Propagate: A survival litrpg

Warm afternoon sun shot through the treetops. Orange beams of light cascaded through the openings in the leaves. The forest was filled with the hum of insects, the scampering of smaller critters and the slightest wash of a distant stream.

The longer I stay in this world, which almost seems like an endless forest, the more I can differentiate between the different biomes. These trees are short and stubby, with silvery bark that dulls in direct sunlight, yet glimmers ever so subtly in the moonlight. The forests have so much variety, between moss and random rock outcroppings, sandy bald spots and reaching deltas and rivers.

"Hoooof." I let out an exhausted sigh. Yesterday was rough, and today wasn't much better. Doesn't help that I haven't slept a wink the whole time. Sleep isn't as vital for me any more. I can easily shrug it off for a day or two, but my performance has noticeably fallen off after sixty hours of almost nonstop hunting and dismantling. Not without merit, of course, but the exhaustion has truly set in, aching down to the bones.

I finally dropped the last set of butchered animal parts. Bones and connective tissue, with a few trace amounts of various, wildly different substances. Not just stuff like horns and cartilage, but weird shit like heart valves and the inner part of the pancreas. I've had enough of monster guts for a lifetime.

Those merits sure are nice though.

< You leveled up! LV47 -> Lv48 | +1 SkP +3 StP>

< +23 S | +14 M | +5 L | Souls >

< New Stocks: +56 str | +42 Spd | + 12 Dex | +76 Stm | +3 Int | +27 Fer | +10 Stl | +34 Def | +24 End | +39 Vit | +18 Eva |

Adreno Boost lv30 x1 Psy Shield lv16 x2 Quake lv18 x1 Aqua Torrent lv23 x3 Willow Wisp lv8-28 x8 Talon Extension lv2-19 x2 Foam Production lv31 x1 Whip lv1-4 x3 Explosive whip lv26 x1 Acid Deluge lv45 x6 Predators Ferocity lv57 x4 Advanced Camouflage lv8 x1 Stone Toss Lv14 x5

< [Spirit Drive] Experience threshold Reached. Lv4 -> Lv7> < [Overpower] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv6> < [Penetrate] Experience threshold Reached. Lv6 -> Lv8> < [Wrecking Smash] Experience threshold Reached. Lv5 -> Lv8> < [Cleave] Experience threshold Reached. Lv7 -> Lv9> < [Skirmish] Experience threshold Reached. Lv15 -> Lv18> < [Dismembering] Experience threshold Reached. Lv7 -> Lv11> < [Breakfall] Experience threshold Reached. Lv6 -> Lv7> < [Nocturnal] Experience threshold Reached. Lv4 -> Lv7> < [Conceal] Experience threshold Reached. Lv8 -> Lv9> < [Nimble Hands] Experience threshold Reached. Lv12 -> Lv16 | +12 Dex> < [Convergence] Experience threshold Reached. Lv13 -> Lv15 | +2 Phys> < [Grand Force Res] Experience threshold Reached. Lv2 -> Lv5> < [Nervous Paralysis Res] Experience threshold Reached. Lv2 -> Lv3> < [Greater Cutting resistance] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv2> < [Sleep res] Experience threshold Reached. L3v -> Lv5> < [3D Maneuvering ] Experience threshold Reached. Lv5 -> Lv8> < [Brash Dash] Experience threshold Reached. Lv18 -> Lv19> < [Launch] Experience threshold Reached. Lv6 -> Lv7 | 16/16> < [Journeyman] Experience threshold Reached. Lv4 -> Lv6> < [Stamina Swell] Experience threshold Reached. Lv2 -> Lv4 | +200 Stam> < [Lethal Toxicology] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv3> < [Bark Runner] Experience threshold Reached. Lv7 -> Lv9> < [Way of the WInd] Experience threshold Reached. Lv6 -> Lv7> < [Seeking] Experience threshold Reached. Lv14 -> Lv19> < [Knock Out] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv2> < [Internal Clock] Experience threshold Reached. Lv4 -> Lv5> < [Stone Mind] Experience threshold Reached. Lv6 -> Lv8 | +6 Int>

< Class Skill: [Desperate Endurance] Experience threshold Reached. Lv5 -> Lv6> < Class Skill: [Petrify] Experience threshold Reached. Lv1 -> Lv2>

< Stamina 100 reached. Acquired overload skill: Last Stand >

< Skill: [Sleep Resistance] has reached its max level 5/5 > < Skill: [Internal Clock] has reached its max level 5/5 >

