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Chapter 191: Expedition
🕑 Added 2020-06-29 22:40:39 +0000 UTCWell, at least I managed to leave Goob behind, Calvin thought as they trekked through the jungle, looking for the most elusive monster hed ever heard of.
Other than that though, all of Calvins close friends had been more than eager to follow him into a potential death trap. Calvin could understand Barokes decision making process, given the guys justifiable overconfidence, but the others
Calvin glanced over his shoulder, noting that Kala, Ella, Nadia, and Learner were all still in place, trudging behind him with various degrees of discomfort.
When did it become such a taco fest? Calvin wondered. Not that I mind, but still
Thats normal for your age and how central you are to the plot My plot!
Calvin ignored Elliots slowly growing laughter and double checked that everyone was there before he faced forward again.
It was noted that the monster had vanished people when those around them took their eyes off them for a second.
Which was why Calvin had placed everyone, in no uncertain terms, in order of how disposable they were to him.
Learner was at the back, of course, but she didnt seem to mind being first in line to be eaten. Aoehe, Ellas tall, thin father was next, marching along behind them without any sign of discomfort, at ease in the jungle. His Chained spirit flanked either side of him, making sure the aging Maje was protected. Baroke was in the middle, a bit irritated at being labeled more disposable than Calvins wives, but also utterly confident that he would be fine.
Next was Ella. Rather than bicker over who was more disposable, she simply shrugged and said it was good it gave her a chance to protect the little princess and her poeor.
Kalas relationship to the two of them had subtly shifted since the three of them had taken the Guya together. Calvin and Ella were driven by instinct to be protective of the slender princess, while she was more than eager to please both of them.
Okay, its not that much different.
Kala just enjoyed being able to know how both of them were feeling when she was away dealing with statescraft, bustling back and forth between Mujenan and Calvins March.
And finally, Calvin took up the lead, his fine-tuned senses hopefully able to spot danger before it reared its ugly head.
He wasnt taking any chances, though. Calvin had also used Chimera to create a swarm of floating Nadias, each about the size of a Tarak by wrapping a Nadia body around a Refraction spinners flight organs. He also added antennae, lure sensors and the sensitive fingers of a Spinner, including the respective lumps of brain that processed those inputs, otherwise shed probably just devolve into a twitching mess on the floor.
The Scout Nadia was born. The wasp-antennaed swarm of sadomasochistic fairy-looking women had the role of roaming ahead while also keeping watch on the five of them.
This was because of the reports that no one had ever seen the monster take anyone, implying that it either wouldnt or couldnt kidnap people while they were under observation. Hence Calvin put them all under Nadias observation. Thousands of eyes at once. The chance of everyone present blinking at once was practically nil.
Quantum monster. Elliot said with a chuckle. Its not there if someone is observing it.
You know something about it? Calvin asked.
No, no, I just thought it was a funny idea Although if that were the case, if would make it very difficult to pin this creature down.
Hmm .
Calvin retreated into his thoughts as they clomped through the woods, periodically checking in with Nadia.
If Elliots joke is spot on and we cant directly engage with it due to some kind of weird dimensional fuckery, how do we engage it?
The most obvious answer seemed to be traps. Traps werent observers, per se. the question was, how to trap something that vanished like that? Either it was invisible, it teleported, or it shifted between dimensions. Calvins thoughts came full circle, back to the Brain Worm. That was fairly good at shifting between dimensions, and the Refraction spinners blades messed it up pretty good.
Some kind of bomb, perhaps? Calvin thought, eyeing a nearby Nadia flitting past him. the one-foot tall girl caught him looking and stuck out her tongue, giving him the finger before flying away, joining the Swarm of Nadia.
His first gambit could involve packing Nadias summon with enough raw dimensional juices from the Spinners glands that when she detonated, she would mince everything in a twenty foot radius. Similar to what he did with the serial killer, but vastly more powerful.
Im sure Nadia doesnt mind being used as ordinance. Shes special like that.
