《Collateral Power》


 1. Dark Skies

    He wondered where the stars had gone. There was supposed to be a clear sky tonight, and he hadn¡¯t spotted any clouds before going into the training hall. There was a fresh breeze on his face as he looked up, over the nearby trees and streetlights, but not a single drop of rain. Could a full cloud cover have rolled over in the last 2,5 hours? He knew that light pollution could get bad in the big city, but he could swear the visibility was normally better than this. In fact, he thought he could see a few pinpricks of stars in the east, but most of the sky was completely dark. Definitely not light pollution then. It almost looked like there was a black rectangle covering part of the sky. Must be his imagination..


    ¡°Hello? Earth to Barry?¡±


    He snapped out of his musing, looking back at Emily who was staring at him, brows raised in expectation. Her auburn hair was tied back in a tight ponytail, showing her forehead and cheeks which were still flushed from the intense training session. She was wearing tight fitting black and gray sports clothes, with striking sneakers that had flashes of yellow and neon pink.


    ¡°Wow, sorry, I was totally spaced out¡± He said while giving her an embarrassed look.


    ¡°Yeah yeah, I¡¯m already used to you zoning out on me.¡± She replied, shaking her head with a rueful smile. ¡°I was asking if you were coming to the party tomorrow? A bunch of the crew are going.¡±


    Barry¡¯s brows creased as he frantically looked for an excuse. The thought of being in that crowded space and having to socialize was already bringing a familiar, awkward feeling to his stomach. He felt conflicted as well for a moment, not wanting to disappoint Emily, before he realized that he had a legitimate reason not to go.


    ¡°Oh thanks but I can¡¯t, I really have to study tomorrow. I¡¯ve got a massive course of molecular cellular biology to get through, and I¡¯ll have less time to study next week. Leaving for Winnipeg on Sunday to visit the family.¡±


    He smiled as he said that, feeling his discomfort flow away.


    ¡°I get the sense that you¡¯ll manage to live through the disappointment. You know, for a guy who¡¯s so talented at dancing, you don¡¯t seem to like parties a whole lot.¡± Emily said, then continued more seriously, looking him in the eyes.


    ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to apply to one of the more prestigious schools? Your talent is kind of wasted in this dinky place.¡±


    "Oh I¡¯ve never really had such grand ambitions,¡± he said with a smile that didn¡¯t reach his eyes, ¡°And yeah, I¡¯m not great at parties. Would you believe me if I said I sometimes look forward to studying? Biology was a great choice for a major,, I¡¯m finding it really fascinating. Except for the boring cellular stuff.¡±


    ¡°Further evidence for the theory that you¡¯re in fact a robot posing as a human, believing the best way to understand humans is to study their biology" Emily replied playfully.


    They had started walking down the street as they talked. Barry began to move along in stiff, rhythmic movements while making his voice sound computer generated, drawing out the words.


    ¡°You have unmasked me. I am a dancing robot. Why do humans have belly buttons? Bleep¡±


    Emily barked out a laugh, shaking her head.


    ¡°Actually,¡± he continued in a preachy tone, ¡°that¡¯s a terrible example, since there¡¯s a perfectly obvious biological explanation for why belly buttons exist. There¡¯s an abundance of actually nonsensical things about the human body, like why the urinary tract runs through the prostate, or why we breathe through the same tube we shove food into, or why our feet have so many small bones, or why our reproductive organs are so close to our-¡±


    ¡°Okay you can stop there, I think I get the point.¡± she interjected with a wry smile. ¡°And while I would love to listen to you go on about the urinary tract all evening, this is where we part ways.¡± She nodded her head sideways to indicate the subway station further down the street. ¡°See you soon, mister robot. Enjoy your time with the family!¡±


    They hugged, said their goodbyes and Barry continued down the street in the opposite direction. There was a giddy, almost tingly feeling in his chest. Is this what ¡®finding yourself in college¡¯ was like? There had been times, through all the bullying and loneliness, that he had felt really lost in high school. Like something about him wasn¡¯t right, but he had no clue who else he was supposed to be. The sessions with Dr. Schulz had been more than helpful though, and he felt proud of the progress he¡¯d made. His family had been a great support too.


    Barry had resisted moving away from his loving foster family at first, unable to imagine how his situation could improve without them. Coming home had always been the best part of his day. They''d patiently encouraged him to at least try moving out. It had been such a tough decision at the time, but now he could hardly believe that he''d spent weeks agonizing about it.


    He smiled as he thought of seeing them tomorrow. His mother would probably start lobbying for early christmas decorations to be put up, his father still keeping up resistance. He wouldn¡¯t be able to keep it up long with enthusiastic little Jasmine fighting in mom¡¯s camp. A small pang of guilt came and passed when he realized she would have grown again in the last 5 months.


    As he walked down the street, he started hopping from stone to stone, gracefully moving his feet to make sure they never touched the thin gaps between the stones. Without conscious thought, he stretched his toes and hamstrings just so while swinging his leg back, bending his knees at exactly the right time when landing, making the moves look effortlessly elegant. The only sounds were some rustling from the small backpack he had on, and the soft tap of his sneakers touching the pavement.


    He stopped as he noticed some teenagers across the street sniggering and pointing at him. Increasing his pace, he turned a corner and walked on, jaw clenched. He paused for a few seconds, then shook his head and continued on with a sigh. After a few minutes, he was back to hopping from stone to stone. Spotting his reflection in a dark barbershop window made him focus and Barry twisted into a pirouette, still managing to land quietly on the tips of his feet. The dancer¡¯s hops then turned into leaps, performing grand jet¨¦s as if he were still at practice. He was right at the apex of a beautiful jump, feeling the tension in his arms and legs as he hung in the air with his appendages fully stretched out in opposite directions, when it happened.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    A bright flash of light far on the horizon, followed immediately by a series of flashes all across the sky and then -


    Darkness


    A roar of air in his ears and across his body


    An intense, unfamiliar feeling of vertigo


    Flashes of light


    Heat


    Sudden cold and a feeling of increasing pressure on his eyes


    Can¡¯t breathe


    An impossibly loud grinding sound, and then -


    He fell down on his back, immediately rolling over onto his hands and knees to empty his stomach onto the ground. Barry remained in that position for a while, just blinking at the sight of his vomit and the sand around it as he tried to process the sudden shift in his surroundings. Impossibly, the sun was now shining, casting a warm glow on his back, the reddish yellow sand hot to the touch.


    A stab of pain in his lungs brought him back to his senses and Barry promptly sat down to look himself over, eyes wide with shock. He felt around his body. His skin was red. Eyes were hurting. No blood to be seen. He was sweating heavily though, and as he stared at his red, shaking hands, he let out a tortured ¡°What the fuck!¡±.


    There was no echo whatsoever, the sound seeming to dissipate into the air as he became more aware of his surroundings. He looked around with quick, abrupt movements, like a startled animal. There was so much to take in. The fine grains covering his sweaty hands were unmistakably sand. Around him, a thin layer of it covered what looked to be some kind of sedimentary stone, shifting layers in shades of gray and brown visible through larger cracks. To his left, he could make out a dozen strangely symmetrical, dead looking trees in the distance, evenly spaced out across the cracked stone. He couldn¡¯t see anything past the trees. Far to his right, the stony landscape seemed to inexplicably shift into a green meadow, framed by distant mountains.


    Barry could feel the hot midday sun burning on his skin as he was taking everything in. Digging through the sand with his hands, he could feel the grains on his skin and how they got slightly cooler as he pushed further down. He scratched his fingertips against a layer of hard rock underneath the sand. Where the hell was he? The color and texture of the exposed rock reminded him vaguely of the Grand Canyon, but he also knew instinctively that that''s not where he was right now. Those trees, the distant greenery and mountains, none of it felt right. Even the clouds looked foreign, only a fraction of their usual size, like they were much further away.


    Unavoidably, his thoughts kept turning to the absurdity of the situation. None of this made sense. Could he be dreaming? Looking at himself, his clothes were still there. He still had his backpack on. He clearly remembered getting it as a present from his stepmom 6 years ago and he couldn''t spot any changes as he looked it over, showing all the familiar worn down patches. His phone was working, but had no signal. He tried an emergency call but as he expected, it didn''t work. What the hell had just happened to him?


    He felt a certain sense of clarity, this unmistakable feeling of realness that was distinctly different from lucid dreaming. When you were dreaming, you might not be sure even if you asked yourself the question, but when you''re awake, you''re damn sure that you''re not asleep. If he hadn¡¯t had an uninterrupted stream of experiences and consciousness throughout, he might have been more likely to put this off as a dream or some kind of hallucination, but he had to discard that possibility. Whatever was going on, he could see no way to distinguish this from his usual waking experience.


    ¡°Have I been.. teleported? Is that what this is?¡± He said to himself, the familiar sound of his voice grounding him. He pinched his arm hard, wincing, then shook his head and let out a frustrated grunt. The unrelenting heat was starting to make him sweat.


    Figuring confusing things out was one of the few things he felt really confident in. He would break things down, formulate hypotheses, think of experiments, then observe and verify. But how could you break this madness down? How could he have been first in one place, then suddenly in a completely different one? Either this was some impossibly realistic dream, or most of what he thought he knew about the world was wrong. Only one thing was clear at this stage: he would need to gather more information.


    He pulled out his phone on reflex, but there was still no connection nor GPS. Maps just showed a grey void. It was pretty much useless to him. Eventually, Barry got up on shaking legs and slowly started moving towards the strange trees, their sharp branches repeating in patterns that looked faintly like fractals. As he got closer, he noticed the trees were on an incline, which explained why he couldn¡¯t see anything past them.


    He trudged closer towards the trees, then paused to look around. Nothing stood out as he again observed the unfamiliar landscape. There was a feeling of surrealism as he looked around, like it was all cobbled together by a mad painter. How could a desert just suddenly turn into a meadow? He might have to head in that direction actually, but first the incline.


    As he turned towards the trees again, he noticed a small cloud of dust on the horizon. As he stood, staring at it, it was obvious that whatever was causing it was coming closer. It must be some kind of vehicle to be moving that fast. That meant people! He felt a wave of relief as he imagined talking to them and getting some information on what the hell was going on. He considered waving and shouting to get their attention, but they were still too far off. Thankfully they seemed to be headed in his direction.


    Shifting from foot to foot, Barry tried to think of what he should say to them. There was a torrent of questions in his head, just waiting to come out. Come to think of it, would they have been teleported from New York as well? Since they¡¯d already found a vehicle and were driving across the desert, they might actually be natives. Local inhabitants of.. whatever this strange, desert-like place was. Hopefully it was somewhere in the US. He didn''t speak any other languages.


    As he tried to imagine what these locals might be like, a feeling that something was wrong started to grow. They were still headed straight towards him. There was nothing remarkable that he could see here. Could it be a coincidence? How could they actually have seen him from that distance? They would have had to be driving across the desert, binoculars in hand, actively looking for people in what seemed like the middle of nowhere. They might be.. Desert pirates? Was that a thing?


    He started feeling tremors in his feet as the vehicle got closer, though they¡¯d disappear for short times as it went over a deeper patch of sand. The feeling of wrongness grew as he got a better sense of the ridiculous speed that vehicle must be moving at to get closer that quickly. Focusing on the vibrations in his feet, he also noticed a rhythmic beat to them that, no matter how hard he tried, just did not match with what the vibrations from a jeep should feel like. It actually felt more like.. a gallop.


    Only then did it occur to him that this might not be a vehicle at all.

 2. Out Of The Frying Pan

    That uncomfortable, nagging feeling quickly turned to fear, churning in his stomach, and he started taking hesitant steps back in the direction of the trees. As soon as Barry could make out the approaching silhouette, he turned around, eyes wide, sprinting as fast as he could across the sand-covered rock. He could already hear it thundering behind him, quickly gaining ground and all he could think of was to run. Get away. There was only the feeling of panic and his damn legs, already burning, not wanting to move faster. He stumbled as the rocky underground gave way to a patch of deeper sand and twisted around, knees bent, ready to leap to the side, when the creature suddenly stopped.


    An impossibly massive creature stood facing him, about 15 yards away. On instinct, Barry¡¯s entire body had gone stiff, staring at it in wide eyed horror. His mouth had gone dry and he was sweating heavily, his breathing coming fast and shallow. He tried to keep still and quiet. It was all he could do not to scream or puke.


    It looked closer to a tank than an animal, covered in thick, pocked slats of gray hide, overlapping at its joints like medieval armor. There was some similarity to a rhino, if you added steroids and mutations and a few millennia of evolution. It was about twice as tall and wide as a rhino, and did not have a horn. Its muzzle was instead long and flat, reminiscent of a crocodile¡¯s. Through his panic, the unwanted thought popped into his head that this was clearly not a herbivore.


    It felt like time stood still as he stood there, gaping at the beast in front of him. He was going to die. Any moment now, this monstrous bull would shoot forward and kill him. He felt sick with fear, but it was somewhat muted by this surreal, dissonant feeling he¡¯d been experiencing since coming here. No matter how real things felt, there was still a part of him that believed he was about to wake up. The beast would bullrush him at that ridiculous speed, all would go black and he¡¯d just wake up in his small studio. Possibly having wet the bed, and definitely never wanting to go to sleep again. Would he have to go through the agony of being torn to shreds first? The pain at least was very real here. His fear spiked again and he tried to control his breathing, desperately thinking of a way out of this. Should he go back to running away? Why had it stopped moving? Was it just savoring his fear before pouncing on him?


    Barry couldn¡¯t help but feel some awe as he continued looking the creature over. This bull was absolutely massive. The more he observed it, he had to discard any comparisons to a rhino, or in fact any other animal he knew. Where its eyes and nose should be, there were tiny slits, looking undeveloped and barely functional. There was also something about the shape of its joints and the way it stood on bent knees, as if ready to leap at him, that didn¡¯t add up given the sheer mass of the creature. He assumed that it would probably have high speed and acceleration, but poor agility. Most bizarre of all were its huge feet.


    Most people didn¡¯t realize how important foot posture and weight distribution were in evolutionary history. Rhinos and elephants may look similar, but their feet are entirely different. Rhinos have hooves and walk on the balls of their feet, elephants being flat-footed, putting their weight on their heels instead. This bull seemed to be in a category of its own, its feet a lot thicker than the leg, splitting down into 4 triangular, hoove-like parts with a broad underside. There were fleshy protrusions in the gaps between each of the large toes, that he couldn¡¯t make sense of. Its large ears were clearly better developed than its other senses, pointed in his general direction, twitching attentively. It might not be able to see him, which might explain why it had stopped, but it would definitely pick up on any noise. He had to keep quiet. That would soon become a problem as his quadriceps were starting to cramp from the awkward position he¡¯d stopped in.


    He¡¯d managed to get his breathing somewhat under control, but sweat was starting to run down the side of his face. Still no ideas. His legs were really burning by now, and he realized he¡¯d have to change his stance. Slowly, carefully, he straightened his legs and torso to an upright position. No reaction. Thank God. He just might turn to religion after this. Then, as he went back to studying the behemoth in front of him, a drop of sweat rolled down his chin and landed on his foot with a barely audible plop.


    He nearly jolted in fear as the bull suddenly made a step towards him, ears perking up, but he managed to keep still. His heart was pounding in his ears, so loudly he thought it would surely be able to hear it. It was just a matter of time until it would rush him. He had to think of something.


    He noticed some slight movement by the foot the bull had just lifted to step closer. It was barely visible, so small that he wouldn¡¯t have caught it if he hadn¡¯t already been staring at it. It looked like a tiny gray needle was now protruding from the unidentified bulge between the toes, stabbing through the sand until it touched the rock beneath. It reminded him of an old fashioned seismometer he''d seen in a museum one time.


    Barry¡¯s eyes widened with realization. It must be able to sense vibrations from movement through the ground. That might explain how it had been able to locate him from so far away in the first place. Looking down, he now noticed that he was standing on a deeper pile of sand, where previously there had only been a thin layer of it covering the rocky ground underneath. Intuitively, it made sense to him that this would dampen the vibrations.


    Barry¡¯s mind finally snapped into action at that last piece of information. The information was limited, but he could form a few hypotheses now. First, there was a high probability that the bull had terrible vision, which was probably the only reason he was still alive. Second, he thought that this creature was built not just for sustained high speeds, but also fast acceleration. The shape of its joints suggested that it would however only be capable of limited movement from side to side. It would move very quickly in a straight line towards its target, but it would have to slow down to turn around. Third, it likely has good hearing, but so far it hadn¡¯t committed to movements based on its hearing alone. So, finally, its main sense should come from those needles, tracking movements through vibrations in the ground.


    That gave him some ideas, which he had no choice but to test. Moving slowly and carefully, he slid his hand into his pocket to take his phone out. As quietly as possible, he tapped the screen to set the alarm to go off in a minute, then, still holding it in his right hand, he slowly moved his arm back, getting it in position for a throw. He pinched the phone between his thumb and index finger to be able to throw it spinning on its side, which should reduce wind resistance. With a short snap of motion, using mostly his wrist, he then tossed the phone as far away from him and the creature as he could, which unfortunately wasn¡¯t very far. Still, as soon as it hit the sand, the creature snapped its head around and repositioned its body in that direction. As expected, it reacted to the sound but did not rush over yet, still waiting for its main sense to pick up the exact location. Looking at it from the side, he noticed there was something very strange about its neck, but he didn¡¯t have time to analyze it right now.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Ever so slowly, using all the careful control he had over his body, he moved his leg back and rolled his foot onto the sand, toes first. In a slow, controlled sliding motion, he then moved back his other leg and repeated the movement, keeping a close eye on the creature. It was still keeping its attention on the phone. Muscles tensed, sweat dripping from his face under the burning sun, Barry carefully continued in the direction of the incline, performing the world''s slowest and strangest moonwalk. He hoped that this way, he could slide across the sand without any tremors traveling to the rocky ground.


    Then, his phone started vibrating and the creature immediately rushed for it. Though he was waiting for it, its sudden speed still shocked him. How much force would it take for something that large to accelerate so quickly? It should be impossible for the cartilage in its joints to survive the stress. But still, it dumbly rushed forward, over the phone and past it, snapping its teeth in the air. One of its giant hooves had pushed the phone into the sand, but the device was resilient and kept buzzing. Enraged, the bull turned back and started wildly digging and biting into the sand until it finally caught and crushed the phone between its teeth. It looked confused, moving its head around, ears twitching, looking for sound.


    Barry hadn¡¯t wasted the distraction, moving steadily back, creating ever more distance between himself and the bull. He still didn¡¯t have a plan for dealing with it, but at least when he reached the trees he would have some meager protection from the sun and a way to get a better view of the area. If he was lucky, there might be a lake or something out there. The massive creature didn¡¯t look like it would be able to swim.


    He got into a steady flow and lost sense of time, focused only on repeating the now familiar sliding motions. Then, his foot suddenly hit something harder, a layer of rock where he¡¯d expected sand. His stomach sank and fear gripped him again, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He prayed that the bull wouldn''t have noticed, but still bent his knees to get ready for a jump. But no, he was out lock, the bull already turning and then rushing at him without any delay. Despite the increased distance, there was no time for thoughts or calculations. As soon as it started moving, he leapt as fast and far as he could, directly to his left, keeping his eyes on the bull. He could see it coming closer and instinctually, he felt it would pass him by. But then suddenly, impossibly, its neck elongated and that massive maw snapped out at him. Time seemed to slow down for a moment as he saw the wrinkled folds of skin around its neck stretch out as its head shot towards him. He had a moment to wonder about its skeletal structure, when its muzzle hit him.


    Unable to rely on vibrations while Barry was airborne, the blind creature had aimed too high and deep, so instead of catching him between its teeth, its bottom jaw just crashed into Barry¡¯s torso, sending him flying as the bull passed him by. Breath knocked out of him, Barry flew away, landing hard and tumbling across the sand. He immediately got up, disoriented, panting in short, rushed breaths, spitting out sand. In a snap decision, he quickly unhooked his backpack as he scanned for the creature through the sand in his eyes, faintly wondering whether it was a bad sign that he wasn¡¯t feeling any pain. Then, spotting the bull already turning his way again, he threw the backpack towards a patch of rocky ground. Not waiting to see the result, Barry was already turning back to the trees in front of him as his bag tumbled across the ground a few times before coming to a stop.


    Luckily, the bull went for it. Undoubtedly, this would just be a delay of execution, except he¡¯d spotted something while he was spinning through the air. One last chance. Right behind the row of dead trees, the ground sloped downwards and then abruptly broke off into a massive canyon. Thanks to the beast¡¯s push, he¡¯d landed closer to the dead trees, now just a short sprint away. That cursed bull certainly wouldn¡¯t be able to climb, but also, hopefully, it wouldn¡¯t be able to come to a quick stop. He glanced at the closest tree and felt he should just be able to make it to the lowest branch and pull himself up.


    There was a stab of pain in his side with each short, labored breath now. No time to think any longer, he gritted his teeth against the pain and sprinted to the trees, exiting the patch of sand he landed in. His feet slapping on the cracked rock, he couldn''t help but let out a short cry as the pain in his ribs intensified, but he kept moving.


    Barry could already hear the bull crunching on his backpack. It would be turning around any second now. He had to move faster. Push through the pain. With only a few more strides left to the tree ahead of him, he heard and felt the rumble of the creature launching itself straight at him. Taking one long step with his left leg, then a final lunge with his right, he used everything he had to leap up and forward. The ravine he''d seen before showed up in front of him again as he flew through the air, willing himself to make it. If this didn¡¯t work, he was dead for sure.


    Thanks to his extensive training, Barry could leap long distances and he''d judged his ability well. He¡¯d planned to climb onto the large branch which was now in reach, but then, on instinct, remembering the bull''s snapping maw, he decided to use his arms to push off it instead, launching himself back down towards the ground. It felt like time slowed down as he flew to the branch, hands smacking against the inky black wood as he shoved himself down and away.


    As he fell back down, he pulled his arms back and drew his legs to his chest to make himself as small as possible. It wasn¡¯t a second too soon as the creature was flashing over him, its neck snapping out towards the branch. Barry felt a flash of relief as he saw its jaws closing over the dark wood, splinters flying. The bull kept moving forward, hurtling straight towards the canyon with unstoppable momentum, pulling the entire branch along with it. Right as Barry was about to hit the ground, its back left hoof clipped his shoulder and then he was tumbling again, vision a blurry mess. He forced out his arms and legs to stop himself, scrabbling at the ground desperately. His right hand caught on something and there was a stab of pain in his shoulder as he came to a halt right at the edge of the cliff. From the corner of his eye he still caught a massive blob of gray going over the edge and falling down into the abyss. A wave of relief and euphoria washed over him, allowing him to forget his pain for a precious few seconds. He breathed out and smiled for the first time since appearing here.


    ¡°Yes! Take that, you stupid-¡±


    His delight was cut short by a wave of nausea and once again, he had to roll over to empty his stomach. Barry desperately gasped for breath with each heave leading to stabbing pain in his sides, until he was finally done being sick. He tried to get up on hands and knees but his right shoulder gave out with a stab of pain, dropping him down into his own vomit. Only now did he realize his arm had been dislocated. Using his left arm, he pushed himself up to his knees instead, short wheezing breaths coming out through clenched teeth, right arm hanging limply by his side. His eyes were pressed shut, face contorted in pain.


    ¡°Stupid.. Roid-Bull-¡±


    Barry was squeezing the words out between breaths, when he was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a cheerful female voice.


    ¡°Congratulations! You¡¯ve unlocked the use of your PE container. We¡¯re very proud of you!¡±

 3. New Friends

    The middle-aged woman appeared without any warning or explanation. Barry had stumbled back so quickly he¡¯d fallen on his side. The strange lady was standing right in front of him, wearing a pretty dress in bright, summery clothes. She had shoulder length ginger hair and wore a bright smile on her slightly freckled face that deepened the lines around her eyes. Looking closer, the woman reminded him of his aunt, but something felt off. He noticed her eyes were just a little bit too intense, almost fanatical. Somehow, her voice also sounded off, as if it was coming from every direction.


    ¡°What the-¡±


    ¡°As one of the first 100 humans to unlock your PE module, you¡¯ll be given additional rewards!¡±


    She continued without pause, giving no sign that she¡¯d heard him. Though she was looking in his general direction, she wasn¡¯t looking directly at him.


    ¡°Wait. Can you please-¡± He tried to say as he scrambled back up.


    ¡°For having killed a creature in a light orange zone, far above your capabilities, you¡¯ll be given additional rewards!¡±


    Barry tried interrupting her again, without success. She was rattling off his rewards now, names and numbers which were meaningless to him. As he got up and moved away from the ledge, he noticed her eyes weren¡¯t following him. He walked up to her and went to put his hand on her shoulder, but it went straight through. It was some kind of recorded projection then, straight out of a sci-fi movie. This again raised a lot of questions, all of which he¡¯d have to park for later. This one would be lower on the list. At least for a projected image, he could imagine some way it would work, through advanced applied laser technology or similar technology. There was no reasonable explanation for the existence of that monstrous bull.


    He still caught the last words before the lady disappeared. ¡°Remember your training for proper use of your PE container! Happy hunting.¡±


    ¡°What training? What are you talking about?¡± Barry wanted to shout, but the words came out as a wheeze as he clutched his chest in pain. He was no medical professional, but he¡¯d bet some of his ribs were broken.


    He spun around to the sound of a man clearing his throat. Floating about 5 feet off the ground, there was indeed a small old man with a long, white beard and pointy ears, positioned with his legs crossed and hands resting on his knees. The old man, about half the size of a normal person, seemed to be studying him. There was a smirk on his face and an intensity in his gaze that would have normally made Barry uncomfortable.


    ¡°Another recording? Hopefully some useful information this time.¡± Barry murmured.


    ¡°A projection, not a recording. I¡¯m known as Pokka. You¡¯ve been honored with my training services as part of your rewards.¡± The old man answered in a high voice, speaking quickly but clearly. He seemed unusually happy to be informing Barry of this, as if there was a joke that he wasn¡¯t in on.


    Barry stared at him, trying to parse what was happening, but his thoughts were slow, distracted by his aching body. He was covered in patches of sand where it had stuck to him, from his short, black curly hairs down to his formerly white sneakers. His navy sports jacket showed a spot of puke, still wet, and was torn in several spots, the largest hole near his right shoulder revealing a dark bloody spot on his white t-shirt. There were nasty scrapes across his neck and left cheek, barely visible through the sand stuck to his face. A line of muddy drool was still hanging from his bottom lip, which he hadn¡¯t bothered to wipe off. His right arm was hanging limply by his side, blood slowly dripping down his hand, while his left was clenching his broken ribs.


    ¡°Why are you not rejoicing?¡± Pokka asked with that same positive intensity.


    There was another silence. Barry¡¯s mouth moved as if to start speaking, but broke off each time, until he finally shook his head, deciding to ignore the question.


    ¡°Do you know where I am and can you help me get home?¡±


    ¡°Home? Foolish child, have you ignored all of the¡­¡± Pokka paused for a second, then continued,


    ¡°Ah. I see what happened. But how did.. Oh. A small oversight. Well then, I will have to be the one to share this information with you. It would normally be done more carefully, given how frail human minds can be, but I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t have such delicate sensibilities.¡±


    Pokka cleared his throat and seemed to settle in, though he was still just floating in the air.


    ¡°There are other sentient species out in the universe. Some are able to reach each other and, as such species are wont to do, many of them have been at war. In recent times, a new enemy has arisen, posing a threat of such magnitude that most others have joined forces against them. Despite these joint war efforts, the Ulm have continued to advance. It is likely that Earth will come under direct threat in a decade or two. For planets with species so weak and primitive in technology as yours, INUU policy is to empower you. Defending you is not a viable option - they can barely defend themselves - so you are instead given the means to grow stronger, defend yourself and eventually join the other members in the war effort.¡±


    The words had come out so fast, Barry had barely been able to process them. Pokka only paused for a few breaths.


    ¡°Wait, please,¡± Barry interjected, ¡°Just.. You¡¯re saying I¡¯m still on Earth? Where exactly?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t give you a meaningful answer to that, as your planet has been changed completely. The empowerment process, by necessity, leads to a thorough transformation of the entire world. So thorough and comprehensive, that you should not be able to recognize this as your old planet anymore. You will learn more over time, but I can tell you that it¡¯s become much larger and considerably more dangerous.Your former cities are gone. You can consider it as a complete re-rendering of Earth.¡±


    Barry stared out in front of him, mouth agape, eyes turning glassy.


    ¡°You may consider this bad news. But there is also good news!¡± Pokka continued cheerfully.


    ¡°Most people will be able to enjoy the benefits of advanced technology, and will grow capabilities that would have been impossible before.


    On an individual level, the empowerment process works through a miniscule Potential Energy controller, otherwise called a ¡®PE node¡¯, embedded near the brain stem to have a two-way connection with your central nervous system. People are given limited access to their PE node only after some show of competence. Its activation and use takes up precious resources which we wouldn¡¯t want to waste on anyone that won¡¯t properly harness them. Once activated, people can use the stored Potential Energy in various ways. With some training, you will be able to weaponize it. You will also be able to strengthen yourself, growing faster, stronger, smarter, or more durable. In fact, I recommend you start doing that shortly.¡±


    After a short pause, he added ¡°I¡¯ve been informed that humans are slow to process new information, especially if it doesn¡¯t fit within their previous worldview, so I¡¯ll pause for questions at this stage.¡±


    A wave of emotions passed through Barry, so closely intertwined he couldn¡¯t tell them apart. It was like experiencing the five stages of grief all at the same time. He felt dizzy and decided to sit down, staring at the sand while he gathered his thoughts.


    He took a long moment before looking up and asking, ¡°Who are you? How do you know all these things?¡±


    ¡°As I said, I will be training you, but you may also see me, in part, as a representative of the INUU, which is essentially a joint war council formed by various nations.¡± Pokka answered.


    Barry didn¡¯t say anything, instead just staring glassy-eyed in Pokka¡¯s direction.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re doing, but it doesn¡¯t seem very productive. If you have no further questions, shall we get started on your training?¡± Pokka prompted after a while.


    The young man frowned, his jaw tensing and gaze sharpening on Pokka.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me you¡¯ve basically destroyed our entire civilization and now you want me to just, what, go along with anything you say? Fuck that. You¡¯re part of this. I can¡¯t verify any of what you¡¯re saying, except that you¡¯ve transported me against my will and nearly got me killed. What the hell have you done to our planet? Where are all the people? My family..¡±


    Starting off angrily, his voice had gotten more desperate as he spoke, breaking at the end. He wiped tears from his eyes and looked around, glaring at the foreign surroundings. With considerable effort, Barry got up, limped to the closest tree and carefully sat down with his back against it, angled so that the tree would provide some shade from the burning sun. The black bark was so rough he could feel it poking against his back through his jacket.


    ¡°Where are they?¡± Barry asked, voice calmer now.


    ¡°Well young man, I cannot share anyone¡¯s exact whereabouts, but I can tell you that other humans are still undergoing the onboarding process. They¡¯ll only be released in about 48 hours. Unless they were airborne at the exact time of integration, in which case I assume they would have ended up in a similar situation as you.¡± Pokka stroked his beard pensively at the last part.


    ¡°Onboarding process?¡±


    ¡°An explanation of the basics of this new world. The benefits of the PE node, the Gildi system, how to use the interface, how to interpret the zones. Don¡¯t worry about missing out, I¡¯ll share the same information with you.¡±


    There was another silence, filled with only the sounds of Barry¡¯s labored breathing, which had gotten faster.


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°You did all this, transformed our entire world, just so that we could defend ourselves? You didn¡¯t stop to think that the cure might be worse than the disease? There¡¯s nothing left to defend.¡± He finally replied, voice laced with anger and sadness.


    ¡°Most humans are still alive. Data shows your species is quite adaptable. There will be hardship, but this should still be preferable over total annihilation.¡± Pokka replied.


