Gerhard vaulted over the railing, dropping twenty feet onto a suspended coolant pipe. Behind him, the platform swarmed with Genestealer Hybrids. They didn't use stairs; they rushed up the vertical supports like insects.
He moved to the side, cutting through several of them, and never stopping his advance.
[Neophyte Hybrid defeated]
[+25,000 EXP]
[Metamorph defeated]
[+60,000 EXP]
After his fight, Gerhard had used [ID Create] to get away from the battlefield. He wasn't doing well as his MP had been spent and his health was also low.
After using [Mana Meditation] for roughly half an hour, he was back to full health and Mana. He had reloaded his weapons and then left the instant dungeon again.
What he couldn't have known was that the death of the Magus had resulted in a broodmind snap and forced the very top brass, the Genestealer Patriarch, to arrive personally. And with it, even more of the Genestealer Cult's forces.
Thousands of Xenos eyes turned upward toward the lone human standing amidst the purple gore of the Magus. The Patriarch knew who Gerhard was and ordered his death immediately.
"Right, time to leave," Gerhard said and stormed off.
[Acolyte Hybrid defeated]
[+60,000 EXP]
[Level up]
[Genestealer Purestrain defeated]
[+121,098 EXP]
[Metamorph defeated]
[+60,000 EXP]
[Metamorph defeated]
[+60,000 EXP]
Gerhard killed whatever stood in front of him. He ran through the Underhive's terrible structure.
[Danger Sense]
Gerhard threw himself forward. A blur of movement from the shadows would have nearly taken his head off, had he not had four Mana Shields active. The second shot followed right away, but Gerhard managed to hide behind a set of metal slabs.
[Detect Presence]
A moment later, Gerhard felt the presence on a higher platform several hundred meters away. He opened his mini map and saw the red dot, which thankfully, was the only one in the nearest vicinity.
He looked at the terrain around him and planned a way to reach that place or how to deal with the attacker, who was most likely a Sanctus.
"A Sanctus," Gerhard muttered, checking his mini-map again.
The red dot was perched on a crane assembly, overlooking the narrow gantry he needed to cross.
"Always the quiet ones."
Gerhard didn't have time for a sniper duel. Also, because he didn't have a sniper rifle, the Patriarch's brood was closing in from the rear; their chittering bellows could be heard approaching through the hab-block. He needed to flush the assassin out and do it quickly.
Gerhard didn't run away, choosing to go up.
[Mana Rope]
He cast [Mana Rope], lashing the blue glowing cord around an overhead steam pipe and did it like Tarzan once again, hauling himself upward with a burst of speed. As he swung himself forward, he would have been an easy target for a sniper, so he didn't create a distraction.
[Spinning Mana Arrow]
[Spinning Mana Arrow]
He conjured six arrows, but instead of firing them roughly at the Sanctus, he sent them in a wide arc around the crane's support pillars. The projectiles hummed at a high-pitched frequency, messing with the assassin's sensitive multispectral goggles: a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
CLANG! CLANG!
The arrows impacted the crane's base, detonating in small bursts of force that shook the sniper's perch. The Sanctus was forced to reposition and leapt from the crane arm toward a suspended cargo crate a short distance away.
"There you are," Gerhard grinned.
As the assassin drifted through the air, Gerhard had landed and used [Stealth], disappearing from view and when the Sanctus looked for him again, he had changed his position. Gerhard, having reached a better spot, unleashed his Autogun.
BRRRRT—BRRRRT—BRRRRT!
The high-calibre rounds shredded the platform where the Genestealer cunt was on. The Sanctus managed to twist through a masterful display of Xenos-human hybrid agility and ran forward as fast as it could.
Still, two rounds punched through the Sanctus's shoulder and thigh. The assassin let out a gurgling hiss of pain as it slammed onto the cargo crate, losing its composure and having to block the impact with its arm.
Gerhard didn't give it a second to breathe. He jumped after the Sanctus, free-falling onto the crate beside the creature, pulling the trigger. Before the bullets could hit the Xenos, he had his bio-dagger in his hand and pushed it to the side, slashing at Gerahrd and hitting the Mana Shields. Gerhard placed the autogun back into his inventory and held the Refined Tyranid Power Sword in his other hand, which he used to attack the Sanctus.