Stats - (+47 phys)(+8A) Strength 109 Speed 114 (+5A) Stamina 101 Dexterity 123 (+92) Intellect 94 (+38) Insight 19.4 Sense 199 (x3.2)(+10) Vitality 71.5 (1/2) Charm 21 {locked}

Overload / Special / Class Skills Spirit Drive |||| lv7/40 - Death Resistance \ lv9/99 - Corruption Resistance ||| lv2/20 — Desperate endurance || lv6 - Schematica (4/11) || lv5 - Hades Hound || lv5 - Defense Vocation || lv4 - Imitation || lv2 - Petrify || lv2 — (Sen) Nascent - (Dex) Recreation - (Spd) Hyperspace 2/2 - (Str) Concussive Blast - (Stm) Last Stand

Offense Skills - Overpower ||| lv6/20 - Penetrate || lv8/10 - Wrecking Smash || lv8/10 - Cleave ||| lv9/20 - Sharp Shot ||| lv6/20 - Spectral Arrow ||| lv5/20 - Skirmish ||| lv18/20 - Dismembering |||| lv11/40

Defense Skills - Health Pulse ||| lv17/20 - Narrow Evasion ||| lv20/20 - Break Fall || lv7/10 - Nocturnal || lv7/10 - Conceal || lv9/10 - Rumination ||| lv7/20 - Nimble Hands ||| lv16/20 - Convergence |||| lv15/40 - Block | lv5/5 Grand Pain Res ||| lv20/20 - Darkness Res || lv2/10 - Grand Force Res ||| lv5/20 - Nervous Paralysis Res || lv3/10 - Greater Cutting Res || lv2/10 - Baleful Heat Res || lv8/10 - Sleep Res | lv5/5

Mobility skills - 3D Manuvering ||| lv8/20 - Brash Dash ||| lv19/20 - Launch 16/16 ||| lv 7/20 - Journeyman |||| lv6/40 - Stamina Swell | lv4/5

Knowledge Skills - Complex Crafting ||| lv18/20 - Chisling ||| lv13/20 - Lethal Toxicology ||| lv3/20 - Bark Runner || lv9/10 - Terrain Memorization || lv9/10 - Knitting || lv3/10 - OLL ||| lv7/20 - Way of the Wind || lv7/10 - Seeking (⅔) ||| lv19/20 - Knock Out || lv2/10 - Vice Grip || lv3/10 - Internal Clock | lv5/5 -

Magic Skills - Stone Mind || lv8/10 - Mana Grasp || lv2/10 - Mana Shifting || lv2/10

Stocks - +159 Str | +99 Spd | +95 Stm | +74 Int | +34 Fer | +13 Stl | +20 Wis | +34 Def | +24 End | +39 Vit | +18 Eva

Piercing chomp lv1-2 x2 Crushing Bite lv1-3 x13 Ripping Snap lv2-4 x5 Healing Rush x5 Feather Faint lv4 x1 Snipe lv7 x1 Thread Spin lv7-12 x34 Scale shot lv2-9 x28 Six-Fold Smash lv23 x1 Fore-Blade lv19-34 x5 Shadow Sting lv4 x8 Arcanokinesis lv58 x1 Adreno Boost lv30 x1 Psy Shield lv16 x2 Quake lv18 x1 Aqua Torrent lv23 x3 Willow Wisp lv8-28 x8 Talon Extension lv2-19 x2 Foam Production lv31 x1 Whip lv1-4 x3 Explosive whip lv26 x1 Acid Deluge lv45 x6 Predators Ferocity lv57 x4 Advanced Camouflage lv8 x1 Stone Toss Lv14 x5

Modularity- Special: Assimilation

Nervous 300% Immune 300% Robust Integumentary 300% | Ardent Muscular- 300% ||| Absorbing Skeletal- 300% | Circulatory 300% Reproductive 300% Primal Assimilating Digestive 300% || Burst Vacuum Respiratory 300% ||

Brain 300% Heart 300% Lungs 300% Stomach 200% Intestines 200% Muscles 200% Bone marrow 200% Arteries 200% Veins 200% Enriched Blood |

Eyes 200% Ears 200% Jaw 200% Nose 200% Mouth 200% Tough Neck 200% | Supportive Shoulders 100% | Forked Tongue 200% | Arms 200% Stomach 200% Hard Hands 200% | Fingers 200% Condor Thumbs 200% | Demolishing Teeth 200% ||| Hard Hands 200% | Soft Feet 300% | Vigorous Legs 200% |||

"Is this enough?" I ask Oldren, who's sitting cross legged amongst a pile of monster remains, ores, and mechanical junk. He glanced at me, "Yeah, should be. I still need more time with your armor, specifically the-"

"Can I sleep now?" I said, my exhaustion slipping into my voice. Oldrens face softened and he smiled. "Yeah. You can go to sleep now. Good night!" I waved him off and stumbled toward the center of the camp.

