Mathew

Well shit. Gently reaching out with his mental attack skill, Mathew found that Grant's mind gave away nothing. Go figure. Jacking up his resistance stat made his mind unreadable.

Still supporting Ben, Mathew turned around. "It's getting late. Let's all get inside."

Ben wiped his nose on his sleeve. "I don't hate you, Grant. Just what you think we should do to save everyone else."

"Uhhh, never did say anything before." Grant had a glint in his eye. "Should have said something."

"You mind?" Mathew waited for Grant to step out of the doorway.

"Oh, excuse me." Grant stepped back. "I've got a lot going on."

Scan.

[Grant ~ Original

Otherworld Human

Class: Survivalist level 5]

Getting inside, Mathew tried to read Ben to see if everything was actually okay. He told himself that the invasion of privacy was just for safety, and that was a clear principle justifying the mind-reading. Right?

The overwhelming tone of Ben's mind was gratitude and resolve.

That was enough for Mathew. Putting suspicions aside, he joined everyone in the main area.

A memory of when he took a friend to a farm-type petting zoo surfaced, and she'd called the mudroom the foyer. Now that they had more room, it wouldn't hurt to dedicate space to specialized functions. A meeting room would be nice.

"So how long, how many and how strong has this enchanting prison housed?" Grant asked, it was a question but commanding.

"You can see our levels. We been here close to four days." Amber provided.

Speaking of, Mathew checked his leveling progress.

[Carrion soldier 93% to level 3]

As he watched, it ticked up again to 94%.

"I'll be hitting level three tonight," Mathew said.

"So you were here what eleven days ago?" Grant confirmed.

"No, I just level faster than typical." Mathew willed over his hybrid race information.

A long pause stretched out as Grant took it in. "Let's talk about that at length later. So we can remain here for two more days without risking an Alpha attack. Who is in charge here?"

"I guess that'd be Harper," Amber said. "Her roof, her rules."

"Interesting." Grant looked at Ben, who squirmed. "Miss Harper, may we use your place as a base of operations? I presume Ben spoke of our mission."

"That is exactly what I want," Harper smiled.

Mathew was taken aback. This guy just woke up from a coma where he was trapped in his own mind, repeating to himself like a broken record. Now he was on a mission giving off strong Ahab-chasing-the-white-whale vibes. Though without his mental attack skill working, he was just judging from the outside. Even then, Mathew had experienced snapshots into Grant's life and trusted his reading of the man's intention.

"Now that I'm recovered, we should plan an expedition back into the ruins," Grant said.

"No." Ben shook his head. "You aren't stealthy enough. That's why you got poisoned. If anyone is going back there, it's me. Alone."

"Hardly boy. First, I wasn't poisoned. I was envenomed. Poison is something one eats. Further, we have a remedy to that affliction." Grant pulled a pipe from his pocket. "If my eyes aren't deceiving me, those are remains of the glass slimes infesting the ruins. I propose we thin them out."

"Sorry, did ya say those salamanders were slimes?" Amber asked.

"Quite right. An artificial lifeform created by the residents of the town. In the absence of people, they took over the place, running rampant." Grant pressed leaves into his pipe. "In their few months, they'd achieved astounding feats. Accomplishments unmatched since then. That is why we must break within and discover their secrets to survival. With enough firepower, we can secure the area and fully explore." Grant's mustache-covered lip curled in contempt. "Scavenging over what remains like crows. Startled away at the slightest noise. How many have to die before we discover the secret to a working civilization?"

"Depends on how many you plan to sacrifice!" Ben snarled. "We only fought a handful of them and they cooked Mathew alive. If they hadn't targeted him, we all would have died."

"Hey now, don't go discounting my shooting." Amber's words brought a cringe to Ben's face.

"Shooting you say, as in a firearm from Earth?" At the nod he continued. "All the more confidence to go after them, I say! How much ammunition do you still have?" Grant asked.

