After another round of heals, the group was none the worse for the wear, and they were nearing the elevators.
“Aw, hell to the no!” Gus growled as the supers pushed the button to summon the elevator. He activated the EMP to see if that would stall their movements. The whine began again and Gus watched on another monitor. Four augments rushed together and interlocked arms. Another super waved their hands as if casting a spell and then in an instant, yellow glowing lines formed a cell-like structure over the augments.
When the EMP finally fired, there was a distortion wave at the cage’s outer edges, but the augments within were unaffected. The elevators arrived and the supers piled in. They were coming straight for the control center.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Break Stuff
He keyed in a command and the metal plate shielding the control room window retracted. He locked the door to the control room and opened the window. He had expected to take more of them out before he had to fall back on the last part of the plan. Aurora had said they’d have a tough time working together, but that didn’t appear to be the case.
He sneered as he hit play on a playlist he had crafted a while ago: Kick-ass Battle Mix 1. He stepped out the window and closed it behind him.
Then he jumped.
You have created a song-chain. Current multiplier: Geometric x2.
Flash by Queen. Song Chain Anchor.
As the music thumped the intro, Gus dove out the window, slowing his speed so he was not in front of any windows on his flight down to the ground. He landed and surveyed the scene, making sure there were no stragglers on his minimap before proceeding. There were a couple disabled supers lying around. Gus began the task of Leeching their abilities, approaching the closest one who looked to be right next to one of the damaged pylons.
The super was burned badly and gasped as he tried to crawl forward. A spike of anger hit Gus as he realized that his teammates had just left him here like garbage. In their rush to get into the manor, no one had stopped to offer one bit of aid. The man was obviously shuddering and groaning in agony.
Hustla by Teddybears. Success rates x2.
The new song put a twinge into Gus, reminding him there wasn’t time to think too much about it. He reached out and put a hand on his shoulder, hoping the unconsciousness would ease his obvious discomfort. As Gus extracted his abilities, he began to shake uncontrollably and then suddenly stopped. Gus felt for a pulse but unfortunately, the strain must have been too much for him.
You have defeated Skorzeny (Level 38).
32,500 XP awarded.
65,000 FP awarded.
You have unlocked the skill KritzKrieg (Level 12).
You have unlocked the skill Schadenfreude (Level 17).
Gus gasped at the enormous amount of experience and FP. It was easily on par with what he received for defeating Methiochos. He stood there in shock, conflicted with what he had done and for how easily he could have been getting stacks of XP. He stared in shock as the form blanched and crumbled, collapsing like a log in a fire. All that was left was something metal in the ashes.
He remembered feeling guilty about killing mantids a couple weeks ago, and now his actions led to the death of another human. Was he becoming that callous? No! It was an accident.
“He would have died anyway,” Nick ventured, startling Gus’ stupor.
“That doesn’t make me feel any better. I should have given him a gel. I didn’t even check before draining him.”
“What is done is done.”
Gus turned to leave and felt a sudden shock, as if he had been struck by lightning. He crumbled to a ball amid the remains of Skorzeny.
PENALTY!
You have acted in a manner contrary to a Guiding Principle by directly taking another’s life through your actions. Recent actions are compounded by your desire to retaliate and acting upon feelings of vengeance.
You lose any XP gained for this level and ALL remaining FP, in addition to losing an entire level.
This is a serious breach and if repeated will lead to further penalties and ultimate loss of access to this Guiding Principle and its benefits.
You have lost a level! You are now level 19, last allocated stat points automatically deducted.
25,000 XP to level 20.
Gus rolled onto his back, the pain intensifying. It felt like burrowing worms crawling through his system, eating as they moved throughout his body, but mostly in his gut. At last the pain subsided, but he was thoroughly coated with dust and white with ash. His squirming had spread out the remains to a small oval that was not human shaped any longer and Gus saw a ring sitting there among the dust. He picked it up and looked at it, noting an inscription and, if it was authentic, the largest sapphire Gus had ever seen in his life.
As he looked closer to read the inscription, his watch began to buzz and flicker to life. Gus stowed the ring in a pocket and ran to get somewhere a little less exposed.
Error. Insufficient level for Fractal Unfolding.
Removing stat boost +10 per stat for reaching level 2.
Refolding unable to be performed… calculating…
Error
Run diagnostic sequence…
Gus now felt a paralyzing numbness sweep over his body, making it hard to coordinate his body and walk.
Without warning, his left leg stopped working and he pitched forward, barely catching himself from falling on his face. What is happening to me?
“You are reaping what-t-t-t—” Nick-Chiun’s voice stuttered and then stopped.
Reversion to previous NIC interface due to level insufficiency…
“You know, I have to admit, I’m flattered,” Nick said. “Losing levels just to see me again, wow. What a mensch!”
“I never thought I’d say it, but it’s good to have the old you back.”
“I told you you’d miss me! I just didn’t know you’d go to extremes.”
Invincible by DEAF KEV. Success rates
