡¯ve come this far. You might as well spill it.¡± Dereng hesitated some more. Swallowing a large lump in his throat. ¡°There may be¡­ other weapons available. Ones that we aren¡¯t necessarily supposed to know about.¡± Yoko and Ertie narrowed their eyes. I followed along with no effort and no delay. ¡°What kind of weapon?¡± Ertie insisted. ¡°A drill.¡± Dereng finally allowed. ¡°A new kind of drill specifically made to¡­ melt¡­ large amounts of ice with a very precise, very concentrated beam.¡± ¡°Like a laser?¡± Yoko inquired. ¡°Yes. Exactly like a laser.¡± Dereng confirmed. ¡°I¡­ tried to take it when we were all scrambling. I¡­ kinda¡­¡± He took another deep breath. ¡°I kinda overheard the director and Fark talking about it. I heard the code from them. I got into the secret room but I couldn¡¯t lift it. It was too heavy for me. So, I figured I¡¯d leave it there in case the alien came along and they were able to lift it. I didn¡¯t want to take the risk.¡± Ertie blustered incoherently. His face turning an odd shade of colors. ¡°You¡¯ve known about a laser this entire time!?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Dereng confirmed. ¡°And now, you¡¯re telling me that the only one still alive who knows about it, is the director!? Who, by all accounts, is probably an alien pretending to be the director!?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Dereng confirmed again. Deflating as he did so. ¡°And you had the nerve to criticize me about the kinds of books I read!? You (Gnome)ing (Gnome)tard!¡± He stopped. They all stopped. Eyes going wide. ¡°What was that?¡± Ertie asked. ¡°You¡­ you said¡­¡± ¡°(Gnome)tard.¡± Ertie tried again. Now growing paler. ¡°(Gnome)tard. (Gnome)tard. (Gnome)tard. (Gnome). (Gnome)ing. (Gnome). (Gnome)ing (Gnome). You are (Gnome)traded. You are (Gnome)ing (Gnome)tard. (Gnome).¡± He stopped again. Growing even paler. ¡°Why can¡¯t I curse?¡± The others inched backwards. As did I. Dereng trying to curse as well. With similar results. He too grew pale, as did Yoko once she tried. ¡°What¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡± ¡®Well, if I had to guess. I would say that the people here in the instance get their curses replaced with the code word of whomever is using the instance at the time.¡¯ ¡°What even is a gnome?¡± Yoko asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think you want to know.¡± I told her. Being completely honest with her for the first time since we met. ¡°Are we, being affected by some kind of¡­ Telepathic attack?¡± Yoko asked. The whole room fell silent. Our eyes converging on Garko¡¯s cooling corpse. ¡°We have to find the others.¡± Dereng stated. All doubt vanishing from his tone. ¡°Like I was saying, it¡¯s possible someone else knew about the laser. They might have gone to the hardware labs. We have to search the whole compound for other survivors and make our way there to pick it up.¡± He paused. ¡°Actually, scrap that. The whole plan makes no sense. Let¡¯s go to the hardware labs first and pick up the drilling laser. We can¡¯t lift it because we¡¯re reserachers, but Sully should be strong enough to lift it up no problem. I¡¯ll take the rifle and we¡¯ll have two weapons to use against the director.¡± He grabbed the nearby table to steady himself. His four legs wobbling so that his fuzzy pink fur looked like it was composed of rustling blades of pink grass. ¡°The flamethrower should be low on fuel too. I don¡¯t think the director will be able to keep us at bay for long. Whatever psychic phenomena the alien is using, it should disperse after we kill it.¡± Ertie nodded. Then he paused. ¡°You know, I don¡¯t like telling people I told you so¡­ but¡­¡± ¡°I know Ertie. This isn¡¯t the time. You were right to think the aliens had superpowers and I was wrong. There. Is that what you wanted to hear?¡± Ertie looked at Dereng. Opening his mouth slowly, before snapping it shut. ¡°No, you¡¯re right. I¡¯m sorry. Let¡¯s just get to the hardware labs and pick up the la¡­¡± THOOOM!!! The building shook violently. Massive shockwaves sending Ertie, Dereng and Yoko to the ground. My body followed along thanks to my new power. My body effortlessly pretending that it was far weaker than it actually was. Then the sprinklers came alive. Showering us all in frigid, nearly freezing water. ¡°Danger. Danger. Grey Protocol activated.¡± A mechanical voice droned over the PA system. The volume loud enough to be painful. ¡°Fire detected in: Hardware Labs. Detecting source. Damage to exterior wall detected. Damage to fuel-line detected. Discharge of concentrated energy detected. Contacting standing director for further orders. Error. Standing director is non-responsive. Director-level chip reading high thermal signatures and a lack of oxygen. Director-level chip has confirmed cessation of biological processes.¡± I looked at the others. ¡°Is that good or bad?¡± Yoko and Ertie were too stunned to answer. Dereng was too, but at least he made an effort. ¡°Good, I think? She¡­ she dea¡­¡± ¡°Danger. Danger. Emergency relay not received due to inclement weather. Hull breach detected in¡­ Hardware Labs. Thermal signals dropping rapidly. Attempting to isolate area. Error. Airtight doors not responding. Attempting to isolate 5th floor. Error. Airtight stairwell doors not responding. Temperature drop imminent. Please gather in the emergency bunker at once. Repeating. This is an executive-level order for all personnel to gather in the emergency bunker at once. Thank you and Gozo save the crown.¡± The others were starting to panic. Their bodies shaking uncontrollably due to the ice-cold water raining down even now. Moreover, the alarms were still blaring. Piercing our ears and banishing the thoughts from our minds. Well. Their minds. I was more pre-occupied with the latest turn of events. Trying to make sense of the instance. It just seemed too¡­ easy. Which was very weird, because this was supposed to be the kind of challenge that old masters used to strengthen themselves. I mean, according to Hazimon, the Drake had apparently done this instance several times in order to try different things and all his approaches had been unorthodox. But this didn¡¯t seem like it would challenge the Drake in any way whatsoever. In fact, I¡¯d be very surprised if Prudence had any trouble with the instance. Whereas I could see people like Boris or Charlie breezing through the challenge. ¡®Maybe the Drake went outside and stayed there for some time?¡¯ ¡°Get to the bunker!¡± Dereng shouted. Lifting himself up and trying to help Yoko and Ertie. His legs gave out though and he fell in a pile. His feet slipping in the water while his body shivered violently. I rose up instead. Helping him up and doing the same for the others. Having them lean on me while we made our way down to where I knew the blast doors were. Chapter 116: The Catch. The bunker proper was a sparce chamber. Maybe some 900 square feet or so. With pastel walls and a whole bunch of heavy blankets stacked up atop a few couches. Each of those walls also had a series of metal lockers and padded surfaces. The latter could be stripped and use as additional blankets or improvised bedding, while the former contained emergency electronics. Powerful radios to send updates to the nearest station. Not that they¡¯d be of any use. The storm outside was blowing even more ferociously now. The chill so powerful that it bit deep into the bones of my unusual companions. The water that had drenched their fuzzy pink fur had turned frigid within a minute. From there, it had quickly begun turning into icicles that weighed them down. Stiffening the hairs and squeezing the warmth from their bodies. That would have been it for a normal human. It didn¡¯t matter how much muscle someone had on them nor how much insulating fat they had to keep them warm. Being drenched in freezing water was a death as certain as any other. Slower than most, though no less cruel. A part of me had imagined that Dereng and Ertie and Yoko might have some biological mechanism to stem the drop in temperature. That was soon proven false, as I was forced to put more of myself into supporting the three of them at the same time. Carrying them upon my back like sacks of potatoes. Dereng and the others responded by spasming wildly. Their limbs twitching as if trying to shake off the strangling hold of a hundred serpents, choking off their air supply. Appropriately, their breaths became shallower as more water showered down from the fire-safety system. To freeze over on the floor and the bodies of my charges. The rapidly solidifying moisture was a killer, as foul as any gnome. Slicing through warmth like icy knives. Puncturing the core of my mighty body like a spear. Against this, my body summoned Psy. And my cells began sweltering. My own body¡¯s radiating heat turning chips of ice back into cold water, until those droplets fell onto the floor and began to freeze over once more.
Ability Evolving: [Temperature Regulation II] 6 has grown to [Temperature Regulation II] 7.
¡®There go my free points.¡¯ I bemoaned. ¡®I should have spent them as soon as I got them.¡¯ ¡®Next time.¡¯ I told myself. ¡®There will soon be a next time. Besides, perhaps this is a good thing. The guys might very well have died and turned to popsicles if I wasn¡¯t making as much heat.¡¯ By the time we¡¯d reached the inside of the bunker all three were little more than corpses. Unable to summon the strength to dress themselves in the water-proof blankets or to dry themselves off with towels. So, it was up to me to throw several layers of towels on top of them. Following that up by cracking open heat packs before throwing them on top of the towels. After that, I rushed out of the bunker. Past the slightly elevated entrance that kept most of the rushing water at bay and into the cafeteria. There, I found four survivors, where there had been five. I went to lift them up and then tried to bring them all back to the bunker, despite the freezing surfaces on the floor and the debilitating gusts of wind now rushing past the cavernous halls. Two were still alive when we reached the bunker once more, and even then, it was a close thing. Their consciousness having long fled as their bodies shook and shivered violently. Their eyes glazed over in a semblance of inebriation. My body was not exactly exhausted, but the constant rain of freezing water made for a terrible hazard, such that it got me another level, whose 8 points all went to the same power.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Temperature Regulation II] 7 has grown to [Temperature Regulation II] 8.
I shut the bunker doors then. Keeping out the worst of the cold. Then following that up by breaking over three more heat packs and dividing them between the new arrivals and myself. Not that I needed it, but it was better to keep up appearances. ¡®Though I don¡¯t know why I bother.¡¯ I thought to myself sullenly. The current turn of events made the design of the instance even more of a question. If someone had asked me to design a place where Shifters could excel and try new approaches, my first thoughts would have gone to some enclosed series of biomes, filled with wildlife. Perhaps an island filled with tropical rainforests or a valley bordering a desert and a few rugged mountains. This kind of space was too easy. Too simple. Even with me going out of my way to make things harder on myself by playing the part of a common soldier. If the goal was to defeat the enemies placed here, which I suspected was the case, then it was a poorly-thought up mission, as the researchers in their paranoia were much more likely to kill each other. Indeed, all of these people would be stiffening corpses right now if it wasn¡¯t for me and I didn¡¯t even do anything to cause the breach in the compound¡¯s walls or trigger the fire alarm. Part of me felt bad for them, and another, much quieter part shushed the impulse that had gotten me to carry these people to safety in the first place. If I were being objective, then the smartest course of action would have been to make my way to the bunker alone. Or perhaps, to simply take on the freezing water directly and use it to get as many levels and points as I could before the last researcher kicked the bucket. ¡®Perhaps that might even have been kinder.¡¯ I mused internally. ¡®I will have to tear them apart eventually, and while I already got something really nice through [Social Infiltrator II], I expected a lot more for something that received so much praise from Hazimon.¡¯ I mulled the question over the minutes. My eyes watching all the five survivors quietly, while they twitched and spasmed through the cold. To make matters worse, none of them were armed anymore. I hadn¡¯t seen the need to bring the wrenches along when I carried my three over and the other two had long since abandoned their petty knives before I got to them. ¡®They are suffering.¡¯ I reasoned. ¡®And they aren¡¯t real besides. The poor souls are not long for this world no matter what I end up doing. Let¡¯s say I leave after a short while and end up back in the sandpit with Hazimon. That would leave the fools just as dead as if I¡¯d struck them down. I am not going to save them because I cannot save them. What even is the point of keeping this farce going? I already killed Garko after all. Okay, so I didn¡¯t strike him down myself, but my actions led to him dying all the same. What am I even doing?¡¯ All the same, I hesitated. While I hadn¡¯t spent too much time with Dereng, Yoko and Ertie and found out far too much about the former to ever like him, I would be lying if I said I felt entirely comfortable killing them. While I was thinking, one of the bodies stopped shivering for a moment and even regained consciousness for long enough to cough and wheeze and let out a few words. ¡°Wh-what? Whe-where am I? Mother¡­!¡± ¡°You mother is not here.¡± I said plainly. Walking over to him. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Restu.¡± The man replied. ¡°Restu Mafrod. Ch-chief of¡­¡± He hacked out a cough and collapsed in place. ¡°The dig teams.¡± I nodded along. ¡°I see. Sorry that you had to wake up like this Restu.¡± I told him softly. ¡°What is your plan right now?¡± ¡°Plan? What¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, Restu. Your plan to live moving forwards. What do you plan to do now that you¡¯re here and safe to stay alive? What can you do to keep death at bay?¡± The man looked utterly flummoxed. Looking at me as if I were speaking gnomish. In the end, he collapsed again and started whispering nonsense about phones. I looked over at the electronics and peered a bit closer. The machines were a mesh of wires and circuit boards. Connected to an isolated power source in the form of a generator that ran on gasoline. A quick gaze at the tanks let me know that the thing might be able to produce power for roughly 12 hours. After that, the scientists would he hard-pressed to get any kind of message out. ¡®Maybe I can see how this all plays out.¡¯ I thought. ¡®Maybe there is something I¡¯m missing.¡¯ It was another two hours before the rest of the scientists awoke. ¡°How did we get here?¡± Dereng asked as soon as he regained his senses. ¡°I brought you here.¡± I told him bluntly. ¡°Had to drag you here when you collapsed. I was even afraid that you might die.¡± Dereng nodded and helped Yoko to her feet. Though they both collapsed into a heap when all their legs gave out underneath them. A look over at Ertie showed me that he wasn¡¯t doing much better. ¡°How did Restu and Guva get here?¡± He asked waspishly. His own arms squeezing the thick waterproof blankets around him. ¡°I carried them here.¡± I told him. ¡°I found them in the cafeteria.¡± He sniveled. His fuzzy pink face having turned a deep morbid blue. ¡°So you brought us here and then went out again to find others.¡± He sneezed. ¡°I take back everything bad I said about you. You¡¯re a true hero. The thought of bringing anyone back here, would never have occurred to me in the first place. We¡¯re lucky you lived at all.¡± ¡®Yes, lucky.¡¯ I mused. ¡®Who knows what might have happened if I wasn¡¯t here.¡¯ ¡°Okay.¡± I began again. ¡°What is the plan going forwards?¡± He shrugged in his own alien way. A gesture that was more akin to a shaking of the hips in tandem with the chest. ¡°We have to use the radios to escape.¡± He said plainly. ¡°And by that I mean that we¡¯ll have to wait until the storm has passed before we go on to call for help.¡± He sighed in defeat. ¡°Dear Gozo. To think the director was an alien and even sabotaged the compound.¡± He chuckled in self-depreciation. ¡°Forget what we were saying about living through this and becoming heroes. We¡¯ll be lucky to find jobs as toilet cleaners if the Crown is angry about their shiny new compound getting buried in snow. I don¡¯t know about you guys, but they made me sign all kinds of documents before I got here. Then a general sat down with me and had a very scary talk. I can¡¯t imagine this ends well.¡± I nodded along while following his logic. ¡°I see, and how long before we can call the authorities?¡± Ertie shrugged again. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Hours at best. Days more likely. Weeks at worst.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. I nodded again. ¡°One more thing. Why didn¡¯t the defenses activate when the compound was breached?¡± Ertie snorted. ¡°And do what, exactly? Shoot at the sky? Expend all the oxygen in the halls with flamethrowers and set the halls on fire? The whole reason that the sprinklers are running is that the breach was caused by an explosion and therefore a fire.¡± He explained. ¡°The designers thought that a fire was more of a threat than an intruder. After all, a fire might destroy our research. Yes, the sprinklers might kill us all, or at least those who couldn¡¯t make it to the bunker in time, but the research would still be intact when the temperatures rose and backup arrived. We¡¯re not even the first team of researchers to come here you know. There have been two other teams. One of which vanished in the middle of a storm, never to be seen again. Who knows what happened to them?¡± ¡°But what if an intruder attacked through the outside walls? What¡¯s the protocol then?¡± I asked him. ¡°If an intruder did attack through exploding part of the compound¡¯s exterior, then they would die at the same time as us when the water from the sprinkler system froze over. That is, assuming they had some means of making it out of the storm. Regardless, the traps will only activate if we die by violent means, not inflicted by each other. So the defenses won¡¯t go off so long as we die from things like exposure.¡± He huffed. ¡°Small mercies I suppose. With how bad everything turned out, the last thing we needed was the machine guns throwing lead around when we were trying to hide.¡± ¡°The rounds will penetrate the bunker?¡± I asked. ¡°No.¡± He assured me. ¡°Or at least, they aren¡¯t supposed to.¡± ¡°I see. So in short, we are all stuck here, with no way to defend against aliens and no hope of recovery?¡± Ertie was about to protest. No doubt thinking back to the timetable he¡¯d set out with possible rescue attempts. However, even he deflated once he considered the storm. Despite not having seen it firsthand, the fact that a single breach on the topmost level had caused most of the water in the entire building to freeze within minutes could not be overlooked. The temperature would have been enough to kill even a well-dressed man thrice over and the gales showed no sign of abating. ¡°What is the average duration of the storms?¡± I asked again. ¡°It¡¯ll be fine.¡± Dereng interrupted. ¡°We can still make it if we start arranging trips to the cafeteria. As long as the bunker doors are closed, we can keep in the heat and we can then go outside to get supplies as needed. The bunker is also close to the geo-thermal generator that powers the rest of the compound, so the temperature here will not be an issue if we only open the doors on occasion. If me ration out our supplies well-enough, then all six of us can make it.¡± ¡°How long?¡± I insisted. ¡°Two months.¡± Ertie spoke somberly. ¡°The longer ones usually last upwards of four months, but they usually run two months at a time during the winter seasons.¡± I nodded again. Making sure to put up a mask of quiet despair in the last moments of theatre. When no more levels were forthcoming, I turned to [Predator¡¯s Instincts] and began to consider the aliens as possible prey, instead of people to be fooled. The change to my mindset was extraordinary. At once, my mind went from a semblance of empathy to the cold calculus of survival. My brain leading me to their exposed necks and arteries that lay beneath the wet fuzzy fur and to the calories each body would provide. My stomach growled by itself and the others took notice. ¡°You should have brought something to eat when you took us out of the cafeteria.¡± Guva chastised me. ¡°I did bring something to eat.¡± I said softly. My words leaving me before I had a chance to consider them. Guva looked at me in apparent confusion. Apparently not realizing the danger. ¡°Great! That¡¯s great actually! Bring it out so we can share it! Ladies first, as always. We¡¯ll be taking a larger chunk because of seniority too, but I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re rewarded!¡± I nodded at her. Then I turned my head to Ertie, Dereng, and Yoko. Staring them in the eyes as they too waited for me. The Psy within me that had been pulsing as an organ, shifted gears. From looking to blend in, to becoming a predator once more. To analysing the dangers they might bring to bear and the chances for success if I attacked. I ran Psy through the ability, while also running Psy through [Social Infiltrator II]. Feeling them both pulse and reach out at more or less the same time. Until at last they beat in unison within me.
Abilities Converging: [Social Infiltrator II] 9 Has been undone. 45 Ability Points Gained. [Predator¡¯s Instincts] 3 Has been undone. 6 Ability Points Gained. [Tracking Instincts] 2 Has been undone. 3 Ability Points Gained. 54 Ability Points Remaining.
Ability Gained: [Social Hunter IV] 1 has been added to the Status.
[Social Hunter IV] Standard Combination of [Mimicry] / [Social Instincts] / [Predator¡¯s Instincts] / [Tracking Instincts]. Grants the User the power to passively remain in control of their emotions, senses and mental faculties while hunting. Restricting the effect of Telepathic abilities on the User and empowering the User¡¯s battle proficiency by a factor of + 10% per current ability level at no cost. The User also becomes better able to predict the relative strength of their assigned prey at a rate of + 15% per current ability level within their Tier. The bonus doubles for each Tier below the User¡¯s own and halves for every Tier above the User¡¯s own. Grants the User the power to passively learn tracking techniques at a rate of + 10% per current ability level. The User automatically gathers the information they know about a target and formulates new techniques for tracking them based on physiology and prior tracking experience. Grants the User the power to passively blend in among social species by transforming their physiology and mannerisms into those of the target species at a rate of + 30% per current ability level at no cost. Grants the User the power to passively elicit favourable reactions from the target species by automatically adopting acceptable social expressions and enhancing the User¡¯s beauty and charisma in the eyes of the target species at a rate of + 30% per current ability level at no cost. These gains increase by an additional + 10% every 5 ability levels. This ability may be overcharged with Psy at a rate of + 15% and at a cost of 10 Psy per minute.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Social Hunter IV] 1 has grown to [Social Hunter IV] 11.
Then, I quickly spent the last three points I had to acquire [Incorporate Mineral], [Incorporate Liquid] and [Incorporate Gas]. Shoring up my already formidable defenses.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 213, 191, 121 / 213, 196, 800
Type: Telepath V Level 212 / Shifter II Level 90
Telepath Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Avatar X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] 25 / [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] 23 / [Solomon¡¯s Impenetrable Obfuscation X] 14 / [Solomon¡¯s Righteous Indignation X] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Enduring Empathy X] 17 / [Solomon¡¯s Empowering Majesty X] 11
Shifter Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 15 / [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 14 / [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 9 / [Temperature Regulation II] 8 / [Social Hunter IV] 11 / [Scales] 2 / [Chitin] 4 / [Feathers] 3 / [Eusocial Instincts] 2 / [Locomotion Appendage] 3 / [Pseudopods] 2 / [Stinger] 2 / [Electricity Tolerance] 2 / [Pressurization Tolerance] 2 / [De-Pressurization Tolerance] 2 / [Radiation Tolerance] 1 / [Claws] 3 / [Fur] 3 / [Rubbery Hide] 4 / [Grasping Appendage] 3 / [Proprioception] 3 / [Ears] 2 / [Low-Frequency Hearing] 1 / [High Frequency Hearing] 1 / [Echolocation] 3 / [Eyes] 1 / [Nose] 1 / [Tongue] 1 / [Night Vision] 1 / [Thermal Vision] 1 / [Infrared Vision] 1 / [Incorporate Mineral] 1 / [Incorporate Liquid] 1 / [Incorporate Gas] 1
Ability Points: 0
I gazed over all the abilities I now had and the two combinations I gotten ahold of. It still wasn¡¯t as much as I¡¯d hope to get, but I supposed that managing to get a Tier 4 ability wasn¡¯t nearly as easy elsewhere in the Labyrinth. Others might look at what I got and drool with envy. Though the Drake would not be among them. He had blitzed through the second and third Tiers when he first entered the maze and he did not begin slowing down until he got to the fourth. ¡®It will have to do.¡¯ I finally concluded. ¡®Keeping them alive like this won¡¯t give me anything I don¡¯t already have and I¡¯m not looking forward to spending another few weeks starving in here, just for all of them to die a slow, agonizing death from starvation.¡¯ I stood. Slowly at first, then more decisively. ¡°I have something I¡¯d like to say.¡± I told the group. ¡°Yeah, I can guess.¡± Guva interrupted. Looking at once to Restu. ¡°You will be well compensated for the food.¡± The older man assured me. I didn¡¯t say anything else, but allowed the transformation to fade. My body turning back to that of a human. Restu stared. Guva stared. Ertie stared. Yoko stared. Dereng stared. ¡°I replaced Garko¡¯s sample with mine.¡± I explained. Ertie swallowed a lump in his throat. ¡°Y¡­ you know. Maybe I was a bit¡­ overly¡­ um¡­ mean. When I was talking about primates. Why, I love primates. You are the best-looking primate I¡¯ve ever¡­¡± ¡°Ertie.¡± I interrupted him. My eyes finding his. ¡°I am sorry. For what it¡¯s worth. But I can¡¯t have you alive.¡± I looked at the others afterwards. ¡°I can¡¯t have any of you alive. So here¡¯s what I¡¯m going to do. I will sit here and wait five minutes. In that time, you should all be running for cover or for whatever weapons you can scrounge up.¡± I grew [Claws] and sank them into the blast-proof doors. My cells becoming riled up as they rushed to drink in the metal. I felt it coming into my own body. Like little streams of cooled blood. Inching their way in slowly, until they entered into my bloodstream and from there, my heartbeats pushed more of the metal onwards to every corner of my flesh and bone. The latter were re-enforced at once. Their makeup changing to fit the newly-integrated compound. The former started to bring in the metal closer to the surface of my skin and eyes and hair. Tinging them silvery, metallic colors.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Abilities Converging: [Incorporate Mineral] 1 Has been undone. 1 Ability Point Gained. [Rubbery Hide] 4 Has been undone. 10 Ability Points Gained. 19 Ability Points Remaining.
Ability Gained: [Metallic Hide II] 1 has been added to the Status.
[Metallic Hide II] Standard Combination of [Incorporate Mineral] / [Rubbery Hide]. Grants the User the power to absorb metals and minerals from the surroundings and to apply them throughout the body, at a rate of +10% per current ability level and at a cost of 10 Psy per minute spent absorbing. Grants the User the power to re-create all previously absorbed metals in their hide at a rate of +10% per current ability level and at a cost of 20 Psy per minute spent re-creating the metal. User does not expend Psy when the metal is merely present and being passively worn. These gains increase by an additional + 10% every 5 ability levels. This ability may be overcharged with Psy at a rate of + 25% and at a cost of 50 Psy per second.
Ability Evolving: [Metallic Hide II] 1 has grown to [Metallic Hide II] 5.
The others did not fail to notice the changes. ¡°I¡¯d start running if I were you.¡± Ertie didn¡¯t need to be told twice. At once he was leaping clumsily to his feet. Scrambling around despite the wetness of his pants and making for the blast-proof doors. Yet, in some cruel twist of irony, the power was out of the console. Its own systems running off the electricity of the compound at large. All while the generator was off and silent. ¡°Turn on the generator.¡± I told him. ¡°I¡¯ll wait.¡± ¡°No¡± Dereng spoke. His voice cutting through Ertie¡¯s panic, despite the latter wheezing in terror. ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of game you¡¯re playing, but it¡¯s over. The generator requires a passcode to start properly and I won¡¯t give it to you.¡± He stared me down. ¡°All of us may be dead, but this is as far as you go. You¡¯ll still be stuck here when re-enforcements arrive.¡± He closed his eyes and leaned back against a wall as if in resignation. ¡°That will have to be enough for me.¡± For my part, I nodded. Not saying anything. Then, I fought against the seal placed on my Tier 10 Shifter abilities. Forcing Psy into them and growing my body to twice its usual size, while my muscles and bones thickened and twisted thanks to [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X]. Afterwards, I braced myself against the floor and threw a punch at the blast-proof doors. The impact rocked the chamber. Sending all within tumbling back to the floor. When I withdrew my fist, a small crater had appeared. Cracks splintering in spiderweb patterns away from the edges. I looked back at my hand and saw that it wasn¡¯t even bleeding. Then I overcharged the ability to draw in more metal. Much more. Until it suffused the outsides of all my veins and arteries and until small tensed cables of the stuff lined my muscles. I punched again and this time, the door¡¯s hinges gave way. The massive slab cracking even further, before falling to the floor. Cold winds rushed in, along with small trickles of whatever water had not yet frozen on the floor or on the pipes that fed the sprinkling system. I turned back to the others and saw Ertie¡¯s jaw hanging there. Motionless. His eyes wide as saucers as his pants became ever more soiled. I stepped aside and gestured for him. ¡°Four minutes.¡± I spoke. That was enough to snap him out of whatever stupor he¡¯d been in and he was the first to run. The others followed him shortly thereafter. Rushing past with blankets still wrapped tightly about their persons. All but Dereng. Who stayed motionless. Eyes still staring at the hole I¡¯d made. ¡°Why?¡± He asked. ¡°Why what?¡± ¡°Why did you save us, only to kill us now?¡± I shrugged. Making sure to do it in a way he would recognize. ¡°I was trying to see what else you had up your sleeve to be honest.¡± I said calmly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you guys to do most of the work among yourselves. You may not believe me, but I hardly did anything until now. Since it has come to this, I figured I may as well speed things along.¡± Dereng nodded, but made no other motion. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to run?¡± ¡°Is there even a chance of me escaping?¡± He asked instead. ¡°No.¡± I answered him truthfully. Dereng nodded and then he relaxed. ¡°Please make it quick, at least.¡± I agreed and followed his last request. No sooner had he crumpled to the floor, than another alarm blared throughout the building. ¡°Foreign agent detected. Death of staff through foreign agent detected. Secondary power source, online. Level 1 security systems, online. All staff please make your way to the Blast-Proof Bunker at once.¡± I snorted and sat back down to wait the remaining 3 minutes. Hoping that the traps would live up to their name. Chapter 117: A Lion Among Fuzzy Pink Sheep. It turns out the traps did live up to their name. Who¡¯d have guessed? Dereng¡¯s body hadn¡¯t even gotten cold and the walls and ceiling were already opening and revealing round turrets in the shape of half-meter tall spheres with barrels sticking out of them. The bullets, as far as I could tell, were simple high-caliber rounds. Maybe 45. Or 50. Hard to tell. What I could tell is that, in all honesty, they didn¡¯t hit nearly as hard as the hail outside. Which really made me wonder what kind of Buddha forsaken abyss these people had decided to study for that to be the case. Still, I wasn¡¯t about to start complaining. Not after the levels finally started rolling in.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Abilities Converging: [Scales] 2 Has been undone. 3 Ability Point Gained. [Fur] 3 Has been undone. 6 Ability Points Gained. 9 Ability Points Remaining.
Ability Gained: [Serrated Fur II] 1 has been added to the Status.
[Serrated Fur II] Standard Combination of [Scales] / [Fur]. Grants the User the power to form fur with the toughness and general properties of serrated scales, while still retaining the flexibility inherent to fur. This grants the User added protection from physical damage at a rate of +15% per current ability level. Forming the armor costs 5 Psy per second, while the armor is passively maintained at no cost. These gains increase by an additional + 10% every 5 ability levels. This ability may be overcharged with Psy at a rate of + 10% and at a cost of 50 Psy per second.
Ability Evolving: [Serrated Fur II] 1 has grown to [Serrated Fur II] 6.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Metallic Hide II] 5 has grown to [Metallic Hide II] 7.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Chitin] 4 has grown to [Chitin] 6.
Forming the usual layers of armor had yielded a new combination as soon as I¡¯d started going under fire. The fur I grew started becoming harder and thicker. Like strings of bone that shone in exotic emerald-green patterns. But of course, the bullets kept going past that and into my new shell. Which they promptly broke through to get at my new shiny metal skin. Then they either bounced off with deafening metallic clangs or became embedded into the layer of protection. The metal bullets slowly melting and congealing into a soft malleable pudding, before being absorbed into the armor. It was an oddly fascinating sensation. Not because of the pain, but rather, the lack of it. The turrets seemed to have been designed to target the center-mass, yet none of the shots so much as winded me. Though I suppose they would have to be mighty weapons indeed to bother someone who¡¯d activated three Tier 10 abilities. I turned a corner soon after. Not having bothered to destroy the turrets I¡¯d already come across before. More and more turrets emerged from the walls and ceiling of this new hallway as soon as I reared my head. The metal spheres peeking out at different levels of elevation so that several of them could fire upon the same target without impeding each other. The ensuing violence fell like hail upon me. Ripping past the [Chitin] and the [Serrated Fur II] once more. Every time a section of armor was broken off or punctured, my healing would kick in to replace it and every time that happened, another shell found its way into the exact same spot. I took a few more steps forward and found that I was now under fire from the rear as well as the front. The new turrets eating away at my exposed back and coming with such force that I felt as if two massive hands were pushing against me from both sides at once.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Serrated Fur II] 6 has grown to [Serrated Fur II] 7.
Ability Evolving: [Metallic Hide II] 7 has grown to [Metallic Hide II] 8.
The abilities started having a compounding effect after that. I was able to feel the beating hearts of the powers more clearly and I sent Psy into both. Letting them intermingle and allowing many of the new pieces of metal to flow into the sharpened, spiny fur. No sooner had I done so, that the bullets began to be sliced apart before reaching my actual skin. Shards of shrapnel howling and bouncing off to pierce the surface of the walls or ricocheting back into a few of the turrets in some cases. This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. ¡°Okay.¡± I muttered under my breath. ¡°That¡¯s more like it. I can actually see this being really useful in a fistfight.¡± Granted, the abilities I already had pretty much ensured I was more or less unkillable in the Tutorial, but this was a nice boost regardless. I kept moving. Purposely letting the machines attack as I walked leisurely from one hallway to the next. The more of them that fired, the more my senses became confused. My sight was more or less unaffected, but my hearing was a bit thrown off. Especially when it came to [Echolocation]. All the little shards flying all over the place were coming together with the loud firing sounds and throwing off the ability. Like a jammer used on a cheap cellphone. I kept trying to send pulses, but they were all scrambled before coming back to me. It wasn¡¯t a problem per se, but it did mean that I¡¯d lost track of Ertie, Yoko, Guva and Restu. ¡®Oh well. It¡¯s probably fine. Not like they¡¯re going anywhere.¡¯ I kept walking at a leisurely pace. Focusing more Psy on [Echolocation] and trying to mix the sonic pulses with [Low-Frequency Hearing] and [High Frequency Hearing]. It was slow, tedious work and minutes passed while I meandered about in frustration. Shells still exploding against my layers of armor while failing to bother me. Then, around ten minutes later, I stopped. Feeling a new sensation amidst all the chaos surrounding me. It was kind of a¡­ tingle?
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Electricity Tolerance] 2 has grown to [Electricity Tolerance] 4.
I looked down. Sure enough, there was a puddle below me. One that was suspiciously unfrozen, despite the biting gales still running down the halls. There was also a small, nearly imperceptible hole dug into one of the walls. One that had a bunch of tiny exposed wires running out of it. ¡®Huh?¡¯ I bent down to peer closer and noticed the faint scorch marks. Indicative of one of the blowtorches the others had tried to use in order to escape via the garage. ¡®Huh?¡¯ I thought again. More impressed this time. ¡°We¡¯ll I¡¯ll be¡­ If that isn¡¯t one of the most creative traps I¡¯ve seen in a long time.¡± It was certainly eye-opening. Better yet, it was another novel way of levelling. I reached down to touch the wires. Pinching a couple of them with two fingers, before pulling them towards me.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Electricity Tolerance] 4 has grown to [Electricity Tolerance] 5.
