NOVEL NEXT 2.58: Unstuck
It was a beautiful thing, really. The entire aerial battle had all been an elaborate performance, a dance with death where John had been choreographing every step, leading his partner exactly where he needed them to be.
All to make it think he was just another desperate bug to be squashed. All to lull it into a false sense of security, to make it forget that the puny human peon had an ability that could hurt it. All to make sure it would get in close without a second thought.
The monster had bought it completely. Every feigned gasp of exhaustion, every "stumble" in the air, every moment of apparent weakness had sold the narrative: John was flagging, Chester was helpless, and victory was inevitable. The stickbug had grown confident, then overconfident, convinced that it could take its time savouring the kill.
And now it was close enough that he could see his own reflection in its compound eyes, its venom-coated limbs still skittering uselessly against his steel skin. His grip on its body was unbreakable, maintained by a combination of Grappler, Titan Tendons, and Adaptive Musculature working in perfect synchrony.
John had one more trick up his sleeve. Or rather, three tricks that he'd spent the entire battle preparing for. The first two—Triple Casting and the purchases to support his insane plan—had already been deployed. Now came the third.
The spell he'd created had evolved far beyond the initial Level 5 purchase. He'd upgraded it to Level 7, then used the Combine Spell to merge it with the newly-purchased Pyromancy spell. But he hadn't stopped there.
He'd also purchased Pyromaniac—a Level 5 Skill that seemingly enhanced all fire-based abilities—and used his Skill/Spell combination technique to fold it into the mix as well. The result was something the System had decided to name Draconic Inferno, and it had cost him over eighty thousand Aura to create, all in all.
Money well spent.
John opened his mouth, and Biomancy flooded his throat, reinforcing his vocal cords, strengthening his lungs, preparing his body for what came next. The roar that erupted from him was inhuman. It was primal, bestial, the sound of something ancient and terrible awakening from a long slumber.
+5000 Aura
The fire that followed didn't merely erupt from his mouth. A searing whiteness that was almost painful to look at, like staring directly at the surface of a star, burst from him like he himself was a supernova. It engulfed the stickbug's head and upper torso at point-blank range.
And because John was pressed against the creature, holding it in an unbreakable grip, the flames engulfed him too.
The heat was unimaginable. His clothes were instantly incinerated, reduced to ash that was swept away by the thermal updraft. His sunglasses melted, the lenses becoming droplets of molten glass that streamed down his face before evaporating entirely.
The pain should have been unbearable. Would have been unbearable, if not for Biomancy working overtime to keep him conscious, keep him functional, keep him fighting. He felt his skin blistering, felt the burns forming and reforming as Cellular Regeneration kicked in to heal the damage even as it was inflicted.
He was in a state of simultaneous destruction and regeneration, his body tearing itself apart and rebuilding in an endless cycle. It was agony. It was ecstasy. It was the purest expression of his refusal to yield.
The stickbug screamed.
The sound was unlike anything John had heard before. It was something deeper than the chittering screech of an insect, something that seemed to vibrate on a frequency that resonated with reality itself. The air around them shimmered and warped, the Escher-like geometry of the chamber flickering as if the portal world itself was recoiling from the sound.
The creature thrashed with a desperation born of genuine terror. Its limbs, those impossible fast weapons that had torn through platforms and monsters alike, rained down on John's body with renewed ferocity. They gouged deep wounds in his flesh, tore through muscle, scraped against bone.
Vitality Level 8 -> Level 9!
-25600 Aura
The healing wave from the level-up washed through him, and he kept pouring fire into the attack. Chester, cocooned in the protective embrace of his Draconic Wings, was shielded from the worst of the flames, but even with that protection, John could feel the man's health dropping. Another burst of mana flashed within the wings, his comrade burning through his accumulated points to survive the inferno they were trapped in together. Hopefully he had plenty to spare.
All the while, John was grinning like a madman.