    ¡°Oh yeah, thanks so much for fucking our entire planet up. I¡¯ll be forever in your debt.¡± He spat. ¡°What¡¯s with this nonsense about being airborne by the way? I was just walking down the street and then I was here.¡±


    ¡°There was an oversight in the program responsible for identifying and moving people. You were more than 1 meter off the ground during the scan and.. Well, let¡¯s say you weren¡¯t moved in the way you should have been. But we shouldn¡¯t dwell on that detail.¡± Pokka waved his hand dismissively.


    Barry was staring at him intensely now, brow furrowed and jaw clenched. He was taking large, forced breaths, in through his nose and out his mouth. His left hand was repeatedly clenching and unclenching.


    ¡°You mentioned people will be released after the onboarding process, where will they be released to? Somewhere safe?¡± Barry asked, forcing himself to speak calmly and slowly. There was no hope in his voice.


    ¡°They¡¯ll be released into light green zones. Those are the least dangerous areas, barely life threatening even for beings as weak as you.¡±


    ¡°What zone are we in now?¡± Barry hissed angrily, grinding his teeth.


    ¡°Dark orange.¡± Pokka answered, watching Barry intently.


    ¡°You¡¯ve killed me.¡± Barry growled between heaving, panicked breaths, eyes wide and teary.


    He was losing control. The anger had been building in his chest like steam in a kettle, growing urgent and dangerous, mixing with panic as he recognized what was happening. It kept rising until it felt overwhelming, the feeling filling his chest, pressing down on his lungs until he couldn¡¯t breathe.


    His home was gone. Everyone was going to die. His family too. He imagined his father, standing in front of his mother and little Jasmine, futilely trying to shield them from a Roid-Bull coming straight at them.


    He was hyperventilating now, each desperate breath causing a stab of pain in his side. The rhythm continued, faster, each quick gasp followed by a painful sting. There was nothing he could do. Never mind the monsters, he was going to choke to death here in this godforsaken desert.


    The agony continued for far too long, until he whispered, imitating Dr. Schulz¡¯s voice, slow, patient and confident, ¡°You know this. You¡¯ve handled this before. You¡¯ll manage it again now. Follow the steps¡±.


    He closed his eyes, moving his good arm down, pushing his fingers down into the sand, focusing on its warmth. Imagining his body, feeling his legs on the ground, tree in his back, Barry then started focusing on his breathing. First just 2 seconds in, 3 seconds out, then a bit longer on the next one. He was still sitting here. He had control of himself.


    As he got his breathing back under control, the anger and panic faded. He kept sitting there, focusing on his breathing as the emotions faded away. His thoughts felt clearer now, like there was a bit of distance between him and what was happening.


    What was he going to do? Walk to the cliff, jump down, wake up relieved and never go to sleep again. No, that wasn¡¯t a rational thought. He had to think of the outcomes. If he was dreaming and woke up, all would be well. But in that case, he¡¯d eventually wake up anyway. If he wasn¡¯t dreaming, if that deranged old man was telling the truth, he¡¯d jump down and be dead forever. The only reasonable option was to carry on as if this were real.


    He had a moment to sadly reflect how he didn¡¯t feel any awe or wonder at the situation. If someone had told him, just a few hours ago, that a probe had found some insignificant bacteria on Mars, he would have lost his mind with excitement. Now, aliens were real and they¡¯d come to Earth, like arrogant colonizers, throwing everything into chaos. He pushed down on the anger. It wasn¡¯t helpful. He had to focus on what mattered right now.


    After a while, Barry finally opened his eyes. ¡°I need to find my family,¡± he said with determination.


    Pokka observed him briefly before answering, ¡°Your first priority should be to seek shelter and heal. The chance that you survive is already low and it decreases every minute you don¡¯t spend empowering yourself and moving towards shelter.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time for that Pokka, there are only forty-something hours left until they¡¯re thrown into this ridiculous world.¡± There was some panic in his voice again, a sense of desperate urgency. He couldn¡¯t stand the thought of being delayed, of arriving too late and not being able to help.


    ¡°I hope this stupidity is only temporary, caused by your wounds. A concussion seems likely.. The journey there will take months, not hours. You will have to prepare and train well to survive the trek.¡±


    The conversation continued like this for a while, Pokka pressing Barry to follow his instructions and Barry either ignoring him, or replying angrily with short, clipped sentences. He couldn¡¯t deny that Pokka made some good points. Finally, after learning that there were other, more dangerous creatures out there, Barry decided to follow him towards shelter.


    Pokka had immediately started floating along the ridge, fast enough that the injured Barry, moving with a limp, could barely keep up. Now that the adrenaline had mostly worn off, each step was agony. He tried to distract himself by focusing on where he placed his feet, aiming for pockets of sand where he could, mindful of the vibrations.


    There was a clump of worry and stress in Barry¡¯s stomach, fed by recurring thoughts of his parents and Jasmine. How would they deal with this? Jasmine was quick to learn and she liked playing video games. It would be more intuitive for her, so hopefully she¡¯d be able to help their parents out. His father would doubtless be trying to protect the both of them, his mother likely trying to help anyone she could. She was kind like that.


    He squeezed his eyes shut, as if that would stop the tears from leaking out. They¡¯d be alright, he told himself. They had to be. He¡¯d get there as soon as he could.


    The old man continued to share information, including the fact that he wasn¡¯t really an old man, but an AI. His current form was simply a projection suited to training. If this took Barry by surprise, he didn¡¯t show it. The only sounds coming from Barry were heavy panting with occasional grunts of pain. He kept getting regular flares of pain from his dislocated shoulder, but he didn¡¯t want to ask Pokka to stop so he could try to take care of it, so he stubbornly pushed through the pain.


    Not showing any awareness of Barry¡¯s ongoing suffering, Pokka had gone on to explain more about the workings of the new system, which he described as a ¡®meritocracy¡¯. People are given points for their achievements, called ¡®Value¡¯, and that Value can be traded for various things. It could be spent on improving your physical body in some form, which was referred to as physical empowerment. Another way to spend Value was to unlock abilities. This apparently involved active use of the PE node, which was challenging and potentially dangerous. Barry, pausing to catch his breath, had then broken his silence to confirm he¡¯d been given some Value for surviving that monster. Pokka had turned around to show him a wicked grin.


    ¡°Oh you¡¯ve been given more than just some Value. A lot more. There are no penalties for indirect kills through traps, so you received full rewards for killing a creature from a dark orange zone, with a yet inactive PE node.¡± The old man¡¯s grin had kept growing as he spoke, but then he paused, studying Barry, who was wearing a deep frown on his face, ¡°Is it not common for humans to celebrate when they receive rewards?¡±


    Barry sighed, shaking his head. ¡°Running into that monster was a horrible experience for me. I don¡¯t want to repeat that. You¡¯re trying to turn me into some kind of monster hunter, or soldier, or I don¡¯t know what exactly. But it would clearly involve me risking my life and killing things. I don¡¯t want that.¡±


    The old man, still floating at eye level, was looking at Barry with clear disappointment, when suddenly an earth-shaking roar blasted out of the ravine. Barry flinched back, pressing his left hand to his ear, barely managing to regain his balance. Pokka showed no reaction.


    ¡°Red zone down there. No need to wet your pants, it won¡¯t come up,¡± he clarified, then started moving again.


    Barry followed in silence, moving a bit faster than before, a haunted look on his face. They continued like that for a while, until Pokka stopped abruptly, turning towards Barry. He stretched his arms forward, palms facing upward. ¡°There are many paths to take in this new world, also beyond fighting. Let me show you.¡± he said, before images appeared above his hands.


    First, the images showed people fighting, clearly making use of special abilities. A fierce looking red-haired woman, seeming to call down lightning on a bulging mass of tentacles with a wave of her hand. A brown-skinned man placing his palm on the back of a massive gorilla, after which black smoke blasted out of its mouth, its eyes bursting out like overcooked grapes at the same time. Then, someone moving too fast to be seen, seemingly teleporting across a forest, thick black trees being cut through with every flash of movement.


    Barry looked on with interest, as the projection started to show more peaceful scenarios. People bent over what could only be machines, working on inscribing pieces of leather and metal armor. Laborers digging up massive rocks and building houses with their bare hands at an inhuman speed. A stern looking woman in uniform, quickly swiping her hands through interactive maps as she addressed other people in the room.


    ¡°Many things that were impossible in your old world, will become real in this new one. Provided of course, that one embraces the empowerment system. Think of your goals. Think of the people you want to protect. Without the system, you¡¯ll just die a swift and meaningless death.¡±


    The young man didn¡¯t respond to that, just frowning as he slowly started shuffling along the ridge again. After another short walk with the two ignoring each other, Pokka finally declared that they had arrived. Barry looked around, seeing no change in the scenery, then at Pokka.


    ¡°Well? Where¡¯s the shelter?¡±


    ¡°Oh it¡¯s just down here,¡± Pokka noted calmly, waving his hand over the ledge. ¡°About 40 feet down, you¡¯ll find a cave. This is the best option for safe shelter that was still within a manageable distance.¡±


    Barry closed his eyes, bringing his hand up to squeeze the bridge of his nose as he let out a long sigh. His other hand was still hanging uselessly by his side. ¡°Just one thing after another,¡± he mumbled.


    ¡°Is there a problem? My records indicate that the average youth is capable of climbing 40 feet. Is your level of frailty above average?¡± Pokka asked sincerely.


    ¡°My shoulder is dislocated. But even if it wasn¡¯t, I don¡¯t have the skill needed to climb barehanded down a rough wall of rock like that.¡± There was heat in his words as he gestured to his right arm.


    Pokka slowly floated over to Barry, and there was an intensity about him that hadn¡¯t been there before. The lax and friendly expression on his old face dropped for the first time, instead turning cold and heavy. Barry¡¯s eyes widened slightly and he took a small step back, alarmed by what he saw in Pokka¡¯s gaze.


    ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ve been coddling you so far. Let me speak plainly. You don''t have another option. Fix your shoulder. Empower yourself. Climb down to the cave. Or. You. Will. Die.¡±


    He then floated back slightly and closed his eyes in a meditative pose. Barry stood there, still looking at the old man, brows drawing together and his lips slightly pursed. After a short pause, he shuffled to the edge and looked down. The sheer scale of the canyon was daunting, cracked sheets of brown stone stretching miles down into a dark abyss. The other side was so far off it was hard to spot any detail, but it looked much the same. Looking closer, Barry thought he could see a slight protruding edge, about where Pokka said the cave entrance would be. Despite the cracks and layers, the sheer rock wall looked impossible to climb. He clenched his jaw as he stared down, occasionally whispering angry curses.


    ¡°Might as well have a look,¡± Barry sighed as he turned around and followed Pokka¡¯s instructions for activating the system interface, pressing his eyes closed while holding the back of his neck with his left hand. After 3 seconds, he opened his eyes to a jarring overlay of text and numbers. Strangely, he was able to browse through the information very quickly. The interface felt so intuitive, he didn¡¯t even have to read through everything, the information seeming to flow directly into his mind.


    During the long walk here, Pokka had mentioned that the physical empowerment system could be applied with different levels of detail. As an example, you could invest points into Strength, which would simply increase your overall strength, or you could choose to focus on specific sections like upper body or core, or even on specific muscles. The same principle applied to other categories like Senses or Durability, but there were also exceptions, like Intelligence or Speed. The old man had explained that functionally improving Speed required a complex series of changes across the entire body, including the nervous system. Speeding up only part of yourself was not possible.


    He didn¡¯t have a clue how the empowerment would actually work. With his fear and anger keeping his usual curiosity in check, Barry had found it easier to remain in denial and avoid asking questions. There had been a stubborn and perhaps irrational desire for resistance, fueled by his anger, but it was starting to fade now. Still, it had been clear from Pokka¡¯s monologues that the process would involve irreversible changes. Did he want to give consent to these invaders to mess around with his body? Absolutely not. But did he have a choice?


    The fact that they were asking for consent, that he had to be the one to give the instructions, made him even angrier. After wiping away human civilization without a word of warning, they still wanted to keep up appearances, to pretend to be the friendly neighborhood aliens, just here to help humanity fight off the real enemies. Barry closed his eyes again, taking a slow breath. He had to push down on any useless thoughts and feelings. If he wanted to make a difference, if he wanted to help anyone at all, he would first have to survive.


    That didn¡¯t mean he would just rush into this and go along with all of Pokka¡¯s suggestions. He resolved to approach this carefully. First, he would thoroughly review all the options, then invest a single point in a single stat. Then he would experiment, review the results, and decide how to proceed further. Step by step. He let out a long breath, feeling resolved and somewhat relieved.


    The question was which stat to review first. If he prioritized ease of measurement, Speed would probably be top of the list. He could mark out a distance in the sand, then track how quickly he could cross it. Going to his status screen, he saw that the stat was sitting at 8 points now, so he should definitely notice something from that relatively large increase. He¡¯d first have to mark the distance and sprint across, timing his sprint, before adding the point and trying it again.


    Unallocated Value: 8760


    Stats


    Strength: 6


    Durability: 7


    Speed: 8


    Senses: 7


    Intelligence: 8


    PE Capacity: 50 Joule


    Abilities


    No abilities unlocked


    The stats overview raised a lot of questions, but a stab of pain in his shoulder brought him back to reality. Could he even move at a decent speed now? His right shoulder was clearly dislocated. He had some idea on how to get it back in its socket, but he¡¯d been putting it off. Also, sprinting back and forth out here was bound to draw another Roid-Bull. He¡¯d have to think of a safer test. With a sigh, he resolved to get the least pleasant task done first.


    But as soon as he closed the window, his stomach dropped. In the distance, he could clearly make out a familiar, rapidly growing cloud of dust. It could only be another Roid-Bull, coming straight at him. Time was up.

 4. Easy Peasy

    Barry¡¯s day had started off so well. He¡¯d had a nice healthy breakfast, gotten some studying done, and had a great training session with his dancing group. He¡¯d been on top of his game, feeling swell. Looking forward to seeing his family again. Hopeful for the future.


    Now, he was desperately trying to remember how to get a dislocated arm back into its socket. He¡¯d seen it done before, but he could barely think through the panic. The bull was coming closer, impossibly fast ¨C he could already feel the pounding of its massive hooves through the ground. Out of time to think it through, he grabbed his limp right arm and starting moving it up with his left arm, a groan of pain pushing through his clenched teeth. With his left arm crossed over his chest, he lifted higher until it was nearly arched over his head, pulling his other arm closer and higher still, stretching and moving it until he was rewarded with a final stab of pain as it clicked back in the socket.


    Breathing heavily, he quickly glanced back at the approaching bull. He could make out its shape already. With that ridiculous speed, it would be on top of him in a matter of seconds. Pushing through the panic with a flash of concentration, he quickly dumped some points into Strength and Durability, then pivoted around to face the canyon. From the shaking ground and rush of noise from behind, he knew it was dangerously close. Sprinting towards the dark abyss in front of him, he desperately threw himself down and forward into a slide, moving across the sand with his legs first. He scrabbled at the ground as he went over the ledge, aiming for a protruding piece of rock he''d spotted, hanging on with his left hand as the rest of his body went over the cliff. Then, there was an intense flash of pain all throughout his body and then across his skin. It was instant, there and gone again without lingering pain, but in that split second, all his muscles had gone limp.


    His hand slipped free, and he fell. In that moment, feeling that he was about to die, he realized that he didn''t believe this was a dream anymore. There was not a single part of him that wanted to fall down. He wanted to fight. He wanted to resist, to do something, anything. He scrabbled desperately at the wall, not caring what happened to his fingers, until his right hand unexpectedly snagged onto a piece of rock and somehow held on.


    Barry stared at it in disbelief. His right hand had been hanging uselessly by his side for the last hours, his shoulder sending regular stings of pain. Now, it was holding onto a thin, cracked line of stone with just his fingertips, supporting all of his weight. He shouldn''t have been capable of this. At the very least, it should have felt heavier. There was a surreal sense of lightness, as if gravity had suddenly been lowered. He could see how his white fingertips were pressed against the sharp rock, and he could clearly feel the tremors from the bull moving up above, but there was barely any pain. His shoulder still hurt, but the piercing feeling had been replaced by a dull ache. His heart was still pounding though, and he had to clench his teeth against another wave of nausea. Coming to his senses, he swung his left hand up to grab onto another piece of rock, moving his feet to find purchase in small cracks along the stone wall.


    Feeling somewhat more secure with hands and feet digging into the wall, he looked around to take stock of the situation. There was a slight protrusion marking where the cave should be, about two dozen feet down and to the right. Barry felt sick again as his attention fixed on the cold darkness below. It felt a lot closer than before, despite the hot sun burning overhead. He became conscious again of the sweat covering his body, and took a moment to free up each hand and slowly rub it against the rock, a thin layer of dust sticking to it. As he was searching for a path down, the vibrations he¡¯d been feeling through his hands and feet suddenly stopped.


    Barry looked up to see the familiar, elongated U-shaped head of the mutant bull against the sunlight. Apparently, these bulls were not all so stupid as to rush right off the edge. It moved to look directly at him, and he made to scrabble away, quickly reaching down and to the right. As soon as he moved, its head snapped straight towards him, like an uncoiling spring. Despite having seen it before, the speed shocked him, and he let go of his left handhold, only just barely hanging on with his right, which led to him twisting around in an awkward position with his back to the wall. There was a loud thump from the snapping jaws and a rush of wind, but he¡¯d already been out of reach. He could feel the hard granite wall pressing against his back and the sweat dripping down his brow and neck, but the pain in his wrist and shoulder was manageable. Instead, he now only felt a sense of pressure, but distant, like he¡¯d taken a mild shot of local anesthesia. A piece of rock hit him on the forearm as it fell down from the ledge where the bull was standing, but didn¡¯t really hurt nor leave a scratch. Carefully, Barry brought his left arm around and managed to get himself in a decent position again, not hesitating before moving further down as fast as he dared.


    He lost himself in full focus on the climbing for a while, feeling strangely comfortable. This looked impossible before and certainly should not have been this easy, but his body felt incredibly light. His grip felt strong and secure. Both of his index fingers lodged into small cracks was enough to hold him up against the wall. As he got into a rhythm of finding a crack, testing his grip and moving his foot, he started to enjoy it. With his full concentration on the wall and his movements, he could finally experience a moment not focused on the existential dread and physical agony that had been constantly haunting him in the last hours.


    Barry was finally getting closer to the cave entrance, when a massive roar sounded through the canyon. It felt closer, almost physical this time, filling the canyon like a mountain rising from the deep. Seeming to get stronger, the sound surrounded him, and it was all he could do not to clamp his hands to his ears. He tried pushing his head down and his shoulders up to provide some cover for his ears, but didn¡¯t help. The roar kept growing, pushing at him, then entering his body, seeming to shake him from the inside.


    Everything went quiet and his muscles cramped all at the same time. Jaw clenched, barely able to breathe, there was nothing he could do to fight it. It was like his soul had exited his body and was now observing it from the outside, except he could still feel everything. His entire physique felt bundled together, everything connected in a single, unending convulsion.


    With growing panic he watched, in total silence, how his legs and arms, somehow vibrating like a hummingbird, were slowly but inevitably slipping from their handholds. It felt like time slowed down as his left foot slid away from the ridge it was settled against. The leg didn¡¯t fall away from the wall though, instead remaining in the same, cramped position.


    Something had been blinking at the edge of his vision but he¡¯d been pushing it away. Unable to do anything else, he mentally clicked the notification, allowing it to unfold into a message overlaying his vision.


    Alert! You have been paralyzed by the roar of a superior being!


    His panic was displaced by a pinprick of anger that started in his stomach and burned upwards to his chest. It grew as he thought of his suffering so far, of the injustice of it all. How many people would die like this, soon to be forgotten pieces of collateral damage. The fire blazed in his chest and seemed like it would consume him like before, but then, determined, he used it to push back at his cramped limbs. He would resist. In some way, even if it¡¯s small, even if it all ends up being meaningless, he would resist.


    While his body was now numb, he could feel the anger clearly. It gave him back some measure of control. Barry took hold of this burning sensation, mentally pressing it all into his right arm, then his hand and finally focused only on his index finger. Move. He imagined being within his own body, cupping his hands and screaming at his nerves at the top of his lungs. The rest of his body was far away, his attention focused only on his right arm as it started to vibrate slightly, even as his left hand slipped away. He didn¡¯t even notice. There was only him and his white knuckled finger as he internally shoved at it, with everything he had. Move damn you.


    When his finger finally flexed, it was like he snapped back into himself all at once, abruptly aware of his ears ringing. He felt that familiar, electric feeling of a limb waking up tingling across his entire body. His left side was still asleep, not reacting to his commands. He was secure enough with just the right hand now, so he took a moment to close his eyes and get his breathing under control.


    HIs resistance had paid off this time. He was still alive, almost unbelieving that it had actually worked. There was again something blinking at the edge of his awareness but he ignored it for now. He had to get to the cave first. It wasn¡¯t far off any more, he could see the lip a few feet down and to the right.


    There was a wash of relief as his left arm started to feel normal again after shaking it out for a while. His leg came next. Not wanting to risk getting hit by another roar, he started moving again as soon as he could.


    Positioning himself next to the lump of rock he''d seen from above, he felt shocked when he couldn¡¯t spot the entrance. Cursing Pokka under his breath, he moved to the side of it, stretching his head out to the right to better see what was there. He let out a relieved breath as he saw what looked like a hole. For some reason, he¡¯d been imagining a huge, open entrance, but with a rocky protrusion covering a long, thin gap, this looked more like a letterbox built into the wall. Sighing, he climbed under it and then up, to get right onto what looked like the broadest part. Gripping the ledge, he pulled himself up and started squeezing his head through. He grunted as it scraped against the edges. There was nothing he could see inside, just darkness. For a moment, he got stuck on his chest. He had to position his arms to be able to push against the wall from the inside, then he exhaled and flexed his core while giving it a mighty push.


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Finally, Barry pushed himself through the gap and fell to the floor with a loud thump. Groaning, he moved his head to look around, but all he could see in the darkness was Pokka, looking at him with a satisfied grin.


    ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re not a lost cause after all.¡±


    ¡°Fuck off¡±


    Barry let his head drop back and closed his eyes with a sigh. With the adrenaline wearing off, some pain was slowly coming back. Seeking a distraction, he mentally clicked on his pending notifications.


    Congratulations! You¡¯ve gained Value for an exceptional feat!


    There was an option to ¡®expand¡¯ the notification and when he used it, it showed a lot more information.


    Exceptional Feat achieved: killing a higher-tiered threat!


    Threat level: Tier 9


    Subject VT level: Tier 0


    Total Value awarded: 7400 (640 Base * 10 Multiplier + 1000 First Bonus)


    Additional Rewards: 1x Mentor, 1x Ultimate Dodge (single use)


    Then there was a second notification:


    Exceptional Feat achieved: escaping alive from a higher-tiered threat!


    Threat level: Tier 9


    Subject VT level: Tier 0


    Value awarded: 750


    Bonus Value awarded for escaping without taking damage: 200


    Total Value awarded: 950


    There were a few more notifications, one of them warning to ''brace for impending body adjustment''. That was not too long ago, must have been that flash of pain that caused him to fall off the cliff. He asked Pokka about it and the old man confirmed.


    "Yes. Every time you improve your body, you''ll experience something similar. There is no way to physically reinforce your tissue without it affecting you, though the technology is advanced enough that the effect is minimal. If only you''d listened to wise old Pokka and increased your Stats earlier, this would not have been a problem."


    Barry scrolled on, his attention caught by another notification that looked slightly different, mentioning a ¡®reward¡¯ instead of ¡®Value¡¯.


    Unique Feat achieved: breaking through sensory paralysis from a higher-tiered threat!


    For showing an exceptional mind-body connection, you¡¯ll be rewarded two early Ability Manipulation unlocks.


    Value awarded: 375


    He blinked and stared at the notification in confusion, trying to recall what Pokka had said about Abilities, when the old AI spoke.


    ¡°I will explain to you the implications of the Manipulation unlocks, but first you will need to make some purchases. Unless you prefer to sit in this dark cave until a creature finds you.¡±


    A few windows then popped up in Barry¡¯s visual feed.


    ¡°Wait. You have access to my notifications? And what do you mean by ¡®purchase¡¯, it¡¯s not like we can count on an Amazon delivery here. You wiped out Earth¡¯s infrastructure, remember?¡± The young man said.


    ¡°We have no need for something as primitive as your old infrastructure. Though it will be more expensive than getting them from a fixed node, the items can be sent here directly through what your uneducated mind would understand as ¡®teleportation¡¯. And yes of course, as your mentor I have access to your feed.¡±


    Not knowing how to respond to that, Barry decided to browse through the windows Pokka had sent him. The information was structured in a similar way as an Amazon product page. There were some pictures, dimensions and a description of what it would do. The only thing missing were the reviews.


    The first item was called ¡®Energy Shroud¡¯ and as Barry read through its description, he understood why Pokka wanted him to buy it, despite costing 280 Value. It promised to eliminate any trace of ¡®outbound electromagnetic or kinetic energy signatures¡¯, which should include sight and sound. There were some restrictions: it would only be able to cover an area of 220 square feet, it could not be moved while shrouding that area, and it would need to run for five minutes before going into effect. In essence, it would function as a cloaking device. The limitations were luckily not an issue for his current circumstances.


    The less imaginatively named ¡®Fixer Upper 2000¡¯ was next, which was described as ¡®the latest innovation in medical technology¡¯. The device itself looked like a series of straps that would go around the chest, wrists and ankles. It promised to ¡®fix you right up again in the span of just a few hours!¡¯. Scrolling down, Barry read through the fine print, which stated that all ¡®mundane wounds¡¯ including bone fractures and even limited organ damage could be healed. Looking over the limitations, it seemed like an accelerated version of what would normally be treatable in a hospital, but not a magical healing box that would make all your wounds disappear. It would not be able to regrow organs or limbs, and in order to function properly it would render the user unconscious during the healing process, up to a maximum of 10 hours at a time. Still, for the modest price of 180 Value, he would indeed definitely want to get this.


    The third one was called ¡®VirtuFight¡¯, listed for 150 value. Barry guessed it was some advanced form of virtual reality goggles. It claimed to have ¡®an extensive database of training programs¡¯. This one seemed more straightforward with less fine print, but interestingly, it would be able to integrate with the Fixer Upper to even greater effect.


    Finally, the least self-explanatory item was a ¡®Matter Allocation Focus Totem¡¯. What Barry could gather from the many obscure technical terms used in the item description, is that this would serve as a kind of beacon for items to be sent to him. It also would allow for some form of storage, and ''facilitated looting'', though he didn¡¯t understand the details of that. But the key selling point, as far as he was concerned, was that this would somehow provide access to food and water. It was the most expensive of the items, coming in at a 500 Value purchase fee, followed by a weekly subscription fee of 50 Value. But there was a bonus in that getting the Totem first, would reduce the cost of the other items by 20%.


    Opening his profile again, Barry confirmed that he was flush with Value.


    Unallocated Value: 8725


    Stats


    Strength: 14


    Durability: 16


    Speed: 8


    Senses: 7


    Intelligence: 8


    PE Capacity: 50


    Abilities


    No abilities unlocked


    Noticing that he¡¯d spent well over a hundred Value since the last time he¡¯d looked at his profile, he looked around for the cost of increasing Stats. Focusing on Strength, it showed some additional information. Apparently bringing any Stat up to 10 would cost only 5 Value per point, but then it would increase to 10 Value per point. From 20 upwards, it would be 15 Value per Stat point.


    The information also included a short explanation of the Stat itself, which, in the case of Strength, was quite self-explanatory. The Stat was a numerical value reflecting the potential strength output of one¡¯s muscle fibers. As Pokka had explained before, it was possible to allocate points to specific sections of the body. Barry had allocated 8 points to the overall Stat, which resulted in an equal distribution. Interestingly, all Stats would scale in a linear fashion. A 10 in Strength would be equal to peak human performance. With the linear scaling, sitting at 14 Strength, Barry should be 40% stronger than the strongest human.


    He gaped at his hands for a while, then moved them around his body, giving his muscles testing pinches. They didn¡¯t look or feel any larger, but might have been a bit tougher than before, slightly harder to move. It could also just his imagination. He wasn¡¯t exactly in peak state of mind at the moment, his head throbbing and ribs aching. Still, if his dull brain wasn¡¯t too far off, he should now easily be able to bench press upwards of a thousand pounds. That sounded simply unbelievable, but he wasn''t about to put that to the test right now.


    With an easy mental effort, Barry closed the windows and sighed. He had no choice but to lean into this now. It still felt wrong, like he was agreeing to all of this. When the Roid-Bull was racing towards him, it was a split second life or death decision. Now, having to make considered choices on how to spend his ¡®Value¡¯, it felt more like an acceptance of his situation. Like he¡¯d be affirming this new reality and therefore somehow betraying the old one.


    He already missed the old world. The real world. Again, his thoughts went to his family. They would still be going through onboarding now, but soon they too would be released into this messed up new reality. It filled him with a sense of urgency again. Sitting in a dark cave in protest would not get him any closer to them. Pressing his eyes shut, he reached for that feeling of determination he¡¯d felt while hanging on the cliff wall, and called out to the old AI.


    ¡°Pokka. You want me to follow your advice, right? To work hard to become.. useful in this new world.¡±


    ¡°Obviously.¡±


    ¡°I hate you for what you¡¯ve done to us. I hate everything about this situation. There is a large part of me that would rather die than give you what you want.¡±


    ¡°Well. I¡¯d expected that your weak constitution would be the largest hurdle, but it appears that your psyche is even softer than your flesh.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do what you say, I¡¯ll follow your instructions, on one condition. You have to lead me to my family.¡±


    Pokka was staring out in front of him, unmoving. Barry somehow got the impression he was buffering. Then, the old man sighed, looking pensive.


    ¡°It seems I was too quick to disregard the human psyche as a subject unworthy of processing power. The potential performance impact is high. I¡¯ve now updated and will aim to better take into account your.. mental health.¡±


    He spat the last two words out with a sneer, looking disgusted.


    ¡°I''m prepared to accept your proposal. If it will help your motivation and avoid wasting time and precious resources, I will guide your journey in the right direction. But remember that pointing in a general direction is all I will do, and that I can¡¯t guarantee their continued survival.¡± The old man stated.


    Barry got up with a grunt of pain. ¡°That¡¯ll have to do then.¡± He focused for a second, then a metal rod materialized in front of him with a flash of light. The young man looked completely disheveled, clothes torn and stained with dried blood, black curls sticking to his forehead, partially covered in sand. As he glanced over at Pokka, he noticed the old mentor looking at him intently, his normally neutral facial expression changed into a predatory gaze.


    ¡°According to my new psych module, you seem resolved. An excellent state of mind for the start of your training. Let¡¯s see how long you manage to hold onto that feeling.¡±

 5. Trouble in Paradise

    ¡°Uff. They¡¯re definitely getting bigger.¡± Dmitriy called out as he wiped the sweat from his brow. His forehead was glistening beneath his short cut blonde hair. He was holding a sturdy looking stick filed down to a point on one end, swinging it down in short, brusk movements in an attempt to get some of the blood off. ¡°But I¡¯ve hunted far more dangerous prey in the Siberian forests. Wolves, the size of bears!¡±, he said with a proud grin while puffing out his chest. At his feet lay the bloody remains of an oversized rabbit with a disproportionately large head and vicious looking teeth.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a big one alright. But still no match for your boots and mighty stick!¡± Dericka called back, beaming at him with a bright smile. She felt grateful to have him in their group, dependable and so refreshingly straightforward that he was nice to be around, even in these awful circumstances. It might be an act, but even if it was, his stalwartness provided some form of reassurance that everyone needed.