Ability Evolving: [Radiation Tolerance] 1 has grown to [Radiation Tolerance] 3.
Well¡­ That was unexpected. I looked down at the little wires with morbid fascination. Wondering just how much juice must have been running through them to give me several levels in [Electricity Tolerance]. ¡®Though perhaps that¡¯s not the right question to ask.¡¯ I mused. ¡®Maybe I should be more concerned about the fact that these little cables are leaking radiation. And enough radiation to give me two levels at once on top of that.¡¯ The few last gasping vestiges of the normal person that was Solomon Carter started blaring alarm bells at that. But I pushed those thoughts down all the same. This wasn¡¯t a problem. Far from it in fact. There was no doubt in my mind that I would eventually run into Projectors who could make Randall seem like a kid in diapers. When, not if, but when that happened, abilities like these ones would come in handy. ¡°Yeah. Better to have them than to not have them.¡± I sighed. ¡°Though all I¡¯m learning is that I should have started killing them sooner.¡± I pulled on the wires some more. Growing [Claws] with metal blades for fingers and digging out more holes to pull from. I felt a shock then. A much bigger one. Running through me like rivers of crackling lightning. Strong enough that they almost made me twitch involuntarily.
Level Gained: +50 Maximum Psy. +8 Ability Points.
Prerequisites have been met. Student has obtained an ability at or beyond Tier III. Student has passed level 100. Student is evolving Shifter to Tier III.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 15 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 16.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 14 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 15.
Almost. I saw more and more screens popping up. My head suddenly ringing with the new notifications. I decided that they were bothersome and so I pushed them all aside for now. My mind going back to the wires, before I started pulling on them again. I kept that up for a good five or six minutes. Not stopping until the lights above me started flickering. Then, with a last gasp of power, the turrets sped up their attack, before slowly coming offline altogether. After that, the lights went out and I was left in the darkness. Alone with my thoughts and the now unencumbered echoes of the others. The first one I tracked down was Guva. She had had the rather poor idea of hiding herself under her bed in the staff lodgings. I pulled on one of her legs and immediately heard an: ¡°Eeep!¡± Then I stared down at her. Not bothering to hide my disappointment. ¡°Really?¡± I asked. She stopped sobbing. Only for a moment. Then she scowled up at me. ¡°What!? Don¡¯t judge me! I was short on time!¡± I shrugged and kicked her skull in. I waited for something else to happen, but no other defences activated. After that, I found Yoko and Restu in the cafeteria. Locked tightly in each other¡¯s embrace. Making out like there was no tomorrow. ¡°Really?¡± I asked again. They both stopped and stared back at me. Defiance in their eyes. ¡°What? We¡¯re gonna die anyway now that you disabled the security systems. You¡¯re telling me we can¡¯t enjoy what¡¯s left?¡± ¡°Who the (Gnome) are you to judge us?¡± Restu seemed surprised by the bleep of censorship. I didn¡¯t bother to explain it. Instead, I kicked a table towards them and heard the swift crack of their spines as the blow smashed them against the nearby wall. ¡°Right then, one to go.¡± I muttered. Ertie was more or less where I guessed he would be. Hunched over the keyboards on the command center. Fingers still tinkering with some wiring underneath the console. ¡°It isn¡¯t going to work.¡± I told him bluntly. ¡°Yeah, of course you¡¯d say that, monster.¡± Ertie snapped back. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose your next move will be to tell me how nice it is to be eaten?¡± ¡°No.¡± I said bluntly. ¡°I¡¯m not going to say that. Mostly because I¡¯m not gonna be eating you.¡± He snorted derisively. ¡°Great. So the species we woke up is one of those predators who kill for sport. (Gnome)ing fantastic.¡± He paused his work, and only then did I notice that his fingers were partly burned. No doubt from using the torch in a hurry. ¡°So that was your trap.¡± I muttered. ¡°Have to say, I was impressed. Coming up with that on short notice really says something about how talented you are. Not to mention that you actually pulled it off without killing yourself in the process.¡± He snorted again. ¡°Giving complements now are we? What would you even know about what I did?¡± ¡°I have a bachelor¡¯s degree in engineering.¡± I answered. Though in truth my degree had never actually been delivered. Oh well. I¡¯d passed the exams, so I basically got it. He gave me a look full of shock. ¡°You¡­ you actually¡­ know what engineering is?¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s a loaded question Ertie. I wouldn¡¯t say I was anywhere near as good as the guys who built your toys here. Or your power-armor for that matter. But I at least know enough to design drones for school projects.¡± I gazed around the room. ¡°And I know enough to know that this place had more backup power sources than you let on. Yes, there was the geo-thermal generator and the auxiliary power and the isolated security grid, but one of you guys built at least one nuclear power plant here. Albeit a small one.¡± His jaw practically hit the floor. Though he soon recovered. ¡°I see. So you aren¡¯t just freakish strong, but freakish smart too. Good Gozo. We really are (Gnome)d.¡± He sighed heavily. ¡°I guess that¡¯s how you spotted the trap.¡± ¡°No. I took the trap head on.¡± He blinked at me. ¡°It helped me train.¡± I clarified. ¡°That¡¯s why the power went out all over. I stuck my fingers inside a whole bunch of wires until all the power sources were short-circuited. That¡¯s how I know that self-destruct sequence isn¡¯t going to work. The generator it¡¯s controlling has no juice left.¡± He blinked at me again. ¡°Holy (Gnome).¡± ¡°Yeah. Honestly. I get that.¡± ¡°You are a monster.¡± He repeated. I shrugged in their own way, so that he understood the gesture. ¡°I¡¯ve been called worse by better men than you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll bet.¡± I didn¡¯t answer that time, but merely walked towards him. Ertie panicked and leapt back, until his back was against the solid console. ¡°Wait! Wait! Just tell me one thing!¡± I stopped. The sighed. ¡°Look, if you¡¯re asking me if your hobbies are normal¡­ then no. My species tends to lynch those who prey on underage¡­.¡± ¡°Not that you freak!¡± Ertie snapped. Then calmed himself. ¡°The powers.¡± He said at last. ¡°How right was I about the powers?¡± ¡°Spot on, actually.¡± I admitted. ¡°Though you didn¡¯t even come close to guessing how strong I really am. Or what was actually going on.¡± He stopped again. ¡°What do you mean, what was actually¡­.?¡± ¡°This is a simulation.¡± I spoke. My words hitting him like a whip. ¡°I¡¯m the only thing that¡¯s real and this is a simulation meant to upgrade powers.¡± He didn¡¯t say anything for a few seconds. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± ¡°(Gnome) me.¡± ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ve been there.¡± Then, Ertie deflated. Like a ballon with several holes in it. I walked closer and put him out of his misery. Ending the scenario once and for all. Chapter 118: An Unconventional Approach. The seahorse man was sitting in the heavily-cushioned chair with all the confidence of a master Enhancer. His body seeming as if it was completely in balance with the world around him and as if no movement of his would be hindered. Despite that, I began to sense a few irregularities. There was a tension about his shoulders. Nearly imperceptible. But for a few minute muscles that tensed and relaxed beneath the surface of his scaly, spongy blue skin. On top of that, the being¡¯s heartbeat was somehow irregular. Not to a great degree. Not in a way that human or dog or even superpowered Rift-Spawn would have been able to hear. But to the current me, it was as loud as a midsummer carnival. Or the sounds of rushing trains along rattling old tracks. ¡®How very odd.¡¯ I mused. ¡®[Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] is at the bloody 10th Tier and a high level besides. But the seahorse keeps his Psy wrapped around him as tightly as a coat in winter. So that no signals come out from him and none of my own signals can penetrate that dam. And still my new Tier 4 ability can pick up the heartbeat. At level 10 besides. The Titles should make it even stronger but still¡­ what an oddity.¡¯ It was possible that he was letting some of his feelings out on purpose of course. Letting me read him a little, without having to suffer the danger of me connecting my mind to his. Though I don¡¯t know why he would bother. ¡°Something amiss?¡± I asked. Moving confidently about the place. ¡°Many things.¡± He said curtly. ¡°Please sit.¡± I did so and immediately felt the difference. [Social Hunter IV] was, to put it mildly, a power for sociopaths and serial killers. Letting one present whatever face would put their prey at ease, while still providing those instinctual boosts to combat and allowing the predator to get a much better sense of who was dangerous and who was not. However, the most useful aspect of it was the changes it brought upon me. No longer was I reeling under the suffocating, mechanical weight of the Tier 10 abilities I had on Shifter. My current body was now actively relaxing itself and allowing me to grow pleased, because it reasoned that such a response would be beneficial in this interaction. It was still a ruse and one I suspected wouldn¡¯t fool the old master for half a second, but I was glad for the relief nonetheless. ¡®Come to think of it, I wouldn¡¯t really care for the whole hunting aspect of the ability if I were to combine it further. But that is odd in and of itself. I can grapple with people¡¯s emotions just fine already. My whole first Type is built around that. The Shifter alternatives should not have been anywhere near as valuable to me, but the confidence¡­ Oh the confidence and the ease with which my heart beat are truly intoxicating.¡¯ ¡°I trust that you are content with the result?¡± I asked him politely. ¡°I certainly was towards the end. Though I do still wonder about some things.¡± He huffed. With more sincerity than I was expecting. ¡°I¡¯ll bet you¡¯re content, you little monster. From levels in the low 70s to level 108 in the span of a few hours. Not to mention the sudden acquisition of several combined abilities of the 4th Tier. If I wrote down your progress on a study, half the Labyrinth would be laughing at me before the printing presses stopped.¡± I arched an eyebrow. My face already mimicking some of his mannerisms far more accurately than before. ¡°Well come on. Pull it up and describe it in detail.¡± I did so. Going over all the notifications that had rushed me some moments before, while I was still dealing with Ertie¡¯s trap.
Abilities Converging: [Temperature Regulation II] 8 Has been undone. 36 Ability Point Gained. [Electricity Tolerance] 5 Has been undone. 15 Ability Points Gained. [Radiation Tolerance] 3 Has been undone. 6 Ability Points Gained. 57 Ability Points Remaining.
Ability Gained: [Energy Regulation IV] 1 has been added to the Status.
[Energy Regulation IV] Standard Combination of [Heat Tolerance] / [Cold Tolerance] / [Electricity Tolerance] / [Radiation Tolerance]. Grants the User the power to automatically regulate foreign and internal energy within their body more efficiently at a rate of + 15% per ability level. Grants the User the power to actively re-enforce the regulation of foreign energy and their internal energy more efficiently at a rate of + 40% per ability level and at a cost of 10 Psy per minute. These gains increase by an additional 150% every 5 ability levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
Ability Evolving: [Energy Regulation IV] 1 has grown to [Energy Regulation IV] 10.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Abilities Converging: [Ears] 2 Has been undone. 3 Ability Point Gained. [Low-Frequency Hearing] 1 Has been undone. 1 Ability Points Gained. [High Frequency Hearing] 1 Has been undone. 1 Ability Points Gained. [Echolocation] 3 Has been undone. 6 Ability Points Gained. 61 Ability Points Remaining.
Ability Gained: [Bio-Sonar IV] 1 has been added to the Status.
[Bio-Sonar IV] Standard Combination of [Ears] / [Low-Frequency Hearing] / [High Frequency Hearing] / [Echolocation]. Grants the User the power to detect objects using auditory stimuli at a range of 1 kilometer per current ability level at a cost of 20 Psy per minute. This ability still functions in spite of weather, atmospheric pressure or vacuums. All audible stimuli emanating from foreign objects, both living and non-living, may be used in addition to the User¡¯s own in order to map the surroundings. The User may envision the surroundings as a sonic map that persists in the User¡¯s mind for a full minute after every single use. The User may gleam further information from a living creature¡¯s audible emissions if the User has the appropriate Instinctual ability. These gains increase by an additional 100% every 5 ability levels. These effects can be overcharged with Psy through this ability.
Ability Evolving: [Bio-Sonar IV] 1 has grown to [Bio-Sonar IV] 10.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 9 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 11.
Name: This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Solomon Carter
Psy: 222, 412, 800 / 222, 412, 800
Type: Telepath V Level 212 / Shifter III Level 108
Telepath Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Avatar X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] 25 / [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] 23 / [Solomon¡¯s Impenetrable Obfuscation X] 14 / [Solomon¡¯s Righteous Indignation X] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Enduring Empathy X] 17 / [Solomon¡¯s Empowering Majesty X] 11
Shifter Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 16 / [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 15 / [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 11 / [Energy Regulation IV] 10 / [Social Hunter IV] 11 / [Metallic Hide II] 8 / [Serrated Fur II] 7 / [Bio-Sonar IV] 10 / [Chitin] 6 / [Feathers] 3 / [Eusocial Instincts] 2 / [Locomotion Appendage] 3 / [Pseudopods] 2 / [Stinger] 2 / [Pressurization Tolerance] 2 / [De-Pressurization Tolerance] 2 / [Claws] 3 / [Grasping Appendage] 3 / [Proprioception] 3 / [Eyes] 1 / [Nose] 1 / [Tongue] 1 / [Night Vision] 1 / [Thermal Vision] 1 / [Infrared Vision] 1 / [Incorporate Liquid] 1 / [Incorporate Gas] 1
Ability Points: 9
The last improvements had come hard and fast for [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X]. Something I suspected had much to do with the fact that the power allowed me to create chemicals with bio-electrical properties within myself. It had a lot of synergy with [Energy Regulation IV] and I suspected that pushing one would lead to another growing at about the same rate. ¡®Though how to achieve that is still up for debate.¡¯ I mused. ¡®I suppose that I could have a bunch of Projectors like Monique and Charlie all using their electrical abilities against me at the same time. All while I used the former power to create insulating chemicals and the latter to absorb whatever got through.¡¯ It was an interesting notion that would have to be tested. The only problem that I could foresee at the moment was if any of my compatriots could conjure that much lightning on command. ¡®Probably not.¡¯ I bemoaned internally. ¡®At least, not right now. But that is fine. They¡¯ll get to practise and I¡¯ll get to practise. We still have plenty of time.¡¯ The Dragon puffed up like a rattle turkey and let out a hiss of bubbles. ¡°Look at you. You¡¯re like an open book.¡± He chastised. ¡°Of course.¡± I lied. ¡°Spare me boy.¡± He snapped. ¡°I can tell the difference between what your lying mask portrays and the thoughts running through your head. I¡¯d bet my own training grounds and two of my official palaces that you¡¯re making plans for torturing yourself even now.¡± Those words brought me back to reality. Though I wasn¡¯t sure why I should be surprised in the least. The creature in front of me had been old enough to live through tens of thousands of apprentices, if he cared to take them on at all. Not to mention that he was a Savant himself. He knew full well the lure of sudden progress, as well as the bitterness that came with slowing down. ¡°Say that I was? What part of that is a problem? I was told that having a hard work ethic and a strong desire for self-improvement were virtues?¡± ¡°In moderation.¡± He added. ¡°Which is what leads us to our current dilemma.¡± He tapped the crystal lightly and a recording of me acting the part of a fluffy pink alien came into view. ¡°Tell me, what drove you to lie to these creatures and pretend to be one of them?¡± I shrugged. ¡°It was something I hadn¡¯t tried before and plenty of my abilities were falling behind the others. I knew I was in a good position to kill them, but it seemed too easy at the time. You yourself told me that the point of the exercise was to find new and creative solutions to old problems. This seemed like the most straightforward of the alternate solutions at the time.¡± ¡°Were you somehow forewarned of what the traps would entail?¡± He insisted. ¡°No.¡± I answered. ¡°Though I don¡¯t see how that would have mattered. The traps were a complete and utter disappointment when they did arrive and I only saw one alertness level before Ertie¡¯s sabotage brought down the whole network in any case.¡± He nodded once more. ¡°It would have mattered, because the traps scale with how many of the scientists are killed at one time. Not with how many are killed in total. The usual way someone would tackle this exercise is by killing the two known as Dereng and Ertie at the earliest opportunity. From there, they would have a chance to explore the facility while the guards raised the alarm and rushed inside. The objective is to adapt in an environment that is actively hunting you and constantly changing.¡± He brought up a fancy cup with a sweet-smelling liquid. Lapping some of it up with his narrow tube-like tongue. ¡°It is a challenge where you were supposed to act fast, with limited information. Thereby training your [Instincts]. Whatever they might be at the time. You would also have to choose between tackling foes head-on, in battles that could turn deadly at a moment¡¯s notice or to use subterfuge to make yourself invisible and to blend in with the environment. Or you could [Shrink] or otherwise alter your skeletal and muscular structures through [Skeletal System] and [Muscular System]. To enter the ventilation systems in the compound. In any case, you have to think fast on your feet and adapt. Killing scientists and guards in well-prepared, ferocious ambushes, to keep the traps from growing out of hand. Keep in mind that the first stage of alertness was supposed to be enough to kill a level 75 Shifter by itself. Before you even factored in the additional traps and energy weapons of the actual guards.¡± I paused to consider the machine guns. With their large calibers and seemingly infinite ammunition. They would have been a problem of course, but I couldn¡¯t imagine they¡¯d be enough to put down someone like Boris. Stun him and wound him sure, but not kill him. The old man was too deft for that. His myriad Enhancer abilities working too well with his Shifter ones. Such that all the little parts came together to be something greater than their sum. ¡°I never said that they would absolutely kill a level 75 Shifter.¡± The Dragon corrected as if he could read my mind. ¡°Only that they are capable of it. They are an obstacle that is supposed to be avoided.¡± ¡°Well then.¡± I spoke again. ¡°I guess I have exceeded your expectations.¡± ¡°You have.¡± He muttered bitterly. ¡°Though not in the way you might expect.¡± He took a deep, calming breath. Similar to the ones I often took when the stress got to be too much. ¡°Why did you not kill those two when you first came across them?¡± ¡°Because I am not a bloodthirsty murderer.¡± I stated the obvious. ¡°When you see two people meandering about, your first thought shouldn¡¯t be wondering how to gut them. At least, not if you¡¯re a normal person. I wanted to see what the Instance was all about, since you hyped it up to such a degree. I wanted to see what was outside the compound and what kind of dangers I could expect.¡± ¡°And you never thought to go back inside when you saw how cold it was?¡± ¡°Of course I did.¡± I said aloud. Now wondering if my new teacher thought me a dullard. ¡°It was the first thing that came to my mind, but the second thing that came to my mind was you saying that the Instance was supposed to be challenging in ways I hadn¡¯t yet expected. And it was. I got myself a nice little Tier 2 ability which later turned into a fat Tier 4 ability with lots and lots of uses. I did suffer and yes, it did hurt a lot. But I¡¯ve been hurt before. I am no stranger to pain. I have known the pain and agony and loneliness of innumerable living beings at the same time. For a whole year back when I was a child and then again when I finally woke up properly.¡± I scoffed and waved him away. ¡°Do you really suppose a bit of pain is going to keep me from getting stronger?¡± I made a rude noise with my lips. ¡°Pain is the sign that one is enduring the unendurable. That one is getting stronger than normal. I knew that as a Telepath, back when I was but a sad lonely mortal scraping by on the mercy of giant bugs and psychopathic gnomes. Buddy was probably the only thing that kept me alive long enough to meet you. Why would anyone with [Regeneration] or a combined ability that incorporated it, ever run from pain? Why on earth would they be fine with a life of terrible mediocrity and weakness? Why would anyone that had [Predator¡¯s Instincts] be fine with being weak? With being prey?¡± I purposely shrugged my shoulders again and allowed my body to make itself comfortable. ¡°And it worked, didn¡¯t it? I came out stronger and I called it quits when my life was in danger. I assume that is what was supposed to happen?¡± ¡°It was.¡± He admitted. ¡°But the idea was that all participants would take one look at the environment and call it quits right away.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Oh come now. It wasn¡¯t all that bad in the grand scheme of things. I¡¯ve gone through worse.¡± ¡°And that fact shouldn¡¯t be comforting to you. But going back to the point at hand, yes. It really was that bad and worse. The storm was a recreation of a Tier 6 Projector ability. One that pressurized the atmosphere around moving targets while forcing the temperatures to plumet. It is supposed to be able to kill a level 75 Shifter within two minutes.¡± I thought back to the storm and the way the blades of ice pierced through several layers of protection and still refuse to melt as I flooded my body with Psy. ¡°I guess I can see how that makes sense.¡± I admitted. ¡°Indeed. While I am glad you were able to improve so readily, any normal Shifter, even one with Enhancer as a second Type would be dead. Gone. Done. Utterly annihilated.¡± ¡°Yeah yeah. I get it.¡± ¡°No. You don¡¯t. But that¡¯s fine. Let us move on to the other issue at hand. The one where you toyed with the people in the compound.¡± My body made a show of being flustered. ¡°Oh come on. You can¡¯t possibly put that on me! I hardly talked to like, what? Six of them in total from start to finish? I¡¯m not the one who told the director to blow up the Hardware Labs. I wasn¡¯t the one who told the guys at the cafeteria to start shanking survivors and I definitely wasn¡¯t the one going around telling Ertie to be a menace to society! If anything, I was very lenient, because I usually, um¡­¡± I made quotation marks with my fingers. ¡°Fix. Those kinds of impulses. With great results might I add.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. We usually disembowel those kinds of perverts in an arena where I¡¯m from. The issue is not that you led to their deaths per se. The issue is that you manipulated them. Earned their trust. Only to betray them later.¡± I paused at that. ¡°Was there another way to complete the Instance?¡± ¡°No.¡± He confirmed. I did feel some amount of genuine relief at that at least. ¡°Okay then. I don¡¯t know what you want from me. Sure, I killed them head on after giving up all pretenses and sure, I led them on a little bit, but it was about as bad as me hunting them down in my Monstro-Artic-Bear thing form. If anything, they died more painlessly this way.¡± ¡°I would not agree with that, but I take your point.¡± Hazimon spoke softly. ¡°Though the reason why it bothers me is this.¡± Hazimon tapped the side of the crystal and another image appeared from it, like that of a illusory projection. The scene it showed was a familiar one. Ertie and Dereng and Yoko and three others I did not recognize. All bickering over who was the alien. They all began to stab the person they singled out. First the three unnamed researchers and then Yoko. Dereng was bent over her body. Weeping. Ertie placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. On to wince a second later. His eyes going down to see a spear of bone protruding from Dereng¡¯s back. ¡°Hey, Ertie?¡± The thing that was Dereng whispered between sad sobs. Ertie gasped. Uncomprehending. ¡°My name is not Dereng.¡± His neck twisted around 180 degrees. Snapping bones and tearing muscles. The thing smiled. ¡°I am the Seeking Drake. And I never get tired of seeing that face you make.¡± Then, the Drake laughed and laughed and laughed. As tendrils of meat shot off his body and burrowed deep into Ertie¡¯s flesh. Dragging him towards the center mass of the Drake like a fish on a hook, while the latter choked on his screams. Hazimon tapped the image and then turned to me. ¡°Okay.¡± I said calmly. ¡°I can understand why that would look bad.¡± ¡°Solomon.¡± ¡°But! But! I did not enjoy doing that! I only though to do it because of the things you said about having to be creative! I am nothing like the Seeking Drake!¡± Hazimon locked his eyes with mine, but said nothing for the next few minutes. ¡°Fine then. Let us adjourn that topic for now and move on to the Instance that you were supposed to plan for me. Do you have something in mind already?¡± As it happened, I did. But I had to give myself some amount of coverage before that. ¡°I do. But I have to warn you. I made this scenario up with the express purpose of being painful. The idea was to conjure a scenario where you have to use mind-reading, as well as emotional and psychological manipulation. Alongside all other Telepath abilities. If you want to get ahead that is. Brute force will not work and the scenario will be failed if you use any kind of obvious physical force.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± He whispered. ¡°Now you have my interest.¡± ¡°Yeah. I have to warn you ahead of time that you will want to kill everyone you come across. This is normal. I designed it that way. It is supposed to be painful and maddening, but you can¡¯t come out and try to kill me if you don¡¯t like it. You did ask for it, after all.¡± He nodded slowly. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll tell you what. I will promise that I will take no offence. This one time. Better yet, if I get the results I want, I promise to double the reward on the table for the other deal I had in mind.¡± I nodded. Already more or less writing off that whole deal in my head. ¡®He will want to strangle me with my own intestines when he gets out. The deal will be the last thing on his mind.¡¯ Despite that, there was no other recourse. I had been pondering the issue of the old master throughout my own challenge and had even been somewhat inspired by Ertie. In how we weren¡¯t supposed to kill him for being such an obvious menace. At least when the alien was around. My scenario would be a bit forced, but it would kick anyone who tried it in the teeth over and over again until they figured out how to be a decent Telepath. Of that, I was sure. The Dragon would either drown and come back in a mad fury or he would succeed and come back a broken husk of the man he once was. There really was no middle ground with what I had in mind. Still, there was no other way. Not if he really wanted to explore the Telepath Type to its fullest. ¡®Besides, if pain is the avenue to progress, this will kickstart his career as a Telepath like nothing else. He will know pain, as he has never known it before.¡¯ ¡°You must make another contract with me.¡± I insisted. ¡°Make one that says that you will not retaliate in any way, if you gain so much as a level.¡± He arched an eyebrow, but said nothing. Instead, he swiped his hand through the air and a contract stating just that appeared before me. I signed it and put out my hand to grab the crystal. ¡°All right then.¡± I spoke. ¡°I just hope you don¡¯t regret this.¡± The Dragon looked amused for the first time since I came back. ¡°All right. I think you have exaggerated enough by now Mr. Carter. How bad could this¡­¡± He looked down at the crystal I¡¯d handed back to him. ¡°Mega-DMV possibly be?¡± Chapter 119: In Triplicate. The Dragon had been almost amused about the contract before entering the Instance I had designed. Yet I could not help but thank my own intuition when he went in. Time was purposely confused in there. Unlike in the compound and the surrounding frozen wastes. A single minute might have been ten or twenty or even an hour. A single second might be a whole day. A day might have been an eternity or no time at all and so on and so on. Such methods were not very smart, as far as I knew. Just like all others forms of degraded reality, they carried the inherent risk of conjuring one or more anomalies. If it was something as banal as the ghosts in Dusty¡¯s world that had so frightened Charlie or the singing flowers in the field then so much the better. However, I of all people knew very well that such meagre shows of power were deceptive at best. Tickling the already inflated hubris that old masters like the Dragon felt. I also knew full well that powers that had any influence on the veil or reality were not often practiced in the wider Labyrinth. At least not in polite circles and certainly not before reaching the 3rd Tier. Those few Telepaths that dabbled here and there on conjuring Intruders would oftentimes find themselves influenced or dead. If they were lucky. There were worse fates than death out there, as those who came under possession soon realized. A relatively tame and benevolent Intruder, like say¡­ Cherub, might simply grab hold of someone and squeeze them in order to fulfil their intrinsic desires, such as cleansing the world of gnomes or whatever else they might be inclined to do. Others, like Mittens, would absolutely revel in the slaughter they caused. For these ones, the prime material worlds were a playground to be exploited. A place where they could experience a semblance of life without all the chaotic afflictions that tore the world beyond the veil asunder at irregular intervals. I had known the risks and I had still chosen to design the Instance in that manner. Partly because I¡¯d made more or less certain that the only Intruders with access were my own and partly because the weakened veil would also improve the effects of Psy. All Psy. The Dragon might have claimed that he had practiced in all the right ways, as instructed by all the right people. Yet I could not help but wonder if any of those had ever exposed him to the raw stuff of the immaterial. ¡®He certainly didn¡¯t seem all too bothered by the Intruders I sent at him the first time we met. But that was a different time. When he was all Enhancer and nothing else. When he could wrangle the very Psy around him and force his own signature and his own mind on it. Transferring it through his body and tainting it with his colors.¡¯ The Dragon had now agreed to be a Telepath and nothing but. I had expected he would have had a much different experience than what he was used to or what he was expecting. Looking at him now, it was clear that I was right. The building was huge. Beyond huge. About the size of six Costco stores put together. With three aboveground floors, two belowground basement floors and nine different lines that snaked all the way around a bunch of poles and colored stripes. Some of the lines went up to higher floors and some went down to lower floors. Some were more or less straight while others went around in a zig-zag patterns so that more people were squeezed into less space. All of them were filled to bursting. The people there packed together in ways that would make sardines thankful for all the room they had to work with in the canneries. The Dragon had looked bemused upon seeing the spectacle. That was some hours ago though. Right now, the novelty had very clearly worn off. ¡°Excuse me sir, do you know how much longer this line is going to take?¡± Hazimon asked the man in front of him. ¡°Haaa! What the (Gnome) are you talking about? Are ya looking to pick a fight punk? Huh!? Are ya looking down on me just cause I¡¯m bald!?¡± Hazimon looked startled. Confused at the hostility. ¡°Wh-what? No. I¡¯m just asking because we¡¯ve been in the line for hours and it hasn¡¯t¡­¡± ¡°Nobody calls me a baldy and gets away with it!¡± The man roared. Effortlessly flicking off one of his sandals, picking it up and smacking Hazimon with it. Of course, the master wasted no time in knocking him to the ground and kicking his teeth in, but that was when the security guards came along. ¡°Sir. I¡¯m sorry to inform you that fighting in the DMV is forbidden. Please leave for an hour and start again from the back of the line.¡± Hazimon stared at them. Then at the man on the floor. Then he sighed. ¡°All right. I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll be back soon.¡± I nodded to myself from the training room. That had been the right call to make. Because the Intruders would have started coming over if he¡¯d tried to make a fight of it. On my side, it was two minutes before he was back in roughly the same spot in the queue. On his side, it was close to eight and a half hours. Yet the Dragon did not seem irritated. Instead, he sported an expression that could only be called mild befuddlement. ¡°He still hasn¡¯t gotten it.¡± I murmured. ¡°He¡¯s reading the people around him and he¡¯s already experienced it once, but he¡¯s too old and too proud. He thinks this is just a minor inconvenience.¡± He would learn. Sooner or later. He would break and start seeing the world as a Telepath. The only question was how long it would take. Case in point, the Dragon managed to keep his mouth shut for another 12 hours. Despite the line going from a few steps every 10 minutes, to a single step every 2 hours the closer he got. His body was calm and still, but I could see that his mind had already started working, even without being able to read his thoughts. [Social Hunter IV] was starting to become even more accustomed to his mannerisms. Or what few tells he still had. Where a normal human might have been tapping their foot incessantly, the Dragon kept his stance steady and unmoving. Where a normal human might have been sighing and looking at their watch, the Dragon kept his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes ever forwards. Where a normal human might have been slouching or seeking places to lean on after standing for so long, the Dragon¡¯s posture remained straight as an arrow and steady as a mountain. Making it so that his body came across as domineering and powerful compared to all those around him. However, his right eye had a tendency to twitch ever few minutes. The veins underneath his scaly skin throbbing ever so slightly while the soft crests along his head fluttered. It was starting to happen with more regularity the longer he stayed in the line and it only got worse when the woman in front of him took off her shoes. Hazimon¡¯s nose holes twitched at the same time as his gills. His mouth opening for a fraction of a second in a mix of disbelief, disgust and indignation. Then she began to massage her weary feet. Groaning as the tension left her and cursing obscenities under her breath. So foul was her language that a few of the people in other queues with children reddened and dragged their offspring away from the colossal building. The dragon tried to ignore all of this, but then the woman took off her socks and a fresh new horror wafted through the air. That seemed to set him off. I didn¡¯t blame him. I¡¯d specifically designed the smell to be atrocious. ¡°Excuse me madam.¡± He began again. ¡°Pardon me for saying this but I don¡¯t believe this behaviour is polite.¡± ¡°Haaaa!?¡± She shouted. Turning around with a red, furious face. ¡°What the (Gnome) did you say to me you walking sushi dish!? Are ya looking for a fight!?¡± The old master put his clawed hands up in a placating gesture. ¡°Not at all madam. I was just commenting that perhaps we should all be considerate of each other while wai¡­¡± She slapped him. The master Enhancer did not respond. Instead taking a deep breath through his mouth tube and steadying himself once more. ¡°All I meant is that we are all tired and waiting and¡­¡± ¡°Huuuuu!? Ya think you¡¯re better than me or something!? Ya think ya should get to skip the line cause you¡¯re a fish freak!?¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. She slapped him. Hazimon still did not fight back. ¡°No. Madam. Please listen¡­¡± She slapped him. ¡°I won¡¯t stand for this kind of disrespect!¡± She turned around. ¡°Manager! I need to speak to a manager! MANAGER!¡± Security came up once more. ¡°What seems to be the issue ma¡¯am?¡± She whirled and pointed at the Dragon. ¡°This thing has been harassing me! It keeps bringing up my feet in front of everyone else!¡± Hazimon was so stunned he couldn¡¯t find the words to talk back. She slapped him. ¡°All right. All right. Fighting is not allowed here. Both of you out.¡± Hazimon¡¯s eyes snapped to the guard. ¡°What!? Both of us!? I didn¡¯t touch her!?¡± ¡°Freak! He¡¯s talking about touching me!¡± She bellowed. Her voice carrying all over the building. Echoing and bouncing off the walls and ceiling so that the accusation came back within a few seconds. That caused people who were standing around them to start whispering. Some in defense of the master and some who hadn¡¯t seen the event in defense of the woman. Not content with that, she slapped him. Then the guards muscled both of them out the door. Her kicking and screaming and him looking absolutely stunned. Then, because he was kicked out of the line a second time, he now had to get in line to enter the buildings. And he was further horrified when he saw that the new line went all the way around the outside of the building. Twice. Nevertheless, I couldn¡¯t help but notice the sudden jerking of his head as he was dragged towards one of the food courts adjacent to the mega-DMV. ¡°He¡¯s finally got a level.