We had practiced with this line-up several times, and we had always just thrashed all the other army of Earth teams, often without taking any losses. Fox sized up the group of warriors standing before her:
“Not bad, not bad... I personally would have replaced one of the human shooters with your famed Trillian Gunner — he is both higher level and has significantly more Hitpoints. But that is no longer too important.”
Our opponent took out a pair of curved blades that looked exactly the same as the ones wielded by the real Translator Gerd Ayni. If I didn’t know they were actually appendages the Morphian had grown, I never would have guessed.
“And one last thing,” the Morphian pointed one of her blades at the two Small Relict Guard Drones spinning circles above me. “I understand that your drones provide excellent firepower and all that. But you aren’t going to have the time to keep track of them, that much I guarantee. I am planning to fight at full capacity and I definitely will not be going easy on you. I can take down your target markers faster than you can place them on me, and I’ll be changing shape a lot. And that will include taking the form of members of your team and guests sitting in the stands. And so, your drones will be thrown off very quickly and start shooting the wrong targets. If you don’t want this test to turn into a bloodbath for your audience, you’d better call off the drones.”
Again, I could sense that the Morphian was right. In the last few days, Fox had studied my flying metal satellites closely and had probably thought through several methods of counteracting them down to the most minute details. Alright. On my command, both drones went up higher and entered passive mode.
“The exam shall begin in fifteen seconds,” Fox announced in an even tone, then unhurriedly turned around and headed for the opposite end of the arena.
My team and I all quickly popped perception and speed enhancing pills. I also downed a mana restoring medicinal cocktail. Okay then, let’s see what those three days of grueling training were worth!
The whole time I had been training like crazy. I fainted, broke my spine once and arm twice. I died four times. I leveled Telekinesis and all my psionic skills strongly and got a lot of help from the little mage girl Soia-Tan. It really was like she was purpose built to play second fiddle, refilling my mana and powering up my attacks. With support like that I felt comfortable using even the most complex psionic tricks I knew — I virtually had the power and Magic Points to do anything. But nevertheless I decided not to take Soia-Tan with me — she was too little and children had no place in war. And so, as soon as her three days were up, I sent the gifted little girl to Pa-lin-thu in the First Directory.
And that whole time, I only once stepped away from the training camp — to meet the leader of the NPC Antiquity Faction, Phylira the Centaur mare. The problem my Diplomat was unable to handle turned out quite easy to solve. The Matriarch of the Centaurs didn’t so much want money as she wanted the recognition and respect of humans. And so, a promise to name our new city on the southern peninsula in her honor was all it took. We settled on either Phyliragrad or Centaursk, plus an assurance that we would place a statue of the Centaur mare made of the finest marble in the center of town... and that was it! The problem was solved and the Minotaurs and Centaurs got back to work on our twenty-three forts on the southern peninsula.
From the distance, I heard Fox counting down:
“Three.. two... one... FIGHT!!!”
That very second, I shot off and rolled into a square formed by the tanks. Vasha and Basha Tushihh, wearing the latest Undeh-Marva V armor, along with Gerd T’yu-Pan and Eduard Boyko had joined their exoskeleton armors’ energy shields together to form a one-sided forcefield sphere around our group. One-sided meant that we could shoot out, but nothing would be able to come our way. All our shooters — Taik Rekh, Grim Reaper and Destroying Angel had also managed to get inside the safe sphere and were now pointing their barrels all around in search of a target.
The Morphian was essentially correct — the legendary level-202 Trillian Gunner Gerd Ukh-Meemeesh really did have greater survival and combat abilities than any of the three shooters I had chosen. However, the fifteen-foot long armored crocodile had never fit inside the protective sphere in our practice sessions, and quite often knocked the other members of the team off their feet with his massive nine-hundred-pound body (that was actually how I fractured my spine). Outside the defensive field, meanwhile, the Gunner’s fate was unenviable — the lethal Morphian would have chopped the Trillian into coleslaw in a matter of seconds. And so, frustrating as it may have been, to use the group battle plan T’yu-Pan had worked out we had to get by without our best shot.
