Chapter 11

The Final Game Part 1

Over the course of a week, Harry and I had been so busy building, tuning, and readjusting the Lycan Mobile that I had forgotten that I had my real body back. One benefit of being alive, so to speak, was that I could summon Ferra, my adorable, sarcastic killing bundle of scales, claws, and teeth. The giant cat-like lizard monster rose out of my shadow and then pounced on me. Being as large as the Pod-Tank and just as heavy, she would've easily crushed me if I wasn't as strong and durable as I was.

"Ewe gross, Ferra. Your tongue is as coarse as heavy grit sandpaper. Cut it out," I told her while chuckling lightheartedly. "I miss you too."

"You were supposed to summon me days ago. I'm hungry, feed me," she replied with a growl.

I went and grilled some steaks I found in the fridge. All the food in this garage was from Earth, which pleased me greatly. While I had been able to replicate many earth foods on Draotis, the ingredients weren't exactly the same, which often resulted in a slightly different taste than back home. It wasn't all bad, though. Some of the ingredients were superior and actually enhanced the dish. Regardless, it was good to have something familiar that reminded me of home. Well, my home before my new home. I miss VeLana.

"Okay, we're finally ready," Harry said as he exited the vehicle through the window. "The navigation system and weapons control are fully tuned. I will handle the weapons while you drive, but I can take full control if necessary."

"Perfect. Well, it is about time. Let's take it to the course and wait for this shindig to start."

Ferra finished her food and sank back into my shadow. We drove to the course, and as soon as we pulled up to the starting line, a mist overtook us, and suddenly, we were on the real track with dozens of other vehicles waiting. The pilots were standing around talking with each other while also sizing up their competitors.

I was stunned. For whatever reason, I had expected sleek alien-like spaceships or something, but these were more Road Max style crafts. Large wheels, spikes, cage-like cockpits, and barbarian weapons. One such craft had a large harpoon for a weapon, and another had large metal balls with spikes attached to chains. Then I thought about it, and Draotis was a first-layer world with people well-adjusted to magic and skills for everyday living. Very few races had technology that was considered advanced. Even the Lykaians had flying ships fueled by Monster Cores and Runes. They had decent energy beam Runes for weapons, but in terms of actual technology, there wasn't much to it. They had a simplified mechanical navigation system, but the rest was all magic.

So, I shouldn't have expected the beings from higher layers to be much better. By comparison, we had the only levitating craft with futuristic weapons. This might have been easier than I thought, but I still needed to keep my guard up. Magic, skills, and Soul Arts were still allowed, which could compensate for the lack of technology.

About two hours later, everyone received a notification screen which said:

Start your engines!

1 minute until the race begins!

0:59

I hopped into the Lycan Mobile through the window, then rolled the bulletproof window up, started the engine, and then felt the vehicle rise off the ground. Double-checking that the systems were all green, I checked with Harry for his ready status.

"Ready and good to go," Harry said excitedly.

