Weapons of Mass Destruction

I think I’ve made a good trade with Tacita. Promising her the dagger also means she’ll be willing to stick around and be on her best behavior until the end of the floor out of fear that I might back out of our deal. With so many unknowns around how this floor is going to turn out, it can only be good to have her with us.

As promised by the Ruler of Diligence, who’s clearly caused this mess and now finds himself scrambling to fix it, we’ve gained a compass item. It has no rarity, and it is like a normal compass, with its pointer indicating a direction, likely the closest member of Group 4.

We don’t see any need to wait any longer, so we jump down from the tower, moving across the sand in this heat. I think Min-Jae said it could be as high as 300 degrees Celsius. What a nerd, though a true nerd would have used Kelvin. He refused to use Fahrenheit, insisting that Celsius should be used. But if I’m not mistaken, Fahrenheit tends to be double that of Celsius, or close to it, so that means it’s probably somewhere around 600 degrees Fahrenheit?

Damn, I miss my four hot dogs long, weighing as much as a standard 24-pack of beer and roughly three lightbulbs tall, emotional support corgi.

But yeah, simply said, it’s too fucking hot for the poor guys from Easy difficulty.

Still, how could something like this cause trouble for me? I pull the heat from the air around us and proceed to convert it into mana that I feed to my crown. It is not as effective or rewarding as converting thermal energy, but it is a nice way to gather mana. Especially now that I feel almost like I am slacking anytime I’m not doing things like this.

Even after my break in the Game, my mind is still not fully my own in some ways. Sometimes, just normal things, like watching Tess move hair off her face, feel unreal.

The fact that my mind doesn’t feel like it is about to break apart sometimes scares me. It’s an illogical fear, like I’m failing to notice something, and it’s already too late for me to fix it.

599 days and likely 23 hours I’ve endured in thought acceleration.

Actually, let us just call it 600 days since it is already so close. It is easier to think of it in those terms rather than 599 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 or so seconds.

So, my over 600 days of mental training left me this way. I suspect this feeling would be worse if it were actually 600 days and these changes had been ingrained into my muscle memory and reflexes rather than memories and experience. Even during the Game, I found myself lacking control over my abilities. I think it’s gotten better now, but as I said to Nyssa before, I think the moment I get careless, I will kill someone by mistake.

I mean, it is what I always wanted: to quickly grow stronger, and I need to become even stronger, but still, something is missing to make me fully happy. But I hope I will always stay that way, unsatisfied and striving for improvement.

As for my body, it’s gotten worse than ever, but my mana moves easier than ever. Not even mentioning the 1000 point increase in mana my Mana Vessel trait evolution gave me, I think I’m actually properly mana conductive now.

If Ruby’s warning that someone might try kidnapping me for my conductive body did not come to fruition until now, it will surely become true soon.

It is a bit scary. I barely have to think about it, and there’s mana already flickering at my fingertips. Not to mention the quantity. Where previously it flowed through pathways, circuits, and veins, now it feels like it’s moving through my body itself, every piece of it. Further trait strengthenings will improve on it, I’m sure, and at this rate, even the slightest, tiniest bit of resistance is sure to disappear.

I will need to test it out later, but I think the amount I can channel has also greatly improved. The amount of mana I can use to power my skills is likely becoming ridiculous, and that means I’ll need to find some sort of skill that’ll take full advantage of that and truly test the high end range of my skills.

With some preparation, it’s possible I could even prepare something capable of affecting an area the size of a small country, or I can just continue to use Fuck Everything In That Direction Specifically. After all, it’s worked so far.

“It’s Lily, and it seems like she is talking to some people from one of the Corporations,” Tess says out of nowhere, and I squint in the direction where she is looking, but still don’t see anything at all.

“Does it seem like she’s being scammed?” I ask.

Tess mouths something, but shakes her head and mutters while mouthing it, “...not enough... she says?”

“Are you reading lips now?”

“It’s an obvious thing to learn with the way my sight’s improved. I hired a beyonder to teach me.”

“Is that where the shards I gave you went?”

“I also spent some on local Megacity cuisine.”

