The face appeared again.

 

“These grounds are restricted,” the voice growled. “Attempted entry by unauthorized personnel will be met with lethal force.”

 

I eyed the mechanical behemoth. Fighting it would be like battling with Mecha-Godzilla. There was no way I’d put a dent in it. And that was assuming that the AI didn’t simply make it invincible. 

 

“I don’t want any trouble, okay? I’m just headed over there,” I said. I pointed off into the mist, where the edge of town should’ve been.

 

But I already knew what the response was going to be. The system wouldn’t just let me go. It was trying to convince me by using game prompts, it had tried to scare me with the under-the-highway dystopia, and now… I assumed this bot’s job was to take me out, first by convincing me to turn back like the previous attempt. 

 

And if I resisted? 

 

Nobody left the city without defeating the main boss, was the vibe this place was sending out. 

 

“This entire area is under the protection of the Gojira-X Defense Force. No one cross these borders without the express permission of one of my superiors,” the robot defiantly confided. “You will turn back and return to your place in the city, citizen.”

 

To the left and right of him, mounds of dirt shot up and formed into soldiers of many being types, some dwarves, others elves, others humans, all of them in uniform and well-armed.

 

“You will turn around and leave, or we will turn you around and make you leave.”

 

Strafing back to the left, nice and slow and easy, we headed for a bit of high ground. Patches followed after, hackles raised, tail laid low and teeth bared, never more than a foot from me. Now the sounds of the hover cars zooming by at insane speeds intensified. 

 

If the robot wasn’t invincible, Static Shock would probably do the trick here, if I could actually get to the bot with a punch, I might be able to short it out.

 

And then I’d only have to fight two-dozen just spawned elite battle troopers.

 

I rolled through my menu and clicked Insight.

 

“Hey Insight… are there any marked and monitored exits that I might use to leave this game area?”

 

I’M SORRY, BUT WE’RE AFRAID THAT THERE ARE NO EXITS OPEN AND PREPARED AT THIS TIME. LIVE IN PROTOCOLS HAVE BEEN ENABLED, AND YOU MAY STAY WITHIN THE SYSTEM FOR FREE UNTIL REPAIRS HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY INITIATED. THANK YOU FOR STAYING IN PRESTIGE GAMING. 

 

I sighed. “Patches, we’ve got to shut this all down. Fast and now. Before more people get killed.”

 

The giant robot must’ve thought I was talking to it, because it stomped forward a single step in our direction. “I must request that you leave this entire vicinity. You are exhibiting suspicious behavior, and in accordance with AR 214-7 I am allowed to imprison those suspected of espionage for up to 72 hours without higher authorization.”

 

I tensed. I wanted to fight them all, blast the hell out of them. But, even if I succeeded, the system would just spin more soldiers up out of the sand or whatever.

 

No one could fight infinity.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m going,” I said, turning back. I could feel the smug robot face boring eyes into my back and I looked to rock his clock.

 

Someday I’d be back.

 

But for now, I’d just have to let the prick of an AI win. We marched off back in the direction we had come from and I clenched my fists. What a waste of time. But I’d had to try. Who knew how long it was going to take to tear through the main quest and beat this borough.

 

We walked our way back through the madness of urban dystopia around us. Seemed like there was so much more garbage here than when we’d come through from the opposite direction.

 

An alert signified that I had spotted a secret, and I felt the hairs on my neck raise even as I shifted into a combat stance.

 

“Hang back, Patches,” I told him, and shook out my arms to get ready. I caught motion out of the corner of my eye, and ducked low barely evading the large and swinging robotic fist that had punched out from the piles of trash.

 

For a brief second I stayed in place, wondering what all might be hiding behind the trash wall before me.

 

Then I threw caution to the wind. Shooting forward, I leapt and kicked through the bags into a roomy and hollow ambush area that must have been set after my first walk through. The trash bags were attached to a series of wooden planks with foldable legs that could likely be set up anywhere in the vicinity without a second glance from most.

 

I thanked my wits even as I faced down another robot. This one was painted red, but and lost flecks of paint over the years, peppering it full of rusted spots reminiscent of acne. The things head was cylindrical, and its jaws were full of large sharp triangle that looked well capable of blending my parts all over the alleyway.

 

“I’ve got healing salves,” I muttered, dispelling the grisly picture from my head.

 

I kicked out, missed, dodged another attack, then engaged the super damage bonus from my Aggressive Negotiation ability. I saw the number 3 tick down to a 2 as I did so, and I grinned wildy, throwing a tremendous punch into the robot’s center torso. 

 

The robot’s chest dented inward, the force of the blow staggering him back against the cement of the alley wall. A series of sparks blasted out from the impact sight. Notifications in my side-eye told me I had delivered a full 51 points of damage in the attack, and and my lips curled up derisively.

