Gamma Protocol (034) (Patreon)

[034]

Level 6 endurance was making itself felt today. It was a subtle thing that I hadn’t thought about until after I’d spent a good minute going at a dead sprint. At a glance nothing felt entirely out of place, my limbs operated just fine, the weight of my weapon remained the same, and yet it was as if I’d barely warmed up. It wasn’t that my movements were more efficient, but that the cost of exerting myself had been lowered.

Definitely appreciated.

Which came in handy against the new flavor of G-class to show-up today: peckers, which was rather odd, all things considered.

The monster was, basically, a pair of gray meter-long feathered wings with a tiny ball-like body in the middle. They were both more dangerous, and more harmless than other G’s, but it was mostly due to how their method of attack was through electric discharge. Their wings would gather up charge and, upon impact, unleash it. If it hit a leg or an arm, the worst you’d get would be pain and numbness, but getting hit in the head or chest would be… maybe not instantly lethal, but definitely bad.

I’d thought fighting them would be a nice change of pace, but by the third splattered pecker, I was starting to hold a particular level of loathing against them. Every time I smacked one, I’d get a jolt that left my arm achingly numb. After killing four in a row, my whole body tingled as if it’d fallen asleep and was waking up again. Then I had three more.

“How are…” I paused my words. “Goddess Bunga, how is that flying monsters here?” I asked, speaking gruffly into the mic so as to ‘stick to character’ for the stream.

Typically, flying monsters had very short but aggressive lifespans. They showed up, made a beeline for the nearest human they spotted, and would get shot down. But these ones had been just sitting around the Well, doing… nothing? How had they gotten here? I could’ve imagined Crawlers just going through drains without encountering humans, but peckers? They would’ve flown over the streets, they should’ve encountered something by now.

“They tend to show up after a lockdown, not sure why. We had a partial one yesterday.” Vesper explained. “Doesn’t seem there are any more left.”

“Annoying things.” I growled, fully aware that they’d be seen as potentially lethal to a human if they got hit in the wrong place. Thankfully, they’d showed up only after having dealt with the F’s and not in the middle of the fight.

Now that they were done with, I was rather enthusiastic about the other thing I’d picked up. The scent of three stronger monsters… “What else is on menu?” I asked the drone.

“Our perimeter ping spotted three E’s coming this way.”

I suddenly got flashbacks of my brief foray into the badlands. The Bulstra was on my hip, but even if it was rated for E-class, it was in the sense that it could kill an E-class, not that it would. Not that it mattered, I was itching for a proper fight.

AP: 55 / 150

The system agreed with me, happily pointing out I had much more room for AP. “What type?” I asked.

“You can’t be serious.” Quinn called out.

“I just want to make an informed choice, even if that choice might be to retreat.” Not that I wanted to. With the scent growing closer, my hands were itching. “I already had an E double-team not that long ago.”

Rather than correct me and remind me to stick to character, Isia barked out a laugh. “Oh God.” She quickly devolved into a fit of giggles.

“Three spinners, not picking up any other company.” Vesper spoke up.

I bit my lip.

As far as E-class monsters went, the apparition was near the top of the range. They were the sort of E-class that could wipe out a whole platoon if anything went wrong. Meanwhile, on the lower end, were monsters like the hellcat that were dangerous, but very straightforward to handle. Spinners were somewhere in between those two, though leaning closer to the hellcat. Easy to handle, but only so long as they weren’t allowed to set up a trap.

It would be a very risky fight with two of them, but three? Me and my improvised melee wasn’t going to be enough.

Reaching up to my earpiece, I tapped it twice to signal I wished for a moment of privacy from the stream. “God Unga and Goddess Bunga demand a moment of rest. Do not worry, for the slaughter shall continue after these messages from our sponsor FRUIT: Shadow Flavors, an epic collection of unique taste-texture combinations right in your mouth.”

I suppressed the heavy sigh until I got the beep-confirmation sound.

