More than a week had passed since I infiltrated The Empire, it was now the eight day. The Karma experiment was finally over, all eight of the test subjects had died, and the project was shelved again, till more suitable subjects would be found. So, it doesn't look like that's an immediate concern.
The next task assigned to Dr Reel was something called soul research, and as for what it entails...I was about to find out. He handed me a pile of notes and told me to go through them before starting.
Heh, perfect, don't mind if I do...
There were several stacks of papers on this subject, I picked up a pile that summarized it and went through it. The first few pages were nothing but theories on the existence of the human soul, which wasn't exactly useful, but then I got to the more definitive information.
They had created a spell that could extract a human soul, killing the person instantly...and then, the extracted soul could be inserted into another person, the result being that they would instantly recover their strength and stamina. Huh...from what this was describing, I'm pretty sure...
Yeah, no doubt about it...when I use Soul-Eater Mode and drain a person, I had randomly decided to call the stuff I was draining from them as 'life force', and I'm pretty sure it's the same as what's being referred to as the 'soul' in these notes. The rest of the notes were detailing how they had improved on the so-called soul extraction spell, making it more efficient and able to extract multiple 'souls' simultaneously. The limit they had eventually reached was extracting ten 'souls' at a time.
Okay, there's one thing I don't get...why is this so heavily researched? I'd understand if they simply wanted to use it as a weapon; drain and instantly kill your opponents while replenishing your own stamina and energy would be a pretty handy weapon, but based on the way these notes were structured, it was clear that the main purpose of this research was how to most efficiently and conveniently extract and transfer 'souls' into another person, but...why?
I had tested it out already while using Soul-Eater Mode, if I drain two people, and assuming the first one was enough to fully replenish my stamina, the second one won't have any effect. To put it simply, simultaneously transferring multiple 'souls' into a single person wouldn't make much of a difference compared to transferring just one into them...at least, that's how I thought it worked. Was there some other significance to taking in multiple 'souls' that I wasn't aware of?
I finished going through the notes but that detail wasn't clarified. I decided to ask...
"I have finished reading through the notes, doctor. If I may, there is one thing I do not understand...what is the significance of this spell, there is no clarification regarding the reason for its use. Is there a particular effect of taking in other human souls?"
"Hm, well I suppose I cannot blame you for being curious. However, that information is classified, the purpose of this spell is not to be divulged to those below the Research Tier. I will clarify this much, the term 'soul' in this research is simply an informal label, we don't actually know precisely what this spell extracts from a person, just that doing so is instantly lethal to them. Your role as assistant for this particular task is simple, try to think of solutions of how to simultaneously absorb even more of these 'souls', as you read, the current limit is ten. I shall try to figure out how to increase that limit through trial and error, you must assist me by thinking outside the box and giving me any ideas or suggestions. I am not expecting much, so see to it that you exceed those expectations."
"Yes, doctor, understood."
"I would advise you to keep going through the notes on the past research of this project, it may help you brainstorm."
"Very well, I shall pore over them, doctor."
Hm, they could probably do it in the form of a barrier, like the Blood Barrier for creating Blood Crystals, trap a bunch of people in it and drain them...well, not that I was going to tell him that, I'm not here to help these guys strengthen their weapons, after all. Well, in the meantime, I'll go through the rest of the notes on this...
...
By the time the day was over, I had finished going through most of the research notes, though not completely, there were still a few stacks of notes left. But I hadn't found too much of anything useful, most of the information had been reports on past results of the use of this spell, but a lot of the details had been kept deliberately vague. I was missing something here, but what? I don't have enough information to draw a definitive conclusion.
That's when I noticed something, the dates on these notes...I ruffled through the messy pile of paper stacks on the desk, looking for the notes with the earliest date...here we go, found it! Huh, this was dated...four years ago. And it was the oldest batch of notes among this pile, but looking at the details in it, it definitely wasn't the first report on this research.
"Pardon the interruption, doctor, but are these all the notes available on this subject?" I inquired curiously.