¡± I said aloud. Nodding to myself all the while. ¡°I expected as much. The whole idea of low-Tier Telepathy is expanding your range and dealing with new thoughts and emotions. In a way, it¡¯s a test of how empathetic you can be, while still separating the signals you get from yourself.¡± I leaned back. ¡°Ah. I remember those early days in the Labyrinth. The thing that fueled me was getting to the surface and getting out. While saving as many people as possible.¡± I recalled that I also listened to the last thoughts of a lot of people when I had first been bitten by a centipede. Hearing their final thoughts as they died. That had been a unique kind of misery, but it had propelled me to push harder and harder. To develop more quickly while still being suppressed. I could tell that the Dragon was getting to know that kind of misery firsthand now and that it had earned him a level. Maybe two. ¡°And it¡¯s only the beginning.¡± I muttered again. Then I stopped. Noting how I was going all ¡°Hehehehe¡­¡± At the sight of someone else¡¯s suffering. ¡°Wait a second. Am I a sadist?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Nah. That¡¯s ridiculous. I¡¯m always helping people. This is helping too. Kinda. This is what he needs to work out his problems.¡± I took a break and went through my storage ring to get my mind off of the Instance. Pulling out a glass of orange juice I¡¯d gotten from the Warehouse. As a gift of course. Because someone had stolen all my Tokens. ¡®Ah. This is nice.¡¯ I thought while leaning back on one of the chairs. ¡®I¡¯d stopped enjoying a lot of simple things after getting those three Tier 10 Shifter abilities. But I can feel pleasure again after getting [Social Hunter IV]. Is it because I can feel human pleasures when I¡¯m trying to pass off as a human?¡¯ It would take more experimenting on my part to confirm it, but I was more or less sure that was right. I mean, the Drake was a cruel ugly monster who revelled in causing suffering wherever he went, but even he knew to enjoy himself. Even he had hobbies beyond saving people all the time and proving that he was a good person. I should remember that. Being connected to others didn¡¯t just mean taking in their suffering. It also meant taking in their joys and their pleasures as well. ¡®But I have been focusing a lot on the suffering.¡¯ I mused. ¡®Though my own world was constantly under the threat of monsters and corrupt armies and governments. Makes sense that I would want to fix that. I wonder how much Earth has changed since the last time I was there. I mean, I did see that everything would be more or less okay when I saw the futures that were coming up, but I wonder how I would personally feel as a regular, normal person? I wonder how my actions have changed the little things like getting up in the morning and eating breakfast or going for groceries? I didn¡¯t focus too much on that aspect of living. Perhaps that was a mistake.¡¯ I decided to take a quick nap before going back to the Instance. When I did return, I saw that the Dragon had now found out that he needed to stock up on food like the others. It didn¡¯t matter how disciplined you were or how much you could fast. A Telepath was still a relatively normal person from a physical sense and hunger was very much on the table. Looking at how his rage was painted on his face and how his ribs were now sticking out, it was obvious that he had been forced to leave the queue after nearly starving. ¡°Excuse me sir, may I take your place in the line?¡± He asked the next person. The obese man looked like he was about to fight, but his eyes widened at the last second. ¡°Well¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°Please sir.¡± The Dragon insisted. Flexing [Entrancing Gaze], [Alluring Presence] and [Hum of Harmony]. Feeling the extra kick from how degraded the veil of reality was. ¡°I¡­ I guess that¡¯s fine.¡± The obese man spoke softly. ¡°Please, go on.¡± ¡°You have my eternal gratitude.¡± Hazimon assured him. Quickly taking the spot and doing the exact same thing on the next person. He repeated that two more times, until he found someone who wasn¡¯t quite as receptive. That was when he used [Friendship]. ¡°Please Steve. Think this through. We¡¯ve been friends forever and I really need to get this done.¡± He said with a pleading tone. ¡°Won¡¯t you do this one thing for me? This one time?¡± Steve stammered, but eventually relented. The second that he did so, the Dragon began using his [Alluring Presence] trick on the next person. No doubt familiar with the backlash that would come when [Friendship] ran its course. By the time it did, Hazimon was twenty spots further on the line and he wasted no time using [Enrage] on another bulky man as Steve skipped the queue to come swinging. The bulky man decked Steve in the jaw and the two fell on the ground fighting until security came by and took both of them to the very back of the line. Hazimon didn¡¯t even look behind him and kept working the next person before him. Three hours later, he was back inside the building. As soon as he stepped through, he started reading all the people around him. Learning their vulnerabilities and their insecurities before moving on to exploiting them with ruthless efficiency. ¡®Man, he isn¡¯t even hesitating.¡¯ I noticed. ¡®Though he has obviously spent some time down there. I wonder how long it¡¯s been on his side?¡¯ It had obviously been enough that he¡¯d gained six or so levels. But not long enough that he realized that he could skip most of the line by using [Hide] and [Faint Presence] before sprinting towards the finish and then top that off by using [Fog Memory] to keep the new people around him from complaining. ¡°He could also use [Fear] and [Confusion] to scour the lines of the weak-minded people. Or use any of the puppet abilities on those with pets. Oh well. Maybe he hasn¡¯t got enough levels yet.¡± A few more hours passed. During which the old master went about the business of using [Drunkenness] and [Message] to start fights between the people who could shrug off his charms. All the while, he maintained a more loose, more hunched posture. As if he were ready to strike at the drop of a hat. But this seemed like the last attempt. At least to him. He made it all the way over the counter. His hands shaking a little bit while his legs wobbled. ¡°Hello sir.¡± He began. ¡°Can I please get my driver¡¯s license?¡± The old man behind the desk looked up from his book. Then his gaze went up and down. Savouring the form of the Dragon before him. ¡°And where is form 21-A?¡± Hazimon blinked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± ¡°You should be.¡± The man snorted. ¡°You need form 21-A to get your license.¡± He pointed at one of the straighter lines. ¡°You can get the form on that queue. But only after you fill out form 39-G and form 42-D and use them to start an application. The application takes a few hours and after that you need to take all those forms and fill out a quiz. After which you¡¯ll need to go back to line 39 and get a copy of form 39-B and 39-C. After you fill out your family¡¯s history, you¡¯ll need to get that stamped. You can get that done on line 2. Or line 3, depending on how your taxes were filed last year.¡± He gave Hazimon a condescending stare. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you remembered to bring your T4s and your notice of assessment from the government?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡­ Ah¡­Um¡­I¡­ Hum¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°Sir, please clean up your drool. Otherwise, I will be forced to have you removed from the premises for property damage, as our janitor will need to clean it up. Also, please wipe those tears. Sadness is unproductive.¡± The Dragon did not listen. He started crying. Then he was removed and had to make his way to the front of the other line. Then he had to make his way back to the first line to get his hand stamped so he could start the process all over again. ¡®The effort did give him at least 10 more levels though.¡¯ I noted. ¡®At least. All his abilities are much more powerful and he seems to have increased his range even further.¡¯ I withdrew another orange juice from my ring and took a sip. ¡°I wonder if he¡¯ll realize what he has to do to pass the test?¡± He didn¡¯t. And he only realized after hopelessly failing the test. After waiting in line for another two days on his end. Then he spent another two hours sitting on one of the benches in the food court outside. Apparently not catching on to the fact that he was supposed to use [Review Memory] alongside [Sense Thoughts] to slowly get all the answers from the people in line over the course of his waiting. The testing room was purposely made to block off those abilities, so he wouldn¡¯t be able to cheat once he got there. The higher his level on those, the bigger his range and the more efficient his memory reading would become. Which he would need, because the ones who had the right answers were all very hard to read. Alas, the Dragon spent another three weeks brute-forcing his way through the test before he caught on. Something I found rather amusing. ¡°All those years alive as an absolute menace and the idea of cheating never once occurred to him.¡± I snickered. ¡°Guess near immortality isn¡¯t all it¡¯s cracked out to be.¡± I leaned back on my chair once more. ¡°Also, he could have used [Precognition] and [Premonition] at the same time to sus out the right answers from the wrong ones, but that didn¡¯t occur to him either.¡± I paused for a second. ¡°Wait, could it be that he¡¯s a bit of an airhead?¡± That possibility seemed more likely by the second, as the Dragon actually broke down in tears after getting the test right for the first time. By that point, he¡¯d managed to claw his way to level 40 or so by my count, so those could have been tears of joy as well. ¡®Not bloody likely.¡¯ I chided myself. ¡®The man looks like he¡¯s ready to strangle everyone around him.¡¯ Alas, he did not figure out the right way to cheat. And that came to bite him after the second test. And of course, once he failed that, the answers for the first test changed and he no longer got the scores back to check his work. Then the Dragon spent a whole week crying to himself on the food court benches. After that though, there was a transformation. He started rushing past the earlier lines using [Hide] and exploiting [Fear] and [Phobia] and [Enrage] alongside [Drunkenness] to start all kinds of fights not linked to himself. ¡°He¡¯s made a breakthrough.¡± I observed. ¡°He¡¯s in the zone now. Tier 2 for sure. With two combined abilities.¡± Just like that, he passed the first test and the second and the third. He got all the forms signed and stamped within a single day and then came back to the original desk. Smiling triumphantly like a man coming home from war and seeing his wife and newborn child for the first time. ¡°I did it.¡± He gasped as he slammed the forms down. ¡°I finally did it. Good Gozo I did it. I filled out all the forms.¡± ¡°You did sir.¡± The man agreed. Then the clerk donned a smile of his own. ¡°Unfortunately, these forms need to be filled out¡­¡± He waited and smacked his lips. Loudly. Reveling in the Dragon¡¯s expression. ¡°In T-R-I-P-L-I-C-A-T-E.¡± He went on to shred the forms. ¡°Please make your way back to the start of the line and be sure to complete tests 4 and 5 in waiting rooms A-4 and A-5 so that you can get those forms copied and then deposit one for the copies in desk 39 before making your way back with the other two copies. Thank you and have a wonderful day.¡± Chapter 120: Additional Stipulations. The first thing I thought when I saw that good old Hazimon was coming back was: ''Oomph. He does not look good. Maybe I overdid it a bit.'' The second thought that went through my head was: ''(Gnome) me. He really did a number on his face there. It isn''t healing.'' Then the air shivered with that all too familiar rush of light and displaced air and my third thought was: ''Holy (Gnome)! If looks could kill then he''d be in breach of contract and we''d both be dead!'' Indeed. There was something about the way the Dragon had rent his own face to bloody ribbons with his own claws towards the end that didn''t quite signal mental stability. Quite the opposite in fact. I had a distinct feeling that he would had one of those World War 1 thousand yard stares on his face if he were human. ''How odd that he can look so human with the whole seahorse thing going on.'' I mused. ''Okay. Okay Sully. Be cool. He''s ben through a lot. Yes. But he ASKED for this. Even after you explicitly told him the experienced would not be pleasant and even after you asked for an extra stipulation to the contract. He knew what he was getting into and he knows it. Besides, it''s not all bad. I mean, the guy has lived for a long, long , LONG time. Surely someone who''s been around the block as many times as he has come across all sorts of nasty business in his life. Surely this can''t be all that bad in the grand scheme of things. And besides, he got, what? 92 levels out of the whole deal? In what amounted to 6 real-life hours on this side? I know plenty of people who would sell their families for those kinds of gains.'' Naturally, by plenty of people, I meant the Seeking (Gnome)ing Drake. But the point still stood. If I were a Savant who''s lived longer than some civilizations have existed and I finally got a second Type, I''d be pretty stoked about levelling it up too. Okay. Right. It''s okay. Play it cool. Cool as a cucumber. "Hey buddy! I saw you from here! You did amazing! I can already tell that you''re a natural at this!" The air shivered as the master split the atmosphere in half. The world suffering the weight of a preternatural charge as he rushed me. Then, he stopped. His bloody claws mere inches from my throat. His eyes went sideways. "System notification?" I guessed. "Maybe about the whole Total Atomic Annihilation business?" Hazimon did not move his claws. Only his eyes. Yet that was more than enough to send shivers up my spine. ''Oh yeah. [Social Hunter IV] is doing it''s thing alright.'' "Look, I get it. Okay? I do. But I know you have a perfect memory due to the whole supreme Enhancer deal you''ve got. I know that I warned you and you know that you blew me off. You said something along the lines of doing anything you possibly could to get ahead after those eons being stuck and I said it would be terrible and you said it would be fine and that it wasn''t anything you couldn''t handle. You will also recall that I repeated myself at least three times and that I made you sign that additional contract because I knew what was coming. You can''t really blame me for this, can you?" The Dragon kept looking at me with that haunted expression. The bloody strips of sundered flesh on his face looking more and more like trails of crimson tears as the seconds passed. The Dragon blinked. As if I were some dog that got up on its hind paws, walked about the room, put on a shirt and a pair of pants and asked for an allowance. "You hurt me on purpose." He finally managed. I winced. Visibly. Then I spoke once more. Making sure to sound as empathetic and understanding as possible, while keeping any hint of sarcasm out of my voice. "Well, yeah? That was the whole point. Right? To push yourself to your limits and overcome them? That''s what being an Esper is all about. You said so yourself. You even threw me into an Instance filled with a storm capable of killing just about anything given enough time and a bunch of highly-lethal super techy traps that got worse the more people progressed. Now, I didn''t have a good time and I let you know that. But I was still thankful. I got a lot out of the experience and given the option, I''d be on board to do something similar." I gave him a few more seconds to digest the argument. "You... where did you get the idea for such a horrible place?" He asked out of the blue. "The DMV?" I asked. Then I shrugged. "Oh, I may have exaggerated some things here and there. But it''s something all humans in my part of the world had to deal with once they turned 16." I let out a dry chuckle. "You know that lady with the feet? The one you kept running into and that was mostly immune to Telepath powers? I actually know her in real life. Or, rather, I knew her. Ran into her once in a real world DMV when she was having some kind of breakdown. Didn''t inconvenience me overmuch in the grand scheme of things. But her antics did put her in the crosshairs of the Tall Man. She... uh. Didn''t have a happy ending." "She is fortunate." Hazimon declared. "The Drake''s blackest deeds would have seemed as if they were overflowing with the milk of Gozo''s kindness; Compared to what I would have done to her." The news did seem to calm him down a bit though. "It would seem I underestimated your species." He said with a low grumble. "This whole time, I was under the impression that you were a slovenly, lazy race. Content with wallowing in hedonism and debauchery as soon as you got any small amount of power. I did not consider that your kind at large might have such terrible trials in place to grow your mental fortitude. And that you make 16 year old children go through this." He shuddered. "I am no stranger to terrible trials of initiation into adulthood. But the ones I am most familiar with involve the hunting of some great beast of the climbing of a tall mountain or... other things. Some species force siblings to kill each other or lovers to separate." His beady eyes stared into mine. "This DMV trial seems singularly cruel. Even for gnomes." Ouch. That... That actually hurt. "Well, now. I don''t know if it was that bad. I mean, come on. Everybody goes through it and ... yeah. Nobody likes it. But its part of growing up you know? I just exaggerated a few things to help you improve." His eyes went from hard, judging orbs, into something resembling pity. "Oh my goodness. You... you actually think that." He put a bloody clawed hand to his mouth tube. "To think that you have all internalized your trauma to the extent that you don''t view it for the torture that it is." He choked back a sob. Then placed a re-assuring hand on my shoulder. "Forgive me, Solomon. I was... I was insensitive. Please know that you will always have me if you need someone to help you get through this. Scars never fully heal, but we can allow them to fade given enough time and help from our friends." ''Okay that was pushing things a bit too far.'' I thought. "Thank you. Friend. For your understanding." Is what I said. The Dragon nodded. "Indeed. I... please. Give me a few moments to take stock of my surroundings. I... I have to remind myself that I really am here ad that I''m not going to wake up in that..." He gulped. Loudly. "In the bad place again." That worked for me. I went over to a distant corner and started working on my new combined abilities some more. Pushing more Psy into my body while absorbing the different minerals found within the walls. I spread then around my outer layers and my bones, just as before. But now I tried to bring more of the metals into my other organs. My hearts and my liver. My lungs and my stomach. My brain and the spiraling tangle of nerves going down my spine. ''Strange.'' I mused. ''I thought it would feel more... different.'' I decided to change tactics. Forming a layer of metal on my hands, before I started punching the walls. Over and over again. With slightly more Psy each time. The exercise proved to be monotonous. The motions breaking my fingers into splinters over and over and over again while the Dragon went from shivering in the corner to sipping juices to sudden bouts of sobbing while curled up in a ball. A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ''Honestly. I didn''t take him for such a drama queen. I mean sure, he was dropped head first in a vat of saturated human misery with no way out and no way to tune out the dread and despair flowing around him while it also slowly consumed him from the inside out until there was nothing left but the desire for the sweet release of death... but that was just the average Tuesday at the DMV.'' I nodded to myself. Knowing I was right. ''Being a Telepath is all about being in tune with the world beyond the Veil. The world of the mind beyond reality. With all its joys and crushing pits of sadness. If he''s this beat up about a few thousand minds walling in inescapable, all-consuming despair, then he''s in for a really rough time when he starts levelling it more seriously.'' People would always have their own feelings after all. They would have their highs and their lows. Their good days and the days where death seemed preferable to life. No one would stop feeling that consuming dread because someone else was listening. Six-year-old me learned that lesson all too well. ''Wait, do I need to see a therapist?'' Henry had certainly thought so. And now the Dragon. ''Nah. I''m fine.'' I thought with certainty. Then I went to punching the walls with all my strength and breaking my fingers over and over again. "I''m ready to talk now." Hazimon''s voice called out from behind. "Nice." I said. "Now we can talk about this new deal you want to make." "Not a new deal." He corrected. "More of an amendment. One based on the things I''ve seen over the last few days." I nodded along. "Fair enough." I waved him forwards. "What do you think we should change about our deal?" "You need to leave Expert Difficulty." He stated solemnly. I didn''t say anything. He went on. "Stop for a moment and consider what the Tutorial is for. Really stop to think about it." "It''s there to prepare Espers for the wider Labyrinth." "Exactly." He brought out another glass of juice and downed in in one long slurp. Almost as if to get the taste of old DMV lady socks out of his mouth. "And what do you suppose you are getting out of the Expert difficulty by this point? Hmn? What part of that Tutorial Instance is helping you grow and develop?" I started nodding along. "Okay. I see your point." "I''m not finished." He cut me off. "Not only are you not developing any more, but you are having a detrimental effect on all the other Students around you. Things have become far too safe for them." I narrowed my eyes. "Roughly 4 out of 5 of us are dead." I pointed out. "Are you saying that things should be more difficult than that?" "Yes." He answered at once. "Mind you I''m not saying that more of you should die, but at this point all those who''ve been artificially brought up to the top of the first Tier are going to stay there. That is, they are currently level 50 in one or more Types, but most of that work was not their own." He pointed at me. "It was yours. And now you''ve also become a safety net that keeps the weaker members of your group from properly pushing themselves. They will not earn new Types. They will not enter into the second Tier." "I was under the impression that such outcomes were par for the course." I countered. "They are." He allowed. "But it doesn''t have to be that way. I''m sure there are enough talented young ones in your current group that one or two of them should stand out. Or more. You aren''t doing them any favors by being around them like an overbearing mother. Nor are you helping them in the long run. You know this already, but the Tutorial offers opportunities that no other part of the Labyrinth has. The ability boards are one, but there is also the relative lack of competition to consider." He threw a thumb at a random wall to indicate the wider multiverse. "Out there, the gnomes ae real. As are many, many other threats like pirates, slavers, petty warlords and... let us not forget... other Savants. Those who may or may not be as talented as you or I or the Seeking Drake, but who will be head and shoulders above whatever your people can throw at them. I say this again. You do your people no favors by coddling them." The Dragon leaned back in his chair. "Not to mention the other pressures I am facing." "The Spider still tattling on me?" I scoffed. "I haven''t even done anything wrong!?" He stared me down. "What? I haven''t! I''ll even go so far as to invite you to look at all my recordings through the System." His stare deepened. "I have had suspicions that you were stupid before. The Instance''s design proves otherwise. Stop dancing around the issue." I made sure to sigh theatrically. "Yeah. Yeah. I get it. Difference between the letter and the spirit of the rules and all that. I got so much stuff out of the few months I''ve been here that it could be argued that I shouldn''t be considered a Student anymore." I raised a finger to forestall him. "But that is just an opinion. An opinion that doesn''t even come from a normal sentient being to boot. I still get the final say on whether to move out of here early after our deal." "You do." The Dragon confirmed. "Which is why I am offering you a deal in the first place. I have considered the Spider''s arguments. As well as those of my fellow, lesser Enforcers. The former wishes you kicked out of the difficulty and moved on to Master. The latter wishes you expelled from the Tutorial entirely." I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? I am actually aware of that. Orphan Maker was never under direct control and the others should have been freed after you were alerted. I foresaw those possibilities. Though none of the futures I saw had anything to do with you." I crossed my legs. "I believe some of them mean to ambush me with a bunch of old master working together as soon as I leave." I shook my head. "None of the futures I saw end well for them." The Dragon let out a dry chortle. "I''m no Seer and I could have told you that. But, well...." He hesitated. "I''m afraid that I still have a job to do and... the more I see of you, the more I think they have a point. I wouldn''t throw you out of the Tutorial entirely yet because I want you to be as strong as possible to fight the Drake of course. But I do have to see their point. I am nothing if not fair." I nodded again. "Okay. So you want me to move up a difficulty. With Vince and Thunder Fist." "And your friend Henry and some of the others you improved so much during the punitive actions." He added. "As clumsy as he is, that man is currently overqualified even for Master difficulty. Regardless of his actual skills, the numbers on his status would have local warlords running for the hills." The idea seemed to amuse him. "I will allow the tall one to stay in his Instance. Since he seems to rely on diplomacy more than anything else. But the others have got to go." "Okay then." I said calmly. "What''s the incentive for me in all this? Why shouldn''t I just point to our already existing deal and say that I''m not interested?" "Mainly because I suspect that you will be very interested." He replied. "I mean to give you early access to my own Type, should you accept." It was very hard to keep myself from jumping up and down like a monkey in heat at that. Indeed, if the Dragon had made this offer before I got all those weird effects applied to my body that suppressed and later controlled my expressions, I''d probably be doing cartwheels all over the place. Howling like a mongoose on a whole cocktail of illicit substances. (Gnome). I still might do that away from prying eyes. ''Thank you [Social Hunter IV]. You get more useful by the second.'' "I''m interested." I said instead. "But we already agreed to that. And I don''t see any reason to leave my team to get access early. It is only a few months after all. I have an eternity to look forward to with my current Shifter powers. Even if I never ascend." "Your team would also be coming with you." He assured me. "In fact, that would be preferable. They too have outgrown that difficulty. Though not by the same margins as you." I nodded along. "I don''t suppose there is anything else you can offer to sweeten the deal?" "There is. In fact." ''I knew it! This guy''s a total airhead! Ha! And Henry said I''d never make a good poker player!'' I managed to keep the giddiness away long enough to talk once more. "And what would this added incentive be?" "Access to Projector at the same time." The Drake answered promptly. I stared. He stared back. The two of us sitting in our chairs in that desolate, sandy arena. ''Sweet Buddha. I wonder if this is what it feels to bend someone over a table?'' I wondered to myself. "Well all right!" I said with a very convincing display of agitation. "You''ve twisted my arm! I guess I have no choice but to accept your offer!" He nodded. "Excellent." He snapped his fingers. The air shivered. Then, out of nowhere, came Randall. Popping out like a (Gnome) in the punchbowl. I stared at him. So did the Dragon. "I was planning on saving him for later." I informed him. "When you said you''d give me Projector, I was expecting someone on your level. I won''t get many combined abilities if I kill him now." "We." He corrected. "We won''t get too many combined abilities if we kill him now." He nodded again. More sagely this time. Like someone who didn''t have their head up their own (Gnome). "That is fine. Part of the deal is keeping him alive and working. On Master difficulty." He paused to wave at him, then at me. "You will link us. Only briefly. I will get Shifter from you. Though only the first level. Then I will get Projector from him. Again, only the first level. You will get Enhancer from me and Projector from him. All of them also at the first level. A brief moment of exposure would be... unpleasant. But there is no need for him to die." "None of us will get any combined abilities that way." I pointed out. "That is fine. I never intended to cheat in any case. I will work hard and earn the combined abilities. I have more than enough time on my hands, after all." "Yeah. You showed that in the DMV." I blurted out on purpose. "YOU SHUT YOUR (Drake)ING!!!" He stopped himself. Curled his clawed fingers into a fist and the slowly exhaled as he relaxed back into his chair. "I take it this also means you never intended to give me any of the combined Enhancer abilities either." I muttered. "No. Of course not." He confirmed. "That''s why the contract didn''t specify how I would be teaching you." Randall started to open his eyes now. Taking one look at the Dragon and staring at him with a stupid expression. Then he turned to me and had a much different reaction. "EEEEEEEEEEEKK!!!" He launched himself in the opposite direction. A brown stain appearing on his pants. "Kneel." I commanded. The degenerate stopped dead in his tracks. "Be silent." I followed up. The degenerate stopped screaming. I turned to the Dragon. My eyes now narrowed. "I must admit. I was not counting on this turn of events." I glanced at the wretch, but only for a moment. "I was more or less hoping that I could let him grow a bit more before absorbing him. I was hoping to get at least three combined abilities from him. And from you." "He is not the Seeking Drake." Hazimon pointed out. Willfully ignoring the accusation. "He would not have survived the process." "His survival was not my primary concern." I spoke. My voice colder than the raging storm I''d endured. "For the likes of him, a swift death is mercy enough. He knows this all too well. If you''d care to ask him." The Dragon did not seem perturbed in the slightest. "Getting those abilities on your own will provide far more for you than stealing them form him." He pointed out. "Even if the going is harder and you need to spend a few decades figuring things out, you will still have improved all your other Types with the lessons you learn from his own. It is worth it." "There''s more to this than you know." I said again. Tapping the armrest with my fingers. "I need him to teleport out of the Tutorial when the time comes. I need to have a sufficiently powerful teleportation ability or..." The Dragon stood and presented me with a Token. "I took the liberty of asking the other Enforcers about your plans. This is the date of your prediction, yes?" He did not wait for a reply. "That will allow you to leave and go to the gnomish world instead of Human City. Though you will not be able to return to the Tutorial after that." He laid back into the cushions. "I believe that should cover all your objections." He was wrong. I stared at Randall again. "He is a murderer." I said. With complete confidence. "I am aware." The Dragon replied. "Look around you, Solomon Carter. We are both burdened by grandeur and the weight of responsibility. We''ve both had to do things we did not enjoy. You cannot tell me you and I are not killers too." "It is different." I snarled. "He did not have to do it. He had no further goals. He was not trying to save anyone or improve the world. He is an animal." "And yet he remains more innocent than most petty warlords I''ve met." The Dragon chuckled. "Besides." He continued right away. "From where I sit, it looks like he''s suffered more than enough." He turned to me again. "Why not take this as a chance for rehabilitation? Hmn? Why not be as merciful to him as you were to so many others?" I huffed. "And if it gets you another disposable bomb to distract the Drake, then so much the better." He donned a sly smile. "Now, now. I never said anything about being disposable. A lot can happen in a few months. Especially with teachers as talented as us. That goes for you too by the way. I jest, but imagine what you could do with two other Types? Imagine what you could do with my help and his help as well?" "I was kinda counting on your help already." I told him bluntly. "And we don''t need his help to kill the Drake." He gave me another smile. "Of course." I sighed. "There''s always a catch." Chapter 121: I don’t Like This Either. I was rubbing my eyes now. Despite there being no real need for it. I mean, my body was quite literally incapable of holding on to things like the physical symptoms of stress. Or becoming tired in general. But I wanted to make sure the old coot knew exactly how I felt about the whole ordeal. ¡®Is he trying to backstab me?¡¯ I pondered in the meantime. ¡®It certainly feels that way. He gets everything up front and I get everything up front. But he will have the benefit of an entire lifetime of training and empire building to do whatever the (Gnome) he wants. Within the bounds of our contract. While I will get a very limited grace period of safety before he¡¯s free to hunt me down. Even then, the only one who¡¯s forbidden to try and kill me is him. He could have two or three Savant buddies out there waiting for my dumb (Gnome) to pop out so they can tag-team me. And all that is in addition to the connections I already know of. That of his daughter and his pupil-turned-Divine. Not to mention whatever shenanigans he can pull out of his tail-hole thanks to being a System Enforcer.¡¯ Like before, his mind was walled-off to me. Sealed away in lock-step with his own Psy. The energy within him simply didn¡¯t cooperate with me. Just like how the Drake¡¯s remnant had warped the Psy around it. ¡®I don¡¯t even know the name of this ability he¡¯s using.¡¯ I thought bitterly. ¡®This decision would be much, much easier if I knew a bit more about what was waiting outside. But the fact that I can¡¯t track or predict old monsters like him make things dicey.¡¯ I was more or less sure I could butcher any normal resistance that put in front of me. Sarcophagus Solomon had no trouble doing so after all. However, Hazimon¡¯s presence upset all that. He could have done all kinds of things in terms of containment measures from me. Up to and including getting his old pupil to flick her fingers and erasing me from existence. ¡®Coffin Sully never had to worry about such thing because no one cared much about another Savant running amok. The whole idea that I can help those like me get additional Types changes everything.¡¯ I considered my options further. ¡°There is still the matter of the cooldown.¡± I reminded him. ¡°I am aware.¡± He responded. Bringing my own status in front of me.
[Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] Grants the User the power to detect thoughts, emotions and sensory information within the User¡¯s current dimensional space. User creates a persistent mental approximation of the current dimension without a maximum range. Perceives future scenarios within line of sight at will and at a rate of +1 seconds per ability level. Passively anchors User in reality and pierces Psionic Illusions as well as Psionic Stealth abilities. Passively reveals Status information of targets within detection range. Passively increases Psy regeneration of User and allies within line of sight at a rate of + 100 % per every 5 current ability levels. Passively increases Experience gain of User and allies within line of sight at a rate of +50% per every 10 current ability levels. Forewarns User and selected targets within line of sight of the most probable future scenarios as well as their causes at a rate of 2000 Psy per second. Visions may take on the perspectives of targets in the past, present, or future. Provides Enlightenment opportunities for living beings and objects within line of sight at the cost of 50, 000 Psy per second. Targets may benefit from usage at a rate of 1 instance per 15 ability levels per year. Enlightenment bonuses scale with selected Target¡¯s inherent talents, User¡¯s inherent talents, length of exposure, and current ability level. This ability cannot be overcharged with Psy. Accuracy and Clarity of predictions scale with current ability level.
¡°One time per 15 ability levels per year.¡± He nodded his silly seahorse head. ¡°The obvious solution would be to increase your ability levels to the point where the effective level reaches 30. You¡¯re already mostly there.¡± ¡°Yeah, and I haven¡¯t gotten a single level in Telepath in a while.¡± I probed. ¡°Though I suppose you think that¡¯s another reason to go for Peak difficulty.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± He confirmed. ¡°It will give you a much-needed boost to your power through challenge.¡± He brought up another screen.
System Notice: Peak Difficulty: Students are given no additional equipment from the System. Students are placed on a featureless chamber lined with doors. Each door will lead to a different challenge. Challenges must be completed in order to purchase daily necessities from the assigned Merchant. Enemies will begin at a much higher level than Students. Enemies will escalate much faster than easier difficulties. Enemies will not drop Store Tokens upon defeat. Enemies may have up to four Types at the same time. Common Enemies may exceed the level cap for Tier 1 Students (Level 50) and may be as powerful as Tier 3. Students cannot access healing services through the System and must seek the help of other Students. Students are not tasked to duel each other for rankings due to the high mortality rate of previous iterations. Students will be ranked based on levels and titles. Challenges will contain at least one intended boss and two hidden bosses. There is no limit to the strength of intended or hidden bosses.