+10000 Aura
+10000 Aura
+10000 Aura
The notifications were rolling in at an unprecedented rate. The System was eating this up, rewarding him for the sheer audacity of his plan, for the spectacle of it all. He was a human being, holding onto a giant monster at point-blank range while roaring like a fucking dragon and emitting fire hot enough to melt steel beams in an instant, all while falling through an impossible dimension.
It was the most metal thing he'd ever done, and the System knew it.
But the stickbug wasn't dying fast enough.
The creature's chitin was beginning to blacken and crack, the white flames eating away at it layer by layer, but it was taking too long. His Aura reserves were plummeting despite the massive gains. Biomancy was constantly healing the damage from his own attack, and Cellular Regeneration was doing its part, but even together they weren't enough.
+10000 Aura
Strength Level 8 -> Level 9!
-25600 Aura
+10000 Aura
Every few seconds, he was forced to put points into another level up, and it was turning into a mad race between his expenditures on levels and the gains from the badass shit he was pulling off right now.
+10000 Aura
Agility Level 8 -> Level 9!
-25600 Aura
+10000 Aura
He needed more. More durability. More strength. More everything.
John dove into his menus even as he maintained the roar, even as the flames continued to pour from him. His purchases came rapid-fire, desperation warring with calculation.
Upgrade Titan Tendons Level 4 -> Level 6!
-8000 Aura
-16000 Aura
His joints became diamond. Unbreakable hinges that refused to yield. His grip tightened further, his fingers digging into the creature's carapace like iron claws.
Upgrade Inhuman Stamina Level 2 -> Level 6!
-2000 Aura
-4000 Aura
-8000 Aura
-16000 Aura
Energy flooded his system, pushing back the exhaustion that had been creeping in at the edges. He could maintain this. He would maintain this, for as long as it took.
Upgrade Limit Break Level 1 -> Level 6!
-1000 Aura
-2000 Aura
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-4000 Aura
-8000 Aura
-16000 Aura
Power surged through his muscles, but it came at a cost. He felt something tear inside him, saw through Biomancy as Cellular Regeneration sputtered and failed to offset a fundamental violation of what his body was designed to withstand. Limit Break pushed him beyond his natural limits, and there would maybe be a price to pay for that later. But later didn't matter. Only now mattered. Only killing this monster mattered.
Adaptive Musculature went into overdrive, compensating for the damage from Limit Break, redistributing strength where it was needed most. His grip on the stickbug became utterly unbreakable, his muscles bulging to grotesque proportions like the goddamn hulk as they strained against the creature's desperate attempts to escape.
The stickbug managed one last, powerful blow. Its entire body convulsed, a full-force spasm of pure desperation, and the impact sent them flying backwards. John felt the wall behind him shatter, felt the platform beneath them crumble, and then they were falling.
Falling through the vast emptiness of the Escher chamber, locked in a death grip, wreathed in white fire, spinning like a fiery tornado.
Chester's screams joined John's roar, creating a discordant duet of terror and determination. The swarm of lesser monsters scattered, those that weren't incenerated fleeing from the falling comet of flame and fury. Far below, John could see Lily, Doug, and Jade watching in horror, their faces turned upward, their weapons forgotten.
But he couldn't spare them any attention. All his focus was on the creature in his grip, on the way its struggles were growing weaker, on the way the white flames were finally eating through to something vital.
The stickbug's head was collapsing inward, the chitin melting away to reveal something beneath. Something that pulsed with a familiar crimson light. Its soul. The red soul that had driven this creature, that had given it intelligence and purpose and that insufferable corporate personality.
John poured everything he had into one final push. He screamed so loud he could feel it rupturing his own ear drums. The flames intensified, burning so hot that they transitioned from white to something beyond visible light, a searing ultraviolet that made the air itself scream. His Draconic Inferno was fueled by Pyromancy, enhanced by Pyromaniac, maintained by Biomancy, and empowered by sheer, vindictive determination.
The red soul flickered. Dimmed.
The exact moment the stickbug's soul extinguished, something else happened.