Our little refuge was made up of a built campfire, with a pot and two small tables bordering it. A large pile of soft leaves and feathers for Lily sat nearby, with a stone throne for Oldren to lean against while in sleep mode.

I got on my knees, then thumped onto the ground, the impact not hurting at all. I closed my eyes, waiting for sleep to take me. But for some reason, I was so tired I couldn't even sleep. I mentally opened the modification menu, and browsed it with my eyes half open.

I yawned and switched off my [Sleep Resistance] skill with a flick of my will. That seemed to do the trick. I hit the 'Buy' button for the list of modifications I had piled on, my mind finally allowing its sink into the abyss as a cold and fuzzy feeling wrapped around my body.

—

Day 76

I blinked awake and sat up.

< Annexation Succeeded > < New Organs: Nutrient Sac x2 | Nocker x2 | Acknowledged > < Deducted 12 Large souls > < Reconfiguration Succeeded > < All biological processes efficiency increased by 42.3841% > < Additional operation notes: < Sensory overload due to excessively high parameters has been partially dealt with. Modification towards further resistance and processing is greatly recommended. > < Additional reinforcement and modification toward digestive processes in order to upkeep high healing rate recommended. > < Attention toward the endocrine, cardiovascular, and especially excretory systems recommended. >

I-... Is the system chewing me out?

True to the systems analysis, the headache from my overloaded senses, though still persisting, had degraded to a noticeably lesser degree.

Yeah, I was planning to modify my brain for that at some point, though I guess sooner is better than later. More attention towards my digestive system? Fair. And, yeah, I have been ignoring the endocrine, cardiovascular, and excretory systems. I wonder if modifying my excretory system would help with my nutrient efficiency at all? Something to look into.

My stomach rumbled.

..And probably soon.

I got up and felt an immediate difference. I felt.. Really good. Like my entire body was balancing on a beam perfectly. I felt my heart thump powerfully in my chest, my warm blood driving though its channels and invigorating every part of me.

"Max! Wonderful to see you back with us." Oldren's voice rang across the clearing. I looked over, to see an interesting sight. Lily was wearing a full bodysuit, struck in a T pose. It was a very dark blue, almost black, and perfectly hugged her figure.

Oldren looked over at me. "Why are you looking at me like that?" My face was scrunched in mock suspicion teetering on disgust.

I looked from him to Lily and back again. ". . . Was the full body suit really necessary?"

He met my look. "Yes. It's full body protection. It's called a 'cyber mesh' and it's made of ferrous alloy with various flexible monster parts. I made one for you too."

"Jealousy isn't the problem here." I said, mentally preparing a [[Wave Cutter]].

"Max, it's fine." Lily said. "No, really." She reiterated, when my face continued to appear unconvinced. "Fine, do whatever you want." I relented.

The thought still remained in my mind. This was wrong, such a young girl wearing something like that didn't sit right with me. Conversely, it's not really my problem. I'm not her dad. I have no say in how she lives her life. And Oldren doesn't seem to be getting off to it, unlike what I initialy suspected.

I glared over at the two of them, as Oldren started connecting the armor pieces onto her body. The end product was surprisingly inconspicuous. The armor was light and thin, covering the majority of her body and leaving only a few gashes of visible cyber mesh at joints and what not.

Oldren stood back and marveled at the suit, asking her to turn and display the armor in different angles. He nodded. And as I walked over, began explaining himself. "This armor was made to be worn under clothes. It's why the arm covers are more heavily armored and easy to remove. My intention is for you to wear regular clothes over this, to remain inconspicuous."

He continued with a glint in his eye. "No one expects the little girl to be a highly proficient mage. Especially if she doesn't look the part. This'll add a bit of an element of surprise." Lily was preoccupied testing out her new fit.

She inspected her arms and twisted them around. Then she looked at her heels and the back of her legs, twisting around in place like a ballet dancer. Then she started… dancing? Moving her whole body around. Once satisfied, she bolted and began running laps around the camp, probably trying to shake the armor off.