    She swiped her sweaty black hair off her forehead and tucked it behind her ear as she took her time to look around. The green colors of the meadow looked especially striking in the evening sun. There were massive plants dotted throughout the hilly grassland, evenly spaced in a strangely symmetrical way. They had a long trunk covered by thick bunches of leaves with sharp needles along the branches. Tasha had taken to calling them ¡®bushtrees¡¯ and the name had stuck. She noticed the short woman sitting cross-legged on the ground, bent over and fiddling with something again.


    ¡°Oh merciful Jesus, not rabbit again. If we don¡¯t find some vegetables soon, my skin is going to just shrivel up and fall off. I¡¯m ready to trade my sneakers for some goddamn Vitamin C!¡±


    It was Kobe¡¯s voice, unmistakably loud and bright. The fit dark-skinned man was jogging down a small hill, his stylish beige t-shirt and fine-cut chinos looking remarkably clean compared to the rest of the group. He was also holding a pointed stick, using it to ease his descent, stepping carefully so as not to slip, even though it hadn¡¯t rained at all since they¡¯d been sent here.


    ¡°Why would Dmitriy want your puny shoes when he has these strong boots? Besides, rabbits are good for you, very high in protein.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re limited edition..¡± Kobe replied weakly. Dmitriy just snorted in response.


    ¡°Found anything new?¡± Dericka asked as Kobe walked up to her.


    ¡°Just more of the same for about an hour¡¯s walk, then the hills suddenly flatten out and the grass transitions into what I think is a massive wheat field. I didn¡¯t get too close. From the way the stalks were moving  in certain areas, safe to say there are more critters in there. We should probably go back with a small group to see if we can get a sense of the threat level there.¡±


    Dericka nodded slowly, taking a moment to update her mental map of the surrounding area. So far, their options for striking out would be a swamp to the east, a forest to the south or the wheat field to the west. They hadn¡¯t yet found an easy way to cross the river next to their campsite to be able to head north. The swamp was least appealing, for obvious reasons, but they still had no sense of the threat levels in each area. From what they were told in the Tutorial, they should have started in a light green zone, but that could border anything from another light green to a dark yellow, and they had no way of telling the difference. The only way to know for sure, would be for someone to save up 100 Value to purchase a map.


    ¡°What¡¯s the Murder Rabbit count for today Dmitriy?¡± She asked the large man.


    ¡°Only 3 for today, but the bigger one gave 2 Value, so I¡¯m up to 17 now.¡± Dmitry said with a satisfied grin.


    ¡°As expected of our mighty warrior!¡± She said with a confident smile, suppressing a pang of worry. She¡¯d only gathered 8 Value herself. Clearly, killing rabid animals was not her strong suit. At this rate, they would still be grinding here for weeks. Perhaps Sato was right in saying they¡¯d be better off spending their points immediately on physical empowerment and using that increase in Strength to kill more dangerous animals. It would significantly increase their risk though, and despite the short time spent together, she already felt protective of these people.


    Saving up for a map and striking out together might be the smart move, but people weren¡¯t thinking clearly. Many had been split from their loved ones and wanted to go out and find them as soon as possible. Everyone was dealing with the fact that their world had been shattered. It was only human to feel anger and denial in this mad situation. One of their group, a strong headed woman, had already decided to go off on her own, despite all their attempts to convince her otherwise. Dericka would do her best at least to keep the other people from making rash decisions and endangering themselves.


    They agreed to head back, moving northeast across the hills. Dmitriy was walking in front, loudly talking to nobody in particular, about a time when he¡¯d wrestled a bear. Dericka zoned him out, focusing instead on the conversation Kobe and Tasha were having behind her.


    ¡°Biggest thing I¡¯ve wrestled with is my student debt. At least that¡¯s gone now, along with everything else.¡± Kobe said, getting a chuckle out of Tasha.


    ¡°Yeah. Focusing on the positives is a good mindset I guess. Maybe that¡¯s what¡¯s helping you adapt so quickly?¡±


    Kobe shrugged. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel like I¡¯m adapting well. There¡¯s plenty I hate about this place. Stabbing rabbits is easy enough, but what I wouldn¡¯t give for a night in a fancy hotel.¡±


    He paused briefly as they crossed another hill, weaving between bush-trees as the grass and moss rustled softly beneath their feet.


    ¡°So what¡¯s up with that bunch of leaves you¡¯re carrying, planning to spice up our stew?¡± He asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that would be a good idea.¡±


    ¡°Wait so you don¡¯t think they¡¯re edible? Then why¡¯d you bring the stuff along?¡±


    ¡°Well they might be edible, but the leaves are so tough and fibrous they¡¯d probably be hard to digest. They might have some medicinal qualities though.¡± Tasha answered, speaking softly with a slight mumble.


    ¡°Oh really, what makes you think that? Actually, you think they could be used for skincare?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, they smell kind of herby and medicinal to me. I¡¯ve tried rubbing them on my skin and there¡¯s no irritation, so I¡¯m hoping they¡¯re not poisonous. But it looks nothing like aloe vera.¡±


    ¡°I see.. Um, what did you say you did for work before?¡±


    ¡°I did lab work, mostly. I guess you could say I was a chemist.¡±


    ¡°Cool. Well, a bit of herbal tea sounds great too, let me know how it goes down.¡±


    ¡°Tea would be great, but we don¡¯t even have a kettle, remember? No, I¡¯m planning to dry these puppies out by the fire, then wrap ¡®em up and smoke ¡®em.¡±


    When she heard that, Dericka let out a silent sigh and squeezed her eyes shut for a second. They¡¯d run into Tasha and a few of the others on the third day after the Tutorial. She¡¯d noticed the young woman¡¯s sunken eyes and pale skin, but had initially put it down to the lack of sleep and the horrible experiences they¡¯d all been going through. This was the second time that the woman would be trying to smoke unknown plants. The second time that she knew of, at least.


    Dericka was pulled out of her musing by a sudden scream. She swung around and spotted a fast moving blur in the corner of her eye. A Murder Rabbit had shot out from one of the bushtrees and gone straight for Tasha, who¡¯d flinched back and stumbled across a rock, losing her balance. Kobe was right beside her and reacted quickly, lunging forward and snapping out his right leg, striking the rabbit in its side with a dull thump. The creature rolled across the ground, then quickly got up and turned to him, but he was already on top of it. Kobe didn¡¯t hesitate to stab it with his stick, leaning into it with his full weight to pierce through and hold it down as the creature bled out. Tasha stared at it, shock plain on her face, as the Murder Rabbit pawed at the ground and wildly bit at the stick with rage filled red eyes until it finally went still.


    ¡°It¡¯s like they¡¯re all infected with rabies or something.¡± Tasha said quietly.


    ¡°It¡¯s like the nice lady from the onboarding said, unintended effects of the empowerment process. Most of the wildlife will be like that. Don¡¯t worry, we got your back. Good catch, Kobe!¡± Dmitriy said with a smile, clapping the other man on the back.


    Kobe and Dericka exchanged a knowing look, sharing the same skepticism about some of the information they¡¯d been given in the Tutorial, but now was not the right time to talk about.


    Tasha plopped down on the grass and pulled out a cigarette and lighter, having some difficulties getting it lit. Dericka looked at her with concern, knowing it was one of her last. It was obvious how Tasha¡¯s hands were shaking. She walked up and put her hand on Tasha¡¯s shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± Dericka asked softly.


    ¡°Yeah I¡¯ll be fine, just give me a minute.¡± Tasha said.


    Having finished her cigarette, Tasha finally got up, awkwardly thanked Kobe for the save, and they continued their walk in silence, carefully monitoring their surroundings.


    After about an hour¡¯s walk, they finally came up to their small campsite, located close to the bend of a large river. Dericka could faintly hear the flow of water as they approached. The small gathering of crude shelters, built with just sticks and leaves, looked better from a distance. Up close, it looked like it would be blown away by a strong breeze. They¡¯d been lucky with the weather so far.


    There were a few people, mostly elderly and children, sitting around the firepit. Barely any conversation could be heard from that group, except for the children nagging that they were hungry. None of them were screaming at each other and nobody was crying today. Dericka decided to take that as a sign of progress, remembering the first days when most people were in hysterics and she was trying unsuccessfully to calm them down. The faces of the elderly still looked downcast and grim, though a few looked up and gave a polite smile as they spotted her. Some of them had wounds on their legs that were roughly bandaged with torn pieces of clothing. As Dericka greeted the group by the fire, two young girls ran up to her.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Dericka! Did you have a good adventure today? Tell us what you saw!¡± They pulled at her pants as they insisted on a report.


    ¡°Hi girls! We sure did have an adventure. Kobe spotted a golden field of wheat, stretching all the way until the horizon! We also ran into some of the evil rabbits, but they were no match for our strong Dmitriy!¡±


    The girls made appreciative noises and peppered Dericka with more questions. It made her laugh as she shared some of the events of the day. The kids were genuinely excited. It didn¡¯t take much to make them happy.


    ¡°Jim said he found a nice forest and that he might take us there soon!¡± One of the girls exclaimed.


    ¡°Oh is that so? How exciting!¡± Dericka said, looking around and spotting four middle aged men huddled together away from the fire pit, closer to the river, talking quietly amongst themselves.


    After a few moments to appease the girls and disentangle herself, she straightened her back and walked up to the men with a confident smile. They stopped talking as they saw her approaching. Not a good sign.


    ¡°Hey guys, hope things went well today? Find anything new to the southeast?¡± She asked with a relaxed smile, making eye contact with each of the men in turn.


    Jim, a short and slightly overweight man spoke first, nodding.


    ¡°Yep. Forest thins out quite a bit towards the swamp. Easier to see, spot anything that¡¯s comin¡¯ at ya. Trees look different there as well, less thick, and we could see some bugs and what might¡¯ve been a damn big squirrel. So we got to thinkin¡¯, that area might just be the right shade of green, with the thicker parts of the forest being more dangerous.¡±


    The other men were nodding along and one of them spoke up next, a slightly older man with Asian roots.


    ¡°It looks promising indeed. We¡¯re planning to explore it further tomorrow to get a better sense of the threat level. If the animals are manageable, we¡¯ll want to consider striking out in that direction.¡±


    Dericka thought the idea was reckless, but she knew that if she challenged them directly, they would most likely dig in their heels. She had to be smart about this. If these five men left, their group would consist mainly of women, children and elderly, Kobe and Dmitriy being the only exceptions. It grated at her to admit it, but physical strength mattered in this new environment. The group as a whole would be safer if they all stuck together.


    ¡°You¡¯re really brave, going into unknown territory like that, Sato. Wouldn¡¯t it be dangerous, if it¡¯s dark green or even yellow? During the Tutorial they clearly said the level of danger rises quickly from one level to the next.¡±


    There was a dismissive snort from one of the other men in the group. ¡°I¡¯m not scared of some rabbits and squirrels.¡±


    She ignored the comment, continuing to look at Sato who slightly pursed his lips before speaking.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t seen anything life-threatening so far. Anyway, this is a different world, Dericka. We have to be ready to take some risks. We¡¯ll fall behind if we just sit here, killing a handful of rabbits each day. We need to be empowering ourselves exactly so that we can deal with more dangerous animals. Hunting the larger ones will get us more Value, so that we can get the things we need.¡± Sato answered.


    ¡°I just keep thinkin¡¯ ¡®bout my daughter, Dericka. She¡¯s out there somewhere. I need to find her. How can I just sit here when she might be in danger? It¡¯s driving me crazy.¡± Jim interjected, voice heavy with emotion.


    Dericka swallowed, feeling a swell of empathy in her chest. His daughter was sixteen, old enough to have been sent out alone. She stepped closer, put a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes with a kind smile. ¡°I know, Jim. We all want to help you find her. Others are looking for their loved ones, too. I just think it¡¯ll be safer if we do it as a group. As a team.¡±


    She thought Jim would respond well to that, having gotten along well with the group and striking her as a team player. Sato gave the impression of being more individualistic, having barely spoken with most of the group. He¡¯d be more likely to be swayed by rational arguments.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± She continued, turning to Sato. ¡°We will need to get stronger, and perhaps we need to consider taking more risks. But right now, we just have no idea where we are. We don¡¯t know in which direction we might find more people, or where there¡¯ll be dangerous creatures. We¡¯d be striking out blindly, unsure of threat levels. With a map, we¡¯d be able to take smarter, more calculated risks.¡±


    He mulled that over for a few seconds, tilting his head left and right as if he were weighing the arguments.


    ¡°Fair point, but I think we¡¯re not entirely blind. We know from the Tutorial that people are not teleported at random, usually staying close to their original location. As the planet was made larger, we can¡¯t be sure about the distances involved, but I¡¯d been driving home from work and was nearly there. I might find my wife in the next closest light green zone which could be within a few days of travel.¡±


    She paused, looking back to the firepit. Perhaps an appeal to his sense of responsibility?


    ¡°It¡¯s also not just about us, you know. What will happen to the weaker members, if our strongest get wounded or worse, out in a far away forest? There¡¯s safety in numbers.¡±


    She sighed as she looked at their faces. Jim looked conflicted, mulling things over. The other two men were looking at Sato, whose expression was as determined as ever.


    ¡°I intend to ensure the safety of my family and myself first, before I think about other people.¡± Sato said, his unwavering gaze leaving no doubt that he wouldn¡¯t be moved from that position.


    Dericka cursed inwardly as she nodded in understanding. She should have known that was going to backfire. This was the closest he¡¯d come to stating outright that he was prepared to leave the group behind. One final attempt then, emphasizing the value that the group would  bring to him.


    ¡°I respect your dedication to your family. But the fact remains that you¡¯ll find her a lot faster with a map. It might make all the difference. Why don¡¯t we think of a split of responsibilities that works for everyone? Not every single person needs to be saving up for the map, since we anyway can¡¯t bundle Value together for a joint purchase.


    Some people could focus on getting stronger, while others save up for the map and other items that will be useful for the whole group.¡±


    Watching carefully, she noticed how his brows lifted slightly as his eyes looked up and to the left, imagining how it would work, realizing the potential benefits. The idea of having others pay for items that he needed so that he could invest fully in himself was too attractive to ignore. It wouldn¡¯t be bad for the group either. Not everyone was suited to killing animals every day.


    Dericka looked back at the firepit with a smile.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we sleep on it and revisit the topic tomorrow? It¡¯s time for dinner now. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re starving after a long day of exploring.¡±


    The men nodded, looking thoughtful, and followed her back to the firepit. Kobe and two of the elderly had gone to skin and clean the two rabbits by the river, and were already on their way back. Actually, looking closer, she noticed that the elderly were holding the rabbit carcasses, while Kobe was holding his wet sneakers. They looked like new again. He must have gone to clean off the grass stains. She shook her head with a fond smile as she went to settle down by the fire.


    Several people tried to engage her in conversation over dinner, but Dericka just nodded and gave short answers, lost in thought.


    Would this be enough? Or would things start falling apart? The group had come together and bonded so quickly, due to the shared trauma of the Tutorial.


    The feelings of dissonance, shock and disbelief came back for a moment, as she recalled being alone in that clinical white room while the artificial image of a woman explained how their old world was gone. She remembered the building horror she¡¯d felt as the projection tried to talk her through textbook exercises of mourning and acceptance, with facial expressions that were always just slightly off. It was like being trapped by a group of psychopaths, who had some ulterior motives that she couldn¡¯t yet grasp.


    Then, after a long and exhausting info dump about things like Skills and Stats and Abilities and Potential Energy, they had all been unceremoniously plopped somewhere in the starter zone, alone, without food or tools. The zone was large enough that it had taken most of them over a day to find other people. It was a small blessing that children below the age of fifteen would never be sent out alone, and the two girls had been paired up with their mothers. Dericka shuddered as she thought of what would happen to a child alone out here.


    She¡¯d been attacked by a Murder Rabbit within the first hour of appearing here. They had all been warned about the aggressive wildlife, but it was still a complete shock to see the enraged creatures coming straight for you, with no regard for their own safety. She¡¯d been lucky to escape with only a few scratches, having managed to push it down and stand on its neck until it suffocated.


    It had been five days since that jarring experience. Everyone had been elated to see other people and realize that they hadn¡¯t gone insane, that they¡¯d all shared the same horrible experience. Now, the men were already getting impatient. Dericka hadn¡¯t expected cracks to show this quickly, but it wasn¡¯t too surprising. Everyone had loved ones they¡¯d been separated from. She didn¡¯t have a lot of family left, and they lived far away, so they wouldn¡¯t be anywhere near here. Tasha and Dmitriy were in the same situation, but she wasn¡¯t sure about Kobe. He hadn¡¯t been willing to share much about his personal situation yet. Dericka did have close friends in the city and hoped she¡¯d be able to find them again. But for now, her first priority was to keep herself and the people around her safe.


    The best chance of that, as she¡¯d repeatedly told anyone who cared to listen, would be to purchase a map. The map would not only show them the threat levels of the zones bordering their own, but it would also point them in the direction of a stationary MAFT. The teleportation focals would be the best way to get access to cheap goods, offering massive discounts on mundane items. The mobile version was very expensive, so these fixed totems would be an obvious place for people to congregate. Dericka nodded to herself. This was still the best way forward. Take it slow and steady for now, and move out when they were ready and had a clear goal. She would keep working on Sato and his group until they came around to her perspective.


    Feeling like she had some mental clarity, Dericka settled in near the firepit to get some sleep. Most people had gone to lie down on the bunches of leaves they were using as beds. She could already hear some snores, and thought she could make out the sound of someone nearby quietly sobbing, but was simply too exhausted to care.


    Dericka awoke that night to panicked screams and shouts. Scrambling up from her position in the grass by the fire, Dericka grabbed her stick and ran towards the source of the sound. A large figure was struggling with something, but it was hard to see in the darkness. In the faded fire light, she could just make out a large figure, throwing something to the ground and could then hear the repeated stomping of boots followed by a cracking sound. It was Dmitriy, she could tell by his size and him grunting and spitting out Russian curses.


    ¡°Urgh. Pizdec. Die. You. Filthy. Demon!¡± Each word was punctuated by a furious stomp of his army boot. He must have been satisfied the creature wasn¡¯t moving anymore as he then bent over, panting hard. Dericka ran up to him to check if he was hurt.


    ¡°Dmitriy! What happened? Are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Dericka? Is that you? I am fine, just some cowardly creatures that snuck up on us while we were resting. No need to worry, my trusty boots took care of them.¡±


    There were more panicked sounds and people running around, trying to find out what happened. Another man, she thought it was one of the elderly called Robert, was lying close by. She hadn¡¯t noticed him before through the other noise, but he was clearly huffing and grunting with pain. ¡°Argh. Darn thing got me good. Burns like hell!¡±


    After some more shouting, they managed to calm people down and moved closer to the fire to assess the damage. Robert had been bitten in his calf while sleeping, and Dmitriy had taken two bites to his right forearm while pulling the creatures off and stomping them to death. Dericka tried to help as best she could, but there was not much they could do for now except to clean the wounds. Nobody had any medical supplies. The wounds were relatively small, hopefully not needing any stitches.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s just a scratch. I¡¯ve had much worse.¡± Dmitriy grinned at her in the firelight.


    ¡°After we get the map, I will spend many points on durability. These weak insects will not even be able to break my skin anymore. You will see.¡± He spoke loudly, with his usual bravado, but she could tell by the tightness around his eyes and his clenched jaw that he must be suffering.


    Someone thought to drag the culprits over. The creatures looked similar to a centipede, with overlapping plates of chitin and many limbs sticking out the sides. Only, these critters were about as thick as a child¡¯s arm and twice as long. Instead of insect feet, their small limbs looked more like fins.


    ¡°They¡¯re still wet. Must have crawled out of the river.¡± Tasha said quietly. She was already bent over one of the centipedes in investigation.


    Most of the other people settled down by the fire. The mood was somber, people looking over their shoulders anxiously, or staring glassy-eyed into the fire, with just a few whispered conversations taking place. The first light of dawn was already appearing and nobody felt like going back to sleep.


    Dericka felt resigned, knowing there would have to be some tough conversations tomorrow. They¡¯d had a few Murder Rabbits  attacking their campsite during the night before, which is why they always had two people on watch, but nothing had ever come from the direction of the river. That was supposed to be the safe side, so most people had settled between the firepit and the water. People might feel more inclined to move camp. That could even be a smart decision, but she was just too exhausted to think about it at the moment.


    The sun wasn¡¯t even halfway to its zenith when the first arguments started.

 6. The Wrong Shade of Green

    If you squinted at it from the right angle, it almost looked cute. The mandibles were key. If you imagined them to be bent into a little smile or pulled together like puckered lips, slightly quivering with fear, then, together with its beady little eyes, it could look like an innocent little bug baby.


    Of course, the centipede wasn¡¯t any of those things. None of the animals they¡¯d seen so far were innocent or cute. They were all evil, filled with the kind of blind rage she¡¯d only ever seen in the worst addicts, when they were denied their medicine. Even the rabbits, normally some of the cutest animals, were just so disturbingly wrong. Tasha shuddered as she recalled the misshapen head of the Murder-Rabbit that had rushed for her, frothing with rage as it snapped at the air with oversized teeth.


    She looked up at another shout from the group that were standing on the other side of the firepit. The group had been arguing for a while, but she wasn¡¯t sure what about. She caught Dericka glancing at her, but didn¡¯t know what to make of her facial expression.


    Turning back to the centipede, she pulled out her pocket knife and wedged it behind one of the pincers. With a few firm taps, she got it in position to lever it out of its socket. Then, getting into a crouching position and pushing down on its head with her foot, she pulled until the pincer released with a crunch. She inspected the thing and the hole it left behind, then sighed. There was no poison sac as far as she could tell. That might have come in handy for.. various purposes. The pincer would be useful though, easily the length of her hand, feeling sharp and durable.


    She tucked it away and went to check on Dmitriy, who was lying beside a bush-tree on a bed of packed-together branches and leaves.


    ¡°Ah Natasia, no need to worry about me. Just need a little nap and I¡¯ll be back to slaying rabbits.¡± The muscled man¡¯s voice somehow still sounded confident and strong, but his face was pale.


    She could see spots of sweat on his forehead and her worries grew when she noticed his arm, skin looking bright red around the bite wounds. After putting a hand on his forehead to check his temperature, she decided he was breaking out in a fever. She hadn¡¯t seen any sign of poison on the centipede. It might just be a normal infection then, but either way, this was bad. They didn¡¯t have any antibiotics.


    ¡°A nap is a great idea. You should get some rest.¡± She agreed, deciding not to share her concerns with him. There wasn¡¯t anything he could do about it anyway.


    Tasha knew that she¡¯d been looking like that just a few days ago. Feeling like it, too. The worst was behind her by now. This wasn¡¯t the first time she¡¯d gone through withdrawal. Soon, all the symptoms would be gone and then she¡¯d be back to a normal experience. Healthy. Unfiltered. Raw. A shiver went down her spine. She might actually prefer to have her face eaten off by a Murder-Rabbit.


    She spotted Dericka walking towards her and got up to meet her halfway, so as not to disturb Dmitriy¡¯s rest.


    ¡°Hey. How is he?¡± The dark-haired woman asked with a kind smile, her eyes carrying the usual intensity, despite the dark bags underneath. Dericka always looked like that somehow, eternally patient and genuinely kind. Tasha felt like she could confess to murder and still that expression wouldn¡¯t change. She glanced at the firepit as she replied, the uninterrupted eye contact making her uncomfortable.


    ¡°I¡¯m no doctor, but the wound looks infected to me. His temperature is raised. He¡¯ll probably break out into a fever soon.¡±


    Dericka nodded, glancing over at Dmitriy, concern clear on her face. Her eyes paused on the centipede corpse for a few counts, then she looked back at Tasha.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I feared. Robert¡¯s already down with a fever. He¡¯s not doing too well. Nobody¡¯s got any antibiotics, of course, and we know that the Fixer Upper is way out of our price range, but I¡¯ll keep searching the store for any cheaper medicine.¡± Dericka said, somehow managing to sound optimistic, despite the seemingly hopeless situation.


    There was a short pause as they both thought it through, but neither of them had any better ideas. Dericka then continued in a serious tone.


    ¡°Things are generally not good at the moment. Some people are talking about striking out into a different zone. I think it¡¯s too dangerous.¡± She sighed, shaking her head.


    ¡°Anyway, at the very least we need to work on improving our shelters and finding new food sources. So I was thinking, if that wheat Kobe spotted yesterday is edible, we might be able to kill two birds with one stone, using the stalks for shelter and boiling the tops. Sato¡¯s group is set on heading to the forest again, so I¡¯ll stay here to watch over Dmitriy and the rest of the group. Would you be willing to go out there with Kobe? See what you can harvest?¡±


    ¡°Sure, I can do that.¡± Tasha said easily. She was rewarded with a radiant smile from Dericka.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Dericka said, meeting Tasha¡¯s eyes with that deep gaze, like it was an open channel straight into her soul. She put her hand on the shorter woman¡¯s shoulder and continued with a slightly more serious expression.


    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything too risky. Getting you back in one piece is more important than anything else.¡±


    Tasha had to look away again, but she smiled as she nodded. ¡°Sure thing, boss.¡±


    Dericka gave an easy laugh. ¡°Oh I¡¯m nobody¡¯s boss. Just a concerned friend.¡±


    Having found Kobe, the both of them left shortly after that, heading west over the familiar rolling hills. They were watching their surroundings carefully, sticks held tightly, knowing that Murder-Rabbits could come rushing out of holes or bushes at any moment. As usual, Kobe was first to break the silence.


    ¡°Sato does make good points about investing our Value. I don¡¯t know about rushing into a random forest, but I¡¯d feel a lot safer with higher Stats or some Abilities up my sleeve. What do you make of it?¡±


    ¡°Um.. I haven¡¯t really been listening to the discussions, to be honest. But I do trust Dericka, and having a map before moving anywhere makes sense to me. I don¡¯t really get why we¡¯d need to move out so quickly.¡± Tasha said after giving it some thought.


    ¡°It¡¯s mostly people needing to find their families that want to move out quickly. I also don¡¯t think it¡¯s a good idea, though. But have you given any thought to what Abilities you¡¯d want to get?¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t even unlocked my PE node yet.¡± She said with a sigh. ¡°I haven¡¯t managed to make myself useful at all, come to think of it..¡±


    Tasha got an uncomfortable feeling as she said that. There was a pit in her stomach and a tension in her shoulders. It wasn¡¯t a feeling that she was used to. It wasn¡¯t exactly shame, nor frustration, but some combination of the two, perhaps. Her hand instinctively went to her pack of cigarettes, but then she brought it back down, knowing she was down to her last two already.


    ¡°That¡¯s not true,¡± Kobe said after a short pause.  ¡°You¡¯re great at investigating things, noticing details the rest of us miss. Plus, you¡¯ll find some nice medicinal herbs to heal us sooner or later. How were the ones you, ah, tested yesterday, by the way?¡±


    ¡°Terrible. You didn¡¯t hear me coughing at night? Thought I was going to lose a lung.¡±


    "Oh, that was you? I thought it was one of the old folks.¡± Kobe said, trying and failing to hold back his laughter.


    ¡°Yeah. Anyway. When that weird lady explained everything during the Tutorial, I felt drawn to radiant energy more than the others. Something about being able to feel or somehow perceive things we normally can¡¯t seems wild to me. I mean, what would infrared light actually look or feel like?¡± Tasha said, a bit of excitement entering her usually stoic voice.


    ¡°That does sound cool. Not immediately useful for combat, but it could be useful for a bunch of other stuff, right? I think I saw things like being able to blind enemies or blur out your allies?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, exactly. That might be more up my alley. Poking things with a sharp stick is not really for me. What else is there to spend the Value on, actually? I haven¡¯t been able to browse the store yet.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s loads of stuff. You could browse for days and not see the end of it. Food, water, camping gear, medicine. They even have a selection of clothes, but they¡¯re not listed by brand or size or anything. All the normal stuff would be pretty cheap too, if we could get it through a MAFT.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that again?¡± Tasha asked.


    ¡°Matter Allocation Focus Totem. The large, stationary things that we want to find, remember? Basically like a big teleportation pole. Makes everything cheaper. When we find one, we could get a mattress for just 8 Value. Can you imagine? Sleeping on a real mattress again? I¡¯ll slaughter a whole nest of rabbits for that with my bare hands, no questions asked.¡±


    ¡°Wait, do they sell cigarettes?¡± Tasha asked, speaking faster.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t checked but yeah, probably. They¡¯d be cheap, too, if they have them. If you get them from the Totem, that is. Only the Sci-Fi stuff is really expensive.¡±


    Tasha¡¯s heart was beating faster now, her chest filling with swirls of excitement and hope. If they had cigarettes, they might sell other consumables too. She could stop foraging for medicinal herbs. But then she registered the implications of what Kobe had just said, and gasped.


    ¡°Space drugs..¡± She whispered, staring wide-eyed into the distance, mouth slightly agape.


    ¡°What was that? Are you okay?¡± Kobe asked, looking over at Tasha with concern, then ahead as if to find what she was staring at.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. Never mind.¡± The young woman shook her head and tucked her pixie-cut blonde hair behind her ears, walking on with a spring in her step and a slight smile on her face. Kobe matched her pace, giving her side-eye glances as they went up another hill.


    They were interrupted by a murder-rabbit that crawled out of a hole to the side. It spotted them, then moved directly towards them in the typical rage-fueled sprint. Tasha froze as Kobe moved to intercept. Using his trusted kick and spear combo, he killed it without any trouble. They moved on in silence after that.


    After a while, when they crested a slightly taller hill, they could finally make out the wheat field. The green hills flattened out before stopping abruptly, giving way to the tall, flaxen stalks of wheat, their hairy tops swaying slightly in the breeze. It stretched out as far as they could see, areas of gold and green neatly divided by an invisible line. As they got closer, they could see the stalks moving more briskly here and there, likely being pushed aside by some animal, hidden underneath the cover.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to go about this carefully, working as quickly and quietly as we can. There might be dangerous things hiding there.¡± Kobe said to Tasha in a quiet voice, his expression serious, dark eyes looking focused. She nodded in understanding, then looked out at the field in front of them. They were crouching on a short hill, a small stretch of grass in front of them, perhaps 40 yards or so to where the tightly packed wheat stalks were.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    They crept slowly over the grassy field, carefully scanning their surroundings, looking for any movement in the reeds. Not spotting any signs of danger, they got to work. Kobe managed to pull one of the stalks out of the ground, but it took a lot of effort and resulted in a clump of dirt covered roots that they¡¯d have to drag across the ground. He then tried to break one off at the bottom, but the fibrous stem was too tough and flexible to break.


    Tasha quietly handed him her knife, then showed him the pincer as he gave her a questioning look. It took Kobe a good twenty seconds to saw through the stalk, Tasha needing closer to a full minute. Each having a stalk in hand, they backed away and headed over to their hill to give the things a closer look.


    Tasha plucked some kernels off the head of the stalk and rolled them between her fingers, then bringing them to her nose.


    ¡°Looks and smells like wheat to me.¡±


    She then put a bit in her mouth, giving it a short taste test before spitting it out again.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t taste off either. If we don¡¯t see any irritation or start to feel funny by the time we get back, I¡¯d say we¡¯re good to cook up a batch of these for a proper test.¡±


    Kobe grinned at her, showing a neat row of white teeth. ¡°Music to my ears.They¡¯re also light to carry, but still tough and flexible. Should be useful for improving our shelters.¡±


    Tasha nodded, smiling back. ¡°Let¡¯s go get some more.¡±


    The two got back to work, methodically sawing through the stems and placing the stalks into a neat pile next to them. Working quickly, they¡¯d managed to collect a good pile, when Tasha gestured for Kobe to stop, having heard something. The rustling sound of something moving through the stalks grew closer, and looking through the first few rows, they could see movement. They picked up their sticks and backed away, keeping their eyes on the wheat field.


