Esper Labyrinth - ESP - Superhero - LITRPG

The sky was clear above zombie world. The clouds staying a clear pure white while the sky in the background remained a beautiful baby blue. The wind caressing our skins with a fresh breeze with every new gust.

It was a nice day in Austin. With nice company to boot.

Jude and his girlfriend were here, of course. Because this was their settlement and this had been their city before that. The old Shifter lady I'd helped was also here. Because she was now a Shifter and was therefore going to be sticking around for a long time. Good for her.

Then there was Monique who was here because her kids were here. Monique's kids who were here because I'd told them to be here and of course, The Slasher of Veils. Who was still very happy to see me. All of them was happy to see me. Both the sword itself and good old Cherubaustin the insatiable.

'Gosh golly but does that name roll off the tongue. Nice going System.' I thought with as much sarcasm and bitterness as I could pack into a single thought.

But yes. This was a nice day.

If only I could enjoy it.

"Okay. So, let me get that again." Monique whispered. One hand over my shoulder.

"My parents are drones." I told her again. "So is grandpa and Mr. Park and Prudence and almost everyone from my world who was in my world. Henry is okay because he was busy helping Charlie, Boris, Slab and Dusty fight off a Kenari invasion on Dusty's old world. Luigi is okay because he was helping Vince and Thunder Fist fight off an invasion of the lobster people when they tried to land on that world without water we were sent to that one time. The one with the mad tyrant holding on to what little water there was underground."

"Uh-huh." She said, patting me on the back as she spoke. "And, why is Puffin here?"

"I don't know." I said. Throwing up my arms. "I can only assume the Troubadour or more likely his master Cultist Sully didn't like her all that much and wanted to sic her on me because he also didn't like me all that much."

I stopped to consider other perspectives.

"Or it could be a taunt. Of sorts. Like him saying, 'Hey Sully! You're a fucking dumbass! And you should have listened to me when I told you to get rid of [Eternal Silence] because I knew it was too much for you and I was right and you were wrong! And now entire universes are dead and it's all your fucking fault you dead-brained imbecile! And now the Divines that do come through are all going to go after your sorry stupid ass and you still have nothing to show for it! I'll let your adoptive sister out so she can remind you of what a fucking self-destructive intolerable asshole you've been this whole time and how you came close to dooming everyone you've ever loved or cared about!' Yeah. That sounds like the sort of thing he'd say. The prick."

Monique was quiet for a few seconds.

Her kids weren't.

"Dude. You sound like a fucking dumbass." Jimmy blurted out.

"Dude! Shut up!" Ben hissed beside him. Trying to pull his brother back.

"I can't! He's the strongest human superhero ever or something! The guy who was supposed to keep the good-value brand intergalactic beings away from earth! And he's a fucking dumbass!"

He turned to me briefly.

"And he's also schizophrenic if I'm hearing him right. He keeps talking about other versions of him."

"That's not schizophrenic dumbass! That's multiple personality! Like the killer in that one movie!"

I couldn't even summon the energy to tell them to pound sand and leave me alone. They were right after all.

I was overconfident. Sure I could walk away with either two [Presence] abilities or a much-improved combined version of both. I had still been sure even after all the pain and being stuck in several time loops of more pain over and over again for goodness knows how long.

And it had led to was me being ejected. Farted out of pandemonium with one less Type available until my bloody [Presence] ability healed from all the prodding I'd been doing. And honestly, who even knew when that was going to be fixed.

Monique, for her part, seemed to be coping with the news better than I had hoped. Better than Puffin at the very least.

"Did you at least get some Enhancer combined abilities?" She asked pointedly.

"Yeah." I admitted. "A lot actually. Leatherface Sully might have been a psycho killer, but he knew his stuff."

I began to list off the gains.

"So, the first one was [Solomon's Adamantine Fortitude X]. Which I got from puritanical, too hard on himself Sully."

"Wait, you're not puritanical, too hard on himself Sully?"

"Yeah. But this guy was all that made me, well, me. But on steroids. This guy never faltered when he knew his place. He never allowed himself an escape. He saw the responsibility ahead of him and he went all in."

I considered the words for the moment.

"In a sense, he was the me that should have been. The me that the people of Earth and the multiverse deserved. The one they should have gotten. It wouldn't have made for much of a dramatic story but the overall good he would have done would have been leagues above what I've managed. And he didn't have to commit mass xenocide to do it. So yeah."

I sighed.

