The Hero Game: Volume Five: No Escape, page 20
The Boxer followed it up with a One-Two Punch Combo, hammering the armored man into the floor. He smashed through it and crashed to the floor below.
Following, the Boxer fired off two Projected Strikes. The gloves collided with the villain right before his fists did.
WHAM WHAM WHAM
He kept up the pounding until the helmet flew off. Midswing, the Boxer stopped — his fist only inches from the villain's exposed face.
The man was maybe forty-five, with a balding head and an unkempt beard. His eyes were lost and unfocused. Thank god it’s not Dean, the Boxer thought. I think I was still a little worried.
The Boxer looked him up and down and realized at some point he’d broken the armor enough it no longer worked.
“It’s done,” he whispered.
He leaned against the wall, sighing in relief. The Dungeon Builder wouldn’t escape and continue terrorizing people with invincible robots.
“You!”
The Boxer glanced at the Dungeon Builder, but he had fallen unconscious. He looked for the source of the voice and saw a familiar face.
Dean Oaks stood at the other end of the hallway. It looked like the last few weeks had been hard on him, and he had circles under his eyes. But what confused the Boxer the most was the angry look plastered on his face.
“Me?”
“What did you do?”
“I stopped the bad guy. He was trying to steal your crucronium. It’s all upstairs, by the way.”
“Is that so?”
“You’re welcome.”
His friend glared at him, not knowing who he was actually talking to. “You killed my father, and now you’re here destroying what he built.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s slow down. I didn’t kill your father.”
“Capture him,” Dean shouted. “We can sort it out later.”
The guards stormed forward. There were easily twenty of them, all wearing basic anti-blast armor and holding stun guns. The Boxer was pretty sure he could take them, but didn’t see what good it would do.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Dean,” he muttered, before flying away. He crashed through an office door. The window behind it wasn’t reinforced, and he broke it before sailing away into the sky.
***
Back on the seventh floor of the Institute’s main building, Dean Oaks watched as the Boxer flew off.
“Sorry, boss, we couldn’t do anything to stop him. He’s City Level, and we’re not there.”
“Not there yet,” Dean corrected. “But now the Boxer can fly. Interesting. I wonder where he picked that up. I want all the security footage of the fight sent to my personal computer.”
“What about the survivors? There are still people in the building.”
“Let the fire department help them. Get me what I want. Now.”
The guard saluted and rushed away.
Chapter twenty-eight
The Boxer stayed away from the Institute. He returned to the base and found out the others had stopped the trap for the civilians above the H-Line.
The first thing he did when he arrived was stumble to the nurse’s office and collapse onto the bed. He had a deep cut down his back that hurt more and more, on top of the burns, other cuts, and shocks from the fight.
Violet was there and helped him pull the mask off. She grimaced when she saw him.
“That bad?”
“You said you won, right?”
“I did.”
“I’m just not sure if I believe it.”
The nurse gently touched his arm and Jack felt the healing energy flow into him. Cuts closed up, bruises faded, and aches went away.
He sighed in relief. “Thank you.”
“This was pretty bad,” she said.
“My jacket normally helps, but it was soaked in poison.”
“Whoa.”
She patted his hand and helped him up. Weariness washed over him as the bills for the weeks of struggle and tests all came due.
He walked in a daze back to his room and crashed into his bed. Jack didn’t even make it under the covers before he was asleep.
***
“Congratulations, Jack Jenkins,” Scarlett said.
He found himself in the game master’s waiting room. “I fell asleep, huh?”
“Well, you pushed yourself harder than ever today, so it makes sense.”
Jack nodded.
Scarlett had on a yellow and red sundress, with a low cut top. She sat on her day bed, with a spread of treats off to the side on a table. He could smell the Lant even before she held a piece out to him.
It was a fruit from her home used in celebration, and every time he managed to win a big fight, she’d give him some. He took a bite, enjoying the sweet flavor as he sat down next to her.
“That was quick thinking, Jack Jenkins. Grabbing Flight so you could stop the Dungeon Builder. Well done.”
He laughed. “I guess so. That reminds me, I have some other messages to read.”
The game messages had piled up while he was fighting, and he took a moment to read through them all, including the one he’d already seen.
New Subquest Assigned: Finish the Dungeon and save the residents.
Congratulations! You have leveled up and are now level sixty. As a milestone level, you gain one hundred Stat points, two hundred Base Points, two new skills, and a new class option.
Subquest Complete: Finish the Dungeon and save the residents.
As a reward, you gain experience and ten points in all Stats.
Congratulations! You have leveled up and are now level sixty-one. As a reward, you gain one hundred Stat points and two hundred Base Points.
You have chosen the ability Flight. As such, Air Attack is no longer as relevant and has been upgraded. You can choose one of two options.
Main Quest Complete: Stop the Dungeon Builder’s plans.
Who would have thought he was just a petty thief with cool robots? As a reward, you gain experience, one skill and an upgrade to an existing skill.
Congratulations! You have leveled up and are now level sixty-two. As a reward, you gain one hundred Stat points and two hundred Base Points.