    Something stepped up to the edge of the field, gaze fixed on them. It took another few steps closer, then making a loud hissing sound as it came to a stop.


    ¡°What in the hell is that supposed to be?¡± Kobe said in a whisper.


    The creature was mostly visible now, sticking low to the ground in a squat shape. It had the build of a Dachshund, with an oblong torso and short feet, but its skin was scaled and shiny like a lizard''s. Its face looked snake-like, but it was scrunched up between thick folds of scaly skin, pushing right up against its torso, seeming to lack a neck. Its golden brown scales made it blend in well with the wheat stalks, but it was clearly visible against the grass.


    ¡°It looks more dangerous than the Murder-Rabbits, that¡¯s for sure. Why isn¡¯t it coming for us?¡± Tasha whispered back.


    ¡°No idea. It¡¯s just¡­ Staring at us." The both of them were tense, gripping their weapons tightly as they stood there, staring back.


    ¡°I¡¯m thinking I should try to kill it. It¡¯s not that big, and it looks slow.¡± Kobe said after a while, giving up on whispering, but still speaking quietly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Kobe. That seems really risky. Something¡¯s off about it. It looks like a serpent, so it could be venomous. I can¡¯t imagine this is not a higher threat than light green.¡± Tasha said, worry clear in her voice.


    ¡°Fair point, it does look like a snake. But it also looks like a Pug. How fast could it be, with those stubby little feet?¡±


    Tasha remained silent, thinking. He made good points, but this still felt reckless. Dericka had said not to do anything too dangerous, but she didn¡¯t think she could convince him otherwise, and didn¡¯t have any ideas on how to do this in a safer way.


    ¡°I can¡¯t go back empty handed. The sooner we get enough Value for a map, the sooner we can find that damn Totem. A mattress, a change of clothes. Maybe even a shower? I¡¯m ready to kill that damn thing for a shower. We need that Value.¡± Kobe continued, sounding more determined than before.


    ¡°I¡¯ll approach it carefully, see if it does anything. You stay behind me and keep a lookout, make sure nothing else creeps up on us.¡± Kobe said, then, not waiting for an answer, started slowly walking forward, makeshift spear pointed towards the creature.


    Tasha cursed quietly and shuffled on behind him at a short distance, scanning the surroundings for anything that could help.


    It got more agitated as Kobe got closer, taking a step towards him, but then letting out an angry hiss and taking two steps back again. He¡¯d stopped when it moved, and Tasha thought she could see his spear shaking slightly as Kobe stood there, beads of sweat rolling down his temple into the short black stubble on his cheeks, jaw clenched tightly, the muscles of his dark forearm rippling as he adjusted his grip on the spear. The young man took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, then began moving forward again.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Tasha said, prompting Kobe to stop moving forward, but he didn¡¯t turn towards her.


    ¡°There are some rocks over there. We can throw them at it from a distance, see if it does something? At the very least I could use it to distract it before you make your move.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Not a bad idea.¡± Kobe agreed after a short pause. They went to gather some of the stones, then stood a few paces apart, facing the creature again.


    ¡°This feels stupid.¡± Kobe said with a boyish grin. Tasha shrugged in response, then Kobe took aim and let loose with an aggressive swing. He missed by a wide margin. The next throw came up short, bouncing across the ground and coming to a stop in front of the creature, which didn¡¯t react at all. Tasha gave it a shot too, but also missed.


    ¡°We actually don¡¯t have that many stones.¡± Kobe said. ¡°Let me get a bit closer.¡±


    He took a few steps closer, threw again, and this time managed to hit the creature in the side with a dull thud. It hissed angrily, moved forward, then shook its head briefly before moving back again.


    Tasha and Kobe looked at each other and shrugged, Kobe taking aim again. After another throw to its side with the same results, he took another step closer and took his time to aim and wind up properly. Lunging forward and swinging through the hips, he let loose his best throw yet and managed to hit the thing straight in the face. With a hiss that sounded more like a growl, it took a step forward, seemed to dig its small claws into the ground, then snapped at him.


    As she was looking at it from an angle, Tasha could clearly see what happened. With a strange clicking sound, its head shot out like a bullet, the thick rolls of its neck unfolding until they were fully stretched out. The result looked more like a giraffe than a pug, with a snake¡¯s body sticking out of the oblong torso, the snake part being at least twice as long. The main body looked a lot thinner now, the scaly, yellowish skin hanging loosely from its shoulders and spine.


    The movement had been so fast and violent that they¡¯d both instinctively flinched back and fallen down. Tasha looked over at Kobe, feeling a wave of panic, pulse pounding in her ears. He was scrambling back on his hands and feet, but there were still a few feet in between him and the snake¡¯s head, which was hissing angrily at him, forked tongue flicking out from vicious looking teeth. She heard him say ¡°Holy shit.¡± in between panicked breaths.


    Kobe made it back over to her and they stared with disgust and fascination as the serpentine body rolled back up into the main torso, like the electric cable of a vacuum cleaner.


    ¡°Talk about a curveball.¡± Kobe said when he¡¯d gotten his breathing under control.


    ¡°How is that even possible?¡± Tasha said, voice shaking slightly.


    ¡°No idea.¡± Kobe answered, breathing out heavily. ¡°But we know its trick now. The weakness is obvious. It took, what, at least five seconds before it managed to roll itself up again?¡±


    Tasha was shocked for a moment that he wanted to continue, fear still gripping her. Her hand was already in her pocket, gripping the pack of cigarettes, but she gritted her teeth and pulled it back out. This was not the time. Taking a minute to calm down, she realized that it would actually be safer now that they¡¯d seen its range. One person could distract it, standing in the exact same spot, so that the other would be able to rush at it while it was vulnerable.


    ¡°So.. I¡¯ll.. trigger it? You come at it from the side?¡± She said, trying but failing to keep her voice steady.


    Kobe looked her over for a few seconds, nodding slowly. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re up for that?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. It¡¯s the obvious way to do it. I don¡¯t want to just stand by and do nothing.¡±


    Kobe got up, clicking his tongue unhappily as he wiped some grass off his pants, then reached out a hand and pulled Tasha up. They looked each other in the eyes for a moment, then nodded at each other and set to gathering a few more rocks. The Pug-snake stayed in exactly the same position, following their movements, so Tasha went to stand exactly where Kobe had been standing before, armed with a few rocks.


    Her hands were shaking, and she missed her first two throws by a wide margin. The damn creature wasn¡¯t even looking at her, pointed towards Kobe instead, evidently seeing him as the real threat. She then closed her eyes, taking a few slow breaths.


    ¡°Just like at the fair.¡± She mumbled softly to herself.


    She hit the creature twice with her next throws, not hard enough to trigger an attack, but it did shift its attention over to her. Then, throwing harder, she overshot with her next three throws, but she got closer with each one, adjusting her aim. She was on her final two rocks when she finally clocked it right in the face, and its attack came immediately. Despite trying to prepare for it, she froze up completely and nearly fell back again, involuntarily squeezing her eyes shut. She managed to stay standing, staring at the angry snake that was now lying a few feet in front of her, already coiling back to its main body. Kobe was coming at it from the side in a sprint, teeth bared as he lunged at it with his spear.


    As Kobe rammed into its side, Tasha felt a flash of fear as she watched how the spear point, coming in at an angle, slid off the creature¡¯s scales instead of pushing through and skewering it. Due to the momentum, the Pug-snake¡¯s main body was pushed onto its side as the spear slid past and stuck firmly into the ground. Having expected more resistance, Kobe stumbled forward and half fell over the torso, bending over and touching his palms to the ground so as to avoid spilling over entirely, even as its neck kept slithering back, bringing its head ever closer.


    With a curse, Tasha shook herself out of her stupor and ran over, pulling her knife out of her pants pocket, heading straight for the snake¡¯s head. But to her surprise, Kobe was even faster, immediately abandoning his spear, pushing himself back up and, without hesitation, leaping onto the snake¡¯s neck from behind, grabbing onto its head and pushing it into the ground, knees clenched around its long neck.


    ¡°No you fucking don¡¯t!¡± He growled.


    Tasha hesitated, slowing down slightly, while Kobe kept the snake¡¯s head pressed down into the ground with his left hand, patting the ground in search for one of the rocks with his other. By the time Tasha reached him, he¡¯d already found a rock and was bashing the snake¡¯s head in with wide, powerful movements, grunting with anger and exertion as he kept bringing the rock down with a meaty thud. She hadn''t seen him like this before, his teeth bared and face contorted into a vicious snarl, hate-filled eyes focusing only on the snake as he kept pummeling it. It went on much longer than Tasha thought necessary and she just stood there for a while, awkwardly listening to the disturbing melody of a grunt, followed by a thud, then a short pause as he brought his arm up again, panting all the while.


    Tasha just stared at him, mouth agape as his chest and shoulders moved in time with his heavy gasps for breath. She thought he might continue until he passed out, but then he looked up at her with a bright smile, finally content only when the pug-snake¡¯s head was mashed firmly into the soil. There were splatters of blood across his face, but they didn¡¯t seem to bother him, his expression full of joy and pride despite the exhaustion, like an athlete who¡¯d just won a race.


    ¡°We did it!¡± The words came out in a quick rush, barely fitting in between two gulps of air. ¡°Twenty Value!¡± Another pause for breath. ¡°Twenty! For one kill!¡±


    Noticing that Tasha¡¯s wasn¡¯t celebrating, but rather regarding him with some shock, he looked down again and finally seemed to notice the blood on his hands and t-shirt.


    ¡°Nooo! Not the Boss shirt!¡±


    ***


    They got back to the campsite without any further attacks, though they were drenched with sweat from the trek back. Tasha had insisted that they take the pug-snake¡¯s corpse back, which was surprisingly heavy. Kobe had flung it over his shoulders, carrying it on his back, while Tasha dragged a bundle of wheat stalks back, tied together with a bit of rope they¡¯d brought. They¡¯d had to take a lot of breaks, and the sun was far to the west by the time they made it back. Kobe had remained in great spirits after managing to kill the pug-snake, whistling as they hiked back, while Tasha had been more somber.


    Unexpectedly, there was a lot of noise coming from the camp, the people seeming to be excitedly discussing something. Dericka strode up to them, expression turning from a bright smile to a look of confusion, eyes slightly narrowed, as she spotted the pug-snake corpse.


    ¡°What is.. No. First, are you okay?¡± She looked them over urgently, then insisted they tell her what happened when it was clear they were unhurt. As they told her of the fight with the pug-snake, Dericka sharply sucked air through her teeth.


    ¡°You took a big risk. That could have gone a lot worse." She paused as she looked them over again.


    "Well, you¡¯re both adults, so I won¡¯t lecture you. I¡¯m just glad you made it back safely.¡±


    She was elated to hear about the Value reward though. It put Kobe at 42 Value, ahead of the pack and well on the way to the 100 they needed for the map.


    ¡°We might be in need of a lot more though. Robert and Dmitriy have gotten worse throughout the day. If the fever doesn¡¯t break soon.¡± She paused, shaking her head. ¡°We need to find some way to help them.¡±


    Tasha and Kobe both looked downcast at hearing that, knowing that a Fixer Upper would require over 200 Value without the Totem discount. There was no way of getting that much in a short time without taking huge risks.


    ¡°Then why does everyone look so damn cheerful?¡± Kobe asked crudely.


    ¡°Oh, I forgot to tell you about the good news! Marie made a fantastic discovery!¡± Dericka said cheerily, her eyes shining with that familiar intensity.


    Tasha had to spend a moment trying to recall who Marie was. She thought it was one of the elderly ladies. Dericka went on to explain how the old lady had used some sewing gear she¡¯d had on her, to create some kind of shin guard. The idea was that it would help protect people from Murder-Rabbit bites. Apparently, she¡¯d been working on drying out some of the rabbit pelts already in the past days, and, having seen Tasha fiddling with the centipede corpse, got the idea to dismantle pieces of chitin from its body and attach them to the rabbit pelt.


    Dericka had encouraged her, and it needed a few iterations, but when she finally finished a sturdy looking shin guard, she¡¯d gotten a notification that had nearly given her a heart attack. As she was one of the first people on the planet to craft a viable piece of armor, she¡¯d been awarded with a PE node unlock, in addition to 35 Value.


    This information was as shocking as it was valuable. Tasha¡¯s mind was awash with possibilities upon hearing the story. If crafting was a viable way to earn Value, she wouldn¡¯t have to be stabbing small animals every day.


    The news also raised a lot of questions. What was the cut-off of what counted as crafting? Other people had made other things, like sharpening pieces of wood into the spears they were using, or fashioning some rudimentary rope by weaving plant stems together, but they hadn¡¯t gotten any awards. Did it have to be armor, or were there other, hidden requirements? There was also a more disturbing question that came to her mind: if crafting things was a recognized way to gather Value, why weren¡¯t they told about it during the Tutorial?


    Still, Tasha felt excited and hopeful as she thought through the implications. She was brimming with ideas and wanted to get to work straight away, calling Kobe over to help drag the pug-snake¡¯s corpse to a more isolated spot after checking in with Dmitriy. His condition hadn¡¯t improved, which only gave her a stronger sense of urgency. They needed to collect a lot of Value, fast.


    As she turned her focus to dissecting the creature, the excited chatter slowly died down as people settled in by the firepit and the sun began to set.


    Tasha was too focused to notice that the conversations changed, turning to concern as evening turned to night, and Sato¡¯s group had still not returned.

 7. Training day

    Barry wondered how long this standoff would last. He adjusted his right foot slightly to improve his balance, pushing it deeper into the sand while keeping a close eye for any reaction from the wolf standing in front of him. The beast just continued to watch him silently, its patience unnerving. Every few seconds, there was the soft pat of a drop of blood hitting the sand, trickling down from Barry¡¯s left elbow through a rough tear in his clothes.


    The spear felt light as he shifted his grip once again, the grain of the oak haft rough against the palm of his hand. He¡¯d been holding it for a few minutes like this, trying to keep the blade steadily facing towards the wolf, but it would inevitably start swaying. Still not used to his increased strength, the spear felt as light as a reed, like it was entirely hollowed out.


    As if it could sense his distraction, the wolf finally moved forward in a sudden lunge. Barry¡¯s body stiffened, bracing for impact, but the lunge had been a feint and the wolf darted quickly to his right flank. He reacted with fast reflexes, intuitively taking a wide step to the left to move away from the threat while pivoting to keep facing the wolf. But swinging his weapon brought him off balance, the head of the spear moving further and higher than where he wanted it to be. The vicious animal easily ducked underneath and was inside of his range then, teeth closing around his right leg. Barry let out a scream of pain and frustration as he grappled with the long spear, failing to find a workable angle to stab the wolf as the beast continued to tear at his leg. A single kick to its side forced it to let go and Barry stumbled back clumsily, now unable to put any weight on his wounded right leg.


    He clenched his teeth as he glared at the wolf, releasing a growl of pain with every exhale. Anger and frustration rose in his chest with each stab of pain until it started to take over, his vision narrowing to a tunnel with the wolf at the end. He wanted only to hurt it, to skewer and kick and tear at the damn beast. But when he moved forward, readying for a lunge, the wolf moved carefully backwards, then started to circle him. Barry was forced to ineptly turn around, hopping and twisting, his right foot squelching in his blood soaked shoe with every move. The wolf kept circling, increased its speed, then changed directions with another unexpected feint. Desperately trying to keep up, Barry inevitably made the mistake of putting weight on his right foot. With a cry of pain, he went down, entangled with his spear. He rolled around, desperately trying to get in an upright position again, but the wolf was already on top of him. The last thing he felt before everything went black was a feeling of pain and pressure of jaws closing on his throat.


    Barry sat up in the darkness with a shout of panic, grabbing for his throat. It took him only a second to realize where he was and then he opened the VR goggles on the back of his head and pulled them off with a curse.


    ¡°That goddamn spear! How do people fight with something so long and clunky?¡± He said angrily, removing the straps from his body with too much force.


    ¡°And those goggles! What a cursed device. I know I agreed to this, but can we at least lower the pain settings?¡±


    Pokka was floating in front of him, arms crossed, raising his eyebrows.


    ¡°So that your failures will have no consequences? Don¡¯t you think you deserve punishment for that pathetic-¡± Pokka broke off with a sigh. ¡°This psych module is the real curse.¡± He muttered under his breath, then continued in a cheerful voice. ¡°Dear Barry, that was a good attempt, but there are some things you can still improve on. Try working on your grip and footwork for better results next time.¡±


    Barry looked at him through narrowed eyes. He wasn¡¯t yet sure what to make of the recent changes in Pokka¡¯s attitude. ¡°Thanks for the feedback, oh, most considerate mentor.¡±


    Tearing the last strap off his leg, Barry got up to do some stretches. It helped him to deal with the frustration. Pokka had started him off on a basic training regime and so far, it was not going well. Weapons training was particularly problematic. They¡¯d been trying out different weapons to see where there might be some affinity, but it turned out Barry was the opposite of a fighting talent. He¡¯d chosen bow and arrow first and had managed to fumble one of his shots so badly that he nearly took out his own eye and stabbed himself in the leg. Unwilling to try weapons for short range fighting, he¡¯d then had to handle a flail and a spear, with equally poor results.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just give me a laser rifle already? You obviously have the technology required to make them.¡± He called out to Pokka as he bent down to put his palms on the floor.


    ¡°I¡¯ll explain this to you once you manage to kill that wolf.¡± Pokka said.


    Barry had started to notice that while Pokka easily shared any information about the workings of the new Earth, he would avoid nearly any question that would give away information about the wider universe. When pressed, the AI would say the information was classified, or that he anyway wouldn¡¯t understand, or simply that more things would be revealed in due course. Sometimes he¡¯d do as he did now and promise to reveal the information once Barry achieved some training related milestone.


    With a sigh, he moved to loosening his neck muscles, slowly turning his head from side to side. His cave was starting to look unexpectedly homely, though it was also getting cluttered with the various items he¡¯d bought. The warm orange glow from the MAFT was the main source of light, pairing well with the reddish brown of the sandstone surroundings to create a cozy environment. A green LED light was visible next to his sleeping area, indicating that the heating and air purification unit was doing its job. The luscious carpet next to his sleeping area had been an impulse buy, but it really did tie the room together.


    Purchasing a mattress was one of the first things he¡¯d done, after having passed out on the rough sandstone floor and woken up with a stiff neck and a splitting headache. That had happened right after getting hyped up for training. Pokka had not been pleased.


    According to the Fixer Upper, he¡¯d been suffering from a severe concussion, two broken and three bruised ribs, a sprained ankle and a number of other bruises across his body. Those had all been magically fixed after a single night¡¯s rest while being hooked up to the device. It was a truly awesome piece of technology. The aliens had at least brought some good things along, not that it offset the rest of their actions.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to start your energy manipulation training.¡± Pokka announced. ¡°I hope you haven¡¯t forgotten what I shared? Have you settled on a category to start with?¡±


    Barry nodded. There was a slight flutter of excitement in his belly as he went to sit down cross-legged on his carpet, facing towards Pokka. He¡¯d been genuinely curious to know how Abilities worked and had peppered Pokka with questions.


    ¡°You haven¡¯t told me what the training will be, but I understood that it¡¯s important to get the most out of the PE node. If I don¡¯t learn how to talk to my node and use it to freely manipulate the energy, I¡¯ll be stuck using only the pre-set Abilities, which lack flexibility.¡±


    ¡°Correct. It¡¯s necessary for advanced usage of the PE node, though potentially dangerous, which is why it usually only gets unlocked much later. You will need it sooner than most, and you¡¯ve already got clearance for unlocking two categories, so we should start to make use of that.¡±


    ¡°Right. I¡¯ve thought about it, and I think Waves makes the most sense. It¡¯s the only category that I¡¯ve seen that offers the ability to stop vibrations from spreading through the ground. Without any way to cover my steps, I¡¯d never be able to hide from the Roid-Bulls. Something with light could be complementary, so, ah, Radiant Energy as a potential second category.¡±


    The names were still confusing to Barry.


    As the old AI had repeatedly said, all Abilities were at their base some form of energy control. The potential energy captured in their PE node could be actualized in all existing forms of energy - motion, heat, light, electromagnetism, sound. However, some of them, like nuclear energy, would be restricted since they¡¯d too likely lead to people hurting themselves and others around them.


    The actual Abilities one could purchase in exchange for Value worked like a set of basic, pre-set instructions that would be executed by the PE node. If you bought [Blur Image] for instance, the Ability would, once activated, manipulate the lightwaves to blur the image of you and your immediate surroundings while draining 2 Joules per second from your PE node. It would work instantly and always produce exactly the same results, but the degree and radius of the blurring would be fixed, and it would never work while moving.


    There was a massive list of standard Abilities that one could browse through in the online shop, ordered per category. Despite Pokka¡¯s insistence that this was a more correct way to categorize energy, Barry found the categories highly counter-intuitive. Instead of having the Abilities split per sense, there were only three main classifications: Radiant Energy, Mechanical Energy and Electrical Energy. Within each of those classes, there were a number of branching options.


    Under Radiant Energy, you had ¡®Generation & Amplification¡¯ or ¡®Refraction & Reflection¡¯. The first would lead to Abilities that involved creating flashes of light, or focusing existing light sources into something like a laser. The second was more subtle, going in the direction of bending or otherwise manipulating light, which could be used to hide yourself or change what you looked like to any onlookers. Interestingly, each of those still had various categories of wavelengths to browse through, but Barry hadn¡¯t yet looked into those Abilities.


    Mechanical Energy had Momentum and Waves as separate categories, each of which had Generation and Manipulation branching below them. Momentum had interesting Abilities, such as being able to launch or accelerate objects, but Pokka had pointed out they suffered from high energy usage. His PE Node capacity was still only sitting at 50 Joules, which would be enough to launch a small rock for about the same distance as an average throw.


    The Waves group contained Abilities that could stop, alter, or generate waves through different mediums. When used in the air, that would result in the manipulation of sound, but waves could also travel through solids like rock. Pokka had suggested that in extreme cases, that could cause earthquakes, while weaker waves would be useful for things like tracking and communication. What Barry was interested in, was the ability to hide the vibrations caused by his footsteps.


    Electrical Energy had only two branching options, electrical fields and magnetic fields. These had a host of Abilities that involved manipulating electricity and magnetism. Unsurprisingly, this was known as the most dangerous class, where lethal mistakes were easily made.


    ¡°Manipulating light and sound to conceal yourself.¡± Pokka said, nodding in understanding.


    ¡°I would usually advocate against taking such a passive approach, but in your particular situation, working towards stealth is not a poor choice. Very well then, we¡¯ll begin with waves. There¡¯s a certain physicality to them that should help you grasp the feeling of control.¡±


    Barry opened his status screen, noting that the only real change was a significant drop in his Value. Pokka had forbidden him from increasing his Stats any further, stating that he needed to increase them gradually as he progressed in his training. He noticed there was now a drop down option to show how much he¡¯d spent so far.


    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Unallocated Value: 7637


    Value allocated to Stats: 135


    Value allocated to Abilities: 0


    Value spent on items: 1088


    Stats


    Strength: 14


    Durability: 16


    Speed: 8


    Senses: 7


    Intelligence: 8


    PE Capacity: 50 J


    Abilities


    No abilities unlocked


    ¡°In the Mechanical Energy tree, under manipulation of waves, you should find a number of variants on the [Halt Wave] Ability. Get the ¡®Sphere¡¯ variant, then get [Cast Wave] from the generation tree. Finally you can then unlock ¡®Direct Manipulation - Waves¡¯ in your PE Node Options.¡± Pokka instructed.


    Barry read through the Ability descriptions before he followed Pokka¡¯s instructions.


    [Halt Wave - Sphere]


    Description: This Ability will create an invisible sphere that will negate any waves touching the edge of the sphere. It has a diameter of 7 feet, centered around the body of the user. It will not move along with the user.


    Cost: 4 Joule to activate, then 1 Joule per 10 seconds. Cost will increase linearly with the energy contained in the waves that are negated.


    [Cast Wave]


    Description: This Ability will create a wave within a range of 25 yards in any direction, with the user determining  the point of origin, wavelength, amplitude and direction.


    Cost: 10 Joule. Cost will increase in relation to amplitude and wavelength.


    ¡°So the first one would hide my footsteps, or any other sound I make. But it won¡¯t travel along with me, so it¡¯s not of much use to me while walking across the desert, is it?¡±


    ¡°That is why you must first learn free manipulation, to address the lack of flexibility in the standard Abilities.¡±


    ¡°Right. Okay.¡± Barry said with a thoughtful look, scratching the back of his head.


    ¡°And why do I need the second one?¡±


    ¡°It will help in the exercises we¡¯re about to go through. But there are many scenarios in which it could be of value. Use your imagination.¡±


    With a sigh, Barry confirmed the purchase. The Abilities cost him another 240 Value in total, while the unlock used one of the two tokens he¡¯d gotten as a reward.


    ¡°Now, to start, you should make use of those Abilities with your Direct Manipulation toggled on. The goal will be just to get used to the feeling.¡± Pokka said.


    Barry noticed immediately that there were now more options in the interface, a subtle feeling of something asking for attention at the edge of his awareness. Once he focused on it, three icons appeared at the bottom of his vision. They were mostly transparent so that they wouldn¡¯t block his vision, but he still knew intuitively what they represented.


    Feeling a bit nervous, he activated Direct Manipulation with a mental nudge, but nothing happened. He looked around for a bit, made sure that it was indeed activated, then shrugged and activated [Cast Wave].


    Without delay, a new overlay appeared over his view of the cave, showing crosshairs and three small dials. It took him some time to move each one, learning that he first needed to focus intently on just one item, then think about which way he wanted to move it. There was no need to move any of the dials, so he just directed the crosshairs to point at a spot on the ground a few feet in front of him.


    There was a soft crack from where he¡¯d cast the wave and he felt something faint which he found hard to identify. He frowned as he tried to investigate further, but it was already gone. He thought it might have been a tugging feeling, like something pulling him ever so slightly off balance.


    ¡°That didn¡¯t seem to do much?¡± Barry asked.


    ¡°It successfully created a small wave that traveled through the rock, but you weren¡¯t able to notice it yet. We¡¯ll need to get you in the right mindset first. Remember, the goal of this exercise is just for you to start interpreting the information being sent to you by your PE Node. Try to keep an open mind. Close your eyes.¡±


    Pokka paused briefly while Barry did as instructed.


    ¡°Now focus on your breathing, how your chest moves and how the air enters your lungs. Slow it down slightly, taking long breaths in and holding them for a few seconds. Keep your chest still as you breathe in, moving only the stomach.¡±


    The old man¡¯s words sounded slow and controlled, full of patience and calm, in stark contrast to his usual, rushed manner of speaking.


    ¡°Focus now on your legs, the weight pressing them into the carpet, the feeling of your joints and muscles.¡±


    Pokka continued the meditation exercise, Barry diligently following along. He¡¯d done these exercises often with Dr. Schulz, and they never failed to calm him down and clear his thoughts. It felt familiar as he moved his focus slowly throughout his body, intently aware of how everything felt. The supple carpet underneath, the slight stiffness in his muscles, the cool air of the cave against his skin. Then, he nearly opened his eyes as Pokka veered off course.


    ¡°Now, you¡¯re going to pretend that you have a tail. It stretches out from where your spine stops, lined with muscle. You can feel a squeeze at the top of your glutes and movement in your lower back as you move it, left to right. You can feel the cool air moving along its tip as you move it around.¡±


    Again, Barry followed along, slowly getting the hang of it. It was different than feeling his body, now just imagining how a tail might feel. But the state he was in, having been primed by all those sensations, made the imagination stronger.


    As time passed and the exercise continued, a strange feeling settled over Barry as he tried to move his imaginary limbs around. He began to feel less connected to his body, less conscious of it, and more aware of his surroundings instead.


    ¡°There are four tentacles, two sprouting from your ribs, mirrored by two more on your back. They are thick where they flow into your body, connected to tough muscles, but thinner as they spread out around you. There are tiny feelers alongside them that can sense the vibrations in the air. Now, imagine that the edge of the tentacles can turn incorporeal so you can move them around as you please, even through the ground. Two of them flow through the air, feeling every detailed move of it, while the others float down through the rock, passing through its many layers without any resistance.¡±


    He again approached this patiently, not knowing or caring how much time was spent. His only focus was on visualizing the tentacles and where they¡¯d stick to his back, how he¡¯d move them around, how they would sense slight air flows around his body.


    ¡°The feelers sticking out from the ends are fine, sensitive little things, only a bit thicker than a hair. With them, you can feel the vibrations in the air. Think of how your throat moves when you hum, of your fingers pressed against it as you speak. How the vibration would be fast on a high note, nearly a continuous buzz. Or the slower, ponderous feeling of a low purr.¡±


    Barry continued, absorbed in the task, no longer aware of the carpet, nor the feeling of the small aches throughout his body. He took that familiar feeling, the warm buzz of a humming throat, and placed it out into his tentacles. It would come not from his fingers but further away, and it would be stronger, more detailed, the feelers being specialized instruments.


    ¡°Now, you¡¯ll move one tentacle closer to me and feel the sound of my voice, how it disturbs the air as it moves all the way through. You can sense the vibrations, high and low, short and long, as they travel through your feelers. Some of them come back for a second pass, weaker, but still present, bouncing off the cave wall, mixing with the others.¡±


    As Pokka kept talking, he seemed to move a bit closer, his voice growing louder. After a while of deep concentration, Barry thought he could feel the words. He tried to ignore the sound and meaning of Pokka¡¯s words, instead experiencing them only as vibrations, short or long, soft or rough, mixing together into a complex, droning wave that traveled through the air. The sensation grew stronger, until it felt less like his imagination and more like he could actually touch Pokka¡¯s voice, like he was right next to the man, fingers pressed to his shivering throat.


    There were clear differences in the vibrations, the high notes feeling distinct from the lower ones. They followed each other in the familiar melody of human speech, reminding Barry of a time when he¡¯d tiptoed through the house as a child, seeking a late night snack, and he¡¯d paused for a moment next to the living room door to listen as his parents watched television. The words themselves were unrecognizable, but from the pitch, intensity and composition of the noise, it was unmistakably a person talking.


    Following an impulse, Barry started humming, producing a deep, rumbling sound that was immediately felt by his fictitious tentacles. If the sound of Pokka¡¯s voice were gentle, alternating ripples, then this was a sustained stream, feeling more solid and textured as it poured out from his chest.


    The steady drone of his humming filled the space in front of him, engulfing the waves coming from Pokka. It filled his body too and, through it, carried down into the ground. As he focused on the space below him, he sensed something new, though it was faint. It was also a distortion, a ripple of sorts, but this one felt much more solid, despite being far away. If it were closer, stronger, he thought he might be able to run his feelers over it like fingers, to touch it, feeling every ridge and curve as it squirmed through the ground.


    His attention shifted slightly as he picked something up from Pokka¡¯s words, almost subconsciously as he¡¯d completely zoned them out by now. The old AI wanted him to activate his Ability and try to sense the wave.


    It took him some time to split a small part of his attention off without exiting this special state of mind. He didn¡¯t open his eyes, nor trigger an overlay, instead just willing the Ability to trigger. Nothing happened at first, so he did it with more intent, concentrating on his PE node to give it a nudge. He thought of the last time he triggered it, willing it to happen in exactly the same place, no change in the parameters. With that same feeling of giving a mental click, it finally activated.


    Without delay or warning, it pulled something out of him. No, it forced him to move something. An additional limb, unknown to him, but somehow still part of him. Like he had an additional arm but someone else was in control of it. It popped into existence, stretching from the back of his neck to the targeted spot on the ground, then it simultaneously pulled at him and pushed something out. Immediately after that, he sensed the wave moving through the ground, felt the smooth ridges, its shape like a snake stretched out to the sides.