"It's made up of [Enhanced Constitution / [Enhanced Toughness] / [Enhanced Recovery] / [Enhanced Stamina] / [Sudden Constitution] / [Sudden Toughness] / [Sudden Recovery] / [Slashing Resistance] / [Piercing Resistance] and [Blunt Resistance]. Basically it's a passive that can be boosted and makes me much, much harder to hurt. Though I was still hurt right afterwards. Did you know that Intruders can throw hands hard enough to break Tier 10 abilities? Because I didn't. None of my Intruders have been able to do that yet. It sure would have made my life a whole lot easier if I could have just thrown Mittens at the Dragon."

"Didn't you say all those versions of you had powers at level 99 or something?"

"Yeah yeah. But still. That's a bitter taste in my tongue. And speaking of bitter tastes, oh-ho! We have the king of bitter tastes! I'm fairly sure this one was more messed up than Cultist Sully, Fuhrer Sully and Leatherface Sully combined!"

"The silent one." Monique stated.

"Yeah. Hah. Yeah."

I put my hands on my forehead and began to massage it.

"Dammit. I should not be able to feel stress right now. How am I managing to feel stress right now!? My Shifter abilities should have taken care of that already! What's the point in being a super furry like the Seeking fucking Drake if I still have to deal with stress!?"

"Sully."

"Yeah yeah. I know. So, from him I got [Solomon's Incorruptible Body X]. It's a strong power that basically ups my immune system. Not really needed with how overpowered my Shifter abilities are in general, but this power will come in very handy if I ever get cornered by a Shifter who out-levels me."

"Like the Seeking fucking Drake."

"Exactly!" I snapped my fingers. "Exactly like him! I need this power so I don't immediately get my cells taken over by super cancer at the 10th Tier. Now that's a cure for constipation, isn't it? Heh."

"And what's it made out of?"

"[Enhanced Digestion] / [Enhanced Circulation] / [Enhanced Immune Response] / [Neurotoxin Resistance] / [Cytotoxin Resistance] / [Enterotoxin Resistance] / [Hemotoxin Resistance] / [Viral Resistance] / [Parasitic Resistance] and [Radiation Resistance]. Like I said. It's mostly resistances. Doesn't come in useful all day every day and it isn't the kind of super power that people write home about. But it will keep me alive in the coming fights."

I paused.

"I hope." I finished.

"Then there's [Solomon's Corrupting Influence X]. The real cream of the crop. It basically serves to superboost my mental resistances as well as my ability to learn and process information. While also giving me a boost to all aspects of training my body and making it better. But again, that's a bit redundant with my Shifter Powers. Since my body isn't going to get more toned."

"Does it help with levelling?"

"Kind of. But not really. It does so in an indirect way like, imagine a power that helps you get used to other powers and how they interact with stuff like your body. It helps me feel out the power as if I'd been practicing for much longer than I had, but it won't increase my levelling speed. Now what it will do is be very synergistic with my Telepath powers in general. It used to connect only to [Silence] but [Silence] is largely gone from my mind and spirit. So now anyone that tries to mind-wipe me is going to find themselves getting a face full of my other powers. Like my plain old regular [Prescence]. Or if I'm lucky, [Domination]."

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"If you're lucky?"

Monique had not seemed happy at anything I had to say, but that last statement almost made her jump out of her seat.

"Yeah. Lucky. Like I said, I can't really do Telepathy at the moment and any enemies I might find who might be strong enough to mind-wipe me are not enemies I'm overly keen to be fighting right about now. Since I don't know if the trap will spring correctly. If it does, we're down one scary opponent and we're up one heck of an ally. If it doesn't bye bye Sully and bye bye System and, I don't know. Reality might collapse or something."

"Wait, what?"

"Yeah. Because the System only exists because I will later be alive to create it. So if I die for good before creating it, by say, being dominated to kill myself as soon as I respawn out of the body of someone I healed, then the System won't be created. And if that happens, then I have no idea what will happen. Best case scenario the timeline just keeps going. Worst case scenario, the time travel messes with the fabric of reality and none of us end up being born."

I paused my rant to sigh and massage my brow some more.

Monique didn't say anything for some minutes after that. When she did, it was after she downed a large mug of moonshine.

"Thank you, Sully. Like you said, I was in some dire need for a cure for my constipation. Let's keep going. What is the power made up of?"

"[Sleep Resistance] / [Psychoactive Resistance] / [Paralysis Resistance] / [Psionic Resistance] / [Enhanced Memory] / [Enhanced Learning] / [Enhanced Processing] / [Enhanced Balance] / [Enhanced Training] and [Berserk]. The last one being what springs the trap and destabilizes the other guy so I can brain-wipe them."

"And you got those two from Silent Sully."

"Yes I did."

"Okay. Now, what did you get from, um. Disturbed Sully?"

"I think they're all disturbed mom." Ben spoke from the side.

Monique ignored him and so did I.