“Anything good?”

“A few really nice places. One of them sells some ridiculously good drinks.”

“Are you turning into a drunkard on top of a thief now, Tess?”

“If I don’t drink, I won’t be capable of keeping calm with all the crazy people I have to work with.”

“Understandable,” I say, and this time I really mean it.

We pick up the speed, and Tess warns us that they seem to have noticed us, though no one appears to take it as a threat. A short while later, I begin to see them as well. Lily’s petite figure is standing in the desert in front of what looks like a landed spaceship, with its hangar door open, where three or so people are standing there, waiting and watching as we approach.

Soon, the Bulldozer of Lust notices us, or perhaps notices the compass, and looks our way. Her body is ridiculous, given how much she spent on constitution and her potency attribute strengthening variation of it. She has good sight even without actively strengthening anything, and she waves at us as we approach.

When we start getting close, she runs up, putting her hands behind her back and giving a big smile. “Hello.”

She tries to hug Tacita, but the mute girl jumps away. If she were a cat, I’m sure she would be swatting at Lily. So instead, Lily proceeds to hug Tess, who lets her, before she finally comes to a stop in front of me.

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I am not a stupid man. I know she started with the girls, so I’d have no reason to refuse a hug. Making it seem like a casual and… I cut those thoughts and reinforce my body as she puts her hands around me and squeezes while pressing her head against my chest.

I look down, watching her smile, and clumsily pat her back in a hug. Lily is the type of hugger who holds on too long, so I wait a while, but it does not stop.

“Lower your natural barrier, you’re blocking my healing,” she says as I look at her face so close in front of mine.

“I don’t want to.”

“I know your body is fucked up. Everyone knows it. I swear I will hold you all day and enjoy it if you don’t let me heal you. It’s for your own good.”

“Your lies used to be believable.”

That makes her smile even brighter. “You remember that wyvern blood you gave me, that I promised to turn into a concentrate? I’ve already done it. I also can sense another extremely powerful form of blood you have on you, similar to the one from your trait. I bet you want me to help with that, right?”

“Perhaps.”

“Well, perhaps this is extortion then,” she snuggles closer and rubs her face against my chest. “The longer you let this go on, the more I will think you’re enjoying this and dragging your feet to make this last longer,” she smirks, and presses her ear against my chest. “Maybe if I wait and listen long enough, I will hear your heartbeats speed up.”

“I could just teleport away,” I say.

“You cannot overpower me, and my natural barrier is too powerful. We are also touching too much, so even if you somehow teleport, I will probably just move with you.”

I try my last defense. “People are watching, are you not ashamed?”

“Not at all, “I don’t give a fuck”, as you would say. The corpos can stuff themselves if they don’t like it, but they won’t because I’m actually a pretty good healer worth being friendly with.”

Looking down at her, I wonder: Is this my fault? Is this the consequence of my breaks from Group 4 and all the time I’ve spent delving into the beyond? Have these already lunatic and terrifying members of my group become even more unhinged?

“Sure then, heal me,” I sigh and lower my defenses a bit.

That causes Lily to smile victoriously as she relaxes and lets go of me, but in the next moment, I teleport two steps away from her, leaving her with her hand hanging in the air.

A stream of my mana surges as I use it to power [Redistribution] and lock her in place, absorbing the kinetic energy of each of Lily’s movements. Even as she tries to overpower it, to push through, I spitefully continue to power it with more and more, not caring how much effort it takes or how much of my mental processing goes into it.

Once again, I am reminded that I cannot allow myself to be weaker than Lily. I cannot show weakness either.

Leaving her standing behind, I walk towards the three corpo-rats while Tess boops Lily’s nose a few times and then continues on to join me by my side.

The three men are all selari, wearing normal clothes, as I notice that within the hangar where they stand, there seems to be a controlled climate.

“Were you trying to scam her?” I ask them directly.

The leader of them just smiles and steps a bit ahead, just a half step from exiting the barrier within the hangar. “I am Balkalathejek from Novus Venture Corp,” he bows slightly, “and these are my assistants, and I can assure you that we were not trying to scam the Lady Healer. We just tried to come to an agreement that would see the best results for both sides.”

