"So… how are things going… now that they… you know… know." Leah sat in the driver's seat of the boat,as it cut across the wasteland like a hot knife threw butter.
Jake sighed and slumped even further down into the bench in the back. "Dad at first freaked out. But now, now he just pretends like nothing is happening. Goes to work like normal. Comes home like normal. Asks me how school was etc etc. Never mentions anything about it actually."
Jake remembered that day, returning back home to his father and Gerri after the battle with the five eyed invader. His dad had hugged him the moment he walked through the door. It was a strange thing, his father being so touchy feely. But he had done more of that since Cassandra's death. Then the three of them sat down at the kitchen table and Jake told them all about the truth. Most of it at least.
Part way through, when he got close to telling them about Cassandra's death. He tried to send Gerri home, with the excuse that her mother would be worried. Gerri denied it. When his dad called her mother to tell her Gerri was having dinner with them, she barely even listened before hanging up. Not even the wild explosion in the sky added to her worries. Most of the town was in an uproar. But, for Gerri's mother, if it added to her concerns for Gerri none of them could tell. Jake felt bad for Gerri but she didn't seem to even notice, more concerned with learning about the truth.
Jake told them pretty much everything. Except for anything to do with the fact that he had killed Cassandra and the others. Describing it as a berserk monster that had killed them, it wasn't a full lie. But the most shocking revelation of the night didn't come from Jake but from his father. His father after finding out that the game sent him to the real Earth that was toxic to normal people. When he told them about Clive the bartender/game master that oversaw the region. As well as Jon the crafter his father had eventually asked.
"Did your mother do this too? Is that why she died?" His father's soft somber voice hit Jake like a hammer. Was that possible? He hadn't even considered that but now that his father asked. Things started to fall into place. Who had been the one fueling the town before? The timing of when he got sick for the implant. His mother's death had happened right before the town started suffering power outages.
After he was done telling them the story his father had gone to his room, though Jake was sure he didn't sleep. Gerri ended up sleeping on the couch seeming unbothered by it and certain her mother wouldn't be worried. Jake… contacted Leru and asked about his mother. She had told him…
"What about the girl? Her name was Gerri?" Leah interrupted his thoughts.
"She is… taking it better than I expected. But I'm not sure in a good way." He sighed. "She is probably watching my body right now. I think she believes I'm some sort of super hero or something now." Gerri had continued coming over every day after school, only now she didn't leave as quickly.
"Um… Kinda creepy. She does know that isn't really your body right? It is just a fake the system puts while we are gone." Jake shrugged. "Um… you don't think she is doing anything weird to your body do you?"
"What?" Jake's voice cracked slightly as it spiked in pitch with shock.
"Well…" Leah looked at him in the rear view mirror. "I mean… I dunno. You said you thought she might be developing a crush on you."
"Yeah. But she isn't a pervert." Jake hoped. "Besides, she doesn't know the truth about Cass's death or she would hate me for sure."
Leah said nothing seeming not to have a response to that. Then there was a long awkward pause. "Um, don't you think it is time to do something about that?" She thumbed back behind them.
A massive monster erupted from the ground before crashing back down only to repeat again and again as it chased after them. The several hundred feet long Terror Worm had been chasing them for a while now.
"Ai said if we kited it there was a chance others would show up. I was hoping for more than one." Jake shrugged.
Leah gave him a look in the mirror that said she thought he was crazy. "What? We can easily outrun them now." Jake responded. When he just got a second look he sighed. "Fine fine. I'll get it."
Standing up Jake pulled his shirt over his head and rolled his shoulders. He caught Leah staring at him in the mirror. "Hey, I didn't think you swung my way."
Leah flushed crimson. "I don't! I was looking at your new scars."
Jake looked down and ran his finger down the knot of new scarred flesh on his stomach. Then simply shook his head and beads of metal began forming from his pores. It rolled across his torso. The bark texture hid the scars leaving him with just his finely muscled chest and stomach.
