“Deeper?” Logan asks me with a glance back. I can’t see his face under the helmet but I think he’s legitimately seeking my opinion. Carter doesn’t look tempted to answer for me and I’m glad he’s been able to stick to the rules. I’m in charge. Period.
Logan’s riding high on three new Levels even though I made him put all his free Attributes into Constitution. To be fair there wasn’t any protesting, he’s already heard it so many times it’s expected, and I can tell he wants to keep going despite the increased difficulty of the Monsters we’ve been facing in the last fifteen minutes.
“Yeah,” I agree and tap him on the shoulder while triggering my Clan Shield Skill to give him another 1000 Health equivalent in protection. Nothing has really come close to giving Logan major problems yet, but there’s no need to be stupid about it.
Carter and I both have a set of Sentinel armor on with the Cloaking engaged and we’re hanging back to let Logan find his own way. There’s no real danger since I can always blast out Fury of the Clans if needed, but Logan is doing it all himself and racking up the XP without us helping. Watching him is interesting, nothing’s changed my mind about how fast he’s picking all of this up. Watching Carter is even more interesting since I can still see him in his Cloaked state, and his concern for Logan shows through with every hit, near miss, and kill.
We stand in silence for a few seconds as Logan uses his Perception and minimap to figure out a path forward he’s happy with. So far nothing’s circled around and come at us from behind, and if it does by agreement I’ll just take care of it rather than all of us get in each other’s way.
Logan pulls out the most powerful blaster I gave him and makes another good pick with a narrow, straight tunnel that will ensure he can use it to full effect. I’m not sure why the Monsters tend to stay in certain areas rather than roaming around the Dungeon. It’s always puzzled me a bit. Maybe by the time I arrive they’ve already formed some kind of Dungeon homeostasis that only gets disturbed when something truly powerful emerges from deep in the Dungeon, or Adventurers like us start hunting. As we enter the next section I can hear faint chittering and scratching on the rock surfaces that have gradually replaced the packed soil near the entrance.
About 20 meters in front of us Logan is moving forward quickly and low with the blaster raised to aim. His armored form moves smoothly and it’s clear each Level he gains gives him a big jump in Agility. This time throws my previous thoughts about one Monster at a time out the window as I clearly see large holes in the tunnel ceiling that line up with the dots on my minimap and a massive raccoon rushing toward Logan. My hand twitches and I glance at Carter as Logan opens fire on the racoon and it emits a screeching sound when the beam weapon sizzles its fur and flesh. I can see Logan aim well at the head to confuse and disorient it while it barrels down the tunnel at us, but I’m keeping one eye on the ceiling and that’s where the danger comes from as a dozens of bats drop down to create a shit storm of chaos around Logan.
I quickly pull their information to make an assessment, not wanting to rob Logan of the XP and the learning if at all possible. We’re here as an option of last resort to support him not to steal his kills or fight his battles. The time to legitimately hunt together will come later if he Levels up sufficiently.
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Racoon (Level 33)
Health: 660/660
Mana: 30/60
Conditions: Scavenge, Razor Sharp
Brown Myotis Bat (Level 37)
Health: 210/210
Mana: 160/200
Conditions: Rabid Bite
Like with most flying creatures the bats have low Health for their Level, but there are a lot of them. Both their physical swarming and their sonar play havoc with Logan’s ability to focus and it only takes a couple of seconds for my Clan Shield to evaporate. Carter instinctively activates his Elemental Flame form and emerges from his Cloaked state with heat pouring off him. With a slightly cooler head I step across him with my arm raised to hold him back. It’s symbolic more than anything, but it does stop him from rushing forward and we both watch as Logan is pounded by eagle sized bats that hammer him from all sides and another raccoon scrambles over the first dead one to attack.
For another couple of seconds the tension I feel rises and then bats start to fall to the ground, bisected and hacked apart, as Logan starts to appear through the mess spinning and slashing with two short swords that he’s switched to. Thirteen years old or not, hundreds of points in Strength and Agility count for a lot and he leaps, spins, and slashes his way through the cauldron of bats back toward us.
He’s allowed himself to become distracted by the bats though and gets crunched from behind by the pickup truck sized raccoon that clamps its jaws down on him. Carter yells and flashes forward, but I instantly put up a Wall of the Clan, sealing us both off from Logan. Searing heat pours from Carter and hits me as he strikes out in anger, melting my Sentinel armor, so I Inventory it.
“Status! Check his Status!” I yell at Carter, who instantly switches his focus from me back to Logan and the flames die down slightly as we both watch Logan through the Wall stab the raccoon through the eyes and crash to the ground. Carter might have forgotten, but I’ve had Logan’s Status up in the corner of my vision the entire time watching it like a hawk, including the Level he’s just picked up and dumped his free Attributes in Constitution like he should.
Logan Cadimus (Level 7 Kinetic Manipulator) (Enhanced Mythic)
Health: 1070/1070
Mana: 280/280
Conditions: Accelerated Metabolism, Lightning Reflex, Untouched, Speed Force
Between the armor, his innate ability to absorb kinetic energy, and his fast regeneration, Logan’s not even injured as he pries open the raccoon’s jaws and picks himself up off the ground then looks over. I half expect him to Inventory his helmet and grin at us, but maybe the chaos of the last minute has convinced him it’s a good idea to be prepared. I trigger Greatest Need to get Carter and I to the other side of my Wall to join Logan. Carter immediately embraces Logan and I’m not sure what to expect. Has it rattled him? Is that the end for today?
“That was sigma!” Logan exclaims instead. “Did you see me cooking, Uncle Bronwic?”
I laugh at my nephew, who sounds a bit too much like Jeff with his enthusiasm for me to ignore it.
“Don’t get too cocky, kid. But great job,” I tell him.
“Sorry,” Carter offers to me. “I should have had his Status up.”
I nod in agreement and equip a new set of Sentinel armor.
“Deeper?” asks Logan enthusiastically and this time I gesture at Carter for his opinion.
“Let’s see what you’ve got, Logan,” says Carter.
What a fucked up world we live in now, but I fully agree.