Calvin wasnt sure what the trigger might be, though. Perhaps some kind of trigger based on the sensitive skin on a Spinners fingertips.
Those fingertips could feel fluctuations in space, after all, which meant the explosion could be keyed to trigger in the teleporting or shifting scenario, but not the invisible scenario.
Honestly an invisible creature would be the easiest to deal with, anyway. Invisible implied it was still in existence, and if they put shrapnel through it, it would die. No, the dimensional shenanigans were the problem to deal with.
Calvin was beginning to ponder a design for a Nadia-Bomb when a tap on his shoulder caught his attention. He glanced over a spotted Nadia settling down to perch on his shoulder like a pet bird.
Big ugly a quarter mile that way, Nadia said, pointing off to the left. Coming towards us. Looks like its got Barokes scent.
Hey! Baroke said, scowling.
Strongest Body, strongest scent, Nadia said, another one of her bodies wrinking her nose as she poked Baroke on the shoulder until he waved her off.
Whats it look like? Calvin asked, brows furrowed as he ran through the list of monster he knew inhabited the jungle.
Oh, its about a hundred feet long, armored, segmented, with big old pincers at the front.
A Kugeya? Aoehe asked, his grip on his obsidian club tightening. The Majes Chained Spirit took position between the Genosian and the oncoming apex predator, the two identical bodies raising their bows, eyes scanning the surroundings.
Does your party have the strength to ward it off? Aoehe asked, his hands raised cautiously. I need to know before I use more Bent.
Oh right, you havent seen me for a while, have you? Calvin said, glancing back at the shaman.
Whats it been, a year and a half?
You want me to handle it? Nadia asked.
Strictly speaking, Nadia probably could handle it. Her fingers were capable of making blades of dimensional force that would shear apart any solid flesh, no matter how armored, because it wasnt cutting matter so much as it was separating it.
A swarm of Nadias could probably reduce the Kugeya to chunks before they even saw it.
No, I want to try something first. Can you guys step back? Nadia make sure you dont look away from anyone.
They took a few dozen steps back as the sound of the approaching Kugeya began to become more and more apparent. Thunderbolt cracks of overloaded branches and the hissing of leaves shaking against each other by the thousands gave away the Kugeyas approach.
Baroke, can you spot me? Calvin asked. It would be incredibly stupid if this failed miserably and he wound up getting smeared on the forest floor.
Sure, The seven foot tall archer stepped forward and unslung his weapon, putting a single Abyssal Steel arrow on the glass bows string, holding it there with a relaxed grip.
The crashing through the forest became louder and louder, until it sounded like they were in front of an approaching tornado, trees thrashing against each other violently.
The Kugeya burst through the treeline as Calvin placed one finger on the copper stud on his belt, another on the loadstone Elliot had showed him how to make.
I hope this things mass isnt too high oh, right.
Lightning Breath.
38/47 Bent remaining.
This wasnt an actual Ability, merely a combination of two castings of Trait Doctoring and one cast of Shifting, In essence mimicking a true Ability at the cost of three Bent. Calvin had asked Elliot to make the System report the use in a more concise way so his mind wasnt being overwhelmed with notifications every time he did it. It wasnt helpful in the thick of combat.
Assuming this works and I ever want to do it again. Last time, Calvin had presumably only kept his tongue intact because of his super-human Endurance.
The massive insect didnt hesitate, plowing forward at terrifying speeds, heedless of the fact that it had suddenly gotten a bit lighter.
Calvin drew mass out of the ground, and out of the Kugeya itself, blowing the air in front of him with all the force his lungs could muster, before selecting the air in front of him and applying the effect of all three Abilities.
He had to lighten the Kugeya, because otherwise the creature might not even flinch when sixteen thousand pounds of electrified air slammed it in the face. It was that big.
The whirling cloud of crackling air caught the massive creature across the mandibles, mere feet away from Calvins body, its claws nearly disemboweling him.