¡°The main door leads to a world filled with gnomes. As you no doubt surmised through conversations with your friends and your own future-sight. The others have similar challenges. Though it is up to you how many you choose to take on.¡± ¡°Savants don¡¯t get sent here.¡± I pointed out. ¡°Not usually. But that is due to how¡­ acute our powers are.¡± He shrugged and downed another juice. ¡°There isn¡¯t much sense in sending us there when one needs a balanced set of powers just to survive. All it does is destroy one of the pillars newly-born factions may use to defend themselves without much in the way of gains. That and there is not point for us being sent there if we can¡¯t get more than one Type.¡± He lifted the empty glass towards me. ¡°Hence why this offer should be so enticing. As soon as your levels in [Omniscience] reach 30, you can elevate your friends much further than before. And get those extra Types for yourself to boot.¡± He nodded in self-satisfaction. ¡°All I ask is that you take Randall with you.¡± His beady eyes showed some kind of emotion then. If only briefly. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the first time you¡¯ve rehabilitated a murderer. Or the first time you showed mercy to someone who had done much wrong. I honestly don¡¯t see what the big deal is with this one. You¡¯ve spared the lives of tyrants and dictators and vile misery-merchants peddling poison to children. You¡¯ve changed those who lived to cause suffering and those who did not care who was hurt by their greed. I have observed all that and I have deduced that you really do fancy yourself a force for good. At least when it doesn¡¯t concern gnomes.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Again, can¡¯t really blame you there. Not a lot of people like gnomes. Least of all gnomes themselves. But back to our original point. You have done so much and given so much in order to save those who most people would not bother saving. Why draw the line here? Why stop now when this Randall person is so very much in need of saving?¡± ¡®Because he is also a Savant.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®Because he abused a power so similar to mine. Because I see in him what I could have become. More importantly¡­¡¯ I allowed my gaze to land on Randall¡¯s shrivelled, bedraggled, shivering, silent form. The awful smell still emanating from him as he snivelled wordlessly. ¡®He is still dangerous. He will remain dangerous as long as he is alive.¡¯ The Projector in the Drake¡¯s memories was able to freeze and an entire subdimension in seconds. It hadn¡¯t been enough to kill the Drake of course, but I wasn¡¯t nearly foolish enough that I didn¡¯t see the potential dangers. ¡®Buddha only knows what he¡¯ll be able to do if he ends up in my world. Well¡­ no. There are enough capable people in my world now that they would be able to kill him pretty quickly if he was still as physically strong as a normal human, but not without cost. And that doesn¡¯t cover all the other worlds I have not landed in yet. Also, there is the reality of my power to consider. The Dragon may believe it is unique, and as far as I know, it is. But I am not so great a fool as to believe no one has conjured something similar before. Or that no one will be able to fuse a similar ability in the future. Time is infinite. As is reality and all its mirrors across dimensions. Anything is possible and those who think otherwise are narrow-minded at best.¡¯ High-levelled Projectors would still be unable to live that long normally. Like Telepaths and unlike Enhancers and Shifters. Their normal fleshy bodies would not be able to handle the weight of eons. Unless we factor in Symbiotes. Some of which are even better than Buddy. ¡®No one is better for you than me!¡¯ Buddy quipped. ¡®I know Buddy. I know.¡¯ I re-assured him. ¡®I¡¯m just pondering how easy it would be for someone to get a high-level [Regeneration] on a symbiote or an item.¡¯ ¡®¡­. I don¡¯t think it would be as easy as you think Sully¡­.¡¯ ¡®Not for ordinary people. But I suspect the issue would be much different for Savants.¡¯ I used [Limited Omniscience] right then and confirmed it. Randall could¡­ if left alive, simply wait until humans were out of the Tutorial and then waltz right over to a nearby faction. Like the Kenari themselves. The Dragon¡¯s own daughter would take a look and wave her hand and riches would sprinkle from the skies like rain. If he agreed to be an obedient little lapdog, which wasn¡¯t off the table, then he¡¯d get any kind of items that money could buy. In exchange for him being a disposable tool she could throw at her enemies. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I don¡¯t like it.¡± I told the old Master bluntly. ¡°He¡¯s a threat. Every second he lives is a chance for him to cause more harm.¡± Hazimon shrugged. ¡°You could say the exact same thing about me. Or yourself. Or the Drake. Or beyond that, you could say the same thing about your friends now on Peak difficulty. That Vince and the man you call Thunder Fist. They were dangerous enough to survive that bloodbath the first time around. And they are now even more powerful after you boosted them up. Either one would be more than capable of slaughtering entire planets by themselves without much trouble and there is nothing nascent civilizations could realistically do to stop them. Even if we factor in orbital weapons aiming down.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try that with me.¡± I snapped. ¡°You know full well that the scale of the danger is different.¡± ¡°It is.¡± He allowed. ¡°But that still doesn¡¯t make him any more dangerous than any other Savant out there. Granted there aren¡¯t that many of us normally, and those who wind up as Telepaths and Projectors don¡¯t typically live too long unless they are truly exceptional or unless they are lucky enough to land in the Tutorial. Yet the few of any Type who do make it are just people in the end. People with vastly different views and vastly different morality. That doesn¡¯t mean they cannot be worked with and reasoned with and used to one¡¯s own devices. This¡­¡± He waved at Randall. ¡°This child¡­ because that is what he is in the grand scheme of things¡­ has overreached. He has done awful, repugnant things and he has destroyed lives without much care or worry. His own species has branded him a monster. His own supporters have abandoned him. He is here before you, friendless and alone. Does it not tug at your heartstrings even a little?¡± ¡°No.¡± I said truthfully. That made him pause. ¡°Don¡¯t you find that even a little hypocritical?¡± He probed. ¡°It is undoubtedly hypocritical.¡± I allowed. ¡°It doesn¡¯t make it less true. I am aware that the same arguments can be said about me. I am aware that I have done even more harm when I was a child and not in control. I am aware that it is very hypocritical. But I changed.¡± I began tapping the armrest. Without meaning to this time. ¡°I had no one to check me. I had no one to stop me. I could have mind-controlled everyone in my world and crowned myself king for all time. I could have given me and mine all the money and all the privileges and all the pleasures one could possibly imagine and no one could have stopped me. No one could have even thought of stopping me. But I held myself back. I¡­ I did it. No one else. I chose to limit myself and I chose to do better. To use my gifts to help people. That is what makes us different.¡± ¡°Is it now?¡± He half-sang. ¡°How funny that you would bring that up. I know several people who would have happily walked into Randall¡¯s fires than risk being taken over by you. Even if partially and briefly. Even if it was for their own good in the end. The fear of losing oneself often eclipses the fear of losing life and limb.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Come to think of it, the people in your home world were not exactly dominated. But you did expose them to your presence. You did give them a level of joy and enlightenment that they could never have possibly dreamed of. How many have gotten past that bliss so far, I wonder?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t lead me on this way.¡± I interrupted. He shrugged again. ¡°Worth a try, I guess.¡± He rose. ¡°I have told you about what is waiting outside however. I have also explained the consequences to you and yours. I could stop it. But I won¡¯t. Because you have the chance to forestall and stop it right now. And because if you chose to help me, you would also be helping yourself and you would be helping to destroy the Seeking Drake. One of the vilest, most evil beings in all of existence.¡± He walked over to Randall. ¡°Furthermore¡­¡± He began. Gently stroking Randall¡¯s tangled, filthy matted hair with his clawed fingers. ¡°There is an obvious solution to all your worries.¡± He looked back at me. ¡°You could change Randall. Permanently. It would be capable for a skilled Telepath in the second Tier. Depending on their own prowess and what combined abilities they managed to obtain. The [Memory] abilities are notoriously difficult to work with, but they are also feared in proportion to that. They strike a certain deep primordial terror into most people. The kind that makes others welcome death with open arms.¡± He let go of Randall¡¯s hair and walked over to me. ¡°If you despise him so much that his death would not upset you, then change him. Erase the person that is Randall and make him someone more like yourself. Someone who would pass your own hypocritical standards for what makes a good person.¡± I could see the trap from a mile away. ¡°You know I am not comfortable with that, but you will make the argument that the greater good would be served. Which is true. Then you will accuse me of falling short of my own exacting standards. Which is also true. Again, you do not need to remind me that my position is shaky and partially governed by emotion rather than pure reason. I am aware of that. I know that my power is great and so I know that I must constantly question myself to make sure I am doing the right thing. I am also aware that no single person should have that much power, but there is nothing for it in this reality we find ourselves in. I do what I can at the moment to make sure people live through the best possible world I can make. But I cannot make everyone happy at the same time without exposing them to my presence and imparting some knowledge. People are too quarrelsome by nature.¡± ¡°So, you put you finger on the scales.¡± Hazimon spoke softly. ¡°As you should. Make no mistake, I am not critiquing you out of some sense of self-righteousness. I firmly believe it is the duty of the strong to make a fairer world for everyone else. Despite the unfairness inherent in sentience and in life in general. That is why we have laws that, in the best-case scenarios, protect certain rights like liberty, freedom of thought, religion, housing, employment and education. One cannot always know what is best. Even your vaunted powers are limited to one dimension and to weaker targets. So, one must employ a degree of moral flexibility. Within reason, of course.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± I said aloud. Now staring at Randall once more. ¡°And can you tell me with a straight face that you cannot see the possibility of him being reformed? Of him saving countless lives if you put your own emotions aside and¡­¡± He stopped to taste the words. ¡°Re-educate him?¡± ¡°Brainwash.¡± I interjected. ¡°Call it what it is. Don¡¯t pretend like honeyed words will make this better. I would be brainwashing him utterly. Erasing what makes him, him. His memories. Killing him without killing him. Making him a puppet in a way that even the System could not reverse.¡± ¡°Only if you truly believe he is as irredeemable as you say.¡± The Dragon corrected. ¡°You could still choose to trust that he is a changed man. You could simply take the deal I offer and let him retain his memories. Why, you might even become friends someday. Who knows?¡± I searched through Randall¡¯s possible futures. Going over all the ones where he got additional Types from me. The predictions cut off as soon as he got any degree of real power in Telepath or Shifter. Then later in those scenarios where he levelled Projector or Enhancer to the point of freely manipulating Psy with some unknown ability. I saw the good he could do, if he was¡­ changed. I saw the relapses into cruelty. Now much more terrible since he¡¯d gotten a taste of my wrath. ¡®He is kinda right.¡¯ I mused again. ¡®There is a chance. Without me taking his mind. I told Anezka as much when I had Mittens possess her. It is a small chance, but it is there.¡¯ Was it worth it however? Could I really gamble with billions upon billions of lives, human or otherwise, on the off chance that Randall would stop being a murderous, unstable piece of (Gnome)? ¡®I could.¡¯ I decided. ¡®But I won¡¯t.¡¯ I would not even trust myself with all those lives far out in the future. Not fully. Doing so would too irresponsible. And the likes of me and Randall had too much power for me to start being irresponsible with it. ¡°I will go to the higher difficulty.¡± I informed the Dragon. ¡°As will my grandfather and my team in general. I will take them with me so they can improve as well.¡± ¡°It is within my power to grant you that.¡± The old master spoke. ¡°I will also take Randall and¡­ help him along.¡± I turned to face the seahorse man. ¡°I will not amend our deal yet however. I wish to see how he acts first. For myself I mean. With my own two eyes.¡± ¡®And the fact that it will give me a little more time to sus out your other intentions will be a welcome relief as well.¡¯ I thought. ¡®If I can get to a point where I can read you or see bits and pieces of your future, so much the better. But I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll blindly trust this sudden generosity of yours, Mr. Dragon. Not after you¡¯ve so readily admitted to not being on board with the sharing of Tier 10 abilities.¡¯ The Drake had not been keen of following through with his end of the bargain either, if memory served. Sarcophagus Sully was very lucky that he was but a conjured image in a future-prediction, rather than the real deal. Otherwise, the Dragon might have been in a really rough spot. ¡®And he still might be in a rough spot.¡¯ I mused. ¡®If he chooses to double cross me.¡¯ Dolce was writhing in agony. Shrieking bloody murder as his jaws snapped at the barren stone outside the Warehouse. The needle-like fangs gouging streaks of hardened earth from the smooth walls as if the sediment was little more than sand. I felt sorry for him. I really did. Despite his monstrous exterior, with the glowing tentacles and the fangs and the empty-dead eyes, Dolce was little more than a puppy on the inside. It felt wrong to see him in pain. I felt dirty doing this to him. Yet there was no other way if I wanted to keep him. He, like all the other monsters in the Labyrinth, would disappear once the instance was over. The Dragon might have agreed that I could keep him and he might have agreed to let me take him to Peak difficulty, but that still meant poor old Dolce would have to contend with the monsters on the other side. Some of which would make him look cute and cuddly by comparison. Only by giving him new powers in the form of enlightenment would he have a chance. If the process hurt him, then that only meant that my Psy reserves were so large that he was getting a lot out of it. Much more than any of the people I¡¯d originally boosted in the Warehouse. Yeah, it hurt. Nothing much I could do about that. If I forced them to sleep or [Dominated] them to not feel pain, then that would interfere with the process. The same went for grandpa. Though he was handling it much better. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want me to stop?¡± I asked him once more. The old man grit his teeth. His eyes bloodshot and weeping despite my hand gripping his shoulder and constantly healing him. Keeping his heart steady and beating normally while the blood running through his veins boiled. His breathing was ragged and weak and quick. Coming in as frail gasps that somehow snuck in through clenched teeth. ¡°Keep¡­ Going¡­ Don¡¯t¡­¡± His eyeballs rolled up to the back of his skull. And not for the first time either. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad Sully.¡± Mr. Park came over from my right. ¡°I know your grandfather better than most people. I have been in his shoes. It was rough the first time around, yes. But if I had the chance to go through it again, I would want you to go to the point where I almost die. Or perhaps for longer. There is just too much to gain.¡± He smacked his lips. ¡°Oh, but what wouldn¡¯t give for another chance.¡± ¡°You will get another chance old man.¡± Prudence growled from the side. ¡°The cooldown is only a year and I have a feeling our savior here won¡¯t go away anytime soon. We¡¯ll see him again after the end of the Tutorial.¡± The quiet part of that sentence: ¡°But I sure hope he stubs his toe many, many times and hopefully get shot a whole bunch in the face.¡± Went unsaid. Yeah. The whole forgiveness for what happened over in our home planet and for the whole disciplinary event was taking its time. Which was fine. I had foreseen as much already. I had all the time in the world. If I didn¡¯t get killed by Hazimon that is. Grandpa kept writhing. Dolce kept screaming. They did not look like they were having a good time. And in the meantime, Randall was off to the side. With Dusty and Slab as chaperones to make sure no one snapped his neck like a twig before we could make our way to the next difficulty. ¡°Wow!¡± He exclaimed suddenly. ¡°You just flew across the room!¡± He let out a stupid half-chortle. ¡°That¡¯s awesome! You¡¯re like a superhero or something!¡± Stellio gave him a withering look. No doubt recalling the future-visions I¡¯d shared of Randall cooking everyone around here till they were crispy bits of bacon. Gine too looked like she might reach out and stab him at any moment. A very real danger that the new and improved Randall seemed oblivious to. ¡°What did you do to him?¡± Monique asked suddenly. Her face a mask of worry. ¡°Erased most of his memories after 12. He was kinda alright before that. Then created a pseudo-personality out of the memories prior to that point.¡± I explained. ¡°He doesn¡¯t remember anything about the mass killings. Or the monsters in his world. Or the things he did. I have told him about them the usual way, but he¡¯s kinda like a sheltered teen stepping out of his room and seeing the world outside for the first time.¡± Monique nodded along. ¡°And now he¡¯s going to come with us.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I confirmed. ¡°To Peak difficulty.¡± She continued. ¡°Yes.¡± I confirmed. ¡°Where the gnomes tortured your friend Vince and your childhood hero Thunder Fist to the point where they became ghouls.¡± ¡°Yes. Look. I know. Okay? I (Gnome)ing know. I don¡¯t like this situation either.¡± ¡°But you chose to go along with it anyway.¡± I knew full well that the System would be recording these conversations for Hazimon¡¯s viewing pleasure, so I kept my mouth mostly shut. ¡°It is what it is. What needed to be done.¡± I answered in turn. ¡°We got the Token to go to Periwig¡¯s homeworld and we got another place to train ourselves up till we¡¯re reasonably strong. That should make you happy.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say most species didn¡¯t have anyone that survived the highest difficulty?¡± ¡°Yes. But most species didn¡¯t have me to boost a bunch of guys at once. Or to watch their backs and keep them safe.¡± I countered. ¡°Even if we exclude everything I¡¯m going to be doing, grandpa is going to come out of this much, much stronger than most of you guys. Save perhaps Dusty. That and we¡¯ll be getting Mittens and Henry and Luigi and my parents and my new step-sister over as well. Perks of being in a negotiating position.¡± ¡°How is that going to help?¡± She asked pointedly. ¡°My parents and Luigi? Not so much. At first. But I will be boosting the ever living (Gnome) out of them too, so there¡¯s that. Also, Henry might not be the most skilled fighter out there, but he¡¯s got the numbers to kill just about anything in this Instance with ease. Even if all he does is fumble about from fight to fight. Also, we¡¯ll have Vince and Thunder Fist. The former is a very smart, very knowledgeable biology student turned killing machine. The latter is¡­ in my own humble opinion¡­ one of the greatest heroes my world has ever produced. We will not be lacking in heavy hitters, if that is what you were worried about.¡± ¡°I¡¯m more worried about being killed after an ambush.¡± She confessed. ¡°Not all of us are getting the full uber-boost. And I don¡¯t fancy my chances if I¡¯m separated from you or the others. The new difficulty is a series of sub-dimensions after all. What do you suppose will happen if we get split up?¡± ¡®Then you¡¯ll manage.¡¯ I thought with some amusement. Though I did not say the words aloud. Honestly, Monique might have been feeling a bit self-conscious after those few worlds where she almost fainted due to the environment, but that was a whole bunch of unnecessary worry. She was fully capable of killing just about anything short of the elite deterrents like Dolce and even then, she only needed some guy to be beat in order to pull of a win. There were some futures where she died, sure. But those were the kind of futures where I turned into an (Gnome)hole out of nowhere or those where she ended up laying about and never improving. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine.¡± I told her. ¡°Keep working hard and you¡¯ll see that you can adapt faster than you think.¡± She looked skeptical, but nodded all the same. ¡°Okay.¡± I spoke suddenly. ¡°That¡¯s enough of that.¡± I cut off the Psy going to Dolce and grandpa. Leaving them both knocked out as soon as the stressor was taken away. ¡°Let¡¯s get all our supplies in order before we go.¡± Chapter 122: Hi Dad! Hi Mom! No. I’m Not Evil. The room was as sparse as advertised. Merely an empty chamber with many, many doors leading to the outside. Or at least, that¡¯s what I knew they led to. All anyone else would have seen were walls of blank white light covering the aperture. Dolce saw all of this and immediately began thrashing against the walls. His large body creating shockwaves of displaced air whenever he bounced off and tried again. ¡®Nothing!¡¯ He roared within his mind. ¡®There¡¯s nothing here! You said there would be dangers here! That¡¯s why you made me hurt! But there¡¯s nothing here!¡¯ ¡°Be calm.¡± I ordered. Dolce¡¯s muscles loosened and relaxed. ¡°Feel good.¡± I followed up and Dolce went from raging, to giggling sweetly within his own mind. I nodded at that and turned to see how grandpa was doing with my own two eyes. His situation was the opposite. He was trying to come off as if he was totally fine. Like the last few minutes were nothing but a brisk walk in the park, stopped only by a brief period of feeding cute ducklings. In actuality, he was screaming internally, as he was plagued by the feeling of his bones melting into hot lava and ripping themselves out of his body in protest. ¡°Don¡¯t [Dominate] me.¡± He snapped before I could say anything. ¡°I don¡¯t need your pity. Or anyone else¡¯s. I¡¯ve lived through worse. I¡¯ve willingly put myself through worse for your father and your grandmother, when she was still alive. I can handle this.¡± The half-truth came smoothly. Though I didn¡¯t know why he bothered. He knew I was reading him after all. ¡®Though perhaps it¡¯s more of a pride thing.¡¯ I chided myself. ¡®He¡¯s always been the one making sacrifices and he doesn¡¯t like the suggestion that he should take it easy.¡¯ That was something we¡¯d have to work on. The air shivered then, and another person came out to join our group. ¡°Henry!¡± I called out with gusto. ¡°So good to see you!¡± ¡°AAAAAAA!!!!¡± My best friend screamed in response. ¡°What the (Sully) is this!? Where the (Sully) am I!? What the (Sully) did you do!?¡± His censor word hurt. I knew what it was now but the pain didn¡¯t lessen since the last time we¡¯d talked. I calmy walked towards him and explained our current situation. ¡°(Sully) me Sully! You can¡¯t do these kinds of things! I¡¯ve got responsibilities back in Novice difficulty! I¡¯ve got to look after Cass!¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be fine.¡± I assured him. ¡°Yeah!? And how do you know!? Cause a lot of things seem to be slipping past you lately!? I was the strongest person in Novice! That meant that everyone who went on Excursion with me was safe! How do you know nothing bad will happen to her!?¡± ¡°Because the System isn¡¯t outwardly hostile.¡± I explained calmly. ¡°People in Novice almost never die. Like, it is actually impressive if someone on Novice manages to somehow get themselves killed. Even on Excursions. At worst, people there will get sent to put out small fires or rescue puppies or stop gun-toting muggers. You and I only met last time because of my new teacher. Which you would have known if you bothered to read my Forum messages. I sent several of them.¡± ¡°You paralyzed my friends!¡± ¡°Yeah! And I set them free right after, didn¡¯t I? Honestly Henry! You¡¯re talking as if I were trying to be an evil (Gnome)!? Don¡¯t you know me after all these years!¡± ¡°You also mind-controlled me when we were kids!¡± He pointed out. ¡°All those years, I was your slave!¡± Ooof. I¡­ I¡¯d known that was coming, but hearing it said out loud still hurt. ¡°Whoa! Slave is a really strong word, Henry!¡± ¡®A mostly accurate one, but please don¡¯t focus on that.¡¯ ¡°Look man. I was six. Okay? I had no idea what I was doing! Do you think some six-year-old can be blamed for things they do? Of course not! Kids are idiots! And! And! Let us not forget¡­¡± I chose my next words carefully. Even going to far as to turn off [Social Hunter IV] and my future sight to make sure the next words came from the heart. ¡°I did pretty good for being six. I mean, all things considered. Think about it. I freed everyone as soon as I could and I did stop all wars and all crime even back then. Besides, when you compare me to other bad dudes in history, then the things I did don¡¯t really seem all that bad, right? I mean, Ferdinand of Naples literally had his political rivals killed, mummified and presented to his court as part of a museum, Tamerlane the lame ordered his riders to trample 7, 000 children and Mussolini force-fed people castor oil until they literally (Gnome) themselves to death. In that context, I¡¯m not really that bad, am I?¡± Henry¡¯s cheeks reddened. I cursed internally and re-activated [Social Hunter IV]. ¡°Okay so maybe those were bad examples.¡± ¡°Gee, ya think?¡± Monique snapped from the side. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell him you never danced on top of the people you skinned while you¡¯re at it?¡± ¡°Hey!¡± I whirled around. ¡°I never harmed people unjustly!¡± Monique raised an eyebrow. ¡®Gnomes aren¡¯t people.¡¯ I messaged her through [Solomon¡¯s Enduring Empathy X]. ¡®I don¡¯t know how many times I need to tell you that.¡¯ I turned back to Henry. ¡°You sank Australia!¡± He accused. ¡°No! The Tall Man sank Australia! Big difference!¡± I took a few deep breaths. Mostly for his viewing pleasure. ¡®Thank you [Social Hunter IV]. Again. I really needed to sell being in distress.¡¯ The old me without the combined ability could have still pretended to have human reactions, but I didn¡¯t doubt I was doing a much better job now. ¡°Look Henry.¡± I said again while getting closer and grabbing his shoulders. ¡°I know I messed up. Okay? I¡¯ve been sending apologies through the Forums all this time. I¡¯m not going to sit here and pretend I¡¯m perfect. I have a lot of improving to do and I have a lot to atone for. But like I keep saying. I¡¯m doing my best and all I can promise is that I¡¯ll keep doing my best. Okay?¡± His face relaxed somewhat, but he didn¡¯t seem overly enthused about the idea. Now, I could have pointed out that the whole reason that he could even feel things like dissent or worry was that I was shutting down [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] completely and that if I stopped, he and everybody else would be licking my heels like there was no tomorrow. I could also have pointed out that I could still very much [Dominate] whomever I damn well pleased and that there was little to nothing anyone here could do about that. Yet I didn¡¯t need the new Shifter ability to tell me that was a bad idea. ¡°Henry, I¡­¡± I pretended to stutter. [Social Hunter IV] instantly recognizing the best responses for the situation and producing tears from my eyes as my massive form quivered. As if I were emotionally vulnerable and afraid of rejection. ¡°I¡¯ll do anything I need to regain your trust. Okay? You¡¯re not some face in the crowd. You¡¯re not some guy I brainwashed. I care about you Henry. You¡¯re my best friend. I don¡¯t want to lose you.¡± Now, that was all true of course. I had meant every word. But again, [Social Hunter IV] REALLY sold the scene. To the point where I felt as if I were somehow deceiving him and my team as they watched. ¡®Which is ridiculous because I know I mean it. Augh¡­ I need to work on that some more. I have got to stop obsessing about coming across as a bad person. I know I¡¯m not a bad person.¡¯ Randall¡¯s recent treatment came to mind, but I quickly suppressed those feelings too. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡®I had no choice when it came to that. If the Dragon keeps his word, then it won¡¯t even be a factor. If he doesn¡¯t¡­¡¯ Well. If that happened, anyone who connected their minds to Randall¡¯s own was in for a really bad time. I didn¡¯t know all the details yet because I¡¯d purposely gotten rid of those memories with [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X], but I knew enough to guess that even someone as ancient as the Dragon wouldn¡¯t be walking it off. ¡®I also know that I didn¡¯t get a System warning for breach of contract. Maybe because it¡¯ll only trigger is Hazimon does it first, maybe because it would technically be Randall¡¯s (Gnome) on the line. Hard to tell with the System.¡¯ Henry looked shaken. He opened his mouth, and then closed it again. His eyes began to moisten, though of course the action was completely genuine in his case. Then the air shimmered and new people were plopped right down onto the chamber with us. ¡°Mittens is near! Mittens appears! Mittens is here!¡± Mittens bellowed in triumph. Still wearing Anezka¡¯s body as a grotesque skinsuit. In his right hand, he held the sword of bone I¡¯d made for him. In his left¡­ Were my family. Plus Luigi for good measure. ¡°Let them go!¡± The girl I knew to be Puffin screamed from the side. Brandishing a wooden spear of her own. Mittens kept heckling his own entrance and waving around the bone sword. She looked like she about to thrust and skewer Anezka¡¯s shell, when her eyes snapped to me. ¡°AAAAAAHHH!!! It¡¯s the demon!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± I complained. ¡°That¡¯s rude! I¡¯m your brother! Kind of. Sort of. Dad and mom like you so whatever. But it¡¯s still rude!¡± ¡°AAAAAAHHH!!!¡± Dad and mom screamed as well. Though this time, they were shouting because of grandpa. ¡°Murderer!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t shoot me!¡± ¡°Hey! Grandpa is not going to shoot anyone!¡± I protested. Mom and dad turned to stare at me. ¡°Sully!?¡± They both exclaimed. ¡°What the (Mittens) happened to you!?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± I admitted. Then I clapped. ¡°But I think we¡¯re all here so we can take some time to go over everything.¡± I turned to Mittens. ¡°Put them down.¡± Mittens obeyed. ¡°All right Puffin. Your turn. Put down the spear.¡± ¡°(Sully) you!¡± She screamed. Lunging forwards with the spear. I didn¡¯t bother to move, even as my parents cried out to stop her. She stopped herself in any case. Pausing mid stride and donning a look of blank confusion. Then she spent a good thirty seconds staring at the spear and at me in quick succession. As if trying to remember how spears worked. ¡°Pointy end goes first.¡± I offered. ¡°But the reason you can¡¯t think to attack me is a Title. I think you need to be much, much stronger than you are now if you want to overcome it.¡± I raised my hands in a placating gesture. ¡°But let¡¯s leave that for later. Right now, I¡¯d like us all to talk this out like regular adults.¡± Puffin didn¡¯t listen. Donning a look of anger and going to attack the next nearest person. That person being Boris. ¡°Stop.¡± I ordered. She did so. Freezing in place like a statue. Then I stepped in between then while Boris stepped back. ¡°Okay. Now. I don¡¯t mind you trying to attack me. I really don¡¯t. Go right ahead and try your very best for as long as you like. But my teammates were not boosted as much as you or Henry or Vince or Thunder Fist.¡± I stepped forwards. Reading her status.