“You’re clear, what’s up?” Vesper called out.

“I’d like to take the trio on, but with a bit more gear than just my Bulstra and some crowbars.” I declared. “Not sure how viable that would be, though, especially if the stream hasn’t gathered enough viewers.”

Isia shrieked. “I’VE GOT AN-” She got cut off even as I flinched from the intense volume. “Ahem, right, sorry. I have an idea.”

“Does it involve changing Axel’s costume? Because we didn’t bring materials for that.”

There was a long pause. “Fuck.” Isia muttered, petulantly. “But we can adapt. I think we should let him cook.” 

She instantly earned several points, I nodded enthusiastically but waited for the others to chip in.

“You’re insane.” Quinn replied without missing a beat. “But fine, let’s assume he goes for this, the margin’s-”

Isia cut him off. “Oh come on! We both know the stream’s-”

Only to be cut in by Vesper. “Seeing the upper limit of what he can do when actually using weaponry would be good for us,” she said. “There wouldn’t be a problem if he went over budget on a trial run. Better just go with more serious backup and try to keep the combat drones out of the stream.”

Quinn let out a long and suffering sigh. “Fine. What are you looking for, Axel?”

I grinned, pumping my fist in victory. “Just an incendiary grenade and something a bit more protective than my bare chest.”

“That’s… it?”

“Either we ditch the stream or we do this properly.” Vesper urged. “Walk us through this plan of yours, Axel.”

“Well…”

---

“Sorry for the longer-than-expected pause, the God Unga and Goddess Bunga have blessed me with great gifts for the upcoming fight!” I proclaimed with my forced gruff voice, trotting through the ruined roofless factory, careful not to step on broken glass or shards of metal.

I was thankful that I was wearing a mask that hid my face, and that the gang was using something to tweak my voice. I don’t think I would’ve been able to hold out and follow along with the… exuberant “acting” required for this. It also helped to mitigate the fact that I didn’t have an acting bone in my body.

“These gifts are for a special mission.” I made a shot to look at the camera drone, patting my fireproof clothes: a simple full-body weather-gear, sans helmet. For the helmet I was still wearing the plastic skull.

Tucked on my hip were two incendiary grenades, my Bulstra, and a crowbar. Also, I was wearing the loincloth on top of the overalls… because I had to “stick to character”. But truth be told, I was feeling a mix of excitement and trepidation now that I was looking to fight the E’s.

“Thread to your left after the next corner,” Isia warned through my ear-piece.

I slowed down to more carefully watch my step. The spinner monster was more indirect on their approach to their prey, and me getting changed and geared had meant the trio of monsters had a chance to set up as well.

“Now we must be cautious,” I said to the camera, slowing down and lowering myself slightly. “Spinners create ambushes and traps.” As I moved closer to the corner, the drone began to move back and away, giving me distance.

Carefully, I leaned to peek to the corridor to my left, and just as Isia had warned me, there were four hairline threads leading from one wall to the other. They were nearly invisible to my gaze, but they reflected infrareds, meaning they’d practically glow for a drone’s sensors.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to pick out any signs of the monster. The monster’s scent was all over the place, fresh and heavy. It was a warning of its presence in the area, but otherwise useless, I couldn’t detect anything else through my other senses, either. The debris-filled corridor stretched onwards and deeper into the abandoned factory, while…

Wait. Debris?

I frowned, staring at the torn concrete and rebar littering every inch of the corridor, then up at the ceiling. The gray, cracked, but entirely untouched ceiling.

“There you are.” I whispered with a grin. Holding the crowbar with me left and unholstering my Bulstra, I prepared myself.

Reaching towards the thread with the crowbar, I poked it.

The corridor’s ceiling above it exploded downwards, a mass of chitinous hairy legs, lunging towards a spot I’d already vacated. The spinner looked like a hairball that’d had the hair replaced by thorny chitinous vines, one with dozens of beady red eyes and dozens of legs, each one as thick as my arm.