"Fifteen rounds," Amber answered.

"Stop talking like this is happening." Ben glared. "I can do it without risking anyone."

"Bah, you risk everyone who has to wait for an answer to be found." Grant waved dismissively. "Even the people here are at risk. Tell me Mathew, would you rather get cooked alive again or leave survival on the shoulders and timeline of Ben and myself?"

Mathew considered the question. He'd never felt more pain or been closer to death in his life. Not even the accident that left his face scarred. He scrunched his "eyebrows" together to tell everyone he was thinking. As much as he didn't want to die or suffer, he'd still attacked a blade-armed ball of anger.

"I got burned up before I did this to myself." Mathew drew his claws across his chest. "By tomorrow, I'll be leveled twice since then. With more food, I may be able to further level my skill. Like you said Ben, my problem is that I'm a turtle without a bite. I'm for this, but we do it right."

Ben looked at him and put his finger to his own temple. It took Mathew a moment to figure he message out but he reactivated mental attack and read his mind.

One of the thoughts was reaching out from Ben's mind, still looping back to return to the rest of the thoughts but unmistakable all the same.

Mathew plucked the thought and read it. He will use you. Ben thought.

"It's settled then, we'll thin out the glass slime pack and conduct excavation of the ruins tomorrow." Grant wore a pleased smile.

"Like I said Grant, we do it right. Scouting strengths, weaknesses, preparing equipment. Then we fight." Mathew said.

"Come now, we don't have time for that. If we spend too much time together, we'll draw the wrath of an Alpha down upon us. No need to delay." Grant's bravado was flawless.

"On the contrary, we don't have time to do it wrong and throw away time and effort poorly." Mathew countered.

Amber leaned over and said something to Harper, who quickly took a drink to cover her face.

"You may be on to something there." Grant gestured. "See there Ben. Just speak up, and you'll find I'm more than reasonable."

"Just because you are getting what you want," Ben muttered.

"Regardless, we are in agreement," Grant said. "Now, let me get to know you all."

The evening continued amicably. Ben grouched, Harper clammed up, if it wasn't for Amber, the conversation probably would have died out.

Though Grant did get Harper to open up as he gushed about the Hub. Mathew had to agree it probably was the high ceilings that made the space seem roomier than it was.

All the while being civil, Mathew wished he'd either waited a bit before bringing Grant around or explored his mind more to know what he was like. That being said it wasn't like he had ill thoughts for the guy, just wishing everyone was more ready for the change.

As the evening wore on and people started yawning, Harper turned in for the night first.

Grant looked out the shutter to the starlit night. "Say the Night Stalker sure is quiet tonight."

"We actually haven't seen or heard the Night Stalker. Ben said it was a bird that you scouted." Mathew replied. "Is that unusual?"

"For a night of extended rest periodically, no, not unusual. Are you saying it hasn't made a shrieking that can be heard for miles?" Grant asked.

"I only sleep heavy on the hooch. Ain't none of us heard no giant bird." Amber drawled.

"All the more reason to hurry." Grant's caterpillar eyebrows furrowed.

Everyone turned in for bed, Amber joining Harper in the separate room. Ben posting up in a raised corner held aloft by his net hanging from hooks. Then Mathew went back into the tunnel he was digging. If being hungry woke him, he'd be ready to empty his digestion magic right away.

While laying down to rest, Mathew went over his information. First, a level up.

This time the overflowing energy from the world echoed far more than ever before. Each part of him that became more raised another part of himself higher. Most profound were the changes to his mind. Flowing from one thought to another became smooth in a way he never noticed wasn't to begin with. The once overwhelming wave of energy was something he could start to focus past.

What he saw most clearly was the ball of his health. Pearl lines thickened from the inside, expanding the sphere larger than it was before. Its tan color melded into the pearl along the edges of the colors and blended into a strips of rust red.