While she took her new armor for a test drive, Oldren pulled me aside. "I figured I should explain myself a bit." I nodded and stayed silent, content to give him as much time as he needed to speak his piece.

He looked uncomfortable. "It's awkward to talk about, so I won't beat around the bush and just say it our right. Ever since I came here… I haven't had a speck of sexual desire."

His speech became rushed. "I- I don't know if it's just survival instincts, or the fact that I'm more machine than human. Or fully…" I met his eyes and nodded. It was something I had personal experience with, but had similarly felt no need to admit openly.

"Yeah, I've had the same experience." He shook his head. "No, you got off a bit better than me." He chuckled humorlessly. I tilted my head in confusion like a dog.

"It was subtle. But I put it together from how you were looking at some of the women we've met. Attraction, at the minimum. When I look at anyone, I don't.. Feel anything."

"I've spent enough time in this form that, even though I have knowledge of such things, they tend to slip my mind. That's why-"

"I get it." I Interjected. "You were just thinking about pure functionality when you were putting that together. I understand now." I extended my arm in a handshake gesture, which he took almost immediately. We shook on it, before quickly relinquishing the grasp and turning away.

"Well, that was awkward." I gasped.

Oldren agreed readily. "Never speak of this again?"

"Bet." I sighed in relief.

I clapped my hands together. "Aaaaany ways~"

"You got my armor?" Oldren whipped out a bundle of similar colored mesh and handed it to me. I excused myself wordlessly and trudged off deeper into the forest. Me stripping might not bother Oldren, but it sure as hell bothers me.

I thought a bit about our conversation as I ripped off the terrible clothes. I have thought about it before, but it's pretty weird I don't have those desires anymore, especially since I'm still technically a teenager.

Ever since I was dislocated, such feelings had been completely sealed away. Sure, I still felt attraction, like when I saw those guild women at Teragon. But that was surface level. No love or lust. A stray thought crossed my mind. I wonder, if those feelings hadn't been sealed away, would my interactions with Lily have been any different?

Was my lack of going along with Lily's whims (of a certain brand), the product of simple morality, or the consequence of being devoid of such base level desires? She's just a kid but… I would have blushed if I could. She's starting to grow up.

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

As I imagined grabbing a gun and shooting myself in the head repeatedly, my villainous thoughts ceased and I began focusing purely on getting the stiff pieces of metal woven fabric on my body. The set was comprised of four pieces; a short sleeve shirt, shorts, knee high socks that have a bit of extra length, letting them overlap and tie into the shorts, and sleeves with five holes for my fingers, fitting like fingerless gloves receding just slightly before reaching my first finger joints.

I wore my ratty underwear beneath the cyber mesh. No matter how comfortable the mesh may seem, I don't want metal grinding against my manhood. Would you rub yours against a cheese grater? Yeah, I didn't think so.

I walked back over to camp, where Oldren had laid out an array of parts symmetrically like an archeology exhibit. "Is all that mine?" I called as I strived forward.

"You bet it is. Now you see why it took me so long to make all of it."

"I don't think three days is considered long for blacksmithing."

Oldren just shrugged in response. He told me to hold a T pose, in which I complied without resistance. The following hour consisted of Oldren attaching the pieces both to me and together. He told me that he was testing out all sorts of different ideas to effectively bind the armor to my perfectly fitted mesh.

I closed my eyes as the pieces of well-worked metal began piling on. The weight piled up as the pieces rained down without end. Oldren only went for minimal connections between the pieces before he moved on to the others, leaving the armor feeling breezy, and myself top heavy.

"Raise your left foot." I did so. The move left me shivering in the sixty degree winds like a flamingo wearing a very heavy overcoat. My arms were starting to go numb. "You're good." I lowered it, and felt my foot sink into the boot.

As my foot compressed the fabric, the rest of it tightened and coiled around my calf like a snake. Clicks and whirs could be heard as minute mechanical components worked to perfectly combine the armor to my mesh. Despite the snug fit, it wasn't uncomfortable at all.

"Now your right foot."

Another gust of freezing wind cut through the exposed flaps of metal. The whole construct was more of an exploded view of it's schematic than working armor. Clearly it required some sort of ignition sequence to go from the even cluster of super shiny silver plates to actual coverage.

"You're good." He said again, now a yard away marveling at his work. "Now, I don't mean to question your design…" I questioned.