"Hm? Yes, that's right."
"There seems to be some older notes missing, the oldest one among this pile starts off too abruptly to be the first-."
"Like I said before, this is a classified research subject. You don't need to know anything beyond what's included in the notes given to you."
Hm, I better drop it, he clearly had no intention of giving anything away. Which meant...this information could be really important. I'll have to look into it on my own, but...where do I even start? Well, if I can't find any physical evidence of the classified information, I might have to go the interrogation route...I could nab a few doses of truth serum and then inject him or some other researcher and find out...though if I have to resort to that, I'll need to wait till the last day since I'd have to kill whoever I interrogated, otherwise they might end up tightening security and make it harder for myself and the others to leave.
Anyway, I was done for the day as far as my lab assistant role was concerned. Should I snoop around some more? No, there's no point if I can't unlock any of the other labs, and I had only gotten lucky the other day, it's too risky to keep 'accidentally' bumping into researchers.
Hm, for now I'll head back to my room and think things over, try and gain a new perspective or something. It was still too early to try out risky moves such as interrogations, but I couldn't afford to waste any time either, assuming I save the risky stuff for the last two days, I still have a full four days before that, and I need to spend them productively.
Let's see, what have I learned so far...
The king of Goldway was still alive, and being kept restrained in Lab 13. It might be worth considering rescuing him, though I doubt that'd be possible during this mission, so perhaps a future mission for that...no, judging by the condition he was in, who knows if he'd survive that long. I didn't want to just leave him to die though, I still owed him one after he saved Persia using his magic back in Goldway...I'll get back to it, but it'll definitely be tough to pull off.
Then there were the Spell Cards...those were going to be troublesome, and it certainly wouldn't be a bad idea to replicate them in the Rustlands and our allies. I had nabbed two so far, a basic barrier spell and a Blood Crystal remote activation spell as samples so far. I'd like to get a few more of their original spells before I go back.
I also knew the identities of the Retribution Tier members, and the appearances of four of them, Hacte Routh, Rion Xester, Azeria Folix and...Arturo Lagusa aka Sicario. That left Presde Drelou and Kuua Quells, not to mention their leader, Tirayze Valaque. As for their Elemental Magic, I only knew Rion and Azeria's types, both had Fire Magic, though the latter didn't seem to have black flames like the former.
The truth serum was another troublesome invention, it was a dangerously effective interrogation tool. Good thing I had stolen a sample to take back, there might be someone who can reverse engineer it in Silvland or the Rustlands.
Then there's the soul research, it doesn't seem like they're using it as a weapon, but for something else. I need to find out what taking in human life force does to you, and why that's confidential.
There's also the Lapdog Elite Squad, though I'll probably be long gone before I'm officially a part of them.
And finally, the Blood Crystals. It looks like those bothersome explosions weren't going to be a major problem from here on out, so that's good, I guess.
On another note, I had managed to avoid suspicion so far, bumping into Rion and Azeria Folix was a close shave, but I managed to get out of it. I was getting pretty irritated at having to act like a spineless and meek lacky, but I didn't really have a choice.
Anyway, time to get some sleep...I need to be well rested to keep up this tiresome act. I took off my armor and flopped onto the bed with a yawn, drifting off to sleep in seconds. Tomorrow, I was to be in for quite a surprise...
...
"Huh, I'm sorry, what's going on?" I remarked incredulously.
"You will not need to perform your duties as my lab assistant for the next three days, you shall take part in a sort of training camp for the Lapdog Elite Squad candidates. If you do well, you will increase the probability of becoming an official member of that squad. Go to the Retribution Tier area immediately, do not keep Sir Sicario waiting."
I'm not sure how to feel about this...
"Understood, doctor, I shall make my way there immediately."
What's going on, this seemed kinda sudden...maybe they're suspicious of me? No, that can't be, I hadn't been seen or caught doing anything suspicious, and it's not like they had managed to invent security cameras or something, so I doubt there was any proof.
