Was I perhaps too confident?

Well, I was a Gamer after all. It is a bit hard to take life serious, when you can simply shoot your way out of trouble. But I should think and prepare better next time, I muttered inward as I reached the next layer of this base.

A forcefield blocked the access for any intruder, emerald green and nigh-impregnable to my fists. I try it, just in case.

-1HP

My punch was strong enough to hurt myself a little, or this green barrier had a slight reflect effect.

I could give up and go home. But the quest would not be finished...

Damn it. Whoever gave me this power knew me too well. I could never give up once I began a quest.

Placing my left hand onto the field, I whispered the observe mantra into my mind until something dinged.

*Ding

Quantum lock barrier (minor)

Really? A low level gang in the sewers had access to quantum level tech? What the hell!

I was not equipped to handle anything like this, no matter how minor this lock was.

A couple grenades and my last flashbang wouldn't do jack versus some kind of hyper-science or alien tech that created this barrier.

Then my mind turned the problem around, like it often did when playing a difficult game. I swear, some game designers were sadists.

ID Create! ID Create! ID Create! ID Create! ID Create! ID Create! ID Create! ID Create! ID Create! ID Create! ID Create! ID Create!

A hundred tries later, the System noticed I was stuck and trying to bypass a wall, by jumping over it.

*Gamer tried to create an Elseverse. Multi-dimensional powers insufficient.

Uh, no! I don't want to create an entire new universe. That was high level stuff. I know my limits.

'Create temporary Dungeon, 10 meters around the Gamer!' I demanded in my mind.

*Ding.

By solving the unsolvable, you have gained +1 Int attribute. +1 Logic skill.

*Ding

By straining your mighty Magic powers, you have Created your first spell! -20 MP

Dungeon Creation discovered( minor, temporary)

* You have 5 seconds remaining, 4...

I stepped through the alternate dimension and readied my gun. 2, 1.

*Dungeon dissipates

"Intruder! Notify the Manager!" Someone yelled from high above.

My hands snapped a headshot by reflex, silencing the sentry's voice and made him fall from a metal overhang.

Only 11 targets left. I sneaked to the side, hiding in a shadow among tall containers and boxes, smelling of chemicals. Probably drugs.

"Did you hear that? An intruder? How did they passed through the barrier?" I heard some distant voices arguing.

"Maybe a Super?" someone else replied, in a scared voice.

"Quiet! Supers don't shoot people..." another voice answered, sounding determined. In command. Must be the Manager.

A bit late too remember about keeping quiet though. Not real professionals then, despite their fancy barrier. That thing was crazy!

Keeping to the shadows, I advanced a bit more, then climbed onto a metal container. Peeking over the side, I counted the remaining targets, finding only 9.

Uh...Did they have 2 people somewhere else?

Anyways, I began shooting with precise single shots, taking down 7 targets in a few seconds. The Manager and someone else hid away, trying to avoid my fire and possibly get away.

I smiled inward and just jumped from crate to crate, moving faster than an athlete. It seems I was already a bit superhuman, despite my low level.

Then, at my last jump a loud bang and a truck hit me from below, probably a shotgun loaded for bear. My body spun and fell, while I cursed inward. Everything hurt!

-30 HP

"Did you get him, Boss? I saw him fall..." A cheerful voice asked in a hushed tone.

"Just make sure he's dead!" the Manager demanded gruffly.

"On it!" the second person answered.

I drew my knife with my good left hand, as the right hand was limp and unresponsive. A second later, a mousy man with glasses peeked from behind a crate, and met my thrown knife to the face.

Last 3 targets. Damn it, I needed a level up soon.

Still, I was not exactly a normal human, and even if damaged my body could still move and fight, just at a lower peak.

Or maybe the grey underarmor suit helped. I didn't feel myself leaking from a dozen holes.

"Beans! Do you see him?" The Manager asked in a less confident voice.

Thanks for giving up your position. Sneaking around the crate, I emerged behind the Manager and stabbed my knife into the back of his head.

*Ding

Level up! Level 7 reached. HP and MP restored.

