Mistrunner 2 - Chapter 15 - A New Routine (Patreon)

Trust is surprisingly easy to betray. When I first contacted the Enforcers, I thought Jeremiah would pop up out of nowhere and kill me. But he never knew. Not until the end. All because he trusted me. That was his only real mistake.

Nora Lancaster

As I looked at my new training hall, I couldn’t stop the grin from spreading across my face. The basement had already been huge, and judging by the secret tunnels the contractors had found, it had clearly been used as some sort of smuggling warehouse. What had happened to the previous occupants, I had no idea. But their loss was my gain.

The first thing I’d had the contractors do was to enlarge the room even further, and in every dimension. It was longer, deeper, and wider now – all to accommodate the training regimen I’d been working on. I had new skills to develop, and my growth had already stagnated. That wouldn’t do, so I needed a place that could double as a gym as well as a shooting range.

The gym part was easy. It only took Gunther a day to get ahold of the strongest Mist shackles available. With those, my Constitution would be cut by at least ninety percent, meaning I would need far less equipment to get a good workout. With my Constitution being what it was, the amount of weight I’d have to lift would soon grow out of control. The shackles would keep that to a minimum. At the same time, it would allow me to continue my work on the obstacle course I’d had built.

Lining one entire side of the room – which was almost four-hundred yards long – the course was a lot like the one I’d used in Mobile. However, it differed in a couple of key aspects. First, it was at least ten times longer than the old one, which would really let me work on my attributes as well as my skills. Second, it had a few new sections that were meant to train my [Acrobatics]skill. I was both dreading and looking forward to putting myself to the test.

As I continued scanning the new training hall, my eyes settled on a pair of doors on one side. In there, I would find an enormous stockpile of ammunition. The bulk of it was practice ammo, which was made from mundane materials. It was supposed to be the cheaper option, but even that had taken a good chunk of my net worth. A smaller portion of the stockpile was decidedly more expensive. My new weapons were powerful, but with that power came some stringent requirements for ammunition; the only way to meet those requirements was to spend lots and lots of credits. Thankfully, I had enough, but it just served to remind me that my windfall from selling the Rift Shards wouldn’t last forever. Eventually, I would have to find some way to earn a living.

After crossing the hall and inspecting the storage rooms, I decided to take a look at the hall’s other features, which were meant to turn it into a relatively safe gun range. I ran my hand along one of the walls, feeling the soft tingle of a Mist shield. The entire room was blanketed in the stuff. As a result, any errant shots would be mostly contained. Certainly, if I used my real ammunition, it wouldn’t hold up, but that was what the practice ammo was for.

But what really got me excited was that I’d gone back to the Bazaar and bought a very advanced training system from Gala. It was powered by Rift Shards, so anytime I used it, it would eat through my stores; however, the benefit was supposed to be off the charts. Basically, it hooked into my interface and read my skills. Once it did, it would create a course of Mist constructs designed to push me to my limits.

I was more than a little eager to test it out, but first, I needed to get a good workout in. So, I headed into one of the corners, where I found a small bathroom. After ducking inside, I quickly changed into my M11 Infiltration suit. The first time I’d tried it on, I had been more than a little self-conscious about how it fit me like a second skin. The tight, black material that made up the inner layer left almost nothing to the imagination.

Thin but hard pads covered my arms and legs, but my vitals were protected by slightly thicker armor. According to the manual, it would deflect pretty much any mundane weaponry. But it would only dissipate some of the force from anyone whose attacks were modified by skills. Still, it was far better than my usual tactic of running into battle wearing nothing but fatigues.

Besides, I had my subdermal Sheath for anything the M11 couldn’t stop. It wasn’t nearly as impenetrable as some of the heavier armors, but it made up for it by being a far higher grade than almost anything else I could have bought. In addition, it was repairable via a simple Mist injection, which, given how often I seemed to get shot, was probably a good thing. After all, it wasn’t like I intended to slow down. If anything, the future would probably see me in even more dangerous situations. Hopefully, the combination of the M11 and the subdermal Sheath would serve to mitigate some of that damage.

The good thing was that if I didn’t see the Sheath listed on my interface, I never would’ve even known it was there. As far as I could tell, it hadn’t affected my agility at all, which was one of the biggest reasons I had chosen it.