10

9

8

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2

1

The red line in front of us turned green, and then chaos erupted.

~~~

Breythen's powerful golden body was marred by dozens of wounds that made his skin a myriad of dazzling colors, as if he was made of stained glass. Even hunched over with exhaustion, he still stood nearly nine feet tall. Unlike most of his kind, he only had two arms and legs, but like his kind, he was as alien and monstrous looking as the rest. His face had two mouths filled with sharp dagger-like teeth, and he sported one eye with no nose. He was heavily muscled but also incredibly fast. What made Breythen number 2 was not because he could conjure golden constructs but because he could instantly react to any attack within a sphere around his body. So, to be wounded as much as he was a testament to how strong the hundreds of Lykaians he just did battle with were. While he won, he wasn't unscathed.

More than two hundred A-Rank Lykaians lay at his feet, along with five S-Rankers. Hiroshem also sported many wounds and was equally exhausted, stood before Breythen with the last two S-Rankers of the Lykaian army by his side. Dave was on his back out of the fight but still alive. TelVurn lay nearby, bent over a broken rock, unknown if he were dead or alive. VeLana was still on her feet but being healed by Tobi on the back line. Kaelyn and Zarrah were both unconscious but also safe in a tent on the backline as well.

Akoth and Jaxon were a little worse for wear but still able to fight, and both joined Hiroshem. Jaxon checked on TelVurn and sighed in relief before checking on Dave. With a slightly worried face, he spoke into the comms and got confirmation from Tobi that he'd be on his way soon. Siding up next to Akoth and Hiroshem, he asked, "One Tokeki did all this?"

"Yes. The other two just watched," one of the Lykaians answered.

"What a monster…"

"Breythen, do you need a relief?" Sol spoke loud enough for his enemies to hear.

"No." The golden beast said as he unleashed an incredible heat. Steam rose off his body even as the ground cracked beneath his feet. All his wounds closed. Then he breathed a frosty breath that cooled the area once more. "I'm good." Then Breythen unleashed his Teskata, his Curse, which functioned similarly to Blessings but had a downside. Overdrive was his Curse, and while it boosted all attributes and energy by two hundred percent, it would eat away his life until he either canceled the Curse or died. He had about five minutes before entering the critical stage.

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Breythen smiled as his foes all raised their defenses and guards in preparation. Then, before anyone could blink an eye or process his movement, he appeared before the Ratkin and obliterated his head with a single punch. The mist spray of blood coated everyone in viscera, leaving horrid and stunned faces behind as he leapt back to his starting position. He could've pressed the attack again right away, but he relished in their fear and despair. He gave them a moment to process before taking his ready stance to do it again, but right as he was about to land another blow to the foxkin's face, a hand caught his fist faster than the blinding light could finish traveling to his eyes. Someone suddenly appeared out of the sudden flash of light and caught his fist as if he were a mere kid punching an adult.

~~~

Despite having superior technology, we were still only in third place as everyone rocketed off the starting line. All manners of projectiles and liquids were crisscrossing across the racetrack. Vehicles were caught on fire, exploded, or spiraled off into the walls out of control. My reflexes were good, but I was soon overwhelmed by the sheer volume of weaponry aimed at us and had to activate a multitude of skills. I pulled out all the good ones: Dual Mind, Thought Acceleration, Acceleration, Danger Sense, Skill Boost, and Momentum Change, which really helped with instant maneuvers. However, even that felt insufficient, so I had no choice. I became a werewolf and was glad I designed the cockpit to handle my full transformation. My new Soul rank brought about a few changes, and one was of height.

My senses were now greatly enhanced and with the skills, the terrain and battlefield of a race track became clear. I grinned and shifted gears to drift around a bend, dodging a laser blast from a turret on the wall and a net shot from the second-place vehicle in front of me. Harry aimed for a manic laugh but sounded like a cat screeching as he locked in on the enemy and fired a round from the Railgun. I imbued Chaos Flames and Meteor Strike into the massive round, and when it struck the wheelbase, it erupted in a spectacular green explosion that sent flaming shards all over the track. We passed over several, but since it was my magic, it was harmless to us.

The bulk of the second-place vehicle was hurdled to the side in a flaming wreckage that took out two other vehicles looking to overtake me on the turn. We swung wide on purpose to avoid the brunt of the explosion and drifted around it and into second.

I felt pressure brought down upon us and realized it was attempting to ground us. We built wheels that could extend should the pod engine be destroyed, but it would slow us down considerably. Instead, I pushed out with my Aura and could barely hold back the crushing force. I needed a diversion. Being an Aura attack, I could pinpoint the source and checked the cameras to see a large train like vehicle blowing thick plumes of billowing black smoke out the back. It had a lot of armor in the front with a large snowplow wedge similar to a Bucker. Buckers are made for trains, and this one was just as large. The wedge also had pockmarks, showcasing how durable it was. None of our weapons would affect that. Not even trying to set the vehicle on fire as it was fully shielded.

I felt another blow to our side as a large tree trunk bounced off our shields, and I realized someone else was launching giant spears at us. As I had imbued my gun's attack with skills, these spears also contained magic. The normally invisible shields lit up with liquid fire that caused the shield to fluctuate, and I could see the integrity start to fail despite how powerful these shield generators were. Luckily, there was one good way to dispel the effects. I dropped the shields momentarily to allow the effects to fall off behind us and then raised them quickly before the next attack. I would have to repeat this several times to preserve them.

I rolled the window down enough to stick my hand on the rooftop and cupped my hands to create a small shadow. Ferra appeared, and with her weight plus the aura pressure I was desperately fighting off, we nearly scrapped the road. I was tempted to extend the wheels just in case. But Ferra knew what to do. She leapt off the roof toward the train-like vehicle and landed on top. Her powerful claws sunk in to catch her, and then she got to work.

