Chereads / Systema: Earth / Chapter 31 - Universal Constant

Chapter 31 - Universal Constant

January 17th, 2022

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A thirty-foot fall had never sounded so reasonable. Sure, he'd break an arm or a leg - or at worst - both. Which would have made getting away near impossible, but it seemed like a better course of action than fighting Rose and her master.

It was the first time in years that somebody successfully sneaked up on him; he hadn't Sensed them until they touched down on the roof. That alone gave him an idea of what he'd be facing. So he was glad that Jack was a reasonable guy. If Richter had more time, he would have loved to ask how Swordsmanship fared in the System.

 

With the addition of teleportation, ranged magics and a flurry of other ranged attacks — he was growing worried that being good at close range was worthless. In his fights, he'd relied heavily on Sunder. What else was he going to do? Run up and try to stab a creature like the Vikten Queen to death? Not likely. 

So it was a shame that someone was already at the dungeons, forcing him to rush. Rio would likely expose his information once she returned to Tokushima Prefecture. He needed to get off Earth before that happened, lest he want to fight the masses with a vested interest in weakening Earth's line-up.

 

Though as it turns out, perspective gets a little funny the higher up you go - Jack made it sound like the dungeons weren't too far. Yet here he was jogging off and on for several hours, cutting through Tokyo. The Sun had risen high by now, starting its descent past midday.

He slew several groups of goblins along the way. Strangely, they all seemed to be avoiding the densely populated pockets left in Tokyo. There were still streets lined shoulder-to-shoulder as if nothing happened. But there simply wasn't time to waste chatting. Richter skirted around the perimeter of these streets, feeling much more comfortable among the empty, war-torn areas.

 

More running, more frustration. The more time passed the more anxious he became. There wouldn't be anything left for him to kill at this rate.

Finally, drenched in cold sweat, Richter heard something as he neared the heart of Shibuya; like a distant, muffled crackling mixed with the roar of thunder. Scramble Crossing was one of the most popular locations, home to many stores and restaurants. The roads were wide, the crosswalks were massive, and the buildings flanking on either side ran dozens of advertisements across the screens covering them. 

 

The current state of it was akin to a nightmare, with most of the glass screens shattered, leaving sharp fragments littered across the area, though it was hard to tell with the various bodies piled up. And it was a pile. They'd been dragged off to the side and stacked crudely. A black scorch mark could be seen on each one as the cause of death. The extent of which produced a burnt, charred scent that filled his nostrils. Richter tried counting the number, but it was difficult with the mess of limbs.

 

'fifteen...twenty...twenty-five...

 

He lost track.

Another crackle, this time accompanied by a bright flash that made him squint his eyes. He was just a block or two away form the source. Richter snuck up to the side of a building and peered around the corner.

 

There was a middle-aged man in the center of the road about fifty feet away surrounded by doppelgangers. Ten were standing, and about eight more were dead on the floor - sizzling with a scorch mark on their chests. The man was tall, slightly built with a trimmed beard and short, black hair. The ends were already turning grey, and his brown eyes were concealed under bushy eyebrows.

 

Much more fascinating was his attire: a loose tie over a collared button-up shirt and khakis. The highlight had to be the gauntlet on his left hand. An intricate metal frame spanning forearm to fingertip, whirling and spinning loudly. Two metal tubes ran to a backpack he lugged around. The whole thing looked very steampunk.

 

Richter strained his vision, erring on the side of caution. Something about the man felt dangerous. And he was about to find out why.

A high-pitched scream, like that of a kettle, grew in volume. The gears inside the gauntlet spun. And then faster. And again as a blue halo coalesced in his palm. Richter watched the man extend his arm toward one of the clones, and then...

 

Sparks. Thunder. An arc of electricity, traveling at high fractions of the speed of light, struck the fake. Neither sight nor Sense could comprehend the sheer speed of the attack. The man looked satisfied as another fake crumpled to the ground, twitching from the residual electrons.

 

Richter cursed under his breath; this wasn't what he had envisioned. But there was an ingenuity he admired. The attack had no trace of mana - it was natural. Somehow, the man stored or generated arcs of electricity to shoot out.

