Chapter 54: True Super: Modified Nemesis
With the Ivan Tyrants returned to storage, the atmosphere in the room returned to something normal.
Matthew genuinely could not deal with being called "master" by two bald, two-meter-tall men whose arm circumference exceeded the diameter of most people's heads. Eleanor and Ada had not earned that particular form of address. There was no scenario in which it became appropriate for that category of individual.
He was not the kind of person who went online and posted things like "the Tyrant still has a certain charm to it." He had standards.
The actual reason he had opened the System today was Nemesis.
Improving his own capabilities was important. But what came next would require things he couldn't do personally, including work that needed to stay invisible. Nemesis, with loyalty that wasn't going anywhere, was the right instrument for that.
The current version was functional. But this was the Marvel universe. Functional wasn't enough. He wanted something that could be described as a definitive instrument.
He placed Nemesis into the Lab.
Three optimizable defects appeared.
[Mild cognitive impairment: intelligence level limited to recognizing a maximum of twenty commands. Complex instructions cannot be processed.
Cost to optimize: 200 System points.]
[Injury degrades genetic stability: each instance of physical damage triggers viral healing of the affected area, but simultaneously reduces overall genetic stability. When stability reaches a critical threshold, genetic collapse occurs, the humanoid form cannot be maintained, and basic cognition is lost.
Cost to optimize: 1,500 System points.]
[Excessive dependence on external control device: command transmission requires the electronic control unit located on the chest. If the unit is destroyed, commands cannot be received. Damage to the restraining coat significantly increases the risk of uncontrolled mutation.
Cost to optimize: 1,000 System points.]
Matthew looked at this list for a moment.
"Even Umbrella's definitive weapon has obvious problems."
No hesitation.
"System. Optimize all defects."
[Optimizing all listed defects for Nemesis will cost 2,700 System points. Confirm?]
"Yes."
[Optimizing—]
The System balance dropped at speed. In the Lab interface, Nemesis changed.
The original height of two meters and seventy-eight centimeters expanded to three meters. The electronic chest plate shrank and disappeared, replaced by layered muscle that looked more like armor plating than flesh. The Nemesis parasite inside, which had previously been in constant agitation, went quiet. The two genomes began merging, and the genetic stability indicator climbed visibly.
Most noticeably: Nemesis looked considerably more intelligent.
The eyes were still brutal. But there was something behind them now that hadn't been there before. Something that registered as thought rather than just function.
The effect was somewhere between reassuring and unsettling. Like a zombie in a post-apocalyptic story who looks up and actually meets your eyes.
[Remaining System points: 3,800.]
Defects cleared.
Matthew turned to the upgradeable performance stats.
[Massive Strength LV2: can single-handedly throw a standard civilian vehicle like a sandbag. Full two-handed force sufficient to lift a main battle tank.
Cost to upgrade: 3,000 System points.]
[Parasite LV1: can parasitize zombies via tentacle. Parasitized zombies become enhanced zombies.
Cost to upgrade: 100 System points.]
[Impact Resistance LV2: body can absorb sustained bombardment from high-yield rocket launchers.
Cost to upgrade: 2,500 System points.]
[Tentacle LV1: a steel-cable-like tentacle with exceptional flexibility. Can penetrate human bodies and vehicles. Can intercept incoming RPG rounds, locking and redirecting them mid-flight.
Cost to upgrade: 1,000 System points.]
His eyes moved across the four options.
They settled on Massive Strength.
He started to think "fools are stron—" and stopped himself.
The principle was: overwhelming force beats clever tactics every time. With sufficient strength, the specifics of the opponent's approach stopped mattering. One strike, problem resolved.
"Upgrade Massive Strength to LV3."
[Massive Strength LV3: a full-force single-handed strike can penetrate main battle tank armor. At maximum force, the structural integrity of a tank can be overcome through direct physical effort.]
[Cost to upgrade: 3,000 System points. Confirm?]
"Upgrade."
The balance dropped from 3,800 to 800.
In the Lab interface, Nemesis grew. The visual estimate put him at around 3.2 meters. The muscle mass inflated further, hit some kind of peak, then began contracting and compressing, and settled back to the previous visual size.
Matthew looked at this.
Standard floor-to-ceiling height in a typical building ran around three meters. Nemesis at 3.2 meters would need to stoop to move through most interior spaces. Which was going to create operational complications.
He opened the Modification panel.
[Modification: spend System points to customize functionality according to specific requirements.]
"System. I want to compress Nemesis's height to 2.6 meters without changing any other values."
[Height compression: cost 100 System points.]
"Modify."
[Modifying—]
The light passed through.
The figure that had been taller than a single floor was back to a workable size.
"Better. At least he can enter a standard building now."
Matthew had briefly considered going further. Compressing the height to one meter would have achieved genuine tactical concealment. Opponents wouldn't be able to accurately gauge threat level from physical presence alone. Then he had held that image in his mind for two seconds: a one-meter Nemesis, rotary cannon proportionally enormous by comparison, moving across a battlefield in short rapid bursts, occasionally needing to jump to reach an opponent's knees.
He let the idea go.
The intimidation factor was part of the function. Nemesis needed to remain something that registered as a serious problem when you looked at it.
He wasn't going to turn it into a garden gnome.
Current balance: 700 points.
Matthew decided to spend them.
"System. Can Nemesis fly?"
[Fleshy Wing Gliding: 1,000 System points.]
[Feathered Wing Flight: 2,000 System points.]
[Anti-Gravity Flight: 6,000 System points.]
"What about jumping several hundred meters per jump?"
[Flea Legs: 3,000 System points.]
He kept going. The process had started to feel like adjusting a character build with an inadequate budget, adding descriptions to the list and watching each one come back out of reach. His mouth was getting dry.
Eventually, one option surfaced that fit.
[Optical Camouflage: the body surface secretes a specialized fluid that refracts light, producing a pseudo-invisibility effect.
Cost: 700 System points.]
***
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