A rush of wellness filled my whole body, and even refreshed my mind. I could fight this whole gangster army again, and finish them much sooner now.

My Gamer System was such a cheat!

Still wary, I patted down the gang's boss and extracted my loot, everything from keys and notebooks to rings, wallet and a small phone, not quite smart but not a brick either. Peeking rapidly through to contacts, I found 300 phone numbers of various individuals, even some known ones I recognized from my net research. Villains.

Not that I hoped this guy was managing a secret hero organization, while selling drugs.

Then, as I looked around for more clues, I saw with amazement as an insect drilled its way out of the Manager's head, then spread out its wings, almost like a strange butterfly.

Things clicked in my head at speed, just as I lunged and grabbed the alien creature.

*Ding

Alien butterfly.

*You have discovered an alien invader species on Earth. Quest available:

- Kill all Butterflies, by destroying the Cow

- Send them to a new planet

I stared for a moment at the brain-drilling alien, considering my next course.

Then my hand clenched tight and the butterfly was crushed to a pulp.

I could consider allowing alien species to live, but not when they invaded my planet and took over people's brains.

That wasn't co-existence, it was slavery.

The second option in the quest vanished without prompt. The System knew me well.

After searching the entire lair from top to bottom three times, and gaining +1 Per attributes and +3 Awareness skills, I managed to locate a hand-held device that created the quantum lock barrier.

Excellent news, as I really needed some extra resources, especially if fighting aliens. Small, weak aliens that could be crushed like a bug, but also advanced scientifically.

The gang's wizard had a small book hidden in the ceiling of his room, containing 4 spells. Three of them I had already seen, Energy barrier, Energy blast and Astral trap, but the fourth one was simply named Shadows.

After an hour of meditation, I still failed to learn it, making me think spells were a bit more difficult to learn than I expected. Or maybe I needed to see them in action, as to visualize them in my mind?

Or I didn't have some pre-requisite, like more Int or some attunement with the Darkness element. Either way, learning the Shadows spell would be nice, but not critical yet.

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*Ding

You have learned Energy barrier (minor). Withstands 100 HP and MP damage. (scales with Magic Attribute)

*Ding

You have learned Energy blast (minor). Deals 50 HP and MP damage (scales with Magic Attribute)

*Ding

You have learned Astral trap. Immobilizes target, deals 10 HP and MP damage per second. Lasts 10 seconds. (scales with Magic Attribute)

*Gamer has failed to learn Shadows spell. Missing component.

Thanks, System.

I would surely be lost, without your great advice.

Anyways, I had the basic knowledge now to create more spells, even if simply trying variations of the spells I knew. The most important being the Create Dungeon spell, of course. Not only for the utility of entering locked places, but also for the potential exp gain I could have, without having to neutralize targets in the real world. As real as it got, anyways.

And still, the quest wasn't over, as 2 targets were missing from the list, blocking me from a perfect run. I didn't like that at all.

'Track target' I asked inward.

Nothing.

Of course it wouldn't be that easy.

Grumbling inward, I began collecting valuables, watches and guns, cash and gold, you know, loot.

As for the drugs...yeah. I was going to burn them all. Sorry, but not sorry. Midway City was a trash heap, but more drugs on the streets wouldn't help.

As I was preparing the great bonfire, police sirens warned me that my time was up. Even with the heavy rain and darkness, explosions and gunfire would be reported eventually. Sad, I know.

I climbed my way to the roof, and dropped a grenade through the skylight onto the pile of bodies and drugs, plus some precursor chemicals for accelerants.

Then a drone-like object fired from among the clouds at me, pushing me back a meter, despite my new Energy barrier.

I took off in a sprint and jumped onto the next building, using my jump time to glance up and see what was shooting at me. An alien spaceship, if barely the size of a basketball.

More butterflies? Seemed like it.

I dove under an overhang and set up my Astral trap, then waited calmly. The tiny spaceship followed me bravely, and promptly got stuck inside the astral tentacles, emitting weird blue sparks and metallic screeching.