Far across the chamber, at the heart of the impossible architecture, the great green eye of the portal core cracked.
John caught a glimpse of it through the flames and smoke, saw the fissure spread across its surface like a spiderweb. The corruption from Chester's ability, which had been spreading slowly throughout the entire battle, suddenly accelerated. The sickly purple discolouration consumed the portal core in an instant, racing across its surface with the speed of wildfire.
And then it shattered. The portal core exploded into a million pieces of green light, each fragment spinning away into the void. The eye that had watched over this dimension, that had coordinated the monsters, that had been the heart and soul of the Super-Duper Mart's pocket world, was gone.
+250000 Aura
The flow of souls floundered for a moment before spearing towards them, a river of white light that streamed from the disintegrating portal core and poured directly into his chest.
But the Souls weren't just into him. Chester, still cocooned in his wings, was the true recipient of the reward. He was the one who had landed the killing blow on the portal core through his corrupting ability, and the System was rewarding him accordingly.
The Escher-like architecture began to dissolve around them, the impossible walkways and staircases flickering out of existence like dying stars. The sky above cracked, revealing something beyond, a void of swirling green and black that seemed to pull at John's very soul. The gravity that had been selectively applied to different surfaces now went haywire, vectors pulling in every direction at once.
The transition was violent. One moment they were falling through a kaleidoscope of green and black, reality fragmenting around them like a shattered mirror. The next, they were slamming into something solid.
John hit the ground hard, his enhanced Vitality and Strength the only things that kept the impact from liquefying his internal organs. Chester, cushioned by the wings, fared slightly better. They tumbled across a debris-strewn floor, John's body collecting cuts and bruises until they finally came to a stop against what felt like an overturned desk.
For a moment, John just lay there, staring up at a ceiling that was blessedly flat and normal and followed all the proper laws of architecture. His lungs burned. His throat felt raw. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest.
But they were alive. They were back.
John forced himself into a sitting position, wincing at the dozens of new aches and pains that announced themselves. He looked around. They were in a management office. Or rather, what remained of it.
The real-world version of the Sainsbury's back office was a ruin. The ceiling had partially collapsed, exposing twisted metal beams and shattered fluorescent lights. Desks were overturned, filing cabinets had been torn open, and papers were scattered everywhere like confetti after a particularly violent party. The walls were scorched and cracked, and John could see daylight streaming through several holes in the exterior wall.
It looked like a bomb had gone off. Multiple bombs, actually. The destruction was extensive, thorough, and spoke of impressive violence. But it was mundane, relatively speaking.
After what they'd just experienced, the ruins of a normal office building felt quaint. The broken desks and scattered papers and collapsed ceiling were tragic evidence of the apocalypse, but they followed normal rules. They made sense in a way that nothing in the portal world had.
The portal world had been a nightmare given form, a place where reality bent to the whims of some malevolent designer. This? This was just destruction. Normal, comprehensible destruction.
It was almost comforting, in a deeply disturbing way.
John took a shuddering breath, feeling the cool air on his skin. He went still.
The first thing his conscious mind registered after the adrenaline started to fade was the temperature. The management office was drafty, one of those holes in the wall letting in a breeze that carried the general mustiness of a building that had been standing empty for days.
The second thing he registered was that he was naked.
Completely, utterly, absolutely naked.
His clothes had been incinerated by his own attack, and his teammates were starting to stir around him.
Oh fuck. Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck.
John's enhanced Mind went into overdrive, calculating lines of sight. Lily was about ten feet to his left, groaning as she pushed herself up. Doug was closer, maybe seven, shaking his head like a dog trying to clear water from its ears. Jade was furthest away, near what used to be the office entrance, already on her kneed and looking around with that perpetually deadened expression—by divine provenance, she was at least looking away. Chester was right next to him, still wrapped in his wings, which John quickly dismissed, letting them dissolve into nothingness.
None of them had turned to look at him yet. Thank fuck for small mercies.