I retrieved my nano-bladed sword from my Arsenal Implant and placed it onto my back. The M11 automatically grabbed it, securing it into place. My dagger came next, which I clipped to my belt. Finally, Ferdinand II found a home in a holster on the other hip.

It wasn’t ideal, but given that my Arsenal Implant only held four quick access weapon slots, it was necessary. After all, my other slots were occupied by my new Pulsar sniper rifle, my R-14 assault rifle, the scattergun, and my heavy weapon, the BMAP. I’d briefly considered throwing the BMAP into my normal storage, but I figured Ferdinand II shouldn’t be that difficult to draw from the hip. Besides, I liked the comforting weight.

Once I made sure that all of my weapons were loaded with practice ammo – the last thing I wanted was to blow a hole in my new training hall and bring the building down on my head – I stepped out of the bathroom and readied myself for a training session. Before I did that, though, I wanted to check my status. It had been a while, and I thought it might inform my training regimen if I used it as a baseline so I could compare later.

To that end, I focused on my overall status:

None of my skills had taken any huge jumps since the last time I’d checked, but that was expected, given that I hadn’t really done anything. My surveillance activities and constant use of Mimic had progressed [Infiltration] a little, but the gains were negligible almost everywhere else. However, I had gotten a point in both the Mind and the Mist attributes, which was a nice surprise, especially when I wasn’t actively training.

The biggest shock, though, was that my newest skills had come with powerful modifiers as well as abilities. Even at only Tier-1, [Demolition]modified my explosives by a significant amount. I hadn’t had the opportunity to try any of it out yet, but I knew that the modifiers were strong. On top of that, I’d gotten an ability called Blast Shield.

Blast Shield (E) – Halve the damage you receive from your own explosions. Reduce the effect of others’ explosions on your body by ten (10) percent.

Given that part of my kit was a gun that shot what amounted to miniature warheads, it wasn’t difficult to see how necessary the new ability was for my future. Obviously, I wouldn’t go setting off explosions at my feet or anything, but it was nice to know that I could still use the BMAP in an enclosed space without blowing myself up. Of course, according to Gala, doing that would probably bring a building down on top of me, so I’d definitely only use that as a last resort.

In any case, I moved on to [Acrobatics], which increased my proprioception by a flat thirty-five percent. I’d already seen some of the benefits, and I had to admit that I was pretty excited about the skill’s future. Not only did I have unprecedented control over my body, but I felt like I could do gymnastics across a tightrope. I hoped that the obstacle course would put it to the test. If the skill had only come with the modifier, I’d have probably counted it as a win, but it had also come with an ability:

Balance (E) – For ten seconds, increase your balance by three-hundred (300) percent.

I’d already tried the ability out, and though it was powerful, I knew it was also extremely dangerous. The ability was Mist-hungry, so over the ten seconds it was active, it drained over half of my Mist reserves. Normally, I didn’t use that many abilities, and I rarely ran low on Mist. However, as my skills grew more advanced, I knew that would change. Balance was a hint of what the future held, and I needed to get used to keeping an eye on my Mist usage. To that end, I’d adjusted my HUD to give me a simple indicator of how much I had remaining, which I’d tucked away in the corner next to the icons meant to represent the weapons in my Arsenal Implant.

My other skills hadn’t seen much in the way of increases, so I decided not to look at my skill trees. Perhaps I’d have something to admire in a few weeks, but for now, I needed to get down to the business of training.

Without any further hesitation, I clapped the manacles around my wrists, and immediately, I was beset by a sense of weakness. Suddenly, the weapons at my hips and the one on my back felt like dead weights. But that was as expected. The restraints cut my Constitution attribute down to only a few points, so I was even weaker than I’d been before my Awakening. Which was precisely the point. I wanted – no, I needed to push myself. Anything less than extreme measures would feel like I was cheating.

Briefly, I considered removing the weapons, at least for the first few times. But I’d gone so long relying on my Arsenal Implant, and I needed to grow accustomed to them being there. The last thing I needed was to have the hilt of my sword snag on something in the middle of a fight.

After stretching a little, I began a modified version of the physical training program I’d used back in Mobile. It was a high-tempo combination of running, doing calisthenics, and lifting weights, and after an hour of that, I felt like I’d been working out all day. That was the effect of the manacles, I was certain. Every minute would equate to ten, so long as I pushed myself to my limits.

