Lair by Carl Stubblefield (recommended reading TXT) 📕

incredibly rare, and is one of the resources that the Nth make a special priority to scavenge completely from any planet facing an apocalyptic event. It is too valuable to be lost. You may be familiar that most of the Kroutonium was harvested from the Badlands in the United States—”

“Yeah, didn’t a ship crash there?” Gus replied.

“It was the cargo carrier that held the scavenged Kroutonium from prior planets. Some managed to be dispersed as the ship broke apart in the atmosphere after hitting a satellite orbiting Earth, but the majority ended at the crash site. Those supers with tech-based powers were able to be instructed by Nth accessing the quantum server on proper ways to utilize its unique properties. The rarity of Kroutonium was underestimated at first, and supplies were quickly used up, so that it has now become virtually impossible to find anywhere.”

“I’ve heard of sentient weapons and suits, is there anything else used to make them?”

“It has been theorized the quantum server is a computer fashioned from Kroutonium, or a material that functions similarly, but since it cannot be physically accessed, that also is conjecture. The adaptability and capacity would lend credence to this theory, however. Since it is usually utilized by the apex lifeforms of a planet, the uses you have mentioned tend to be the lion’s share of the recognized functions, with varying applications.”

“It’s too bad that you can’t get it anymore. I bet those that have it hoard it like crazy.”

Gus found he could better control the MP flow and avoid null headaches after shifting to only using Dash. Unlike when he was boosted, he noticed only a slight shift in speed, but the skill leveled after only thirty minutes of constant use. His additional points in constitution thankfully made the constant rests for stamina regeneration a thing of the past. Gus replayed his jump playlist again and zoned out while moving along the beach. It gave no bonuses, but he liked the music. He didn’t want to waste any songs he hadn’t used with his Wreck-ord skill and lose their potential buffs in the future, but time was of the essence. Since he wasn’t leveling as quickly as he had expected, he realized that he would need to use the songs he had hoped to keep in reserve. With a little bit of regret, he queued his running playlist.

You have created a song chain! Success with activities related to musical themes increased by factorial multiplier based on quantity of songs in series.

Take It on the Run by REO Speedwagon. Success rates x 1. (Chain anchor, no bonus)

Choosing a slower song to start things off, Gus watched for any changes as he used Dash. He didn’t want anything breaking his flow, distracting him so he couldn’t maintain the continuous dash state. He put his questions for Nick on the back burner. Keeping closer to the water, he had to still zig and zag, but there was less jumping and the movements were minor. The walkway feeling returned.

Gus sped along, even moving his hands blade-style like the Flash in an effort to eke out a little more speed from his subconscious manipulation of the ether. Faking it until he was making it. He couldn’t tell if it really made a difference, but he didn’t care. It made him feel more like a super. It was such a foreign feeling to how he had seen himself for his whole life. To be honest, he felt out of his depth, playing at being a superhero. He worried if he had what it took to make it if he ever made it back to civilization. Screw it. No one’s here, so I get to do what I want. Plus it just feels cool.

Gus heard a tone and a quick check showed that his Dash skill had leveled up again. That seemed quicker than normal. He monitored his velocity, stamina, and MP to obtain a speed that kept them within twenty percent of max. Gus noticed after a while that he was in one of those flow states that Nick had mentioned. He could almost see the sun track as it plunged into the sea, the clouds flying by quickly as he progressed around the sandy beach.

Gus switched his perception filters, and found he could enable a combination thermal and night-vision that gave superior resolution of the environment around him.

He recalled the feeling he had when he was fleeing the Mantid just a couple days ago. The walkway sensation made him feel like he was moving more quickly. The jungle on his right and waves on his left appeared to blur more and more with the increasing speed.

“Nick, how far have I travelled?” Gus asked, surprised that he wasn’t gasping or winded.

“You have travelled twenty-four point three miles from Atlantis Beach,” Nick replied. The revelation almost brought Gus to a stop.

What? I’ve almost run a marathon? I’m not even winded! Gus thought, alarmed. Suddenly the idea of encircling the island was much more attainable.

“How long have I been running?”

“Almost two hours, uninterrupted,” Nick stated.

“Noice!” Gus said, and doubled down, pushing himself to keep moving faster and faster. MP and stamina bars dipped to about a tenth of their total, and he found another sweet spot to maintain his pace. Occasionally there would be a chime indicating a skill increase and the bars would jump up as it took less resources to maintain the current speed. Gus adjusted to bring things back to 10% and went on.

Run Through the Jungle by CCR. Success rates x 2.

Things picked up a bit more; Gus felt a kick of acceleration, like when a ski lift picked him up and moved him forward when he first boarded. Gus relaxed and settled into the flow. When he had been a henchman, he had hated running the most.

Some of the drill captains would force you to run laps and there were always punishments for those who arrived last. You’d be on latrine duty, or cleaning barnacles