I don’t even think about turning Brad down and I stride by the others, PowerSuit thumping on the stones. Kate holds out her arm as if to stop me, but Bobby instantly lowers it to let me pass. Taking point with Bobby behind me and Kate and Brad flanking me on either side, I steel myself and focus as much as I can, then draw on my Mana and let it billow out down the corridor to try to sense any other Mana or disturbances. It only makes it halfway before my Mana’s exhausted and it will be a while before I can do it again. There’s nothing that I can sense, no latent Mana..
“Nice trick,” comments Kate. Most people with magic-like Powers don’t have the flexibility I do, but they have stronger effects and a lot more Power in reserve.
I ignore her and deploy the beam weapon on my right forearm and projectiles on my left, plus I activate the PowerSuit’s shield at half strength since there’s no immediate danger and I don’t know how fast its power reservoirs will drain. Quickly I cycle through all the different visual options I have available and can’t see anything in any of the spectrums. I’ve done hundreds, maybe thousands, of Dungeons, but this one feels different.
No more preparations to do I can think of, I crouch slightly in readiness with my arms both pointed toward the end of the corridor in case we alert the Minotaurs inside by entering, then I start forward. I’m so focused on the end of the corridor that five steps in I’m caught by surprise as one of the stones in the wall launches out at high speed. I react instinctively, accelerated by the PowerSuit, and duck away while bringing my arm up. The PowerSuit strains to hold me upright as the heavy stone slams into me, shattering on my shoulder. I manage to shrug it off, staggering to hold my feet, and wait for the pain to arrive that never comes. I glance down at my shoulder, but it’s in pristine condition other than dust and debris.
I straighten up, hardly able to believe the strength of the Suit. That stone would have flattened me without it, no chance of survival.
“Stay focused!” Bobby yells at me, and he’s right. I’ve lost focus and I snap back into it, adjusting my expectation of what we might find in this Dungeon. I’m only a few steps in. I glance back at my Party and get a huge dose of realism when I remind myself they haven’t even decided to wear something stronger than their combat armor for this Dungeon.
“Step right,” commands Kate, and I do immediately. She thrusts her hands out and clenches her fists, petite form full of Power as she rapidly pulls thermal energy from the corridor. Within a second all the surfaces to the end of the hall are frozen solid. The expansion from flash freezing sends cracks and small explosions of debris all the way down the hall.
“Should be a few feet of stone frozen on all six sides,” she says. Her work has revealed dozens of traps and triggers.
I step back into the middle of the hall and lead us down the corridor. Fuck this - I don’t care if they’ve all got hundreds of Levels on me and I’m only F Ranked. I’ve been training for this my whole life with no Power. Before we’re halfway to the end, feet crunching on the icy floor, a massive Minotaur turns the corner holding a battle axe, clouds of steamy breath huffing from its broad muzzle. Thick corded muscle flexes beneath its coarse, dark fur and its eyes glow red under horns that curl forward in heavy crescents; it must be ten feet tall.
Minotaur Warrior (Level 115)
Damage Reduction Index: 8
Mana: 1510/1750
Conditions: Strength of the Herd, Power Strike, Predatory Instinct
Adrenaline dumps into my system as I see the Level, Damage Reduction and Conditions - it’s clear Monsters don’t operate with simple Powers, and this is way beyond anything I’ve ever faced before. I open up with my beam weapon and flash through projectile options at slightly more than human speed, settling on armor penetrating rounds. I bend my knees, ready for anything, and to give the Party behind me an opportunity to add to my fire, but they hold back. Long hours of practice and my high Attributes mean I strike the first few shots where I want them into the Minotaur’s left eye and left knee, trying to knock it off balance.
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An orange ripple of color explodes around the Minotaur as his portable shield generator absorbs the initial damage and he launches himself at superhuman speed toward me, battle axe sweeping from my left across my body. It’s too fast to deal with, so I lunge and propel myself forward to slide along the icy ground on my back, firing all the time at the Minotaur’s arms. The Minotaur’s shield fails and its arms start to explode apart and sizzle as my hail of fire increases while it recovers its missed swing and stomps a heavy hoof on my stomach as I go by, stopping me cold.
My muscles tense, but the suit somehow holds as the massive beast tries to rake its battle axe low, back across my neck. I shift my rapid fire projectiles to aim at its hands and they’re strong, resisting the damage as it piles on, but at this range with powerful armor piercing bullets the Minotaur’s hands are shredded apart and the battle axe is left behind. With my right arm I activate a plasma blade that flashes out to bite deep into the leg that’s still pinning me to the ground. The Minotaur bellows and in an almost impossibly fast move rears down and headbutts me with its horns and skull.
Impact notifications flash red in my view, but the integrity of the Suit holds again and I wrap my arm around its horns and clamp down with all the strength of the PowerSuit. The Minotaur bucks and twists and strikes me around the hips as I calm myself slightly for a split second and drive my other fist into the side of its head and then channel full power from the Suit into a plasma blade that buries itself deep into the Minotaur’s skull. It convulses and I blend its brain with my blade then leap to my feet.
“Solid 2.5 out of 10, Calrik,” says Brad, but I’m not listening because Soul Sparks have collected inside the Minotaur and I pull them to me. Notifications flash and I read them at the speed of thought then act with a fucking mental fist pump - this is just the start of the Dungeon!
Soul Sparks Reclaimed: 20
Soul Spark reservoir: 20
Would you like to allocate your Soul Sparks?
(Y/N)
I hammer yes with a massive sense of vindication and don’t give it much thought. I add 4 Soul Sparks to Strength and Agility, bringing them to just above human maximums, and dump the rest in Aura to make sure I increase my reclamation range as much as possible.
Soul Sparks Allocated!
Strength +4 (21)
Agility +4 (21)
Aura +12 (27)
Mana Regeneration +12 /min (27)
Stamina +4 /min (154)
Soul Spark Reclamation range +12 (29)
Congratulations! Strength has reached a new threshold
Your ability to exert force on your environment has increased to just beyond human norms.
Congratulations! Agility has reached a new threshold
Your ability to move quickly with accurate proprioception and reflexes has increased to just beyond human norms.
I try to act cool but still focused in front of the rest of my Party as the warmth of the Soul Sparks flows through me, altering my body and spirit in seconds. I can already feel that the PowerSuit’s sensors are more dialled into the movement signals I’m sending them.
“Haha!” exclaims Brad and Bobby claps me on the back, which doesn’t even move me in my PowerSuit despite his higher Level. “A Level from one kill. Nice job!”
They’re obviously watching my Status closely so I’ll need to be careful about whether I allocate my Attributes while I’m with them. I don’t think it’s time to tell the group that I’ll be gaining Soul Sparks and Levels even if I’m not the one doing the killing. Or, even better, I’ll try to do as much of the killing myself as I can.
“That suit should keep you pretty safe,” says Bobby. “But if things get hairy or it gets damaged, we’ll step in. Try not to damage it, though…”
“You just don’t want the Captain all over your back for repair bills,” accuses Kate. I’m not sure how to deal with the casual banter in the most deadly place I’ve ever been in. Bobby shrugs and motions me to continue. Brad goes one further and kicks my lower back from behind. A normal human kicking me in the PowerSuit wouldn’t even register, but Brad launches me most of the rest of the way down the corridor. I land in combat position and glance back at them to see if they’re going to follow. I admit a slight sense of relief when they do.