[Mathew Gains Starling ~ Fate Breaker

Otherworld Human/Carrion Beast Hybrid

Carrion Solider 0% to level 4

Health 541/541

Reserves 1893

Magic digestion:

Digestion points 230/481

Body Total 40 (+10)

Strength 9.7 (+1 mind over body reflection)

Agility 8.2 (+1 mind over body reflection)

Durability 11.1 (+1 mind over body reflection)

Endurance 11 (+1 mind over body reflection)

Mind Total 28 (+8)

Willpower 6.7 (+1Body mind reflection)

Cognition 5.3 (+1Body mind reflection)

Resistance 9.6 (+1Body mind reflection)

Resilience 6.5 (+1Body mind reflection)

Combat skills

Living skeleton weapon 23 (+1)

Bone regeneration 5 (+1 synergy feedback)

Mental resistance 9 (+1)

Conditional Ambush 14 (+1)

Mental attack 17 (+1)

Mental support 6 (+1)

Crafting skills

Living skeleton weapon 23 (+1)

Utility skills

Digestion 23 (+1)

Controlled evolution 3 (+1)

Scan 5 (+1)]

This power came at a price and if he was going to pay it, he was damn well going to enjoy it. Stronger than he'd ever been in his whole life with alacrity, he didn't think a suit of bone armor would accommodate. Mathew reveled in the power and growth for several minutes.

Before he settled down with spending all his new perks, Mathew set to rebuilding his armor. At least revising it. So far, his usages of Carrion flesh hadn't scraped the potential the perk offered. Complex ideas and situations began to come together with greater clarity of thought than he'd ever had before.

Creating channels inside his exoskeleton to allow feeding digestion magic to ports under his eyes. Mathew marveled at his intelectus performing better than ever, and it wasn't just his ability to funnel more willpower into it either. For the same amount of input, his intelectus did more.

More ideas came together. Recessing and reshaping the claws of his gauntlet into the bulk of the last digit on each finger, he made small Carrion muscles attach to them. Crafting each into a blade resembling the folded arms from a Field Cat. Closing seamlessly into the material around it, the blades were hidden from sight. For the first time in a week, he didn't have to worry about cutting himself or someone else by casual contact.

For the first time since he sealed himself in armor the hope of regaining some humanity flitted in his soul. Every fiber of his being resonated with the temptation to abandon his armor and his empowered resolve wavered. Grant was pushing to fight the laser salamanders. Apparently, glass slimes. No way he could undo his protections right now. Maybe later. Mathew took the dangerous flame of hope and put it away for another more hopeful time.

Now was the time to get ready for laser bolts to the face. Being blinded would cripple him and as Mathew thought about how well the lasers cut through his flesh, the idea of a shot getting to his brain made him nervous. To build around this, he made a bone eyelid of sorts. Like a sliding door in his exoskull internal bones and muscles could slide the cover inside channels, shutting himself off almost completely from the outside.

Replicating this on his nose vents, Mathew stopped and took a step back. Seeing things with so much more clarity had him enamored with new "great" ideas. No doubt they were better but he should also take it slow and look for just as great drawbacks to help him avoid running with every new shiny idea. This was crazy his new mind not only had better ideas on problem solving but aso better ideas on thought management.

Stepping back and thinking through his last several days some priorities popped up. Ben told him where he was weak. Getting pinned down and torn apart. Solutions flowed over his mind. Covering himself with razor-sharp bones wouldn't make him too much of a hazard to his allies. Spikes maybe? Spikes he can control. There we go. Running with that idea Mathew funneled power into his intelectus and saw the different ideas being worked over.

Ports that opened and shut like his exoskull eye covers. Hidden beneath them, he'd have spikes that could be stabbed outward. Adjusting the idea to minimize any negative impact on other protection, Mathew put it into action.

Still having more than 1700 reserves, Mathew had a lot of room to keep self crafting. Tempering his excitement, another more important idea resolved itself.

