Lair by Carl Stubblefield (recommended reading TXT) 📕

down here, so he opened the door, which revealed a small nine by nine foot room. There was a ladder leading upward, and he began to climb. Reaching the top, Gus encountered another of the circular submarine-style hatches. This lock was easy to spin loose, surprising him.

He had to push hard with his one free hand, elbowing the side of the ladder to get enough leverage to pry the hatch open. Detritus and plant roots had grown over the hatch and had to be torn free or uprooted, bit by bit. Gus had to spit out bits of dirt that spilled in around the edges of the hatch, falling on his head and in his mouth and eyes.

At last, the hatch flopped open, somewhere along the forest path, a hundred feet to one side if the map was accurate. Gus climbed out and shook himself like a wet dog, brushing his hair and face to remove the dirt and leaves there.

Closing the hatch, Gus saw the small button release on the top that would read his fingerprint and unlock. Gus cleaned the sensor and checked that it worked before sealing the opening. He placed a marker on his minimap to save the location for the future.

Looking upward, Gus saw on a nearby branch the top of a telltale blue blob facing away from him. Keeping quiet, Gus inched forward and readied his spear. He launched it before it could get sight of him and the poor little guy deflated on his branch, a bright blue cottage-cheese-like discharge dripping down the tree trunk. He examined the creature and his Wreck-ognize skill let him analyze the creatures’ remains:

Level 3 Observer

HP 0/10

This creature is the result of a hacked Nth to maximize intelligence. The original host usually was a specialist in a field requiring a large intelligence stat, such as a researcher or engineer. Basic strength and constitution are bottomed out to boost the intelligence of this creature, resulting in the loss of any protective physical structures, including a skeleton. Observers do have increased stealth and mental misdirection abilities as a compensation. Observers can share information they accumulate with fellow Dark Nth to help them direct external activities of others and mobilize.

Gus realized that this must have been how the creatures were able to coordinate their attacks against him when he was routed so badly. After scanning the remains, blue dots began to wink on in his minimap. Knowing what to look for, Gus began hunting for the other observers. He found three others, spaced roughly two hundred feet apart on the trail. Working backward, he cleared the path back to the manor.

Before entering the field, Gus asked, “Any change in that shielding functionality, Nick?” Gus inquired.

“I believe that the hybrid Nth can provide a small increase in resistance at the moment. We… I mean I am attempting to develop predictive shielding that would allow reallocation of the Nth to be more concentrated at the site of an attack, providing increased protection. By mapping your movements these last hours, it has improved the algorithm, but what would speed the process is to practice some battle maneuvers. Just don’t rely on them providing much protection yet, and you should be fine. This dual consciousness is totally messing with me. The Kroutonium aspect is super analytical and I really have to work to translate the concepts into something understandable.”

“Sounds good. I think I can clean up the remainder of these Dark Nth and we’ll see where we end up.”

Creeping up the incline to the manor, Gus saw the last group of zombies, which consisted of mostly Shamblers and some Mantids. If he targeted the Mantids, the Shamblers would be easy to finish with his naginata and ether leash.

Staying hidden, Gus stabbed a Mantid facing the manor in the back of the head. It unfortunately screeched as it was hit and the battle was on. Gus dashed forward and used an ether leash to grab a Mantid and pull it closer as another leash propelled his spear forward.

The creature met the weapon in flight which struck dead center in the chest, then flipped upward, slicing the neck and head into two neat slices which fell to either side. Gus pulled the spear back and settled into his katas, fending off the few Mantids who remained, staying on the lawn so they could not flee or climb to evade his attacks. They became wary and attempted to circle him, but Gus would grab one and attack it before he could be flanked. They were no longer safe with their usual tactics, as one by one they were snared by a limb and the spear killed them while immobile.

Gus had been dodging Shamblers by instinct, their slow speed and lack of aggression making them practically a non-issue when it came to fighting. Ridiculous how these things had given him a run for his money less than half a month ago. He really had been a mess.

For the next hour, Gus was on cleanup duty. The remaining Shamblers were easily taken down as Gus manipulated the naginata with Ether Leash. He gained a level and the exercise reminded him of Yondu’s telepathically-controlled arrow from Guardians of the Galaxy. He wasn’t that good yet, but he began to be able to use the leashes to guide the weapon to a specific target. Without the Juggernauts and Mantids to support the Shamblers, they posed no threat to Gus’ current skills. Finished at last, Gus let out an exhausted sigh. He could see no more enemies on the minimap, even at widest zoom. The silence was a relief in and of itself. He couldn’t resist a peek at his stats and he had gained 2600 XP and 5400 FP total from the cleanup.

Gus fist pumped and made his way up to the lawn.

“Nick, can you tell Stuart and manor A.I. to resume normal functions?”

“Hold on,” Nick said distractedly, “Ok, they should be back online.”

Gus summoned Stuart and a pylon slid out of