Chapter 4: Still me.

The man was still passed out as I paced about the cave. Trying to piece together the rules of this System.

Looking back, it all seemed self-explanatory.

The listed abilities had plus signs next to them, implying that the points could be used to make them stronger. The few shots I’d fired were deadly, but there was the glaring issue of the barrier that kept me from firing them in succession.

Maybe that would go away if I strengthened it?

There were three abilities listed in the screen and I immediately knew what two of them did. The third one would need testing, though it appeared straight-forward in concept. Something to keep in mind for later.

Right now, I needed a better way to fight back. Preferably from a long distance away.

The wound on my right hand had stopped bleeding and I had cleaned it with water, but it was still tender and unresponsive.

I took a moment to imagine all the ways this could turn out. This cave was anything but sterile, so there was a risk of infection.

Not to mention the side effects from whatever venom that stupid bug may or may not have had. Come to think of it, could bug bites pass communicable diseases? Did centipedes carry rabies?

‘No. Probably not. That’s silly. But if they did?’

I gazed down at the hand once more.

Better to avoid directly facing the enemy from now on.

Just in case.

With that in mind, I focused on my only offensive ability and assigned my points. I had expected it to go all the way to seven, but it looked like each upgrade cost more points. Bringing it up to 2, took 2 points. Similarly bringing it up to 3, cost 3.

Now I had one point left over and nothing to put it towards.

Each of the remaining abilities cost at least 2 points to raise, so that was out.

Maybe I could save them and then bring [Mental Bolt] to 4?

Unless…

“Hey system. What can I do with leftover points?”

Ability Points:

May be used to enhance existing abilities or acquire new ones. Abilities are limited by current Tier. Current Tier yields 3 ability points per level.

“Whoa! Okay. That worked. Good job me. Time to capitalize. System, show me what I can get for 1 point.”

Available Abilities:

[Static Illusion] 1 / [Fever] 1 / [Sleep] 1 / [Electronic Interface] 1 / [Floral Interface] 1 / [Fungal Interface] 1 / [Team Tactics] 1 / [Team Spirit] 1 / [Team Resilience] 1 / [Team Momentum] 1 / [Team Doctrine] 1 / [Mental Map] 1 / [Fear] 1 / [Courage] 1 / [Anxiety] 1 / [Confusion] 1 / [Hobble] 1 / [Phobia] 1…

Wow.

That was one big list.

A nice little overview of what a supervillain might do on a Friday afternoon.

Okay.

Time to sit down and think about all the options carefully.

‘AAAAAGH! Help! Help! Somebody help me! Someone wake me up! This isn’t real! This isn’t real! Please! Anybody!’

My brain froze as screams came through my fog.

Upwards and to my left.

The layers of stone between us did nothing to muffle the desperation packed into their plea.

Ephemeral energy tracked their passage as they ran.

Behind them were six centipedes acting in unison.

They gave chase as their own emotions flared up. A half-dozen lanterns glowing with naked malice.

Trauma resurfaced and strangled my response. I though back to my own flight. The wound on my hand ached with increasing fervor. The numbness in my left bicep spread. Adrenaline was flying through my veins once more, stepping up to keep me alive.

There was a disturbing clarity within me, pulling my strings like some sadistic spirit. Demanding that I resist.

Power began to gather behind my eyes. Ready to do just that.

Then it stopped. I hesitated, thinking back to the screen.

To the possibility that I might be making things worse for me by gaining levels and becoming stronger.

The victim slipped while I remained frozen.

A small wave of hateful chitin caught up to them.

A spike of pain travelled back to me. It continued to surge as a shapeless mass of incandescent anguish.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Whispers break their hold some time later, brining me out my stupor and into a repulsive, disgusting truth.

‘I, did nothing. I could have helped. But I did nothing.’

A new fresh terror shattered me alongside the realization.

In that moment, there was no Solomon. There was no me. Instead, there was a monster wearing my skin.

Clothed in my now-tainted pajamas.

This being was revulsion made manifest.

Self-hatred and shame given form and flesh.

It was a mockery of humanity and all that is good.

I stood there, considering this foul creature, and struggled to comprehend how it came to be.

‘I did nothing. They are dead because of me.’

More emotions danced in my mist. More misfortunes reared their head. The sword of Damocles lay poised and ready to snuff out more lives.

Unless I stopped it.

Immediately, I resolved to help.

New impulses activated and power flowed through my eyes once more. It stuck to my ghostly web, searching through it for a target.

It didn't need to wait for long.

The person on the other side of the stone walls was running from a large group, 14 centipedes forming a hunting pack. They skittered on the floor, walls and ceiling, faster and faster.

[Mental Bolt] activated and the leading centipede fell over headless.