"Your mask is still broken?" Leah asked, still watching him in the mirror.
Jake grunted. His mask was no longer smooth. The mirror polish was now a mass of cracks and fissures. Most interestingly was that it now split horizontally as if he had a huge mouth from ear to ear of jagged glass shards. When he spoke it moved allowing glimpses of his actual mouth beneath. "Yeah. My equipment ate the core from that Grim."
When his passive Survivor's Fury triggered he would be consumed by darkness. Floating in a void for a short while before being forced to relive various memories. Unfortunately, it was always the murder of his party. Eventually, he would get to see what was happening. Looking through his body's eyes as if viewing the events threw a tunnel. Then, his hearing would come back. Followed by his sense of touch. Before finally, he would regain full control of his body just before he would normally collapse from exhaustion.
Just before they recalled him back. After he had regained his senses he heard the system message of an accepted upgrade material. His weapons hadn't changed, nor had his armor. But his mask showed fully repaired even though it had such a damaged appearance.
"Really working that Demon title?" Leah teased. Jake just grunted, but it was interesting to see her finally comfortable enough around him not to act like a scared rabbit.
"I also got a mutagen from them. It was in my hand when I recalled. I hope that means they are dead." Jake added while turning to eye the Terror Worm as it chased them.
"A skill?" Leah asked, bosses had a much higher chance at a skill. There was no way a five eyed Grim didn't count as a boss.
"No. But something even better. I got an Evolution Mutagen. The one they call an upgrade mutagen."
The boat swerved slightly. "Wait really?" Leah turned around to look at him directly instead of using the mirror.
"Yeah." Jake confirmed.
"Which skill did it upgrade? Was it the one you wanted?" Jake had been hunting the Elite Warrior Ants for a chance at a skill that could in theory have helped mitigate the side effects of his Survivor's Fury. The idea of using an upgrade on it had been brought up as another option, but between the fact, no one had ever had the skill before. Combined with how rare an upgrade mutagen was, they had shelved that idea. But now Jake had gotten one. There was just one problem. When used it would upgrade a random skill, no way to pick.
"I haven't used it yet." Jake answered before leaping from the back of the boat. Both gauntlets burst into flames then flared a second time as the fire turned blue white. Jake had done this with a Terror Worm once before but then had only been trying to slow it down. This time he meant to kill the thing. Instead of striking it on the head as he had done before he dived straight into its lamprey style mouth. Thousands of jagged obsidian looking teeth rotated around the inside grinding up rocks. Jake's armor held them at bay for the few moments he needed to detonate his attack within the monster. Flames flooded the gullet of the worm, rushing down its throat and the entire monster inflated like a balloon.
Flames began to jet from holes burnt in its body before it exploded sending chunks of gore in every direction. The ground for a hundred feet behind them exploded upwards as the underground portion of the worm also blew apart. Leah was just slowing down when Jake appeared back in the boat out of nowhere.
Terror Worm visciera rained down to splatter against the translucent barrier that shielded the boat. "Eww, that is really gross." Leah squealed in a rather girly display for her.
"I've seen you literally dripping in grease and oil from head to toe. A little blood shouldn't bother you." Jake shook his head.
"That is different!" She protested. "Good luck finding the core."
"Ai will do it for us. Won't you Ai." Jake released both of Leah's drones. The AI acknowledged his request and zipped away.
"After this let us head back. I have school tomorrow." Jake wasn't looking forward to school tomorrow. Clover Hills was being evacuated to his town. That was the town whose dimensional anchor had been damaged beyond repair. The story was that their power plant was growing unstable and would blow up. Nothing anyone could do so they had to evacuate permanently. Jake didn't think the story would work. In truth, there were many that didn't believe. But there wasn't anything they could do. Jake's biggest issue was that one of the residents of Clover Hills had a grudge against him. One he couldn't exactly fault them for. Again, he wondered if dropping out of school might not be the best idea.
He didn't want to see Nira, not with her still so angry for him murdering her cousin.