"Eh eh eh," Oldren chided. "It's still incomplete. This hunk of metal just needs a bit of energy to switch into place." Then, he exploded.

It was a controlled explosion, obviously. In the same way I've seen him shift countless times before, his torso uncompacted as did his chest, forming a rectangular prism that expanded outwards. Within sat his core, three rings spinning and rotating around a wispy white core that glowed so strongly it cast a panopticon of searing radiance across the forest floor.

"This is my core. Known as the Eternatus Engine." His voice vibrated with power. "This is the source of my energy. It is a ceaseless and powerful heart that creates so much energy, I have to fire off laser blasts every few hours to keep my battery from overcharging and imploding everything in a two and a half mile radius."

"I must keep it in a careful balance. Too much speed and the energy it will make will wipe me out in seconds, or overflow to the point of damaging my systems even with constant use. Too little, and I will have no weapons or flight system to escape incoming danger." At 'careful balance' the rings began to spin and rotate almost thrice as fast as before.

Six earmuff looking devices close in on the rotating ball of energy and rings, and began to shoot continuous beams into the mass, possibly in a bid to stabilize the energy. A shield snaps into place as another device forms to my right, his left. The shield over the core breaks as its energy is funneled into Oldren's rapidly transforming arm.

His right eaten for material, it transforms into an almost satellite looking apparatus. Six hexagons formed a curved dish at the front, a long and thick rod reaching a foot from the dish. He reared back and slammed the stick into the center of my chest.

The device whired, the rod spinning and calibrating itself. It sunk into the center of my armor. Over and over it broke through layers, until it stopped at the third. Then energy began to cascade into the armor core.

The effect was immediate.

Energy pulsed from the core, sending orange flashes cascading through some of the dark holes visible in the armor. The metal plates clinked as it began moving and forming along my arms and legs. Armor plates crawled along temporary rails, with bigger pieces reminiscent of more classical plate-mail filed in above.

The large collection of plates hovering above my shoulders moved downwards and connected to my chest, more of the strip-like plates forming down my stomach.

The armor seemed to have three phases in its connection. First, the strips of metal moved across the cyber mesh as if it were alive. Then, connections were forged between the different sections, triceps to fourarms, hands and fingers. Finally, the larger armor plates would slide over.

The armor on my fingers slid together and combined with the main structure on my hands. A large plate that sat at an incline above my elbow slammed into place across, firmly connecting all pieces.

A similar process happened across my body, including a large plate across both of my knees slamming into place. A ring on my chest that surrounded the core began to spin, as if tightening like a screw. The other pieces around it began shifting inwards as well, and once it was finished, another pulse went outwards filling the various dark holes with orange light, signifying completion.

I moved.

The weight was definite and obvious, but the armor didn't restrict me in the slightest. I've worn costumes with armor before, and while they didn't have this much weight, they were always super clunky and restrictive.

But not this. I lifted my arms over and back, twisting past my shoulder. I swung my body and twisted my hips. I squatted down and kicked out my legs, then stood and arched my back all the way, putting my head on the ground. I rocked forwards and then stood up again.

"This is amazing!"

Oldren had formed back into his regular shape, though his body still extended outwards as his eternatus engine was allowed to slow.

"I'm glad. Took a long time to plan it out."

I stopped. "Did you…"

He smiled. "Try it out!"

I flipped my arm over so my palm was to the sky. I flexed my hand outwards, the motion causing a button to extend upwards. It was a long panel in the shape of a space bar, but slightly curved sitting atop the pad of my palm, right where my fingers touch when I make a fist.

I clenched my fingers together and curled them into the button. The strip plating almost reminiscent of ribs unfolded atop my forearm. A large plate of whiter ferrous extended from below, the plating snapping under it to lock it in place.

My hand still in a fist, I rotated my arm and whipped to the side. The sound of lubricated metal and ripping gears played as a dark purple blade a foot long shot out of the sheath, satisfying clicks ringing as the sliding mechanism locked it into place.

"My wrist blades! You really got it to work?"

"Who do you think I am? Of course I got it to work! Though, I haven't figured out how to get them back in yet…"

"Huh?"

"D-don't worry about it… Test 'em out!"

"Before that!" I heard Lily call as she walked back towards us. "I think it's about time we get a move on. I'm not sure about you two, but I'm getting tired of this dang forest." I nodded. "Agreed" I looked at Oldren. "We can test out our stuff later."

