Chapter 4: When given lemons… (Patreon)

Chapter 4: When given lemons…

I was very proud of myself at the moment.

Never in my life did I imagine I had such vast reserves of patience.

Indeed, I was practically an enlightened monk sitting atop a mountain, bathing in soft rays of sunlight.

Soft and soothing breaths came in and out of my lungs, taking away all earthly worries, all the anxiety I had, all the stress weighing me down.

Most importantly, it was taking this volcano of white-hot fury I had boiling inside of me. The timing was excellent, as without this serene influence, I might have completely lost my mind from sheer, unadulterated spite.

“Why? Why all this? Why not just have everyone in one place?”

System Notice:

Students perform better in the long run when they have a generous diversity of thought and philosophy.

I pinched myself to avoid going on another rant.

“Don’t let yourself down Sully. You’re better than this. You’re going to make it out. You’re still you. You’re going to keep being a good person, despite being a Telepath and you’re going to save more people.”

One breath came in, slow and steady until my lungs were full. Then it went out, leaving me deflated and more in control.

“This doesn’t change anything. You’re still in a cave and in danger. There are still people out there that need help. Don’t lose focus of what’s important.”

Another breath, drawn in through the nose and expelled through the mouth. Then another, and another.

“Okay, time to focus on my options. I got four points to spend and need defensive abilities. The system won’t tell me anything about them, so I have to go by their names. I’m pretty sure I can figure this out. Deep breaths. Positive thoughts. In and out. Slowly.”

After a few more minutes of this, I went back to the list.

Telepaths couldn’t rely on super durable physiques like Enhancers or regeneration like Shifters. Nor could they pull off energy fields like Projectors. For me, the best strategy would be to stay out of sight and out of mind, striking out from very far away and hopefully finishing off the monster before they had a chance to retaliate.

With that in mind, I decided to go for [Static Illusion], [Hide], and [Faint Presence] right off the bat, with an extra point up for debate.

The first three options would hopefully allow me to sneak past enemies or make them ignore me. I figured that was far more cost-effective when it came to swarms that may or may not be hunting for me.

Upgrading [Fever] was an option, but I couldn’t guarantee kills with that yet and I didn’t know if another point would make that much of a difference.

In addition, I now knew for a fact that there were massive groups of centipedes that gathered up and strategized to some degree.

If I was surrounded anywhere, then that was that.

Lights out.

Welcome to the pearly gates.

Better to rely on stealth to carry me through.

If being a sneaky little poo meant surviving then sign me up for ninja school.

I also had a certain degree of insurance from my superhero knowledge.

Blackjack had famously disappeared time and time again after each of her attacks. Every time, Enhancers, Projectors and Shifters would gather and search for hours without any luck. Every time, footage would emerge of her literally walking alongside response units without being noticed.

It wasn’t that she could turn invisible or anything. Rather, that she could make herself undetectable to people around her.

I had no illusions that my abilities would be that strong right away, but it was a start.

Definitely a decent use of 3 points.

That last point would require some deliberation however.

I’d narrowed down my choices to either [Precognition], which sounded overpowered, or [Mental Map], which sounded very useful and practical.

Problem was, I had no descriptions for either of them.

Taking one might mean missing out on an incredible ability until my next level. With how things had played out, I might not make it that far.

I was leaning towards [Precognition] right now, only because of the possibilities I conjured up in my head.

Being able to predict the future? Knowing how things would play out before every fight? Every conversation? Every little situation where skill and probability were a factor?

It was simply too good to be true. Which is exactly why I was suspicious.

I was all for positivity in the face of adversity but if being in this forsaken hole had taught me anything it was that whomever threw me down here had very few scruples and a twisted disposition.

Furthermore, there was that itty bitty fact that no Telepath I’d ever heard of could predict the future. I’m pretty sure something like that would have made the news, which only deepened my skepticism.

There was no way something that good would be available for 1 point.

There had to be a catch. Besides, [Mental Map] was something relatively simple in concept.

A map that was in my mind. Brilliant thing to have around.

Yes, I could tell distance and relative positions using [Sense Thoughts], but that was that.