The Sanctus lunged, proving its DEX of 85 impressively, surpassing Gerhard's by a mile. But that was why he had his Mana Shields active. When the poison-dipped dagger hit the shields, he parried it with the power sword and stepped into the assassin's guard.
The Sanctus, though, was more than twice as fast and moved backwards. This was within Gerhard's calculation, though, and he was prepared when the Sanctus attacked again.
[Bind]
[Bind]
The Sanctus charged right into the bindings and fell to the ground with a surprised look on his face.
[Power Strike]
The blade sheared through the Sanctus's chest, cutting through the entire thorax in one fluid motion.
[Genestealer Sanctus defeated]
[+115,000 EXP]
[Level up]
Gerhard didn't wait for the body to cool. He touched the corpse and placed it into his inventory, together with all his gear. Sniper rifle acquired.
"Hostiles at sixty meters and closing," he noted, glancing at the map after using [Detect Presence]. A fresh wave of red dots flooded the lower levels.
He didn't take the bridge as he had intended initially. He looked at the massive waste-chute nearby, a dark, foul-smelling hole that led straight down into the deeper, unmapped sumps. It was disgusting, dangerous, and not at all what he wanted, since he wished to go up.
"Gerhard, old boy, you really need to move to a better neighbourhood."
He jumped, disappearing into the darkness just as the first Purestrain Genestealers scrambled onto the crate where he had stood, firing a goodbye salvo.
.
Eventually, Gerhard had made it back up from that terribly disgusting place, wading through waste and shit like a true Navy SEAL. He had circled back around and resumed his climbing, finding his hideout thanks to the mini-map.
Now, safe within his instant dungeon, he could finally relax and take a moment to look at his new status.
------------------
|Name: Gerhard
|Class: The Gamer
|Level: LV32
------------------
|HP: 920/920
|MP: 651/651
------------------
STR: 37
VIT: 28
DEX: 26
INT: 62
WIS: 30
LUK: 2
------------------
|Points: 115
|Money: 0
------------------
He had gained 9 levels through this 'little' adventure. And while it was very sad that he had not gotten much in terms of stats, he still gained 45 Stat Points, which he could eventually spend however he wished.
"Now that I see this, I do have to say that it's a bloody miracle that I am still alive. I mean, compared to the shits I faced, this is pathetic."
Gerhard was right. The Sanctus alone was so much faster and dextrous than he was, and the Magus, Locus and Primus were beyond him in terms of stats.
But that just proved how nigh impossible it was to fight the Gamer. He had levelled up his skills to a point where he could use them effectively. Not spamming them with wild abandon, but still a lot. He paid close attention to his safety with Mana Shield, and for attack, he had his weapons, which he had spent weeks creating and improving.
He didn't have the most versatility, but the skills he did have made him into a serious threat, capable of fighting enemies of a higher degree than he was. And one has to remember that he wouldn't have ever dared to confront the Magus like that if he didn't trust [Gamer's Mind]. That alone would have been his end, right there.
And of course, there was the new title: Genestealer Slayer
|Title: Genestealer Slayer
| You'll get this skill after killing 100 Genestealer Cultists.
| You have mastered the art of hunting the devourers within the hive. Where others see certain death and four armed monsters, you see a target. The Great Devourer has met its match.
Effects when fighting Genestealer Cultists:
| Attack Power increases by 40%
| Defence Power increases by 40%
| All stats increase by 10
-
But that wasn't the end of it. Because he constantly used his firearms, he had the skill [Firearms Mastery] at level 32.
Firearms Mastery (Passive) Lv. 32
| A skill that allows the user to handle firearms freely.
Effects:
| + 72% increase in attack damage with firearms
| + 62% increase in accuracy when using firearms
| - 22% recoil
| + 18% firing speed
-
And of course [Sword Mastery] was at level 25.
Sword Mastery (Passive) Lv. 25
| A skill that allows the user to handle swords freely. Sword Mastery is obtained through continuous sword training.
Effect:
| +48% increase in attack damage with swords.
| +20% attack speed when using swords.