 

“Thought you could, what, rob me? Kick my face in?” I asked angrily. Around me a series of skill gain notifications flickered through the air. Bare-Knuckle Fighting, Combat Reflexes, others I definitely didn’t catch because I was in the thick of things.

 

“This is a warning,” the robot groaned, more sparks erupted from its chest. “Play by the rules.”

 

I growled. The AI was beginning to feel like a mob boss. I saw one of the robots arms retract, quickly relaced with a glowing and fully charged laser cannon, and I dropped to the ground to avoid the blast.

 

Tried to anyways.

 

I missed taking it to my face, but the shot exploded when it hit past me into the asphalt, tossing me forward and into the very same wall to which I hit the robot.

 

Attention! You’ve taken 48 damage from the blast!

 

I quickly estimated myself to be at 60% hit points. I couldn’t afford to try to run or dodge or any of those fancy shenanigans. I’d have to end this here and now while I was up close.

 

I powered up again with another charge of Aggressive Negotiation and this time my punch hammered it in its sharklike jaws, crunching the whole head inward under a tremendous 45 damage. The rending and shattering of ballistic glass and core components was sweet music to my ears.

 

But still the thing wasn’t dead. I stepped back from it and it adopted a wrestlers stance. Confused, I noticed that the light in its laser cannon had winked out and realized that my strike had somehow ended its ability to use the weapon.

 

I laughed. This fight, it should have felt desperate. But instead it felt exhilarating. I felt amazingly good.

 

I set into my own wrestler’s stance. It had to be close to death and I would like to save the last charge of Aggressive Negotiation as a just in case for later. We circled each other, looking for any sort of slip or sign of weakness.

 

“Come on, robot, come at me if you are hard enough,” I taunted.

 

And he did. Moving incredibly fast, just a shade through the air trailing sparks and oily liquid, the robot charged low and struck high, sending me into the air.

 

It would have been comedic if it hadn’t been so painful.

 

I went sailing, with Patches barking up a storm somewhere off to my right, and luckily I managed a breakfall like I’d been trained. I took another 4 damage from rolling over something sharp, but came to one of those badass three point sliding stops, and with enough time to see  the baleful cracked and sparking robot come charging at me. 

 

I waited for him to get close, then at the last second I dove aside and lashed a foot out at his leg. 

 

And connected.

 

The little bar hovering over the robot’s head only ticked down by maybe 10% max, but the results were spectacular.

 

One foot crumpled inward and was unable to support the robot when it careened past, trying to recalibrate and stop its forward momentum. It toppled over, landing on and snapping its one extended hand, and sending a cascade of sparks flying over the asphalt.

 

I scanned the trash, and pulled a rusty old shopping cart from the mess, wheeling it over to the disabled bot.

 

“You look like you might be in a bit of a bad way, bot. How about I give you a hand and we call it all even?” I asked, picking up the smashed opponent and cradling him into the cart.

 

“Play by the rules,” the robot said, its voice cracked and broken.

 

I nodded, wheeling the cart out of the ambush spot and to the decline that rolled down to the highway. A mess of cars zipped by at 300+ miles per hour. “Yeah. Heard you the first time.”

 

I shoved the cart, watching as it bounce-rolled down the concrete embankment and into the highway. One huge neon semi-truck later, the combat was completed.

 

You’ve defeated Hunter-Killer Sentry Drone Model BB-2U! You have leveled up! TWICE! A little bluish halo appeared and zeroed in on a place right next to the highway. Tap here to loot!

 

WELCOME TO LEVEL SIX. TWO LEVELS AT ONCE!? SOMEONE’S PUNCHING UP ABOVE HIS WEIGHT CLASS, AIN’T HE?

 

I sat down, suddenly all out of wind. I panted, and I bled. And wow did I suddenly feel the ache.

 

But more than that, I was simply dazed. Two levels at once. That To the Victor Card had allowed me to utterly wreck an encounter obviously meant for someone much higher level than I was.

 

This was the power that Doctor Kevin was alluding too. It was well OverPowered.

 

It didn’t mean I was invincible though. It had just gotten one real attack in, and some minor other attack after. And that’d really been almost enough to clinch it. I wondered what would have happened if the laser cannon had hit me dead center.

 

Patches came over and gave me a ton of worried and relieved face licks, until he knew by my laughter and weak attempts to push his slobber factory off me that I was fine. 

A quick minor healing salve later and I was free of most of the shrapnel, but I was still down over 30 HP. With four attribute points, this would be a good place to add a point of Constitution. I figured the level up itself would heal me up, but no such luck.

