Azaria 2-20

Good Evening Everyone!

Chapter 20: Upgrades & A Phone Call

Lance

I stored the gargoyles that I killed before anyone made a move on them then grabbed a towel from the storage. Cleaning the blood from my hands and arms, I walked back over to the tent. We had sent some of the Powered, or rather Neo ordered some of the Powered to the edge of the city, but I hadn’t been chosen for that. I felt that the man didn’t trust me too much due to my connection with Azaria. Not that I blamed him.

Someone had ordered some more tables and chairs at some point, so I took a seat. A nice spread of food was present. Taking a mini-sandwich, I took in my current associates. I never once thought I would be in the same room as Anna and Zaris, much less Neo. Finishing the sandwich in a single bit, I looked over to Anna.

“Is this all the prominent Powered in the city?” I asked. I mean I really hated her guts right now, but my sister had been fairly powerful when she tore her way through the dungeon a few weeks ago. It was surprising that she wasn’t here to do her part. If the city was destroyed, she’d lose her criminal empire, right?

“There are a few Powered in the city that aren’t exactly easy to contact. If they are going to help, we have to wait for them to make the first move,” Neo said catching me by surprise. It just made me realize that he might not have been in as much control as I once thought.

“Do you know anything about the Powered called the Shinigami?” I couldn’t resist asking. Anything that might help me get back at her was helpful.

“Catch some enemies on the wrong side of the law?” Anna asked with a snort. I sent her a shrug.

“What can I say?” I asked with a chuckle. “Kyle nearly managed to sic her on me.”

Neo growled as he crushed a mug that he’d just picked up. “A dangerous Powered that has grown in strength as of late. Her powers change after every sighting, so the extent of them is unknown.” I was sensing that he didn’t care much for Sara.

“I see. Good to…” I started to say when the entire city shuddered then shifted violently as if the brakes had just been slammed. The broken chain that was embedded in the building nearby twisted free and crashed through another building as the first one collapsed to the ground in a pile of debris. I coughed as a wave of dust washed over the group.

The tug of war between our city and the island floating above us continued for a few seconds before the island above us either gave up or changed tactics and we fell back as the taut chains reversed. I managed to hold my balance. However, a few of the weaker Powered weren’t so lucky and were tossed around like rag dolls. I could only imagine what the normal people were going through.

The city came back to level and I found we were no longer moving toward the mainland in the distance. The question now was how long before the enemy above us sent something to deal with the problem.

“Time to fight back!” Azaria called as she cleared the dust from the air. She turned to Starburst and they began to discuss something.

“I’m sure whoever is in charge up there felt that as well. Be ready for something harder than those gargoyles to come at us,” Anna shouted as she went around helping people up and checking injuries. I mentally chuckled as the thought of helping others hadn’t even crossed my mind. It really did look like I was too far gone.

“Call for me if you hear anything. I need to take care of something,” I called to Azaria and she waved me off. None of the others appeared to want to stop me so I ignored them and made for a nearby building that was relatively intact all things considering. Another good shake or two and it likely wouldn’t survive, but for now it had four if somewhat cracked walls and a roof that I could use to have some privacy.

I found an entrance in the back alley. A few large chunks of debris blocked it, but with my new abilities they were easy to remove. The locked handle stopped me all of two seconds. I easily twisted the handle and the latch drop. Pushing the door in, I took a look around before calling to check if the building was empty. Just to be sure, I did a quick sweep.

Deciding it was for sure empty, I sat on an old couch and pulled up my status. I wanted to see if the demons had moved my level given that we were in another dimension or on another world. I’m not actually sure where we were. Was this still the same universe?

Lance Teron

Level: 38

Race: Chimera

Type: Harvester

Aether: 7000/7000

Skills: Harvest; Energy Harvest; Aether Barrier

Harvests: Heart of the Chimera – Breath of Fire

Incubus Tool – Mental Fortitude

Scale of the Corrupted Lizard – 50% Poison Resistance

Goblin’s Soul: Malice, Dark Vision, Concentrated Breathing, Dominate, Black, Heart’s Armor, Poison Breath, Natural Weapon, Eat Anything, Durable, Keen Hearing, Gluttony

Physic Toad: Telekinesis, Jump, Increased Tongue, Toxic Breath

Prey- Mantis: Acid Gland, Scythe Blade, Exoskeleton

Scorpion: Natural Armor, Heavy Pincer, Poison Gland, Burrow, Stinger

Kobold: Dragon Hide, Dragon language, Sense Treasure

Treant: Regrowth, Commune Nature, Photosynthesis

Demi-God’s muscle – Superstrength

Demi-God’s Brain (Damaged) – Mental Control Resistance

Demi-God’s Heart – Regeneration (Minimum)

Human’s Heart – Chaos x2

Human’s Lung – Fortitude x2

Human’s Brain (x2) – Fire, Water, Earth

Tunnel Rat Tendon – Scurry (+2)

Lower Mimic Storage Sac – Storage

Achievements: Trading With Chaos – You achieved something few could claim. While it might appear to be dumb luck, even luck has a place in the universe. Aether gain +1 per hour.

