Polynya

“Here! Weapons up!” FeeTwix has out just about the biggest gun in seconds flat. “Spitfire LMG,” he tells Ryuk before he can ask. “From a mech world called, well, Mecha XXE. No short bursts here,” he grunts as he pops the mag in the weapon. “High recoil reduced by fifteen percent every 1/9th of a shot … best for long bursts.”

The Swede aims the gun in front of him. “Let’s fuck this wolf up.”

Hiccup shoulders past him. “You and your damn guns. You know, if you want to really kill a wolf, all you need … ” The goblin yelps as a man leaps down from a higher rock.

The warrior, his body covered in scars and mud, brandishes a huge sword splintered into three distinct peaks. He takes a step forward and drops to a knee, lifts himself, and tries to hold steady again.

“It’s … you!” Ryuk says, after he sees a glimpse of the Unigaean tattoo on the man’s chest.

Chapter 13: The Takeover

Kodai swivels his haptic chair so he can get a sparkling view of nighttime Tokyo. He takes a deep breath, places his NV Visor over his head, and after the familiar tone, he waits for the sine waves to start up. A message from Sarah the Aussie piques his interest.

Sarah: You want me to come over tonight?

He thinks about this for a moment as he watches the twinkling lights of the city. It would be interesting to see her reaction to Tesla …

Kodai: Yes, in an hour.

Sarah: I won’t be off until one.

Kodai: You’ll be off in an hour.

With a deep breath in, he settles into his haptic chair and chooses a spawning point, the rented guildhall in Aramis, and after a few moments, he steps out into the large banquet room.

His stats appear and away they go.

Kodai Matsuzaki Level 15 Ballistics Mage

HP: 830/830                   

ATK: 213            

MATK: 176

DEF: 98

MDF: 105

LUCK: 7

“You’ve both failed,” he tells Tamana, who stands before him with her head bowed. Next to her is Tomas, who looks equally troubled. “And at your levels and with the armor we’ve given you, this is totally unacceptable.”

Kodai takes his magic slingshot from its holster and pouches two knife marbles. He adds a black marble on top, pulls back, and fires the three marbles directly into Tomas’ neck and face.

-321 HP! Critical hit!

Skill level up!

Tomas is blown back a good five feet. With his body now smoking, he tries to pick one of Kodai’s blades from his cheek.

A skill level up?

Skill: Explosive Blades

Level Four: Use two knife marbles and one black marble to cause confusion and pain through an additional shrapnel bonus.

Damage: 25% if enemy is less than level 30; 9% if enemy is greater than level 30.

Odds of instakill: 3%

Requirements for instakill: LUCK > 8

“Good,” he says as he walks past Tamana, who still stands facing him with her head bowed. He approaches Tomas, and after equipping a knife marble, brings his slingshot up to the side of the RPC’s head.

Instakill!

Kodai turns back to Tamana just in time to hear Tomas’ body slap against the floor. He slowly walks towards her from behind, a new knife marble in his pouch.

Kodai.

The voice rings out in his head and he pauses. Even though the woman behind the door has spoken to him like this several times before, it still takes him off guard.

“Yes?”

Come to me.

With a grunt, he slowly lowers his slingshot. Not done yet with Tamana, Kodai brings his foot down on the back of her knee, sending her sprawling to the floor.

“Failure is not an option.”

“Yes, Kodai,” she says as she scrambles back to her feet. “It won’t happen again.”

Once he reaches the door at the far end of the room, Kodai takes the stairs down to the basement. While the room upstairs has been repaired, the basement is still in disarray. Shards of broken tiles litter the ground, portions of the wall have been ripped apart and the front door lies flat on the floor, its hinges broken.

The golden door in the center of the room, however, is in as perfect condition as ever, and as Kodai approaches it, the door cracks open revealing the galaxy inside.

Kodai.

The serpent woman stands before him, her image the clearest he’s ever seen.

She has dark hair with hints of purple, orange eyes, and faded Thulean tattoos along the side of her neck. She’s nude from the waist up; the scales from her lower half form a point at her sternum. Her scales are a deep shade of blue and dark green, the ventral scales a dark shade of yellow.

Kodai takes a knee before her and bows his head.

You’re angry.

“I am,” he grits. “They failed.”