Then the sheer weight of Calvins breath slammed into the creature and send it tumbling backwards, lighting coursing around the creatures thick shell as the insanely heavy air swirled around the hapless creature.
While its face was sent backwards, the rest of the huge monsters body maintained momentum, continuing mindlessly forward and tangling up with the rest of the creature. More and more of its body coiled up around it as its head writhed in the center of the slowly dissipating cloud of lighting.
When the cloud was completely gone, the humongous Kugeya was rolled up into a smoking ball, curled around itself in a defensive position, not moving a muscle. The ball of muscle was massive, standing over twenty feet tall, and partially charred, especially around the head and eyes.
Calvin couldnt see much of the head area, but what he did see what black and sloughing away.
The creature was obviously dead.
A streak of light reflected off of Barokes arrow as it shot outward at mind-boggling speeds, penetrating the center of the Kugeyas death-coil and exploding the creature outward in every direction, showering the two of them with warm bits of insect goop, muscle and chiton.
It rained viscera down like a fall shower, beginning suddenly and ending just as quick, leaving Calvin standing there, plucking a tiny bit of the creatures shell out of his hair and glaring at Baroke, who looked as cheerful as ever.
Boom, saved your life. Baroke said, putting his fists on his waist and overlooking the damage hed wrought with a bright smile. It twitched. You didnt see it from where you were standing, but it was getting ready to jump ya.
Gradual Multi Shaping
37/47 Bent remaining.
Ill take your word for it, Calvin said before dunking himself in a stream of conjured soap and water, then dismissing it a moment later, leaving himself relatively clean and dry.
Hey, what about me? Baroke said, holding his gunk covered arms out.
We have to disguise your natural musk, Calvin said with as much seriousness as he could muster. Cant have you luring in maneaters from far and wide, so covering your odor with the scent of an apex predator should go a long way towards keeping the local wildlife away from all of us us.
Barokes eyes narrowed. Touche, he said with a scowl. But seriously, give me the damn soap and water.
Please?
Hmm I dont know if its worth a Bent.
***Aoehe, Genosian Maje***
Ellas father watched the friends antics, his jaw slowly hanging open in amazement. He had heard of what the Juntai could do from other tribes, but while it looked similar to the description, it was also vastly more powerful, dealing lethal damage to a charging Kugeya and bringing it to a halt in an instant.
Last hed seen, the boy could only make copies of things that already existed, but watching the black-clad girl emerge from green smoke in greater numbers than any Maje could possibly summon and the way she floated, those antennae that reminded him of an insects
This boy was doing things Aoehe had never dreamed of, and he was fairly sure it involved Chained Spirit. But the number of summons
The lightning
Aoehe was overcome by ambivilant feelings: He had to admit the boy was stronger than any Maje he had ever seen before, most likely he was an Aiaka. His strength might actually be able to deliver his tribe from the clutches of whatever nightmare stalked them.
On the other hand, hed obviously stolen the Genosians sacred Ability, reserved for Maje and passed on from father to son for a thousand years. Calvin had changed it until it was barely recognizeable, but Aoehe could tell by the way the tiny flying woman behaved that there was a thinking spirit in there, rather than a summoned puppet.
He had also obviously taken the role of Ellas Poeor, and yet he was taking advantage of the Guya dynamic to two-time his daughter! Three timing, if you considered his lusty Chained spirit, who seemed eager to sexually assault anyone around her who showed weakness.
Aoehe was a logical man, though, and the opportunity to save the tribe was not outweighed by his disapproval of the young human leading them.
So he kept his mouth shut, and only spoke up when they needed directions to the Genosian camp.
***Carem, Brain Sucking Parasite***
What do you mean there could be more of you!? The officer kicked Carem in the side, scowling.
The man might seem to be angry, but he was actually experience a rush of pleasure and satisfaction from beating on the helpless mutant. Carem could tell. His mind-reading dish was picking up the emotions clear as a bell.
