Chapter 8 – Breaking point
94 0 4
X
Reading Options
Font Size
A- 15px A+
Width
Reset
X
Table of Contents
Loading... please wait.

Chapter 8 - Breaking point

Feeling the rapid healing process taking effect, Berto crawled to his feet. He knew this sound, how could he ever forget! The sound a Rift made when it was activated. He limped towards a glass wall and peared outside into the dark blue. About 150 meters to the West, the collapsed underwater railway came to a halt, just before a trench, a dark abyss of unimaginable depth. Over it, hovered an activated Rift, located behind of what seemed to be a floating underwater islet, unchained from the seabed, simply remaining afloat and unmoving at a certain depth. 

It looked as if someone had torn an ancient site of worship from its original location and had placed it there, anchoring it to an invisible steady point. There was a secondary source of bright light coming from the islet but it was too far to make it out from Berto's position. Suddenly the young warrior spotted it! The shape of a human descending from the Rift, sinking at an alarming rate! Berto bolted for the lab's depressurisation chamber without a second thought, with Manolo close on his heels. 

Mariah: This course of action is unwise! You are not fully recovered, you have not completed your Level Up and have left behind valuables dropped by the Atlas Hermit! 

"Mariah there is a person out there! A normal person, dozens of meters under water surrounded by who knows what!"

Mariah: You do not have the answer to that question either. Do not gamble your life away for someone who might already be dead!

"....Is that what Mariah would have done?"

Mariah ....

"Yeah.. I didn't think so..".

Berto hit the appropriate button and the chamber began flooding with freezing water! He heard Mariah's voice again as the world went silent, all other noises replaced by the sea's rippling hum.

Mariah: You have earned 2 Free Mutation points as a Bonus for defeating the Atlas Hermit. That is the same amount required to upgrade Mariner (C) to Level 2. Shield Bash (C) has reached Level 2. Finally, Tame (C) reached Level 8. You can give mental commands to you hunting partner when they are, at most, 50 meters from you. 

"Thank you.." he replied mentally as he took a series of sharp breaths and exhales before diving. "Somehow I knew you'd understand..".

Mariah: ....Do not perish... 

Her words sounded more like the plea of a concerned mother than an order from a superior. Berto immediately focused on his Mariner mutation and gave any and all mental confirmation that was required to spend the Mutation Points and raise it to Level 2. Once the pressurised door was open, Berto bolted outside with the speed of an aquatic mammal. He glided through the waters with a series of well executed strokes and kicks! At this point Berto was sure that there was no gold medalist alive that could match him in a swimming race. 

Manolo followed the young man after being instructed to wait for further orders once they reached the human. Not knowing what they would face at the islet, Berto was devising plans on how he would save the person that had entered and rush them back to safety for now. He would either act as a distraction or Manolo but without knowing anything about what lay ahead, all he had was his machinations.

Arriving at the islet must have taken the mutant hero a little over 30 seconds but he had no time for pride. He swam up and inspected the area, looking for the human. What he saw first was quite spectacular. An orb of shining prismatic light. Like a pearl the size of a basketball that had a small sun trapped inside of it. What came next was what made Berto's blood run cold. The human that had entered the Rift seemed to be a Champion, clad in knightly armor, that was at this moment being held by the throat by a monstrosity like none Berto had ever seen. 

A 2.5 meter (8 ft 2") tall humanoid shark! Its hands and feet were webbed and had fins on its elbows and calves. Its body was built like a lean bodybuilder's and it sported crude ceremonial armor, that looked similar to Aztec drawings. It its other hand it held a wicked trident of jagged volcanic glass, with a small sapphire gem adjusted on the shaft, just under where its three tips began. Its jaws were set with three rows of sawed ivory fangs, that seemed able to chew through anything.

Kotor Cull - The Dread-Naut Lv.20

Berto could feel exactly what Mariah was trying to tell him with her appraisal of the monster. If they engaged it.. in any way! They would die! This creature was the Apex and would remain so on this day. This Champion, no matter who they were, they could not face this demon in their own habitat! They could not breath, they couldn't even move around underwater in that bulky armor! No.. they had to run! Run and pray that thing had to stay behind to protect its shining treasure.. or else.. 