Name: Puffin Carter
Psy: 152, 400 / 152, 400
Type: Shifter Level 189 / Enhancer Level 173 / Projector Level 135 / Telepath Level 130
Shifter Abilities: [Social Hunter IV] 20 / [Energy Regulation IV] 20 / [Muscular Incorporation of Matter IV] 20 / [Shape Systems IV] 20 / [Bio-Chemical Production IV] 20 / [Toxic Attunement IV] 20 / [Aquatic Predator IV] 20 / [Swarm Monarch IV] 20 / [Surging Life III] 20 / [Serrating Growths III] 15 / [Pressure Regulation II] 10 / [Grow] 3
Enhancer Abilities: [Awesome Mastery IV] 20 / [Awesome Resilience IV] 20 / [Unburdened Conditioning IV] 20 / [Energy Resistance IV] 20 / [Fourfold Sensing IV] 20 / [All-Toxin Resistance IV] 16 / [Resist Physical Damage III] 15 / [Advanced Student III] 15 / [Flowing Might II] 10 / [Flowing Vigor II] 10 / [Flowing Flexibility II] 10 /
Projector Abilities: [Sense Energy IV] 20 / [Absorb Energy IV] 20 / [Telekinesis III] 15 / [Gravity Well II] 10
Telepath Abilities: [Nightmarish Prescence IV] 20 / [High Amnesia III] 15 / [Psionic Conjuration III] 15 / [Stealth III] 15 / [Total Organ Failure III] 15 / [Mindscape II] 15 / [Tranquil Mind II] 10 / [Healing Song II] 10 / [Warp the Veil II] 10 / [Scramble II] 10
Ability Points: 2
¡­. ¡­¡­. Yeah¡­. That was¡­. Yeah¡­. Granny Golden and that fox guy Banerid had both suffered near-fatal heart attacks upon seeing the new and improved Henry back in Novice. I wondered what their reaction might be upon seeing this nonsense. ¡®Probably not great.¡¯ I decided. This time, I was more or less in agreement with them. This girl was way too strong for her own good. ¡®It¡¯s about as much of an improvement as grandpa.¡¯ I mused. ¡®Which means I absolutely cannot let her do whatever she wants with my team. They might be better in terms of skill and experience, but those numbers are just too much.¡¯ Puffin would be able to butcher the rest of my team like they were squealing piglets before any of them were able to do anything. Worse, she was that strong because I¡­ via Tall Man shenanigans, had doused her in Psy. ¡®Which means all this is on me.¡¯ ¡°You will control yourself.¡± I informed her sternly. ¡°Or I will have to stay on top of you until you start doing so.¡± She didn¡¯t answer. I released the domination. ¡°So?¡± Her eyes snapped to me. Suddenly full of fear. Then I felt the same emotions coming from dad and mom. I sighed. ¡°Right then. I guess we¡¯ll all be sharing some memories then. Easier for everyone to get caught up to speed.¡±
We stepped out past the white aperture together. Me and my group leading the front while Henry, Luigi, Puffin and my parents clung to the back. On the one hand, I already knew it would take time for them to come to terms with everything that had happened and I knew that it wouldn¡¯t be easy on them. I knew this was a hard pill to swallow. I knew I had to be patient. On the other hand, Puffin¡¯s attitude kept making things worse. To the point where she now kept placing herself between me and my own parents like she was some kind of guard dog spotting a bloodthirsty intruder. As for dad and mom themselves¡­ well. ¡®They¡¯ll come around.¡¯ I assured myself. ¡®I¡¯ve seen that happen lots of times. They¡¯ll be fine. Things will all be fine.¡¯ The world past the white barrier was a familiar sight. The view containing buildings and streets and parks and some few trees. And plumes of smoke. Lots of plumes of smoke coming from lots of factories. The sky being a dark, ominous grey turning blacker and blacker by the second. I nodded. Opened my mind. And smiled. There were¡­ so, so, so many gnomes. So¡­ so¡­ so¡­ MANY GNOMES. I took a deep breath to steady myself. ¡®No! Sully! Bad Sully! Dad and mom are right here and they¡¯re very clearly traumatized! You can¡¯t go around dispensing sweet¡­ sweet¡­SWEET JUSTICE! AHH!! KILL ALL THE GNOMES!!¡¯ ¡°Son?¡± Dad came up from the side. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Never better!¡± I said while smiling back at him. ¡°I¡¯m just thinking of how dirty the sky looks. We should introduce the peo¡­ the peop¡­. The peo¡­¡± I re-activated [Social Hunter IV] to keep myself from gagging. ¡°The people here to sustainable environmental practices.¡± ¡°Why did you gag while saying people?¡± He asked. His face looking more and more worried. ¡°The air is dirty. I started coughing because of that.¡± I lied smoothly. ¡°Anyway, we should go around and try to find Vince and Thunder Fist. They should be around here somewhere.¡± ¡°And¡­¡± Mom swallowed. ¡°Are we going to be okay?¡± I turned my head in confusion. ¡°Uh, yeah? Why wouldn¡¯t we be?¡± ¡°You¡­ you¡¯re not reading our minds?¡± Dad asked. ¡°Well no. You told me to stay out of your minds. So I did. I¡¯m not going to go around reading you when you don¡¯t feel comfortable dad.¡± Neither of them looked convinced. ¡°Okay look, you saw all the memories right?¡¯ Mom broke down in tears. ¡°Oh, oh come on! I¡­ I¡¯m trying my best okay?¡± I turned to my team. ¡°Guys! Help me out here!¡± Dusty and Slab were the first to step forward. ¡°Mom, dad.¡± Dusty began. ¡°I know he can be difficult at times and I know you¡¯ve all been through a lot. But he really means what he says. Everything he¡¯s done has been for the benefit of others. The thought of being selfish or the idea to use his powers for his own benefit never once crossed his mind.¡± ¡°He has his rough edges.¡± Slab agreed. ¡°But millions of people in my world have been able to return to the surface thanks to him. Sully never once asked for anything in return. Not once. Whatever may have happened, I truly believe he did not mean any of it. And even then, Sully is always trying to atone for the lives he took and the damage he caused when he was little. I think that says a lot about the weight of responsibility he feels.¡± ¡°But dad.¡± My own father began, suddenly looking at grandpa. ¡°He shot us. To save us from you.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t me dad! That was a copy! A copy that thought you were gnomes by the way! I would never do anything to hurt you!¡± ¡°And what about gnomes?¡± Mom asked. ¡°They¡¯re sentient, aren¡¯t they? They¡¯re people aren¡¯t they? Yes, I know you¡¯ve suffered Sully. And I am so, so sorry we weren¡¯t there to protect you. But this hatred isn¡¯t like you.¡± She was crying by then. ¡°You have to let go of this hatred in your heart. It isn¡¯t like you. I¡¯m scared of what its turning you into.¡± Now there was a load on nonsense. Gnomes weren¡¯t people. If anything, I¡¯d call them something closer to talking roaches. And even then, I¡¯d feel as if I¡¯d offended all the roaches in the universe. They didn¡¯t deserve to be compared to gnomes. ¡°Mom, look.¡± I began. Now leaning over to hug her. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m fine. I¡¯m the same person you¡¯ve always known. I¡¯m proud of the way you raised me and the way you taught me to be a good person.¡± I wiped away a tear. ¡°Do you remember when we came back home and Mittens was dead?¡± ¡°Mittens remembers.¡± Mittens spoke up. ¡°The body was gone, but the spirit remained. Mittens was wronged. Mittens was made strong. Mittens had his vengeance. Mittens is here!¡± ¡°SHUT THE (Gnome) UP MITTENS! I¡¯m TRYING TO REASSURE MY MOTHER!¡± Mittens drew back. As if ashamed. I turned back to my mother. ¡°You held me as I was crying. And you told me that it would all be okay. That death was something that made us sad, only because we loved the ones who had died. You taught me that the best way to honor Mittens would be to live my life well and happy. Because that¡¯s what Mittens would have wanted for me.¡± ¡°Mittens agrees.¡± Mittens said with newfound excitement. I chose to let that statement go. ¡°The point I¡¯m trying to make is¡­ I was devastated and then you and dad comforted me. Even when you were under the effects of mind-control. Who you were as people didn¡¯t change and I did everything I could to free you because I wanted you back just the way you used to be. I¡­ I¡¯m only the person I am because you and dad always taught me to respect others and to care for them. Because you taught me that the best way to live my life was to care for other people like I wanted to be cared for. Not only that, you showed me how to live by example.¡± She was sobbing less now. ¡°You remember going outside the shelter where all the people who¡¯s homes burned down were? I remember. I remember going there when I was eight and I remember handing out lunch bags we¡¯d made and blankets we¡¯d bought. I remember how the people¡¯s eyes lit up with hope and I remember you telling me that I¡¯d made a difference. That I had a duty to make a difference.¡± Her eyes stared into mine. So did dad¡¯s eyes. ¡®Thank you [Social Hunter IV].¡¯ I thought again. ¡®You¡¯ve been infinitely more helpful than I ever gave you credit for.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m still that person. I want you to know that. Everything I¡¯ve done. Everything I have yet to do, has been to keep people from going through the same things I went through. I need you to know that. I need you to know that¡­¡± ¡°Well, well, welly, well, well!¡± A voice called from the sky. A gnomish voice. ¡°Looks like we found some more tall ones boys!¡± The voice cackled. ¡°Just in time for the show! Let¡¯s get these fools to the arena for the mass execution! And let¡¯s show those two maniacs that this world belongs to us!¡± Chapter 123: I Don’t Need It…. The blimp was big and wide. With two metallic wings at either side, both styled after swan feathers made of steel and other metals. Blades spun at the points where those metallic limbs faced forwards. Carrying the blimp closer and closer to us. ¡°Howdy hee boys! We got ourselves some more tall one to play with!¡± The amplified voice called out. ¡°Those two monsters are gonna see what¡¯s really good after we skin these guys in front of them! Yes siree! That¡¯ll teach them lessons three!¡± The rhyming made no sense whatsoever, but I could tell that all the gnomish minds inside the blimp thought it was the height of cleverness. In fact, they were almost as happy as Mittens was right now. ¡°Yes! Yes! Siree! Gnomes for Mittens and gnomes for thee! Mittens will open bellies with glee! Mittens is here!¡± I could vaguely sense Luigi making for any space that wasn¡¯t close to Mittens, but I wasn¡¯t focused on that at the moment. My Telepathic senses flared. My focus going from my parents and the ensuing drama, to all the lovely little signals now coming back to me. I inhaled. Taking them all in as if all those thoughts and emotions could be contained within my lungs. There were so many gnomes. So. Many. Gnomes. I inhaled and saw a family of 16 being evicted from their two-bedroom apartment. ¡°Come out Perisprinkle! I know you¡¯re in there!¡± ¡°What do you want! Dob! I¡¯ve already paid my rent this month!¡± One of the gnomes, the one leading a group of armed guys and gals, laughed in front of the door. ¡°Yeah, ya dumb fart! But ya didn¡¯t pay for the window repair and the extra family tax and the euthanasia for your pet!¡± ¡°Bucky¡¯s dead!?¡± One of the child gnomes called out in horror. ¡°Of course she¡¯s dead you little runt! And you should be thanking for doing you all a favor! I was nice to put your dumb pooch out its misery after it decided to run in front of my tires when I was driving drunk! That kind of lack of responsibility on your part is why your mother left! Now open up and pay yer due! Then get out!¡± The dad gnome opened the door with a growl. ¡°Okay. Fine. Show me a contract and how much yer paying for each little snot. I warn you I won¡¯t be ripped off though! I¡¯ll go out and get a second opinion if you¡¯re not offering enough!¡± ¡°Dad!?¡± ¡°Daddy!?¡± ¡°What!? I did my time in the mines when I was your age! Everybody does it! It puts some hair on your chest! You¡¯ll see! Besides, they¡¯ve got all kind of¡­¡± He turned his head aside to take a drag out of a cigarette. Before putting it out on one his children¡¯s heads. ¡°Of new fangled safety measures these new city council guys have! When I was your age, my brother Pauwinkle got lost in a tunnel and fell down a darkened mine shaft when the owners didn¡¯t pay the electricity bill. And my other brother Herwinkle left a lamp running too long in a shaft without ventilation and filled the whole tunnel with carbon monoxide. Lots of things happen back then, but they get you new kids obedience chips these days to shock you into doing your job right. They save money and you get to live and work longer. Everybody wins!¡± He smacked the closes kid. ¡°Besides, as much as I hate Dob, he¡¯s right. You¡¯re all the reason why your mother left!¡± He looked back at the contract. Huffed and puffed. Then signed it with a pen he pulled out of his stained shirt. ¡°Pleasure doing business with ya. Now give me my money!¡± Dob threw him a sack filled with coins and the father gnome stepped aside to let the thugs grab his kids. Then the father gnome hopped down the stairs chuckling to himself. All while his kids all cried out for their papa. My focus shifted and I saw another scene. One where an old gnome lady was trying to cash in her late husband¡¯s life insurance. ¡°Wha-wha-what do you mean there isn¡¯t any money?¡± She half-wept. ¡°It¡¯s just like I told ya madam.¡± The fat gnome spoke while blowing a plume of smoke into her face. ¡°There isn¡¯t any money for ya here. After all, the policy ya got doesn¡¯t cover pre-existing conditions.¡± ¡°My husband died in a shooting!¡± She complained. ¡°Yeah? So? Ya can¡¯t know for sure if the bullets were a pre-existing condition. What if your husband had several bullets in his organs when he made the policy and he just lied when signing up to get lower premiums huh? What if he tried to swindle us out of our money by not disclosing he was allergic to bullets? Do ya think this job is easy? Huh? Do ya?¡± He blew another plume of smoke into the older gnome¡¯s face. ¡°Maybe this is all your fault? Maybe you told him to go out and get shot on purpose so ya could cash in his life insurance? Or maybe ya killed him yourself!¡± ¡°Aha! You just admitted he died from the bullets!¡± ¡°From a pre-existing bullet-related condition!¡± The insurance gnome clarified. The older gnome shot him in the face. Then she walked over to his corpse and shot him a bunch more times. ¡°How¡¯s this for a pre-existing condition! Ya twat!¡± She reloaded and emptied another clip into him. Then she pulled out a cellphone. ¡°He stupid. It¡¯s me. No, they didn¡¯t fall for it. Yes you alcoholic rock muncher! I know we needed the money! What do ya want me to do? They didn¡¯t buy it! No, don¡¯t try to pin this on me! If you¡¯d just done a better job of shooting up those stores and killed more people around ya, then we might have been able to get into a class-action lawsuit, but noooo! Ya were scared of anyone with good aim shooting back! Yes. Yes I know. We¡¯ll just go on and sell some of our grandkids into the mines. About times those dirty leeches earned their keep. Yes. Yes I know. Love you too.¡± She blew a kiss into the cellphone and ran out of the office. Shooting at anyone who came out to stop her. My focus shifted again and I saw yet another scene. ¡°Thank you all for being here.¡± A gnome spoke up inside a factory. ¡°As you all know, we¡¯ve been having some production issues lately. People just don¡¯t seem to be getting the message that this ain¡¯t a daycare. You know what I¡¯m saying?¡± One of the children in front of him began to weep. ¡°Ah! What a lovely demonstration of exactly the kind of lazy mentality I was talking about. What¡¯s your name little one?¡± ¡°Co-Collin.¡± The gnome child spoke through sobs. ¡°And what are you crying about Collin?¡± ¡°I bu-burned my hand. Yesterday. Th-the lady told me to clean the ma-machines a-and then when I said they were hot, she said that wa-wasn¡¯t her business.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The child sobbed some more. ¡°She said, it was ja-jammed a-and I ha-had to clean it up.¡± He broke into tears. ¡°My friend had fallen in! He-he was dead! He was the only friend I had but¡­ but¡­!¡± He could not get the words out. The head gnome continued regardless. ¡°And that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about folks.¡± He wagged a finger in the air. ¡°Yesterday, an unfortunate accident caused the T-24 to be shut down for 2 hours.¡± His eyes narrowed. ¡°That¡¯s two full hours where production was completely shut down folks. Two hours where the products weren¡¯t being made and two hours where profit wasn¡¯t being attained. Two hours that I now have to account for when I next speak to management.¡± He turned and began descending the stairs. Continuing his pacing until he was face-to-face with the crying child. ¡°Tell me boy, did seeing your dead friend make you sad?¡± ¡°Y-yes.¡± He hiccupped between sobs. ¡°Aww.¡± The older gnome said mockingly. ¡°Well isn¡¯t that terrible. You saw a dead orphan and you felt sad. How dreadful.¡± He said with a voice dripping with sarcasm. ¡°Are you crying because of anything else?¡± ¡°Y-yes. I-I miss my mom a-and my dad and my sisters.¡± ¡°Your sisters are dead.¡± The older gnome said. Grabbing the younger gnome by the hair and wrenching him upwards. Even as the child screamed. ¡°They got sold to a bad place. Filled with bad people. Too bad for them. As for you, you¡¯re a little rat kid. And your job is to scurry between our machines to make sure they¡¯re clean and working nicely. And if you ever even think of laying about crying while on shift again, I¡¯ll make sure you have a lot more to cry about than a mere burned hand.¡± He let go of the hair and followed it up by kicking the younger gnome¡¯s stomach with a steel-toed boot. Then he turned around. ¡°Make sure you burn this sight into your minds boys and girls. Those who can¡¯t work, get punished. And because the weak link in the chain couldn¡¯t work, all of you get punished too. And the beatings will continue every time production dips.¡± He paused to make sure all the others were staring at the floor and that they were all shaking with fear. ¡°And the beatings will now continue until morale improves. Everyone stand in line so the enforcers can get a good punch in. Those who cry will be beaten harder. Until you all learn your place.¡± My focus shifted again and I saw yet another scene. ¡°Okay folks. Here¡¯s the deal. We¡¯re now charging $79.99 for the base game edition. $119.99 for the deluxe edition and $149.99 for the premium golden uber-gnome edition. We can count on 25% of our registered losers¡­¡± He coughed. ¡°Sorry. 25% of out registered users. We can count on 25% of out registered users buying the added $19.99 per seasonal DLC. With those guys also buying the season pass for $29.99 per season.¡± He looked grim. ¡°I trust I don¡¯t need to explain myself to you all.¡± ¡°No sir Mr. Redfair sir.¡± Another gnome spoke up. ¡°It is clear to all of us that we are not making enough money.¡± All the gnomes around the table murmured their agreement. ¡°We need to be able to squeeze our registered lose¡­ users for more money. After all, they¡¯ve already paid us 900 gnome dollars for a gaming console with no games and an extra $200 for a stand and or disk drive. That proves that they will spend money on any old garbage we make and that we can never push them too far. So, it stands to reason that we are wasting money by not charging more.¡± ¡°Excellent point Kottika.¡± Another gnome told her. ¡°You truly do have a gift for seeing the bigger picture.¡± ¡°Indeed. Royone. Kottika is always one step ahead, but I say we should be thinking more outside the box.¡± This new speaker paused to titter. ¡°Outside the box, Andraela?¡± ¡°Yes, or rather, perhaps I should clarify that we could be thinking inside the box. The Lootbox that is.¡± She tittered once more to herself. Her tongue going out of her lips as if she were a snake tasting the air. ¡°Currently, we are selling each¡­¡± She smacked her lips loudly. ¡°Lootbox. For $9.99 each. For a chance to unlock new outfits at rates of about 12%, with the rest of those odd giving some kind of cheat emote or sticker. Well, I had some ideas yesterday while taking in my fluids.¡± ¡°Your fluids?¡± Someone else asked. ¡°Yes, my fluids. Oh, I don¡¯t know if I told you. I¡¯m all IVs now. I can¡¯t drink normally on account of my teeth. I get infusions of freshly hydrate blood from the kids at the mines. The new arrivals of course. Makes me feel young and fresh. Now, where was I?¡± ¡°You were saying something about ideas?¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Of course. My ideas. Well, I thought that, since we control the consoles and the games studios, then we could set the standard practices as whatever we wanted! So here it goes, we offer up 10 additional Lootboxes for anyone who pre-orders our games and that way, they get early access to the Beta of the game and they can play it intensively. Thereby finding the most egregious bugs and acting as our QA department for free! Then, we make up the loss of future sales by secretly decreasing the odds of getting anything good to 1.2% and then add in an extra layer of exclusivity for super golden premium skins at chances of 0.02% per box! With some boxes having boosted percentages if they are bought in packages of 200 or more! That way we can incentivise large purchases at once!¡± The other gnomes stared in awe and began clapping. ¡°And, and! This is the best part, if they find that they can¡¯t pay all of the sudden or if they have any modicum of self-control, we can advertise the Lootboxes directly to children! With subliminal instructions on how to use their parent¡¯s credit cards to buy our Lootboxes! At the same time, we¡¯ll finance marketing campaigns with online personalities where they host Lootbox opening scenes over and over. Until bullying other kids who don¡¯t have premium skins becomes acceptable! That way, we can train those children who aren¡¯t sold off or who survive the mines to see Lootboxes as a way of distinguishing themselves from the poor and the other losers , so that those same children will buy even more Lootboxes when they grow up!¡± There was another round of clapping. ¡°Yes, yes! I know. I¡¯m excellent.¡± One gnome huffed. ¡°Yeah, I know you think that. But I still think you¡¯re aiming too low.¡± He waited until he had everyone else¡¯s attention. ¡°Now hear me out. Two. Words. Paid Mods.¡± There was a gasp of shock. ¡°Paid Mods!? That¡¯s insane! No one in their right mind would ever pay for mods! You sir have gone too far!¡± ¡°Is that so?¡± The gnome¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Then how come I was able to take down this modding page and sue all the creators into giving us access to their work, before charging $9.99 apiece for every mod?¡± The one who had been speaking earlier looked stunned. Then, they pulled out a handkerchief and wiped away a tear. ¡°That has got to be the evillest thing I¡¯ve ever heard. I¡­ I think I¡¯m in love. Will you¡­¡± She paused. ¡°Will you make me your mistress? We can kill your wife later if it works out.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± The head gnome smacked his hands on the table. ¡°Gentlegnomes! Gentlegnomes!¡± He blustered. ¡°You¡¯re all failing to see the obvious.¡± The rest of the table went silent. ¡°What is it boss?¡± ¡°Clearly the answer is to package paid mods in Lootboxes! While setting the rate of getting mods to something like 0.002%¡± He spoke as if it was obvious. ¡°Those clowns want mods? Then they better be ready to sell their children to the mines in order to get them!¡± Everyone looked stunned. Then, as one, everyone cheered. Whooping and hooting and getting on the table before ripping their shirts off. I saw all of that. I smiled to myself. ¡°¡­ully¡­.¡± Oh yes. There were so many gnomes. ¡°¡­.ully! Su¡­.¡± So. Many. Gnomes. I was almost at the point of sobbing. It was so beautiful¡­ ¡°Sully!!¡± Dusty yelled. Smacking me upside the head at the same time. ¡°Wha..? What!?¡± ¡°You were getting that look again.¡± She said with a worried expression. ¡°What look?¡± ¡°That stupid grin. The one you get when you see a gnome walking about threatening people.¡± ¡°You¡­ You looked so happy.¡± Dad commented. His face a mask of fear. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you that happy before.¡± Mom added. ¡°What? No! I¡¯m fine! I was just, thinking of something in the future. Yes! I was predicting a future where we all got along and we all came together to save humanity across the multiverse and forming a big, happy family. I can see it now. We would get a big house in Human city or back in our world. We would keep Mittens all nice and snug inside the house in his own little corner. Me and Dusty would have a few kids and we would bring them over to meet you and mom and grandpa and I¡¯d buy them presents and stuff. Yeah.¡± The lie was coming more easily as I said it out loud. ¡°That¡¯s what I was thinking.¡± I turned to Henry, and saw that he was cowering against a tree some dozen meters away. Luigi was behind him. Also shaking and somehow managing to look even more afraid. His knees making sounds akin to maracas while the air smelled of ammonia. ¡°Guys! I¡¯m fine! Everything is fine! Okay! Now, we should really focus on the giant blimp holding all the gnomes.¡± They were threatening us again. Dropping ropes that other gnomes used to descend rapidly towards the earth. I saw them. All of them. Every single gnome inside this miniature world. Thanks to [Limited Omniscience]. I was only able to keep myself from licking my lips thanks to [Social Hunter]. ¡®I don¡¯t need it.¡¯ I chided myself. ¡®I don¡¯t need it.¡¯ I thought while seeing a bunch of gnomes whipping their own children in the mines. ¡®I don¡¯t need it.¡¯ I thought while seeing a bunch of gnomes abusing puppies in a pound. ¡®I don¡¯t need it. I don¡¯t need it. I don¡¯t need it. I don¡¯t need it. I don¡¯t need it.¡¯ The gnomes got closer and Charlie, Boris, Monique, Slab, Grandpa and Randall took up positions. With Dolce¡¯s miniaturized form begging for permission to be freed. ¡®I don¡¯t need it. I don¡¯t need it. I don¡¯t need it. I don¡¯t need it¡­.¡¯
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Social Hunter IV] 11 has grown to [Social Hunter IV] 13.
Honestly, bless that power. Because it was struggling against every fiber of my being and somehow managing to hold on. Managing to keep me aware of how my actions would look. ¡°Now lookie here boys! Look like the tall ones¡¯ got themselves a family!¡± They all laughed over at their control room. ¡°No problem! We can gut the kids on front of the parents, then gut the parents too!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we do that with the big brute¡¯s family boss? What was his name, Thunder Fist?¡± ¡°Yeah! Back when he was weak!¡± The boss gnome agreed. ¡°Gutted his twin sons right in front of him! Funniest stuff I¡¯ve ever seen!¡±
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Social Hunter IV] 13 has grown to [Social Hunter IV] 14.
The power levelled up once more, before it gave way completely. ¡°IIIII NEEEEEEEDDDD IT!!!!!!!!¡± I started crying. ¡°Hey! Look at the big one there! He¡¯s crying!¡± The leader pointed out. ¡°Yeah boss! He¡¯s already crying about all the things we¡¯re gonna do to him!¡± ¡®No.¡¯ My thoughts echoed in their minds. In all the minds in this entire pseudo-world. They stopped dead in their tracks. ¡®I¡¯m crying¡­¡¯ I choked back a sob. ¡®I¡¯m crying because¡­ because¡­ of what I¡¯m about to do to you.¡¯ Chapter 124: Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La! ¡°You know. Now that I think of it. This isn¡¯t really that bad.¡± Grandpa said offhandedly. ¡°I mean, the house is nice. We have enough food and water to last us a few months and we¡¯re all safe and together.¡± He leaned over to dad and offered him a cup of orange juice. ¡°Honestly Reggie. It really isn¡¯t that bad. I mean, you saw the same memories I did. These things deserve whatever it is that they¡¯re getting.¡± He stopped for a second as dad grabbed the cup of juice. Then he swiftly leaned over to glance out the window that allowed the people inside to see the street. The one where Vince, Thunder Fist. Mittens and I were frolicking about. Holding hands. ¡°Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La! Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La!¡± None of the gnomes nailed to the posts had eyes anymore. Their faces empty of expression as they gazed down at us. Silent as the grave. ¡°Vince is having so much fun!¡± Vince said amidst giggles. ¡°Finally, the gnomes have been dealt with forever!¡± ¡°Mittens says yay!¡± Anezka¡¯s possessed body answered. Raising her arms as Mittens controlled her from the deepest levels of her mind. ¡°Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La! Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La!¡± ¡°We should all celebrate this momentous occasion!¡± Thunder Fist roared with laughter. ¡°A great evil has been cleansed from the world! Finally! Goodness has triumphed over the darkness!¡± ¡°Mittens approves! Mittens improves! Mittens is here!¡± ¡°Yes indeed Mittens! Why, I¡¯m almost to the point where I have my own Tier 5 ability! I¡¯m so looking forward to having a title and being able to help even more!¡± ¡°Oh come now.¡± I said in between mirthful laughter. ¡°You two were doing just fine on your own before we came here. It was just a matter of time until you wiped them out.¡± ¡°Oh don¡¯t be so modest friend.¡± Thunder Fist chided in good humor. ¡°We only did as well as we did because of the help you gave us back there in that gnome-filled town. We would have been struggling if it weren¡¯t for you. Don¡¯t think all that help isn¡¯t appreciated.¡± He nodded to himself. Looking at me in a fatherly sort of way. ¡°I¡¯ve seen far too many of my juniors being completely obsessed with fame and riches and their own celebrity status. Wasting their great power in giving themselves even more power in a social sense. You¡­¡± He paused. ¡°You are a true hero. The kind that goes out of their way to do good and justice without asking for anything in return.¡± He choked on his words for a moment. ¡°You remind me of my sons. They¡­ they tried so hard to be like you. To be like me. They looked up to me and they tried to help these ladies that came with them. And the gnomes¡­ the gnomes¡­.¡± His throat began to release half strangled sobs. ¡°They¡¯re at peace now.¡± I said. Soberly. Gripping his hand more tightly. ¡°Yes.¡± He confirmed. ¡°They are at peace now. They have been avenged.¡± ¡°Vince doesn¡¯t want Thunder Fist to cry.¡± Vince spoke immediately after. ¡°Vince wants Thunder Fist to know he did all he could. Vince and all the others did all they could. Vince will keep doing it all too. Vince will stab gnomes and bite gnomes and set gnomes on fire. Stomp on gnomes and crush gnomes and destroy all gnomes desire. Gut gnomes. Break gnome fingers. Break gnome toes. Poke gnome eyes and poke gnomes with spears. Bleed gnomes out in the wind. Nail gnomes to boards. Nail gnomes to trees. Pelt gnomes with stones and pelt gnomes with weeds. Steal gnome cars. Steal gnome trains. Steal gnome planes. Crash gnome planes in towers.¡± ¡°Oh yeah.¡± Thunder Fist answered. His head snapping up as if waking from a dream. ¡°That was you huh? Heh. I remember being around the corner when the gnomes were running from the crash. They were all like: Ah! The plane hit the second tower!¡± ¡°Vince did it by killing all the gnomes on board before hand and then teleporting between planes! Vince used to love flying simulators! Vince now has great aim!¡± ¡°Mittens complains! Mittens wants to crash gnome planes in second tower too!¡± ¡°All in good time Mittens.¡± I said with a calm satisfaction. ¡°There are still plenty of gnomes out there for us to get and gut and maim. Give it time.¡± ¡°Yes! Mittens will gut all the gnomes in good time!¡± The others laughed again. ¡°Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La! Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La!¡± Grandpa pulled on the curtains and closed them. Then he sat back down opposite dad and mom and kept his silence. My mind tracking them through [Limited Omniscience]. Now, I could have pretended that I wasn¡¯t as thrilled as I was. I could have put a bunch of Psy into [Social Hunter] and kept pretending that I didn¡¯t despise gnomes as much as I did. But the gains I¡¯d made over the past six hours were just too good. For whatever reason, letting go of all my Shifter abilities for a little while and letting go of all my inhibitions were having a fantastic effect on my Telepath abilities.
Level Gained: + 2, 000 Maximum Psy. + 22 Ability Points.
Level Gained: + 2, 000 Maximum Psy. + 22 Ability Points.
Level Gained: + 2, 000 Maximum Psy. + 22 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] 23 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] 25.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Empowering Majesty X] 11 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Empowering Majesty X] 12.
¡®Though that really begs the question. Why? Is it because I was holding myself back for so long? That¡¯s odd, because it has only been a few days since the disciplinary action thing. And I was pretty loose in that case. And I was brutal when I fought against the Kaiju in Dusty¡¯s world. Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m fulfilling all my desires? Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m saturating the world with Psy in the same way Sarcophagus Solom used to do when all he had was himself? Maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m not holding back for the sake of anyone?¡¯ Those were all possibilities, but they didn¡¯t quite account for the sudden spike in growth. Sarcophagus Solomon had enough knowledge and intrinsic understanding of Telepathy to stand a decent chance against the Drake. He would probably have stood a pretty good chance at stopping Hazimon too. Yet me absorbing him completely had kind of stunted the growth he, or I, was supposed to have experienced normally if Telepath was our only Type. ¡®My [Limited Omniscience] accounted for it, but it didn¡¯t give me the reason. Perhaps meeting Hazimon and learning about how old masters improved their Types at the higher Tiers helped, but my ability can¡¯t make predictions that involve him. Nor the things he taught me. My future sight keeps telling me I should not have gained more levels in Telepath for a few more weeks, and yet here they are.¡¯ [Limited Omniscience] was proving to be a bit too limited in this case. What with it being significantly more defective than the version Sarcophagus Solomon had been walking around in. ¡®Makes you wonder if I¡¯ve taken some things for granted.¡¯ I mused. ¡®Really should take care to second guess the predictions I¡¯ve made so far. A lot of them have been right, but the Dragon should have been enough of a surprise to wake me from this stupor of overconfidence. Not just that, but I saw myself, both as the Sarcophagus and my new dual-Type self, defeating the Drake in some outcomes. Without help. The strategy seems workable and even simple. And the Drake¡¯s memories don¡¯t suggest that he has any way to deal with me collapsing an entire sub-dimension with Intruders. But that could just as well be Hubris. If I can¡¯t read the Dragon, then I shouldn¡¯t assume I can read the Drake.¡¯ Well, whatever. I was growing again. And that was all for the good. Not only that, but the walls of the current Instance were still popping out gnomes like mushrooms. Birthing them into the waiting, loving arms of all my Intruders. All while the skies burned and the seas remained frozen and the very air buzzed with crackling purple lightning. All while reality undid itself and my Solomonlings sang. ¡°Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La! Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La!¡± The gnomes that spawned into the Instance did not look overly pleased with the situation. In fact, their faces were a mask of confusion and they remained that way right up until the Intruders grabbed them and brought out the knives. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡®But I guess that¡¯s just how the cookie crumbles.¡¯ I allowed my attention to go back to grandpa and dad and mom. ¡°So, our world is gonna get invaded.¡± Dad spoke without emotion. ¡°As far as I know, yes.¡± Grandpa confirmed. ¡°And there is no one who can stop it other than Sully?¡± Mom asked. Not for the first time. ¡°That¡¯s correct. Again, as far as I know.¡± Grandpa said again. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Dad asked again. ¡°Dad, you¡­ you¡¯re so strong now. You and Puffin. She¡¯s not the same girl she was when we met. She doesn¡¯t need to be protected. Not anymore. I saw her fighting that (Sully)ing thing Mittens and she left this massive crater on the earth when her kick landed. Then she leapt up and she flew like¡­ like a (Sully)ing jet. Not like our modern heroes, but like the old heroes in comic books. She¡¯s (Sully)ing broken. And she can do all kinds of things. Even while flying and¡­¡± His hands went to his face. ¡°You¡¯re telling me neither of you can do anything instead of Sully?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m not saying I can¡¯t do anything.¡± Grandpa responded half-heartedly. ¡°I never got too far training on my own. Only to level 20 or so with constant grinding and training until I dropped from exhaustion. I also don¡¯t think I¡¯m going to get any more levels anytime soon either. That said, I do think I could destroy a few hundred thousand gnomes. Over the course of a small guerilla campaign.¡± He sighed. ¡°That said, I don¡¯t know what those spaceships can do. Given what our own world¡¯s prototype space weapons could do, I¡¯m not thrilled about the idea. Even if I myself could keep teleporting around and dodging everything they throw at me, I don¡¯t know how everyone else is going to fare.¡± ¡°You say that, but the people back home didn¡¯t seem weak to me.¡± Mom snapped. ¡°Mrs. McGill used to barely get around on her scooter. I remember helping her get her groceries. While she went on and on about that grandson of hers. The one who got himself into skydiving and survived that nasty fall.¡± Mom grimaced. ¡°Now that grandson is off his wheelchair and doing freaking loops around the neighbourhood all the way up in the sky and Mrs. McGill is flying right next to him.¡± Mom grimaced again. ¡°That creep was bad enough before the interview. After the interview he and a thousand other wackos started stalking us and taking photos whenever they could.¡± ¡°A few broke in and started sniffing our shoes.¡± Dad piled on. ¡°Yes Reggie. I know. I was there.¡± Grandpa allowed. ¡°They broke into Sully¡¯s old room and started sniffing the carpets and the drapes too.¡± ¡°Yes Reggie. I know. I was there.¡± Grandpa repeated. ¡°Sully hasn¡¯t even lived in that room for years!¡± ¡°Well, he did come home over the summer and for the holidays.¡± Mom interrupted. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean the sheets smell like him! And that doesn¡¯t mean we should allow whack jobs in our house at all hours of the night to come sniff our sheets like some deranged group of (Sully)ing perverts!¡± Dad turned to grandpa. ¡°We can¡¯t keep living like this when we get back!¡± ¡°Yes Reggie. I know. I was there.¡± Grandpa repeated once more. Then he massaged his eyes and groaned loudly. ¡°Look, I know this situation is messed up. Okay? I know. And I know I didn¡¯t explain the¡­ the degree to which things had gone wrong.¡± ¡°You shot my wife!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Mom followed up. ¡°In the head! I always thought you liked me as your daughter in law!¡± ¡°Of course I love you Bonnie.¡± Grandpa retorted at once. ¡°I love both of you. And I know Reggie¡¯s loved you since you two met in school. You¡¯re one of the few people I¡¯ve ever known who made it all work. And I¡¯ve always known you two were something special.¡± He took a deep breath and glanced sideways at the close curtains. Then back at them. ¡°That¡¯s why I had to do what I did. Again, you all saw Sully¡¯s memories. The Labyrinth was all kinds of (Gnome)ed up as a concept before Sully came into the equation. I sure as (Gnome) don¡¯t have to tell you that with what happened with that degenerate Halkon.¡± Dad and mom nodded. Begrudgingly so. Puffin didn¡¯t, but her mind softened somewhat. ¡°Sully went through worse and he later found out that things were even more messed up for him before he even went there. You¡¯ve seen the gnomes. I¡¯ve seen the gnomes. Only I¡¯ve been inside their heads for longer. Sully was vulnerable from the start and the gnomes only pushed him way over the edge.¡± Grandpa downed a glass of juice in one go. ¡°In all honesty, compared to what happened back when he was six, things turned out pretty alright. I mean, yeah, he¡¯s got an obscene amount of power that no person should ever have. And yes. He could absolutely [Dominate] us all into mindless slaves. And yes. He did mindwipe everyone in our world to forget the fact that he sank Australia on accident¡­¡± ¡°You know dad, you¡¯re really bad at motivational speeches.