There could be a single wall between me and my target or there could be fifty. Furthermore, I’d lose track of them once they died, leaving me blind once more.

So, these were my final choices. Take a gamble on something amazing or settle for something safe and useful.

In the end, I settled for the safe option. I could always go back to try out Precognition, but I needed a definitive edge right now.

With a small pang of sadness, I allocated my points.

Name:

Solomon Carter

Psy:

80/80

Type:

Telepath Level 6

Abilities:

[Sense Thoughts] 2 / [Message] 1 / [Mental Bolt] 3 / [Fever] 2 / [Fear] 1 / [Static Illusion] 1 / [Hide] 1 / [Faint Presence] 1 / [Mental Map] 1

Ability Points:

0

At once, four new swirls of energy appeared in my head. I knew them all instinctively, as if I had known them all my life.

Two of them, [Faint Presence] and [Mental Map], were passive in nature.

No matter how hard I tried, they would not accept any Psy into them.

It was much the same deal as [Sense Thoughts].

Either I turn it off or on. No in between.

The map appeared as a holographic image of a sphere in my head.

Within the center of the sphere lay my current chamber, dyed in pale blue and purple. I appeared as a single yellow dot in the middle, soft currents dancing from me to fill the image.

I couldn’t feel anything different about my presence, but I figured I was immune to whatever I was doing now.

I decided to leave the ability activated and move on.

The other two were a bit trickier.

[Static Illusion] did just what it advertised. I focused on an area and willed it to become a rock to my senses.

It worked. Somewhat.

The rock did appear where I wanted and it did look how I wanted it to look. However, the size was off. This Illusion was way too small to hide myself in. On closer inspection, it also rippled as I moved around it.

I shook my head as disappointment set in. Right now, it would be a good distraction, but little else.

A few more points might fix that, or they might not. On the bright side, only one Psy per use, so there was potential there.

It would just have to be a gamble for another time.

My last ability, well, I don’t know how good it was yet.

I could feel it inside me. I could activate it. I just couldn’t notice anything different.

Maybe a centipede would be completely baffled right now, wondering how the handsome human had vanished from the world.

Or, maybe it would wonder what the handsome human was doing to become partly see-through.

Could centipedes, see?

I guess they see sense with their antennas. Would my ability work on antennas?

No matter. I needed to find live prey to test this on anyway. One sad little beast, all by its lonesome.

If it works? Great.

If it doesn’t? Better to find out it doesn’t work in a controlled setting. That’s the scientific process in action.

I turned on my senses, combining [Mental Map] and [Sense Thoughts]. Flickers of emotion came to me and began to fill out blank spots in a three-dimensional sphere.

Critters in groups of 2 and 3 and 4 moved around my sides and above me. Below me lay the same concentration of life that had sent scouts to accost me.

Their feedback filled my map as my own energy did, modelling their passages and crevices.

Then I noticed that the map stopped forming around the entrance to the lower tunnels, where the re-enforcements were coming from earlier.

The same spot that marked my previous range.

Huh.

So, the range of my map is half that of my current senses.

Good to know.

Maybe it’s because of the level difference?

I set out to test it further by moving around my chamber.

The borders of the map being made moved with me, as did the borders of my senses. However, there was one crucial difference. The previously-completed portions remained in place, even after I move away.

Finally, some good news.

About time.

This meant that I could slowly map out the whole maze given enough time. It also meant that I didn’t have to worry about losing my only source of water.

Now then.

Two choices lay before me.

Go out and test my new powers or stay here a bit longer and get a few more levels before heading out?

I considered it for a while as centipedes moved throughout the labyrinth.

I could start taking them out from here, but then I risked them converging on my position again.

On the other hand, I could start sniping them after I’d made my way out of here.

That way, search parties wouldn’t attack my little hideout.

Wait. What about the smarter variants?

Those things I felt when the Enhancers were fighting.

I didn’t sense any right now, but they could easily figure out where I came from if they know the tunnels.

If that happened, they could set up an ambush at my only water source.

Granted it wouldn’t catch me by surprise, but it would force a confrontation.

An idea struck me at that moment.