The young survivor felt Manolos' mental presence enter his mind and saw the Hermit swimming up to the islet. This was it.. no going back! "Manolo I'm going to distract that thing! You grab the metal person, throw them off the floating island and hide! I'll take them back to the lab. Come find us when its safe! You can do this amigo!" he said and his Hermit companion raised its claws in confirmation before starting to crawl towards the alter-like top of the islet. Berto gulped and tucked his feet in before exploding into motion! 

He propelled himself onto the island and close to the glowing orb without drawing the monster's attention. Then.. simply.. grabbed it! The thing was unmoving despite Berto's best efforts but still managed to yield the required results. As if electricity had just coursed his veins, Kotor bolted around and tossed away his new pathetic, drowning challenger. Berto gave an awkward toothy smile and would have said something stupid to it out of nervousness if he weren't underwater. 

"Yeah that's right sharkman! I was gonna steal your glowing anal bead! Come get me!" thought Berto and made himself cringe by his poor attempt at bravado. The moment Kotor leaned forward to charge, the young engineer had already started swimming away. The monstrous sharkman closed the gap between them with frightening speed!

Berto turned back instinctively, feeling the water rippling behind him and released a premature Shield Bash, swatting water to the side. Leveling up also accelerated his Mana recovery apparently and fortunately his missed attack did succeed in its purpose! Kotor halted his momentum to dodge the man's flailing shield arm and Berto managed to swim another dozen meters backwards before the sharkman stopped pursuing him altogether. 

He looked back and realised he was right! Kotor could not stray far from his charge! He had to remain near the floating island or the orb itself! Berto turned to the island as Kotor swam back while glaring at him with the "all black" eyes of a frenzied Great White. The man finally spotted his target. Manolo, holding the champion aloft, jumped off the island and was now sinking towards the seabed together with them. It wasn't exactly what Berto had asked but he was still proud of his crab partner!

As the pair fell towards the bottom, Berto swam quickly to retrieve the human that was propably suffocating! He would grab them and swim back to the lab with everything he had! A sudden motion. A gleam of light reflected off of steel. A giant longsword drawn in a practiced movement of blurring speed. 

Berto narrowed his vision and tried focusing more on the pair as they fell. His eyes saw everything but his mind refused to accept the image they conveyed. The armor clad warrior was now sinking alone. Manolo floated upwards and past Berto in two distinct pieces, cut almost perfectly down the middle. His presence faded from Berto's mind.

Mariah: Active Tamed Companions.. 0..

Gore and strangely colored blood blurred Berto's vision as he rocketed downwards with increasing speed. "Wai.. how.. but.." his mind was in a blender of emotions and dizzying images. His vision tunneled on the Champion as his left arm extended forward. The armor clad human reached up with their own hand to accept Berto's and they finally clasped eachother.

Berto pulled them in as he drew his right hand back. What was he doing? This wasn't right. He had to stop. He couldn't stop.. No, he didn't want to stop! Berto yanked the Champion towards him and delivered a haymaker directly to their face with enough force to make their head snap back and send their helmet flying clean off!

                               • • •

Inside the dome the atmosphere was something more than tense. Berto, having tossed aside the armored Champion, was now pacing up and down. The man inside the armor was now tossing and turning, coughing up water he had breathed in as the Mariner rushed him to safety. Berto kept wondering why he helped him. He should have left him to drown for what he did to his friend! Friend.. Is that what Manolo was? Not a tamed beast? A pet.. No. Manolo was his outlet. A steady point in all this madness. He was a companion. His loss brought up painful memories. 

Memories of a much younger Alberto, waiting in a hospital. Praying that a doctor would come to say that his mother would soon get better. He hated Cahmpions ever since.. and now.. It's as if it had happened all over again. A bastard with powers had come to cause him pain! 