-
But it was [Power Strike] that was a carry, and not surprisingly, it had only levelled up twice. But that was already a lot.
Power Strike (Active) Lv. 7
| MP: 10
| EXP: 8.00%
Effect:
| + 30% increase in critical rate
| + 200% increase in attack damage
-
An interesting development had affected [Mana Shield], as it had undergone a 'metamorphosis' or evolution, in a sense. The reason for this was Gerhard's new skill: [Force Barrier]
Force Barrier (Active) Lv. 1
| EXP: 0.00%
| MP: 60
| A psychic barrier formed through concentrated willpower and energy, creating a shimmering shield that repels incoming attacks.
| Unlike basic mana constructs, this barrier is reinforced by mental force. The higher the INT stat, the stronger the barrier.
Effects:
| Blocks a large portion of incoming damage
| +20% resistance to physical attacks
| +20% resistance to energy attacks
| +10% resistance to psychic / warp-based attacks
| Duration: 10 seconds
| Additional MP cost: 20 per second
-
Yeah, needless to say, it was a Mana sucker of the highest degree. 20 MP per second?! That was ridiculous. But now, after [Mana Shield] had reached level 50, not surprisingly, since Gerhard abused the skill, there was a choice to fuse it with [Force Barrier] and create an amalgamation of the two.
And Gerhard thought that was a good idea.
[[Mana Shield] and [Force Barrier] fusion in progress.]
[A new skill, 'Psionic Mana Shield', has been created]
Psionic Mana Shield (Active) Lv. 1
| EXP: 0.00%
| MP: 50
| A sophisticated evolution of defensive arts that fuses psychic energy with Mana. The Psionic Mana Shield creates a translucent, circular dome around the user. While standard mana shields merely block parts of the impacts, this "smart" barrier uses INT to strengthen areas of incoming strikes, making it far more durable than the sum of its parts.
Effects:
| Blocks a massive portion of incoming damage (Scales significantly with INT and WIS).
| +35% Physical Attack Resistance
| +35% Energy Attack Resistance
| +25% Psychic / Warp / Mental Resistance
| If the shield is shattered, the user gains a temporary "Mental Clarity" buff, reducing the casting time of the next psychic or mana-based skill by 15%.
|Mana: 10 MP per second
|Duration: Lasts until cancelled or until MP is depleted.
-
"Oh, shit."
Gerhard slapped his head, seeing the new skill. And what a ridiculous skill it was. The MP cost 50 Mana to cast it and then 10 MP per second. That was 600 MP per minute. Meaning he could use it for one minute. His 28 MP regen per minute was useless for that.
The high MP requirement made it unusable in battle and therefore, had to be power levelled fast.
Gerhard looked at the three additional skills he had gained during the battles. During his fight against the Magus, he had gained some nice skills.
Psychic Energy Absorption (Active) Lv.1
| The ability to absorb and stabilise incoming mental and psychic energy.
Effects:
| Absorbs a portion of incoming psychic/mental attacks
| A chance to convert 1% of absorbed energy into MP (low efficiency)
| Reduces damage from mental assaults
| Excess energy may be released, redirected or permanently converted to MP
Note:
| Efficiency and capacity increase with level
-
"Sweet."
Gerhard had gained this skill during the mental assault of the Magus. The Gamer system must have thought that it would be stupid to waste such energy in the future. And honestly, this was a very, very powerful skill with immense potential.
The chance to permanently increase his total Mana with this was very tempting and almost overpowered.
Naturally, it was a very small amount and a very low chance of that happening. And Gerhard didn't even know how much the energy would increase his Mana if it came to it.
That left the last two skills.
-
Warp Sensitivity (Passive) Lv.1
| The ability to perceive and lightly interact with the Warp.
Effects:
| Allows detection of Warp energy and psychic phenomena
| Enables minuscule Warp interaction
| Slight increase in effectiveness of mental-type skills
| +5% resistance to Warp-based effects (familiarity)
Warning:
| Strong Warp presence may cause slight mental strain.
-
[A new skill has been created through skill 'Warp Sensitivity'.]
[A skill to interact with the Warp, 'Minor Warp Manipulation', has been created.]
"Balls."