He gave me a thumbs up and wandered away, mildly disappointed.

—

Day 77

The sun had retreated deep within a dark blanket of cloud cover, turning the sky a sickly grey color. The lack of light casted the rest of the terrain into a depressing and twisted version, even the voices of the surrounding animals muted.

This wasn't caused by anything else, I was sure. I sensed no ill intent, nor any powerful sources of life in the vicinity. The only loud sound was the clinking of many glass vials.

"Max, was taking all these rejects really necessary?"

"Yes! It was! I worked very hard on them, so I refuse to leave them behind!" Said rejects, in Oldrens words, were the glasses I attempted to make with the sand I found after my encounter with the helter smelter.

The reason I haven't mentioned them yet? Oh, I didn't forget about them…

Embarrassment.

So, apparently making glassware is WAY harder than I thought. Who would have known? I wouldn't be so frustrated if I hadn't spent forever making them and innovating. I had to cut up so many goddamn rocks because the furnace I was using, (The corpse of the Helter Smelter,) Kept melting them all!

And not a single, one, worked.

All that time, all that effort, for nothing.

So yeah, I'm a little embarrassed.

The sound was caused by Oldren taking the shards of glass out of his inventory and LOUDLY muttering about how shit they were, in some petty attempt to annoy me.

IT'S WORKING.

My eyes twitched, and I stopped. "Can you put those away already, please?"

"Awww, but it's so fun! To see you mess up for once. You're always so stoic and professional, it's nice to see you show some other emotion for a, change…" He cocked his head to the side. "..You good man?"

My eyes were stretched wide open, and my body was rigid. I strained my ears and my senses, letting the secrets of the wind flow through my body unabated.

"Ma-? -ou –od….."

….rain in…. ours… …Antler caught in…. …-ew river delt-….. …..sun is… -etting longer…. …ing thr-... -sky fast….

There.

….it's coming…. …fast, fast, fast… ….young…. Hungry… …-dam is…. huntin-….

Danger! Danger!! Danger!!!

I felt the air above me rapidly displace. My senses screamed danger, raw emotion beaming down like a beacon filled with hunger and machine-like focus. The feeling of finding its prey, the feeling that the hunt was over.

SOMETHING IS COMING.

Something broke the clouds at an astonishing speed.

"SHIT!!! RUN!!!!!!!!!" I screamed, pumping as much will as possible into [Brash Dash] and running straight towards Lily. Her eyes widened in shock and fear, a single moment later a calamitous shockwave rocking the beaten pathway and sending all of us flying.

Oldren thought quickly and transformed his feet into rockets. He used the momentum to soar into the sky, mostly displacing the force. Me and Lily were not so lucky. I managed to wrap my arms around her in a defensive cradle as we were sent hurtling away, crashing through trees, stone and wilden dens.

Sensing Lily was mostly unhurt besides some whiplash, I cut the chit chat and whirled around to behold our attacker. A bird, probably. About thrice the size of an aircraft carrier and jet black, its shape reminiscent of a stealth bomber.

Its wings were absolutely huge, and arched back in a V shape. Its head didn't look like a head, just a missile composed of dark and massive feathers that slithered through the air like a snake, its neck extending.

At its shoulders and with a symmetrical pair mirroring on its underside, was a set of smaller wings arranged to make an X shape. They unfolded, sending out an X shaped burst of wind that cut through the air like light rays.

I barely had time to think before the attack reached us. I threw myself twenty feet away into the surrounding forest, avoiding the razor blade entirely. Lily's HP bar on my top left corner of vision dropped by a fifth, a huge cut now more than halfway through her shoulder.

I had only just crawled out of the tree line when it threw its huge wings forward, creating a wind storm that immediately catapulted Lily away. I heard Oldren scream in distress as he was caught in it too, leaving only me to cling to a tree.

I managed to last, but the tree did not. The stump bent and snapped, dislodging the bulk of the wood and putting me in an extremely vulnerable position. I could do nothing more but be taken by the wind.

Blessed with a single second of clarity, I threw a barely empowered [[Wave Cutter]] at the bird. The orange blade barely made it twenty feet forward before it was disassembled by the jet stream.

Maybe twenty seconds later I slammed into the floor, my ribs groaning as they attempted to crack under the strain, though a well timed pulse of healing prevented it. The sky in the distance had in fact fallen down, creating a shroud of mist so dense it blended in with the smoky backdrop.

Well, that explains my limited range. Ow..