Two other contestants were behind me and to the side of the train vehicle currently being attacked by my familiar. They had harpoons sunk into each other and resembled two pirate ships locked in cannon fire exchange. One of the vehicles even had sails, which made the image even more laughable. But despite their battle, both were somehow gaining on me, and I really needed that pressure to let up. It was dragging us down which thus slowed our forward movement.

When Ferra was summoned, she had her own powers and skills, however, I could apply my skills to her. When she was inside my shadow, I gained enhanced durability and regeneration. But on the outside, through our link as master and bond, I could empower her with my skills. I sent Raged Fist T8-R2 (Tier 8 – Rank 2), Sonic Speed T8-R3, Winter's Grasp T5-R3, Barrier T9-R2, Acceleration T9-R4, Momentum Change T9-R3, Burst Step T9-R5, Life Steal T9-R5, Momentum Strike T8-R1, and finally Blood Raven Swarm T7-R3.

Most of my skills can only be activated once, but a few, like Acceleration, could be applied to any targeted ally as long as I can touch them or have a familiar bond link to them. Although, while skills are generally melee range whereas spells are long range, I do have a Blood Tether skill that can latch to people at range and then channel other skills through the tether.

While the skills I empowered Ferra with didn't activate all at once, it allowed her to utilize them whenever she needed them. The cost was my Astra, not hers, and I gave her some of my most powerful skills, which meant the cost would be great. I have an Astra power level of 3875, which puts me well into the S+ category. In fact, now that I know Soul Ranks exist, I'm willing to bet that the next Layers gives new categories of Rankings. Or maybe they redefine the current ranking system, and I might be back down to F-Rank on the next layer. Only one way to find out.

Ferra activated Raged Fist and Winter's grasp as she tore through the metal until she met a Barrier. I also have a Barrier skill, so I knew what she had encountered wouldn't be easy to break. I mean, it's always been easy to break for me, but these were people from higher Layers, so it was a simple deduction. Worse than I feared, though, was the Barrier she encountered attacked her back. She instantly caught on fire with blue flames that sparked and disrupted her nervous system. So, I transferred the Stone Skin T9-R5 to her, and she regained the ability to move as she shrugged off the attack. I used Heal Familiar T5-R4 on her as well.

Eventually, she tore past the Barrier skill and when her claws broke through the layers of armor, she struck flesh. The otherworldly species was a worm-like creature that built the train-like vehicle around themselves like armor. The black smoke was from an engine that aided their speed, but most of their speed was from the creature itself moving along the ground. Essentially, this wasn't a train engine but a jet pack.

As Ferra tore into the creature, she activated the Blood Raven Swarm, which converted the blood droplets into bats that swarmed other vehicles behind them. They created great masking of vision but also damaged anything they touched.

I looked forward to the first-place guy piloting a craft resembling a speedboat. This speedboat had three touching points with wind tunnels but had energy-like wheels. I couldn't make out any weapon systems. Instead, it seemed to be built purely for speed and aerodynamics. But I could make out a faint hint of an energy shield. I could tell whether it was something like the Barrier skill or spell or something like the shield generator. Mine is invisible, but that craft was moving so fast that the distortions in its wake caused the slight shielding effect to become visible, albeit slightly. I might not have seen it if I wasn't in my full werewolf form.

"I've paid too much attention to what's behind me," I told Harry. "I need to find a way to close the gap and overtake that land boat."

"I'm in complete agreement," Harry said as he unleashed a spray at the two pirate-like vessels behind us. Then I drifted around another corner, which allowed Harry to activate the flamethrower weapon to ignite the oil that washed over the two crafts.

I knew my skill, Blood Tether T6-R2, had a roughly twenty-foot range, which meant I needed to close the distance by another forty feet before latching onto the lead vessel. Ferra's actions finally relieved us of the Aura pressure, but she took a shot from somewhere and had to be recalled to my shadow before dying. I punched a few buttons, and flaps readjusted for a downward draft. Then I punched the NOS, and we shot forward rapidly.

One moment, we were gaining distance, and the next, my shields failed, and the roof was peeled back like a banana. Some kind of invisible blade struck us with enough force to remove our most powerful gun and expose me to the outside. "Shiiiiittttt!" I screamed, followed by Harry repeating my panic cry as system warnings were blaring.