 

With four points to spend, I added one to Constitution, one to Strength, another to Finesse, and last one to Wits. They’d all served me well in this particular encounter.

 

I also received one uncommon card from hitting level 5, another common for level 6.

 

The common was a blank card that made a cycling noise when I selected it, ticking through one of four cards. Bloody Knuckles, a card I’d had before. And three others called, in order, Blaster Master, Bullet Boy, and Smoking Gun.

 

It cycled through them a dozen times before landing on Bloody Knuckles. Wasn’t bad, I decided. I could equip it while as a backup power to all of the rest I’d amassed.

 

The uncommon turned out to be called Night Stalker, which sounded wicked-sweet. I examined it.

 

Night Stalker

Level 1 (Uncommon)(1CP)

 

Gain the Nightvision skill at rank 2 while equipped. Gain +3 Agility when attacking or defending in poor lighting.

 

‘Fighting in the open, in the field, that’s a test of strength and dexterity. But fighting in the dark, that’s a test of mind. See, the man who knows how to fight in the dark studied ahead, and the man who doesn’t, didn’t.’

 

 

My eyes wandered over the image of the ninja warrior, the moon at his back. The picture was super cool. And the abilities could well be useful. I’d slot it and keep it in mind so long as the learn check went well.

 

I held up both cards and focused on Night Stalker first.

Learn Chance 90% Would you like to study this skill now? Y/N

 

A 52 landed me the card, and I slotted it into place. And a 75 gave me the Bloody Knuckles card, which I slotted as well.

 

The physical card itself materialized in my hand, and my side panel immediately opened to a series of empty boxes. In the upper right-hand corner of this screen there was the number 13(24) in deep, bloody crimson.

 

I stood up, shook my head to clear the worst of the blast damage out of it, and staggered over to the blue crosshairs overlaying my vision. Traffic had already resumed normal function again somehow, with only scattered bits of the killer bot littering the place, and far down the road. Up the road a bit, a siren was flashing, causing all traffic to slow and swerve around any of the debris that happened to be burning.

 

Cut the flow of traffic was still far faster than I’d ever seen.

 

It actually required me to stick my hand over the four foot concrete barrier at the edge of the highway, but the loot acquisition flashed about an inch over the line. This was good, because a mammoth semi hover truck blew past, and this one was way bigger than the one that had blasted the robot out of my life forever. 

 

You’ve received: Bleeding Edge Components (5), Nano Healing Injection (2), 

Wired Reflexes (rare card)

 

Nano Healing Injection

Heals 50-200

Heal time 30 seconds

 

‘Burns like hell but it keeps you alive.’

 

 

Bleeding Edge Components

Top Tier Crafting Materials Used by Cyber Docs and Nano-Engineers

 

Oh heck yes. 

 

I took out the healing injection and saw that it could repair 50-200 HP in 30 seconds, though the process was described as being quite painful. Since I wasn’t even at 200 total HP, those would be saved for a higher level rainy day.

 

The Bleeding Edge components appeared to be top tier crafting materials, and the description said ‘used by cyber docs or nano-engineers’ so I imagined that they would eventually be the basis of some rather powerful armor or weapons.

 

A good find. I put those items in my inventory then cast my eyes at the new card in my hand.

 

 

Cybernetic Enhancement, Level 1 Rare, Card Points 2

 

Once this card is equipped, only a trained cyber doc or surgeon may remove it without killing the owner.

You may not be surprised, even while sleeping (Passive Ability)

Gain + 3 Finesse(Passive) Gain +10 Finesse for purposes of acting first in combat up to 3 times a day. Each time after the third, take 6-18 shock damage that cannot be soaked.

 

‘Half-man, half-machine, it wasn’t any wonder that they couldn’t hit him.’

“Can’t be soaked… ever?” I asked myself in shock.

 

I stared at it and decided that it would be well worth it. After all, I could just limit my use to 3 times a day. And those numbers seemed massive.

 

Learn Chance 57% Would you like to study this skill now? Y/N

 

I mentally chose yes and then watched the numbers fly. The first digit settled on 5 and I clenched my fists, dreading what might come next. But then a 7 settled into place and I let out a sigh of relief. 57 was just enough.

 

I went ahead and equipped Wired Reflexes.

 

And instantly regretted it.

 

Directly in front of me, I now saw a transparent hologram of myself, along with a series of tiny mechanical ants lined up behind me. These quickly approached my body, causing a number of red dots to appear along my spine. The message YOU WILL FEEL A SLIGHT PINCH was not reassuring.

 

I saw my CP meter go to 11(22), the crimson numbers shaking in my vision as I trembled and screamed.

 

My vision flickered and fading, one last gasp of pain exiting my body.

 

Everything went black.