Congratulations! You have leveled up and are now level sixty-three. As a reward, you gain one hundred Stat points and two hundred Base Points.
“Whoa, that’s a lot,” he said.
“You did a lot today.”
“I guess I should start with the class options.”
“Let me see.”
“What?”
She bumped him. “I want to watch.”
“You can read my mind and also make all of this up.”
“Oh, stop being a grump.” The cosmic being waved her hand and the game vision Jack saw appeared in the air in front of the two of them.
“I have two new skills and an upgrade, but I guess I need to decide on my class change first,” Jack said.
“Let’s see what the options are.” Scarlett waved her hand and the class page appeared.
Congratulations on reaching level 60, another milestone level. You have gained the ability to multiclass or prestige. You can continue to level up your Energized Battler Class, you can power up your Energized Battler Class into one of its prestige classes, or you can take a second class and gain access to new abilities. Or, if you prefer, you can also prestige your Air Ace class into a new class.
Your previously unlocked options for additional classes are as follows: Acrobat Assault, Archer, Armored Guardian, Blaster, Elemental, Gadgeteer, Firesmith, Healer, The Heavy, Junior Speedster, Mind Mover, Power Blaster, Slugger, Speedster, Stretch, Big Tank, Techsmith, Thief, Weaponsmaster, and Zig Zag.
Your new options, based on your stats, are: Laser Master, Fisticuff Expert, and Grower — Not a Shower.
Your Energized Battler Class can advance to: Arms Like Hammers, Mixed Up, Super Battler, and Steel Jaw.
Your Air Ace Class can advance to: Flight or Fight, Ground Pound, and Orbital Striker.
Your two classes can combine to form an advanced class, based on your skills and stats. This option is the Flying Brawler.
“Okay, that might be too many options,” Scarlett said.
“I didn’t make them.”
“We don’t need to point fingers, Jack Jenkins. What’s looking good?”
“I mean, Flying Brawler seems like someone made it custom for me.”
“All of this was custom made for you.”
“You know what I mean, Scarlett.”
She grinned and shrugged.
He laughed. “Okay, I think I’ll take that one.”
“Good choice. I would have been so mad if you took Grower - Not A Shower.” She winked at him.
“I wasn’t even sure what that one was.”
“Oh, you could change your body and get bigger.”
He thought about the giant robot Kaiju dragon he fought. “Maybe not terrible.”
“Too late! You’re the Flying Brawler.”
The screen changed to the description of the class.
Flying Brawler — This class takes the best parts of Air Ace and Energized Battler and combines them into a powerhouse in the air and on the ground. You control the battlefield with speed and your fists.
The Flying Brawler retains the Brawler, Fighting, Air, and General skills, and opens up skills in all of the categories that relate to the others, allowing for more varied options. You start with the passive skill “Combat Expert.”
Combat Expert (Passive), Rank 1 — This takes the place of all fighting styles you’ve learned. You now have a general sense of how to fight and how to use your body, especially when it comes to being in the air. This skill can increase on its own through practice and experience.
Since your other skill choice was for Flight, you also gain an upgraded version of Air Attack.
The two choices are:
Air Attack (Active) — Boost all damage for ten seconds, plus one second for every ten points of Power.
Air Attack (Passive) — Your Power adds to your Strength and Agility while flying, allowing you to hit harder and fly faster. This stacks with other skills.
“This one is easy,” he said. “The passives are just so good. And I like not having to remember to use it.”
“I thought you might like that.”
“Now, I think I have two more skill choices. One from the new class, and one from the quest.”
“That’s right. And an upgrade.”
He nodded, and the cosmic being waved her hand to shift the page to the skills. He read through the new options. Since the last time he’d looked, his Power and Agility were both much higher than before, and that opened up a lot of choices.
In the end, he settled on a skill from the Brawler category and one from Air.
Power Punch (Active) — You boost your punch with your Power, greatly increasing the strength and damage of the blow. This can break through some armor or shields, and scales with your Power. A surge of energy trails after the punch and continues on, possibly knocking down or throwing people who are hit or behind the target. This will not affect teammates or civilians. You can use this once every three minutes.
Carry (Passive) — This skill increases the amount you can hold while flying without slowing down. You can carry teammates, enemies, or civilians. Scales with Strength and Power, and at higher levels of power, you ignore the drag of what you carry.
“Interesting choices,” Scarlett said.
“I wanted another ability like One-Two Punch and Flying Kick. I use them a lot, and this feels like it’ll slot right in there while maybe helping if I fight someone like the Dungeon Builder again.”
“And Carry?”
“Well, I have to carry some of our team, right? And I thought if I could have dragged a robot or the Dungeon Builder away, it would help me control the battlefield.”
She smiled. “All smart.”
He could still upgrade a skill, so he talked through what made sense. “I could just instantly boost Power Punch, but I think the new skills generally are better than the old ones, so bringing something up would be good.”
“And there are lots of excellent choices.”
“What do you recommend, Scarlett?”
