Lair by Carl Stubblefield (recommended reading TXT) 📕

he used Sweep the Leg and flipped the Mantid on its back. A quick jab later and the hologram melted away, revealing the naked pillowbot, frozen in defeat.

Gus saw a flicker from the side of his eye and quickly used Dash to jump backward. Gus saw the virtual talon pass right in front of his eyes as TimeSight changed his perception, slowing events so he could react. A chime sounded.

You have just unlocked a Subskill of Dash: Dodge (Level 1)

Evade a blow using an ether pull to escape danger, can be chained into Sweep the Leg. Causes a 3-second TimeSight time dilation effect at level 1.

MP cost: 20 MP

Refractory period: 1 minute

100 XP awarded

200 FP awarded

100 XP to level 9

The virtual Mantid continued its movement past Gus’ face in slow motion, leaving its side overextended. Time snapped back to normal and Gus almost missed hitting the exposed flank of the creature. As the blow connected, Gus saw a red arrow pointing to his left with a tiny icon of a chain with three links. Focusing on the tiny icon, his Chained Attack ability fired and instinctively, Gus knew where to move.

Twisting in the direction of the arrow, Gus saw the final Mantid midair and barely had enough time to withdraw his naginata and connect with his new attacker right in the throat. The momentum knocked him flat, and the Mantid flipped overhead as the butt of the polearm buried into the mat and rotated. Gus stood and saw that he had managed to dispatch the final two attackers. The hologram reset and the pillowbots assumed their positions for another go.

Gus dashed to the left with his weapon in front of him. He expected the Mantid to dodge and so he feinted and switched directions mid-Dash, activating the skill again, this time to the right. The misdirection worked well and he was able to connect with the Mantid on the other side of the arena as it was trying to flank him.

The chain icon appeared and Gus activated the skill. His body flowed into the next attack, spinning low and stabbing the middle Mantid in the torso. Gus pulled the blade of his naginata upward and when the tip reached the neck of the virtual Mantid the chain icon appeared again. Gus activated the skill once more and felt the pull to move in the opposite direction, bracing the shaft by his hip.

The rotation brought the blade’s tip around to contact the last Mantid at shoulder level and swipe downward across the Mantid’s chest. It spun around with the force of the attack and froze on the mat, like a dead bug, limbs frozen in the air.

Chimes sounded as Gus stood there, amazed at how effortlessly the combo came together. He was not sure how he moved in just the right ways but suspected the Nth must be monitoring the area around him and fired the appropriate muscles. He also knew where he had to be on an unconscious level, and the entire experience was a different feeling than when the Nth tingled to guide him. Gus checked his logs:

Related skills learned with Spear Mastery applied to Polearms progress.

You have leveled up the skill: Polearms to Level 4!

50 XP awarded (level 3), 50 XP awarded (level 4)

100 FP awarded (level 3), 100 FP awarded (level 4)

LEVEL UP! Congratulations, Level 9 reached

5000 XP to next level

You have been awarded 500 FP

You have (5) additional stat points to assign.

You have leveled up the skill: Chained Attack to Level 2!

50 XP awarded

100 FP awarded

Taking a moment to enjoy the level up euphoria, Gus pulled up his stats:

Agility: 15

Constitution: 14 (13+1)

Charisma: 8

Strength: 12

Perception: 16

Intelligence: 16

Luck: 7

Gus had five more stat points, so he decided to drop three points into strength. Fifteen points seemed to be a threshold of some sort. He bumped his constitution stat up two points in case he lost his armor buff, bringing the base stat to fifteen.

A painful yet almost welcome soreness infiltrated his muscles, reminiscent of the day after a good workout. He felt like his skin was becoming taut as his muscles enlarged and expanded. Get swole! Gus smiled as he watched the effects of the strength boost. The burning sensation faded as the muscles settled into their new form, and Gus felt eager to try his new power in the arena.

Fighting with Dark Nth was unnerving, to say the least, but he thought about what the future would hold in terms of fighting other supers if he ever managed to get off the island. With him being such a low level, and his powers so new and undeveloped, relying on his wits would be incredibly important. It would take some time for him to level to the standard that most supers had trained their skills.

Most supers usually received their powers in their early teens, and there was rigorous training, depending on what Faction they joined. There were Factionless supers, but they were at a definite disadvantage in terms of training, gear, and the support of others. Gus wondered how his relationship with his father would change after he learned that Gus had joined the party and got himself some super powers. Gus scowled at himself for needing that validation.

Gus was still thinking about the implications when two Mantids tackled him and almost winded him as he slammed into the mat. That reset time was much quicker than the last one! Gus coughed and rolled to the side, and noticed there were four Mantids ready to spar against him. Shaking off the hit, he hopped to his feet. He effortlessly performed a kick up, hopping to the balls of his feet from lying prone, shocking himself and causing his attackers to pause briefly.

Before he could fully form a plan, two of the Mantids rushed him. Gus feinted at one and swung the butt of the naginata to hit the other in the head. Gus felt the unique jolt as he fired Wreck-tums! and the Mantid retreated. Gus jumped back,