"You find the boss yet?"
After I run away from my third target and coincidentally reunite with Sung Li, he asks me that.
"It's not that simple. There is more than one boss." I say. "In total, there are six bosses here. As long as even one of them survives, the horde won't back down."
With that lie, I get to have the chance to steal from three more targets.
"I see. I'll cover you. Just keep doing you part." He assures me.
"Well, I'll be counting on you then." I say and start heading out.
His face lits up as he asks, "Really?"
Like hell would I actually be counting on you! "Of course!"
I soon come across the wizard I decide to make my fourth target. Being that these guys are mages and decently skilled ones at that, they seem to be catching on what I am trying to do. That is why, this time, they seem prepared to make me back off by using instant spells. Before they are able to accomplish anything though,
"I need some help here! These guys are trying to protect the boss!" I yell and soon the wizards around me either back away or get hit by sword slashes and attacks. That buys me just enough time to steal a good amount from this target and move away. I have two more chances before I'd need to make something up again to deceive Sung Li.
As I have drained the potential of four wizards by now, I think I would have stolen enough to be able to pull of some mage-craft now. So, I am thinking of stealing some moves from my next targets instead of just potential. The time-problem still exists though. I guess I'll just have to tell Sung Li to cover me so I get enough time to steal some decent moves in my brain.
Unlike the potential to do anything, which probably needs to be assimilated within the body, the various moves are just a combination of knowledge and skills that one can learn. So, I don't think they will take as long as it takes the potential to start showing itself within me.
Therefore,
"I know what I need to target first."
While there is no rule telling me this, it kinda falls in the scope of common sense that something I have already seen will be easier for me to steal/learn. Therefore, I quickly get to my fifth target and start stealing the ability to change one's appearance. It isn't something that would directly help in a fight but I am not really here to fight, am I? I am here to cause chaos.
My rather pleasant mood at things going according to plan gets disrupted by the awkward and quite repulsing feeling that suddenly wells up from within me. My expression probably changes too, and that causes Sung Li to start rushing over to help.
Not good. I know this feeling is because of the ability being injected in me forcefully. If he takes me away thinking it will help, while it may stop this unpleasant feeling, I will probably be unable to fully extract this ability. Therefore, I put up the other hand (the one that is not touching the wizard) and just point at the other wizards around to make him focus on them. Despite being an idiot, he is at least a little experienced in battle. Therefore, he doesn't waste time just standing and does as I ask him to.
With a few more seconds passing by with his help, the feeling within me stops welling up and becomes constant, and then it starts disappearing. I know that would mean that ability is adjusting with my body. Just to make sure, I don't let go of the wizard till the feeling has subsided completely. As soon as it does though, I let go of him and get away.
I should now be able to change my appearance. One more steal before I would need to use this ability though.
"Alright, only one more boss should be left?" Sung Li asks as he rushes back to me.
"Yes." I say, knowing what kind of doubts he would start having by now.
"Are there really only 6 of them though?" He asks. "Even though you have taken care of five, the forces don't seem to be having much of an effect."
"That's because I haven't taken them out – yet."
I know that the fact that the five I have targeted are still standing and trying to attack will become a hole in my lies pretty soon so, I mention it before that happens.
"Huh?" Of course the idiot does not get what I mean, so I tell him,
"In simple words, you can say I have attached a bomb to the five of them. I will do the same to the sixth one and then – I will pull the trigger for every single bomb. That will turn the whole situation around in one fell swoop."
Without waiting for his response, I rush into the crowd of wizards yet again. He stops thinking about what I said, accepting it as is, and starts backing me up like before. Soon, I choose and start stealing from my sixth target. This time, I am hoping to steal an offensive move of some kind. I don't have the luxury to carefully analyze things so I am just going to do my best to try to force Moral Dystopia to target an offensive ability.
And soon, the unpleasant feeling akin to before comes and starts to make me nauseated. I don't think I would be able to steal any move after this even if I had made the number seven instead of six in my made-up BS. I am just hoping that the ability I get my hands on now is a decent one.
Things happen just like before. The wizards try to attack me but Sung Li stops them. And so, I get enough time to steal a move and get away.
I can see that Sung Li has gotten tired and has a few scratches on his hands and legs. He has definitely fought hard to get us out of this predicament. I am sure that deep-down, he knows as well as I do that I am just spouting nonsense this entire time and that we are about to get overwhelmed and defeated here.
And sure enough, annoyed by my constant stealing from them, the wizards finally start opening up the way for their Cyclops slaves to come and attack us.
While Sung Li has been able to reduce the number of wizards to two-thirds of what it was before, against these 10-12 Cyclops, even he would fall. And so, I am going to take charge now.
*****