Infinity bone. Until now, he had prioritized full body protection, and now that he'd achieved that, making it better wasn't a half-bad idea. Channeling reserves into his exoskeleton at a steady drip of a few per second, Mathew allowed his intelectus to adjust to using the new function. It was like rebuilding the same structure again in the same space. No material was added or removed. His lightweight armor didn't suddenly gain weight. But it did become more.

As his living skeleton weapon intelectus started to wait on reserves to continue work, Mathew ramped up the flow. After reaching a rate of twenty per second noticeable heat built up within his shell. He'd gone through a bit over 1200 reserves before he stopped.

[New Skill awarded: Living skeleton weapon 24. Living skeleton weapon 24 overrides Living skeleton weapon 23]

So close to another perk there. The odds that he would break through another level in the next several hundred reserves was a bit silly, so he moved on to perks.

[Bone regeneration ~ perk tier one

Regeneration Efficiency - Reduce reserve usage to repair by 25%

Damage Memory - Heal stronger than before the break

Healing Aura - Bone that isn't regenerating creates a weak healing aura]

Each one seemed so good. Regeneration efficiency not only reduced costs it would reduce heat build-up as he was learning that could be a major problem. Given the likely hood of fighting laser-shooting monsters soon, it was a good place to start. Damage memory wasn't as limited as he'd first imagined either. Not only did it improve his resistance to more than just structural breaks it also worked as a whole. Exposure to any damage type on any of his bones would trigger Damage Memory. Finally, Healing Aura would shore up his tissue healing. With conversion he'd been able to get around that limitation but already Mathew could tell it would be more cost-effective.

After letting his enhanced mind mull over the choice, he settled on damage memory. Neither damage regeneration nor healing aura gave him any new capability. The way damage memory could protect from new threats was irreplaceable.

Mathew continued the selection.

[Scan ~ perk tier one

Invasive scan - gather information other are trying to hid

Integrate memory - empower scan by gathering related information

World scan - tap into world libraries better]

Again mulling it over, this time he came to a decision quickly. World scan would help him out of ignorance fastest, and it was almost a prerequisite to integrated scan. Finally, he wasn't the center of intrigue and hoped to never be.

[Mental attack ~ perk tier one

Control - Mental attacks are 25% stronger

~perk tier two

Backfire - Breaking another's will construct will cause damage

Dextrous attack - Improve control of mental efforts]

Reading backfire, Mathew had to wonder if that would have let him break the infection by destroying the illusion. Even though dextrous attack would improve all of his mental efforts, Mathew landed on control. The constant danger and tension with Grant made Mathew want to have a brute force options.

Double-checking he didn't have any low-hanging fruit from his status fixture, he found nothing amiss. Stretching his power he reached out with mental attack, feeling for the changes to his total strength. Two bright minds were outside the shelter.

Ben and Grant. Tapping into Ben's sense, Mathew spied.

"-you misunderstand me. I'm telling you that you've done an excellent job. Just you are getting too close for your own good. The chance they live for more than another ten days is abysmal. You've been through this twice before I'll remind you."

Mathew was bumped from the mindstream by a flood of emotions. Anger, shame, pity. Sneaking back in Mathew reconnected.

"-ike that. They gave me aid with no expectations. After I told them I was going to leave, no one cussed me out. The offer to help trim down the numbers is genuine."

"I know, like I said, an excellent job. Even better than forcing compliance, we can rely on their good nature. Yes, I didn't believe you before but you've convinced me. We ARE taking that tablet before they die. It is far too valuable to allow monsters to destroy. That goes into the hidden cache."

"No! We are not robbing them!"

"Either you do or I will. We both know none of you can stop me."

"The gun can."

"Be that as it may, I wouldn't allow that to happen. You want to be soft on them, fine. That means you are responsible to get results. Do it yourself, or I will."

That was the end of their conversation as the pair stealthed back into the Hub. Mathew couldn't sleep.