Raptor One - Chapter 22
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*OP: Host.*
----@@@!!_@----
*OP: Host?*
!@#$%!@¨¨@#.....
*OP: HOST!*
“Ugh...” i groan, not moving, but my mind finally clears enough for me to think.
*OP: You okay there host?*
Forgot about my laziness sleep handbrake...
*OP: You what?*
My left hand fingers twitch a little, then my right hand twitch.
After some seconds i manage to make my left leg twitch, and soon my right one too.
After a minute i was closing and opening my hands and moving my legs.
With a superb sit up that would make a zombie jealous i manage to get into sitting position.
Rubbing my eyes a little with my hands i use it to force my eyes open for a few seconds before letting my eyes close again.
Getting up i finally manage to open my eyes by myself.
After some looking around to adjust my vision my eyes closes automatically.
With a lazy stretch that would make a cat jealous and a yawn with open mask that would make a dog jealous I'm finally up and ready.
“Okay... what’s in today’s notes...”
*OP: Now that you got some good stock of food and some Brew, why not assimilate another strain?*
“”Da, which one? The crying one, the aphrodisiac one or the grave keeper?”
*OP: I think it’s best to focus on the one we have most intel on.*
“Grave keeper strain it is, any tactic?”
*OP: We don’t have intel on the 3th, 2nd, and 1st floor, so the best option is to fish one, literally.*
“Da, good one, use their instincts to get the strain where we want, and use the chain scythe to haul it to us is it?”
*OP: That’s the jist of it.*
I nod and leave the safe room and head north where the stair is.
After some minutes of walking i arrive on the staircase and start making calculations...
Going right beside the rail guard i calculate the distance from this floor ground to the roof.
That done i look down the rail guard and calculate the distance from the 4th floor to the 1st one.
Then i calculate the how wide is the open square staircase hole.
After doing all that i start thinking about the speed and angles i can use to get maximum capacity on this fishing...
“Fertig, now that i have the data, i just need one of the poor infected.” I mutter, my russian going out with no permission.
*OP: Fertig?*
If i have to translate it, it will need to pass by two languages to get it’s meaning, crude translation is okay, but the true word i tried to say was ‘done’.
*OP: Noted.*
Looking around the staircase walls i only find fungal growth, so i go further north.
Not even a ten seconds walking i find a fungal bed.
Opening my eyes i see three infected inside, two females and one male.
“Not even infected is free of the mostly female rule eh.” I chuckle.
Using my claws i slowly slice a small opening on the male infected side, that done i grab the non reactive infected by the neck and start leading it to the stairs as it follow showing no reaction as if in torpor.
The moment i lift it off the ground to throw it down though, it start trying to resist.
“Too late Kumpel.” I shrug as i just release the infected over the guard rail.
It’s fall was as i expected, the sound of bodes breaking and a splat.
Knowing that i have thirty to a minute to prepare before a Grave keeper shows i start making a long chain scythe on my left hand and adjust it with my right using my right as control for what I'll be doing next.
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As the chain becomes longer and i finish adjusting it on my right hand i feel a grave keeper approaching the dead infected so i prepare to swing the chain scythe after making sure i have enough chain length to fish the grave keeper.
Ten seconds later after I'm done preparing it shows in my vision, so i open my eyes and the world around me slow down.
How i missed this feeling.
*OP: Focus.*
I make some final calculations on it’s angle the i swing my right hand in a full moon swing.
The chain scythe extend till the very end the area i am in allow, pass almost cutting the roof and start moving down as i let it extend as much as the square staircase allow as it get’s more energy and speed as it goes down.
As it get’s close to the 1st floor i release my grip on the chain and let it fly the last distance on the kinetic energy.
With a heavy tug on my left hand it finally finish it’s road and finish swinging piercing the grave keeper right on spine.
With a thought the scythe become so serrated it can’t get removed anymore as the grave keeper slumps as i start pulling it up as fast as i can.
After managing to pull it past the 2nd floor and almost on the 3rd floor the grave keeper start struggling again!
“What? How? I know i killed it not even five seconds ago!” I say keeping a swear at bay.
*OP: Must be it’s strain ability.*
I nod placing more force on the push and recovering the used nanites at the same time so it can’t fall down back on the 1st floor.
It’s struggle makes the haul up a lot harder, it get so bad i need to use ‘Wrath overdrive’ and change the chain close to it into multiple chains and wrap the grave keeper in it so i can finally pull it on the 4th floor where i am.
After grabbing the tight chained grave keeper on the floor i give a close look at it.
What i find is really shocking.
“This guy is immortal or something? The chain clearly got his heart, his blood is just spilling and not moving at all, so how is it still alive?” I mutter in shock.
*OP: Must be it’s ability as a grave keeper, haul the dead, but not itself to the grave.*
“Makes sense, let’s see to what extent it can keep alive.” I say as i make another chain scythe.
With a motion of my right hand i chop it’s head and it’s body stops moving, so i recover my nanites and grab the head.
... The head is looking at me and moving it’s mouth...
“Creepy guy...” I mutter before tearing it’s mouth off with my claws and pulling it’s eyes off.
With my eyes still open i can see it is clearly alive...
“God... i’ll hate this... Very much.” i say as i ready myself to assimilate a living brain.
I take a deep breath, so deep my lungs suck all the pressure in my mask and it unlocks itself.
Taking this chance i place my hand on the eyeless head of the grave keeper and start assimilating...