My only means of attack went on cooldown, having barely made a difference.

Psy:

40/65

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I looked through the list of abilities before I could stop myself. I needed something else to slow them down. Something that could hit all enemies in an area. The screen didn't have any information on what each option did, but the names provided clues.

I closed my eyes and heard more screaming. More desperation. More hunger from the pursuers. They didn’t even notice their kin’s death.

I opened my eyes and chose the first option that sounded like an attack.

[Fever] activated.

Unlike my earlier strike, it spread outwards like a blooming flower, creating a net of energy that entangled the middle of the swarm.

Those affected either stop or slow down considerably, losing their grip and falling unto the floor. Pain radiated from their skulls as a crippling surge of heat leaves them stunned. While none of them died, the charge had been broken.

Bewilderment reached me from the fleeing human as they looked over their shoulder. They turned on their heels and held their hands over their heads in one fluid motion. Then the hands came down. All the unaffected creatures went silent in the fog.

The rest changed their tune. Where once was bloodlust, there is only fear. Their prey was a Projector.

One who was now fighting back.

Another hand motion made my victims redouble their terror.

Thoughts and feelings came through my ability, carrying news of fire.

Then, silence.

Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.

Psy:

35/70

I smiled in response, realizing what I’d just done. I, filthy Telepath, had just saved someone’s life. Helped them kill a whole squad of monsters.

It was an odd feeling. I hadn’t really thought about any of it. I’d just seen someone in danger and decided to help. I hadn’t done it for any kind of self interest or personal gain.

I’d just done it because I wanted to help. A natural reaction to the situation.

The smile widened as adrenaline continued to flow.

“Yeah. I’m still me. I’m still a decent person, no matter what happens.”

Memories of recently deceased were quashed. I fought tooth and nail against myself to submerge them deep in my subconscious.

It was a truth too terrible to contemplate at the moment. I needed to focus on what mattered. The life I managed to save.

Things would undoubtedly become difficult in the future. I had no idea where I was. I had no idea how long ago I’d been kidnapped. I didn’t even know why I was taken. Right now, though, the comfort kept those uncomfortable facts away. I’m wasn't going to become some degenerate just because I was like this. I wasn't going to turn into some power-hungry lunatic.

I was still me.

(Centipede) what everybody else thought about Telepaths.

I was still me. I was still in control. I could control myself.

I decided whether to be moral or immoral.

Not some societal pressure of temptation inherent to my Type.

I controlled myself.

New sounds filled my psychic senses. This time from below me.

Once more, I reached out to assess the situation.

Deep down underneath there were two people surrounded by enemies. They seemed to be a hundred meters down, just on the edge of my senses.

Worry crept up my face as I counted the centipedes. Dozens and dozens.

To make things worse, there were outliers among the horde. Signals that felt far too alien to be human while also forming coherent sentences and plans within their own brains. They hummed within the fog, shining with might.

I threw a [Mental Bolt] in their direction, followed by a [Fever].

Psy:

27/70

Even as I attacked, the situation didn't look survivable.

Critters leapt at the humans, 5 from the front and back.

I prepared myself for the worst.

I tried to brace myself against a cave wall in expectation of the silence that would surely follow.

Miraculously, my expectations were subverted.

Not only were the people still alive, they fought with renewed vigor.

I couldn't see exactly what they were doing through [Sense Thoughts], but I began to get more information through their enemies.

The centipedes continued to think in small words and big emotions. Their minds simplistic in their design.

‘Hunters. Weapons. Strong. Strong prey. Strong flesh. Rip it. Tear it. Feed.’

The others came through far more clearly.

‘They are well trained. They coordinate with each other. Axes and knives are swung. They will not fall easily. Someone else is attacking. From the shadows. Unseen. Looking for them. Break the formation. Break their spirit. Break their bodies. Not here in the pit. Up or down the tunnel. Send hunting party to search for them.’

The thing did something then.

Its light shuddered and expanded, getting a reaction out of all the nearby centipedes.

I attacked it as soon as I was able, sending both powers against it.

It died from a bolt. Its followers were slowed by [Fever].

Level Gained: +5 Maximum Psy. +3 Ability Points.

Psy:

19/75

Unfortunately, it didn't stop the reaction from the crowd.

I gulped as more and more life entered my fog. They formed a river of flesh and chitin that separated from the main battle below and branched out into the tunnels that lined the space.

Some went further downwards and disappeared from my senses once more.

Some went either left or right and disappeared as well. Some went upwards.

Towards my position.

Oh poo.

I really did it this time.

I looked on helplessly as I waited for my attacks to finish their cooldown. Then I went back to the screen to fish out more attacks.

[Fear] was used immediately after being acquired.