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Mom agreed. ¡°How did you get promoted as far as you did if you talked to your employees like that?¡± ¡°I shot a lot of young protesters when no one else wanted to and so I didn¡¯t get purged with the rest of the department heads. But that¡¯s neither here nor there. The point I¡¯m trying to make is that the fact that things turned out as well as they did means you two did an excellent job raising Sully into a good, caring kid and later into a good, caring person. I mean¡­¡± ¡°Wait, what was that about the young protesters again?¡± Dad interrupted. ¡°Never mind that.¡± Grandpa cut him off. ¡°I mean that Sully turning out as well as he did was the best-case scenario. You know what teen boys are like? How most of your classmates were when you were in high-school? While you two were being all nice and shy and wholesome, half your classmates were out getting blackout drunk behind a Burger Fool dumpster or doing mushrooms under bridges.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a really dim view of things Gus.¡± Mom chided. ¡°Didn¡¯t your brother get three girls pregnant when he was 16? Before then getting caught knocking up his English teacher?¡± Mom blushed. ¡°Okay, I guess I kinda see your point. But comparing Sully to Rick isn¡¯t exactly a high bar to clear.¡± She was right. Uncle Rick had become a local scandal when he was young as a very handsome, very suave, very virile minor celebrity. He¡¯d had a somewhat successful, if short-lived music career in an alternative rock band for a few years after high-school. After that, he¡¯d ended up in prison a couple of times for lesser felonies. Mostly DUIs. Before then running a cryptocurrency scam back when the tech was just getting started. I¡¯d never gotten to know him of course. Mostly because mom and her side of the family disowned him after a particularly bad stunt with a rental car that took out her parent¡¯s house. But I did look up a few of his songs out of curiosity back in the day. None of them were particularly good. ¡®Now that I think of it, Uncle Rick turned out to be a Telepath too when I blasted the entire world. So did all my cousins. All my cousins. And it turned out that I had a lot more cousins than I ever knew. Grandpa and Dad are Telepaths too. Maybe there¡¯s something in the genes?¡¯ I sighed internally. ¡®Great, now I¡¯m sounding like Dusty and Slab¡¯s dad. What with all the cuckoo eugenics nonsense.¡¯ ¡°My point is that Sully definitely had the means to do whatever the (Gnome) he wanted with no checks and balances. You¡¯re a history buff Reggie. Tell me, do child kings or child celebrities usually turn out well?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not exactly the same.¡± Dad countered. ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re right. It isn¡¯t. Sully, at the tender age of six, was an undisputed king of everything you¡¯ve ever known and his first priority was to make a child¡¯s version of an ideal world where nothing bad ever happened and where everyone could be happy. Yeah he (Gnome)ed up. But he was six and had unlimited power. I¡¯d say things went pretty well. Especially when you consider what someone like your brother-in-law might have done in his place. Or in his teenage years.¡± Grandpa stared mom down. ¡°Tell me your brother wouldn¡¯t have turned our world into a planet-sized brothel and I¡¯ll name you a liar. If he or any number of people off the street had the kind of power Sully had when¡­¡± ¡°Okay! Okay! I get it!¡± Dad interrupted. Sighing and massaging his own eyes. ¡°But we¡¯re going off track. There has to be someone else who can do what Sully is trying to do. There has to be someone else who can stop the alien gnome invasion¡­ Gosh I can¡¯t believe I just said that¡­ and keep our own world safe. Thunder Fist is just as strong as Puffin now. Right? Just like this kid Vince? That means all of you are several times stronger and more versatile than S-Ranks like Shatter Storm or Sirocco back home. AND, there are all these other people with powers back home to consider. None of them have the System, as far as I know, but a lot of them were doing cartwheels above our home. Enough that I¡¯m pretty sure you could throw a rock in any random direction and accidentally pelt a newly minted A-Rank. Or better. Again, no System so no frame of reference aside from monsters being hunted. And all the Rift-Spawn had been driven well and truly into (Sully)ing extinction by the time we got back. I mean, (Sully) me!¡± Dad swallowed a gulp of air before redoubling his rant. ¡°Even Rick was going around flying and being a massively powerful Telepath! More powerful than me at least. Which would have been absolutely horrifying if it weren¡¯t for the fact that he was also a presence addict. He¡¯s started a brand-new cult following this Serpent-Tongue freak and I do not approve of the stuff they¡¯re saying about Sully! So, I ask again. What¡¯s stopping you all from forming a team and keeping the gnomes out?¡± ¡°Well, nothing.¡± Monique piped up for the first time in a while. ¡°But I will say that Periwig mentioned having someone of their Tier would be a deterrence to pirates and reaving bands from lesser factions. The gnomes and Periwig in particular apparently have a reputation for bombing the people they can¡¯t directly rob from orbit and then relying on their own Masters back home to kill people trying to get revenge. We might be able to kill Periwig ourselves, if we get him off his ship, but that¡¯s a lot of maybes. There are no maybes with Sully. Anyone going up against him is straight-up (Gnome)d in the (Gnome).¡± ¡°Weren¡¯t you the one who tried to mug him with a shotgun when you two met in the Maze?¡± Mom asked suddenly. ¡°Yes Mrs. Carter. I was. Though it wasn¡¯t anything personal. I was just starving and confused and trying to get back to my kids.¡± Monique said apprehensively. Then she too sighed. ¡°If it makes you feel better, I never would have even talked to him if I knew what he was capable of.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me feel better.¡± Mom bit back. ¡°No. I guess it doesn¡¯t. Sorry. I guess I¡¯m not being as sensitive as I should be.¡± Monique¡¯s sigh deepened. ¡°Let me try again. Your son is the only one I can think of when it comes to saving planets from alien invaders without suffering massive casualties.¡± She stopped to lean back with a groan of frustration. ¡°Okay. My bad. Let me start again.¡± Monique grimaced, but stood a bit taller now. ¡°Sully chose to help my world. Even after he¡­ rediscovered some things about himself. Even when he stood to gain nothing. I know he¡¯s sick in the head, but my kids wouldn¡¯t be alive right now if it weren¡¯t for him. I owe him more than either of you know. And even if he is messed up and even if he scares me¡­ well¡­ he¡¯s not a bad person. At least, Gus here is right that anyone else with that kind of power would have made a world I wouldn¡¯t want to live in.¡± ¡°Be that as it may.¡± Dad countered. ¡°We know Sully¡¯s done¡­ his best. But we can all agree that he is sick and he needs professional help.¡± ¡°Oh absolutely.¡± Monique agreed at once. ¡°In fact. I know a few good therapists back home. I would recommend them, if any were still alive after the zombies.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Dad stood up. ¡°So, we¡¯re finally getting somewhere! Can we all at least agree to keep Sully nice and calm until we can get him the help he needs?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to convince me sir.¡± Charlie spoke immediately. ¡°Keep Sully nice and calm until we can get him help has been our motto since the day we freed the Warehouse and he shared the visions with us. I¡­ I appreciate everything he¡¯s done for me and for the rest of us. And I would call him a friend and even a good guy, but even without knowing what a therapist was, I was always very vocal that he needed all the help he could get. Frankly I offered up the idea that he should talk to the sisters over by the temple back home. They¡¯re really good at listening and making the proper pious noises every once in a while. Never been much of a Saturn-lover myself, but people like him tend to feel much better afterwards.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re all blowing this out of proportion.¡± Dusty interjected. ¡°Yes, he has his issues. Everyone does. But you¡¯re all forgetting that Sully has chosen to sacrifice himself for others at every single chance he¡¯s been given.¡± She stood up and faced my parents. ¡°He saved me and my brother. When we couldn¡¯t give him anything in return. He saved my father and my village and my world. When he stood to gain nothing from it. He never even asked for anything. The idea didn¡¯t even occur to him. I think that says something about his character and I think you¡¯re all being very judgemental for a bunch of people who aren¡¯t warriors. A bunch of people whom he saved.¡± ¡°He ripped my guts out and turned them into tentacles!¡± Luigi snapped. ¡°Then he brainwashed me and forced me to hunt people by falling on top of them and strangling them to death!¡± Dusty scoffed. So did Slab. ¡°He thought you were a gnome.¡± She said condescendingly. ¡°Honestly, we killed ourselves the second we saw that. If you were too stupid to do so, that¡¯s kind of on you.¡± Slab followed up. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make it better!¡± Luigi cried out. Now standing up too. ¡°Being a gnome should not be an excuse for torturing¡­.!¡± A crack of purple lightning tore through the ceiling and into the house. Disintegrating wood and masonry to leave a black, sizzling hole next to Luigi. Above him, the very skies roiled in anger and anguish. Screaming bloody murder as my own feelings twisted reality itself into a form of Intruder. The world bleeding through the edges and allowing more and more of Pandemonium to stain the cobweb. In the clouds, my angels frolicked about. Singing. ¡°Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La! Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La!¡± Henry grabbed Luigi and dragged him back down. Almost ripping the scrawnier, half-starved man in two as he did so. ¡°What he meant to say is that all gnomes are the epitome of evil and that we will stop at nothing to flay them alive and wear the skins as capes! Because that¡¯s what good people do!¡± The angels giggled above, before gently floating away. My words still echoing in their lips and all across this dimension. ¡°Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La! Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La!¡± ¡°Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La! Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La!¡± ¡°Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La! Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La!¡± Intermission: Two Lost Boys and a Magic Sword. POV: Jimmy Fletcher. The morning was cold and damp and foggy. The morning mist clinging obnoxiously to the earth, despite it being the middle of July. I looked out the window of the now run-down mansion and groaned. Realizing that I couldn¡¯t see two feet in front of me to save my life. Once, that fact alone would have sent me running for the basement bunker beneath the overly decorated flooring. Once, the thought of zombies and runaway mutants would have sent chills down my spine. Once, that fear would have paralyzed me. Once. ¡®But not anymore.¡¯ I pondered. ¡®It¡¯s almost funny. Now that I think about it. It¡¯s almost as if I¡¯m more afraid for the sake of the zombies than I am for me or Ben.¡¯ I shivered and drew the thick comforter closer to myself. Once upon a time, it had been a cozy, fresh smelling thing we found in one of the house¡¯s many closets. Now, it reeked of dried up sweat and body-odor. Proof that it hadn¡¯t been washed properly in months. ¡®Not that there¡¯s anything I could have done about it.¡¯ Running water was a distant dream in the new world. So that was out. We did try to rotate which clothes we left outside when it rained, but the smells never quite left the sheets when we brought them back in. Not only that, we¡¯d also found that certain bugs made their homes inside the few covers we left outside and getting them out was an even bigger pain. Me and Ben had ended up burning them outside. All while crying about missing soap of all things. Then we decided to keep the stuff we had beneath the house. Smelly and stinky as the linens were, having to endure the smells was much, much better than freezing to death when the temperatures dropped. The ash clouds were still very much a thing in the summer months and the weather could bring down sudden chills whenever the skies felt like it. I supposed we could have taken the sheets and the rest of our clothes to the nearest river or creek or whatever, but that prospect wasn¡¯t a fun one. Before mom brought the sword, it would have involved trekking over miles upon miles of broken cars and abandoned towns. Meaning we¡¯d be hiking while at the mercy of zombies and super-mutants and wild dogs and whatever else the world decided to vomit in our direction. After mom brought the sword¡­ Well¡­. It probably would have been safe, but that would have meant trusting the crazy hunk of junk for any length of time and that wasn¡¯t something I was willing to try. ¡®Mom can say that it¡¯s safe until the sky turns bloody red again. It won¡¯t change the fact that the damn thing turned the sky blood red in the first place!¡¯ I clenched my fists, but knew better than to act out. The sword and the insane freaking spirit thing inside it were both insane, but they were the only thing keeping the zombie hordes and the super-mutants away. Pissing either of them off would not lead to anything good. ¡®And according to mom, the guy who made them is even more insane. And he can mind-control people all around the world without any of them being able to fight back.¡¯ I stopped for a second to bring my hands up to my face. Breathing into them while making my way back down to where Ben was sleeping. ¡®And he can give people powers.¡¯ I recalled. ¡®The crazy guy can give people powers. Even without them having the crazy superpower video-game menu thingy in front of them. He can give people superpowers.¡¯ And that crazy guy would be able to come out of the Tutorial place and enter any human world out there as much as he wanted in three months. Give or take. I shivered again. Stopping mid-step while going down the stairs. ¡®Well, at least we¡¯ll have mom back with us again. For good this time. Three months¡­¡¯ It didn¡¯t sound like a long time when I said it inside my head. Summer vacation had always been two months and it always went by in a blur. The school years had been much, much more than three months, and now I could barely remember any one day or any one week out of the last year we went to school. Besides, mom had left us the magic ring filled with food and stuff. And there was enough food and water in there to last us that much. Plus, she¡¯s be back in just one month to bring us more stuff and all her world-travelling friends knew to watch out for us and leave us stuff if they came across us. It wasn¡¯t that bad. It wasn¡¯t as if she was gone forever. But it still hurt. ¡®Fuck the System.¡¯ I thought bitterly. ¡®Fuck it and everyone who helped make it. Why couldn¡¯t it have taken us along? Yeah, it sounded awful, but we¡¯d have mom with us and we¡¯d have gotten powers alongside her. We could have made it work. It isn¡¯t as if things are that much easier and safer over here on our end. We could have made it work.¡¯ Mom had even said that the crazy guy had gotten his powers before he was taken. Back when he was six. If he was crazy strong back then, we could have been even stronger and better if the System took us. We weren¡¯t crazy after all. Or maybe that was it. We couldn¡¯t be taken into the Maze because we weren¡¯t crazy. Maybe you had to be crazy to get inside. ¡®That would explain mom¡¯s ranting.¡¯ I thought further. Then I sighed. ¡®The only thing we can do is keep holding out here until mom finishes that real-life Tutorial superhero video-game world thingy.¡¯ I dreaded. ¡®We can figure out the rest then.¡¯ I briefly wondered what it would be like to have powers. To be able to do the things that mom did. Like teleporting and shooting fireballs and thunderbolts. To be able to fly. I snorted. Thinking about what all my friends would say if they saw me flying overhead. Setting zombies on fire and saving their lives. In the comics, the heroes always kept their identities secret because the bad guys would target their families if they knew who they were. But that seemed stupid now. The zombies didn¡¯t care who you were if you weren¡¯t infected. Same with the dogs. Neither the ones who had the infection nor the ones who were just wild and hungry would give two shits about who you were. As for my friends¡­ Well. They¡¯re probably all either dead or zombified. So, they wouldn¡¯t be thinking anything at all. Ben was still huddled up on the bed when I made my way to the lower parts of the bunker. His hands were gripping the smelly sheets tightly. Until he looked more like some webbed-up caterpillar than a human. Even then, he was shivering. ¡°Hey Ben.¡± I said when I came closer. ¡°Mhmhm. Five more minutes.¡± I sighed. ¡°Ben, wake up already. You¡¯re not 9 anymore. You¡¯re 10. And you need to start acting like an adult and have breakfast with me.¡± ¡°Shut up Jimmy. You asshole.¡± He cursed while covering his face with the blankets. ¡°Acting like a big shot when you¡¯re fucking 12 now after your birthday. Who the fuck is going to care if I have breakfast five minutes from now or five hours from now? Get lost and leave me alone. Asshole. Asshole. Stinky asshole.¡± ¡°Hey! I smell better than you! At least I try to wash up!¡± ¡°Sound like a great way to get pneumonia and black death. Go right ahead.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t get black death from the cold you shitheel! You get it from rats!¡± ¡°Then I better get away from you or I¡¯ll get the black death!¡± I smacked him. He cursed me out some more. I pulled on his blankets. Hard. He kicked me. I punched him. And just like that, I was on top of him. Hitting and hitting and hitting while he kept kicking and¡­ ¡°AH! You bitch! Did you just bite me!¡± ¡°Yeah I did! You taste like ASS! I must have bit your face!¡± ¡®Children! Children! Stop it!¡¯ A voice called inside our minds. I stopped. Ben stopped too. Our eyes going over to where the sword was. ¡®That¡¯s better! Honestly! You children are both young and cute and precious human beings! How could you stoop so low as to start fighting amongst yourselves as if you were some¡­. Some¡­¡¯ The spirit inside the sword sounded as if he were spitting. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡®Gnomes.¡¯ ¡°I wish there were gnomes around.¡± The hilt started talking. After the metal shifted and melted into a form of semi-liquid steel. Resembling lips. ¡°I miss skewering gnomes so, so, so much. Oh I miss them so much. I remember feeling the glee when the little gnomes bled all over me. Oh I remember the trickle trickle trickle of sweet sweet sweet red when it ran down the steel. Ooooh. I remember it all so well. Children. Sweet little children. Why don¡¯t we go out and hunt some gnomes?¡± ¡®There are no gnomes here.¡¯ The spirit argues. ¡®We were commanded to defend the children. And that is what we must do. Now the dead and the unbelievers¡­ they are all over the place. So let¡¯s go outside little children. Let us be heroes and bring the light of my master to all who suffer in this world.¡¯ The spirit¡¯s voice quieted down for a second. As if his unreal lips were taking in a gulp of air. ¡®LET US BATHE THIS FILTHY WORLD IN SOLOMON¡¯S CLEANSING FIRE!¡¯ ¡°AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!¡± ¡°AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!¡± We both ran up the stairs. Leaving the thick blankets and the ring behind. We stayed upstairs. Shivering. Then the air began to get warmer and warmer. The morning mist vanishing outside as if some great big giant had come over and started blowing out all over the place. ¡®Children.¡¯ The spirit cooed. ¡°Chiiiiildreeeenn.¡± The sword spoke through the hilt. ¡®This really is no way to behave. We are both here to help you and to keep you safe and to¡­¡¯ ¡°Expunge the faithless from the face of creation.¡± ¡®Yes, that too. But that is no reason to run away from us. Honestly. You two have been behaving like this for so, so long that I¡¯m starting to think neither of you trust us?¡¯ I didn¡¯t say anything. Neither did Ben. ¡®Children¡­ you know I can read your minds, right?¡¯ I didn¡¯t say anything. Neither did Ben. ¡®That¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll just remind you! Here, let me send the screen to your minds again.¡¯
Cherubaustin the Insatiable. (Intruder) (Unique) (Psy: 20, 000 / 20, 000) An Arch-Intruder from beyond the veil of prime material reality. Sealed and nurtured by Solomon Carter in the ruins of Austin, Texas. Colored by his desires, hopes and emotions. As well as the lingering shared consciousness of those who once inhabited the location. This Intruder suffers from the following compulsions and recovers Psy by indulging them. Butcher of Gnomes: This Intruder feels an irresistible hatred towards all Gnomes and must attack them on sight. This Intruder will recover more Psy the more suffering he inflicts on Gnomes. Shield of Humanity: This Intruder feels a great deal of love and compassion for all Humans. This Intruder will recover more Psy the more he heals or directly protects Humans. This Intruder will lose Psy if they directly attack Humans. Destroy the Evil: This Intruder is compelled to hunt monsters as well as Sentient Species who breach Solomon Carter¡¯s imparted moral guidelines. This Intruder will use Solomon Carter¡¯s definition of what a monster is in order to guide its actions. This Intruder will resort to inflicting indirect harm if it feels unable to cause direct harm. This Intruder has access to all Tier I abilities possessed by Solomon Carter while it remains bonded. Intruder may leave the area of bondage for up to 50 hours at a time. This Intruder has access to [Solar Sense II] 10 / [Sense Space-Time Anomaly II] 7 / [Absorb Heat and Light II] 15 and [Conversion to Psy] 17 and can use them at will with no Psy cost. This Intruder has access to [Melting] 15 / [Attune to Matter III] 15 / [Attuned Manipulation III] 10 / [Pyrokinesis III] 15 and [Photokinesis III] and can use them as long as Psy is provided. All abilities at the disposal of this Intruder will increase by one level per level of [Unstable Reality] surrounding it. This Intruder will obtain new, higher Tiered abilities per every five levels of [Unstable Reality] surrounding it. This Intruder will be ejected from prime material reality is if runs out of Psy but will return to its bonded Father, Solomon Carter, as long as its full Psy pool is provided after a period of 72 hours. Cannot grow or progress unless through repeated exposure to [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] or derivatives merged by Solomon Carter.
The Slasher of Veils. (Multi-form Weapon) (Unique) (Psy: 12, 000 / 12, 000) A quasi-sentient transforming weapon adorned with gnomish runes. It has been uplifted by the convictions of Solomon Carter. It houses the Arch-Intruder Cherubaustin within itself and the sealed being retains all of its ego and abilities. Cherubaustin has a separate Psy pool and replenishes his Psy while resting within the weapon. This weapon is under the permanent effect of [Psy Armament IV] 10 and may be re-summoned by the same restrictions as Cherubaustin if destroyed. This weapon has access to [Mindscape II] 5 / [Message] 3 and [Friendship] 15. This weapon will use these abilities to influence its wielder, with the goal of inflicting escalating violence upon gnomes. This weapon may maintain a field of [Unstable Reality] 15 around itself at no cost so long as Cherubaustin or the wielder wills it. Cherubaustin may use the ability [Portal Network III] at half the cost while inside this weapon. Grants the bearer the [Regeneration] 5 and [Mitosis] 5 abilities, so long as a warm-blooded creature has been slain within the past 2 hours. Also grants a + 200% bonus to experience gain so long as a gnome has been slain within the last 20 hours. These effects do not stack with existing bonuses stemming from Tittles or abilities. Gnomes struck by this weapon are afflicted by [Confusion] 5 and [Total Organ Failure III] 15. Can only be upgraded through repeated exposure to [Solomon¡¯s Calamitous Insight VII] or derivatives merged by Solomon Carter.
¡°Right. Uh. Thank you.¡± I managed to say after a few minutes. ¡°I really. Uh¡­¡± ¡°We really appreciate everything you¡¯ve done for us.¡± Ben finished for me. ¡°But mom told us to stay put right here and wait until she came back. I¡­ I¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think going outside and killing some zombies is a good idea.¡± ¡®Children! Children. Come now. All the zombies are dead and burned.¡¯ The spirit paused. ¡®At least all the ones in a 500-kilometer radius. Your mother and I took care to burn away all the infidels we could find. But there will always be more. We must all be heroes if we want to live up to the example his high holiness left for us.¡¯ I didn¡¯t say anything. Neither did Ben. ¡®Okay. I know! I¡¯ll just use Slasher and create a field of [Unstable Reality]! I may not be able to create a stable portal to your mother, but I can create a link between this place and the Lakeside Estate! I¡¯ll be able to bring in all sorts of friends to keep your spirits up and do all kinds of justice on this side of the world! I mean, (Gnome). If the master has degraded his side of reality enough, you might even be able to see glimpses of him!¡¯ ¡°Yeeeeeeesssssss!¡± The sword hissed. ¡°I want to see master again. I want it. I want him! I want my daddy!¡± The sword did its weird magic thing again and the world started to bleed. I could feel the energy choking me. Pressing down on me like the hand of a titan coming down from above. Ben started wheezing in my arms. I hugged him more tightly. Then, the skies began to turn purple, as the green fields outside began turning a bloody red. Crying out at once for blood. For vengeance. For death to the dead. ¡®Oh! Look at this! My master HAS weakened the veil on his side! What a treat!¡¯ ¡°Daddy! I want to see daddy again!¡± The world had a wound now. A window that opened up in the middle of the air. Beyond it, was hell. A street that ran red and black with dried or drying blood. Rivers of it running in all directions. On the edges, posts stood tall. With wooden boards at shoulder height where many, many little people had been nailed with their hands spread out. None of them had teeth in their mouths. Or eyes in their skulls. And in the middle of that street, four figures were singing while covered in blood. Two ghouls, one four-armed horned woman, and a super-buff bodybuilder with three eyes. ¡°Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La! Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La!¡± ¡°Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La! Crucifixion! Crucifixion! La! La! La!¡± The buff giant stopped for a second to look straight at us. He alone noticing us. ¡°Oh! Look at that! Monique¡¯s kids!¡± He waved happily at us. ¡°How do you do kids?¡± I grabbed Ben and rushed out of the room. Dragging him behind me for a brief second before he too started running.
¡°We have to save mom.¡± I told Ben as soon as I was sure we¡¯d lost the sword. ¡°Really!? Gee whilikers Jimmy! That never fucking occurred to me! You¡¯re a fucking genius!¡± ¡°Shut up shitface! I¡¯m serious! Mom¡¯s in danger around that guy!¡± ¡°Everyone is in danger around that guy! Did you see his muscles! He looked like he eats kids for breakfast! And he was dancing with two zombies and a monster!¡± We were both heaving by that point. The cold air digging into our bones as we tried to catch our breath. ¡°What the heck are we even supposed to do anyway? That guy is massive! And he can mind-control people! And he has a sick fetish for crucifying little people on top of that!¡± ¡°I know Ben! I¡­! Shit! Let me think! I¡¯ll think of something!¡± I started pacing around the empty road, but nothing was coming up. All the while, the chilly winds blew through the burnt-out wrecks scattered up and down the cracked road. The cars parked here had been turned over or otherwise abandoned a few weeks ago. Some of them still holding trapped zombies that were left over from the time when the toxic rains first started pouring and the people trying to get back home were caught in the cross fire. All those who were taken on the roads had been given the choice of opening their windows and letting the toxic air transform them into monsters, or to sit prettily and wait for those who did get transformed to get hungry and start breaking down the survivors¡¯ windows for a few easy meals. A few with old cars or with damaged air conditioners didn¡¯t even get that choice when the vapors got inside their cars. We had seen cars like them all over the country, when mom was still with us and when we were still running with the other guys who made it out of town. I¡¯d always felt we¡¯d been lucky. That being trapped in a car with no way out, waiting for a death you knew was coming was the worst. ¡®And now I feel like I¡¯m trapped in one of those cars with Ben.¡¯ I thought with a sad laugh. ¡®That crazy guy will be free to do whatever he wants as soon as he¡¯s free. Just like mom and just like all the others. They¡¯ve all got powers and we don¡¯t.¡¯ I looked over the cars again and paid more attention to the charred corpses beneath the wrecks. The reason for them being in this state now was the sword. Mom had used it to burn away entire miles of terrain. From woods to roads to houses to little gas stations that didn¡¯t have anything in them to abandoned towns on the outskirts of Denver. To even a quarter of the city itself. The sword had burned them all away while laughing. The sword was the powerful, when it was just some trinket the crazy man made and then forgot about when he outgrew it. The sword could have killed us fifteen different ways to Sunday and there was nothing I or Ben could possibly do to save our own lives when it decided it was done playing by the crazy man¡¯s rules. And the crazy man was somehow crazier and more dangerous and more powerful than the sword. ¡°It¡¯s going to be okay.¡± I told Ben. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me asshole!¡± He cursed through sobs. ¡°We¡¯re all fucked!¡± ¡°Yeah! I know Ben! But I was trying to be supportive! That¡¯s what older brothers are supposed to do!¡± ¡°You suck at being an older brother!¡± ¡°Yeah? Well I¡¯m trying okay! It¡¯s fucking hard! I¡¯m doing my best!¡± Ben only sobbed harder. ¡°I miss mom.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I said. Feeling as if my limbs had turned to stone. ¡°Me too.¡± ¡°Is mom going to be okay?¡± ¡°Yeah. Probably.¡± I lied. ¡°She must know some way to get in the crazy man¡¯s good side. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have gotten the sword from him. Remember that nutjob back the hunting store? The one with the axe and the beaver costume?¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°Mom and all the other grown-ups got him to put his axe down. They managed to talk him down even though he was completely out of his mind. They even managed to get some crossbows from him after saying something to him. I think this is the same. Mom probably knows what she¡¯s doing.¡± ¡°Really?¡± He asked again. My heart throbbed at that. I knew it was a lie and he was smart enough to know I was lying through my teeth too. But he needed to hear it from me. Otherwise, he might not have the strength to go on. ¡®I¡¯m the older brother.¡¯ I told myself. ¡®It¡¯s up to me to lie to him. It¡¯s up to me to make him feel like there¡¯s still hope. If I don¡¯t, no one will.¡¯ ¡°Yes. Really. Mom has a way to keep him on a leash. Things are going to be okay.¡± The air shivered and a new figure appeared next to us. I whirled and turned to see a man with a buff body and a fat, toad-like face. And eyes that seemed to see right through us. ¡°Greetings children of Monique.¡± The creep said. Fluttering a few wings behind him. ¡°An angel?¡± Ben gaped. ¡°Indeed!¡± The man spoke out. ¡°I am Serpent-Tongue! Herald of the mighty and fair supreme being! Solomon Carter!¡± I pushed Ben behind me. ¡°Run! I¡¯ll hold him off!¡± ¡°No!¡± Ben cried. ¡°I won¡¯t leave you!¡± ¡°Shut up! Get out while you can!¡± His body froze. So did mine. ¡°Now now children. Do not react that way.¡± The thing wheezed through fake laughter. ¡°The Tyrant has told your mother of what happened and she asked him for more help. I am here as a harbinger. To lift you two up in case you had some kind of issue with his sword.¡± He waved to the empty air behind him. ¡°Here is the Tall Man. The shadow of our most glorious lord. He is here to grant you power. Like the one granted to your mother. And to share memories with you two, so that you know how respected and appreciated your mother really is, and that there is no danger in heeding his word.¡± He was insane. There was nothing there. But then, the air screamed even louder than when the sword did its thing. And a freaky, slinky, two-headed thing came out of nowhere. With a tailored white suit and bare feet that dripped black oil wherever it stepped. It blinked at us, and the world fell away. Chapter 125: What More Proof Do You Need? The skies were still on fire. Despite the fact that I had mostly stopped pumping Psy into the atmosphere. Now, it didn¡¯t bother me overmuch, but I was vaguely aware of the fact that people who weren¡¯t me tended to Regardless, I was feeling pretty good about my exhibition. ¡°Okay. Thank you all for coming on such short notice.¡± I told everyone. Vince raised his right hand. ¡°Yes, Vince.¡± ¡°Vince was told there would be cake and chicken nuggies.¡± I snapped my fingers and a couple dozen Solomonlings, Solomonite Chanters, Solomonite Gnomeburners and Inquisitors descended from the sky. Carrying several food and dessert tables between them. Courtesy of the gnomish mansions I¡¯d ordered them to raid. No sense in wasting good food after all. Even if they were prepared by gnomish hands. ¡°Vince says yay!¡± He cheered. Seconds before he dug in with gusto. Now, I recalled him and Thunder Fist and everyone else at the disciplinary event getting a bunch of Store Tokens for free, as well as the ability to purchase things directly from the System store as if they were approved Vendors. Which made his enthusiasm a bit suspicious. A quick search through their memories squashed that however. These two were simply nostalgic for human-like food and the System didn¡¯t have the things they wanted in this case. ¡®Though it does have rations to last them until the end of time. And the Novice Tutorial instances do have human food. Something to bring up when I see Hazimon, if I¡¯m feeling petty.¡¯ Thunder Fist and Mittens helped themselves to the treats too, but all the others seemed to hesitate. Curiously, the fact that they had recently been stored in gnomish houses wasn¡¯t what worried them. It was the colorful array of Intruders lined up to serve. More specifically, mom and dad were staring at the Solomonlings. Wide-eyed. While grandpa Gus stared at the Flagellants floating above the tables. Strips of flesh and leather hanging off their shivering bodies while their razor-sharp claws flinched and twitched. ¡°Okay.¡± I said at once. ¡°You guys go away. Shoo! Shoo! Leave my family to eat in peace!¡± All the Intruders vanished with the sound of rushing, displaced air, and then with a final pop. All except Mittens of course, as he was possessing someone. ¡°Okay.¡± I said again. ¡°Now that we¡¯re all comfortable, I think it¡¯s time to go over how my powers are actually a good thing and how I can be and I often am, a force for good.¡± I waved over at Monique. ¡°Like when I helped my friend here save her children! And when an incident occurred and reality was destabilized, I took the opportunity to send over the Tall Man.¡± ¡°Because he can go anywhere that has a zone of destabilized reality.¡± Henry confirmed. ¡°Yes! Exactly!¡± I snapped to attention. ¡°And since the Tall Man can use all the powers I can use, he was able to free an entire planet from a zombie apocalypse.¡± I made sure to pause for effect. Letting my eyes wash over each person there, but mostly on my parents. ¡°That¡¯s a planet that had 8 billion people not too long ago and that now only has 32 million people worldwide. Mostly bunched up around the artic countries. I repeat, I have saved the lives of 32 million people in the span of a single afternoon and I have asked for nothing in return! Not only that, but I also gave all of them powers! Yes, that¡¯s right. Not only are the people there safe from all the zombies, but they are also safe from any other plague that might try to destroy their society in the future!¡± ¡°And from the gnomes.¡± Thunder Fist spoke up. Crumbs falling from his full mouth as he did so. ¡°Let us not forget about the most important part.¡± ¡°Thank you, Thunder Fist!¡± I called out. ¡°Yes indeed. I have saved 32 million people, a lot of them being little children conceived and born in the middle of the apocalypse, with no incentive at all. I did it because it was the right thing to do and I would gladly do it again.¡± Dusty, Slab, Boris and grandpa clapped. Though grandpa was kinda forcing it. None of the others looked over enthused however. Indeed, Henry looked downright suspicious. ¡°Now I don¡¯t want to read your minds all the time, but I can see how you¡¯re feeling by your expressions.¡± I turned to the Tall Man as he floated closer. ¡°And that is why I¡¯ve brought one of my Intruders here to show you all everything we managed to do in a very short amount of time. Please sit back and let the memories flow in and you¡¯ll see that I am, in fact, a force for good.¡± Our minds were linked and images began flooding in. ¡°Now as you can all see, these two young kids, Jimmy and Ben, were all alone and living in this abandoned mansion outside Denver. Not only did I give Monique here a sword I created and an Intruder I manifested to protect them, but that sword also created the opportunity for them to get powers early. Let¡¯s go to where they were immediately after.¡± We saw the abandoned roadside. ¡°AAAAAAA!!!!!¡± Jimmy yelled. ¡°OH MY GOSH!!! AAAAAA!!!!¡± Ben echoed. ¡°HE MIND CONTROLLED THEM! HE MIND CONTROLLED HIS PARENTS!!¡± ¡°HE MIND CONTROLLED EVERYONE!!!¡± ¡°THAT PSYCHO IS WITH MOM!¡± ¡°AAAAAAA!!!¡± ¡°AAAAAAAA!!!!¡± I turned to the onlookers. Especially to Monique. ¡°They saw my memories. Just like everyone I use the blast on. Don¡¯t worry. They¡¯ll be fine. I made sure the Tall Man used much less Psy than I used on Henry and Puffin and grandpa. It barely hurt.¡± ¡°MY VEINS ARE ON FIRE!!!¡± ¡°AAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!¡± I turned back to the spectators. ¡°They¡¯re exaggerating. Really. It was barely a pinch.¡± ¡°HOLY SHIT FUCKING SHIT JIMMY!!! YOU¡¯RE ON FIRE!!!!!¡± ¡°AAAAAAAA!!! I¡¯M ON FIRE TOOO!!!! AAAAAAAA!!!!¡± I turned back to the spectator. ¡°That¡¯s just their powers acting up. They each got [Pyrokinesis III] and [Absorb Heat] at high level.¡± I started to realize that this was a bad look. ¡°Just wait, it does get better. I promise. Tall Man, if we could just fast forward a couple of minutes. To the part where I told you to tell them about the survivors in Austin? Yes. Thank you.¡± The next images were of those same kids now using [Portal Network III] to up and hop their way to Texas. One massive jump at a time. Using their newly Enhanced eyesight to see far into the distance for a spot to land and then using that point to rest before doing it all again. Before long, they were back in the ruins of Austin. With Jude and his girlfriend Joice and all the other guys I helped survive. ¡°See these guys here? They¡¯re the same ones from the memories I showed you earlier. I saved them and killed all the zombies around them back in the day and now they have managed to build themselves a new base out of solid stone fused together with fire. A literal fort with electricity they got for themselves and scavenged electronics. Now the kids are no longer alone and they have people to look after them? Tall Man, can we zoom into their arrival?¡± We were treated to a scene of Jimmy and Ben landing atop one of the walls of the fort. Looking around like nervous baby birds. ¡°Yo.¡± Jude called out. Walking over to them. ¡°Are you the kids that Scalper told us about?¡± ¡°Scalper?