Max: How we feelin team?

I texted optimistically.

Lily: Owwwwwwwwwww

Oldren: I think my…. Oldren: Alot of stuff is broken right now.

Max: Lily how's your shoulder?

Lily: Hurts like a (pardon my language) bitch. Lily: Your pain resistance skill is really helping, actually. Lily: You should rank it up.

Max: I would, but ranking up technically resets its level, making the amount of pain it resists actually go down.

Lily: What!? Lily: I thought skills didn't have any Lily: oh so that's how you bold.

Max: Well, the base level-

Oldren: Did y'all forget about the giant ass bird that just spawned a mini tornado?

Max: There was nothin mini about that.

Oldren: Well it's still there.

Max: I noticed.

Oldren: And your not gonna do-

MAa: One thing at a time Oldr- Max: Ah shit.

Oldren: It's coming over here isn't it?

Max: Coming? Max: It's already here.

I was lying slightly, the bird was enroute but it wouldn't arrive for another four seconds or so.

. . . .

Okay now it's here.

"Do we fight?" Oldren yelled over the windstorm that suddenly rolled in with the arrival of our jet-propelled adversary.

"My [[Wave Cutter]] did jack shit, at the very least I couldn't force through the wind. You tried shooting it?"

"Yeah. Didn't do shit either, though I haven't tried my railgun yet." A blade of wind swished past my ear, severing the lobe and cleaving through part of my cheek, summoning a stream of silver tinted blood.

"Ugh.. You get on that. Lily, with me. Let's try and buy some time."

"On it!"

"Yessir."

Two black bullets swerved from behind the monstrous bird, crisscrossing their paths as they arrived and unfolding their much smaller but still daunting wings. Oldren was barely twenty feet into the air before I heard a loud slam.

I turned around and saw Oldren in pieces on the ground, the wind quickly swishing the rest of him away. One of the black darts dived into the ground, revealing to be a baby version of the mama bird.

So that's what the wind meant.. This thing is hunting for its young!

Several bursts of danger, followed by waves of much simpler hunger burst into my awareness, shaped into bullets like the first two baby's. More!?!? Then I remembered the second one. Another wave of danger and a sudden blimp of life within my radar alerted me to an incoming barrage of wind arrows.

I dodged as many as I could, but three still swerved into my sides, one pinging into the metal covering my heart, the other two swerving and almost piercing the unprotected cyber mesh. The domain of wind was interfering with my mobility, not to mention guiding their attacks like living projectiles.

My dash still active, I clenched my hands together and unsheathed my wrist blades. I threw another [[Wave Cutter]] at the baby and rushed in. The [[Wave Cutter]] swerved around the bird casually. I cursed in frustration. So no ranged attacks then, noted.

[DISMEMBERING]!!!

I rounded the bird as I executed the rapid blade dance. But when I jumped to reach its higher points, the skill deactivated and I was hefted into the air by a strong wind current. The wind put me right in the trajectory of the mother, who pulsed out a massive spear of turbulent wind.

I pushed everything I had into [Launch], just barely keeping myself from being skewered but losing my left arm in the process.

"AUGHH!!!!!" I screamed in agony. The maelstrom slammed me back into the ground like a fragile meteor, this time my bones unable to resist the force, causing fissures to ring throughout my structure. My stamina was now at two thirds, but that wasn't the problem. I sacrificed my numbers and poured it into more healing, the fissures in my bones closing before they could worsen, the stump on my shoulder closing over. Though the left side of my armor was now stained red with my blood.

Hp- 2458/7150 (1/2) | St- 4890/10500 (+400) | Condition- Curse of Soul Fray | Bleeding | Unarmed (left)

UGH. Real… funny, system……

Time seemed to slow through the chaos around me. I turned around, my knees planted firmly in the upturned dirt.

Lily was fighting for her life, mana pulsing through her veins as she threw bolt after bolt of lightning at the creatures. Oldren was desperately trying to pull himself together despite the wind harrying his efforts at every turn. After another missed lighting bolt one of the birds swerved around her and unleashed a bite skill directly at the base of her spine. Her scream was taken by the storm as she crumpled to the ground.

The whistling of the wind consumed my hearing as I stood and marched towards them.

Max: We need to get out of here.

Lily: I.. I-i can't move! Lily: I-I can't feel anything!

Oldren: My systems are barely online.

Max: Just hold on to each other. Max: Somehow.