But.. to let them die? No, this wasn't who he wanted to be. He approached the armored man and extended a hand to him, offering to help him on his feet. The man took Berto's hand but not as the young man intended, grabbing him firmly by the wrist instead. Berto tried to pull up but found himself being moved instead! The man stood at his full height, 1,93 meters tall and held the young man suspended in midair! 

He slammed Berto on the ground as if he weighed nothing, yanked him up again and tossed him accross the room! Berto flew, limbs flailing and crashed on a big desk, bouncing painfully off of it before slamming once more on the cold floor.

"That's what you get you little shit!" the man shouted at the non-moving Berto. He had a square jaw and a nose, mishapen from multiple breaks. Messy but short blonde hair and constantly narrowed, almond eyes. Berto found it difficult to draw breath. He could here Mariah speaking to him but even her telepathic messages came to him as static through all the pain he felt. 

Mariah: Rapid Restoration disrupted due to having received excessive trauma. HP at 5/34. 

The armored man approached Berto and pointed his longsword at him as he towered over his prone body. In his other hand he held a great towershield, giving him a distinct legionnaire look. He also bore a twin star emblem on his shoulder. "Shit.." the young man forced out of barely moving lips. This guy wasn't just a Champion. He was a Ranker. An individual marked and recognised for his excellence, talent or even raw strength.

Even a one star Champion was a cut above the rest, Twin stars were just plain superheroes compared to your average human, and the scale went up to five! "I don't know who you are or how you beat us here but this Rift is now under the jurisdiction of Delta Cerberus! If you have placed Claim you will relieve it to me as a higher ranking Champion in a time of crisis, do you understand!?" the man spouted in Berto's, almost unconscious, face. 

Berto wondered what he was even talking about! The man drew out something from a belt pouch as he kept talking. "I am Twin Star ranker David Nordstrom, with Delta Cerberus. We operate under Cerberus Dynamics and it is our duty to take care of Rifts within their property! I am also looking for a non Champion who might have caused this entire incident called Alberto Federell.. no wait.. Ferallenti..".

"Ferantelli...you..ass.. That's me!!" Retorted Berto, finally able to breathe normally, though his body still refused to move. The man sounded American and spoke English as if it were the only language in the world.. in a country whose national language was Spanish. Thankfully Berto spoke fluent English. English and Spanish were the main languages he studied growing up and Italian was just a bonus from his heritage. 

"Well shit!" Nordstrom replied, "They told us you might've survived but we thought that'd be impossible! A non-Champion surviving inside a Rift? Pfff yeah.. But you're awakened, that makes way more sense."

"I'm nothing like you!" Berto almost shouted as he stood up. "Like me? Ha! You wish squirt.." he said back to him with ample arrogance and confidence. He held up a small dark crystal and tried speaking into it, like you would with a radio. No response. Nordstrom cursed and pocketed the crystal. "SHIT! I'm trapped here with no support!". 

"Yeah that must feel awful.." the young survivor responded as he pulled up a chair and sat, relaxing his aching body. The armor clad Champion got uncomfortably close, "I swear to God, if have Claim and you're using it to keep me here and my friends out, I will gut you like a pig!" he threatened and Berto looked into the eyes of a man who had killed many times before. Maybe not people.. but definitely the eyes of one who wasn't afraid to draw blood. Then again.. wasn't he now the same?

"Look.. I'm not a Champion.. I don't know what being an awakened means.. I didn't do anything at Argos! I fought the man who did and that's how I got stranded here! I survived becau... Because.. I got stronger while I was here.." Berto chewed out that last part as he spoke. Did Champions know about the Evergreen? SHOULD they know!?

"Yeah Sherlock you cracked the case! You awakened upon entering the Rift and coming in contact with the magic here! Shit, I'm trapped here with a goddamn newbie.." Nordstrom said while giving Berto a look of disgust. He then headed towards the slayed Atlas crab. Did the unassuming young engineer do this? He was surprisingly strong for his build, David speculated. He managed to deliver a punch, strong enough to even remotely hurt an awakened, underwater! And the speeds he could swim at were superhuman as well. A very peculiar set of abilities for an awakened, maybe he would make a good gatherer or scout for a Party of Champions one day. 