“I see. Do you mind if I call you just Bal?” I ask.

"I do not mind it at all. I do realize that my name might be difficult to remember for some people, Mister Gwyn," Bal says.

That causes me to glance at Lily, but Bal continues to talk. "I didn’t hear that from Lady Healer. My associates and I had the opportunity to watch the Game," his voice is smooth, carrying a smile in it, yet it does not feel like he is making fun of anyone. "You and your sister have been fascinating to watch, and that ending... I am sure it will be spoken of for centuries to come, especially with the return of Starless Sky."

"Well, I bet you didn’t watch it in a legal or intended way," I say, but Bal just stays quiet and continues to smile. "So, what did you want from the Lady Healer?" I ask him.

"We intended to purchase one of her healing marks for further examination. We’d already started arranging the arrival of a test subject for her to place it on before you and your friends interrupted the negotiations, Mister Gwyn."

A loud crack makes my body shudder, and I slowly turn around to watch Lily’s body twist and bulge as she pushes through my kinetic hold. Even with the ridiculous amount of mana I’m powering it with, her body is monstrous, and forces me to wonder if her natural barrier isn’t stronger because of her Constitution. Maybe it is not just body upgrades that strengthen it?

But all thought of curiosity disappears as Lily twists and breaks her neck, instantly healing it over, just as she twists her limbs at the joints and restores them. The amount of kinetic energy generated is ridiculous as she powers and reinforces her body. Twisting and turning our way, she then takes a step and then another, forcing her way through, and with each step, she faces it better and improves her ability to push through.

In the end, she stops near us, looking at me with a glint in her eyes, clearly intended to challenge and make fun of me.

I begin to reach toward more of my mana to accept her challenge when a cough catches my attention, and I look at Tess, who looks back with a lifted eyebrow.

With a sigh, I let go of my kinetic hold on Lily, leaving it for the next time. A movement catches my attention, and I glance to the side as I watch Tacita, hidden within her field, casually stride past the barrier on the edge of the hangar. Unnoticed by Bal and his assistants, she heads in.

"Nathaniel and Tess will trade in my name," Lily says, and she moves close to hang on Tess’s arm, as she pokes the blonde.

"As you say, Lady Healer," Bal says. "Our offer, it still stands. An information exchange for one healing mark, and if both sides consider it adequate, we can share more information in exchange for another healing mark."

Fixing my clothes, I clear my throat and look at him, reaching toward my Nerdthaniel submind. I lean in slightly, making my posture casual, while trying to mimic the way Lissandra radiated her pressure during my mental training, letting them at least partially feel my own restrained mana through the barrier.

"Bal," I start, my voice low. "Let us dispense with pleasantries and ignore the fact of just how much you were trying to rob my precious friend. You want a piece of Lily’s life’s work. That’s fine. But you surely understand what we’re dealing with."

I take a slow step forward, almost touching the barrier. "What you’re talking about is not just a simple healing mark, and though we’re still just attendees, some of us aren’t actually stupid. You want to get your grubby hands on her proprietary somatic healing constructs, uniquely developed by Lily’s incredible talent. We know you’ll attempt to harvest, replicate, or deconstruct the underlying logic of the mark. I will not be warning you of the localized... unpleasanties this can cause to the test subject and anyone who gets too close, I’m sure you’re already aware of that."

I gesture lazily toward the metallic walls of the hangar. "I’ve heard enough about how the Corporations operate to know that your specialists will attempt to bypass the encryption and steal Lily’s intellectual property. In any such case, it’s not just the mark we’re trading, but also the risk that you’ll break Lily’s trademark, and that carries much more value than just an exchange of… some information. So, let us hear what kind of data you think warrants this level of access. Don’t even dream about a second healing mark, and be sure this was worth Lily’s time."

When I turn to my side to look at Lily, she panics for a short moment as all attention turns to her and she lets go of Tess, glancing with her eyes from Bal to me and back to Bal before just nodding quickly. "What Nathaniel said! It is my proprietary something healing construct, so you better pay up!"

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