BANG

The Bulstra’s deafening retort was followed by the monster shrieking as a chunk of its misshapen skull exploded into bits of green, sizzling gore. It recoiled away, limbs flailing as I took the initiative, lunging forward and swinging the crowbar to finish the job. The monster sacrificed four of its limbs to slow my blow, legs shattering and oozing green goop.

“Shit.”

With a sharp thrumming sound, its body puffed out like a balloon and I had to backpedal before I got caught up in its spines. In that split second of breathing room, the monster’s beady eyes locked on to me, and it shrieked again. It was like nails on chalk, a bone shaking shudder that left me cringing as I bolted the way I came.

“The other two are moving, flanking in either direction and closing in.” Quinn warned me.

I was too busy bolting to the end of the corridor to prevent the murderous bleeding thorn-bush from reaching me. The instant I turned the corner, I halted to a stop and took a full swing, using the shriek to guide the relative height of my attack.

This time it didn’t get the chance to block.

CRACK

SPLAT

I winced as the inertia carried through, thorns slashing at my face even as the monster collapsed. Its body immediately began to sizzle and boil, filling out the corridor with the rotten steam as it evaporated.

E-class monster “Spinner” defeated!
+5 AP

Pick your Reward!
+10 AP / ‘Prickly’ / A: ‘Webbing’

A? What the hell was that? “Active”? If that was-

“Twenty seconds!” Vesper screamed into my ear.

I could hear the shifting rubble from my left, and something approaching fast. “Long corridor nearby, take a right, then a left. They’re both hot on your tail” Quinn instructed.

Following their guidance, I kept running, even as I heard the monsters getting closer. They weren’t quite as restricted by the partially collapsed structure as I was, so funneling them into a long roofed corridor would be the easiest way to finish them off. First a right, boots slipping through sand and dust, then a left, and-

“This is a dead end!” I called out, a wall just a dozen meters in.

Ambush points didn’t work well without an exit plan!

There wasn’t time for alternatives, I could already hear the two monsters rounding the corner. I bolted towards the wall to get some distance and a cleaner shot. 

“No, I cleared it, it’s-”

There was the faintest touch against my ankle, and as the wall burst open, I realized we’d all made a mistake.

There had been a fourth spinner.

A mass of thorns and limbs lunged at me, and with my Bulstra barked out as I shot twice. The revolver kicked like a mule, the first shot clipping into the monster’s open maw, the second tearing off against the top of its skull. I swung down with my crowbar, but like the first, its limbs rushed to block, each one cracking under the impact, but not breaking.

We were both left frozen in place, eight bleeding limbs pushing up as I pushed down. If the monster faltered, I’d cave its skull in. If my grip faltered, its thorns would shred me.

“DIE!” I kicked its skull, boot hammering up against the shattered jaw.

It lacked the power to break anything, but it stunned it for a split second, enough for me to get past its faltering strength and angle the crowbar forward. I shoved it into its skull, piercing through the chitin and straight through its brain, killing it.

My back exploded in pain as I was flung forward and beyond the sizzling corpse. I didn’t hit the floor but webbing. It cushioned my landing, but snagged my clothes as I was tangled up in hundreds of threads.

Thrashing free out of the webbing, tearing at my clothes, I glared. “Well fudge you too!” I shouted, reaching for the incendiary grenade. 

That was now laying on the ground halfway between me and the two monsters.

The three of us froze.

If I could transform… but no, I’d just need to get to the grenade first, then-

“Axel, hit the floor!” Vesper commanded through the headset.

There was a distinctive metallic click of boots, I didn’t hesitate, lunging away from the grenade, twisting to face the end of the corridor. I barely caught sight of a weather-equipped figure taking aim with a rifle before they fired.

BANG

The shot was followed by an explosion of heat and fire behind me, and though the monsters roared, the rifle barked out five more shots, then five more, until the roaring stopped.

“Whew.” Vesper sighed, raising the muzzle towards the ceiling and looking down at me. “You ok?”