¡± Jimmy asked. ¡°Sully Carter.¡± He corrected. ¡°The guy who can¡¯t get hard without scalping gnomes.¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s the one.¡± Ben confirmed. I turned to the others. ¡°That¡¯s a load of slander by the way. Never actually happened. Just so you¡¯re aware.¡± Mom burst into tears. ¡°Okay back to the memories.¡± The Tall Man showed us a scene of them having dinner together. ¡°So yeah. Me and Joice ended up getting married after Sully gave us all powers.¡± Jude said happily. ¡°Things got a little rough when a couple of warlords saw the lack of zombies and decided that they wanted this turf for their own, but the most they had was a couple of bazookas and Joice can fly and throw fire from her hands.¡± He snorted. Now giving the kids an odd look. ¡°Man, honestly, I love my powers, but it feels so unfair seeing what just happened.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Jimmy asked. ¡°I mean that you kids and everyone else here who didn¡¯t get powers at first, the refugees that kept coming when they realized we had a good thing going, got way, WAY more stuff than any of us. I mean, I got a single Type, with a couple of powers like mind-reading and stuff. But you kids got that and fire and flight and teleportation and regeneration and super strength and all kinds of other things. It does not feel fair. I mean, I get that Scalper went through a lot but¡­¡± Joice hit him over the head. ¡°Jude, stop dumping your sadness all over the kids. For gnome¡¯s sake.¡± The memories broke off for a second. ¡°Ah!¡± I cheered. ¡°They¡¯re using gnome as a curse even without the system! They learned! I¡¯m so proud!¡± I turned to the rest. ¡°Guys look! I started a trend!¡± Henry and Luigi stared at me. Their gazes hard and unblinking. Dad started doing it too. Mom started sobbing again. ¡°Moving on, let¡¯s get back to the show.¡± Jimmy and Ben were squirming while the rest of the compound started sharing more food and stories and showering them with compliments. ¡°Why¡­ why are you all being so nice to us?¡± Jimmy finally asked. ¡°Because you¡¯re kids?¡± Jude scoffed. ¡°And because you¡¯ve been alone this whole time and because you needed the help. Duh. What kind of sicko just leaves kids out there alone to cry themselves to sleep?¡± Jude shook his head. ¡°I know it¡¯s been hard, but this fort has been a place of hope ever since we got powers. The mutants and the zombies kept coming, because of course they did, but we finally had a way to stand up for ourselves and rebuild. And yeah, it ain¡¯t easy. And yeah, I miss having internet and stuff. But it sure as gnome beats what we were going through before Scalper got here.¡± He gave the boys a gentle smile. ¡°Honestly kids, he ain¡¯t that bad.¡± ¡°He gouged out their eyes!¡± Jimmy protested. ¡°And ate them!¡± Ben followed up. ¡°Yeah, he did, but gnomes were going around cutting off people¡¯s ears and stuff. I¡¯m not gonna judge Scalper for that. Think of it like this, do you know anyone out here that doesn¡¯t hate the zeds?¡± Jimmy and Ben went quiet. ¡°Exactly.¡± Jude said. ¡°Now, if he were going around using his powers to abuse people like your mom, that¡¯d be different. I still wouldn¡¯t go against him because he is mother-gnoming terrifying and the mere thought of standing up to him makes me gnome my pants, but I¡¯d get where you were coming from at least.¡± ¡°But Scalper isn¡¯t the kind of guy to do that.¡± Joice followed up again. ¡°He¡¯s really dedicated to the good guy bit. Like, really really dedicated. I think he might have brain damage or something.¡± I whirled my head. ¡°I don¡¯t by the way. I¡¯ve had my head blown to smithereens and I¡¯ve re-grown it from scratch and I can definitively confirm there¡¯s nothing physically wrong with me.¡± Mom sobbed harder. ¡°In any case! Let¡¯s go back to zombie world!¡± The memories gathered by the Tall Man continued to flood in. ¡°Someone else showed up.¡± Jimmy observed. His bowl of food now finished. ¡°Yeah.¡± Jude agreed. ¡°I suspect we¡¯ll be seeing a lot of that. What with people now knowing about this place and getting the power to teleport like super-ninjas.¡± He sighed. ¡°Dammit. I got freaking superpowers and now I¡¯ll be weaker than a bunch of gnoming kids in diapers.¡± He threw his head back and let out a low chuckle. ¡°Man I can¡¯t wait for the Tutorial to end. I need some way to get myself more powers.¡± Jimmy looked flabbergasted. ¡°You want to go there!? The crazy guy Scalper is there! He¡¯ll be waiting at the city!¡± ¡°Yeah? So? Why should I be worried? Do I look like a gnome to you? I may have the rosy cheeks but I¡¯m missing the stubby legs and the conical skull and the general sadism.¡± Ben didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°Look.¡± Joice intervened. ¡°You kids might be worried, but you¡¯re lucky. We¡¯re just some guys Scalper helped once. Dude just helped millions of people today for no reason. He¡¯s helping people all the time. We have to scramble to get ahead. You kids have an in. What with the sword and all.¡± She pointed at the silent Cherub. ¡°That thing was born here. In Austin. I even recall Austin being part of its name. But it probably won¡¯t lift a¡­ whatever swords have for fingers, if some human gang decided to try and take the fort.¡± ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t that a major problem?¡± Jimmy looked startled. ¡°It was, but not with you two here. Everyone saw Scalper¡¯s memories and what he wants. And what he wants is peace on earth. For humans at least. The dude does not like criminals and the dude is, as I¡¯ve said, scary as all gnome. That and you two are the kids of one of his team members. The sword will fight to protect you because that¡¯s what Scalper wanted. That and I have a feeling the most deranged cannibal out there wants nothing to do with the Tall Man. Who can show up whenever the sword wants.¡± I turned to the others. ¡°I took care of the cannibals by the way. They¡¯ve all seen the error of their ways. There aren¡¯t any left but they don¡¯t know that.¡± That seemed to cheer dad a bit, at least. Or perhaps he was just letting go of some of his excess energy. ¡°Sorry for the interruption, back to business.¡± The memories kept flooding afterwards. ¡°I don¡¯t think you needed to worry about that in the first place.¡± A stranger said from the side. ¡°I just got here with my family and we¡¯re just thankful to have a place to sleep in peace. I don¡¯t want any sort of trouble.¡± The man stretched out his hand. ¡°I¡¯m Bill by the way. Bill Wozniak. Former sergeant and a guy who really doesn¡¯t want to see zombies again.¡± Jimmy shook his hand. ¡°Nice to meet you, Bill.¡± He stopped. ¡°I guess I can get behind that.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it kid. And you don¡¯t have to feel alone anymore. Me and my folks can look after you, if no else wants to.¡± Jimmy still looked hesitant. Edging closer to Jude. But Ben seemed to appreciate the sentiment. ¡°How did you get here?¡± The younger boy asked. ¡°Was stuck in a bunker. Same as you two. Only we were all the way out in Florida.¡± Bill spoke softly. ¡°Whole place was flooded and we were contemplating eating the meat off an infected gator, when the Tall Man ghost thing did its whole planet power shower.¡± He shrugged. ¡°So, yeah. Superpowers and Psy or Magic or whatever the gnome is real. And we might be in for an alien invasion in a few months. Gnome is gnomed. All around us. But me and my wife and our girls and boys are still alive. And I honestly didn¡¯t think all of us would make it when I looked at the situation last week. Scalper might be a deranged psycho with a weird sadist thing for gnomes¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± I assured my audience. ¡°But I owe him my life. And his life was kind gnomed up. And he still didn¡¯t turn us all into slaves. Even though he totally could have.¡± Bill kinda deflated. Laughing nervously to himself. ¡°Honestly, it¡¯s a good thing he got those powers instead of me. I was not a person with good self-control when I was his age. I probably would have been more concerned with getting myself laid.¡± His wife hit him upside the head. ¡°But not now. Obviously. That was just when I was young and stupid. My point is, yeah. The world still sucks and we¡¯ve all got our privates in the grill, but at least the temperature went down a few notches. At least I can actually see a future for my kids.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Another stranger said from the side. ¡°I was seriously considering hanging out with the chandelier. Even got the rope and everything. No one ever said starving hurt that much.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± Someone else piped up. ¡°I was looking at my grandkids. Even when my daughter was dead and walking outside. I had a shovel in my hand and¡­ I was thinking about it.¡± He whistled. ¡°Scalper might be a freak, but I¡¯ll gladly start scalping gnomes right alongside him if that¡¯s what it takes to keep them safe. As long as they can live, I¡¯ll do whatever it takes.¡± I nodded with satisfaction. ¡°Okay Tall Man. Show my parents other guys around the world.¡± The Tall Man did. He showed us a family in France making it out of the catacombs. Coughing up clouds of dust as they saw the sun again for the first time in weeks. He showed us a group of survivors who had been living in a nuclear submarine resurfacing and using their new powers to fly high in the air. All of them were laughing maniacally. Hope plastered on their face for the first time in forever. He showed us a small chain of islands with dozens upon dozens of boats tied to them through makeshift posts. All the children in those islands were screaming with joy. Twirling around and chanting as their parents made the waters around them rise with [Telekinesis III]. Lifting schools of fish for all to eat. He showed us families stuck in a series of mountain cabins and families stuck in the middle of dense jungles. He showed us orphan children coming out of caves and out of wooded areas and making their way over to settlements. He showed us makeshift barricades that had been close to collapsing, but didn¡¯t. Because of me. ¡°See? See the difference I made in these people¡¯s lives?¡± Mom was still sobbing. Dad didn¡¯t look convinced. Henry and Luigi were still as stone. Hand crossed in front of their faces as they both leaned forwards. ¡°Vince thinks you did a great job with the zombies.¡± Vince piped up. ¡°Vince is really impressed about the gnome thing too.¡± ¡°Yeah. What he said.¡± Thunder Fist echoed. Slurping down a bowl of soup before wiping his mouth with his sleeve. ¡°Honestly, I keep harping on the fact that we have to let people know about the evils of gnomes, but that¡¯s only because it¡¯s so hard to imagine them being evil unless you know them. They come waddling in with their rosy cheeks and happy smiles and they pretend to be your friend until they¡¯re ready to stab you in the back.¡± He nodded sagely. ¡°Oh yes. It¡¯s excellent that more people know.¡± Then he turned to Monique. ¡°Your kids look like wonderful young men by the way. I¡¯m really glad they¡¯re happy and healthy. I hope you see them soon.¡± ¡°Thank you. Mr¡­. um¡­. Fist.¡± ¡°No problem.¡± Thunder Fist nodded again. Now turning to my parents. ¡°Honestly guys. I think you¡¯re all being a bit too harsh to your son. From where I¡¯m standing, he¡¯s a true and selfless hero. Why, just see how many people in that world are now alive thanks to him? Just see how many kids now have a future? I mean, people often come up and tell me I¡¯m doing a good job, or they used to, at least. They went on about how I¡¯d saved a hospital full of kids and how I was better than doctors¡­ even though I¡¯ve never been that smart. If someone dumb like me can be a hero, then your son is definitely a hero.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± Randall said from the side. ¡°I do think it looks bad. But those people are alive and they seem to be happy. I don¡¯t think you could call him a shining knight or anything, but anyone I¡¯ve asked was glad to have Sully with them.¡± ¡°Thank you, Randall.¡± I said. ¡°Monique, what do you think?¡± She took a deep breath. Then let it out in one long hiss. ¡°Thank you, Sully. I really appreciate you looking out for my kids.¡± She said afterwards. ¡°I know I might be biased, but all I cared for was having them be alive and safe. I¡­ I shouldn¡¯t have left them alone by themselves. It probably hurt them. Thank you for sending them over to Texas. I¡¯ll go get them the next time we have a break.¡± Then she turned to my mom and dad. ¡°Look, I get it. He does not look good. I would probably cry if he were my kid or if Jimmy and Ben ended up like that. But he did save them. I¡­ I can¡¯t bring myself to hate him.¡± Mom and dad remained still. But Luigi sat up. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ve seen enough.¡± He said suddenly. ¡°I want a power-blast too. Sully. If you can. I¡­ I¡¯ve seen what it takes to survive and I¡¯ve seen how other worlds are now. I can¡¯t afford to be weak.¡± His fists were clenched and his eyes were still darting over to Mittens in terror. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a victim anymore.¡± ¡°Of course Luigi!¡± I bellowed. ¡°It is always my pleasure to help! You¡¯ll see! It might hurt at first, but you¡¯ll soon feel better than you¡¯ve ever felt before!¡± Chapter 126: Training Montage. The skies above our heads were different from the ones we¡¯d left behind in the gnomish simulacrum. That pseudo-world was still accessible, but there was nothing left that it could offer us at this stage. I mean, Vince, Thunder Fist, Mittens and I were still having fun, but I had already come to accept that what I considered justified catharsis made my parents very uncomfortable. So, we¡¯d gone back to the door chamber and entered the second door of the Peak difficulty Tutorial. I knew there was supposed to be a System vendor there waiting for us, but I wasn¡¯t overly surprised to see no one had come. Granny Golden¡¯s story would have spread around their inner circle by now after all. Even if she kept her beak shut or if no one believed her, Hazimon sure as (Gnome) wouldn¡¯t let someone take the assignment without warning them first. Not that it mattered, since Vince, Thunder Fist, Henry, Mittens and Puffin all had plenty of time left on the clock to access the System store. Even after buying Symbiotes of their own and a whole host of other trinkets and supplies. Turns out the timer only runs while you¡¯re buying and browsing, so they could get a lot of bang for their buck if they bought things quickly and then shut it down immediately after. So, second door it was. That one led us to a hotel. A nice, beachside hotel. With pseudo-humans and other species for staff and nice, clean rooms. And Internet. Somehow. No food though, but that was more or less expected. But the rooms were clean and the staff wasn¡¯t programmed to start shapeshifting into us for a few hours. Sure, they¡¯d want to try and kill us after hordes of monsters burst out from the water to eat us all, but¡­ Well¡­. The guys who designed the instance hadn¡¯t accounted for [Limited Omniscience]. Therefore, all the staff that were supposed to stab us in the back while we fought ended up being all too-eager to serve. Add in the recent Excursion we¡¯d just returned from and things honestly couldn¡¯t be better. ¡°Isn¡¯t this nice?¡± I said to my group. ¡°The sun is shining. The birds are singing. The flowers in the garden are all vibrant and beautiful. And all this after we all got the satisfaction of helping those guys fend off an alien invasion.¡± I turned to my parents. A big smile on my face. ¡°Isn¡¯t this nice?¡± Dad¡¯s eyes bore right through me. ¡°You¡­ you shot their ships down.¡± ¡°Noooo.¡± I corrected. ¡°They overloaded their generators. After I made them realize the error of their ways. Honestly, those frogs got off easy. They had the gall to come to that Earth and try to strip it of all its natural resources and use it as a galactic parking lot or whatever. They were planning to put the few thousand humans they didn¡¯t exterminate in zoos. I am of the opinion that I went easy on them.¡± ¡°Did you?¡± He asked again. ¡®Well no. Of course not. Those guys tried to wipe out an entire human world. They can all go (Gnome) themselves with rusty chainsaws as far as I¡¯m concerned.¡¯ ¡°Of course.¡± I lied smoothly. ¡°Think about it for a second. They came in all greedy and genocidal and murderous and they¡¯re leaving with a whole new appreciation for peace and inter-species co-operation. I mean, not only did I stop their invasion of that Earth, I also stopped all the other wasteful, bloody wars they had going on with a bunch of other species. Now they all get to live in peace and prosperity.¡± The, Under the enthusiastic guidance of Serpent-Tongue, part went unsaid. As did all the colorful consequences of being exposed to the full might of my [Prescence] for any real length of time. Dad knew and he knew that I knew that he knew. I could see it in his eyes, even without having to read his mind. ¡°Oh, come on. Think about it like this.¡± I began again. Taking him by the shoulder. ¡°How many billions of humans would have died if we hadn¡¯t stepped in and done what needed to be done? Hmn? I¡¯ll remind you, those guys had orbital death rays. And they were so advanced they hadn¡¯t seen the need to use them until the humans there on the surface pulled out the volleys of nukes. They were all done for and not only did we step in and save a whole planet, we also did it while Randall shot around the sky absorbing all kinds of radiation and cleaning up the planet. Think about it, we solved nuclear fallout and stopped an alien invasion in, what? Fifteen hours? How many people did we lose? How many people would have been lost if it weren¡¯t for us being as strong as we are now?¡± Those thoughts permeated into his mind. I knew it without having to use any powers. His shoulders were drooping with some lost tension and his eyes seemed clearer than before. ¡°Look, like I keep saying. I know it looks bad. Okay? I know this isn¡¯t what you wanted and I know its traumatizing to think about what¡¯s happening. I know. And I can only imagine what you and mom are feeling. But I am still me, dad.¡± I pleaded. ¡°Everything I do, I do it for the right reasons. For reasons I think are just. I think that much should be obvious by now, so I hope you¡¯ll give it some thought, at least.¡± I sighed dramatically and left for the beachfront. Looking hurt. In truth, I was currently over the moon with giddiness. That Excursion could not have come at a better time. We stocked up on all kinds of human-tailored supplies, treats, and distractions. All basically for free. Not only that, it was one of those instances where there was a very clear and obvious solution that didn¡¯t involve any kind of complicated moral problem to sort through. I mean, sure. I kicked three different galactic empires back to the stone age, but they had it coming. What was really important was that I scored not one, not two, not three, but five whole parades where everybody crowded around and heralded us as heroes and the unquestioned saviors of earth. And all of that without me having to use my [Presence] on any of the people. Why, I even got myself a nice coat and a lot of shiny medals to dangle in front of Puffin whenever she called me a heinous unforgivable monster. Dad was still skeptical of the whole thing, but mom had loved it. So much so that the current timeline had soundly beaten my old predictions for how long it would take them to come around to me and my current circumstances. I was over the moon and all my teammates had themselves a good time too. So it was with that same gusto that I went over to where my friends were training. ¡°Hey guys! How are you doing!¡± I called out cheerfully. Luigi coughed on the ground. ¡°I think I¡¯m dying.¡± ¡°Well, people usually feel that way when they get their arms ripped off.¡± I mused. ¡°But you do look like you¡¯ll be good in no time.¡± Luigi coughed up blood. ¡°Okay, okay. Hold on. I¡¯ll heal you.¡± I bent down and let the Psy flow.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 16 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 17.
The limbs grew back immediately. The bones exploding from his torso before a flurry of nerves, muscles and sinews rushed out to cover them. ¡°I take it training didn¡¯t go all that well?¡± I asked politely. ¡°(Sully)¡­ you.¡± I raised my hands. ¡°Hey man, I was just asking. I¡¯m not trying to pick a fight. If anything, I¡¯m trying to help.¡± ¡°I thought you did help.¡± He coughed up another chunk of flesh and blood. Now raising his torso up and spitting it sideways into the crystal-clear waters beside us. ¡°What the (Sully) Sully!? I thought that boost was supposed to put me on an even playing field with Vince and Thunder Fist! How come that Mittens monster is still flinging me around!?¡± I shrugged apologetically. ¡°Well, for one, you¡¯re not exactly fighting a person. Strictly speaking. Mittens is one of the strongest Intruders I¡¯ve got and he¡¯s possessing Anezka. Who¡­¡± I knew my parents weren¡¯t around, but I turned my head around just in case. ¡°Who isn¡¯t someone I care to remember if I¡¯m being honest. I went easy when I boosted you. And the Tall Man went kinda easy on Henry and Vince and the others too. Mind you, I¡¯ve got over two hundred million Psy to spend. I could have done a lot more.¡± Luigi looked horrified. ¡°More!?¡± ¡°Yeah. See that? You¡¯re thinking of the pain again and I don¡¯t blame you. It hurts man. I get it. It feels like¡­¡± ¡°Like your spirit is being flayed and then pressed back again into you with hot irons?¡± ¡°Yeah! Only, like I said. You got off easy. It can get a lot worse.¡± ¡®Like it was for me.¡¯ I thought. But I chose not to say it. Hearing that wouldn¡¯t help Luigi. It might make him think that I was making this about me. ¡°Which is why I didn¡¯t go harder on you or the others. It hurts and it might have killed you guys. I was right there healing and changing Anezka while I was boosting her. While Mittens was possessing her and becoming even stronger.¡± ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± I shrugged. ¡°Well she¡¯s technically the strongest person in the Tutorial. Level wise at least. Don¡¯t feel bad for getting beat up.¡± I stopped to pat him on the shoulder. ¡°I personally think you did great! And I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll improve even more the more you train!¡± Luigi didn¡¯t look relieved. ¡°Could you say that again without sounding extremely condescending?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m sounding condescending.¡± I countered. ¡°I¡¯m being completely genuine with you. Here, I¡¯ll show you.¡± I took a few steps back. ¡°Mittens? Will you come here for a second?¡± ¡°NOOOOO!!!¡± Luigi cried out in terror. ¡°Oh come on Luigi. Mittens is not that bad.¡± The air before us exploded as a shower of gore materialized out of thin air. The beach¡¯s crystal clear waters turning blood red as a sky-scraper sized fanged whale crashed down and burst open like a balloon. Organs and viscera flying everywhere and coating both of us in warm crimson detritus. And there, in the middle of it all, was Anezka¡¯s horned face. Smiling with her long thin tongue out. Almost as if her body were tasting the leftover meat in the air. ¡°Mittens hears! Mittens appears! Mittens is here!¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Thank you, Mittens.¡± I spoke softly. Allowing Buddy to absorb all the fleshy bits. ¡°I guess you were having fun fishing?¡± ¡°Mittens was with Dolce! Mittens swam deep! Mittens slew sheep! Mittens is here!¡± I turned to Luigi. ¡°See that? Mittens thinks these things are sheep. Which means he thinks they¡¯re weak. Take a good look at the size of this thing Luigi. Do you think they¡¯re weak?¡± Luigi shook his head from side to side. ¡°Well guess what? You¡¯re wrong! They are weak! At least compared to you.¡± I came close again and clasped him on the shoulder with a disarming smile. ¡°You are actually, unironically stronger than this monster whale here. You only lost to Mittens because Mittens is Mittens and Mittens is (Gnome)ing broken.¡± ¡°Mittens has glee. Mittens agrees! Mittens is here!¡± Luigi made a face. ¡°Which means I lost to a dead cat.¡± ¡°Mittens was smitten. Mittens was a cute kitten. Mittens is here!¡± ¡°Possessing some (Sully) that tried to (Sully) you over.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°You know, Lu¡­ it sounds really bad when you put it that way.¡± I clapped my hands. ¡°But I think I may have figured out a way to make you feel better actually! How about you and I spar for a bit?¡± Luigi whirled and sprinted down the beach. His mind a blur of sheer naked terror while his legs used all those new Enhancer powers coupled with his empowered Projector powers to crush the sound barrier. ¡°Come back.¡± I said flatly. His body froze and crashed mid-run. The new boost helping his limbs to stay intact as his face made out with the fine sand beneath him. Then he came back. Sobbing. ¡°Please don¡¯t enslave me man! I¡¯m sorry about you being my curse word! Oh my gosh!¡± I smacked him upside the head. ¡°You¡¯re an (Gnome). You know that Lu? All I wanted to do was spar. And by that I meant shutting off my Titles so you can actually think of hitting me and using my Shifter abilities. We both know I¡¯d win otherwise so there¡¯s no point in that. Honestly, was the running really necessary? When have I ever abused you for real?¡± Luigi sobbed harder. ¡°You mind-controlled me, strangled me, turned me into a monster and did it all while singing¡­¡± ¡°No. No! That was Nega-Sully, Lu! Don¡¯t go around making (Gnome) u¡­¡± I stopped and regained control of myself. ¡°Right. Sorry. Sore spot. My bad. Let me start again.¡± I brought up my Status and read it out to him.
Name: Solomon Carter
Psy: 238, 792, 323 / 238, 796, 800
Type: Telepath V Level 215 / Shifter III Level 112
Telepath Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Inescapable Domination X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Overwhelming Avatar X] 35 / [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] 25 / [Solomon¡¯s Limited Omniscience X] 25 / [Solomon¡¯s Impenetrable Obfuscation X] 14 / [Solomon¡¯s Righteous Indignation X] 12 / [Solomon¡¯s Enduring Empathy X] 17 / [Solomon¡¯s Empowering Majesty X] 12
Shifter Abilities: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 17 / [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 15 / [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 11 / [Energy Regulation IV] 10 / [Social Hunter IV] 14 / [Metallic Hide II] 8 / [Serrated Fur II] 7 / [Bio-Sonar IV] 10 / [Chitin] 6 / [Feathers] 3 / [Eusocial Instincts] 2 / [Locomotion Appendage] 3 / [Pseudopods] 2 / [Stinger] 2 / [Pressurization Tolerance] 2 / [De-Pressurization Tolerance] 2 / [Claws] 3 / [Grasping Appendage] 3 / [Proprioception] 3 / [Eyes] 1 / [Nose] 1 / [Tongue] 1 / [Night Vision] 1 / [Thermal Vision] 1 / [Infrared Vision] 1 / [Incorporate Liquid] 1 / [Incorporate Gas] 1
Ability Points: 6
¡°Now I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve noticed something.¡± I began again. ¡°Care to guess?¡± ¡°You¡¯re reading my mind.¡± He complained. ¡°I¡¯m actually not.¡± I said, truthfully enough. ¡°I could, but I¡¯m trying to get along with everyone here. And I do get that there are trust issues floating about. I also get that they¡¯re more or less justified. I really do see it. So again, see this as me taking the first step forwards in earning back your trust.¡± I stepped back a bit. Raising my hands. ¡°Care to give it another go?¡± He considered it for some time, before finally speaking. ¡°You¡¯re weaker than I thought. I mean, the combined abilities are monstrous, but Vince has more levels in Shifter. And more levels in general. Except in Telepath. So does Thunder Fist and Puffin and¡­ and me.¡± He gulped. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be level 112 in Shifter. My own [Luigi¡¯s Self Preservation VI] screams at me whenever I¡¯m near you.¡± ¡°Congrats on the combined ability and the Title by the way!¡± I snuck in a compliment. ¡°Even Vince and Thunder Fist haven¡¯t gotten Titles yet. You pushed it way more than you had to! And that was awesome of you!¡± My words were nothing but the truth of course. Luigi had pushed way, way past the limits I¡¯d set for him during the boost. Granted, most of his drive came from the trauma and sheer (Gnome)ing terror that Nega-Sully inflicted on him, but that didn¡¯t dimmish the lengths he went to in order to get ahead. I did think that merging [Regeneration] and [Mitosis] with all the other Instinct abilities was a bit of a waste. But that was neither here nor there. It was still a big accomplishment and I couldn¡¯t be prouder of my friend. ¡®Now if only Henry and my folks could take after him¡­¡¯ I dispelled the thoughts without showing them on my face. ¡°And you are right. I¡¯m not as strong in Shifter as I should be.¡± ¡®Or in Telepath for that matter, but I¡¯ve foreseen what needs to be done there and there is no way in (Gnome) I¡¯m doing that in front of you guys.¡¯ ¡°That and I¡¯ve known this was the way to train moving forwards after my meeting with Mr. Seahorse. But I¡¯ve been kinda busy with mom and dad.¡± I sighed. Not for the first time. ¡°Back to the point. No Telepath powers or Titles whatsoever. Just a straightforward melee. I promise. You can wail on me as much as you want and I can use the opportunity to learn more and more about my Shifter side.¡± Luigi didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°And you promise you won¡¯t retaliate in any way when I hurt you?¡± I gave him yet another perfectly timed disarming smile. ¡°Lu, come on. I mean, really. Like I said, I know how I come across sometimes. I know things can get out of hand. Okay? I know. But I really cannot say this enough. Deep down, I¡¯m still the same guy I¡¯ve always been. Just some dumb bloke trying to do his best in life. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m not that complicated. If I wanted to hurt you, I could have. But I haven¡¯t and I won¡¯t.¡± That worked even better than I had expected. ¡°Okay.¡± He said after a brief pause. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to wail on you alone. If I¡¯m doing this, I want backup.¡± I gave him a beaming smile. ¡°Sounds like a lovely idea!¡±
The backup we¡¯d gathered together consisted of both Vince and Thunder Fist. As Luigi pointed out that either one of them could turn him into paste through sheer skill, even with him having a couple of Titles. That was true and a fair point to make, so I was more than happy to accommodate. What really surprised me was him going out to get Puffin and Henry on top of that. Both could still curb-stomp me by themselves if I limited myself to Shifter abilities, but it was still a welcome surprise seeing them here. For one because Puffin hated my guts and, on another note, because Henry still wasn¡¯t sure if he should feel pity when he saw me¡­ or whether he should (Gnome) his pants. Naturally, I meant to use this match as a way to steer his views about me back towards friendship and far away from the whole war crimes, crazy tyrant aspect of my image. I felt a tug on my arm and looked back to see Dusty and Slab standing there with worried expressions. ¡°Are you sure this is the right way to go about things?¡± Dusty asked pointedly. ¡°Of course! Why wouldn¡¯t it be?¡± ¡°Because your parents are right there on the side and the more I get to know them, the more fragile both of them seem.¡± ¡°She has a point.¡± Slab followed up. ¡°They¡¯re both surprisingly sheltered. I¡¯m afraid they won¡¯t take the gore of battle all too well.¡± ¡°Way ahead of you.¡± I responded confidently. ¡°I¡¯ve been overlooking some aspects of [Perfect Vicissitude X] until now. The ones associated with [Grow]. I¡¯m gonna pull them out now. Yeah, I¡¯ll take a beating, but there won¡¯t be as much gore as you think.¡± Dusty didn¡¯t look convinced. ¡°You know Sully, I¡¯ve been trying my best to make a good impression on your parents, but it has been harder than I thought. I think your mom sees me as a bad influence. This isn¡¯t going to help.¡± I gave her a warm smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much. Mom loves you. Or, she will. Eventually. Look, you¡¯ve come a long way from where you were the first time we met. What with the whole de-limbing business. It¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± I stopped for a second, then connected our minds. ¡®I saw it already.¡¯ She, of course, maintained her poker face, but her thoughts were filled with chastisement. ¡®I thought you said you wouldn¡¯t look into the future Sully. That¡¯s cheating.¡¯ She echoed in her mind so that I would pick the words out. ¡®Yeah.¡¯ I agreed. ¡®But only if I use the info to win. Like you said, I¡¯m mostly worried about how the others and my folks will take things. Don¡¯t worry. The risks I¡¯m taking are calculated. And I¡¯m actually really good at math.¡¯ She rolled her eyes. ¡°Well if you¡¯re sure.¡± She said out loud, before sauntering off to the hotel beach chairs and laying on one with her legs crossed. Slab gave me a raised eyebrow, but moved to follow her anyway. ¡°Okay. Are we all ready to start?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes.¡± Puffin spoke at once. ¡°Vince is ready.¡± Vince piped up. ¡°Ready as I¡¯ll ever be.¡± Henry sighed. ¡°Oh my goodness. I don¡¯t know how I let you talk me into this.¡± ¡°Oh come on Henry! Give yourself some credit man! You haven¡¯t gained a level since the boost and I know you! You¡¯re capable of so much more! I just know you can rock out at least 5 levels across your Types if you apply yourself!¡± It was the truth, but Henry didn¡¯t seem convinced. Neither did the others for the most part. ¡°All right!¡± Thunder Fist shouted. ¡°On the count of three!¡± He brought up three massive, scarred, clawed fingers. ¡°One, two¡­.¡± ¡®Oh my gosh, it just hit me that I¡¯m sparring with Thunder Fist. THE Thunder Fist.¡¯ I repressed a squeal. People often said to never meet your heroes, but the man was somehow even more impressive in person than on the big screen. Not only was he wholly dedicated to justice and saving lives and general goodness, but he was so humble about it too. ¡®Maybe too humble, now that I think about it. He keeps putting himself down in his own mind. Saying that he¡¯s dumb.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t, in my opinion. In fact, it was remarkable how wise and down to earth he was. How he kept his mind open for new ideas and listened to what others had to say without judgement. ¡®Damn, I wonder if I can still get an autograph after this.¡¯ ¡°Three!¡± Puffin rushed ahead of everyone else. As I knew she would. However, my body had exploded in size just as she leapt. My figure going from a couple of meters, to a couple dozen, to nearly a hundred in the span of a single blink as I pumped more and more Psy into [Perfect Vicissitude X]. At the same time, I used [Protean Form X] to grow a nigh-unbreakable layer of bone both over and underneath my skin, while also toughening the skin with [Metallic Hide II], [Serrated Fur II], [Chitin] and [Feathers]. Making up for the low levels of the latter two by amplifying them further with [Protean Form X]. Even going so far as to douse myself in a secreted layer of adhesive acid, courtesy of [Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X]. For her part, she activated [Scramble II] to try and disrupt my powers, while also activating [Nightmarish Prescence IV], [Stealth III] and [Total Organ Failure III] on full blast. She also used several abilities from the Shifter, Enhancer and Projector trees simultaneously. Bringing out [Muscular Incorporation of Matter IV] and [Shape Systems IV] as well as [Awesome Mastery IV], [Advanced Student III] and [Flowing Might II]. All while channeling [Absorb Energy IV] to rob the island of light and heat and kinetic energy, while boosting her own movements with [Telekinesis III] and [Gravity Well II]. Not only was there a lot of synergy in that once charge, but all those individual powers were at 20 or 15. With the weakest ones like [Flowing Might II] and [Gravity Well II] being at 10. The barrage hit me like several high-speed trains in quick succession and her fist drilled a hole right through my forearm, chest, lung and spine. My body shaking even as my mind was rattled after the suppression of my Telepath power and Titles. If the target had been any boss monster in the Tutorial, or even some random warlord out there in the Labyrinth, they would have been dead before they even knew what was going on. After all, [Total Organ Failure III] was at 15 by itself. And it was the kind of power sniping-prone Telepaths used as their one-hit-kill move. As for my own case¡­ There wasn¡¯t any blood. Just as I promised. All my own cells had clung on to each other and the wound used up a tidal surge of Psy to close itself even as the momentum carried her nearly a kilometer away. After that, it was time to rein in the improvements.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] 25 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Inexorable Presence X] 26.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 17 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 20.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 15 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 18.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Metallic Hide II] 8 has grown to [Metallic Hide II] 9.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Serrated Fur II] 7 has grown to [Serrated Fur II] 8.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Chitin] 6 has grown to [Chitin] 7.
Ability Evolving: [Feathers] 3 has grown to [Feathers] 4.
Ability Evolving: [Pressurization Tolerance] 2 has grown to [Pressurization Tolerance] 4.
Ability Evolving: [De-Pressurization Tolerance] 2 has grown to [De-Pressurization Tolerance] 3.
Oh yeah. That hit the spot. I smiled within the confines of my mind. ¡®Haven¡¯t been able to go all out for a while, since the whole exploding arm incident with Mr. Park and the others. Too afraid to accidentally hurt someone.¡¯ I looked back at Puffin. Recalling her own Status.
Name: Puffin Carter
Psy: 147, 112 / 152, 400
Type: Shifter Level 189 / Enhancer Level 173 / Projector Level 135 / Telepath Level 130
Shifter Abilities: [Social Hunter IV] 20 / [Energy Regulation IV] 20 / [Muscular Incorporation of Matter IV] 20 / [Shape Systems IV] 20 / [Bio-Chemical Production IV] 20 / [Toxic Attunement IV] 20 / [Aquatic Predator IV] 20 / [Swarm Monarch IV] 20 / [Surging Life III] 15 / [Serrating Growths III] 15 / [Pressure Regulation II] 10 / [Grow] 3
Enhancer Abilities: [Awesome Mastery IV] 20 / [Awesome Resilience IV] 20 / [Unburdened Conditioning IV] 20 / [Energy Resistance IV] 20 / [Fourfold Sensing IV] 20 / [All-Toxin Resistance IV] 16 / [Resist Physical Damage III] 15 / [Advanced Student III] 15 / [Flowing Might II] 10 / [Flowing Vigor II] 10 / [Flowing Flexibility II] 10 /
Projector Abilities: [Sense Energy IV] 20 / [Absorb Energy IV] 20 / [Telekinesis III] 15 / [Gravity Well II] 10
Telepath Abilities: [Nightmarish Prescence IV] 20 / [High Amnesia III] 15 / [Psionic Conjuration III] 15 / [Stealth III] 15 / [Total Organ Failure III] 15 / [Mindscape II] 20 / [Tranquil Mind II] 10 / [Healing Song II] 10 / [Warp the Veil II] 10 / [Scramble II] 10
Ability Points: 2
¡®[Awesome Resilience IV] at 20. [Unburdened Conditioning IV] at 20. [Energy Resistance IV] at 20 too. With [Resist Physical Damage III] at 16 and Shifter regenerative powers and Telekinetic force fields on top of that.¡¯ The others would be at similar levels too. With Lu, Vince and Thunder Fist being even stronger. ¡®Yes. I do think it¡¯s okay for me to go all out, if only for a moment.¡¯ So, I allowed my cells to roil and set the Drake within my memories loose once more. Chapter 127: Without Holding Back. The charge was comparatively fast for something as big as I was. Especially when you considered that I was, in fact, still growing exponentially with every passing second. My form now towering over the hotel beside the beach as my biomass continued to expand. I purposely refused to slow down. Allowing the momentum to keep carrying me forwards as all my layers of armor regenerated and came back stronger. At the same time, I made to grow new appendages to better keep my balance. Sprouting two dozen muscular tentacles from my hips and allowing them to jolt out towards the sand below. All while my human foot landed where the rest of my opponents were. Everyone was fast enough to get out of the way of course. With plenty of time to spare. Even Henry, as the weakest, should have had no problems diving for the water or for another empty patch of sand. As proven by his Status.