The emotions were mostly natural, too. About eighty percent of the mans sadistic satisfaction arose from believing that Carem deserved whatever punishment he got. The rest was prompted by Carem.
He needed a way to get repeat customers, and while the rotation of officers tasked with watching him were very much on guard for any sudden sympathy any of them might show towards their captive, the opposite was not true.
Thats where Carem found an opening.
He inflamed the satisfaction the man felt when hurting him until it neared sexual pleasure. All the while the other guards ignored the mans wild excess, even going so far as to allow this particular officer to stay a little longer, volunteer a little more often so he could get in there and really hurt the butcher of so many defenseless women.
Idiots.
Maybe he couldnt make the officer submit to him, but he could make him believe a lie wholeheartedly, if the man was afraid it might be true.
Its true, Carem coughed, tasting blood in his mouth as he struggled to speak. He didnt have to act that struggle out, either, the beatings had been over the top recently. Carem was half afraid the man would get carried away and wind up killing him, but even more afraid hed spend the rest of his life in this hole.
I might have he heaved in a shuddering breath. Dabbled a bit when I was younger, back when I wasnt sure the people I ate became copies of me. I let a few of them go until I realized Id been fooling myself literally.
The Guardsmans gaze turned murderous, and for a moment, Carem thought he would simply snap Carems flimsy neck and be done with the whole mess.
Tell me everything, He said, peering down at Carem with a scowl.
Carem started lying his ass off. If the guard could feel Bent, he might have noticed the trail of invisible energy rear up behind him like a snake with a splayed hood, focusing all of its energy in the back of the mans brain.
The amygdala, Carem knew from his tiny snippets of foreign knowledge hed peeled out of the Ilethan princesss brain. Seat of fear and anxiety.
Carem dampened the mans desire to use a lie-detecting Ability, boosting his credulity while simultaneously inflaming his guards fear and paranoia, carefully doing a little bit at a time, in such small amounts that his System didnt immediately shut it out.
All the while, he spun a carefully crafted tale of dozens, possibly hundreds of mutants living in Allast, preying on the citizens therin.
Fear and paranoia did the rest.
Son of a bitch! he shouted, smacking Carem hard enough to loosen his teeth, flooding his mouth with even more blood. Why didnt you tell us earlier!?
You never asked? Carem said, raising a brow.
The officer brought his hand up, considering striking Carem again, before he thought better of it.
Damn. Ill be back. The guard muttered, standing and leaving the cell, presumably to tell his masters what hed learned.
And now, we wait, Carem thought to himself as he relaxed in his chains. He made deliberate eye contact with the next guard who walked in, gathered up all the blood and saliva in his mouth and pursed his lips before he jetted it out of his cell.
The red liquid traveled an impressive six feet before squarely onto the mans boots.
Nice shot! Carem chuckled to himself as this newest guard went for his cell door, presumably to pick up where the last man had left.
Comments
Pastor Joubert
Its not “instantly” solving problems. While shadow boxing has an accelerated time line, Calvin still has to live it. Right now Calvin is a bit too busy to not actually physically solve the issue in real time instead of add an additional amount of hours meditating. Although... he really should have simulated his previous infiltration prior to the attempt.
A disgruntled nondescript squirrel
shadow boxing... doesn't it allow Calvin to access all his surroundings and explore reality with no risk(save brainworms). couldn't he just go into shadow boxing and proceed to summon an infinite amount of Nadias and search everywhere at once. I feel this ability may have been too powerful and thus its no longer being used as it would instantly solve too many problems.
drag0nreb0rn
So I assume Calvin will need to battle this schrodinger's monster in shadowboxing like the brain worms. Or maybe it can only be harmed in the 4the dimension.
Andrew
Thank you!
Nyye
It could do us all a favour and eat Carem and save us from how painful uninteresting he is.
Macronomicon
If you can think of a way for this monster to fuck up Calvin's best laid plans, I'd love to hear it! Saves me having to figure it out me own self.