“I… yeah.” Scrambling to my feet, I looked back to the burning dead monsters. The white and orange flames lapping up the sizzling corpses.

3x E-class monster “Spinner” defeated! (Shame on you!)
+15 AP

Pick your Reward!
+10 AP / ‘Prickly’ / A: ‘Webbing’

“I could’ve handled it.” I snapped at the system, though made a note over how odd it felt that it’d counted it as my kill. Maybe the qualifications for it to “count” weren’t very stringent? Something to test later.

“You don’t need to take needless risks to prove a point.” Vesper replied, and I flinched in realization I’d said that out loud. “We cover each other’s backs.”

“I…” Looking back at the burning corridor, I then looked back at Vesper. Though she was fully clad in the weather gear, her breath was short, shoulders heaving. How far away were we from the meet-up point? Had she run all the way? “Sorry.”

“For what? Not knowing there was a fourth fucking monster? That’s Quinn’s fault.”

“Agreed! What the fuck, Quinn!” Isia pipped through the headset.

The fourth member remained quiet for a moment. “I’d checked.” Their voice was surly and full of guilt right before they went silent again.

“Sorry for snapping.” I confirmed a bit more calmly. “You’re right, thanks for the help.” 

Taking a deep breath, I mentally glanced over at the system notifications. I briefly considered taking the ‘prickly’ if just to push the advancement. On the other hand, that “A” in the ‘webbing’ option had caught my eye, so I picked that instead.

Active ‘Webbing’
Grade: [G] [8 / 10]
Cost: [10 AP]
Effects: Create… webbing?

“You ok?” Vesper asked. “You got hit pretty hard, your back alright?”

“No, yeah, just… catching my breath.” I muttered, trying to query the system as to why it seemed so confused about the skill it had given me. I got this odd sense that it was usable right now, which seemed to surprise the system. “I… need to pick up my gun, do you mind if… I got a moment? I sort of need to put my thoughts in order.”

“I’ll wait outside. Though the flames won’t go out any time soon, that thing’s going to last an hour or so.” She nodded along, marching off towards the non-burning end of the corridor. “Shout if you need anything!”

Waiting for her to leave, I breathed in and turned my focus to the system, focusing on the skill to try and trigger it. I very much doubted it should’ve-

AP: 75 -> 65

There was a welling within my gut, a churning and twisting feeling that climbed up my throat. I covered my mouth as quickly as I could, but the pressure mounted up too fast, too soon, and as I hurled out, a mass of white sticky silk spewed forth.

Hacking and coughing, I looked down at the mass of webbing roughly the size of my head, and then hastily checked around to make sure there were no drones.

“What the fuck. What the fuck!?”

“Everything ok?” Vesper called out from further down the corridor.

“Yeah!” I rushed to answer, picking up the sticky mass and throwing it into the flames.

For a fraction of a second, right as the webbing flew through the air and into the flames, a sudden but weird feeling coursed through me, of alertness, of… intrusion. Of something happening to the webbing, as if a voice in the back of my mind were warning me that a part of me had been altered, somehow.

Then, it was gone.

But the system updated itself, showing me a new prompt.

Active ‘Webbing’
Grade: [G] [8 / 10]
Cost: [10 AP] [½]
Effects: Create x1 Gob of Webbing.
You will be alerted if the webbing is disturbed.

My eyes widened, and my mind spun with questions. Was the “one half” meant to mean I could use it only twice? Was there some other requirement? Or-

“Hey Axel!” My earpiece chirped with Isia’s voice. 

I shrieked, jumping into the air and slamming against the ceiling before collapsing right back down on the floor. Second time, dammit. “What is it?” I groaned out as I scrambled back to my feet.

“After the doc checks those wounds, we’ll go party! Time to officially join the Sewer Saints!”

“Oh.”

Though I heard her words, my mind was locked on a realization.

This webbing… it could be useful against the Shadow.

I hoped.