    The feeling was intense and completely foreign. He snapped his eyes open, feeling his bile rising, becoming aware of his aching hips and knees. He¡¯d been sweating, too.


    ¡°Wow.¡± He said, taking slow breaths as he leaned back on his hands and stretched his feet out in front of him. ¡°How long did that take?¡±


    ¡°Well over two hours. It seems you were able to sense something?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Just the sound at first, but then also the waves in the ground. It''s.. profoundly weird.¡±


    ¡°A good start.¡± Pokka said with a nod. ¡°But you have much further to go. We¡¯ll incorporate this exercise into your daily schedule from now on.¡±


    Barry didn¡¯t react to that, just staring at the cavern walls.


    ¡°What is the PE Node, actually? How does it.. work?¡± Barry said slowly, still shaken by the strange experience.


    ¡°We¡¯ve already been over this, you-¡± Pokka began, then broke off and started over.


    ¡°Very well. You can think of it as a powerful microchip, directly connected to your nervous system via your brainstem. Obviously, it can manipulate energy, but it needs instructions. The goal of these exercises is simply to teach you to communicate with it.¡±


    ¡°There is an actual microchip inside of my brain. How did you put it there?¡± There was no alarm in Barry¡¯s voice, only curiosity.


    ¡°It was put there in the same way that your muscle fibers and your skin and bones have been strengthened from your additional Stats. Through advanced application of scientific concepts you do not understand. It should hopefully be clear to you by now that matter and energy can be quite freely manipulated with the right technology.¡±


    ¡°So you''re saying that you just teleported it straight into my head?"


    "Not technically accurate at all, but if that''s how your primitive brain is able to process it, then yes."


    "So those strange sensations I felt just now, that was the PE Node sending signals directly into my brain?¡±


    Pokka nodded. ¡°It can detect all types of energy and thus can function as an additional sense of sorts.¡±


    ¡°It felt like.. an invisible limb, but out of my control.¡±


    ¡°When you trigger a pre-set Ability, you¡¯re actually sending a set of instructions to your PE node. Because those instructions don¡¯t come directly from your brain, it would feel like it¡¯s acting of its own accord.¡± Pokka explained.


    ¡°Not from my brain? But I was activating the Ability mentally, literally just by thinking about it.¡±


    ¡°Not directly. The System Interface is not linked to your PE node, the whole system is actually managed by an AI. This is needlessly technical, but what is really happening is that the AI reads the signals sent to the PE Node by your brain. This is how the information flows every time you¡¯re browsing the Interface, making purchases or activating standard Abilities. Then, in the case of an Ability being activated, you could say the AI acts as an intermediary, parsing the instructions and sending them back to your PE node.¡±


    Barry blew out a long breath of air as he let his head drop down to the carpet to stare at the ceiling. He wasn¡¯t sure what to make of this exercise. The last part had been decidedly unpleasant, but being able to sense waves was¡­ interesting. What would it be like to control them? What would light feel like? He smiled as he thought of the implications, feeling excited, eager to learn more.


    Then, his smile dropped as there was a sharp flash of guilt as he remembered his family, turning into a slow burn that stayed with him. They were already out there, trying to survive. Would they be wounded? Hungry? Lost? Fighting for their lives?


    He wasn¡¯t here to have fun. Every hour he wasted here would be an hour he could have spent getting closer to his family. But he wasn¡¯t yet ready to leave. If he wanted to be able to help his family, at the very least he should be strong enough to kill that damn wolf.


    Straining his abs to bring his legs in the air, then pushing off his hands to jump up and land on his feet in one elegant motion, he looked sharply at Pokka.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do another round of weapons training.¡±

 8. Training Day (2)

    He rolled over, pulling the blankets over his head to shield himself from the shrill, repetitive beeping of his alarm clock. Getting out of this comfortable, fuzzy cocoon and ready for school was the last thing he wanted to do. He covered his ears and squeezed his eyes, trying to hold on to that dreamy, relaxed feeling. As he inevitably began to think of which day today was and tried to remember what would be his first class, his mind fully woke up and the warm, content feelings were promptly replaced by a heavy pool of worries.


    Earth had been remade. There would be no more school, no more dance classes. All thoughts of exams, studies, hobbies and friendships were just pointless fantasies now, lingering remnants of a dead world. He had to train, to get stronger, just in order to survive. His family would have been out there for four days by now. Every day mattered. He needed to get out of this damn cave as quickly as possible.


    He groaned as he pushed the blankets off him and sat up, the pool of worries forming into a dense ball of stress. It was always with him lately, living there in his stomach as an unwanted guest, seeming to get heavier and pull at him from inside whenever he thought of the world outside of his cave. The distraction of training or meditation were the only things that could stop him from focusing on it.


    Barry got up with a sunken expression on his face, shuffling over towards his Totem with a deep sigh. He tried not to think about the fact that a chip attached to his brain was processing the order as he chose his breakfast. Basic consumables like food and water were included in the weekly 50 Value subscription fee, so he didn¡¯t have to pay.


    He perked up a bit as he looked intently at the device, its thin, circular sheet of dark metal connected to the central rod which was supported by three long claws that were dug firmly into the ground. The soft orange light at the top of the pole started blinking to indicate its activity, then there was a puff of hot air as the bowl appeared on the metal plateau. He couldn¡¯t help but shake his head in disbelief. Five days had not yet been enough to get used to it.


    It was his usual breakfast, a large portion of warm oats with fresh fruit, granola and some yogurt. Pokka had said the food came from some advanced storage facility, but wouldn¡¯t share the location nor any more details about the teleportation. He¡¯d wondered if there might be some damaging radiation involved in the process, but if there was, he certainly couldn¡¯t taste it. That would be the least of his worries, anyway.


    After breakfast, it was time for his usual training cycle, which took place in the virtual world created by his training goggles. Despite thinking of them as goggles, they were more like an open-topped helmet, covering his face from his upper lip up to his hairline and wrapping around his head with a handy clicking mechanism to close them on the back.


    Before putting on the VR helmet, Barry went through the habitual motions of attaching the many straps of the Fixer Upper around his legs, arms and torso. The interaction of those two devices together with his PE node led to a hyper-realistic training experience. The medical device would engage his muscles, the helmet affecting his senses while the PE node tied everything together. As a result, he¡¯d get the full benefits from anything he trained in the virtual environment, including muscle memory and reflexes.


    Once he heard the click of the VR helmet closing, there were a few seconds of darkness followed by disorientation as he went from sitting in a cave to standing on his feet in a square white room, the walls about fifteen feet apart. He barely had time to get his bearings before the countdown started, five tones sounding every second, increasing in pitch until the final shrill signal came.


    Without delay, small hatches opened at random locations across the walls and sent black marbles flying at him. There was no pattern to the shots, at least none that he¡¯d been able to discern. The goal of the exercise was simply to use his senses and reflexes to dodge as many of the little balls as possible.


    He tilted his head to the right to narrowly dodge one that he saw coming straight at him, hearing it zip past his left ear, then stepped back to allow another one to fly right in front of his chest, having come from his left side.


    When the marbles reached the opposite side, again a piece of the wall would open and close in a fraction of a second, like a tiny sliding door allowing the marble back in. This added another layer of difficulty, as Barry couldn¡¯t just rely on the sound of the hatches opening and closing to sense if a marble might be launched from a blind spot.


    He swerved his head from left to right to scan the room, hopped over a low shot, pivoted on his left foot, bending over with his arms in front and right leg stretched back for balance as a series of marbles flew over him in a neat row.


    He tried not to focus on any single point, instead depending on his peripheral vision and trusting his reflexes as he twirled around. Sometimes he would end up too close to one side and had to rush back to the middle to avoid being struck at a short distance.


    As he came back down from a high jump, he grunted as a marble hit him in the small of his back, sending a shock of pain up his torso. The frequency was increasing now, and he grit his teeth as another hit him in the calf, pushing down on the anger, trying not to lose his focus.


    He had to mind the floor as well now, carefully dancing around the fallen marbles. As he saw a wave of at least a dozen marbles shooting towards him from one side, he managed an impressive jump, bringing his legs forward and up to touch his hands as the black balls passed right underneath him. But then, as he was coming down, he was hit in the ribs from either side. He shouted with pain as he whirled around desperately, but then another one hit him straight between the eyes and it was like a match struck the pool of gasoline that had been quietly building in his chest, igniting it into a wild blaze of rage.


    Face contorted with rage, he bared his teeth as he snatched the falling marble out of the air and roared as he flung it toward the wall it had come out of, tanking multiple shots as he did so. He cursed as he realized, through his anger, that he wouldn¡¯t be able to dodge anymore and dropped down to the ground, tucking his knees in and covering his head with his arms against the onslaught of marbles.


    After being pelted for ten more seconds, again a loud tone sounded through the room, lower in pitch this time, signaling the end of the exercise. Barry pushed himself up to sit with his arms draped over his knees, groaning in pain.


    ¡°You failed to dodge 25 out of 150 projectiles this time.¡± It was Pokka¡¯s voice, though the old man was nowhere to be seen. He somehow had access to the VR goggles.


    Barry nodded to himself with a grimace, the anger having left him as quickly as it grew. The result was slightly better than the last session. Probably because he¡¯d had the clarity to throw himself down to the ground when he lost his focus this time. But that was just a way of doing minor damage control. He knew that what he actually needed to do was to get a grip on his anger.


    ¡°I know, I lost my temper again. You don¡¯t need to say it.¡± He sighed, leaning his forehead on his right hand, staring at the ground.


    ¡°You know, the irony is that I actually have plenty of experience with this issue. More than the average person, in any case. I learned a lot about anger management when I was younger.¡±


    He¡¯d been so angry in his teenage years, always raging internally against some perceived injustice, though in that time the anger mostly turned into panic attacks. It had taken years to work through those issues with Dr. Schulz, his old therapist, but he¡¯d made great progress.


    ¡°But none of those techniques are working now, at least not in the heat of the moment, you know? They usually involve breathing exercises, or some form of meditation at least. No time for that when I¡¯m dodging marbles or dodging a wolf¡¯s bites. I just can¡¯t get into the right mindset in those situations. The triggers used to be very different, mostly verbal. I guess I¡¯m not adjusted to dealing with the pain and high intensity situations yet.¡±


    Pokka hummed pensively, and Barry could picture him slowly stroking his beard.


    ¡°We must find a way to remedy this. I will look into it. Perhaps my new psych module will finally show some use.¡±


    Pokka might just be the last person in the universe he¡¯d turn to for psychological advice, but he didn¡¯t voice his concern. If only he could visit Dr. Schulz again, or just listen to her soothing voice. He missed that calming office, with its comfortable chairs, the feeling of being understood and accepted.


    But she was not here to help him. He¡¯d have to figure something out by himself.


    With a sigh, he forced himself to get up, knowing it was time for the next session.


    With a flash of light, his surroundings changed, and he found himself standing on top of a hill looking out over an obstacle course. The sky was a cloudless, monotone gray expanse. Again, the countdown started without delay, Barry getting into position as the shrill notes sounded around him. The steeply descending dirt path in front of him seemed open, but he knew there was an invisible pane of force that would hold him back until the final signal.


    The countdown ended and he sprinted forward, quickly picking up speed as he moved down the path towards the concrete wall in front of him. As he reached it, he spaced his last steps carefully so that his right foot would hit the wall high and he pushed off, transferring his forward momentum upwards.


    He was just able to catch the lowest handhold, a rough hole in the gray stone that offered ample resistance. Pulling himself up and then bracing his feet against the concrete to reach the next one, he had to repeat this movement twice until he was at the top.


    Sitting atop the wall with one leg on each side, he could now see the rest of the trail. Below, there were a series of poles sticking out of a thick, viscous black fluid, their tops just wide enough for one of his feet. He¡¯d have to leap from pole to pole to get across to the other side, where another wall waited for him. It was slightly higher than the one he was sitting on top of, filled with holes that could be used to climb up, but there were wooden stakes popping out at random times, like a giant game of Whac-A-Mole.


    He¡¯d run this particular obstacle course before, so he knew to be careful not to miss his landing here. Once you got covered in the black tar, the rest of the parcours became nigh impossible to finish.


    Barry took a few quick breaths as he slung his foot over the wall, then pushed himself over, bracing his heels and hands against the wall to reduce his speed as he slid down. He grabbed blindly behind him, palms pressed against the wall, trying to find a handhold to stop his descent, but he missed. He decided to push off the wall instead, aiming for a cluster of poles. He came down hard, landing in a split with each foot on one of the pillars, his torso bent forward and arms stretched out to grab onto another one with both hands for additional support. The old Barry would have torn a ligament at least, but his body was a lot tougher now, able to withstand the force of the landing. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    It took some awkward gymnastics to climb onto the pillar he was holding onto, but then he was back on his feet, crossing the network of poles with elegant leaps. Without hesitation he climbed up the next wall, careful to dodge the stakes that jabbed out of the holes. The only warning was a slight clicking sound before they came out, which he¡¯d gotten better at reacting to, partly thanks to the marble training. He hung back as far as possible while moving up, keeping his torso far away from the stakes. It was cumbersome and slowed him down, but it paid off as he made his way up with just a few scratches on his hands and feet.


    Beyond this wall was a trapeze, the white bar suspended from ropes that went up in the air with no end in sight. Further ahead and down, there was a long set of monkey bars, leading to another wall. Below, the whole area between the two walls was covered in long, metallic spikes.


    Barry swallowed dry spit as he looked down at the field of gleaming spikes. He could feel drops of sweat rolling down his temple, the rough concrete against his skin, the way it caught the fabric of his pants. Despite being a virtual world, it was full of vivid details. Pain was only slightly muted here. If he fell, how long would he have to endure the agony of being impaled by the spikes? A mortal wound would cause a reset after a single second, but if the spikes didn¡¯t pierce any vital organs, would the system wait for him to bleed out?


    He took deep breaths, fighting against his fear and survival instincts which were screaming at him not to jump. He knew he could do it, he¡¯d made it last time after all, but one small mistake would leave him violently skewered.


    There was no space for a running start on top of the wall, so he forced himself to stand up, squatting down a few times in preparation, eyes locked on the distant trapeze. Taking a series of short breaths and then, determined, he jumped with all his might, launching himself several yards up and forward, before falling in an arc towards the white bar. He felt a spike of fear as he realized his trajectory would take him slightly too far, his feet pointed towards the trapeze as he approached. He tried to land on top of it, gripping the ropes to either side, but his momentum was too strong and his feet slipped right off the bar. Desperate, he flipped his hands around so that his palms were facing backward, grabbing at the bar as he slipped over and fell past. With a painful jerk to his shoulders, he came to a stop, holding on with all his strength.


    Panic gave way to relief as he swung forward, his sweaty hands feeling slick against the lacquered iron bar, but his grip was unmovable. Still, he took the time to release each hand in turn, wiping it dry against his shirt, then gripping the bar again in a better position, palm facing forward. He built up momentum by swinging his feet until he was far enough, then once again he let himself fly towards the monkey bars below.


    He landed well this time and moved on without pause, using his forward momentum to cross the long row of bars towards the wall, legs swinging a dozen feet over the sharp spikes below. His past self would have struggled to move this distance just with the power of his arms and back, but with his increased Strength it was hardly a challenge.


    Soon, he was staring up at the next wall, feeling resolved to make it further than he did last time. It was made of what he thought was some kind of marble, deep black with a glossy finish. Without the evenly spaced handholds that stood out on the otherwise flat surface, it would be impossible to climb. The main danger on this wall was that every few seconds, a set of razor thin blades would streak horizontally across. It was possible to fit in between two of them only when he was lying flat, legs and torso stretched out to the side. The set of blades would always maintain the same spacing, but it would move down a few feet in between each trigger, so that he couldn¡¯t just stay in the same place.


    As if that wasn¡¯t enough, at certain intervals he had to solve a puzzle before the next set of handholds would appear. He could see the first one already, the bright touch screen embedded about eight yards up, its white light reflecting off the surrounding marble.


    After taking a moment to get used to the timing, he jumped up right as the bottom set of long blades silently passed him, their movement nearly too fast to track. After taking three seconds to climb as quickly as he could, he moved his feet up to find purchase on one of the handles to his right, bracing his core so that he was planking sideways on the wall. As soon as the blades passed by again, looking like cruel, oversized box cutters, he scrambled to move up once more.


    Barry repeated this three times before he managed to pull himself up to the screen, chest heaving and sweat dripping from his hair. He could only catch a glimpse of the puzzle before he had to move back into a side plank. There were a series of five changing shapes and he had to figure out the pattern and choose the right shape, out of four options, that should be next. It was the kind of exercise that required clear, logical thought, which Barry had found to be quite hard when you were frantically trying not to be cut into pieces.


    Every time the blades passed, he had about three seconds to stare at the screen, trying to memorize the shapes, before having to move back down and to the side. The third time, he nearly forgot to take into account the set of blades moving downwards and adjusted his position right at the last second. His left side had dipped just a fraction too low, and the razor sheared a ribbon of fabric and skin clean off his shoulder. Barry let out a long grunt of pain and frustration, the images now gone from his head, and then he had to move again to dodge the next set.


    Instead of moving back to the screen, he took some time with minimal movement between cycles, focusing on getting into the right mindset. He got into a rhythm then, of moving slightly down or slightly upwards to keep his body in the right position, which took up less of his attention. Aiming to keep his body moving on autopilot, he moved up again, focusing only on the puzzle in front of him.


    After another two cycles, the pattern became clear, it seemed so obvious now, and he moved to select the right answer, forced to press his nose to the screen as both hands were needed to keep him steady. He barked out a short, victorious laugh as the screen lit up in green and the next group of flat, ribbed handles pushed out from the section above.


    It was only as he got to climbing again, that he noticed the handles were spaced out further than they had been on the section before. When getting into his side plank position, he could only just barely reach the next handhold over with the tips of his feet. As he moved himself into position to dodge the next set of blades, his foot slipped off so that his legs swung down again. Knowing he was out of time to swing back, he instead pulled himself up and went to tuck his legs to his chest, allowing the blade to pass underneath. He felt light as he pulled himself up, moving up much faster than expected, wondering if the adrenaline was giving him another boost in strength. Then, he felt confused and increasingly light headed as his body didn¡¯t seem to be entirely in the right position. Shouldn¡¯t he be feeling his legs against his chest?


    He looked down to see a rope hanging down where his legs were supposed to be, red and white and all bunched up. What was that doing there? Then he noticed the blood streaming down from the sides of his stomach, the gaping absence of his bottom half, which he now noticed lying down next to the wall, bunched up in an unnatural position. Those were his legs, he recognized them now, but they looked so weird, he¡¯d never seen them from a distance. They were surrounded by a growing puddle of blood and gore, but he didn¡¯t feel the horror, could barely process it as he slipped away from the wall and the darkness closed in.


    Then he was back on his feet, no trace of pain, as he reappeared in the next room, but the images were fresh in his mind. He felt sick to his stomach as he processed them with full mental clarity, cupping his hand over his mouth, whispering curses in between heavy breaths. He shook his head, rubbed at his eyes, but still he saw his bloody entrails hanging down from his open stomach, his own legs lying broken on the stone floor, and it was all he could do not to break down in tears.


    Barry let out an anguished, primal cry, bursting with desperation, as the familiar race track countdown tones began. He was standing in an empty, white space, and only now did he realize he was still in virtual reality, still needed to complete the tests. He tried to focus as the test began, aching for a distraction.


    This was a cognitive exercise. The white room would change to an entirely different environment, a frozen picture of some landscape or scenario, which he was meant to study. First he¡¯d be given about a dozen seconds, but the time would get progressively shorter as the exercise progressed. He would then either have to answer questions about details of that environment, or to point out the spots where predators were hidden, waiting to strike.


    It did not go well. Barry just wasn¡¯t able to get past the vivid memories of being cut in half, and his bitterness grew with each incorrect answer. None of this was fair. Why did he have to put himself through this torture every day? The exercises felt impossible, like he was just set up to fail. At the very least he should be allowed to add to his Stats. With extra Speed and Perception, he would have been able to avoid that final blade. And what was the point of looking at a picture of a panther hiding in a bush, when what he should be doing is getting stronger? How was any of this actually going to bring him closer to his family?


    These thoughts kept roiling in his mind and by the time the exercise finished, Barry was fuming, carrying a deep frown and a hateful look in his eyes. He didn¡¯t even bother to listen to the result of the test. Knowing that the wolf was up next, it was easy to just let his anger grow instead of trying to control it, allowing it to wash away his other feelings. He didn¡¯t care that Pokka wanted him to practice his lunges and footwork, he didn¡¯t have time for all that finesse and detail. Right now, he just wanted to kill the damn beast.


    As soon as he was brought to the desert landscape, he spotted the wolf in the distance and headed straight for it, taking off at a jog. His right hand was clenched around a shortspear, the weapon feeling remarkably light as he picked up his speed. The large beast was moving in his direction as well, running along with an elegant, loping gait. It looked exactly the same as before, covered in thick gray fur with streaks of black, the size of a large dog, easily taller than him if it were to stand on its hind paws. Barry ran faster still, accelerating to a mad sprint, arms pumping by his sides.


    The wolf hesitated, then stopped, looking at him warily. Barry roared as he closed in, and it decided to avoid a head-on collision, running to the side. He swerved to the left as well, wildly grabbing at it with his left hand, but the wolf was more agile, smoothly changing directions each time he got close.


    With a growl of frustration, Barry dived forward, left hand stretched out, and managed to grab the end of its tail as he fell with his stomach to the ground. The wolf snarled as it moved its head around, biting at his hand, but Barry refused to let go, savagely stabbing at it with his shortspear despite his awkward position, but only striking glancing blows at the back of its legs. He moved his knees forward, aiming to get his feet underneath him and lift the wolf up so he could get a good strike in, but then it got its teeth around his wrist and he was forced to let go. It leaped aside to gain some distance, then began to circle him, but he moved towards it without hesitation, knees bent, spear and bloody hand held in front, ready for violence.


    It led him on a chase again, moving around him easily, so Barry decided to change tactics. Shifting the grip on his weapon as he ran after it, he waited for the right moment, then stopped and flung the spear at it, hitting it in its hind leg. It yelped and twisted around as he ran at it again. He¡¯d expected it to continue fleeing, but instead it leaped at him, going straight for his throat. His instincts had gotten better after being killed by the wolf several times before, managing to raise his left arm in time to catch the bite as he fell onto his back. Again, he was ready for it and quickly twisted onto his side, shoving at it with all his strength. The wolf flipped to the side and hit the ground, jaws firmly closed around his forearm, but still he crawled on top of it, driving his right arm into its throat and pushing down. Their faces were nearly pushed together then, panting and growling at each other


    Barry felt the wolf bite down harder on his arm and pushed down on its throat with more force in response, cutting off its air supply. It pushed and scratched at him, raking its claws across his stomach and thighs. Snarling, Barry bit at its throat, its musky scent filling his nostrils as he tried to push his teeth past its thick fur. It writhed and dug at him more frantically in turn, pushing with its powerful paws, opening its jaw slightly before biting down again.


    His left arm shifted as it sunk its teeth into his wrist and tore at it. Barry screamed as he felt his bone break and couldn''t help but push away, pulling his arm toward him. The wolf obliged and let go, using the opportunity to push him off balance. He stared at his arm in shock, seeing flaps of skin hanging loose, exposing the flesh underneath, thick sprays of blood pumping from his artery  As he fell off, the beast jumped on him again, mercilessly going for his throat. He got his legs up just in time and kicked at it, hitting it in the ribs with enough force that it landed three feet to his left on its side, spear still sticking out of its behind.


    Already feeling lightheaded, Barry forced himself up, knowing he didn''t have much time left. The wolf was already in position and leapt at him again, but he was ready for it, ducking down just in time, grabbing for the spear with his right hand as it crashed into him. The pain from his arm was excruciating and Barry cried out again as the two tumbled across the ground, but he kept a firm grip on the weapon. They came to a stop in an awkward position, facing each other side to side, Barry trailing a bit behind, but he wasted no time in jerking the spear out of its leg and thrusting it into its underbelly. The wolf yelped and scrambled up to lunge at him, but he fell back and pushed it up with his legs, keeping it at a distance while he drove the weapon deeper into the wolf''s body. As it made to get free from him, he clenched his legs around its torso, giving it free range to bite at him, but he knew he would do worse. A splash of blood fell from its stomach as he pulled the spear out, then stabbed again, this time aiming underneath the ribs. It was biting madly at his legs but he could barely feel the pain, his limbs already growing numb. The wolf''s strength also seemed to be fading, its movements growing weaker and less furious. It fell to his side, one of his legs caught underneath. He forced himself up, white spots crowding his vision, barely feeling his body but still stabbing at it. He moved slowly, his breathing shallow and mouth hanging open in exhaustion. Still he continued, slowly thrusting the spear once, twice, three times and then he let himself drop back to stare up at the blue sky, spear dropping to the ground.


    Barry felt strangely at peace as he lay there, the wolf beside him, both bleeding out like fallen companions.


    ¡°Now¡­ you know¡­ what it feels like.¡± He whispered finally with a faint grin on his pale face, and then his eyes fell shut.

 9. Bad Hair Day

    Kobe reflected that perhaps the old folks weren¡¯t so useless after all. Some of them, at least. He wrapped his knuckles against the black shin guards, tied snugly around his legs. They felt good. Sturdy and reliable. The dark surface reflecting the warm, flickering light of his torch contrasted starkly with his white sneakers below.


    Another one of the elderly had come up with the torch, while Marie had fashioned the shin guards. Apparently, the bushtrees had sap inside of them which could be easily extracted once you cut a path through the prickly branches to the central trunk. They¡¯d soaked some fabric in it, then tied it around one end of a stick, resulting in a torch that would burn for hours. The old man hadn¡¯t gotten any Value rewards like Marie did. They¡¯d have to do a lot more testing to figure out what the pattern was.


    He grabbed his spear, got up from where he was sitting and walked quietly along the area between the camp and the river. It wouldn¡¯t do to let one of the centipedes through while he was on watch. He had to set an example.


    Kobe sighed as he heard faint sobs coming from the sleeping area. Too many people had fallen into helplessness. They¡¯d been here for over a week now, but they would just sit by the firepit, too scared to venture out, then cry themselves to sleep at night. How would that improve the situation? What would it teach the children? It was just pathetic.


    He¡¯d often thought that discipline was a dividing line between people. Some lacked it completely and would just spend entire days lying on the couch. Others had just enough to get by, and they would move through life like water flowed down to the sea, always following the path of least resistance. Then, there were the rare few who wouldn¡¯t be satisfied without improving themselves and the world around them.


    He wasn¡¯t sure which category he belonged to. Dericka, however, was clearly in the latter group. While everyone was reeling from what had happened, she seemed to have just barreled through the existential crisis and kept on going. She¡¯d pulled them all together, set clear short term goals, got them focused on the immediate future. Got them functioning again. Made sure everyone was alright. The woman somehow always seemed to be brimming with positive energy, despite their dire circumstances.


    There was a rustle in the grass and he swung around, holding his torch out to the side so as not to blind himself. He thought he could make out a black shape in the darkness, slithering towards him. As it got closer, he heard the faint clicking of the centipede¡¯s many limbs. He tossed the torch down in its path, gripping his spear with both hands, then stabbed down as it moved around the flame. The wooden spear slid off its plated body and the centipede promptly moved the front of its body up, striking at him like a snake.


    It scratched and bit at his right leg, but it couldn¡¯t get through the shin guard. Before it had a chance to move around, he stepped on its body with his left foot, then pulled his right leg back to get the centipede off. As it fell to the ground he quickly stepped on it, pinning its head to the ground. It was more powerful than he¡¯d expected, squirming underneath his feet, but he had it locked down. Its carapace was already starting to crack under his weight. Kobe then started stabbing down next to his right foot again, knowing that he needed to crush its head to kill it. It took about a dozen thrusts before he got the notification and he stepped back, breathing heavy as he looked it over.


    Nice Kill!


    Threat level: Tier 1


    Subject VT level: Tier 1


    Value awarded: 3 (3 Base, no Multipliers)


    He was sitting at 47 Value now, and for what felt like the hundredth time today, he went to browse through the System Store.


    The cheapest Abilities started at 120 Value, so those were still out of reach for now. He¡¯d had to read through them multiple times, but he was finally getting a sense of the possibilities there. The categories were quite theoretical and the Ability descriptions often technical, but he¡¯d had enough physics classes to understand the basics. He reckoned that Radiant and Mechanical Energy would be better for defensive uses, with offensive capabilities being possible but less practical. For Electrical Energy on the other hand, it was hard to imagine defensive uses. Perhaps a magnetic field could be used to block bullets, but it seemed very unlikely that they¡¯d be fighting against guns. The offensive use would still be tricky since electrical currents could be hard to predict, but there were a few Abilities that had piqued his interest.


    But that was for later. A better strategy would be to invest in Stats in the short term, then taking down higher Tier monsters to collect enough Value for Abilities. It would cost only 5 Value per Stat point to bring them up to 10, after which the cost would double. Spending the Value to bring at least their Speed, Strength and Durability to 10 seemed like a no-brainer to him.


    Except for the fact that they needed a map, which was 100 Value. Actually, what they now really needed was a Fixer Upper to heal Dmitriy and Robert, but with a cost of over 200 Value, he thought they wouldn¡¯t be able to get it in time. As a back-up solution, after scouring the System Store, Dericka had found a shot of penicillin. By itself, it cost only 20 Value, but there was an added transport cost of 30 Value since they didn¡¯t have a Matter Allocation Focus Totem. It would set them back, but it might be necessary to buy it anyway if the two men¡¯s fever didn¡¯t break soon. Robert, in particular, had been looking in bad shape.


    Saving lives took precedence over other priorities, of course. The map would benefit the entire group and allow them to start moving towards a stationary MAFT, which would solve many of their problems. It would be the right choice. The moral choice. That much was obvious.


    So why did he spend most of his time looking over the mundane items? Again, he¡¯d opened the System Store tab, fantasizing about how nice it would be to have a proper mattress, instead of that collection of branches and leaves. Or a change of clothes, finally. There was even a high tech cleaning unit, which was 20 Value in addition to the transportation cost. Once connected to a water source, it would allow everyone to take regular showers. Most people didn¡¯t dare approach the river anymore after the centipede attack, so they¡¯d start looking and smelling even worse.


    The truth was, he was miserable. They had been here for nine days. In all that time, he hadn¡¯t once gotten a decent night¡¯s sleep. They didn¡¯t even have a pot to boil water in, so he¡¯d barely eaten anything but unseasoned roasted rabbit. Luckily the water from the river was drinkable, or they would have probably all been dead by now. His clothes were starting to smell despite regular washing in the river, though not yet as bad as some of the others.


    It¡¯d be a lot easier to deal with this crappy new world if he at least had some basic comfort. He¡¯d fantasized about just getting the shower unit and pitching it as a great addition that everyone would benefit from, but no matter how he twisted his imagination, people would always react poorly. The mattress would be even worse. The only realistic option would be to head out by himself, find an isolated location, hunt rabbits and buy the stuff he wanted. People might say that''s insane, but was it, really? When faced with the apocalypse, trying to ride it out in a nice, remote mountain cabin seemed perfectly reasonable to him.


    He closed the interface as he heard someone jogging up to him. It was Elza, one of the two mothers in the group. She was on first guard duty as well. Her dirty blonde hair had gotten greasy enough that it had darkened slightly, but in terms of body odor she was in the top twenty five percent. That was just good enough that he didn¡¯t have to move away to keep speaking with her.


    ¡°Hey! I heard some noise from over here. Was it a centipede?¡± As she spotted the corpse beneath his feet, she took a step back and her face scrunched up in disgust.


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± She asked.


