ALL NOVEL Chapter 12 – High Stakes and Grand Plans
Chapter 12 – High Stakes and Grand Plans
The woods alongside the lake were mostly peaceful. Small creatures scampered through the undergrowth, each on their own path to greatness. A small squirrel like creature had just found a rather lovely berry bush that it was planning on plundering. It crawled down its tree, pausing as it reached the ground. The squirrel knew that predators lurked on the ground, and it needed to be careful. It didn’t see anything, so it darted toward the berry bush, reaching its prize after a few bounding hops. The berries were fresh and sweet, perfect fuel for its active life of trying to survive.
A rumble through the ground and the snapping of branches alerted it to the coming danger. The squirrel didn’t hesitate as it used its one skill. Flee was both a useful skill and the reason it hadn’t been eaten yet. Moving like a red-brown bolt of lightning, the squirrel darted up the tree it came down from then through the branches to nearby trees moving out of the path of the coming noise.
The snake that had been lurking under the berry bush, waiting for a meal to come its way, flicked its tongue in annoyance. It felt the reverberation in the ground and curled tighter around the base of the bush. Maybe it would find new prey sooner than later, after all, it could stalk as well as ambush.
Matt made good time through the trees bordering the lake. The sun was starting to set and the reflection off the lake was casting orange shadows through the trees at interesting angles. He wanted to push as far as he could to get away from the lake but would have to settle for just moving deeper into the forest. He hadn’t been feeling as tired the past few nights, sleeping for shorter times but feeling just as rested. Tobias said it was part of the leveling process and eventually he would only sleep when he wanted to or if severely drained of stamina.
Matt used the mech’s tomahawk to clear some trees around a small clearing. He wasn’t going to set up a camp site with brush and trees right up against them. He liked to have clear line of sight for anything approaching in the night. After setting the mech in an overwatching position he climbed out with Tobias and began making camp with a fire to warm up their rations. He would like to have something else to eat but they hadn’t found much to hunt that looked edible or was in a state to be eaten after fighting it. Settling in, he reviewed his stat page.
Matt Shultz. Level 16
Human – Veiled
Class: Pilot – Skirmisher
Health: 670/670
Stamina: 701/760
Mana: 895/920
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Strength: 70
Dexterity: 92
Endurance: 76
Constitution: 67
Perception: 54
Intelligence: 92
Wisdom: 43
Free points: 8
Affinity: Plasma
Trait: Aura Dominance
Perk: Resource Generation
Titles: First Steps, Slayer of Legends
Skills: Imbue Weapon (Rare), Passive Mana Sense (Rare), Run and Gun (Uncommon)
Matt thought his character sheet was coming along nicely. He had a reserve of free points that slightly bugged him. He wasn’t sure if he should be putting more points into other stats. He considered wisdom to help with mana regeneration, but he had a perk that took care of that. He also considered if he should put more into his constitution stat, he was very fast but more in a glass cannon sort of way. It was hard to rationalize what he needed when he had to consider his mech and himself.
Also considering what his trait was truly capable of, Matt wondered how he could make better use it. In his limited testing, he had felt like he had complete control of his internal energies. While so far his main ability was to project his aura and its emotional states out, there was more that he was missing. He felt like the main ability was still buried and only occurred within himself. When experimenting with Tobias, he felt that same aura moving within him, pushing and pulling as it went.
As he was thinking about the nature of his trait, Matt sensed a presence creeping its way into their camp. It was coming from the same direction they had approached from. He could sense its intent, cold, curious and filled with malice. Matt couldn’t pinpoint its location yet as the presence was at the far limit of his range. He snapped his fingers to get Tobias’ attention, then pointed in the direction of the presence. Matt put his helmet back on and spoke to Van in his mind as he started to pull up his NV and thermal overlays.
“Do you see anything? I can feel something slowly coming up on us.” Matt asked Van.
“Nothing, I am looking through thermal but can’t see any heat coming through.”
“Try adjusting the gain. Move through the range slowly to see if you might get a variance in the spectrum.” Matt said as he did the same.
He worked both the thermal and infrared spectrums, trying to pick up anything either giving off heat or reflecting the fire light. The thermal spectrum was the first to get a result. In the edge of the clearing there was a slight flare in temperature funning along the ground. He saw the line extend for several meters along a twisting path that shifted, undulating back and forth.