It beat me over the head with how easy and obvious it was.

Man, I was such an idiot.

That lack of imagination was going to get me killed if I didn’t shape up.

I turned back to the metal door and the battered locks. I made my essence flow and laid down an Illusion.

Then another.

Then one more on top of that.

I continued until the entire gateway looked like yet another wall in the cave.

Completely unremarkable if one didn’t pay close attention. The whole process set me back 10 Psy, but I couldn’t help but pat myself on the back.

I’d just found my ideal hunting method.

The next few minutes passed without much consequence.

I threw [Fever] and [Mental Bolt] at enemies and watched their reactions. I heard their panic as I removed their friends or immobilized entire groups.

I studied how they spread out in search of me, bigger packs of 10 or 20 dispersing at once to explore all available openings.

This encouraged me to keep targeting bigger and bigger hordes as their dispersal filled out my map extremely quickly.

Indeed, the whole sphere was almost filled out after just half an hour.

I stared at it in my mind, conjuring the sphere into being.

I’d guess it had a radius of roughly 100 metres.

It was a very rough guesstimate but it felt right.

Furthermore, the power now extended in every direction and was completely full of twists and turns.

There were passages that diverted themselves into three separate corridors, slow inclines that send travellers far below or far above their previous positions and holes that lead to chambers filled to bursting with chitin.

Now, 2 levels higher and 60 Psy lighter, I could make a few tentative conclusions.

• This place was huge. I mean, completely gigantic in a way that would drive aspiring architects green with envy. It’s also one big deathtrap, in a way that would make injury lawyers salivate like hungry hyenas. Sadly, I should probably get used to the idea of being stuck here for a while. Or until help comes, as unlikely as that seems.

• My Illusions worked! At no point did any of the centipedes stop to take a closer look. I can even simulate other things like sounds or smells, which could come in handy. They were also static and contained to a single location, but its still good to have more options. The only downside was that they started to vanish after about 20 minutes and had to be re-done. Still, that’s a massive load off my back.

• [Fever] did give me kills. Slowly. It took a while for the centipedes to keel over and some of the stronger ones shrug it off after a minute of two. Consider Improving.

• Psy doesn’t regenerate unless I’m completely still and resting. I would have to try to get breaks whenever I was at or below 20 Psy. That way I would have some wiggle room in case of emergencies.

• There had to be other safe places aside from this one. I knew this because the survivor count had stopped at 895. Not a single person had died while I was experimenting. Yes, the number was absolutely spine-chilling, but everyone left seems to have found a decent hiding spot.

Overall, could be worse.

Could be way (Centipede)ing worse.

Still, that number left a question hanging in the air.

Should I stay here where its relatively safe or try to find and rescue other people?

Should I spend my points now or wait to see what the surrounding situation is?

Any superhero worth their salt would have leapt at the chance to save lives after all.

Then again, I probably wouldn’t react very well to finding a Telepath in front of me after surviving a kidnapping.

There were those two weirdoes that had called me a Shepherd or something but I figured they were most definitely not the norm.

Then there was the whole difficulties and possible alternate dimensions thing. I wasn’t quite ready to trust the System messages without further evidence, but if it were true, then it put me at a far trickier position.

Beyond that, my levelling had petered off, so I was hesitant to spend the points.

It could be a game-like thing, where sniping mobs from safety doesn’t give any progress past a certain point, or it could be that I’m either at or approaching the proverbial soft cap for experience.

Maybe the centipedes didn’t give out anything past level 8 and I’d have to find stronger enemies. It would suck, but no more than the whole morning kidnapping scenario already did.

Or maybe this whole game-like thing worked as a representation of skill or familiarity with powers. If so, training or using abilities in new ways was more important.

Right, better to hold off for now. Maybe see if I could link up with a group and get some more information before deciding what to get.

As for the safety angle, the decision was simple. I could stay here knowing I could have saved someone that might have died in the near future or I could go outside and actually try to be a hero. To make a positive difference despite what I was.

“Welp, definitely won’t be able to live with myself if I did nothing. The therapy bills might bankrupt me, assuming I make it out alive.”