    ¡°Yeah, not a scratch. These shin guards are great. Just call me over if you see anything, it¡¯ll be a lot safer.¡±


    She nodded slowly, still keeping her eyes on the dead centipede, as if it might suddenly come back to life and lunge at her.


    There was a silent pause as she stood there, but just when it was about to turn awkward, they heard a commotion from the other side of the camp. More and more people seemed to be waking up and joining in, so they decided to head over.


    They found that Jim had returned, without the others. He didn¡¯t look in good shape, covered in mud, leaves and grass sticking to him, with dried blood on the side of his face. His clothes were shredded in places, deep scratches visible here and there through the ribbons. He was trying to catch his breath as people crowded around him, asking questions. Dericka ran up, calling out for people to give him space and let him catch his breath.


    ¡°Please take a moment, Jim, we¡¯ll listen whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± She said calmly.


    ¡°The other guys, they... I don¡¯t know if they... Oh, God.¡± Jim was still panting as the words came out and he closed his eyes tightly, rubbing his hand over his head.


    Kobe noticed that the top of Jim¡¯s head  was bald, now. He hadn¡¯t been bald before, he was sure of it. His hair had stayed remarkably clean, and only now he realized that Jim must have been wearing a toupet, which was gone now.


    ¡°Take it easy. From the start. You all went into the forest?¡± Dericka put her hand on his shoulder, her expression full of sympathy and understanding.


    ¡°The forest, yeah. It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s not safe.¡± He was staring at the ground still, but then he seemed to come to himself, looking up and taking a deep breath.


    ¡°We went in.¡± He nodded, took another deep breath.


    ¡°We wanted to get a good measure of the place this time. So we had to go in deeper. But we were careful, moved real slow. Eyes in all directions, watchin¡¯ each other¡¯s backs. At first, there were just some bugs. Normal sized ones. Didn¡¯t attack us or anything. Then, there was a squirrel.¡± Jim started coughing, and one of the people offered up one of the few plastic bottles they had.


    Jim drank greedily from the water, as if he¡¯d only now realized how thirsty he was. Dericka directed him to sit down on a log by the fire, the rest huddling around. Kobe was happy to take a spot in the back, not too close to the rest of the crowd. He smiled as he spotted Tasha on the other side of the fire, entirely focused on taking that snake-like creature apart. It looked like she was finally getting through its tough skin. She¡¯d taken to it with a passion after they got back. He wasn¡¯t sure she¡¯d even noticed the commotion.


    ¡°As I was saying, there was a squirrel, though it wouldn¡¯t be wrong to call it a Gremlin either. ¡®Bout the size of a small cat, but nastier. All claws and teeth. Soon as it spotted us, it went straight for us, same like the rabbits. We saw it come flyin¡¯ from the tree and Sato knocked it clean out of the air. We all went for it with the spears. William got the kill, said it was 8 Value, four times two.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°So it¡¯s a Mid Green zone then?¡± Someone called out.


    ¡°That¡¯s what we thought.¡± Jim said with a sigh. ¡°We were about to head back when we noticed a steep hill ahead. We agreed to head up, see if we could get a better view of the surroundings. Turns out it was more like a plateau than a hill. But when we got up, there was another¡­ Thing. Animal, I guess. A walking shell of some sort. I thought it was some kind of mutated turtle, but the shell was all rock like. No feet or head visible, just a large, dark shell, moving slowly. Come to think of it, it looked more like an oyster than a turtle. A really big one, about the size of a hula hoop.¡± Jim paused and gestured with his hands to indicate how large it was.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t decide to retreat?¡± Dericka prompted after a moment, Jim seeming lost in thought.


    ¡°We should have. But no, we didn¡¯t. We were curious, and the thing was slow. We poked it with our spears a couple times, but nothing happened. Its shell was tough as rock. We kicked at it, still nothing. Finally, William decided to try and flip it over. Then, as soon as he touched it, he spasmed and fell down, like he¡¯d been tasered or somethin¡¯.¡±


    Jim had started speaking faster, his voice shaking slightly. There were gasps of surprise, people looking shocked or confused. Kobe wondered at the threat level of that thing. They¡¯d been told that certain creatures may develop special abilities, not unlike what their PE Nodes were capable of doing, but he¡¯d assumed that would only happen at higher levels. He also remembered that a zone¡¯s threat level was not necessarily the same as each of the creatures in it. An area that was filled with a variety of dangerous Mid to Dark Green level monsters, might altogether be ranked as Yellow. Could that be the case in this forest? Again, the only way to be certain would be from a map.


    ¡°Of course, we held the thing back and quickly dragged him off, but then¡­ There were these plants. I think they¡¯d started growing around us, or maybe we just hadn¡¯t noticed them before. But they had these beautiful red flowers, sprouting from the ground or hanging from vines. They were giving off some kind of pollen. These clouds of yellow dust were growing and they covered some of the way we¡¯d come. Sato called out to get away, not to breathe the dust. William got back to his feet and we made to go round the, ah, oyster thing. But then there were more of those damn squirrels and it.. There was just chaos.¡± Jim shook his head, grimacing. Everyone was looking at him, expressions tense and horrified. The two little girls had woken up and wandered over at some point, but Elza was guiding them back to their sleeping spots.


    ¡°The oyster was slowly approaching from our left flank, we had the pollen behind us and then the squirrels were comin¡¯ in from above. I jumped back. Two landed between us, one of ¡®em running straight at me. Another might have landed on Sato, I think. Damn squirrel kept coming at me, and I kept backing away as I kicked and poked at it. I heard Sato shout to run and the others took off.  I realized too late I¡¯d gone all the way to the cloud of pollen, and when I looked back the squirrel jumped on me and scratched me up. I tried to get it off, stumbled back, right into the pollen, then moved faster, just tryin¡¯ to get out. I didn¡¯t see the hill, stumbled over a rock and went rolling down.¡± Jim was shaking as he told this part, struggling to hold back tears.


    ¡°The squirrel had let go as we fell, but as soon as I got up it went after me again, so I just..¡± He broke down into a sob then, holding his head in his hands. Dericka went over to squeeze his shoulder.


    ¡°I ran. Oh God. I left them behind.¡± The words came out in between heaving sobs, his voice laden with sadness and regret. Dericka started reassuring and comforting him, and a few others joined in as well, saying it was not his fault and that he did the right thing.


    Kobe kept his distance, not wanting to get drawn into the emotional turmoil. It was obvious from the start that this would not be good news, but still his desperation grew as the story progressed. Sato, William and Andy were probably dead, which reinforced the harsh reality of their situation. They had nowhere to go. Again, it all came back to the same conclusion. They urgently needed more Value. That idle fantasy, of simply walking off, to hide somewhere and just sleep for days on a decent mattress, was looking ever more attractive.


    He wandered towards the river, lost in thought, then decided to check in on Dmitriy and Robert, conscious that everyone was distracted. Jim had resumed his story and Kobe could still make out what the man was saying. After Jim¡¯s tumble down the hill, he¡¯d had to sprint out of the forest to stop squirrels from chasing after him. He¡¯d then basically collapsed on the grass, feeling lethargic, barely able to move. This was presumably the effect from the spores that the plants had released. It had taken him a few hours to recover, which explained why he¡¯d returned so late.


    A few people had started to cry along with Jim, though he wasn¡¯t sure whether it was for the men who might have lost their lives, or because of their desperate situation. Though only a few had said it out loud, he knew many had hoped that this expedition would finally turn things around. It was clear that they needed better shelter and other sources of food. They needed better and faster ways to gain Value. Perhaps most of all, they needed hope. Any reason at all, flimsy though it may be, to believe that things would get better soon.


    He approached quietly and squatted down next to Dmitriy, looking the burly man over. His skin was looking less pale, his breathing was steady. Kobe thought he was sweating less as well. It actually looked like the fever had mostly broken and he might be pulling through on his own. Kobe smiled. They could all do with a bit of good news.


    He got up and shuffled over to Robert who was lying a few yards to the left. Despite the older man being further away from the light of the fire, already during his approach Kobe could tell he was not looking good. As he again squatted down and looked him over, a feeling of nervous alarm came over him. Kobe desperately looked for a sign that he was wrong, eyes darting across the man¡¯s body, from his eyes to his chest and back to his mouth. But Robert¡¯s face remained completely colorless, his entire body rigid and unmoving.


    The man was dead. The feeling of alarm grew and Kobe had to look away as he forced himself again to think that thought. To admit the truth. Robert was dead. The man had passed away. He was sitting next to a corpse, now.


    He got up and turned away, started to pace nervously back and forth with his hands on his hips as he tried to settle his thoughts and emotions. There was a range of different emotions , none of them pleasant, woven together into a vexing, anxious feeling.


    There was just a hint of sadness. He hadn¡¯t known the man very well after all, but still along with that came a load of guilt, a sense that he should be thinking of the man himself instead of the consequences of his death. But still, his focus kept turning to how this would impact the group, to how to deal with the body, even. Then came a wave of frustration as he thought of how most people would react, with sadness and grief, helplessness and desperation. Those were all understandable, of course, appropriate even, but that wasn¡¯t what they needed, which was the burning urgency to act, which he was starting to feel now, because clearly, they hadn¡¯t done enough.


    Again, a wave of guilt and frustration as he landed on that reflection. They hadn¡¯t done enough. They should have done more. They had to do more, now, or they¡¯d keep losing people like this. Something had to change.


    He took a few deep breaths, settling himself, then bent down, pulling the large scarf that Robert had been using as a blanket up to cover his head.


    As he turned back to the group by the fire, he could already hear raised voices.


    ¡°I told you, it¡¯s the apocalypse. Judgment day. The demons are gonna pick us off, one by one.¡± One of the older men. Actually, the only older man that was left, now that Robert was dead.


    ¡°What are we going to do?¡± The words were drawn out in an anguished cry that came from one of the women, sat down on the ground, crying with her head in her hands.


    ¡°Do you think they¡¯re dead? Is there any chance they could survive in that hellish forest?¡± Elza was asking Jim, the insensitive question again causing him to break down in tears.


    ¡°We should have gone north with Agatha, I told you. I told you all a hundred times.¡± He thought that was Marie, who¡¯d made the shin guards, but it was hard to make out in the rising clamor.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go with her then, you stubborn old goat?¡± The old man grumbled at a lower volume. Kobe could only hear because he was coming right up behind the man.


    Dericka was trying to get everyone to calm down, with no success, and Kobe caught her eyes flickering from face to face as she wrung her hands. It was the first time he¡¯d seen her nervous. He caught her eye as he walked up and she gave him a surprised look. She must have caught something from his expression.


    ¡°Should we go after them?¡± Elza again, voice shaking with anxiety.


    ¡°People, listen up.¡± Kobe tried to cut through the hubbub, then once again, raising his hands ¡°Everyone, please.¡±


    He gritted his teeth when that also didn¡¯t work, and finally shouted ¡°Guys!¡±.


    Everyone broke off and looked at him then, most looking startled at the anger in his voice.


    He kept his eyes on Dericka as he spoke.


    ¡°It¡¯s Robert. He¡¯s¡­ Passed away.¡±


    A few counts of silence, followed by shocked reactions. He could see the emotions flitting across Dericka¡¯s face and wondered how she went through them so quickly. Eyes first widening with shock and realization, her face then softening, eyebrows drooping to the side with sadness, followed by closing her eyes in acceptance and finally her jaw setting as she opened them again.


    A few people went over to Robert¡¯s body. One of the women was crying again. Jim just sat, staying out in front of him with a hollow look in his eyes.


    ¡°I should head out tomorrow with some other volunteers, to hunt the snake dogs. Two others would probably be best.¡±


    He swallowed as he felt fear welling up at the memory of the last fight. He¡¯d come so close to death. If he¡¯d just been a few feet closer, or if one of those things had been waiting in the wheat field and struck at him, or if he hadn¡¯t leapt on its head in the nick of time¡­ He balled his fists to suppress a shudder.


    Dericka looked him over and he noticed her eyes flicking to his hands for just a moment. ¡°You¡¯re right to be upset. But let¡¯s not make rash decisions.¡±


    ¡°The time for exploring is over. We need to be focusing all our efforts on gathering Value now, Dericka.¡± His voice was firm but tense, the words coming out faster than usual.


    ¡°I agree.¡± Dericka spoke slowly and deliberately, leaving long pauses as if carefully considering her words. Her face was relaxed, but she didn¡¯t carry her usual, patient smile. Her eyes gave him a feeling of reluctant acceptance, perhaps. She felt more like a soldier now, resigned to a long march.


    ¡°Hunting the snakes is high risk, high reward. Very high risk, if we¡¯re being honest.¡±


    ¡°We could make some kind of shield, and-¡± Kobe interrupted, but Dericka held up her hand to show that she hadn¡¯t finished.


    ¡°There are other avenues we might take. Fashioning the shin guards is without risk, and it can still yield a good deal of Value. If we found a way to lure out the rabbits, or even the centipedes, it would still be significantly safer. Perhaps if we put a butchered rabbit by the bank of the river and let you take all the kills? Anyway, what I¡¯m trying to say is, let¡¯s be smart about it. Let¡¯s put all ideas together and decide on the best way forward.¡±


    Kobe deflated a bit as he listened, his shoulders lowering and fists unclenching. He felt relieved at the realization that she¡¯d been thinking about this as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s been a rough day. Tonight, let¡¯s just mourn Robert, and tomorrow we decide on a plan.¡± Dericka gave him a reassuring squeeze to his arm as she stepped by, moving to join some of the others that were crowding around Robert¡¯s corpse.


    Kobe felt slightly confused as she walked off. He¡¯d gone into this fully convinced that they should be taking whatever risk was needed to reach at least 80 Value tomorrow. Somehow, she¡¯d taken the fire right out of him and now he was left feeling like he¡¯d been unreasonable. He couldn¡¯t fault her logic, though. It would be better to make the decision in the morning.


    He looked over to Tasha, still sitting next to the pug-snake¡¯s corpse. It looked like she''d managed to remove the head and neck from the body. He knew how she could shut off the outside world when she was focused on a task, so he walked up to her to bring her the latest news.


    There was a moment of confusion as he saw her holding out her hand, palm facing upward, looking horrified up at the sky. Then, he let out a long, defeated groan as he felt it too. A few innocent little drops quickly turned into steady rainfall.


    The weather was finally turning on them.

 10. Fork in the Road

    ¡°What do you mean it doesn¡¯t count? I damn well killed it, didn¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Technically, it did expire three seconds before you did, but that¡¯s quite besides the point. It¡¯s a matter of upholding certain training standards.¡±


    ¡°The goal of that exercise was to kill the wolf. I killed it, so I passed.¡±


    The words came out in bits and pieces, accompanied by grunts of exertion as Barry moved through a series of spear thrusts. Pokka had insisted that he should practice outside of virtual reality as well, so he¡¯d gotten a short spear for a handful of Value, teleported into his cave through his trusted MAFT.


    ¡°A normal, unempowered human being, trained with the spear, should be able to take down a wolf with no or only minor injuries. You are half again as strong and durable as the top one percent of human beings. That makes your so-called achievement worthl-¡±


    Pokka broke off and rephrased his sentence in a way that Barry already knew to associate with his new Psych Module kicking in. It was meant to sensitize the combative AI to human emotions.


    ¡°It means you should set your standards higher. We can¡¯t settle for mutual destruction. Also, you¡¯re still doing it wrong, you need to step into the thrust and brace your core so as to maximize the force transfer to the tip of the spear.¡±


    Barry tried to adjust his posture, bringing his center of gravity down a bit and leaning forward as he stabbed, but it still felt awkward, like he was doing lunges while he happened to be holding a spear. Pokka shook his head, his projection standing out in the dimly lit cave, appearing bright and remaining untouched by the warm, orange light that painted the rest of the surroundings.


    ¡°I told you from the start that I¡¯m not a fighter, Pokka. But let¡¯s leave that aside for a moment. You said you¡¯d answer some questions after I killed that wolf. Even if you want to call it a technicality, I did kill it.¡± He¡¯d paused and turned towards Pokka, crossing his arms, small drops of sweat visible on his lean torso.


    The old man rolled his eyes.


    ¡°I suppose you did technically fulfill that requirement. Go ahead, then, ask your inane questions. But I won¡¯t disclose any classified information. And get back to your exercises. Try a series of fast thrusts this time, maximizing for speed.¡±


    Barry grinned victoriously as he got back to it. He still felt the relief of finally having finished that grueling VR training session. It had taken a mental toll on him. Pushing down the horrifying realization that he¡¯d have to do it all again soon, he focused instead on the movements for a while. Even jabs were surprisingly difficult to train. Finding the right balance between strength, speed and accuracy felt like threading a needle. He could only ever manage two out of three at the same time. As he repeated the movements and they became more automatic, he thought of which questions to ask.


    ¡°Okay, start with the weapons. You¡¯ve got all this advanced technology, and yet you have me training with weapons that even we haven¡¯t used in a hundred years.¡± He paused to catch his breath. ¡°How does that make sense?¡±


    ¡°The PE Node is the culmination of highly advanced technology and an excellent weapon. There is no better tool for war that we can give you. Some of those more primitive weapons that you invented, synergize well with the benefits you gain from increased Stats as well as with the PE Node. You should also consider that tools like a spear or sword were modified over the years to work well with the many limitations of human bodies.¡±


    ¡°Fair points. The PE Node is hard to use though. And look at how I keep fumbling this spear. If you gave me a laser rifle, I could just point and-¡±


    ¡°Lasers are a good tool, but not an effective weapon.¡± Pokka cut in. ¡°There are many scenarios in which they lose their effectiveness completely, such as being up against a reflective material. Simply put, if the thing you¡¯re shooting the laser at is not absorbent, it doesn¡¯t work. Launching solid projectiles at high speeds requires far less energy and is more effective.¡±


    ¡°So then if you gave me a gun-¡± Barry said, panting from the continued jabs.


    ¡°You¡¯re putting too much strength in the return movement. Focus the strength on pushing the spear past your imagined target, and pulling it back into position is an extension of that. As for the gun, with proper PE Node usage, one could be able to launch projectiles of different shapes and sizes while keeping their hands free. It is superior to a gun.


    ¡°The PE Node could let me shoot things? Where are those Abilities? Under Momentum?¡± He grunted as he tried to adjust his movements again.


    ¡°Yes. Using Momentum Abilities, you can actualize the Potential Energy into kinetic energy, choosing an amount and direction of force.¡±


    ¡°So why do you have me training with a spear then?¡± He turned his neck to look at Pokka with a deep frown, pausing for a moment.


    ¡°There are several reasons for that. First, you¡¯ve chosen to focus on other Abilities, for good reason. Just like with Waves or Light, effective usage of the Abilities under challenging conditions requires you to first develop an intuitive level of control, which takes time. You need to prioritize. Second, it is possible to use weapons like a spear while using Abilities at the same time. It¡¯s another tool in your toolbox, and a very important one. Finally, you will learn over time that there are ways to empower a blade which are not available in the same way for projectiles. Attempting to slay what you call a ¡®Roid-Bull¡¯ with projectiles would require a ludicrous amount of energy. An empowered precision strike with a spear is much more cost effective against an armored foe like that. But we¡¯re getting ahead of ourselves.¡±


    The old man paused, stroking his beard pensively for a moment.


    ¡°What you also don¡¯t yet know is that the Ulm are a highly adaptive species. It¡¯s common to encounter Ulm individuals that are effectively immune to certain kinds of attacks. Flexibility is key, which is what the PE Node offers, especially in conjunction with handheld weaponry.¡±


    Barry wasn¡¯t sure what to think of the close combat comments. He still couldn¡¯t imagine himself fighting monsters like that. His mind latched onto Pokka¡¯s comments about the Ulm instead, raising a host of new questions. What did the Ulm look like? How did they adapt so quickly? How advanced was their technology? The realization that they were talking about an actual advanced alien species was still overwhelming. Not just any alien species, but a hostile one that would come to invade them in a number of years, if Pokka¡¯s story was to be believed. It was, however, hard to take it seriously with everything that was going on. Why worry about long term problems, when you¡¯d likely be dead in a few months? Another thought occurred to him, then.


    ¡°Why do you need weapons at all? If you have the power to transform entire planets, to manipulate matter on a molecular level even, then why not use that directly?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not able to share further details on that, so I will just say that everything has its limitations.¡±


    Barry stopped moving through the jabs and frowned, seeming to think about it for a moment, but didn¡¯t comment any further.


    ¡°Oh by the way, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask you but I keep forgetting. What is this ¡®Ultimate Dodge¡¯ thing? I noticed it was mentioned as a reward for luring the Roid-Bull off the cliff, but I can¡¯t find it anywhere else in the interface.¡±


    Pokka let out an exaggerated sigh. ¡°I was hoping you wouldn¡¯t have noticed that.¡±


    Barry narrowed his eyes slightly, waiting for Pokka to continue.


    ¡°You can think of the Ultimate Dodge as a single use Ability, though it¡¯s a passive one, which is why you can¡¯t trigger or hotkey it. It will trigger only when you¡¯re about to receive a mortal blow and only once. An instant before you¡¯re hit by something that would end your life, the Ability will instantly move you to the safest place in a five mile radius. It¡¯s an exceedingly rare reward, issued only for unique achievements.¡±


    A mortal blow.


    As soon as he heard those words, the images came, unbidden, like a switch had been flipped. His entrails stretching out below him, the delayed horror of realizing that he was looking at his own legs, bent and jumbled in an unnatural way far below on the ground. His lifeblood erupting from the mangled wreckage of his wrist, pumping vigorously at first, then ever weaker as he bled out next to the wolf.


    He kept telling himself that it had been a simulation, none of those things had actually happened in reality; but still his white-knuckled hands shook as they gripped the spear too tightly. His heartbeat quickened and he tried to force his breathing to slow down, which took a long moment.


    ¡°That¡­ Sounds like a useful Ability.¡± He eventually forced the words out.


    It was a good Ability, a literal lifesaver, that was undeniable. But it would only activate when he would otherwise have died, probably between the teeth of some nightmarish creature. Then it would teleport him away, saving his life, just so he could get back up and start running towards the next monster. Something about that just seemed to emphasize the futility of his journey, as if ¡®Plan A¡¯ was simply to go out and die.


    Also, five miles sounded like a good distance, but when dealing with super-powered monsters, it might not be enough. If a Roid-Bull hit him straight on, the Ultimate Dodge should whisk him away right before the collision, but then wouldn''t it just plop him back down elsewhere in the same forsaken desert? It might not even be out of range for the damn thing to sense it and come rushing right back.


    "Even now, there is no rejoicing?" Pokka said loudly, then continued more quietly, speaking to himself. "Mental trauma? Again? When am I going to receive an analysis that suggests another action besides empathy and positive reinforcement? "


    Barry ignored Pokka''s ranting. A part of him was asking questions about the limitations of this new Ability, but he wasn''t in the right mindset to dig into it now. A sense of desperation was settling over him, and he realized how poorly informed he still was about the perils of this new world. All he''d been thinking of was to get out of this cave as soon as possible, but even if he managed to hide his vibrations from the Roid-Bulls, would that mean he was safe?


    "How dangerous is it out there? Will I encounter more dangerous things than that bull?"


    "It will depend mainly on your skill with Abilities. But you may still get unlucky. I won''t give any information about particular creatures, but¡­ Perhaps it''s time to walk through your journey. You would have to purchase a map for that." Pokka said, once again stroking his long, white beard.


    Barry agreed, and soon they were looking at a multi-colored map, projected over his vision in the same way as the System Interface. It was a large tapestry of colors and borders to reflect the zones and after Pokka showed him how to adjust the settings, it showed bodies of water and elevation as well.


    The AI explained that it would only show the current continent he was on, which, as far as Barry could tell, was massive. If he zoomed out completely, the zones were barely more than colored dots. As he got a better sense of the scale, his stomach sank. He might have to traverse the equivalent of entire countries to get to his family.


    ¡°We are here.¡± Pokka said, highlighting a dark orange zone in the upper third of the map.


    ¡°Your family would have been sent around here.¡± Pointing to an area further north and slightly west of their position. Barry¡¯s spirits lifted as he saw how close they were. If you were to split the upper third of the map in half, the areas would both be in the bottom half. He started looking at the legend and trying to make calculations, but Pokka helped him out.


    ¡°You will have to traverse forty zones at a minimum. It will be at least five thousand miles, but of course the distance depends on which route we were to take. Let me show you.¡±


    ¡°What? That small piece of the map is five thousand miles? How the fuck is that even possible?¡± The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Barry dropped his spear to the ground with a clatter to put both hands on his head as he started to pace.


    ¡°It is possible because your former planet has increased in size. I¡¯ve told you this before.¡±


    ¡°Well, my dear mentor, I might have overlooked some of those interesting factoids while I was busy processing the fact that you had destroyed human civilization. Why would you make Earth bigger? How does that not create a bunch of other problems, like, I don¡¯t know, our trajectory around the sun or just¡­ gravity?¡±


    ¡°While the surface area is significantly bigger, the overall mass has not increased. It¡¯s less dense now than it was before. So gravity remains unchanged, as you have noticed.¡±


    ¡°I¡­ Whatever. Goddamnit, Pokka.¡±


    The flare of anger was already fading as Barry focused on that seemingly insurmountable distance. Five thousand miles. That would be something like walking from Mexico all the way up to northern Canada, and it would be infested with monsters. The sense of hopelessness came back, hitting him like a punch to the gut.


    Pokka had taken his silence as a sign that he should continue and brought up the map again.


    Three trajectories were plotted as dotted lines on the map, from their position up to the other area, where his family was supposed to be. The middle one was simply a direct line and therefore clearly the shortest route, but as Pokka pointed out, it went not only through bodies of water and across mountains, but also through two red zones.


    The longest route moved westwards, curving around the large mountain range that stood in the way. This option would avoid any red zones, but would cross a series of orange zones, including two dark orange ones, which were equivalent to the zone they were currently in.


    The final route moved slightly eastward, meandering through different zones to avoid anything higher than light orange after exiting the current zone. It was shorter and safer than the western route, but the main disadvantage was that it had to cut through the mountains.


    Barry listened in silence, nodding absently every now and then, his face growing pale and his expression ever more hollow as he processed the information.


    ¡°As you might expect, the chances of success are highest with the eastern route. As with the others, the risk will be highest at the start, while you attempt to escape the orange zones, but here you¡¯ll only have to contend with one orange zone before being able to move into dark yellow. Then there will be a series of yellows, followed by a series of greens, before having to cross through orange again. Traversing the mountain will bring its own challenges, but those carry less risk than even a light orange zone.¡±


    His shoulders slumped as that feeling of despair continued to build. The ball of anxiety and stress that he carried with him was an urgent feeling, telling him to act, that terrible things would happen  if he didn¡¯t keep moving forward. This hopelessness was entirely different, more like a crushing weight that settled on his shoulders and grew tendrils through his body that sapped his energy. It was comforting, in a strange and insidious way, telling him he might as well lie down and curl up because nothing he did would matter anyway.


    He walked over to his carpet and sat down, speaking only after a long silence.


    ¡°A hundred and eighteen days.¡± He murmured, staring out in front of him.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    Another pause, followed by a deep sigh.


    ¡°Four months, give or take. That¡¯s how long the eastern route would take, assuming twelve hours of walking per day at an average of four miles per hour.¡±


    ¡°Your math is correct. But your assumptions-¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s after another¡­ I don¡¯t know how many months of this.¡± Barry raised his voice and waved his arms around angrily at the cave, then got up. ¡°And this.¡± He punctuated the last word with an angry kick to the VR helmet, which bounced off the cave wall.


    After pacing in circles for a while, trying to ignite his anger to take the focus away from his despair, he walked up to the thin, horizontal gap in the cave wall. He lifted himself up slightly to be able to see outside and breathe the fresh air. It felt warmer than the cool air inside of the cave. Due to the rock overhang on the outside of the gap, he had to angle himself just right to see just a sliver of the blue sky. He took a few breaths, trying to think through the problem.


    ¡°Are there any transport vehicles for sale in the System Store? Something like¡­ A small helicopter?¡± He called over his shoulder, the tone of his voice indicating that he didn¡¯t believe there was much chance of that.


    ¡°Nothing that would help you in your journey.¡±


    ¡°What about the totems? The MAFTs, I mean. Couldn¡¯t they be used to teleport a person instead of food?¡±


    ¡°It is technically possible to transport a person, but this option is not available to you.¡±


    ¡°Well, can I unlock it in any way?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Barry let out another sigh. If there was really no other way than to cross through all those zones, he¡¯d have to think about this with the tools that he had.


    ¡°If I brought my Speed up to 20, I should be able to run a thousand meters in like, what, a minute or two?¡±


    ¡°A bit more than a minute should be in the realm of possibility, yes.¡±


    He paused as he thought that through. Thirty miles an hour would be theoretically possible, if he could sprint for that long, which he definitely couldn¡¯t. Recalling something he¡¯d seen, he went down into his Stats and brought up the info sheet. After playing around with the options for a while, he confirmed that it was possible to allocate a point of Strength or Durability just to his heart and lungs.


    ¡°Hypothetically, if I wanted to be able to run at my maximum speed for longer, after increasing my Speed, Strength and Durability, what would be the limiting factor?¡±


    ¡°Energy, of course. Your body needs time to convert nutrients into readily usable chemical energy. At higher speeds, ever more energy will be required. When you increase those physical stats, your metabolism is also being boosted, but for an increased performance you will have to consume more nutrients. Alternatively, you can use the PE Node to feed energy into your muscles.That Ability will become available once your Strength or Speed hit 20.¡±


    A small ember of hope started in Barry¡¯s chest as he began to form a vision, though it was still faint. If he could learn to hide himself completely while finding a way to run long distances at a high speed, it would be possible to drastically reduce the travel time, as well as the risk. He nodded to himself as he stared out through the thin opening in the rock. He¡¯d have to work out the details, but the idea as such made sense.


    First, he¡¯d have to get his Speed Stat up to 20 and unlock the Ability to feed energy into his muscles. That should be easily done, though it would need some experimentation to understand how much energy he¡¯d consume by doing this.


    Then, he would search for the best stealth Abilities to hide his presence. So far, he¡¯d only been focusing on vibrations in the ground, but he¡¯d at least have to cover sight and sound as well. Thanks to his ample reserves of Value, he should be able to buy any Abilities he wanted.


    Finally, he would have to get good enough with those Abilities that he could keep himself hidden while moving. That was the hard part. Nearly all of the standard Abilities had significant limitations and in the case of stealth Abilities, the main limitation was that they only worked within a certain radius. Hiding a moving target would be possible only through the use of ¡®free manipulation¡¯, as Pokka had called it.


    Barry had been training to get better at this, so he knew how challenging this would be. So far he¡¯d been focused only on sensing waves in the air and the ground and it had not been easy. It required him to get into the right mindset, so as to be receptive to the information shared by the PE Node. It felt like learning to use a new limb. Progress was slow.


    ¡°How can we speed up the learning on this free manipulation? There must be a way, even if we just focus on making the existing Abilities more mobile.¡±


    ¡°You are currently following a balanced training program which is optimized for developing a necessary skill set. Your progress in free manipulation is above average. As I¡¯ve said before, trying to rush it is dangerous.¡± Pokka stated, observing Barry with narrowed eyes.


    It hadn¡¯t escaped him that Pokka had been taking on more human mannerisms lately. The AI had originally kept a neutral face and tone while speaking quickly, similar to the voice at the end of a pharmaceutical commercial, rattling off the side effects. Now, he not only spoke more slowly and with inflection, but he was rolling his eyes or sighing every other sentence.


    This new behavior was suspect, as was the timing. It had started around the same time the infamous Psych Module was launched, so it would be foolish not to see it as manipulative. Everything the AI did should be thought of as deliberate. Calculated. Seen from that perspective, these small quirks would be part of an ongoing effort to get Barry to trust it.