The feeling of moving neuron electricity and twitching brain matter along with the taste....
Oh god...
Why....
I start retching on the first second as i am forced to release my breath, enough red smoke is released from my open mouth that it works as a smoke screen.
I retch so hard that i need something to keep me from falling, so i place my free hand on the wall.
I feel sick...
I feel disgusted...
I feel nauseous...
I feel weak...
No longer managing to keep my nausea back i start vomiting.
Great amount of black sludge exits my mouth as i feel my stomach emptying and my nanite storage getting empty as i vomit.
When the assimilation is finally done five seconds later the ground is completely black and my nanite storage almost empty, only because some of it works as blood or I'd have vomited that too...
Letting the brainless head fall to the ground i kneel on the ground weakly, my head lowered, no energy left on my body...
*OP: Host!? Get yourself together! Host??!!*
----@---!---#---$!@----.....
*OP: Not again!!!*
*OP: Mental stability at 5%, entering Emergency mode.*
*’Omega Protocol’ Ability ‘Last stand’ activated!*
I twitch my head, and slowly get up using the wall as help.
Looking at the ground i see that i did not vomit organic matter or anything but pure nanite.
With a weak hand i let the left over nanite in my body out to reconnect with the nanites on the ground as i know I'll need it.
As soon as the thin nanite tentacle touch the nanite covered ground i feel the connection back so i recover it all before limping back to my safe haven using the wall as support.
*Omega Protocol here, i know it’s not the right time... Again... But I've collected the New ‘Gravekeeper Strain’, and i hope that as soon as you’re free you accept my upgrade, it will let you recover more easily. Also, ‘Last Stand’ have a 30 minutes duration, so don’t force it.*
What’s the use of ‘Last Stand’...
*OP: ‘Last Stand’*
*If there’s a will, there’s a how to. Every time you fall, as long as your mind is not broken you will rise again to live another day. No cooldown, Stacks, Passive, Every activation will give the user a boost to Will(Mental health) and Endurance(Body Energy).*
*Trigger: Non avoidable Lethal danger, be it to the Will or Body.*
*OP: It works to self inflicted lethal dangers too like now. Don’t worry, i am a ‘Mainframe’ type protocol, your Will won’t break as long as you have me, and your death won’t be true as long as i exist, we are Sem'ya.*
Family huh...
Thanks... Brother...
My walk back to my room was slow and hard, but after what feel like a long time i reach my room.
Opening the door i walk in weakly, my body swaying left and right as i try to keep balance as i close the door.
Walking to the sofa feel like I'm trying to destroy a planet alone with my bare hands having access only to 1% of my strength.
Somehow i do manage to lie down on the sofa, but after that action my body refuses to obey me.
Looks like my body is out of order for now.
*OP: That last one was clearly overkill for your body, why? Because it was basically two immortals fighting to the death, yes, that bad, but you managed to assimilate it, at the cost of all your energy and mental strength, that’s why i had to forcefully activate ‘Last Stand’.*
That bad huh...
Just upgrade my body, no need to ask right now.
*OP: Sure, but i will always ask first before doing something, I'm not that jerk Nexus Protocol, also, that counts as a yes for the upgrade.*
Sure...
The feeling of my body changing wash over me, something deep on the core of my body just changed along with some other parts that almost got drowned by this change...
*OP: Upgrade complete, ‘Gravekeeper Strain’ Assimilated, New ability ‘Grave Walker’ acquired, ‘Grave Walker’ resonates with core ability ‘Undeath’, Combining, Complete, New ability ‘Zombie’ acquired, ‘Wrath Overdrive’ strengthens to level 4, Your core ability ‘Regeneration’ Strengthens to level 2, Cost of repair and maintenance reduced. Your weakness to light weakens by 50%.*
Cool...
I already feel the change working wonders on me.
*OP: That’s for sure, the upgrade on ‘Regeneration’ not only helps a lot with body, but also with mind, while ‘Zombie’ keeps your body running even after it stops working, so maintenance, or cost on nanites is further reduced to repair your body as it don’t need to kickstart your body back to the land of the living, as you did not die on the first place.*
Hahaha... That’s good to know, I'd chuckle out loud if i could, but i hope this is enough to you for now...
My mind refocus after i blacked out...
*OP: You back?*
Yeah... How long and how much.
*OP: A full day.*
No wonder i feel a little better, now about my new ability, what’s it’s downside?
*OP: Oh? Sure, ‘Zombie’ works passively, it keeps your body working as long as it can receive thoughts, that means if your brain is too damaged or destroyed it will stop working and you will go KIA immediately, but ‘Zombie’ is a combination of ‘Undeath’ and ’Grave Walker’, one is a core ability of mine, so it have it’s own auto trigger, that is, death, it will revive you using nanites, but avoid having your head exploded will you.*
Da, i can do that, can it be further upgraded?
*OP: Extremely low chance, but not impossible.*
Da, I'll blackout again then...
*Nanite storage: 2350u/4000u*
Status:
Health: On Duty.
Day: ? (Brightdawn) Month: 12?
Age: 16 (Legal adult)
Credits: 10050 (No change.)
Nanite storage: 2300 units (Max 4000 units, 50u Needed per day)
Abilities:
Omega Protocol: Unlocked.
Path 1:
Alpha Protocol: 0% Decoded.
Path 2:
Scavenger Protocol: Unlocked.
Harvest Protocol: 0% Decoded.