Matt relayed this to Van and Tobias. Now that he had something to go on, he pointed his rifle and used the IR laser and illuminator to point a beam in its direction. The invisible light reflected of a thousand tiny diamond shapes bringing the creature into view. A snake, a 10-meter-long snake that had stopped and looked right at him, eyes reflecting the infrared light when the fire didn’t. Matt clicked on the high-power laser, shining the 1-millimeter-wide beam right into its eye. Before he could pull the trigger, the snake lunged.
Tobias fired at the movement, immediately skipping past semi and into full auto. Most of the round went wide, zipping into the wood or impacting trees. A few of the rounds connected and they did some damage but didn’t pierce very deep. Matt had some better luck, his rounds causing the snake to flinch away as it circled. Matt tried to use infused rounds which just passed through if they hit the undulating body at all.
Van also acted, not bothering with his autocannon, he went straight for the tomahawk, immediately pushing mana into it to cover the edge in plasma. He stomped forward and tried to crush the snake under its foot. He missed his first stomp, but the snake struck at his ankle joint, fangs glinting in the fire light. There was of course no reaction to the venom and the snake seemed confused as it tried again to bite the mech. Matt reloaded his rifle and used the opportunity to identify the creature.
Shade-Stalker Asp. Level 18
Matt took the opportunity to aim a shot on the snake, firing 3 rounds into its back as it bit Van for a second time. Van for his part held still, lining up to swing the tomahawk at the shifting snake. The snake decided that the mech wasn’t a worthwhile target and uncoiled itself in time to avoid the tomahawk that parted the ground where the snake had been. A gash was torn into the loamy soil igniting it briefly as it was superheated.
The snake had changed targets, now looking directly at Matt. It coiled up and struck out at him but couldn’t complete its attack due to the massive foot that stomped on its tail. The snake hissed in pain as it writhed under the foot of the mech. Tobias and Van pumping rounds into its scaley sides.
Matt wasn’t sure how many times they had shot it, but it seemed to heal through all the holes pierced in its hide. Matt changed to his third magazine as the serpentine bastard slipped out from under the foot of the mech. Van stomped at the snake again, swinging the tomahawk once again. This time, the snake couldn’t completely avoid it, taking a long cut down its back that smoked from the plasma imbued edge. The snake hissed again, and lashed out with its fangs, this time mostly finding Matt’s armor, mostly.
Pain flared in Matt’s hip as one fang found his thigh armor, and another found the soft base layer just above it. He could practically feel the venom enter his blood stream, the snake having a smug look in its eyes. Could snakes look smug? He wasn’t sure but he knew one thing, that snake had made a massive mistake. Matt twisted at the waist, lifted the butt of his rifle up above his shoulder and slammed the muzzle right between the serpents’ eyes. He pressed it in as hard as he could, digging it into the scales as he pinned the trigger to the rear and dumped all 50 rounds from his magazine into its head.
Scales, blood and bone all sprayed in every direction from the muzzle blast. One contact shot was enough to part flesh from the muzzle blast alone, but 50 of them was enough to give the snake a new mouth atop its head. The snake instantly died in a spray of gore and the strobing flash of Matt’s rifle.
Tobias rushed up to Matt and, with immense care, pulled the remains of the snake’s head from his hip. Matt immediately fell to his butt; the counterweight of the snake had been the only thing holding him upright. He could feel the nagging of system messages in the back of his mind. He opened them, looking for anything that might help with the venom.
You have been injected with a mild hemotoxin.
You have killed Shade-Stalker Asp. Level 18.
Bonus experience earned for defeating an enemy above your level.
Class: Pilot – Skirmisher is now level 17.
Stat points awarded.
Matt could see his health points ticking down at a steady pace. He was hoping for a system message saying how long the venom would last or its total damage but wasn’t so lucky. He could do one thing, however. He put all 13 free points he had accumulated into his constitution, doubling his health pool. He hoped it would be enough to fight off the venom.
“Matt, talk to me. You got bit. What’s happening?” Tobias fired off as he propped up Matt’s head and started to open his helmet.
“Mild hemotoxin. Put all free points into con. Health slowly dropping.” Matt gasped back. He wasn’t in rough shape health wise, but it sure did hurt. Since the original bite nearly a minute ago, he had dropped 200 points, but the rate was starting to slow. “Wait for potion. Rate is slowing.”
“That is fucking stupid. We have potions.” Tobias said as he pulled one out of his storage ring.