“Well, that would be cheating. Since I know what they do if you upgrade them.” Jack gave her a look, and she stuck her tongue out at him. “Fine, fine. Since you want to use some of those abilities more often, I’d recommend Recharge.”
“I didn’t even think about that, but it makes sense. Let’s do it.”
He selected it, and a new description popped up.
Recharge (Passive) — Your cooldowns are now greatly decreased. Many abilities can now be used multiple times per fight.
“Okay, yeah, that’s pretty great,” he admitted.
“Thanks.”
That left him with four hundred Stat points to assign. “Man, it’s really increasing, huh? I earned in four levels what took me ten before.”
Scarlett’s voice dropped, and she became more serious. “There will be new threats all the time, Jack Jenkins. I want you to be ready to face them, and our bond is growing stronger every day.”
He patted her hand. “I will be.”
When it came to the stats, he decided to try and bring up a couple of the ones he’d been neglecting. Agility and Power were still the main part of his class, but the others provided obvious benefits. He dropped one hundred points into both Strength and Constitution. Since he was in the imaginary game world, he didn’t feel a difference, but he was excited to see what it did.
He put thirty points in Charm, bringing it to 100, and the last of his stats to enter triple digits. Then he added seventy in Smarts — he could tell how much quicker it helped him process things, and since he was moving faster and faster, he needed the reaction speed.
The last hundred points he split between Agility and Power, which raised them both to 595.
“It’s hard to believe that when you started, you were lower than a ten in all of these,” Scarlett whispered.
“A lifetime ago.”
“Do you regret it?”
He shook his head. “No. The opposite. I’m glad I can help you and other people. It feels like what I was meant to do.”
“Even if it means Dean might hate you?”
Jack froze. “I can’t believe he was that angry about it. I mean, I know he lost his father, but he can’t really believe that I killed him, right? The news said it was his and Time Piece’s fault. And it was.”
“Grief makes fools of us all.”
“I just want to help him.”
“And you can. You will. At some point he’ll need his friend Jack, and that’s when you’ll step up. Just give it time.”
“You’re pretty smart, you know.”
She elbowed him. “Oh?”
“For a cosmic being, you sure know a lot about humanity.”
“Ha. I’ve had almost a century to watch you all. But there’s still mystery inside each and every one of you. Now, let’s talk about something happier.”
The two of them chatted for a while until the real world pulled Jack back to it.
Chapter twenty-nine
He woke up as night fell. Jack checked his phone to see it was only six hours since he collapsed into his bed. There were also messages from the Jack Pack clogging his phone.
Pizza Girl: Oh, my god! You guys did it! Great work!
Marina: If I never fight a robot again, it will be too soon.
Cattarina: Yeah, not a fan.
Pizza Girl: Jealous.
Pizza Girl: All I did was help Jane figure out what the Dungeon Builder was up to.
Ava: That seems pretty important.
Jane: It was.
Jane: Don’t let her fool you. She’s pretty smart.
Pizza Girl: When I want to be.
Cattarina: How’s Jack?
Violet: Pretty beat up. I healed him, but I think he’s sleeping it off.
Ava: I’ll order some takeout in case he wakes up.
Jack: I’ll take some of that now, if it’s available.
Marina: There he is.
Pizza Girl: Our hero!
Violet: How are you feeling?
Jack: Like I got hit by a dump truck and then magically healed by a wonderful woman.
Ava: Food is in the kitchen.
He decided he’d rather eat and talk than text, so he changed out of his beat up shirt and pulled on some clean clothes. Then he made his way to the kitchen.
The changes from his stats were apparent in every move he made. He could feel the raw Strength and Agility under every movement. And he even felt refreshed more than he expected — a benefit of his greatly bumped up Constitution.
The Jack Pack and the Knuckleheads all clapped when he walked into the kitchen. They were all there, with Luna and Paisley also sitting at the table. Cartoons of Thai food dotted the counter, and he scooped out some rice and curry and joined them.
“You managed to catch him,” Jane said. “That’s a big win, Jack.”
“He was trying to steal crucronium. I couldn’t let him get away with that.”
“I didn’t even know the Institute kept crucronium in the City.” Jane frowned.
“It’s a new development, at least as far as I know,” Ava said. “They said all the crucronium was worked on in space when I was there. It's hard to steal it if you need a rocket ship to get there.”
They recapped what had happened, from Pizza Girl figuring out the solution to the rest of the Knuckleheads saving the civilians. They even remembered to grab his Grappling Rod and Frank, although Marina was eyeing the Frisbee with desire. He told them about the Institute, and what Dean said.
“He’ll come around,” Violet said. The others echoed the sentiment.
Jack pushed the thoughts out of his mind and focused on celebrating. They’d done it — a criminal was behind bars, and while he’d done damage, he wouldn’t be a threat anymore.
While the others chatted, he decided to spend a thousand Base Points on an upgrade that might have helped them during the dungeon.
Improved Communications — Your communications route through Scarlett, and thus are much harder to block or stop. Technology might be a roadblock, but you can make calls and send messages with a thought through the game vision.