But David couldn't understand why Ferantelli had attacked him! Did he confuse him for a monster? His head MUST have been scrambled, he was supposedly in the Rift alone for three days! Although the Twin Star was certain this information must have been incorrect. Not even seasoned Champions can survive alone in Rifts, with no equipment, for more than a day. And yet.. The kid wore somekind of makeshift armor, a shield and even had a crude dagger strapped to his thigh. David shook his head and concentrated on the big monster, taking out his dagger. 

Berto suddenly realised that the Champion was harvesting HIS kill! "What the hell!? You can't harvest the Atlas, I was the one who defeated it!" Berto said and limped to the man's side but was ignored. "The hell I can't.. and 'The Atlas'? You named it? Hahaha. Kid I'm the superior Champion here. Anything that can be looted in this Rift is mine! You should consider yourself lucky if I decide you can have any of this. Think of it as compensation for me saving your life..". 

Saving his life? HIS life!? Berto was fuming! He watched helplessly as Nordstrom harvested a large Monster Heart and some other valuable oddities, storing them in a sub-dimensional pocket. He knew strong Champions could do that but it was amazing seeing it up close. David pressed the item into a small black window of nothingness and the item disappeared inside. After leaving nothing behind for Berto, David even had the audacity of saying that all the drops were junk!

Berto spotted a small black stone with orange etchings on it, that had fallen out of the Atlas and skidded towards his feet. His covered it with his foot to hide it from the Champion who didn't seem to notice.

Mariah: Crush it!

Berto's head almost snapped back at the sudden command by his guide. He allowed his weight to do the work and the stone turned to powder under his foot, granting him a small orange glow in his eyes for a split second.

Mariah: New Mutation acquired! Thick Skin (D) gives the User tougher skin that grants minor protection bonuses. You have 6% resistance to all physical damage and 2% resistance to all elemental damage. 1 Mutation Point required to raise Thick Skin's level.

Berto was pleased. This new mutation wasn't exactly what he needed but at least he got something out of his victory. It was also strange to him how David could not see all that he could. He couldn't perceive the Rift for what it was. That must have meant that Mariah, and by extension the Evergreen, gave him unique insight. This was good, he needed an edge of any kind. David was supposed to be an ally here but Berto just couldn't see it that way. "Ok.. I have a plan.." said David as he inspected the room. 

"We'll fight it here.. and since you're the dumb fuck that got us into this situation you'll be the one getting us out of it!". The young man wanted to push the arrogant bastard into the cold deep and watch how well he would manage by himself. "I didn't GET us into anything! You're the one who came in and almost drowned!". 

"You're the one you knocked my helmet off! Now I don't have the enchantment bonuses of my full armor! I can take that thing in a fair fight! All you have to do is swim out there, since that's all you're good at, and bring me back my helmet. You'll make that shark freak chase you here so I can fight it on dry land!" David finished and continued his inspection of the vicinity.

He thought he could beat Kotor in a straight fight? Even on land Kotor would annihilate him! But the Champion couldn't see that without Mariah's appraisal abilities. Berto could!

If this scumbag was willing to sacrifice him to earn a victory then, as a survivor, Berto would come up with a plan of his own!

Mariner (C) Lv.2: The User has taken steps in becoming a master of the seas. This mutation grants the User: 1) 10% Resistance to cold environments and Frost Damage. 2) 20% Increased movement speed through water and decreased resistance. 3) Base time in between breaths increased by 14 minutes. 4) Resistance to Diver's disease, User unaffected by pressure from dives up to 150 meters in depth. 5) The User can see under water clearly, as if wearing a mask, even in dim lighted areas!

Shield Bash (C) Lv.2: This Active Skill consumes 1 Mana upon use and requires a shield or shield-like weapon equiped. The User bashes an adjacent opponent with an additional 18% force. This strike has a 15% chance to stun or knock an opponent, of similar size as you, off balance.


4