"[Solomon's Savage Celerity X], [Solomon's Desperate Potence X] and [Solomon's Animalistic Senses X]."

I had to laugh after I said them out loud.

"You know, maybe the System was onto something with him after all. If I had to describe Leatherface Sully in three words, savage, desperate and animalistic would be those three words for sure."

I smiled at her kid.

"Disturbed should be on that list though. I'll give you that."

"How do they work?"

I shrugged.

"They're kind of self explanatory to be honest. [Solomon's Savage Celerity X] is made up of [Enhanced Dexterity] / [Enhanced Flexibility] / [Enhanced Reflexes] / [Enhanced Concentration] / [Enhanced Agility] / [Pressure Resistance] / [Vacuum Resistance] / [Gravity Resistance] / [Friction Resistance] and [Sudden Concentration] and it's basically a semi-passive power that can be overcharged. Like [Fortitude]. It just helps me go really, really fast. Whether that be under immense pressure, in a vacuum, under some kind of gravitation attack or even a black hole. It just ignores all that and lets me move quickly. That's it. Oh, and the added [Concentration] lets me see things while I'm moving. Lest we forget."

"What else?"

"[Solomon's Desperate Potence X]. It is completely different. There are passive effects to it, but not that many. At least not when compared to the standard."

"Which is?"

"The Dragon and all the other Enhancer Savants he's trained over all the eons he's been plaguing the multiverse. It's…ah…how do I explain it? Usually, a growing Esper will kind of sacrifice some passives to increase the amount of force they can dish out via [Enhanced Strength]. They will merge passives dealing with agility and even dexterity to have more punching power. Though the one the Dragon merged had to do with his balance. They still keep a lot of their movement perks from those passives and high-level Enhancers are blindingly fast in general, so it's not that big of a loss. But Leatherface Sully went in the complete opposite direction. He is even faster than most because the abilities he merged with his strength power were a lot of the active boosting powers. So, his baseline strength is weaker, but he's capable of sudden, massive burst of speed while overcharging himself with Psy. Kind of how the Veiled Assassin, another Savant, operates right now. If he pulls off a sneak attack, he'll win. For sure. But he's weaker than Hazimon in a direct confrontation despite both of them being Tier 10 Enhancers."

"I see. And what's the combination?"

"[Enhanced Strength] / [Sudden Strength] / [Sudden Dexterity] / [Sudden Flexibility] / [Sudden Reflexes] / [Sudden Agility] / [Enhance Object] / [Enhance Projectile] / [Overcharge Self] and [Heavy Blow]. The last one being especially important."

"So, that's good right?" Monique asked with some worry.

"You have Shifter and you can make up for your strength by making yourself bigger. I don't think you can do that with speed."

"No. No I cannot." I agreed.

"But the Dragon is different in other ways. His [Enhanced Balance] was merged in such a way that it protects him mentally and in a way that lets him shift from offense to defense really quickly. Also, don't think the dude isn't fast. He is. I couldn't see him when we first met. It's just that he's a bit slower than a Tier 10 Enhancer who's built for speed like the Veiled Assassin or like how Leatherface Sully built himself."

She furrowed her brows.

"Are you…? Are you jealous?"

"Well, yeah. Kinda. His power is objectively better. I still have super-strength, but I'll always be lagging behind anyone who really knows what they're doing. Behind Hazimon. Yeah I have some advantages, but not as many as I had hoped."

She took a deep, calming breath. Imitating the ones I used to take back in the day. Even going so far as to use the same hand gestures.

"Solomon Carter." She began after reopening her eyes. "You are, without a shadow of a doubt, the most annoying kind of greedy asshole I've ever met. Like those rich posers I used to suck up to at work. The kind who grew up surrounded by lady friends at their yacht club and got their position by virtue of being spawned from their daddy's sacks. You are insufferable."

She inhaled and exhaled again.

"But continue."

"Right. So the last one is [Solomon's Animalistic Senses X]. Like I said, fairly self explanatory. Just a booster for my senses."

"Which you really need now that you don't have access to Telepath."

"Nah. Not really."

She arched an eyebrow.

"What? You've got Projector too. You know how good those energy senses are."

"Yes. I do know. Not good enough to save Randall."

"Touche." I admitted. Finally mustering a smile.

"Yeah. Yeah I suppose you're right. My bad. I'm not ungrateful or anything. I'm really glad to have it. Uh, besides that, it can protect all my senses from being, well, taken out through an attack. Again, most other people merge things like [Heavy Shield] with their main endurance and toughness powers. But the other me felt it was better to have it defensing his senses. Make of that what you want. It's a combination of [Enhanced Vision] / [Enhanced Hearing] / [Enhanced Smelling] / [Enhanced Tasting] / [Enhanced Proprioception] / [Enhanced Respiration] / [Overcharge Object] / [Heavy Shield] / [Heavy Shot] / [Heat Resistance] / [Cold Resistance] and [Electric Resistance]."