Once I finished that portion, I set in on the obstacle course. And I was sorely disappointed with my performance.  I’d had no idea how much I had been depending on my attributes to see me through. Even back in Mobile, when Nora had taken over my training, the manacles I’d used at that time were only a third as strong as the ones I now wore. So, it was all I could do to finish the course a single time. Each obstacle took me a subjective eternity to overcome.  By the time I finished, I was drenched in sweat, and all I wanted was to lie down and rest.

But I kept going.

This time, I removed the manacles – I couldn’t even use my weapons with deflated attributes – and set about completing the training program set by the artificial intelligence I’d bought. And it was grueling. Not as difficult as when my uncle had personally put me through it, but it was still difficult enough that, by the time I headed back upstairs, I was in a terrible mood.

It felt like I’d backslid. That was unacceptable, and I resolved to right the ship over the next few weeks.

When I got back upstairs, I found that Patrick was still engaged in learning the material given to him by Dr. Montague. So, as I flopped down on the couch, I got his attention and said, “We need to talk.”

His eyes immediately found my skintight suit, which I studiously ignored. I didn’t hate that he looked, even if it made me feel a little self-conscious. Okay, very self-conscious. I couldn’t help but wonder if he liked what he saw. Perhaps I could get him a matching suit so I could ogle him for a few minutes. That would put him in his place, wouldn’t it?

“What’s up?” Patrick asked.

“We need money,” I said.

“Already? I thought you were, like, a millionaire.”

“I was a millionaire. All this new stuff didn’t come cheap,” was my response. “So, I was thinking about my mission when I realized the answer was right in front of me.  Nora took over the Specters, right? Well, I’d already planned to destabilize the tribe, but what if I just…hijacked and robbed them? There’s money there. It won’t be a ton, but it might be enough to keep the operation running.”

“Okay? But what happens once we take her down?” he asked. “I know you talked about going after the other people involved, but as far as you’ve said, those are all super rich assholes in King’s Row. Which we can’t even get into, by the way.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m working on it. But there’s a chance that we’re going to have to leave Nova if we want to make any real money. Maybe I can find another Rift or something. The last one almost killed me, but I made millions off of it.”

“Maybe,” he responded, though I could tell he was less than enthusiastic about the prospect. “But what about the future? What are we going to do when the aliens come?”

“I…I don’t know,” I admitted. “But for right now, I want to take things one step at a time. Otherwise, we’ll get lost.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“It’s okay if you don’t like my plans, you know,” I said. “That’s the whole reason I wanted to talk. If you see anything wrong with what I want to do, I need you to let me know. Poke holes in my plans if you can. I’m not so fragile that I can’t take criticism.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“I’m sure.”

“Okay, then your plan is stupid,” he said. “Leaving Nova is a huge mistake. Every time you come in and out of the city, you’re going to draw attention. And if someone realizes who you are, it’s game over for us. So, unless you can guarantee a way back in where you don’t trip every alarm in the city, it’s better to just make do with what we can get while we focus on the actual mission.”

“Wow, tell me how you really feel…”

He swallowed hard. “I’m not trying to be a jerk,” he said. “I just know how hard it is to get in and out of these cities. The only reason we got in last time was because someone bribed one of those Enforcers at the gate. Otherwise, we’d have been scanned. And believe me, those scanners are powerful enough that they’d have cut right through both of our skills.”

What he said made sense, but I was still a little annoyed. After all, the Rifts were ripe for the harvest. I just had to hit one, mine a few Shards, and I wouldn’t have to worry about money anymore. However, that plan also came with a few issues – aside from Patrick’s reservations. First, I had no idea where to even find another Rift. The one I’d delved before had closed right after I finished it. So, I couldn’t go back there. And it wasn’t as if there were maps. Second, I hadn’t been exaggerating when I’d said the other one almost killed me. The fact that I’d kept going had been stupid and reckless, but I’d been so hellbent on accomplishing my mission – and impressing my uncle – that I’d never truly considered abandoning it.

“Fine,” I said. “We’ll just make do.”

After that, I told Patrick that I intended to head back to my perch so I could continue my surveillance. I needed to know everything there was to know about Nora’s activities. And when the time was right, I would strike. Until then, I had plenty to keep me busy.