The doppelgangers were at a loss. With no Skills to copy, they were sitting ducks. And it appeared that they couldn't use the gauntlet either to replicate the attacks. Through intellect and knowledge, the man had exploited a dangerous enemy to make them harmless.

 

'I need to get what I can.'

 

An opportunity had presented itself, so he had to act. Richter stepped out just far enough for a full range of motion.

 

[Chain Cast: Sunder x2 (5%) --> Mana Surge (10%)]

 

Both spheres sailed the distance in silence, cracking the heads of two fakes.

 

['Trickster Level 26' killed. 10 copper awarded. 80% XP awarded]

 [Level up! You have reached level 21. Attribute points awarded.]

['Trickster Level 26' killed. 0 copper awarded. 70% XP awarded]

 [Level up! You have reached level 22. Attribute points awarded.]

 

'Jesus, he's level twenty-six? Just how many did he kill?' Richter wondered.

 

The man whipped his head to the side, spotting Richter's outline for a split second.

 

"Shit!" 

 

He ducked back around the building as he heard the buildup of energy. A bolt of electricity struck the brick where he used to be. But he wasn't content with hiding, he counted the delay between attacks. Three seconds was more than enough.

 

[Chain Cast: Sunder x2 (10%) --> Mana Surge (20%)]

[Chain Cast: Sunder x2 (10%) --> Mana Surge (20%)]

 

In two breaths, two sets of Sunder flew out - bursting four of the doppelgangers like pinatas. He relied on the free mana refills from leveling up to expend more mana, resulting in explosions and damage like a grenade had gone off.

 

['Trickster Level 26' killed. 10 copper awarded. 60% XP awarded]

['Trickster Level 26' killed. 0 copper awarded. 60% XP awarded]

 [Level up! You have reached level 23. Attribute points awarded.]

['Trickster Level 26' killed. 0 copper awarded. 50% XP awarded]

['Trickster Level 26' killed. 10 copper awarded. 50% XP awarded]

 [Level up! You have reached level 24. Attribute points awarded.]

 

The man was fuming by now, both literally and figuratively. The gauntlet tinted red as if responding to the bulging veins on his forehead. He pulled out water balloons and chucked them at the last two, connecting them with a puddle of water. 

Another charge and another release. Electricity chained between them, frying their nervous systems from prolonged exposure.

 

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this. You're witnessing history, you know. A marvel of human engineering ten years in the making." The man spoke lowly, walking toward the building Richter hid behind.

"I know what we're up against, what we'll have to face. And this was my answer. If I can harness the power and speed of electricity and lightning, what can stop me?" The man flexed his hand, savoring the mechanical feel and clanking as the metal plates rubbed together.

 

"Among the fastest phenomena in nature, even the freaks Earth will face won't be able to react. I'll prove it was worth researching. But first–" The man stopped short of the corner, just ten feet away from Richter. He chucked one last water balloon onto the ground at an angle, splashing sprits of conductive liquid onto Richter. The gauntlet screamed as he extended his arm. "–Die."

 

[Chain Cast: Sunder (10%) --> Mana Surge (20%)]

 

But Richter was ready. His body moved as one, pumping mana and pivoting his foot in time with the fine details his Sense recorded. The edge of his katana cut the black orb in half, propelling a jet of flame at the ground where the balloon popped. It turned the water to vapor in an instant just moments before the bolt struck.

 

The man clicked his tongue in annoyance and turned around, fleeing the moment he registered the failure. That last bolt contained the rest of his reserves.

It was a minor setback, not worth losing rationality over. He still managed to claim most of the kills. Besides, the other guy - Richter - was going to die anyway. He ran some calculations in his head, deducing why Richter had shown up. It wasn't hard to guess. If he was after the dungeon, then it was hopeless. None of the others that went in had come out. 

 

And his deduction was accurate. Richter realized it at that moment; he was just one level away, but there was nothing left to kill outside. And if the dungeon was still open then that meant one thing...The dungeon boss was inside.

 

He was going to have to kill it.

***