Solo Hunter – You defeated a dungeon on your own. Very few can claim the same. Great achievements deserve great rewards. Aether +1000

One That Became A Monster – You did it. You left your weak humanity behind. Ability: Aether Barrier

I grinned when I saw the additions that were thanks to Sao. It was hard to believe the man had been some sort of demi-god. I had no idea how that worked, and it wasn’t something that I was going to ask about lightly. If my sister had an ability like mine, then she would be looking for specimens like Sao to absorb. I wasn’t about to tip her off that I was in possession of something so strong.

Owen had added to my human list as well. Nothing to grand. I still wasn’t sure how to use the elements that the human brain gave me access to, but for now, I had enough to use when I was in a fight. I could figure it out later.

Thinking of adding to my list of powers, I pulled out a gargoyle then used Harvest and Harvest Energy. I wasn’t worried about taking the soul gems of these creatures. Unlike the dungeons in the city, these dungeons wanted to consume us completely. I pocketed the energy pill from the creature then moved my claws through the stone-flesh pulling out the organs that glowed various colors.

The best I got was orange off this one. Not bad, but not good either. It would at least give me an idea of what we would be dealing with later. If the enemy followed the same dungeon logic as those from the city. The higher-level demons would be greater version of this creature, with some variations of course.

I quickly absorbed the flesh and organs, barely noticing as my body changed. Soon, I was sure I could absorb in the middle of a battle and be fine. Not that I wanted to test that theory unless I absolutely had to. It wasn’t long before the eight corpses I had with me were completely absorbed only leaving a splattering of blood and reject organs and bones surrounding me. It looked like a few people had been murdered a few times over around me.

“The least I can do is clean us a little,” I mumbled as I pulled the rejects into my storage. There was nothing I could do about the blood, or at least that was what I thought when the blood started to vanish. I snapped my fingers, a feat considering the state of my fingers recently, and remembered that most of the city was now inside Azaria’s aura.

I emptied all the junk, body parts that were useless to my ability, from my storage. My storage had been getting a tad full lately, and this was a good chance to clean it out. I stepped away from the pile and said that it was all for the dungeon core for good measure. The pile vanished in an instant. It looked like the rules from Earth were still working even here.

Pulling my cellphone out, I powered it on. I was curious to see if the signal still worked here. When I found that I had two bars, I had to admit that I was impressed with the robustness of the city. It could really survive a hit. Now that I thought about it, the power was still on even after the violent shake we just had.

I tapped on the screen, being careful not to break it. My claws were sharp enough that one wrong move could put my finger through the device. I scrolled through my contacts until I came to my mother. Even if Neo hadn’t cleared my name just yet, the city had bigger things to worry about than tracking me down.

Pressing the call button, I waited for it to connect. I was starting to get worried when it reached the fifth ring before she picked up. “Lance? Is that you? Are you alright?”

“Yes, mom. I’m fine. What about you?” I asked keeping my voice level. The last time I spoke to her was right after Kyle accused me of trying to murder him. It had only been a few seconds to let her know that I was okay and innocent no matter what anyone said to her. She was already dealing with Mana sickness. I didn’t want to stress her further with me being on the run, even though I was sure it did either way.

“I’m great. The city went through a hole in the sky. Did you see that?”

“I…” I started but she cut me off.

“Of course, you saw that. Ever since we got here, it is like my sickness has vanished. It has only been a few hours, but that’s the longest I’ve gone without having any pain. I even managed to walk all the way down to the shelter without help! ME,” she gushed, and I couldn’t help it when I saw my eyes widen in the mirror across from me. That was amazing. Mana sickness could only be cured with powerful recovery items from dungeons. When I said powerful, I meant top of the line items that people like Neo even had trouble getting they were so rare.

“Mom. That’s great.” I took a deep breath and steeled myself. “But, please don’t get used to it. We have to get the city back to Earth, and I don’t know what will happen to you once we go back through the divide.” I hated myself, but I’d rather she not have too much hope when it could be a false one.

I heard a sigh that sounded like the world was weighing on the person. “I know dear. I know.” The conversation paused as we let the moment sink in. “By the way, have you spoken to your sister?”

“Sara.” I growled and quickly caught myself. I took a very deep breath. “No mom. I haven’t had the chance to check on her. Let me ask you, do you know if she is hiding anything?”

“She hasn’t told me anything.” I wasn’t sure, but it sounded like she was speaking the truth. Part of me probably just wouldn’t be able to trust anyone every again. Though, I doubted many would want to be friends with a true monster like me.

“Alright. When everything calms down enough, I’ll try to get to her.” Even if she wasn’t home. There was someone there that was taking her place. Maybe I would get some answers to a few questions.

“Take care. Don’t worry about me. The police core sent some Powered to protect the patients at the hospital. If anything reaches us, then I doubt there will be much hope for the city,” mom said, and I heard the dark chuckle in her voice. When I heard my mom’s dark humor, I knew that she was feeling good.

“Good one.” My phone beeped. “Looks like my battery has finally reached its end. I’ll call you again soon. Love ya,” I said then the phone died completely. It had last nearly two months on the charge from before my altercation with Kyle. I would have to send the company that made it a nice review some time.

A boom sounded from the distance and the building shook causing dust to fall around me. A few more joined shortly afterward. It sounded like it was time for the fight to start.

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