No point in baseless speculation, I'll just end up getting paranoid. I'll need to keep calm and act normal, I'll be screwed if I show even the slightest bit of panic, no doubt Arturo Lagusa would notice.
I composed myself as I headed to the Retribution Tier area, the guards letting me in after I showed them the card with the name of the guy I was posing as.
I then made my way to the training ground in the area, and as I neared it, got surprised as I noticed that four members of the Retribution Tier were there, along with about a dozen lapdogs. Hm, none of them seemed to be members of the Lapdog Elite Squad, must be other potential candidates for it like me, or rather, like the guy I was pretending to be.
Sicario, Azeria Folix and someone else, a man with long and messy dark brown hair, a short thick beard, and dark bags under his black eyes. And on his forehead, he had two antennae, they looked kinda slimy...maybe a snail or slug? Either way, they looked pretty gross. He must be Presde Drelou, their number three. Yup, he was wearing a ring with the number 3 on it.
I quietly joined the rest of the lapdogs present in the training ground, and waited for the Retribution members to take the lead. After a couple more lapdogs arrived, Lagusa stepped forward and addressed us.
"All of you present have impressed me in your auditions for the Lapdog Elite Squad, and before I make my final decision as to which of you all to add to the ranks of the squad, I shall hold a three-day training camp on these training grounds, you shall spend the next three days and two nights here."
Uh-oh, that wasn't good...I won't be able to do any investigating over the next three days, this 'training camp' was going to keep my hands tied. And this was going to be really tricky, I couldn't afford to give away too many of my abilities or fighting style, but at the same time, I needed to avoid making it obvious that I was holding back, finding a balance between those two was going to be really tough.
"If I may ask, Sir Sicario, what kind of training will this entail?" One of the other lapdogs asked, bowing respectfully as he did.
"Quite simple, for the duration of the three days, you shall all undergo ten hours of training per day, for a total of thirty hours...and each five hour block will be headed by a different member of us of the Retribution Tier. Any other questions?"
Hm? On second thought, this might work...spending five hours with each of the six members would be an ideal way of finding out more about them.
After a few other small clarifications, they wrapped up the small talk and begun the 'training camp'...I had to wonder, do a few tents in a closed-in training field count as a camp? The first block of five hours was to be headed by Azeria Folix, their number two.
The other two headed off to the sideline in order to observe. There were eighteen lapdogs excluding me, and they all looked pretty nervous.
"Do not waste any time, Azeria, have you not already planned out how to train them over your five hours?"
"Well, of course not, you only told me about this stupid thing an hour ago! Uhh, let me think, there's five hours and nineteen of them...alright, each of you will take turns fighting me for fifteen minutes, simple as that...uh, I guess I'll try to avoid killing you, but no promises, so give it everything you've got-."
"Ahem, I do not wish to interfere in your training methods, but are you sure about that, Azeria? You will have to keep fighting for five hours with almost no rest, will you be able to handle that?" Interrupted Lagusa.
"...good point. Alright, uh, slight change to the plan...you will each fight me for ten minutes, and there will be a six minute break after each bout. Uh, as for the order, um...let's see-."
"I believe drawing lots to form a random order will be best, and I shall also help keep the time," Lagusa cut in, taking out an hourglass with a lid on the top, opening it and adjusting the amount of sand in it.
"Whatever, if you say so, I guess," Shrugged Azeria, as he tore up and labeled some scraps of paper from one to nineteen.
He then folded up the scraps and put them into a box, after which we were made to pick one of the scraps one by one. I got number twelve...not bad, I'll get to see her fight eleven times before I have to take her on, and hopefully she uses up some stamina as well.
Let's see what she's capable of...
...
...I have no idea what she's capable of.
Four of the candidates for the Lapdog Elite Squad had gone so far, and she had let them go on the attack while she stayed on defense. She didn't need to block a single attack, effortlessly evading them without batting an eye. Over an hour had passed, and she hadn't attacked even once. She had some great reflexes and reaction time, but I couldn't tell the exact extent since her opponents so far had been extremely slow and weak in comparison, she was barely even paying attention to their moves, having more than enough time to react and dodge.