    He couldn¡¯t deny that it was working, though it was frustrating to admit. He had to keep reminding himself that this was an AI built by the same people that had destroyed human civilization without hesitation. By all rights, they should be his mortal enemies. It was unthinkable that their long term goals would align with his. Even so, he¡¯d begun feeling more sympathetic towards Pokka. It was a slippery slope. He couldn¡¯t make the mistake of assuming that they had the same interests.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to keep wasting time doing virtual puzzles, when I need to be getting better at using the PE Node. The priorities need to shift. In fact, I should be practicing right now.¡± He walked over to the carpet and sat down cross-legged.


    ¡°Need I remind you that you committed to following my instructions on the condition that I lead you to your family? It¡¯s remarkable that shortly after me giving you a clue as to their location, you¡¯re backing away from that commitment. I believe you humans would call this betrayal.¡±


    ¡°Not if it takes a whole fucking year.¡± Barry said, closing his eyes, toggling on his free manipulation Ability and trying to sink down into the right mindset for sensing the waves around him.


    ¡°You¡¯ve come up with some new fantasy, haven¡¯t you? Racing past all the foolish monsters while perfectly cloaked?¡±


    Barry ignored the comments, focusing instead on the imagination of tendrils coming out of his body, a new limb made just for the purpose of sensing waves in the air and ground. He¡¯d gotten better at holding on to that feeling with less conscious effort, but it would not be possible while having a conversation.


    ¡°It would be better if you finally let go of these childish fancies. You know nothing of the outside world. Your plan will not work.¡±


    He was starting to sense the soundwaves now, small cone shapes extending downwards in front of him, which he¡¯d learned was the sound of his breathing. As Pokka spoke, he could feel multiple spheres, lengthening and expanding as the sound traveled through the room. They grew more faint as they moved, fading away after bouncing off the cave wall. He focused on the stronger ones, sensing their shape and trying to connect it to the sounds he was hearing.


    ¡°Let us complete your little fantasy. How would you imagine it proceeds? Do you arrive in heroic fashion, having left all the dumb monsters behind, scratching their heads in confusion?¡±


    Having Pokka continue to talk was useful for sensing the sound, but Barry was having trouble ignoring the words. He was getting angry, fighting the urge to argue back. He had to focus now. He needed to move past just sensing the waves, and learn to manipulate them. How would that work?


    He imagined stretching his tendrils around the bubbles and cylinders moving through, pushing against their ribbed sides to try and compress them. Nothing happened, his tendrils just moving straight through.


    ¡°You¡¯ve somehow avoided their superior senses through expert use of multiple Abilities at the same time. You managed this exceptional feat while running at top speeds, even across natural obstacles. And what happens then?¡±


    A wave of anger and frustration rose, but he pushed it down, didn¡¯t allow it to grow as it usually did. He decided to try generating his own sound instead, using his imaginary limbs. He focused, picturing a ribbed sphere originating from the tip of one of his tendrils, pushing at it, willing it into existence. Again, nothing. He thought of the PE Node, of where it sat inside of his neck, imagined a line of energy extending from it to the tendril and gave it another mental push. It had no effect.


    ¡°Your parents are beset by monsters, about to be destroyed, but you arrive just in the nick of time, ready to save them. Good that you ran so fast, or you would have been late! There¡¯s only one small problem.¡±


    Another flash of anger, and Barry was starting to lose his patience now. He shoved one of his tendrils into a traveling soundwave, trying this time only to amplify it, to drive energy into it to make it stronger, or travel further. He¡¯d settle for any effect whatsoever at this point. But once again, nothing changed. He cursed at his PE Node. What would it take for this damn thing to do something?


    He remembered a feeling he¡¯d had about a week ago, when he¡¯d activated his [Cast Wave] Ability. A kind of pulling, sucking feeling, like something was being taken out of him. With a thought, he activated it again, focusing closely on that sensation. There it was, clearer now, something being pulled from him and manifesting outside into a wave of some kind.


    He tried to reproduce it, but now there was nothing pulling at him, he had to push something out instead. His frustration grew as he tried and tried again to push some energy out.


    ¡°You never learned how to fight, having decided to de-prioritize that part of your training. You¡¯ve developed essentially zero offensive capabilities. So in effect, you¡¯re left to watch, fumbling your spear like a toddler, as monsters tear your family apart. Congratulations! You raced five thousand miles in record speed, only to watch your family die.¡±


    Barry had kept pressing with his will, trying to find that feeling of draining something out of himself, and now he snarled in fury as he gave it yet another push.


    ¡°Shut. U-¡±


    Something ripped out of his body as his shout distorted, turning into a strange noise like a wailing siren that turned into a blast which lasted only an instant, but it still felt too long. It was one second of agony; the noise was loud, unbearably so, the loudest sound he¡¯d ever heard. He thought he felt the cave shaking around him, but only for that same instant and then there was a painful silence as he fell to the ground, stunned and disoriented.


    He blinked up at Pokka, looking at him sideways. The old man¡¯s mouth was moving but no sound was coming out. All he could hear was a faint, shrill tone. His ears felt wet and then he was staring at his bloody fingers, uncomprehending.


    "You will have to ahead and hook yourself up to the Fixer Upper."


    Barry blinked again, still dazed. Pokka''s mouth had stopped moving, but somehow he could now hear his voice. He opened his mouth, moving his jaw around in an attempt to pop his ears, but he stopped at a jolt of stabbing pain.


    "I''m communicating through your PE Node. You have blown out your eardrums. You need to heal soon if you want to avoid permanent damage."


    He felt at his ears again, looked at the fresh blood on his fingers, and finally began to process Pokka''s words. He grimaced at the rising pain, tried to get up, stumbled back down, then decided to crawl over to the Fixer Upper on his hands and knees.


    "This is what happens when you choose not to heed my warnings. There are good reasons for progressing carefully, step by step. You should go back to the training programme and¡­"


    Barry zoned him out, still dazed as he shook and tilted his head in an attempt to feel normal again. Every movement seemed to just cause him more pain, so all he could do was sit back against the cave wall and wait for the Fixer Upper to do its duty.


    As clarity returned to him, there was plenty of silent time to reflect on what had happened. He had to admit that blowing out his eardrums was not good, but still, it was some form of progress. Perhaps more progress than he''d made in an entire week. He¡¯d have to see if it could be replicated without exploding his ears of course.


    Although the AI''s statements had gotten him thoroughly angry, Pokka did also have a point. It wouldn''t do to ignore combat training entirely; he''d need some basic skill at least, in order to protect his family. Some training would have to continue, but perhaps less, or at least different. He wanted to raise his Stats and bring some Ability practice into it as well, if that was possible.


    He was already browsing the System Store for light based Abilities under Radiant Energy as the AI continued his rant. He was done playing it safe. Some things were going to change.

 11. Crimson Sunset

    "There''s another wave coming! Get ready!"


    For the first time since coming here, Dericka cursed, not caring who might hear it and what effect it might have on morale. Kobe had made a good effort to sound strong and confident, but she could sense the despair in his voice. She felt it too, that dark pit of hopelessness trying to pull her in, the strongest it had been so far.


    "More incoming!"


    Dericka turned to repeat Kobe''s words to the people behind her. Two elderly women looked up, fear plain on their faces even from a distance. Tasha, as usual, gave no indication that she''d heard, completely focused on her task, pausing only to wipe the rain from her face. Just like the other two women, she was soaking wet, short blonde hair stuck to her head. They were on the southernmost edge of the tallest hill next to their campground, huddled around a small pile of rocks, frantically weaving some kind of ropes together to turn it into what she thought would be a makeshift sling. Dericka hadn''t understood exactly what they were creating, but she hoped it would help. If they even finished on time.


    She held her hand to her brow as she faced north again, looking over their former campsite, shielding her eyes from the rain to better see what was coming. There were at least five dark shapes, perhaps six, surging through the grass with those unsettlingly quick movements. It was hard to tell in the dying light, which was casting long shadows from the bushtrees over the grassy meadow below. The damned centipedes were still far away and moved so close to the ground, it was hard to tell them apart from each other and even from their shadows. She cursed again as she saw how close the sun had come to the horizon, already painting the cloudy sky in beautiful shades of rose and cherry red. Soon, they''d be fighting in the dark.


    As the centipedes got closer, she confirmed that there were six in total. Three of them had pulled ahead, so they''d be coming up the slope as separate groups. A small blessing, perhaps, but they hadn''t handled more than two at a time so far.


    Five black, curled up corpses littered the wet grass around the three men that made up their frontline. Kobe, standing a few paces in front of the others, had been taking the brunt of the attacks. The shin guards, made of centipede carapace, had managed to protect him so far.


    To his right stood Jim, his entire body shivering as he clutched his spear with shaking hands. The rain had washed most of the mud and blood off his face, but his jeans and shirt still carried dark stains. The poor man had barely had time to recover from his previous ordeal, but he looked determined.


    He won''t break. He doesn''t want to be seen as a coward. It was a dark thought, and once again she had to push down on the disgust and doubt squirming in her stomach. Had she asked him to stand there because she knew that he might fight to the death? Did it even matter? They were well and truly out of options.


    Five paces in front of her, to Kobe''s left, stood Dmitriy. She could make out the contours of his muscled back through the wet shirt, heaving up and down with deep breaths. The tall man stood bent forward, leaning heavily on the thick branch he was holding. His fever had broken, but he was still weak. How long would he even be able to stand up, without that piece of wood to support his weight?


    If only they''d had more time. Even one more day would have made a difference. They would have been able to gather more Value, or produce another set of shin guards at the very least. Dmitriy and Jim would have been in better shape.


    But soon after the rain had started, the water level began to rise. They didn¡¯t understand how it could have risen so quickly. There must have been considerably more rainfall upstream, because the rain hadn''t been strong enough here. Whatever the reason, it had kept going up until it exceeded the river banks. And with the water, came the centipedes.


    Unlike normal centipedes, these giant insects were somehow aquatic, or at least amphibious. Their many legs had the shape of small fins, though it didn¡¯t stop them from crawling swiftly across the grass. The creatures moved even faster in the water, so they had no choice but to retreat away from their camp as they kept coming out. They had moved up the tallest hill, but the damn things kept giving chase, not wanting to give up. As some of the elderly would move too slowly up and down the rolling hills that covered most of this zone, they again had no choice but to make a stand and fight.


    No choice, no choice, no choice. Just an unfortunate series of events, forcing their hand at every turn, leading to the desperate situation they were in now. Three of their number, strong fighters each, were most likely dead in a forest, being devoured by monstrous squirrels. She had tried her best to convince them and warned them countless times. They were all adults, who decided to take a risk in a desperate situation. What more could she have done? Then there was sweet old Robert, who¡¯d died from a bad infection after being bitten by one of the centipedes. How could they have anticipated that creatures would come crawling out of the river to attack them in the dark?


    If that¡¯s what she really believed, then why wouldn¡¯t her stomach stop squirming? Why did she feel this constant pressure in her chest, which she just couldn¡¯t get rid of?


    Dericka jolted as she realized the centipedes were already starting to crawl up the hill. This was no time for doubt and self-pity. There had to be something more they could do. Should they retreat after all, catch up to the group that was moving slowly a few hills further down? There was a small chance the centipedes would stop their pursuit. But then also a larger chance that they¡¯d have to fight in a much worse position¡­ No. Better to face the damned things head on.


    There was one other thing, but she¡¯d been stuck on it, indecisive. There was a not unlikely scenario that they¡¯d have several wounded at the end of this. They¡¯d need a Fixer Upper to eliminate the risk of further deaths due to infection later on. But even if they managed to channel all of the kills to Kobe, which was nigh impossible in this chaos, they¡¯d be short by¡­


    No more time. She had to make a decision. Gritting her teeth, she called out to the three men in front of her.


    ¡°Use your Value! Increase your Durability and Strength! We¡¯re going to need it!¡± She noticed how Kobe stiffened for an instant and wondered what that meant. Jim looked over his shoulder and gave her a nod. Dmitriy didn¡¯t give any sign that he¡¯d even heard her, continuing to lean on the thick branch he¡¯d carried up the hill. Had he already allocated it?


    No time to find out. She followed her own advice, allocating 10 of her paltry 12 Value to bring her Strength from 5 up to 7. With that increase, she might just be able to break through the centipedes¡¯ carapace.


    She heard a grunt from Dmitriy and then she saw the first centipede moving towards Kobe, lifting its head and moving its long feelers around. He moved without hesitation, swinging his spear like a baseball bat to knock the creature to the side, then stepping on its head. But as he got his spear in position to stab at it, two more centipedes were already surging towards him.


    Dericka wiped the rain from her face, then firmed her grip on the spear, knees slightly bent, ready to move forward. Should she go now? Her heart was pounding in her ears, nearly drowning out the incessant pattering of the rain.


    ¡°I have it.¡±


    It was Dmitriy¡¯s husky voice, the man somehow already out of breath, lifting his massive branch onto his shoulder and then over his head with great effort, to swing it down like a club. Kobe stepped away right on time and then there was a wet thudding sound mixed with a satisfying crunch as the makeshift club hit the ground. The centipede was flailing and squirming weakly, its midsection so thoroughly crushed that it shouldn¡¯t pose a risk anymore. Dmitriy didn¡¯t pay it any more attention, going back to leaning all his weight on his oversized stick, gulping for air like a drowning man coming up from the water.


    Kobe was already kicking at the next of the massive insects as another struck at his leg, failing to bite through the shin guards. Jim ran forwards to step on the downed centipede, stabbing at it, as Kobe moved to do the same with the remaining one. She saw how the muscles in his arm tensed, the wet, dark skin seeming to gleam in the evening light as he stabbed straight through its head in one smooth motion. Jim was less successful, giving up on the spear after several failed attempts and moving on to stomping its head instead, but then the next three centipedes came up the hill, rushing towards them.


    Jim cursed and made to turn, but Kobe stepped forward quickly and started to fight them off, sweeping his spear from left to right. He was moving like an athlete, strong and precise, definitely faster than before. It had to be an increase in Stats, and she felt a pang of worry as she wondered whether he might have spent all of his Value, then chided herself. She should focus on helping them instead.


    When the squat, balding man had finished stomping his foe to death he came in to pull another one away from Kobe. The contrast in movements was stark, Jim appearing clumsy and slow, already looking tired, panting, while Kobe flowed gracefully from one strike to the next, face focused. Jim failed to deflect the centipede¡¯s strike and screamed in pain as it caught him right below the knee. Kobe turned at the scream, which allowed another one to snake up his left leg and he had to quickly grab it next to its head to keep it from biting him.


    Dericka looked to the right, saw Elza standing there, frozen, eyes wide, arms shaking and then she was rushing forward, pushing down on her own fear. Jim had fallen to the ground, gripping the centipede, but it was moving its body up, scratching at the man¡¯s skin with its strange, triangular legs. As she moved to help him, she caught a glimpse of three more centipedes emerging from the water next to their old campsite. She cursed again and as she couldn¡¯t get a good angle for a stab or a swing, she kicked at the centipede instead, which wasn¡¯t helpful as long as Jim had a hold on it. He realized the problem and pushed it down to the ground so she could stand on it and then she was stabbing down, wooden spearpoint skittering off the tough, wet carapace. She moved her other foot on top of the centipede as well to keep it in place, a shiver running through her body as she felt it squirming desperately and heard its legs scratching at the ground. After two more failed stabs she decided to turn her spear around and smash down with the flat end.


    ¡°Watch out!¡±


    It was Kobe¡¯s voice, loud and urgent, making her snap her head around, but then she cried out at a sharp flare of pain in her left calf. It was agony, like a kitchen knife slicing through her flesh and knowing that it must be one of those horrible things biting into her made it so much worse. Instinctively realizing that moving her feet away from the trapped one would be bad, she twisted her upper body around, swinging her spear behind her. She screamed again as she swung and she was shocked at how foreign it sounded, raw and bestial, like it couldn¡¯t have ever come from her.


    The spear connected, knocking the creature off for a moment, but then it came right back. Before it could get at her again, Dmitriy was there, lumbering forward with heavy steps, eyes looking through her, like he was barely aware of his surroundings. He lifted the massive branch up to his chest, then lunged and let himself drop forward so that he landed right on top of the centipede, which didn¡¯t stand a chance against the thick branch coming down with Dmitriy¡¯s full body weight behind it.


    Jim had gotten up and limped over to help her with the final centipede that was still squirming underneath her feet. As soon as they finally managed to crush its head, Dericka let herself drop down to the ground with a wet squelching sound. The soil was starting to get muddy. There was a deep cut in her calf, staining her beige chinos with blood. She began to tear at the bloody cloth, hissing through clenched teeth from the pain, but then Kobe crouched down and started helping her.


    ¡°Shit, I¡¯m sorry, I fucked up. I had to grab one and the other got away from me so fast-¡±


    She stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, showing a strained smile.


    ¡°You did great. It would have gone a lot worse without you." A short pause.  "You looked like a real warrior, you know.¡± She let out a soft chuckle, followed by another hiss of pain as Kobe pulled the cloth around her wound.


    It wasn¡¯t over yet. They had two wounded already, three if you added Dmitriy. Their situation had quickly gotten worse. Had she made another mistake? Shouldn¡¯t she have known that Elza would be useless? Why had she put her there? But she didn¡¯t know, couldn¡¯t have known.


    She closed her eyes, trying to focus on solutions. To change her approach, she tried thinking of the creatures as simple bugs. What was the best way to deal with bugs? You¡¯d normally put out a trap, lure them with food, then poison or electrocute them. But luring them away with food wasn¡¯t going to work, she¡¯d seen them moving straight past some roasted rabbit meat by their campfire.


    If they were normal bugs, they¡¯d just stomp them to death, which they were sometimes doing now as the spears were ineffective. They¡¯d need hammers, or clubs, or rocks at the very least to crack their tough chitin. She opened her eyes, intending to ask Tasha about the progress on the sling, but then Kobe spoke.


    ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake.¡±


    He sounded desperate. She hadn¡¯t even noticed that he¡¯d finished tying the rough bandage around her leg. Jim helped her up and then she could see the reason for all the cursing. While another three centipedes were nearly starting up the hill, a new group had emerged from the water. It was the largest mob they¡¯d faced by far, at least eight and perhaps as many as twelve.


    They stared down in shocked silence for a moment, then Jim grabbed her by the shoulders, looking into her eyes with an anguished look on his face.


    ¡°If I don¡¯t make it, please, find my daughter. I need to know that someone will take care of her.¡±


    ¡°Oh my god! Are we going to die?¡± Elza¡¯s voice made her look over. The woman was breaking down in tears.


    ¡°Nobody¡¯s going to die today.¡± Dericka said with more confidence than she felt. She turned around and called out to Tasha¡¯s group.


    ¡°How much longer?¡±


    ¡°One is finished!¡± Tasha ran over, dragging the thing behind her.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    It was a large stone, a bit smaller than a bowling ball, with lengths of plant fiber woven into a web of knots around it. There were two loops of rope extending outward, each around the length of an arm, which were apparently meant to swing the rock around.


    While Kobe tested it out, Dericka¡¯s mind was racing again, knowing this wouldn¡¯t be enough. What options did they have? Stay and fight. Retreat and likely fight somewhere else, from a worse position. Or they could split up and¡­ Hope the centipedes all went after the smallest group? Her stomach turned at the thought.


    She wasn¡¯t good at these coldblooded cost-benefit analyses, at weighing the odds of bad consequences against even worse ones. She was better with people.


    She looked around again, taking stock of the situation. It was already dusk, the last embers of light dying on the horizon as the rain kept pelting them from above. Kobe was still staring down at the centipedes with a dark look on his face, while Jim was grimacing, pacing anxiously, looking over at her every few seconds. Somehow there was only a slight limp to his walk. The centipede bite must not have gone so deep.


    Elza was openly crying and backing away from the edge. She might break and run away. Tasha¡¯s eyes were wide, having only now noticed the amount of centipedes that were approaching, no doubt starting to realize the desperate situation they were in. Dmitriy was still lying on top of his branch and the corpse of a centipede, starting to push himself up, slowly and with great effort. He was going to need help.


    Three of the cursed creatures were already coming up the hill, the other, massive group following behind at a good distance. Too many for them to handle. Morale was low. They¡¯d almost certainly be overrun. Dericka grimaced as she forced herself to the logical conclusion. In these circumstances, it would actually be better to retreat, hoping for the small chance that the insects wouldn¡¯t continue to chase. They might also break into smaller groups during the chase. There were only bad options, but the least bad one would be to move.


    She looked to the south, searching for the smaller group that had the children with them. They would have to be at a good distance by now, two or three hills over, probably behind that hill with the boulder-


    Her eyes widened as a reckless plan suddenly emerged. Not giving herself any more time for doubt, she decided to go with it, calling out to the group.


    ¡°Heads up! New plan! We retreat, over to that hill, behind the boulder!¡± She pointed as heads snapped around to look at her. All of them had the same question in their eyes, she thought. Was there hope? Her voice was as loud and confident as she could make it, eyes set with determination.


    ¡°Elza and I will-¡± She paused, put some weight on her left leg and corrected, grimacing.


    ¡°Elza and Tasha will support Dmitriy. Kobe and Jim protect our backs. The rest, just move as quickly as you can!¡± The words came out crisp and clipped, her tone urgent, leaving no room for questions or arguments.


    ¡°Get moving! Now!¡± She strode over to Elza, who was looking confused, grabbed her by the arm and pushed her to Dmitriy¡¯s side, draping his arm over her shoulder. Tasha was supporting the other side, and under Dericka¡¯s guidance, they started down the hill.


    The two elderly women had gotten a head start, not hesitating to follow Dericka¡¯s instructions. She limped behind, half stumbling down the hill, followed by Dmitriy and his two supporters. Kobe and Jim were in the rear, throwing nervous looks over their shoulders, ready to turn around and fight at any moment.


    She tried not to think of what she was asking of the two men, the risk she was putting them in, focusing instead on pushing through the pain and moving as fast as they could. They had to get there before the second group caught them. There would be one more hill to cross once they made it through the valley below.


    ¡°Keep moving! We need to go faster!¡±


    For a short while, nobody spoke, and they could hear only the disordered sounds of their messy descent. Most of them were steadily panting from the exertion, every now and then grunting with pain as they put too much weight on a wounded leg. The wet, squelching sound of their feet tramping through the increasingly muddy ground was interspersed with occasional louder splashes and curses as people slipped.


    Their procession made its way down the slope like that, a group of panting, grunting, limping people moving in a hurry, desperate to survive, until there was a curse from behind.


    ¡°Hold them back and I¡¯ll come in and smash-¡± It was Kobe¡¯s voice. The leading centipedes must have caught up to them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t stop! They¡¯ll catch up to us!¡± Dericka shouted as she felt people slowing down and looking over their shoulder, digging her nails into her spear and clenching her jaw with frustration.


    She picked up some sounds of protest from Dmitriy and quickly moved to get behind him, pushing at his and the supporting women¡¯s back as she spoke.


    ¡°The best thing you can do now is to keep moving, Dmitriy! You don¡¯t have a weapon. They¡¯re faster than you. They can handle three centipedes.¡±


    Elza and the two elderly women needed no encouragement, running ahead. They got into a steady rhythm again as they traversed the flat valley, but Elza and Tasha started to struggle as they reached the next slope and began to move uphill. Dericka looked over her shoulder and let out a sigh of relief as she saw Jim and Kobe coming up behind them. They took over to support Dmitriy and they made a push to reach the top of the first hill. Dericka kept glancing back but it was too dark to spot the other group of centipedes. If they were lucky, the creatures would have given up, but she wasn¡¯t betting on it.


    ¡°Mind letting us in on the new plan?¡± Kobe said as they crested the hill. He seemed to be the only one not completely out of breath, the others gulping for air, looking ready to keel over.


    ¡°The boulder.¡± Dericka answered, speaking quickly as she tried to catch her breath. ¡°They never¡­ Spread out.¡± She had to stop speaking and motioned with her hand instead, making a fist that moved diagonally down to hit the palm of her other hand.


    His eyes widened.


    ¡°You want to¡­ Squish them with it?¡±


    She nodded, still panting.


    He squinted at the large rock, sitting near the top of the slope of the next hill.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ a really big boulder.¡± Then he nodded. ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot.¡±


    She moved to the front, calling out again to keep moving toward the next hill as she pulled and pushed at people. Their descent was even messier than before, stumbling more than running down the hill, people panting and cursing and wailing with exhaustion. Dericka herself slipped and rolled down a good distance, groaning in pain as she came to a stop, calf burning. She just waved off the people trying to help, motioning to their destination as she got up and pushed herself to keep moving.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to dig up the soil around it. Two or three people with spears.¡± Kobe called out as they reached the start of the final slope up.


    ¡°Good idea!¡± She was so glad he was directing them now, barely able to get any words out, feeling like she could start vomiting any time.


    They¡¯d made good time crossing the muddy valley, but once they had to go uphill again, the group slowed to a crawl. People were reaching the end of their stamina.


    ¡°Shit! They¡¯re coming for us!¡± Someone called out, she thought it was Jim, but could barely tell over the pounding of her pulse in her ears. Against her better judgment, she turned to look, and her mouth went dry.


    At least a dozen centipedes, clustered together, surging down the hill like a black wave of inexhaustible machines. She thought she could hear the chittering of their legs and claws over the sounds of the rain. There were cries of alarm, but at least it got them moving again, a mad rush up to the boulder, fitter people helping the weaker ones up.


    Kobe ran up and started digging first at the bottom of the boulder, then drawing a furrow in the ground straight down the slope.


    ¡°Get behind!¡± Dericka said, quieter than she wanted, unable to give more force to her voice. ¡°Dig it out and then start pushing!¡±


    She was at the very back of the group now, using the butt of her spear to make up for her injured leg as she pushed herself up the final stretch. When she made it up to where Kobe was, she began digging at the muddy soil as well, looking up to see people clawing at the mud around the boulder, coughing and wheezing with exhaustion as they worked. Another glance back and she cursed as she saw the centipedes already starting to come up the hill. They were running out of time.


    ¡°We have to start pushing!¡±


    ¡°You get behind the rock, I¡¯ll hold them off!¡± Jim had come over to her, spear in hand, Kobe not far behind.


    ¡°No! It¡¯s too heavy. We need both of you to push. I¡¯m no use up there¡± They paused, looking at each other, then at her.


    ¡°Go and push! Shout when it starts moving and I¡¯ll jump out of the way.¡± Again, they hesitated.


    ¡°There¡¯s no time! Go!¡± Then, finally they went.


    After a final bit of digging, Dericka was satisfied the rock should follow the furrow as it rolled down and she turned to face the mob of insects speeding up the incline. She felt sick at the sight of the roiling black mass of carapace and sharp limbs, just wanting to run away. It would be less than ten seconds before they reached her.


    ¡°Hurry up!¡± She tried to scream, but her voice was weak, the sound drowned out by the screams and grunts coming from behind the rock.


    ¡°Fuck! It¡¯s not moving!¡±


    ¡°Another push! On three! One, two..¡± More sounds of exertion.


    ¡°Put any remaining Value in Strength!¡±


    ¡°Another push!¡± A few people were roaring now.


    Seven seconds left, maybe. Her instincts were screaming at her to move away, to run toward cover. But she knew that if she moved to the side, the centipedes would follow, and the rock might miss most of them. Her pulse was pounding in her ears, her whole body shaking with fear and adrenaline.


    ¡°Use the spears as levers! Yes, like that, three at a time!¡±


    ¡°One, two, heave!¡± More grunting, and a wet sound. The boulder, finally coming loose? A prickle of hope. The insects were almost on her. It was too late to run at this point. She bent her knees, legs shaking.


    ¡°Yes! Now one final push! One, two, three!¡± A loud sucking sound, that could only be the massive boulder, finally pulling free. .


    ¡°Dericka! Jump!¡± It was Kobe, roaring at her, but she was already moving, feeling the boulder coming down behind her. She made to leap to the right with all her strength, but her injured calf flashed with pain as she slipped slightly on the wet footing. She clawed urgently at the ground to crawl away as she landed out of position, then there was a push on her left leg, a massive, crushing pressure, before it went numb. Still pulling weakly at the ground to get away, she heard shouts and people were running past her, saw Kobe swinging the rock held by the ropes to smash a centipede into the ground just a few paces away from her. What was happening? Had the boulder not crushed them?


    Kobe kicked at another centipede, pulled the rock free, swung again, and then Tasha was by her side, holding her arms.


    ¡°Dericka. Can you hear me? Stop moving.¡±


    Dericka hadn¡¯t realized that she was still moving. Looking down at her arms, she noticed they were shivering.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Why did her voice sound so weak, trembling? She should be sounding confident, she had to-


    ¡°It worked. Just a few got away, Kobe and Jim already got them. But¡­ You¡¯re injured.¡±


    She heard something in Tasha¡¯s voice and looked up at her face. There were stripes of mud on the side of it, slowly being washed away by the rain. The woman¡¯s soft features were usually not very expressive, often appearing bored, but now emotions were plain on her face. She looked concerned, certainly, but there was something else, stronger. Grief, perhaps? Or was that pity?


    Dericka made to push herself up, wanting to get to her feet, but she felt dizzy and Tasha held her down.


    ¡°No, stop moving. You¡¯re injured, Dericka.¡±


    Her calf? She knew about that. It was manageable, she just hoped it wouldn¡¯t get infected. She craned her head, trying to look back, but it was difficult from her position, still lying flat on her stomach. Tasha put her hands on Dericka¡¯s cheeks, steering her head back.


    ¡°Better if you don¡¯t look, for now.¡± Her voice was soft. There was definitely something like pity in it, the kind of delicate patience that was normally reserved for people who were very ill.


    More of the group were crowding around and the few faces she could see in the dark showed widened eyes, hands cupped to mouths, people turning away. How bad could it be?


    She tried to think, but it was slow, like pushing through mud. She closed her eyes, trying to focus, but she felt faint and tired, so tired. What had happened, again? She¡¯d jumped but slipped and then¡­Oh. That pressure on her leg. It could only have been the boulder. A wave of horror came over her that jolted her awake, her breathing speeding up as she imagined the kind of damage that would do.


    She opened her eyes, looking around, trying to focus on something else. Her bile was rising again and she swallowed to keep it down.


    ¡°The centipedes?¡±


    ¡°All dead. We can¡¯t see any more coming. For now.¡± That was Kobe. He looked fine. None of the others looked injured, except for Jim who¡¯d taken another wound to his arm. She couldn¡¯t see Dmitriy.


    She closed her eyes again. They had failed. She had failed. They had no way to heal the injured, most if not all of their Value spent just in order to survive. The camp would have to be abandoned, in fear of more centipede attacks. Not that there was much of value there, anyway. But where could they go? What would they do, if more people soon came down with a fever?


    She corrected herself. It would just be the rest of the group, not including her. She was a cripple now, if she¡¯d even live through the night. Her exhaustion and dizziness were already coming back, stronger now, and she felt like embracing it.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± She whispered.


    There was no response and instead there were gasps all around. That made her open her eyes again, and it took a while for her addled brain to process the text in front of her.


    Congratulations! You¡¯ve been identified as part of a potential Party.


    Would you like to activate the Party system and join the Party? Note: if you opt out, you will not be able to enjoy the rewards benefits of the Party System.


    Congratulations! For being one of the first Parties formed, your Party has gained 250 Value!


    Congratulations! For surviving a beast wave without any losses, your Party gains 200 Value!


    Elect a leader to make use of your Party Value!


    There was an option to get more information on how they¡¯d been identified. It listed a number of criteria, including a minimum number of ten people, having stayed together for at least ten days, spending most of their time within a one mile radius of each other. The group had at least fifty kills between them, which was lowered from a benchmark of one hundred and fifty, because they had crafters as part of the group.


    Feeling like her focus was fading, unable to think through all the implications, she simply confirmed with a ¡®Yes¡¯ to the first pop up .