So then, what is going on? The battle had only been underway a few seconds, but one of my three melee fighters, the Miyelonian Gerd Mauu-La was already dead. I didn’t see him die. I just noticed his image turn gray in the group window. Damn! I said we should keep the Medic inside the forcefield too — the short Miyelonian would have just fit. But now the Morphian had struck down our healer first, and we had just lost a team member for nothing...
Where are Imran and Ayni? And where did that smoke come from all of a sudden? The arena was starting to fill up with a thick haze. I caught a lightning-fast blurry movement and realized it was the “Miyelonian” shooting around the outside of our sphere fast as a bullet, studying our shelter and at the same time laying smoke bombs all around it.
Eagle Eye skill increased to level one hundred eleven!
Working quickly, before it was too late to see anything, I used Telekinesis to throw the smoke bombs I could see outside the arena. Then the Morphian flickered by in the wisps of smoke again! That time I reacted quicker and put a targeting marker on my opponent, making her easily distinguishable even through the dense smoke. The next second nearly made me deaf. The brothers Vasha and Basha Tushihh blasted a series of homing rounds from their Avashi Shock plasma-grenade launching systems. Eduard and T’yu-Pan echoed them from their high-caliber machineguns, and our three gunfighters also got some shots off.
Targeting skill increased to level seventy-one!
Targeting skill increased to level seventy-two!
We hit!!! The targeting marker faded. We hadn’t just killed her, right?! But before I even had time to rejoice or at least marvel at the ease with which we downed our high-level opponent, a shriek of fear rang out behind me and quickly cut off. Then Destroying Angel’s marker turned gray. I whipped around instantly. While “Ayni” distracted us, out of the smoke on the other side of the sphere there emerged an eight-legged Meleyephatian spider as big as a horse. Poking one of its sharp appendages inside the sphere, the brute made a calculated strike from behind into the heart of the German shooter Destroying Angel, killing her instantly. And then, grabbing Gerd T’yu-Pan by the shoulder, she yanked the hefty soldier out of the forcefield and into the impenetrable smoke. Two seconds, a short shriek and my boarding team commander was no more. Damn! Damn! Our plan was going off the rails!
The square, based on four tanks, became a triangle. The safe (or as we just found out not all that safe) area covered by the forcefield was suddenly significantly smaller.
“Shooters, center! Everyone stay inside the forcefield!”
I activated Scanning in hopes of discovering enemies in the thick smoke. However, my scan contained too many markers — part of the stands was in the draw area, so my mini-map was packed with audience members. I had to change the scale and filter out everything I didn’t need. Strangely, I discovered several moving markers in the arena, and two of them were labeled, “Miyelonian Female. Level-115 Translator.” One was, “Geckho. Level-200 Shocktroop,” and another said, “Meleyephatian. Level-280 Assassin.” I disoriented all these players without even trying to distinguish them (sorry, real Ayni). Then I put targeting markers on the last two and, while deafening thunder boomed out all around, I used Telekinesis to throw all the smoke bombs on my mini-map as far away as possible. I hope our instructor doesn’t have any more of them, otherwise I don�
�t know how we’ll fight in all the smoke!
Disorientation skill increased to level forty-one!
My character’s experience jumped up sharply in a few bursts. We had just killed someone. But seeing all the enemies still on the mini-map as before, our victims must have been peaceful audience members. Oh well. They knew this would be a dangerous spectacle. By the way... I just noticed that my Dagestani pal Imran had also died at some point. And right before my eyes, Ayni’s life bar sharply fell by two thirds — I didn’t know how, but the Miyelonian had in fact survived the attack of the deadly Morphian at her extreme 200+ level. But as for poor Ayni — her mutilated and bloodied body flew out of the wisps of smoke and smacked down on top our forcefield dome. After a few seconds convulsing, the Miyelonian went slack. The image of the tailed Translator in the group also went gray.
“Over there!!!” Grim Reaper’s cry drew my attention and, through a gap in the smoke, I saw a huge Geckho in heavy armor racing toward us and brandishing a terrifying spiked club.