John stood up with what he hoped looked like nonchalance while mentally hammering the metaphorical Shadow Stream button until his psychic finger bruised black. Darkness oozed out from his hands and rolled along his arms until it engulfed him like an oversized cloak, billowing around him with dramatic flair. If he kept it moving, kept it shifting, it would be impossible to tell that underneath the shadows there was nothing but skin.
He squared his shoulders, slipped his hands into... well, his shadow-pockets, metaphorically speaking. The key was to act like everything was completely normal. Like standing in a ruined office building wrapped in living darkness was exactly what he'd planned all along.
"Everyone alive?" he called out, his voice coming out rougher than he intended. His throat was still healing from the roaring, and it made him sound like he'd been gargling gravel.
+1000 Aura
Actually, that was kind of badass. He'd take it.
Doug was the first to respond. "Define alive," the big man groaned, but he was grinning. "Because I feel like I just went through a blender, but I'm pretty sure my heart's still beating."
Lily sat up, her crossbow somehow still clutched in one hand. "I'm good. Chester?" She turned toward where the younger but no less massive man was slowly sitting up. "You okay?"
Chester blinked slowly, like someone waking from a deep sleep. The white nimbus around him was fading, his Don't Look At Me ability finally deactivating now that there were no monsters to taunt. "I... yeah. I think so. Did we... did we actually...?"
"We won," John said simply. He kept his shadow-cloak billowing dramatically, maintained his cool slouch. "Portal core's destroyed. Boss monster's dead. We're back in the real world."
The words felt surreal even as he said them. They'd actually done it. A red boss monster.
"Holy shit," Lily breathed. Then, louder: "Holy shit! We actually did it! Fuck, dude, I really thought we'd messed that one all the gosh damn way up!"
Jade had made her way over to the hole in the wall, looking out at the parking lot beyond. "Seems like the portal's gone," she reported, her voice flat.
John nodded. That tracked with their experience in the other portal worlds. Once the core was destroyed, the entrance collapsed, leaving no trace that it had ever existed. The pocket dimension simply ceased to be, spitting out anyone still inside.
Doug pushed himself to his feet, brushing debris off his ridiculous swimming shorts. "So what now—"
He stopped mid-sentence, his gaze finally landing on John. His eyes widened slightly.
Oh no.
John felt his carefully constructed cool-guy facade threaten to crack. Every instinct was screaming at him to panic, to stammer out some excuse, to let the social anxiety that had plagued him his entire life come flooding back.
But he was committed now. He'd just ridden a burning monster through a collapsing dimension while breathing fire hot enough to melt steel. He'd orchestrated an elaborate aerial battle. He'd gained over a hundred and fifty thousand Aura from this fight alone, not even counting the hefty final reward for winning it. He was not going to let something as mundane as nudity break his stride.
John met Doug's gaze through his shadow-cloak and shrugged with calculated nonchalance.
+2000 Aura
Lily made a choking sound that might have been a laugh or a cough, or some combination of both. Chester just stared, his mouth slightly open. Jade's expression didn't change, but John could have sworn he saw the ghost of a smile twitch at the corner of her mouth.
Doug blinked. Processed. Then burst out laughing.
"You absolute madman," he said, shaking his head even as his shoulders slumped. "You set yourself on fire, killed a giant stickbug, destroyed a portal core, and now you're just... standing there in a shadow cape. Like it's no big deal."
"It's not," John lied smoothly. Inside, he was screaming. "Just another Tuesday."
Actually, come to think of it, I have no fucking idea what day it is.
The relief that washed through the group was palpable. They'd survived. Against all odds, against a red-souled boss monster and a collapsing dimension, they'd made it back alive.
John kept his shadow-cloak billowing dramatically around him and tried very hard not to think about anything in particular.
Doug cleared his throat, lips twitching. "Well then. I'd say we managed to blow off any steam we'd built up quite thoroughly, there. Let's head back to the community centre and regroup, hm?"