“Its fine. Aura will fight it.” Matt choked out. “Testing something. Will take potion if health drops below half.”
Both Tobias and Van just looked at him. Van’s eyes glowing green against the night sky as a backdrop. Matt thought that was odd, his eyes never glowed before. He checked on his health points to see that the rate had reduced again but had yet to stop. Matt tried to visualize his body and where the toxin was. He forced himself to focus, to stay lucid through the pain. He willed the venom to stop spreading, willed it with every fiber of his being. It stopped.
Matt felt the burning subside slightly. He could feel the burning where the venom had spread to, but it had stopped advancing. More importantly than where the venom was, he could feel an almost physical wall of energy blocking its path. Matt pushed the wall toward the parts of his body that had been affected, it obeyed.
As Matt could now feel this internal power, he could better utilize it, and use it he did. He focused his energy into a metaphorical bulwark and started working it along the envisioned battle lines of his body, constantly pushing against the invader. Slowly, steadily the burning receded as he entered a nearly trance like state, his attention focused on the battle raging in his abdomen. As he gained ground, the venom strengthened, almost like it was more concentrated and therefore stronger to resist.
The venom could fight all it wanted, Matt would not go quietly, and he started to develop a hatred for the invading toxins. He imagined it as an enemy that needed to be slaughtered to the last for their crimes. Matt thought he felt the venom flinch, weakening subtly in its defense, ceding territory to him in the process. He then imagined the way that he would crush it. He imagined that he would encircle it, trapping it with no hope for retreat or reinforcement. He imagined how he would demoralize it and break its spirit before the end. He swore that this invader would know nothing but fear and terror before it came to its violent end.
Suddenly and without any warning the resistance of the venom was gone, and his aura billowed outward with the sudden absence of something resisting it. Matt suddenly became aware of the outside world and the people standing over him.
“What the fuck was that!” Tobias shouted.
“I have no idea, but it was powerful.” Van replied. Matt could feel that they had both taken a step backward, the mech moving much farther than his human companion.
“Matt, can you hear me? What is happening?”
“Yeah man, I can hear you.” Matt replied. He could sense the worry coming from both of them. “I think it’s all gone now. The poison I mean.” Indeed, it was. His health pool had leveled out at around 60% and he didn’t feel the telltale burning coming from his hip.
“What happened with the venom? Do you need a potion? What was-“ Tobias began.
“One at a time, Tobias.” Van said.
Matt began to explain what he had done and that he was going to test how fast his health recovered without a potion. It had never been so low and would make a good benchmark for how health points worked. He then found out what had happened from their perspective.
It turns out at some point he had gone completely still except for facial expressions. He then started leaking his aura enough for Van and Tobias to feel it clearly. It had started as a feeling of defense and protection before working into a “vicious bloodthirsty intent” that freaked out Tobias. Van had been more resilient to it, perhaps due to the bond but he said it was still impressive. Then just around the time that Matt came to, there was a surge of power to the aura.
They said it was like imagining a predator that gave a victory roar after slaying a rival. Tobias described it as feeling both inspired and suppressed by the feeling. Van felt his own blood lust rise but without any suppression effect. It was about this time when Matt couldn’t take the constant feeling of notifications in the back of his mind.
You have overcome a mild hemotoxin with unconventional methods.
Trait ability has been enhanced, and power has increased.
Error.
Trait enhancements unsuitable for current grade. Trait enhancements available upon reaching E grade.
Matt stared at the System messages. Not quite believing what he was reading and feeling more than a little cheated. He had fought hard and deserv-.
Your body and soul are not able to handle the enhancement. You will receive your just deserves when you reach the next grade at level 25.
His train of thought completely derailed at the sudden pop-up message from the System forced its way into Matt’s vision. Another personalized message from the System was once again reassuring in its tone but ominous in its existence. He told Tobias and Van about the development. Their reactions were not what he was expecting. While Tobias seemed to accept and understand why the System had limited him, Van was furious. The anger that Matt could feel radiating off the core had much more substance to it compared to previous emotions. Matt could see the aura, a pale green matching the glowing he had seen from the mech’s eyes earlier.
“Van, its ok. If the System says that having the trait enhanced would damage my soul, I think it has my best interest in mind.” Matt reasoned. He could see the aura recede as he tried to radiate calm from himself. Tobias actually sighed, rolling his neck and shoulders. The calm aura seemed to affect both of them equally. Matt sat up and looked at both Van and Tobias, hoping that using his aura influence wasn’t inappropriate.