I don’t know what that Geckho wanted to do. Perhaps to burst into our safe zone and dole out blows to all of us with his fearsome club. But that was a mistake on the Morphian’s part — my shooters turned the racing giant into swiss cheese, stopping him just three feet away from the forcefield. I meanwhile, suspecting she might try the stab in the back tactic again, turn around and caught the “Miyelonian” right next to our forcefield with Telekinesis!!!
Telekinesis skill increased to level sixty!
Targeting skill increased to level seventy-three!
You have reached level one hundred nine!
You have received three skill points!
Finally levelled up! In the last three days of training, I just could not stay alive long enough, and my progress bar had frustratingly zeroed out four times. And although I brought up my skills a great deal over those three days, I felt stuck at level one hundred eight. And here, at long last, I hit level one hundred nine!
However, it was not a good time to distribute skill points. The battle was moving, and we seemed to be losing — out of a team of ten, I had just five remaining and none of them were quick enough to catch Fox. The Morphian then had two bodies left: the Miyelonian I was holding in place and the giant dangerous spider.
I tried to take mental control of the “Miyelonian.” Nope, no use. A brick wall. And as it was turning out, holding her with Telekinesis wasn’t all that easy either. The orange kitty’s body suddenly transformed into some bizarre gel and seeped through the forcefield to the ground, then became a “Miyelonian” again in the space of a second. And at that she was now standing... inside our sphere of safety!!!
Danger Sense skill increased to level one hundred thirty-nine!
I realized what was happening and ran full tilt out of the dome before the Morphian started her killing spree. As I ran, I put another disorientation and target marker on the “Miyelonian.” I also tried to attack our adversary with Psionics once more time but again to no avail. The next second and a half decided the outcome. All my tanks and shooters died. But they did manage to take the killer “Miyelonian” with them. I was left with just one opponent.
The smoke gradually cleared. The huge sleek black spiny spider and I were standing opposite one another. I was holding the Annihilator because I saw no other way of damaging this enemy. By that time, I had already come to the realization that none of my psionic abilities would work against the high-level Morphian, and my disorientation had almost no effect. In fact, the fearsome giant spider was disoriented just then, but that clearly wasn’t preventing her from getting her bearings and looking straight at me.
“Well, Kung Gnat, let me congratulate you. Your team was able to eliminate four of my five bodies. I must admit, I wasn’t expecting that. But this form is my favorite and deadliest. This is how the warrior woman Kung Eesssa the Betelgeuse Planet Devouress looked. I have lived three whole tongs in this body. It is like a home to me.”
Because my opponent was not attacking, I didn’t rush ahead to die. In fact, I took the opportunity to ask why my methods were failing:
“Could you tell me why psionics aren’t working? Is your Intelligence higher than fifty-six?”
Kung Eesssa chortled in satisfaction — my confusion clearly amused her.
“No, Gnat. My Intelligence is of course high, but not that high. There are two reasons. My Mental Defense skill is very high level. Five hundred twenty if you want specifics. Mental Defense is an essential skill for any Morphian’s survival because it stops us from being uncovered. Yes, I remember you once penetrated my defenses and read my thoughts. But I was sleeping then, and also considered you utterly harmless, so I didn’t see any need to defend myself against you. But in this battle, I formed all my bodies with heightened psionic defenses, though it did come at the expense of fighting ability. Yes, I had to make sure I could defend myself against a psionic as powerful as yourself. So, have I satisfied your curiosity?”
Danger Sense skill increased to level one hundred forty!
I understood what was just about to happen, and so I was ready. In an instant, totally invisibly to the naked eye, Kung Eesssa shot forward thirty feet, putting her right next to me. I suddenly saw the deadly tip of one of her eight legs seemingly dripping with toxin of some kind and frozen just four inches from my chest. The second the Tachyon Bender gave me was enough to shoot my Annihilator at the limb and jump away.
Rifles skill increased to level sixty-eight!
Sharpshooter skill increased to level fifty-five!
Over the next second, the Morphian made three or maybe four instant moves around the arena, seemingly expecting me to shoot again. Finally, Kung Eesssa stopped fifty paces from me and, after surveying her damaged limb, instantly grew another in its place.