"Wait, does that mean you don't get the three last resistances?"

"No, I do. But they're mostly geared towards protecting my nervous system. They'll protect everything else, just not as much. And on that note. Thank goodness for Randall's energy absorption powers. While Leatherface Sully broke himself through his skewed priorities, Randall was just built differently from the start."

I had to laugh as a sudden thought overcame me.

"You know, it's almost funny in a way. Humanity might have actually been much better off in Randall's hands than mine. At least in the short term. I can't see the Dragon bothering with him for one."

"Oh yeah. Because the original, pre-mind control Randall was such a chipper, stable and altogether well-put individual who could totally be reasoned with."

"Again, Touche." I admitted.

Monique sighed again and stood up. Walking away and waving for another moonshine mimosa or whatever it was that she was drinking.

"I need to digest some of the news."

She stopped, then turned around.

"Wait, what if the others try to go back to your Earth? We've been using it as our main spot. Aside from me of course. Because…"

"Of the kids. Yeah. I get it. And don't worry. That's part of why I came straight here and not, say, Olga and Simeon's much nicer Earth filled with well controlled AI that serve the people's every want and need. They're unironically a real utopia. Like, a complete full on post-scarcity society. Trust me. I wanted to go to that one instead and I would have if Slasher wasn't still here. I'll use him to send Intruders out to find and inform the others. Shouldn't be too hard."

I gave her a reassuring smile.

"I got it handled. Sorry to unload on you like that and sorry for interrupting your time with your kids."

I paused briefly.

"Also, sorry for dropping Puffin on you like this."

"No, don't apologize for that one. We get along. More or less. And she's been through a lot. She needs someone to talk to."

The 'someone that isn't you.' part went unsaid, but I heard it just the same.

In the meantime, Jude walked over to me. The Slasher of Veils in his hands.

"Here dude. I think this is yours." He said casually.

"Thank you, Jude."

"Also, um, do you have time to talk?"

I looked around at the rest of the outpost. Taking careful note of how a lot of them seemed a bit put off after my little self-depreciating rant a few seconds ago.

"Sure. I can talk." I told him. Scooting over a bit to let him rest on the bench more comfortably.

He didn't start talking right away though and I used to time to call upon Cherubaustin.

'Are we going to set something on fire?' He asked.

"Not at this very moment." I told him.

'What about later?'

"That'll have to be a maybe right now."

Slasher grew a mouth on her hilt then. Her silky tones coming across as desperate.

"Maaassssteeer." Her hilt-mouth licked her metal lips. "Can we slice open some gnomes?"

"Also no. I did too good a job and I'm fairly sure the only gnomes left alive are the children and the ones that are still kinda, sorta good. I mean, I still want to stab them, but I feel we should prioritize the danger to humanity first. I need Cherub to get in contact with Mittens and Randall and Serpent-Tongue and all the others. I need all my Intruders looking for my friends and I need all of them knowing that they cannot go back to my Earth right now. It isn't safe. I need us all to meet up here. On Monique's Earth. Can you do that?"

'Of course!' Cherub crowed. 'Soon the dying embers of this burning world will warm the hearts of the faithful and the brave!'

"Yeah. Ok. Just do it."

I felt Cherub's presence leaving for Pandemonium and finally managed to relax a little bit since coming here.

"Sorry about that Jude. I had to make a call. You were saying?"

"Um." He began. Apparently lost on where to start. "I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate what you do man."

I blinked in surprise.

"What?"

"You know." He waved his arms about.

"For saving the world and all. My world I mean. It's… it's the only one I know and even though there are other, nicer Earths, I want to stay in this one."

He paused.

"I want to make it a better place. And I'm thankful for you giving us that chance. I mean, look."

He sighed.

"When you first found me, I was stuck in some abandoned wrecked house waiting for death. I had zombies all around me and the only girl I've ever loved was stuck in the library's basement. And I wasn't there for her. I had more or less written myself off. I even had a suicide note and everything. I was gonna try and charge a mutant with a knife, but I wanted to write something down before I did that. Since I knew how it would end. I was right there when you came over. Right at the point of no return man. You gave me everything. Even if we ignore the powers. You gave me the will to keep on living."

He swallowed a lump in his throat.

"You gave me hope."

He waited a few more minutes before getting up and walking away. Turning around just long enough to say a few more words.

"It might not have meant much to you, but it was everything to me. Just something to think about next time you're feeling down."