Poor guy. I bet they didn't like it when their prey fought back. A minute later, the trap ended its charge and the tiny ship fell on the roof. With a small smile, I watched as a hatch opened an another butterfly alien crawled out, looking rather spent. Whatever tech these little guys had, it was strong enough to withstand a magic spell for a minute. Not bad at all.

The alien bug made a nice pop when I stepped on it. And the targets number went down by one. Great!

Only one left. Packing the small spaceship in my brown bag, I set up my observation point , watching who came to the bonfire, and what they did.

Firefighters, police, medical personnel...not interesting. Then an unmarked car arrived, and a young blonde woman sneaked out and set up her own observation post to watch the fire. Going by the thermal camera and other spy tech, she was maybe from D.E.O. , the agency monitoring alien activities on Earth.

Much better, but probably not my target. They probably screened their agents for infiltrators. I hoped anyway.

Hours later, an elderly policeman came out from the warehouse, hiding a jar of yellow liquid under his windbreaker. Unless this guy was addicted to honey so much as to steal evidence from a crime scene, he was my target.

Not only that, but the blonde woman also noticed him, taking a few pictures then climbing into her car.

Good work, if slightly annoying for my quest. Then again, it shouldn't matter if she or I neutralized the target.

Oh well. Working by myself would be boring.

I slid down a pipe and sneaked into her shotgun seat before she drove off.

"Tailing the suspicious policeman with the jar?" I asked in a mild, friendly voice.

The woman just glanced once at my grey suit, and grimaced. "Not another vigilante-type. Aren't you late for school tomorrow?" she muttered as she drove off, eyes mostly on the road and mirrors.

"Wizards don't have schools. Magical gatherings and Councils, mostly." I explained politely as I ran my detect mantra on her.

*Emilia_Harcourt

NSA operative, age 21.

CIA covert operator.

DEO agent

Specialty - field work. Eq. Level 5.

Not bad at all. Given some gear and a decent weapon, she could clean up a nest of criminals by herself. I could use a sidekick like her.

As we reached an empty stretch of road ahead, I just fired my Energy blast at the police cruiser, blowing the top off.

Emilia braked and cursed. "What the fuck!"

"Should have given a warning, huh? Anyways, the little bugs may have some detection gear and hear me too." I answered calmly as walked towards the blown up vehicle and dragged out the last target.

"'Wait! Don't..." she yelled as I took out my knife and split the dead man's head like a melon. Inside there was a little alien pilot, as I expected.

"Screech.." the creature argued weakly.

"Weren't you chasing butterflies too, Emilia?" I asked in a curious voice as I held the alien prize in my palm.

"How can I interrogate him now? I don't speak alien." she grumbled at my violent methods.

With a flick of my thumb, I decapitated the bug and danged its head like a bell. "Brain-reading tech, empaths, telepaths, mind-control, death-row convict?" I proposed off the top of my head.

*Quest complete

Extra-storage received.

She almost growled at me, then holstered her pistol. "I suppose my gun doesn't impress you at all."

It might have, a few levels ago. But now? Not at all.

I just shrugged. "Do you know anything about the Cow?" I asked instead.

Her eyes widened for a second. "Is that the source of their nutrition?" she asked as I stored the dead bug in my new Storage dimension.

A second later, my heavy bag vanished as well. Much better now. No more lugging around a hundred kilos of guns, gold and cash.

I took off my balaclava and stared into her blue eyes. "Want to know more? Join me!" I offered with an extended hand.

She stared at my gloved hand like it was a weapon. "I am already employed"

"But you lack the resources to save the planet. Maybe you can obtain a death-row inmate to use as a mouth for an alien captive, but nothing else. Plus, I didn't ask you to quit your job. This is a side business, and more promotions with each case closed." I offered with a kind smile.

"Can you teach me magic?" she asked instead.

I laughed and climbed back in her car. Magic, probably not. But there were plenty of serums and other methods to obtain metahuman powers.

"Just drive. I need to think how to kill this Cow." I demanded as I leaned into my seat and closed my eyes.

"What a weirdo..." Emilia muttered for herself.