    Congratulations! You have formed a Party, together with 11 other people!


    Elect a leader to make use of your Party Value! Please cast a vote for anyone in your group.


    People had started arguing in the group, but she had trouble following the heated exchange, only picking up bits and pieces.


    ¡°She¡¯s the obvious choice.¡±


    ¡°What if she doesn¡¯t make it?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have the time to argue about this!¡¯


    ¡°She¡¯s the one I trust.¡±


    The next pop up came and instead of names, it showed her images she could browse through, depicting each member of the group clearly. It even included the two young girls as potential candidates. Again, not able to really think it through, struggling to stay conscious, she indicated Kobe.


    He was suddenly right in front of her then, or had he been there already? He was squeezing her hands tightly, almost hurting her. She noticed his worried, questioning look, his mouth moving, and then she realized he was asking her something?


    ¡°Are you still with us?¡±


    She nodded.


    ¡°Listen to me. Once we elect you, you¡¯ll have to go into the menu and order a Fixer Upper immediately. It¡¯s really important. Can you do that?¡±


    She frowned, confused. Oh right, the healing device. She needed it.


    She nodded again.


    ¡°She''s still fine! Submit the votes!¡± He called out to the group.


    Another pop up.


    The voting has concluded!


    It showed three pictures, one of her, with ¡®10 Votes¡¯ pasted over it, one of Kobe with one vote and another of Dmitriy, also with one vote. Then, a series of notifications popped up.


    Congratulations! You have been elected! As Party Leader, you will have full control of the Party Settings and will be able to make purchases with Party Value.


    Unallocated Value: 450


    There were a number of other notifications, including a lot of additional information about the Party system and the settings she could adjust, but she could already feel the darkness closing in.


    With her last bit of mental energy, she ordered a Fixer Upper 2000, then promptly passed out.

 12. A Blessing and a Curse

    He used to think that the guillotine was a barbaric device. A relic of a bygone era, when people were less educated, particularly in the teachings of morality. Indeed, people must have been crueler, back then, more bloodthirsty even, to be executing people in such a savage way.


    So he had thought. But now he knew that it was, in fact, one of the best ways to die. Given his options, possibly the very best way. A feeling of pressure, just the briefest jolt of pain, and then it was over. Being unexpectedly beheaded was a blessing, given all the horrible ways one could meet their end.


    It wasn¡¯t something he¡¯d ever expected or wanted to have an opinion on. Carpenters, he supposed, would have all kinds of opinions about wood coatings or nails, perhaps even about deforestation. If you wanted to know what kind of powertool to buy, you¡¯d be well off asking a carpenter. A tailor, on the other hand, might go on at length about the benefits and downsides of double woven cotton. When in need of expertise on fabrics, they¡¯d be the perfect person to turn to.


    Barry hadn¡¯t considered himself an expert in anything, though he would have been able to explain a few interesting things about evolutionary biology. In the old world, if you¡¯d had him over for dinner, he would have happily gone on for hours about different styles of dance. That was before.


    Now, Barry knew about dying.


    Given the circumstances, he fancied that he might well be the world¡¯s foremost expert on it.


    He¡¯d died thirty eight deaths in the virtual training environment and remembered every single one in great detail. It wasn¡¯t the kind of thing you could forget, no matter how much you tried. Each death was an extremely intense experience, burned into his soul.


    The general rule with dying was simple: the faster, the better. He¡¯d been unpleasantly surprised by the resilience of the human body, his in particular. There had been too many opportunities to regret bringing his Durability as high as he had. It kept you alive longer, whether you liked it or not.


    How ignorant he¡¯d been just a few weeks ago, to think that being cut in half was a terrible way to die. Today, he¡¯d have to rank it somewhere in the top half of possible deaths. The shock to the body made everything hazy and prevented you from feeling too much pain. You¡¯d bleed out quickly. An unpleasant yet acceptable death, all things considered.


    If you were perforated by spikes, on the other hand, they would keep the blood from flowing out and it would take much, much longer. In a fit of hubris, he¡¯d gone straight into the obstacle course right after a considerable increase in his Speed and stumbled off the top of the first wall. Never again.


    This had several effects on him, which he observed with morbid interest. He knew a thing or two about evolutionary biology from his studies, so he could fully appreciate how evolution was letting him down here.


    The process was simple: once something seriously hurt you, certainly when something killed you, you would fear it. Even just glancing at the spikes would now cause his body to release adrenaline and cortisol, increasing his heart rate and making him feel anxious. As a result, his performance actually got slightly worse in areas where he¡¯d died before, which added to his frustration. He thought he was starting to notice some improvement again though. It might be his body simply building up resistance to the constant spikes of cortisol and adrenaline, similar to what happened with a seasoned alcoholic.


    On the positive side, there was another effect at work here, which he¡¯d learned of as the range-frequency theory. The actual theory had been quite complicated, talking about the role of range and frequency in how people evaluated various things. His simplified recollection of it was something like this: people subconsciously rank new experiences against all similar experiences they¡¯ve had so far.


    For someone who¡¯d won the lottery, finding a thousand dollars on the street was not that meaningful - they¡¯d already reached what one might consider the highest possible experience of ¡®lucking into money¡¯. By contrast, a person who¡¯d never won anything in their life would be ecstatic. It worked on sensory experiences too; if you¡¯d grown up in a quiet environment, the traffic in a city would be felt as extremely loud, and the reverse was true as well.


    For someone who¡¯d repeatedly felt some of the most excruciating pain possible, well, a cut to the arm was barely worth noticing anymore. It seemed to be helping with his anger issues, too. He¡¯d gotten much better at taking a beating without losing his temper. Pokka had given some useful exercises too, as promised, but mainly his advice had been that ¡®repeated exposure should yield positive effects¡¯.


    It was thanks to his suffering in the last two weeks, that he could now look at the Roid-Bull standing across from him and feel only a moderate amount of fear. After five previous attempts, the preliminary conclusion was that it delivered good deaths most of the time. It was nearly as big as a bus and moved incredibly fast, so a frontal hit would kill him instantly. Being crushed under its feet was also a relatively fast demise. The worst it had done so far was to snap him up in its jaws, which still didn¡¯t take very long to kill him, but was an awful experience nonetheless.


    The goal of this training was simple: to stay alive while continuing to move around for at least thirty minutes. Pokka had more or less forced him into it after a discussion about Barry¡¯s odds of survival against a Roid-Bull. His reasoning had been that he¡¯d managed to outsmart one with just his base Stats, so after several weeks of training and with higher Stats, he should almost certainly find a way to survive. Pokka had insisted that his survival was an unlikely fluke, projecting that he¡¯d die at least ninety five out of a hundred times.


    So far, the score was zero to Barry, five to the Roid-Bull.


    Considering whether to still increase his Stats before this attempt, he remained perfectly still so as not to trigger the huge monster. Despite being several hundred yards away, he knew it would sense even the smallest vibrations and would promptly investigate.


    An increase in Speed would take time to get used to, and most of the other Stats wouldn¡¯t help, except for Senses. He still had trouble tracking the Roid-Bull¡¯s movements and reacting in time, so an increase there could help. It would sharpen all of his senses, but also somehow improve his processing time, so that he could better keep up with things that were happening at high speeds.


    With a mental command, he increased Senses by another two points and looked at his overview.


    Stats


    Strength: 14


    Durability: 16


    Speed: 26


    Senses: 13


    Intelligence: 10


    PE Capacity: 100 KJ


    Abilities


    [Halt Wave - Sphere]


    [Cast Wave]


    [Direct Manipulation - Waves]


    [Blur Image]


    [Camouflage]


    [Direct Manipulation - Light]


    Wallet


    Unallocated Value: 6640


    Value allocated to Stats: 390


    Value allocated to Abilities: 480


    Value spent on items: 1350


    He¡¯d been steadily increasing his Stats the last two weeks, which was necessary to get used to the changes. An increase of more than two points in Speed would cause him to stumble with nearly each step for at least a few hours. It was getting better though, as the relative change of a single point became lower.


    Looking down, he¡¯d perhaps gained a bit of muscle mass, but the changes were barely noticeable. As Pokka had explained, they were somehow changing his body on a molecular level. Fiber by fiber, his muscle tissue would be changed to a stronger material with all the same properties that were needed to keep his body functioning. The receptors in his eyes, ears and nose would be improved, as would the nerves running through his body.


    Intelligence was the most baffling, where the size, strength and something called the ¡®dendritic complexity¡¯ of his neurons would be increased in line with the Stat. The growth was slower than other Stats for some reason, but over time it would increase speed of thought, improve memory and allow for more connections to be made.


    The thought of being changed like that was deeply disturbing to Barry, but he had no choice but to accept it.


    Given his focus on Speed, Pokka had advised him to maintain his Strength and Durability at least at a fourth of his Speed Stat, ideally a third, as otherwise he¡¯d risk damaging his own body over time. Senses needed to be kept closer to fifty percent, or else his environment would turn to an unrecognizable blur when he moved at a sprint.


    With a Speed of 26, he felt that he was ridiculously fast, three times faster than he was before. From the tests he¡¯d done, he was sure he could sprint a hundred meters in under 6.5 seconds. If he went to the Olympics today, he¡¯d easily win all of the running competitions. He¡¯d probably win most of the other categories as well, come to think of it.


    And yet, that was still nowhere near the speed of the Roid-Bull. It was a monster in every sense of the word. It looked exactly like the ones he¡¯d encountered before,easily twice the size of a rhino but without a horn, covered in thick, overlapping slats of gray hide, with a long and flat maw lined with vicious teeth.


    The best tactics for dealing with this beast remained the same no matter how often he thought them over: avoidance. In this virtual environment, there was no cliff to try and lure it off, no trees or rocks to hide behind. There was just a dull, gray sky above an endless expanse of desert. Which was why he¡¯d been spending most of his time getting better at Abilities meant to keep the bull from noticing him, regardless of the environment.


    He toggled [Direct Manipulation - Waves] on and shifted his mindset, focusing on something beyond his normal senses, creating imaginary feelers as Pokka had taught him to do. After a few moments, he was ready, not needing to meditate anymore after many hours of training.


    Then, he cast [Halt Wave - Sphere], which created a sphere around him that would stop waves of a certain kind. Pokka had spoken at length about different kinds of waves and how the names in the Abilities were unfortunately imprecise. For his purposes, it was important that the sphere would stop sound from traveling, no matter through what medium. So it would cover for any sounds he made, but also the sound traveling through the ground which the Roid-Bull was highly sensitive to.


    The challenge was that the sphere from this Ability would remain in place instead of moving along with him. What he had to learn to do, was to somehow pull it along using Direct Manipulation.


    Closing his eyes, he focused on the imagined tentacles sprouting from his back, creating six in total. With them, he could sense the minor ripples around him, coming from the sound of his breathing. As he followed their trajectory through the air, he could sense where they stopped, absorbed by the invisible wall of his sphere. He then attached three to one side of the bubble, at different heights, that he could use to push it out.


    It took a while to get the bubble to move, as he had to push a minute amount of energy into it, without changing its properties. Far too many accidents in his PE training had taught him to be careful when pushing energy out. He¡¯d blown out his eardrums or blinded himself during Light Manipulation training often enough that he¡¯d started doing the exercises while hooked up to the Fixer Upper.


    Barry had proposed to train free PE Node usage in the virtual environment, but apparently that didn¡¯t help to strengthen the brain to PE Node connection. Something about how the VR helmet worked, made it impossible to develop a better link while using it. It was still useful to practice applying the existing connection, but he also had to train while not using the helmet.


    Finally, the bubble stretched out to the side, elongating into more of a distorted oval shape. He stepped along with it, then pulled at the other side to bring it back to its original round form. Stretching it too far would cause it to collapse.


    He had to keep repeating this, pushing at it to stretch it out and pulling the other side over, as he very slowly started to move forward. At first about a minute passed between two steps, but as he got into a steady rhythm, it gradually decreased until he could move at a slow but steady pace.


    Then, adding to the challenge, he still had to add light into the mix. Pokka had once hinted that other predators were around, so despite the Roid-Bull¡¯s poor eyesight, moving around in plain sight would be risky. Luckily for him, there was an Ability called [Blur Image] that did track your movements after you activated it, so he didn¡¯t have to manipulate it himself.


    He¡¯d spent his final token on [Direct Manipulation - Light], which he now toggled on as well. With that decision, he¡¯d basically committed to focusing mainly on sound and light based Abilities for the foreseeable future, which was necessary to survive the dangerous zones ahead. Learning to keep his attention on multiple Abilities at the same time was extremely hard, but as Pokka had tactfully noted, his life would depend on it.


    Observing and manipulating lightwaves thankfully did not require him to develop some new type of imaginary tentacle. Instead, he had to focus on his vision, somehow allowing signals sent by the PE Node to expand it. It was a different type of mental exercise, and to work on it simultaneously with his sound-manipulating feelers felt like juggling with both hands and feet. For now, all he had to do was observe what [Blur Image] did and how it moved along with him.


    Thus Barry moved, with long, slow strides across the reddish brown sand and cracked rock. He didn¡¯t pay any attention to the sounds he made, all of his focus taken up by manipulating the sphere that contained all sound. From the outside, he looked like a fuzzy smear of colors due to [Blur Image[, mostly black from his hair and jumpsuit interspersed with smaller areas of lighter shades.


    Sweat rolled down his temple as he took one careful step after the other, looking straight ahead with a vacant gaze, unaware of his surroundings. The steady pace helped him get into a rhythm; a push to the side of the bubble, followed by a long step, finally followed by a pull on the other side before repeating the cycle. His PE capacity was steadily ticking down as the Abilities consumed the energy.


    He headed straight for the Roid-Bull, which had shown no sign that it was aware of him, then bending to the right to move past it.


    All went well for a good while and he made it past the monster, but as he reached the twenty minute mark, inevitably, his exhaustion built up to the point where he made a mistake. Barry was so absorbed in the rhythm of his steps, that when his push to the side unexpectedly brought no result, his right foot, already moving, landed outside of the bubble.


    Instantly, he realized the mistake and looked back to see the Roid-Bull already turning around to face him. The downside of [Halt Wave - Sphere] was that it would stop all waves in both directions, so he didn¡¯t hear its movements nor could he feel any tremors in the ground. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Gathering his focus, he pushed again at the side of the sphere, needing to step out of its path without being detected. It moved this time and he took a step to the side, but he saw the Roid-Bull bracing for its rush and knew it wasn¡¯t far enough.


    He deactivated the Ability instead, stepping out to the side and ducking. Having anticipated its path correctly, the beast flashed by his side, just barely missing him as its jaws snapped closed over his head. There was a blast of air as it moved past.


    Knowing he had but a moment while it came to a stop and turned back, he made to reactivate the Ability and push the sphere out to the side once more, but again he was too slow, the monster turning around too fast. As the Roid-Bull came at him again with that impossible acceleration, he instead bent his knees, braced, and jumped straight up. He kept the Ability active, planning to have the bull pass underneath him so that he would come back down inside the sphere, hiding the sounds of his landing.


    As he saw it coming and could judge the distances with his improved Perception, Barry had a moment to regret his decision before the top of the bull¡¯s head clipped his feet, and then the barren landscape turned into an incoherent blur as he was sent into a spin, coming down hard, vision swimming.


    He was too dazed to get up fast enough and felt resigned, thinking that at least it would be a good death, when another idea popped into his head. If he couldn¡¯t move away fast enough while remaining unnoticed, perhaps misdirection would work instead.


    With a thought, he activated [Cast Wave] and pushed what he hoped was the right amount of energy into it, aiming a few yards to his left. He kept himself still and to his surprise, the bull took the bait, veering to the left and snapping at the air.


    It then brought itself to a stop, faster than before, turning around as it grunted with frustration. He suspected the beast was using some form of Momentum Ability to make itself move so fast, but that didn¡¯t help him at all.


    Instead of activating his sphere, he used [Cast Wave] again, manipulating it with his feelers to create a series of small waves in the rock that he hoped would mimic his footsteps.


    Again, it rushed forward, then stopped and turned around with another angry grunt. It began to dig at the spot where he¡¯d cast the waves as it produced ever louder noises, until it finally stomped at the ground, cracking the rock. Barry was surprised to see it repeated this several times, even rearing up on two feet, then stamping down with its front hooves to thoroughly smash the rocky soil.


    Then, it stood still, and Barry watched with amazement as the broken rocks floated up from the ground, then shot forward lightning-quick, covering a wide arc in front of the bull. He remained still as the rocks flew wide to his left, not making any noise, but then it turned towards him, the next batch floating up.


    He had a moment to wonder at its intelligence, if it was smart enough to methodically comb the area around it as a countermeasure to stealth, when it fired the next wave of rocks. Despite his increased Speed and Perception, he barely saw the rock coming before it smashed straight through his head.


    The next moment, he was taking the VR helmet off, still shaken by that flash of horrified realization that he was about to die. The effect stayed with him for a while, his heart pounding and body breaking out in sweat, even though he wasn¡¯t hurt.


    It had been an excellent death, all things considered, but that didn¡¯t help his mood as he sat, staring at the all too familiar walls of his prison, waiting for his body to stop shaking.


    ***


    Barry only had time for a short lunch break, before he was back to Ability training. He always inspected his food closely, as if by gaping at it he¡¯d somehow learn more about its mysterious origins. He chewed slowly, savoring the meal. Eating and sleeping were the only times he felt normal, just for a little while. There might be a few blissful moments where he wasn¡¯t fearing for his family¡¯s lives or contemplating the arduous journey ahead of him.


    Then, it was back to training. He felt hollow as he sat cross-legged on his carpet, working to move the wave-halting sphere in front of him from left to right. Although he preferred to focus on it completely and get lost in the exercise, it actually went better if he let his mind wander. Similar to how walking or breathing became harder when you focused on it, he was learning that communicating with the PE Node worked better on an intuitive, subconscious level.


    Pokka had said that he was showing signs of grief and depression, to which Barry had replied with a snarky remark, as he always did these days. Obviously, he was depressed. How could he possibly be doing well, stuck in a cave, forced to go through grueling training every day, knowing that there was not even the comfort of civilization to return to?


    It was only getting worse. The AI had also claimed that in small, subtle ways, Barry was seeking death. Things always moved fast in the training environment and his life often depended on a split-second decision or reflex. Pokka was saying that in those moments, when he had a chance of taking a non-lethal hit to his shoulder, Barry would often fail to move or even tilt his head to take a fatal hit. Too often for it to be a coincidence.


    He wasn¡¯t sure what to make of that. Was he losing his survival instincts? If so, what could he do about it?


    As he considered whether to reduce time spent in the virtual environment, and find a more relaxing activity that would take his mind off things, the soundproof bubble in front of him was moving smoothly from left to right. Absently, he was using [Cast Wave] to create soundwaves next to it, building an intuitive feeling for how it nullified them. Instead of absorbing them, it seemed to mirror them and produce a wave that would cancel it out.


    What did he used to do, when he was stressed and feeling down? Get some exercise in, perhaps. Read a good book. Eat comfort food while watching a feel good movie. Dance.


    He paused on that last one. How long had it been since he had last danced? He hadn¡¯t even thought of it since being teleported here. It always used to cheer him up, though he hadn¡¯t ever faced anything like this. But as he remembered the feeling of going through the practiced motions, getting lost in the music, there was a small, pleasant flutter in his stomach. He¡¯d have to give it a try.


    An ominous sound caused his attention to snap back to the bubble and soundwaves, which he immediately realized he was losing control of. His thoughts had wandered too far and he¡¯d somehow put too much energy into it. Realizing the situation was beyond saving, he instead activated [Halt Wave - Sphere] again, to protect himself from the inevitable soundblast.


    He¡¯d moved the sphere all the way to the one side of the cave, right besides the entrance and there was first complete silence as it exploded, then a final whistling sound as his PE Capacity hit zero and the Ability deactivated.


    ¡°Bah. That was careless.¡±


    The outburst came from Pokka, whose face was unusually expressive, carrying a deep frown.


    The AI only ever said things deliberately, so Barry felt a prickle running over his body, giving him goosebumps as he got to his feet.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m skirting the rules here, but they¡¯re my own rules and I abhor waste, so I will give you a hint. That blast exceeded the range of your Energy Shroud. The rest is up to you.¡± His tone was urgent and serious, and after the last sentence, the AI promptly disappeared.


    Barry stiffened as he processed the words, knowing this was not a prank and he may not have much time. That blast of sound had gone past his cloaking device. Why would that prompt a warning from Pokka?


    It could have been picked up by a Roid-Bull, but they would have no way to reach him. No, he corrected himself, that wasn¡¯t quite right. There were other monsters out there. He had to be prudent and assume something had heard and would come to investigate. Given the danger level of the zone he was in, if a creature did come to investigate, it would be extremely dangerous. At the very least, he would have to get ready to run.


    He moved, making for his portable teleportation device. Reaching the Totem, he pressed the button that would change it to mobile mode. Without delay, it started packing itself up, the disc and feet sliding back into the central pole, which in turn collapsed on itself, different sections moving into each other until one thick rod was left, about the size of a water bottle. He put it into a kind of strap which he slung over his shoulders like a backpack.


    Next, he started the deactivation of the Energy Shroud, which took a while but was necessary to take it out of its anchored position, making it moveable again.


    Barry caught a flicker of movement from the corner of his vision. There had been a faint glow of sunlight coming in through the thin lip that formed the entrance to his cave, which was now gone. Then, there was a loud crash, making him flinch. It could only be something smashing into the cave wall from outside. Something large - the impact was strong enough to make pieces of rock fall down from the rock wall.


    It caught him by surprise; he¡¯d still been focused on vibrations traveling through rock, imagining some sort of subterranean creature that would burrow into his cave. But of course, any other animal could have simply heard the blast, though he had no idea how it could have reached this spot on the cliff side that quickly.


    Whatever it was, since it was blocking the only exit, there would likely be no escape. His only options were to hide or fight.


    Making the most of his increased Speed, it took only a short moment for Barry to reach the other end of the cave, pressing himself against the wall before activating his Abilities.


    [Camouflage] was a new, light-based Ability he¡¯d picked up recently. It would take around a minute to activate completely, requiring you to hold still, but it would then effectively make you blend into the surroundings seamlessly. If he could eventually, through direct manipulation, get this Ability to remain active while in movement, it would be an amazing addition to his arsenal.


    Barry suppressed a curse as he realized his PE Capacity was still close to empty. It would take hours for it to recharge again from the ambient energy here. Recalling something he¡¯d seen in passing, he opened the system interface, searching for a solution.


    There were scratching sounds coming from outside, followed by something hammering into the wall. Barry clenched his jaw, cursing the overload of information and options that were available in the interface.


    The cave wall trembled as it took another hit, and he thought he could see more light coming in as the entrance was being widened. He was almost out of time, considering to stop the search and just re-activate the Energy Shroud, leaning on the cloaking abilities of the device instead of his own. But it had a wide range and as soon as anything passed it, it would be able to see and hear everything. If he re-activated it here, the range would still run close to the entrance, so it would be a huge gamble.


    He finally found what he was looking for as another piece of the wall crumbled inwards. Not having any time for doubt, he purchased a PE Capacity upgrade for 400 Value, bringing his capacity to 1000 kJ. His bet paid off, the expansion coming with a fresh fill of energy, bringing his capacity back over eighty percent.


    Without any further delay, he activated [Camouflage] as well as his sound-proof bubble. All sound disappeared and he was left to wait in silence, trying not to move. Looking out at the messy cave, he realized all of his things were still there. The best scenario would be for the creature to leave after a short investigation, so it would be better if it saw nothing at all.


    Barry had never used the storage function of the MAFT, so it took him a moment to find the right tab in his interface. As he activated it, there was a visual overlay that let him select objects to put into storage. One by one, he marked the items, starting with the mattress and the carpet and ending with the Energy Shroud, which had supposedly been keeping him from being detected by predators all this time.


    He let out a sigh of relief as the items simply disappeared, having been teleported away to be put into ¡®stasis¡¯ somewhere, as Pokka called it. The cave was empty and dark now, and Barry could only watch in tense silence as the wall shook, ever larger pieces of rocks falling to the ground.


    Counting down the seconds for [Camouflage] to be complete, he focused inwards. One benefit of his grueling training was the ability to somehow distance himself from his own body, minimizing the impact of his emotions. He noticed the usual symptoms of fear, but of a different kind than he had when first facing the Roid-Bull. That feeling had been deep and primal, making him feel sick, nearly paralyzing him. What he felt now was more subdued and controlled, closer to caution than fear.


    But there was something else too; excitement and curiosity. On the other side of that wall, there was something new and dangerous, something that might break the depressing training cycle he was trapped in. Thinking back to Pokka¡¯s warnings about him seeking death, he clamped down on that feeling. No matter what, he could not die here.


    He noticed his finger tapping quickly on his thigh, and put his other hand over it to keep it still. Contrary to the paralyzing fear, this feeling was electrifying, jolting through his body, making him focused and antsy. Maintaining his emotional distance as he noticed those symptoms, he then forced himself to keep still, eyes trained on the wall to the outside.


    There was a pause in the strikes to the outside wall, followed by a different kind of attack. The whole cave trembled and Barry felt alarmed as he noticed how quickly his PE Capacity was draining, already down by a third. Was that an earthquake? No, that didn¡¯t make sense. Some type of sound-based attack?


    Whatever it was, the outside wall was crumbling now, large holes opening up and letting sunlight in. When Barry saw something moving to peek in, he quickly fed some additional energy to [Camouflage] to ensure he was well covered.


    It took his eyes a moment to adjust, but even then he had trouble making sense of the unnatural shape. Large claws were closing around the remaining ridges of rock and tearing them loose, but still the massive creature was too large to fit inside, blocking most of the light with what he thought were colossal wings. That would explain how it had got here so quickly; it could have simply flown down.


    The huge monster was covered in beautiful feathers in light shades of white and blue, but the rest of it looked nothing like a bird. There were two strange openings in the middle of its torso, which took Barry a moment to identify as eyes. Instead of a head, it had three long, swan-like necks, two of which ended into a kind of sphincter, reminding him of a worm¡¯s mouth. The middle one was the longest of the three and it ended in what he thought was either cartilage or bone, shaped in a thin cone.


    It was clearly an airborne predator. Its feathers would make it hard to spot against the sky. With its three, worm-like appendages, it looked like a monstrously large three-headed bird that had been beheaded. Would it use those to feed? It didn¡¯t have a beak, nor were there any teeth as far as he could see.


    A shiver went down Barry¡¯s spine as a membrane closed over the large eyes in its torso and opened again. He remained as still as he could, barely breathing, fear welling up from his stomach as he stared at its dark pupils.


    Should he bring his spear out from storage? If he was fast enough, he might be able to get a surprise hit in, and if he skewered it through one of those eyes..


    The monster seemed frustrated, moving in short bursts as it tilted its torso to scan the cave with its eyes, massive claws scratching angrily at the rock. He kept still, taking this as a sign that his [Camouflage] skill was working and it couldn¡¯t see him at all.


    After a moment it stopped scanning the room, keeping its body still. Its immense chest inflated, growing even larger, then it stretched its cone-shaped appendage away from its body, pointing it into the cave.


    As its chest deflated, Barry¡¯s PE capacity rapidly decreased, already nearing sixty percent. It had to be some kind of sound-based attack, then. A way to stun its prey? Would it be enough to kill him, if he didn¡¯t have the protection of his bubble? He decided that would not be a good death.


    The cave shook as his capacity took another dive, larger pieces of rock crumbling from the wall and now also the ceiling. The shaking intensified until it reached a critical point, when a blast came from the cone. Barry could only watch in horrified silence as a visible shockwave traveled through the air, slamming into the rock surrounding him, then into his barrier.


    It just barely held on, sitting at ten percent. A part of the ceiling near the entrance was collapsing, but it didn¡¯t seem to bother the creature, which was again scanning the room. Smaller pieces of rock were now falling all over and Barry let out a soft grunt of pain as a rock hit him on the shoulder and another on his foot.


    At this rate, he¡¯d be buried alive. Unless his head was crushed by a large boulder, that would decidedly not be a good way to die, suffocating slowly under the crushing weight of tons of rock. His PE Capacity was still ticking down, but he didn¡¯t panic, instead once again turning to the one place he¡¯d likely find a solution: the System Interface.


    Quickly scanning through it, he first decided to purchase 200kJ of additional capacity to expand his reserves. Then, not having any time for a more thorough search, he got the first Ability that seemed like it would be useful.


    [Reflect Momentum]


    When activating this Ability, you will be able to designate a six by six foot square pane within a twenty foot radius from your body. For as long as the Ability remains active, any solid objects entering the pane will be immediately subject to a reflecting force which contains the exact opposite of its current direction and energy.


    As he was trying to activate the Ability, messing with the targeting system, he noticed that the creature seemed to be losing interest with the cave, withdrawing its appendages and stepping back. It began flapping its wings outside the cave entrance while it held on with its claws, letting out a final, angry blast of sound which cost him another five percent, and then, just like that, it was gone.


    It left behind a gaping hole where used to be a solid cave wall. Barry blinked at the sunlight that was streaming in, feeling like he was in a different place than the cave he¡¯d come to know so intimately over the last weeks.


    There was rubble all over the floor by now, parts of the right wall and a large section of the ceiling near the entrance having collapsed. As he watched, unsure whether it was safe to release his Abilities yet, the front right part of the cave came down, covering nearly half of the entrance. That decided it; he needed to get out, right now.


    With his PE Capacity back up to twenty three percent, he activated [Reflect Momentum]. The familiar overlay appeared, with a targeting system that allowed him to move the invisible pane of force. He positioned it so that it would cover the area where most of the ceiling was starting to come down, large slabs of stone crashing onto the floor.


    Dropping his Abilities, he darted across the cave, leaping and spinning between pieces of falling rock until he reached the area protected by [Reflect Momentum].


    The rocks that landed on the invisible pane of force were coming to a stop, staying in place for a fraction of a second before falling down again. It was a strange and magical sight, as if time came to a stop in just that small area, but he didn¡¯t have time to enjoy it, instead breaking into a final sprint.


    Barry skidded to a stop by the cave entrance, which was now just a pile of rubble followed by a steep drop. There was a moment of vertigo and then hesitation as he looked over the edge and down the black depths of the canyon. The memory had felt distant and surreal, like it might have just been a nightmare, but there it was again, that dark abyss.


    He forced himself to pull away and then turned around, facing with his back to the canyon, taking a final look at his cave. He sneered, spitting forcefully onto the cave floor, then pulled himself up and began scaling the outside wall.


    Slowly but steadily he made his way up, moving his sound-proof bubble along while keeping [Blur Image] active as well. He took his time, scanning the sky for movement, every now and then pausing and activating [Camouflage] when he thought he spotted something.


    Although it was a safe place, every time he heaved himself up and moved further away from the cave, it felt like a heavy weight came off his shoulders. He breathed in, closing his eyes as a light breeze blew across his skin, cooling him down. There hadn¡¯t ever been even the slightest breeze down there.


    Finally, his hands touched sand again as he pulled himself over the edge, looking out across the desert where it had all started. Pokka appeared by his side again, having remained out of sight which was apparently standard procedure for an encounter.


    ¡°That careless blast has significantly reduced your chances of survival.¡±


    Barry did not react. Pokka let out a sigh.


    ¡°Now that we are here, far too soon, you will have to move with the utmost caution. It would be foolish to continue with so much Value in the bank, so you should at least increase your Stats. I would recommend you continue your focus on Speed, but don¡¯t forget the recommended ratios for¡­¡±


    There was a pause.


    ¡°What is happening with your face? Yet another sign of trauma?¡±


    Barry had been staring out at the sunset, taking long, deep breaths through his nose as a pearl of sweat rolled down his temple. Only when he touched his cheeks, did he realize what Pokka meant.


    For the first time in what felt like forever, he had a smile on his face.