I felt the energy gathered within me and expanded it outward. Like immaterial water that flowed from all my pores, it shot out in all directions.

The wave traveled through the walls in search of my target.

It fell short.

Psy:

17/75

Unlike [Fever], this ability didn’t start from a point of my choosing.

Meaning its range was always limited by my position.

I cursed as the hateful bugs went unimpeded.

They delved deeper and deeper into my fog, through tunnels big and small.

I felt them searching. Hearing their legs as they moved. Tiny, sharp noises raining down incessantly.

Down below, the hunters were still being besieged from all sides as more and more reinforcements surged from the chambers below them.

I worried that I’ve just delayed their inevitable deaths as I considered the numbers.

Hundreds had gathered together. A veritable storm of clicking jaws.

My peers didn't falter.

The line was held.

In fact, the monsters appeared to be on the backfoot.

Minions charged time after time. Each assault adding more carrion to the floor as feedback was cut off.

The warriors danced their way into a macabre spectacle, axe and blade singing through the air in concert.

Only then did I realize how they were managing the impossible.

Its not just that they were armed. These two were Enhancers getting ludicrous amounts of experience.

If I managed to thin the numbers a bit, they could totally escape.

An idea formed in my beleaguered mind as I considered the screen. I spent 4 points on bringing [Fever] and [Sense Thoughts] to 2.

Heat spread from behind my eyes as my gamble paid off. My fog’s range had doubled, as had the range of [Fever].

I waited a few more precious instants as the walls in my mind dissipated.

As they crumbled, power lashes out.

My attack slowly killed the weaker centipedes and gravely wounded the others.

Feelings flooded into me with increased intensity, as grunts felt their juices boiling as their own nervous systems turned against them.

I assessed the situation while waiting for my cooldown to end. The area of effect was still not very big, but the enemies were bunched together so tightly that it hardly made a difference.

That last shot affected 28 centipedes within the horde, collapsing 3 or 4 attack waves at once.

I expected this to be the signal for a hasty retreat.

For the two hapless souls to run like the wind and disappear.

That, didn't happen for some reason. The survivors rallied and redoubled their efforts, their thoughts now reeking of triumph and jubilation.

‘The Holy One acts!’

‘There’s a shepherd here! Don’t break formation.’

‘Have to fight harder. Harder! Don’t let up!’

Huh. Wasn’t really expecting that to be honest. I would have been running the second shells started hitting the floor.

No matter.

These people still needed help. Actually, they needed my help now more than before.

Emotions radiated from each bug around the two, raw bloodlust sending psychic punches in my direction.

My walls dissipated and I acted again, determined to make this one count. [Fever] cascaded over the chamber and another thirty fell down.

Psy:

7/75

A brief lull descended onto the battlefield, giving me a brief window to act.

‘Run!’ I thought as loudly as I could, hoping I was right about what [Message] did. ‘Escape while you have the chance!’

The two people looked at each other below my feet. They stood there, injured but not beaten despite the odds.

Imposing as wolves among hounds.

I failed to catch their movements until they reached one of the tunnel entrances. Then they began to move upwards, though slightly away from my current base.

Fog followed them until the very edge of my perceptions. While there were some pursuers, most were struck down as soon as [Fever] finished re-charging.A warm smile blossomed on my lips as I felt another increase in level.

Psy:

2/80

Horrible as that was, I just saved the lives of three people. All without putting myself in any real danger. Getting caught outside would still suck, but maybe this isn’t such a bad thing right now.

I only realized my mistake when the clanging of jaws on metal reached my ears.

Clang!

Turning around revealed the scouts I had forgotten about.

The ones that spilled out of the depths in search of the invisible attacker.

There were 4 of them here, trying to chew their way into my haven. I attempted to lash out in wrath, only to realize that I couldn't.

Clang! Clang!

[Mental Bolt] wouldn't activate, despite not having been used recently. I summoned the screen for answers and noticed the measly 2 in my reserves.

Oh.

Double poo.

I’m was of attacks.

Clang!

I activated [Fear] for the second time, hoping that I’d be close enough for it to count.

This time, the ability worked as intended. The probing ceased. A sharp whip of emotion came my way. Centipedes flee in panic.

I laughed. Softly and quietly.

I was going to make it. I was going to go home. I was going to save as many people as I could.

I was still me.

These notions warmed me while my body grew more and more lethargic. I didn't even notice anything wrong until my fog dissipated, leaving me alone with the stream and the glowing mushrooms.

“Wha…?” I stuttered as the shock of losing control brought me back to reality.

I tried to activate it once more but nothing responded inside. As if the wellspring of my power had just run dry.

‘Oh right. The Psy. I got to 0’

My eyes began to shut against my will. Darkness consumed me.