Name: Henry Cornwall
Psy: 37, 700 / 37, 700
Type: Enhancer Level 128 / Telepath Level 120 / Shifter Level 100 / Projector Level 105
Enhancer Abilities: [Unburdened Conditioning IV] 20 / [Fourfold Sensing IV] 20 / [Advanced Student III] 15 / [Flowing Might II] 15 / [Flowing Grace II] 15 / [Flowing Vigor II] 15 / [Flowing Flexibility II] 10/ [Flowing Reflexes II] 9 / [Flowing Endurance II] 9 / [Enhanced Toughness] 5 / Enhanced Agility] 5
Telepath Abilities: [Nightmarish Prescence IV] 20 / [High Amnesia III] 12 / [Psionic Conjuration III] 14 / [Stealth III] 12 / [Total Organ Failure III] 10 / [Mindscape II] 12 / [Tranquil Mind II] 12 / [Healing Song II] 14 / [Warp the Veil II] 12 / [Scramble II] 12
Shifter Abilities: [Surging Life III] 15 / [Adaptable Instincts III] 11 / [Serrating Growths III] 15 /
Projector Abilities: [Telekinesis III] 15 / [Electrokinesis III] 15 / [Portal Network III] 15 / [Phantom Shift III] 11 / [Gravity Well II] 12
Ability Points: 0
He didn¡¯t though. In fact, not only did Henry not move, but the last I saw of him was when his legs started wobbling. His eyes wide and his mouth hanging open as the bony, metallic, chitin and feathery bottom of my foot descended on him like a hammer from the heavens. To make matters worse, he had abilities like [Unburdened Conditioning IV], a combination of [Psionic Resistance], [Enhanced Balance], [Enhanced Training] and [Gravity Resistance] at 20. While he had ones like [Enhanced Toughness] at 5. He didn¡¯t even activate the forcefield aspect of [Telekinesis III] or the matter phasing power of [Phantom Shift III]. He could have also lessened the impact by dropping a field of [Gravity Well II] and reversing all that weight back up to me. It might not have worked with how much force was being dropped, but it would have thrown me off balance at the very least. (Gnome), he could have also simply portalled away using [Portal Network III]. But again, Henry was too awestruck by the building-sized foot to really think of anything. So, yeah. Henry¡¯s form crumbled like a piece of wet tissue paper carelessly discarded by an aroused teenager. Or perhaps a cockroach that had finally met its end at the sole of a great big wellington boot. Whatever analogy you used, the man was out of the fight. Kept alive only by the grace of him having [Flowing Vigor II] and [Surging Life III] at 15. Also, I started healing him with [Vicissitude] even before my foot landed. Having seen it all play out beforehand and all. Did I feel bad? Of course I did. Would I do it again? Probably. Given how he got many, many levels this little stunt earned him. That and a combined ability from [Enhanced Toughness], [Sudden Toughness] and [Flowing Endurance II]. [Awesome Resilience IV] wasn¡¯t easy to fuse normally by any means and I had a feeling Henry would thank me later when it inevitably saved his life down the line. He also managed to form [Pressurization Tolerance] from his Shifter side, as well as [Pressure Resistance] and [Blunt Resistance] from his Enhancer side. With [Absorb Kinetic] from Projector to boot. Yeah, the combo came from him having his organs pulverized into a fine red mist. And yeah, Henry would soon develop a weird phobia of bare feet that would haunt him and his girlfriend Cass for the next couple of years. But he was advancing. Very quickly at that. And with how dazed and confused he was during the fight, something scary would have killed him sooner or later if I didn¡¯t do anything. I snuck another peek just to confirm my predictions were still accurate.
Name: Henry Cornwall
Psy: 35, 721 / 40, 200
Type: Enhancer Level 130 / Telepath Level 120 / Shifter Level 102 / Projector Level 106
Enhancer Abilities: [Unburdened Conditioning IV] 20 / [Fourfold Sensing IV] 20 / [Awesome Resilience IV] 14 / [Advanced Student III] 15 / [Flowing Might II] 15 / [Flowing Grace II] 15 / [Flowing Vigor II] 15 / [Flowing Flexibility II] 10/ [Flowing Reflexes II] 9 / Enhanced Agility] 5 / [Pressure Resistance] 3 / [Blunt Resistance] 2
Telepath Abilities: [Nightmarish Prescence IV] 20 / [High Amnesia III] 12 / [Psionic Conjuration III] 14 / [Stealth III] 12 / [Total Organ Failure III] 10 / [Mindscape II] 12 / [Tranquil Mind II] 12 / [Healing Song II] 14 / [Warp the Veil II] 12 / [Scramble II] 12
Shifter Abilities: [Surging Life III] 15 / [Adaptable Instincts III] 11 / [Serrating Growths III] 15 / [Pressurization Tolerance] 2
Projector Abilities: [Telekinesis III] 15 / [Electrokinesis III] 15 / [Portal Network III] 15 / [Phantom Shift III] 11 / [Gravity Well II] 12 / [Absorb Kinetic] 2
Ability Points: 0
¡®Yeah, you know what? This is fine. Dusty and Slab would have killed a couple hundred people for those kinds of gains. Not to mention Charlie, Boris and Monique. Now that I think of it, I should train with them next.¡¯ The cells in my body were still active, even as these mundane thoughts flowed through my mind. Each one of them a shining sun in the midst of my ever-expanding body. I swung my right arm and knew that it had split itself into two lumps mid-swing. The upper half turning into a tumorous organ with many distinct firing holes while the lower half turned into even more tentacles. Some ending in [Pseudopods], some in [Stingers] and some in [Claws] or [Grasping Appendages]. The most dangerous ones ended in mouths however. Speaking organs hiding behind layers upon layers of jagged, hooked teeth and needle-like fangs. These surprises had been created directly through [Protean Form] and I already knew the blow would catch the others off-guard. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Which was exactly why I decided to grow them in the first place. One commonality that all the Drake¡¯s memories shared was the constant fury he felt upon being underestimated. Time and time again, idiots and would be champions would come up to him and try to freeze him all over, like that baboon guy I saw in the visions below the pyramid, or to burn him up like so many others tried before. The Drake kept them all as furniture, because of course he (Gnome)ing did, but it always nagged him that no one ever got the hint. Indeed, for whatever reason, most guys out there in the Labyrinth used their Shifter side for healing, and in order to complement the powers they got from their Enhancer side. A winning and obvious combination, of course, but that meant they were missing out on a lot of flexibility and individual perks of what Shifter could do. Mr. Park had seen it and embraced it with gusto. As had Raj and many, many others among humanity. But the prevailing theory out in the Labyrinth did not agree with them. In contrast I, as a Telepath, had never experienced this before. Quite the contrary. People like Granny Golden and Principal Banerid and even Hazimon were always all too aware of how much of a nightmare Telepaths could be. The fact that only Hazimon felt so strongly about the potential of Shifters in general told me that most of the commons in the wider Labyrinth were coocoo for cocoa puffs. Just because Shifters were not as strong as Enhancers in a direct fight didn¡¯t mean you could just see them as those guys who heal and could occasionally be a bit tough. Ironically enough, Vince and Thunder Fist had both fallen for this trap in their thinking. Even when Vince had first awakened as a Shifter. Somewhere, in the chaos of fighting gnomes, he had decided that being able to heal and blend in well with his environment was much less useful that simply using [Hide] and [Faint Presence] a whole bunch, while investing the points he would have put into Shifter powers into being an overall better Enhancer and being more resistant to things like fire. On the one hand, yeah. This was an easy way of staying alive. Especially when gnomes could still use things like [Sense Heat], [Sense Electricity] and [Sense Kinetic] to spot guys using [Camouflage]. On the other hand I, with the Drake¡¯s memories, could easily come up with dozens of ways a pure Shifter could have massacred their way through the previous gate. It wasn¡¯t about being as strong as Enhancers, Shifters could never do that. It was about using one¡¯s powers creatively, and in ways Enhancers could not replicate. After all, even Hazimon had been forced to flee from the Drake on several occasions, and the other times they fought, the Drake had always been able to regenerate one way or another. Vince and Thunder Fist focused their efforts on throwing lightning bolts to the tentacles now swirling around them, while Luigi sent a wave of searing white fire to eradicate the tumorous lump above the tendrils. No doubt realizing that they were inflating with air in preparation of firing out a series of projectiles. Puffin paid no heed to their struggles however. She charged me again as soon as she was able to turn around. Twisting the air in front of her through [Telekinesis III] even as she launched herself at me like a green-haired rocket. Which meant she didn¡¯t see the other arm coming. It moved much too slowly to block her. As her whole body moved faster than my muscles. However, it was still able to get close enough so that the detonation caught her before she reached my torso. [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] had filled the limbs with explosive chemicals. While I also turned all the bones therein into very tough, very sharp shards of shrapnel. And since [Thaumaturgy] was composed in part from [Hijack] and [Infection]¡­ Well. That was not going to be a good time. Oh, she still went straight through me and the explosion and the tiny shards of bone didn¡¯t manage to embed themselves very far into her. Barely piercing the skin in fact. But that was enough. Her flesh began turning into slurry. Her bones coming apart while still in her body. Her own powers retaliated and tried to keep her in one piece. Her healing and her Enhancer side trying to fight me off. But at that point, it was two of my Tier 10 abilities against her own healing and that was battle she was not going to win.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 11 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X] 14.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 20 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 21.
She charged again as my arm was starting to heal. Despite her bones and marrow failing her. She managed to make herself stand with [Telekinesis III] and then launch herself forwards. [Awesome Resilience IV], [All-Toxin Resistance IV] and [Resist Physical Damage III] working overtime to keep her in the fight. I overstuffed all my defensive powers with far too much Psy, but otherwise left her alone. She was down and out, only she hadn¡¯t realized it yet. The others still needed to be seen to. Luigi was now using [Solar Manipulation VI] on overtime. Combining it with [Gravity Well II] to both keep me in place and fry me with his burning beams. His Psy draining his reserves like a waterfall would a river as he tried to microwave me all over. It worked, for a few seconds. But all it did was give me more levels as Puffin pierced my chest for the third time.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 21 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] 22.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 18 has grown to [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] 19.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Energy Regulation IV] 10 has grown to [Energy Regulation IV] 12.
Ability Evolving: [Metallic Hide II] 9 has grown to [Metallic Hide II] 10.
Already, her strikes had gotten to the point where she was no longer gouging chunks of flesh from my body. Instead, her latest escapade ended up with her barely getting out through the other side of my ribcage. My bones and muscles growing around her as she left in order to leave her several parting gifts. More festering wounds and a single poke that did manage to pierce the skin after weakening it. Also, she barreled right into Luigi¡¯s ongoing attack, so that couldn¡¯t have been fun in any case. She screamed and fell and tried to get up regardless. All this time, my many tentacles had been pursuing both Vince and Thunder Fist as they ineffectually tried to shock me. Now, they too decided to enter into melee. Augmenting their strikes into shattering blows that still delivered a whopping cocktail of electricity and kinetic force. Each one was like a wrecking ball. Pulverizing the cells they touched and many, many more, deeper into my body. That was when I triggered the surprise. All the mouths hidden among the [Stingers] and the [Claws] stopped dead. Letting the oxygen I inhaled from my main mouth and the backups near my hips and limbs carry over to them. After that, the overinflated muscles tore with effort as they worked much, much harder than they should have. The inside ripping and tearing as the force built up. But then, the mouths opened. And the screams echoed out. To my ears, it was something like an Aztec death whistle. The sound of a banshee in the middle of a misty, moonless night. To their ears, it was probably something quite different. What with them having burst and all.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Gained: [Vocalization] 1 has been added to the Status.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Level Gained: +500 Maximum Psy. +12 Ability Points.
Ability Evolving: [Vocalization] 1 has grown to [Vocalization] 8.
Now, did I feel bad? Kinda. But again, this was for Vince and Thunder Fist¡¯s own good. The sound, empowered both by [Solomon¡¯s Perfect Vicissitude X] and [Solomon¡¯s Protean Form X] would have been deafening if it had been coming from one direction. From one mouth. Add in the fact that I was a couple hundred meters tall and that all the mouths I¡¯d grown were similarly massive and the hit was more akin to a wave of force flying at the speed of sound. Sure, they had all kinds of defensive abilities, but they had both neglected a few staples from Shifter. Specifically, the pairs [Pressurization Tolerance] and [De-Pressurization Tolerance] as well as [Low-Frequency Hearing] and [High Frequency Hearing]. Both of which could have helped a lot. They were also inexplicably missing [Pressure Resistance] from Enhancer and [Absorb Sound] from Projector. On top of that, which also wasn¡¯t ideal. Case in point, both men staggered a couple steps after the first shout. Their brains struggling to regrow enough of themselves from the melted ice cream they had become. After that, the stingers got them and pressed them down. Only one in several dozen actually pierced the skin, but again, that was more than enough. Then came Luigi, who¡­ ¡°I surrender!!¡± He yelled from the side. I looked down at him. A speck of dust to my growing form. ¡°I do not want to fight! My ears have popped and I¡¯m afraid I (Sully)ed myself! I can¡¯t hear you, but please start shrinking again! Do you hear me!? Me no want fight! Me no want fight!¡± I stopped attacking Vince and Thunder Fist. Making my body small again. Luigi sighed upon seeing that and dropped down to his knees. Heaving as blood fell from his ears. ¡°So?¡± I asked mom and dad as soon as I was back to my usual size. ¡°What did you think?¡± ¡°What!?¡± Dad shouted. His own ears still bleeding as well, despite how far away he¡¯d been and despite me having gifted him and mom a couple pairs of ear muffs. I¡¯d told them they were leather, which was kind true. Only, the leather had come from me and I¡¯d grown them specifically to keep them safe and keep healing them on top of that. ¡°I can¡¯t hear you!¡± I didn¡¯t answer, nor did I get in their heads with a message. Instead, I went over to the both of them and healed them myself. ¡°Can you hear me now?¡± ¡°What!?¡± He shouted again. Chapter 128: Warning From a Dragon. POV: Deketer The air was thick with incense and the stink of scented candles. Colored clouds practically rising from their pedestals and from the large open cauldrons strewn across the floor. The walls and ceiling were bare. Built entirely of smooth obsidian. With no letters inscribed therein and no banners hanging from the rafters. The doors were closed as well and the room had nothing that could be called a window. All coming together to choke out the senses of sight and hearing. Expect those the Master called upon to distract us of course. ¡°Dance around them!¡± Master Rogvir shouted. ¡°Do not let the posts hit you, you idiots! Anyone who gets themselves hit is getting kicked out of this hall for good!¡± He rapped his staff on the ground. The material letting loose a sharp series of snaps. As if he¡¯d been flailing with a whip. At the same time, the posts were all whirling silently. Cutting through the air like nigh-invisible scythes and cleaving trails through all the smoke. I stepped carefully around them. Sniffing carefully to find the right candle or pot and nearly choking. If it had been a single smell, it might have been overpowering. Yet the supposed Master in charge of this dammed place insisted on weaving together a tapestry consisting of thousands of differing odors. Moreover, not all the smells were pleasant. In fact, some of them were disgusting, while others were somewhat pleasant while also being downright poisonous and highly toxic. A single mistake wouldn¡¯t be lethal, but it would by no means be pleasant. Especially since my (Drake)ing teacher was so stingy with the healing. Alas, that was the whole point of the exercise. One had to isolate a singular smell on command and focus entirely on it so as to lead the instructor to the one specific candle it originated from. The idea was to train [Enhanced Smelling], [Enhanced Respiration], [Enhanced Concentration], [Enhanced Memory], [Enhanced Learning] and [Enhanced Processing] from the Enhancer side as well as [Respiratory System], [Nose], [Olfactory Navigation], [Olfactory Threat Detection] and [Olfactory Poison Detection] from the Shifter side. In addition to [Meditation] and [Premonition] from the Telepath side. All at once. All while retaining one¡¯s awareness of their surroundings and stepping around the posts. All while the veil of reality was degraded to an uncomfortable degree. If you got hurt, then it was only because you were too stupid to do the training correctly. Or so my new Master insisted time and time again. In fact, I could swear that he was actually speaking to me again just then, despite his mouth being silent. ¡°If you break something, then you must fix it! And if you ruin your body, then it¡¯s only right you heal it! How else are you going to learn discipline young lady!¡± His voice echoed in my head. Then phantom pain crept up my arm where that bloody staff had struck me and I marshalled my focus in order to keep from cursing or reacting in any way that might bring me another round of humiliation. One of the new disciples wasn¡¯t so lucky and I heard him walking into the path of a rotating post off to his right. The first limb struck him in his right leg. The second hit his right hand, hard enough to break claws and elicit a quick curse. The third hit him in the side of his head. Where his gills were. And just like that, another one failed. Master Rogvir crept closer, clicking his narrow tongue and licking the air as he did so. ¡°Another chance!¡± The student cried out. ¡°Please give me another chance Master! I swear I¡¯ll get it right this time!¡± He tapped the staff on his head. ¡°You¡¯ve had plenty of chances Hoko. Far too many.¡± I could not see their shape through the darkness, but I still got the distinct impression that the staff was now pointed at me. ¡°Even a spoiled fool like Deketer over there is managing to keep up. Her pride and ego may be overblown and far too large for someone so young and stupid, but she at least has enough sense to break herself training. And to listen to instructions. How is it that someone who brought so much shame on herself can still outperform you? I thought you talented and hardworking when I first accepted you as a pupil. What happened?¡± The student babbled something between sobs. ¡°But I am not without mercy.¡± Master Rogvir continued. ¡°Train on your own, child. Train until your bones break and your veins burst and try again. If you manage to succeed, then I will take you back as if nothing happened.¡± The student thanked Master Rogvir on his knees. Practically kissing the old coot¡¯s bottom claws. Or his tail, it was hard to tell where they were positioned. ¡®Liar.¡¯ I thought bitterly. ¡®You were never going to kick him out. Not for something this petty.¡¯ That was the way of Master Rogvir. Everyone was constantly in danger of being kicked out. Or so he said. In truth, he¡¯d never actually given up on anyone so long as they genuinely tried their best. Even when he mistakenly took in fools and talentless dregs. Others called him admirable and a paragon of virtue. I called him a callow bully. One who took every opportunity to kick me, now that I was no longer his better in the eyes of other many fools. The worst part was the idea that I had to kowtow to him immediately after. It was either that, or get the cane. And I¡¯d gotten the cane more times than I would have cared to, as of late. I shook my head, failing to dispel the bitter memories, but deciding to keep doing the exercise all the same while they came back unbidden. ¡®Previously, that outcome would have been unthinkable. A stern look from me at level 1 would have sent supplicants and guards up to the 4th Tier running with tears in their eyes. As was appropriate. My grandfather had tutored a bloody Divine and she sometimes popped out of her infinite realm in Pandemonium to spend time with him and my own mother. Even if one ignored how utterly terrifying my own blood was, that fact alone should have been more than enough to cow anyone with even a mote of sense.¡¯ But all that authority had withered and died like a flower in the desert a few years ago. For all my other friends, training through the first Tier was a solemn, private affair. One where their parents would seal them into the family home with trusted attendants and tutors to go through all the Types one by one. Solidifying their foundations so as to not embarrass the lineage. Only after reaching an adequate level in the second Tier were they allowed back outside. For all the multiverse to see. At least, that was what you were supposed to do when you were part of a decently powerful species like the Kenari and when you had any kind of real authority. ¡®I knew grandfather had tried pushing some no-name brats into my friend group if he thought they had talent, but they had all been the same. Unwashed cretins who gaped at the food we served and how fancy the curtains and the rugs were. One of them had even curled up like a pet atop one of our rugs. Thinking it was a bed and saying they were going to take a nap. I¡¯d asked him if he was some kind of slave to be acting like that. While my friends had snickered.¡¯ ¡°Yes. I was.¡± He had said with a completely straight face. ¡°The blessed Hermit saved me and my sisters and all he asked was that I come over and spend time with you. He said I had talent and that you could learn from me.¡± Naturally, I responded to such insolence as one of the royal blood should. By setting my guards on him so that he could prove his mettle against someone who had started training. He did not win and he should have been glad to have survived at all. But mother and grandfather had not seen it that way. Instead, they set up a match between us and ordered me to spar this would-be slave as if he were of my own station. I had argued that my training had not begun and that it was unfair. Grandfather had snapped that we were both on the same Tier, so it was fairer than me sending my Tier 2 guards against him. ¡®The boy had shattered nearly all the bones in my body after that. And to make matters worse, grandfather followed that up by thanking him vigorously and by granting him a place of honor among his own disciples.¡¯ That memory in particular still filled me with bitter rage and a black fury that crawled up my gills. The boy was now being called Sky-fart of something. And he had been allowed to sleep in my home. Under our roof. To eat at our table in a place of honor like the other disciples. But not me. Not anymore. After that, grandfather and mother and all my supposed friends and allies had hung me out to dry like some old rag they used to mop the floors. I would have all my classes paid for and all my tutors would be the best, but that was as far as things went. I would have to earn my keep through training and completing Instances and Excursions and I would have to sleep where all the other trainees slept. Those first few months had been the hardest and hardly a night went by where I didn¡¯t cry myself to sleep. But the more instances I challenged and the more I trained, the faster I progressed. And the more I progressed, the more I realized that neither of them would change their minds and pick me up anytime soon. I was out on my own. At least until the second Tier. Perhaps until the third. It was a prospect that made my stomach roil as if it were full of eels. Made worse my how twisted some of my training regiments were. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Even now, I hungered for vengeance whenever I chanced to spy the old codger running this place. I wanted to remind him who I was and what would happen to him if I ever came to harm. I knew better though. The Master here was a student of a student of my own mother and by extension, someone grandfather had approved of. Both of them had even gone so far as to send letter to him, thanking him for taking me in despite my obvious deficiencies. ¡®Deficiencies.¡¯ I growled internally. ¡®They make it sound as though I¡¯m some sort of tool that stopped working all of the sudden. Like a symbiote who stopped doing its job.¡¯ It was a terrible feeling to have, but again, there was nothing for it. The strong will do what they will and the weak will endure what they must. That was basically the motto of the Labyrinth. Yes, I was alone and cold and weak at the moment, but it could have been worse. Other apprentices who made less progress than me, the lazy ones, were often kicked out and they tended to act as if this dammed smelly chamber was the best thing that ever happened to them. ¡®Yes, I fell.¡¯ I thought to myself. ¡®But I guess I should be thankful I only fell this much. Others had to climb their way here and then they lost even that much.¡¯ I kept walking through the chamber. Keeping my mind calm and focused on all the different smells while also keeping track of how they moved. That was the trick. Not listening to the rotating poles on the post, not trying to see them through the fog, but to smell the scents as they moved in circular patterns. It was stupid, and unintuitive and much harder than an exercise had any right to be. But it was the only way to truly complete it. Moreover, this was the exercise that had earned this training hall its overblown reputation. Apparently, it made it so that students would be forced to combined either two or more abilities from the Enhancer side or from the Shifter side. The least powerful and most common of which would be the combined [Superior Respiration II] derived from [Enhanced Smelling] and [Enhanced Respiration]. Still, even a cheap combined power was much more useful than their first-Tier counterparts and even the weakest of such skills would open the doors to the second Tier. ¡®And that is what I need.¡¯ I reminded myself. ¡®It doesn¡¯t matter what the ability is, so long as it opens the doors to Tier 2. In that sense, I suppose I should be thankful mother saved me a spot here. Not only do I have a chance to rise as an Enhancer, but also as a Shifter. Though that would be a bit of a waste.¡¯ Ideally, I would have spent all this effort trying to get some combination that included [Regeneration], as the Type wasn¡¯t good for much else. My tutors kept going on and on about how truly frightening dedicated Shifters could be, but they were a bunch of withered old codgers with one foot in the grave that saw themselves as lucky because they managed to catch mother¡¯s attention. Spending all this time acquiring abilities like [Respiratory System], [Nose], [Olfactory Navigation], [Olfactory Threat Detection] and [Olfactory Poison Detection] was one thing. A point here and there never hurt overmuch, but spending the points from my hard-earned levels in those useless sinkholes was a whole other matter. [Respiratory System] aside, the rest provided little to no help in battle. Nor did they provide utility. They were more fit for symbiotes than for people, if truth be told. I supposed they might be a bit of help if I was ever in some underground death maze without light or sound, but even then, [Mental Map] was still a better choice. Not to mention sensory abilities from the Projector side. I shook my head and banished the thoughts once more. ¡®Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s just as you think. You¡¯ll merge some abilities and use the points to level up better things like [Regeneration]. Or other Enhancer or Telepath powers that make more sense.¡¯ Another student got hit. She too fell into a bout of sobbing. Choking back tears and sniveling like a coward. ¡®That one is no good.¡¯ I thought belatedly. ¡®No good at all. This grumpy fool is always saying I¡¯m not good enough and that I take everything for granted, but at least I can show my effort and talent off. At least I can keep up.¡¯ Indeed, despite Master Rogvir¡¯s many, many rants, my symbiote was still as pristine as the moment I first came here, whereas she didn¡¯t have a symbiote at all. Instead, she wore a tattered robe bearing stains all over, from where the poles had struck her. Over and over and over again. ¡®Just let the poor girl go, old fool. You¡¯re hurting her more than necessary. Giving her hopeless dreams that¡­¡¯ ¡°I did it!¡± She cried out. ¡°I did it! I got a combined ability! I got [Olfactory Mastery III]!¡± The news almost made me stumble into one of the poles myself, but I caught my own body just in time. I closed my mouth tightly and repressed a howl of rage as everyone stopped to cheer. Master Rogvir cheering loudest of all. ¡°Wonderful!¡± He called out. ¡°Absolutely wonderful! I¡¯m so glad one of my useless students proved to be somewhat competent after all!¡± I gagged, but said nothing. I knew better than to say anything at this point. All I could do was join in the cheering and the jubilation while the useless air-head got her moment under the limelight. ¡®Well, it isn¡¯t such a big deal.¡¯ I decided. ¡®After all, I¡¯ve only been here for six months or so and she¡¯s been here for a full eight years or so.¡¯ I nodded to myself then. Gaining back some confidence. ¡®That and this is her first ever combined ability. A Shifter ability with little to no use. It¡¯s fine. I shouldn¡¯t feel envious. In fact, I should probably pity her.¡¯ Yes, that was the right attitude. Someone of her meagre talents and station would not go too far beyond this point. Chances were good that relying on such a trashy ability would get her killed in a third-Tier Instance. If she ever made it that far. ¡®Not that she will. Who would want to train next to her? Who would want someone who can smell better than others as their teammate during a dangerous Excursion?¡¯ I thought of how she might fare when put up against something real. Something dangerous like a forest fire or a volcanic explosion or a meltdown in some nuclear power plant. The thought made me smile internally and I manage to don a more genuine seeming smile on my face. I moved closer to offer my congratulations. Walking side by side with Jollyon, now that the poles had stopped spinning. ¡°My word.¡± He said through his tiny, oddly shaped mouth. His thick, stubby tongue managing to dodge all those useless teeth his species had. ¡°It¡¯s always such fun to see people celebrating these kinds of things.¡± I gave him an odd look. ¡°You make it sound as if people don¡¯t celebrate combinations where you¡¯re from.¡± He sighed. ¡°Not in the same way. Not in this kind of public place. My fellow gnomes can be¡­¡± He paused to suck in a breath. ¡°Overly jealous and overly paranoid. Many a young star has been assassinated in the middle of the night. Or in the middle of the day if their backing was weak enough. In all honesty, it¡¯s a one of my species¡¯ great failures. We probably could have had someone on the level of an old Master if only we stopped culling so many of our rising talents.¡± ¡®You wish, runt.¡¯ I thought to myself, but I managed to smile regardless. Gnomes were infamous for such follies of course. Fratricide was one of the staples of the species. Well, that and slavery. I supposed I should have known he was abnormal if Master Rogvir stooped so low as to take a gnome in though. He¡¯s not the kind of codger to take bribes. ¡®Under normal circumstances.¡¯ I reminded myself. ¡®People are treacherous by nature. This old fool didn¡¯t get to where he was by being some kind of devout frugal monk.¡¯ It was odd that I had to remind myself of that. Especially after the way all my supposed friends and steadfast allies withered away after mother¡¯s decree. ¡°So those who combine abilities tend to keep it to themselves until the time is right.¡± He continued. Somehow deluding himself into thinking I cared about what he had to say. ¡°Until they either get strong enough to deter would-be assassins or until they get the backing of a strong house.¡± ¡°Sounds like you have it rough.¡± I spoke with cool courtesy. He didn¡¯t seem to take the hint. ¡°I do. Or rather, we do. But this will change.¡± He clenched his tiny fist. ¡°I swear I¡¯ll change my people¡¯s ways, once I¡¯m older. I know others have tried and failed, but I will succeed. Just you wait. In a few hundred years, people will know me as Jollyon the just. Jollyon the even handed. Jollyon the good¡­¡± I tuned him out. Letting my mind drift about now that the exercise had ended. I tried to relax. Calling upon all five points I had in [Meditation] and [Calm]. But what followed felt more akin to a deep and resonating feeling of emptiness, rather than true inner peace. Every time I felt like I was getting close, a certain tension would flare back up around my shoulders and my hips and the back and front parts of my skull. A sense of tightness that refused to let go. That tightness stayed with me throughout the ensuing celebrations. Though I did not allow anyone to notice. ¡®They all mock me behind my back already.¡¯ I reminded myself. ¡®They all laugh about Deketer the fallen. Deketer the disgraced daughter of Lady Agony. They all jeer about the heights my mother rose to and how I failed to meet her expectations. It doesn¡¯t matter how much I train or how much I excel. It will never matter. Mother would probably prefer to have someone like that clumsy fool for a daughter in fact.¡¯ The thought was as sudden and painful as a stab wound. Slicing through my ribs to get at my heart. I marshalled my will and refused to show any of it in my body language. Or in the confines of my mind that these fools might be reading. ¡®But Master Rogvir knows.¡¯ I spat internally. ¡®He¡¯s always known. He mocks me most of all. He enjoys seeing me like this. Seeing me struggle next to no-name nobodies. It makes him feel good. It makes him feel bigger than he actually is.¡¯ I knew there was no hiding my thoughts from him, which only added to the humiliation. ¡®One day, it will all be over.¡¯ I told myself again. ¡®One day, they will see how much better I am and beg me to come back. One day. One day soon.¡¯ ¡°Deketer.¡± Master Rogvir spoke. His voice cutting through the festivities like the sword of an executioner. I jolted. Before catching myself. ¡°Yes, Master Rogvir?¡± ¡°You should prepare yourself for a trip.¡± He said calmly. ¡°You and all my other students have had the honor of being invited to meet a very important person.¡± The hush grew more pronounced. Many beady eyes meeting mine. Master didn¡¯t acknowledge the reaction. ¡°You should all prepare yourselves as well. Take whatever clothes you want from the third storage. My treat. Just make sure you¡¯re all presentable. It would be good if you were all ready soon, though now would be better.¡± They all stared back at him now. ¡°Well? What are you all waiting for?¡± He huffed. ¡°Go on and get ready. The Hermit won¡¯t wait forever.¡±
Grandfather¡¯s room was just as sparse as I recalled. The ground being composed of soft white sand. With the few pieces of furniture made out of hardened, shiny obsidian. It was the kind of abode that seemed purposely ill-made. As if their owner didn¡¯t want visitors. Appropriate, since grandfather hardly ever interacted with the sycophants who gathered to him like flies to (Drake). And yet, here he was. Walking around with a hop in his step and thanking each and every trainee from that smelly hall as if they were a part of the family. That is, everyone except for me. In contrast, grandfather¡¯s own disciples were all sitting around solid tables. Their legs crossed in the very picture of meditating monks. The food in front of them was lavish, as were their symbiotes. All of whom exuded the air of directed improvements. Even that little brat Sky-Fart was there. Sitting in a place of honor despite being little more than an up jumped stable boy. And I, was nowhere near the table. Standing far behind the disciples who had achieved ability combinations. Alongside the other wastrels and fools. I seethed, but said nothing. Keeping my body steady and trying my very best to banish the humiliation from my mind. Despite all that I¡¯d gone through, I wouldn¡¯t give that boy the satisfaction of seeing me defeated. Of seeing me broken. I belonged at the place of honor and I would behave as such. Grandfather finished the congratulations. His eyes passing over me and the other failures as if we were dung at his feet. ¡°Thank you all. For your earnest effort.¡± He began, now addressing everyone. ¡°You have all distinguished yourselves beautifully, and as such, I will offer you all my sincere congratulations. Handsome rewards for getting as far as you did, and¡­¡± He paused. His eyes meeting mine for the first time. ¡°A warning.¡± He was still using his jovial tone, but the air in the room felt as if it had been cooled to freezing temperatures. His posture seeming as though he was ready to kill us all in the moments between thoughts. ¡°I know that some, or rather, most of you, have signed up via the System for the tournament lottery, in order to try and win a spot as a bonus enemy in the upcoming tournaments happening across the three newest Tutorials.¡± He stared us all down. Never letting go of the pressure he exerted. ¡°One of those Tutorials holds a species of primate. Think, gnomes. But twice as tall and far more¡­ prosocial.¡± One of Master Rogvir¡¯s apprentices laughed. Though the silence in the room drowned out his stupidity. ¡°You should all know, that one of those primates has caught my attention and has the privilege of being my apprentice.¡± The imbecile stopped laughing. ¡°And even with him being currently disqualified, I do not feel as though fighting any of his fellow Humans would be beneficial to you. To any of you.¡± A few fools gulped and the sound carried over the deafening silence. ¡°Given that the spots are randomly assigned and one cannot choose which Tutorial they end up in, I would recommend that you all cancel the applications now.¡± It was an absurd request. The kind that would get you laughed out of any venue in the multiverse. The chances of actually getting chosen were so low, and the rewards so high, that anyone would be mad to turn the opportunity down. No one laughed. ¡°Good.¡± Grandfather said softly. ¡°Now that that¡¯s settled, we can move on to other matters. Deketer, Sky Heart, follow me, if you please.¡±