The wind pressed me down like a mountain weighing on my back. Through the thick storm I could barely see a mound of something clinging on to a collapsed body. I got to one knee, and began to focus. More than I ever had before.

I made the driver spin. Faster and faster. Until it began to grind on my very being. The wheel of white flame seemed to expand, black lines running through it as it rotated and shook within me. Iridescent lightning poured out in droves, forming into a lance of power that tore through that strange space.

It bounced between skills like a pinball, gaining momentum until it slammed haphazardly into [Brash Dash]. The glowing border pulsed and shook as the energy settled, though the box was disturbed in its place, bouncing around within the skill vault.

So excited was the energy that the excess lanced out towards [Launch], the two skills rapidly magnetized and formed into a larger skill box.

I poured more and more power into it as my body began to glow white. Fire formed at my greaves and traced up and up through my body until my eyes glowed iridescent.

< <Empowered> [Brash Dash] + [Launch]= >

< <[[Hermes Dash]]> >

I exploded from my mini crater. I slammed into the quivering form of Oldren's ravaged body and Lily's stunned one, Oldren curled into a flimsy protection. I gathered them as fast as possible and quickly slingshotted off into the distance.

Oldrens one arm looked like a bunch of 3D puzzle pieces floating next to each other, the rest of him doing about the same. His legs were gone, as was his left arm, his face smashed on the left side as well.

One eye widened, and he reached out to grab something as I raced away. A minute later and I managed to speed out of the wind dominion. Multiple minutes passed as my stamina drained like water through a pasta strainer, cuts opening across my body as the skill burdened my physical form.

The system allowing such a combination of skills without a single peep, highlighted the sheer danger of the situation, one that had yet to pass.

While the whistling of the wind had died down, it never ceased. I could feel the danger lurking within our proximity, even with my senses dulled. A colossal shadow loomed in the distance as my legs began to lose feeling.

Dread washed over me as my eyes finally focused, and I realized what it meant. No way out. We're doomed.

But then I saw it. Buried in the mountain rested a massive and deep gash, no doubt the entrance to a cave of some kind. Just as the tiniest trickle of hope arose, my feet tripped and the powerful skill fizzled out. I crashed face first into the dirt, Lily and Oldren being flung away, still carried by the momentum.

The wind shrieked louder.

Gravidon? Like gravity? Is that why I still feel so heavy?

I attempted to climb to my knees but my ankle folded beneath me and I plummeted down into the earth again. I sighed into the dirt, before pumping half of my remaining stamina into my body with one big pulse.

I clambored to my hands and knees, then began crawling over to Lily and Oldren. The first of which was in tears, while Oldren was desperately trying to pull himself together. Somehow, he had my lost arm in his grip.

I stumbled to my feet, clutching the stump and reveling in the supreme sense of loss. A huge V of danger blimped into existence in my senses, dread washed over me like a tidal wave as a shadow descended from the sky, multiple black bullets whizzing around it.

I lunged for Lily and Oldren and began to move. I broke into a run, despite my body screaming for me to stop. The bird once again nose dived right behind me, producing yet another shockwave that boosted us closer to the cave entrance, though this landing sent cracks running through my jaw and skull.

The bird ascended to its full height and reared back, preparing to swallow me whole, no doubt. I was still fifty feet from the entrance. Out of options, out of time. I had nothing to do but wait for my death, or beg the gods for mercy.

I grinned and twisted around to the bird right as its head lunged forward for a finishing blow.

"See you in hell bastard!"

HYPERSPACE!

Nyoom.

I teleported as deep into the cave as I could see. I dragged the three of us to a wall, and propped myself against it. The walls and ceiling shook as the enraged bird smashed against the entrance, sand and clusters of rock falling into the triangular hallway.

I sighed a deep, exhausted breath. The stamina pull of hyperspace has never been this bad. Is it because I brought Lily and Oldren with me? or did that just shorten the distance, and my lack of base level stamina was the problem? Far to tired to work it out, I fell on my side and began to lose consciousness, staring out deeper into the cave.

Into the near distance, a crack of light illuminated something. Although I was on the brink of deep sleep, the sight still piqued my interest. Before my eyelids shut, a thought married by amused interest crossed my mind.

Is that… A golem?

Class - ?| lv ?/? ? Name - ? ? | Race - ?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.

Prev chapter Next chapter

Donate

Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter

42nd | Airstrike

搜搜漫画 太极漫画 Toptoon 头牌漫画

Read Books Online Free & Free Novels Online