“Now there you caught me off guard, Kung Gnat. Stopping time, are you? I once faced off against an elite fighter whose job was to protect the top rulers of the Meleyephatian Horde. He also had a sophisticated armor suit fashioned from an ancient Relict artifact. And that warrior was also able to stop time. But that was a long while ago... The wise Vaa has much more experience in that realm. But in any case, the Morphians are aware of one tactic that can counter an opponent such as you.”
The Morphian darted aside toward the dead Geckho fighters. Then suddenly she jumped to the exact opposite end of the arena, and... a nearly nine-hundred-pound exoskeleton armor suit belonging to one of the twin brothers came flying my direction! One second was nowhere near enough time for me to dodge such a large object, especially one that was already just four inches away. Furthermore, a second object had already been thrown from the opposite direction — a huge chunk of a concrete slab. The Morphian had clearly overestimated my abilities and thought I might have been able to actually dodge the flying armor...
Crunch!!! I fell down, stunned by the blow and crushed by the heavy slab on my chest. I was no longer holding the Annihilator and couldn’t even move my arms. My life bar was down by half. Out of the Listener suit forcefield’s sixteen thousand five hundred points, just four thousand remained.
“What a thick hide you have...” the giant lethal spider loomed over me. I saw her razor-sharp poison-laced mandibles. “My opponents normally don’t survive double impacts of that magnitude. But oh well, Kung Gnat. You didn’t shoot me in the chest when you had the chance, instead only shooting off one of my legs. I am also surprised that your fighters’ blades and bullets weren’t laced with the substance your Medic told you about. It would not have killed me, but it would have made my job harder. You have demonstrated unexpected nobility and mercy. And so, I will not kill you either. You have passed my exam. You survived and, what’s more, easily could have killed me.”
Without apparent effort, the Morphian took the heavy slab off me and threw it aside, even helping me to my feet. And although I was barely able to stay standing, I found the strength to bow to my instructor and thank her for the highly beneficial and spectacular experience of facing off aga
inst a truly serious contender. Meanwhile, the thousands of army of Earth troops realized the show was over, and the Kung of Earth had managed to survive an encounter with their deadly instructor. The ruckus and ovations were so loud that even the recent thunder of heavy machinegun fire right next to my ear faded by comparison.
Fame increased to 108.
Authority increased to 112!
General Ui-Taka walked up to us, among a few others from the audience of the recent arena battle. He slapped me on the shoulder and asked the Morphian, who had already taken the form of Ayni the Miyelonian, whether she would be joining the army of Earth in this war.
“No, General. Although the Meleyephatians are enemies of my race, this still is not my war. I have entirely different plans for the future, and Kung Gnat promised to help me accomplish them as soon as he is finished with the war. His aid was the price of hiring me as an instructor for the army of Earth.”
Viceroy Gerd Kosta Dykhsh also walked up. At first the disheveled and very dusty Geckho grumbled that spaceport administrator Vano-Ubish had been killed by a stray bullet. And a second before that, some flying debris killed H3 Faction Journalist Lydia Vertyachikh, Ivan Lozovksy’s girlfriend, who was there to capture the arena battle on film. But then the Geckho nevertheless gave a smile, congratulated me on the victory and the successful draft of fifty thousand soldiers into the army of Earth.
“Yes, just yesterday we reached fifty thousand ahead of schedule,” I confirmed, myself also very satisfied with the fact I was able to complete the suzerain ruler’s challenging assignment. “Three thousand Human-12 Faction soldiers arrived yesterday, and another four hundred from the Human-19 Faction. I admit, we weren’t especially counting on the Americans to send recruits. We actually thought the American factions would sabotage the draft. But their Diplomat raced over to say the Kung of Earth ‘misunderstood’ them. In his words, the Americans wanted to make sure the army of Earth didn’t have only their low-level infantry, but also their experienced leaders, whose advice could help the commander of the entire army. With those conditions, I saw no obstacle to the American military taking part in the joint endeavor of the two worlds of humanity. General Ui-Taka has already spoken with their senior officers and said he found them highly capable. The ruler of the Second Directory is currently forming a general staff which will contain members of all the various factions of humanity, including Relict, H1, H3 and H12.”
Aces High (Reality Benders Book #6) LitRPG Series Page 34