“Look guys, I’m sorry about using my aura influence but right now I could really use some sleep. Matt said with a tired voice. “Let’s figure out the watch and get some rest. We have all day tomorrow to talk about tonight.” He looked around, noticing that something was missing. “Um, where is the snake?”
Tobias looked abashed as he answered. “I put it in my storage ring. It was just small enough to fit. Is that ok?”
“Yeah man, just making sure it didn’t somehow come back from the dead and slither off somewhere to plot its revenge.” Matt said with a chuckle. Tobias and Van were adamant that he does not take a watch that night. Van almost insisted that both he and Tobias sleep while the mech stood guard. Tobias said he wouldn’t take a watch, but he would wake up and top off the mana battery.
Far from the planet Matt was on, 2 beings stood. They looked through a scrying window that looked suspiciously like an Ultra High-Definition television, the kind that didn’t go on sale. They watched the fight with the snake and then the fight Matt had internally with the venom. They saw the explosion of aura that was eventually tamped down by the System and watched the following conversation.
“So, what do you think?” Hal said to his companion, hoping that she would be satisfied with Matt and not think he wasted her time. “You have been watching him for a couple days now, surely he must be interesting if you devoted so much time to observing him.”
“At first I thought you were doing this for your own pet project’s benefit, but Matt is truly interesting.” Replied The Eternal Warden otherwise known as Victoria. “What was his affinity and trait? Did he say?”
“His affinity is something called plasma, whatever that is, and he didn’t provide his trait.” Hal said. “I wouldn’t be going far out on a limb to say it’s something with either aura or other internal energies after this display.”
Victoria knew what plasma was, a high-level concept that went beyond simple fire or lightning. She was actually very interested in him and the choices he made. His war gear was exquisite, clearly highly valued by him, the construct he generated being a separate wonder entirely. She also noticed that he chose the Awakened Core upon its completion, a very interesting first choice.
“What world did you say he was from?” Asked Victoria. She was deeply curious despite her blasé tone. “An extra-universal world, correct?”
“Yes, the name of the world is Earth, but also known as Terra and Sol Three.” The creator god replied. “It is a bit silly since 2 names are the same as calling it dirt and the other just references its location to its sun. Honestly, I would figure they would be more creative given what we see of those two.”
Earth was a world that Victoria knew. She had visited there before and had a slight reputation amongst the mortals. It had been centuries ago, a simple blink for her in relation to a human’s typical lifespan. Matt however wasn’t human, well, not completely anyway. The Veiled had been up to something as per usual, maybe another one of their experiments.
“What is his relation to the Veiled?”
Hal shuddered then thought for a moment before replying. “Sorry every time I think of that race, I just remember that lawyer that has bent me over for contract violations several times. As far as I know, he has no formal relationship with that race or the factions they belong to. He is at the moment, a free agent as they say.”
“Good. I will place my marker on him, so others don’t get any funny ideas.” Victoria would contact Matt soon but wanted to do so in private, without the one called Tobias around. She wasn’t as social as some of the other gods and some things were easier one on one. “This is excellent work Hal. I will arrange some compensation for you very soon.”
Hal beamed as he replied. “Truly a joyous transaction. I will see myself out and look forward to working with you in the future.” He said, backing out of the room.
“Goodbye old friend. Oh, and one more thing.” Victoria added before the coward could flee the room. In a deadly serious tone of voice, she added. “You will not speak of Matt or Van to anyone that doesn’t absolutely need to know. I don’t have to remind you what happens when bad actors play the benevolent god.”
“Indeed not, Victoria. My lips are sealed on anything to do with either of them.” He replied, a little fear in his tone. With nothing more to say, he left quickly, wanting to get far away from her realm and its aura.
Victoria sat alone after the visiting god left, his relatively weak presence almost leaving an after taste in her senses. She watched the sleeping human, contemplating his nature and his actions. She wished that she knew more of his origins but sadly the only way she could do that was to travel all the way to his planet. Even if she did, the information would likely not be what she wanted. This mortal impressed her, his resolve, and tactics as impressive as his construct. Perhaps he would be more than just another blessed to add to her base of power. She would wait until meeting him before deciding that since the consequences of it failing were too high to make that call so soon. In the meantime, she would observe, perhaps there would be more that Matt would show her.