We were allowed to use our Elemental Magic and any weapons excluding Spell Cards, and including guns. The next guy who went had Wind Magic, and picked a gun as his weapon.
Hm, this might be a useful reference, these guns were most effective when wielded by a Wind Magic user, and it terms of projectile speed, was definitely the fastest weapon in this world. Wow, she really wasn't paying attention, she didn't even glance at what weapon he'd picked...and it looks like he had noticed that.
As the ten minutes began, he started off by hiding the gun in his robes and blasting out long-range wind shots from his hands. He kept it up for about a minute, before his accuracy and intensity began to waver...no, he was doing it deliberately. He was using her lack of focus to try and catch her off guard, huh...
Suddenly, he lowered his aim and fired a blast of wind at the ground in front of her, kicking up a dust cloud, she let out a cough as a look of surprise appeared on her face. Simultaneously, he drew out the gun and fired multiple shots at her through the dust, his accuracy with it wasn't perfect, but it was good enough. She had less time to dodge since she wouldn't be able to see the bullets till they were right in front of her, now I should get to see just how good her speed and reaction time is...
One of the bullets was on line to take off a chunk of her right ear, she tilted her head to the left at the last second to avoid it, as another bullet shot towards her right forearm. In a split second, she moved her arm back, stretching it out behind her and out of the bullet's trajectory. The next one was barreling towards her left knee, she widened her stance and let the bullet whiz past her legs. She then sprang up to avoid one that was aimed at her midsection.
Wow, she could really jump...and her reaction time was impressive, but more importantly, she dodged with almost minimum movement when she was actually paying attention.
She had kinda find herself in an awkward position right now, though...another bullet was shooting towards her left side, and she was in no position to avoid it. At the last second, she twisted her body across as much as she could, moving just enough so that the bullet just grazed her left bicep. Woah, she was able to evade that a lot better than I thought possible...her shoulder wasn't even bleeding, she had lost a tiny bit of skin and it was kinda red, but the wound wasn't deep enough to draw out any blood. Still...
...she looked pretty furious...or wait, maybe it was embarrassment? Either way, that guy was screwed. He had used up a full magazine in that last barrage of bullets, and as he fumbled to reload the gun with a new one, she crouched down on all fours with that angry/embarrassed look, flames beginning to sprout around her as her tail swayed slowly and her ears perked up.
What the...?
From her left side, regular flames were sprouting, while from her right side...black flames were sprouting. She was using regular flames and the black flames at the same time? Well, it does suit her two-toned fur, hair and eye colors, but I didn't even know that was possible, to be able to simultaneously use normal flames and the Karma-influenced black flames. Wait, 'Karma-influenced' is too long, isn't there a word for- oh, Karmic! Karmic flames, huh...sounds color than just saying black flames. What about with lightning? Black lightning sounded cool, but Karmic lightning...sounded cooler!
Huh, maybe I should rename my modified attacks that end with' Noir' to start with 'Karmic' instead? Like, instead of Shocker Punch Noir or Lightning Incineration Cannon Noir, I'll go for Karmic Shocker Punch and Karmic Lightning Incineration-!...what the fuck am I thinking about right now?
Back to the matter at hand!
Azeria had the two different-hued flames swirling all around her, slowly crouched lower as she began to strain her limb muscles...and then sprang forward, closing the gap between her and her opponent in a single leap in the blink of an eye.
She then swung her flame-enhanced hands at his chest, knocking him back several meters and scorching away the top part of his robe and most of the armor around his chest.
Holy...
None of the other lapdogs had even moved, I was the only one who had been able to follow her movements, but just barely...I doubt I can keep up with that, even with all my Karma...Vampire Mode should have no problems, but if I have to resort to my trump card to beat someone, then they're most definitely a threat.
It wasn't just her speed though, her strength was pretty crazy, and her flames were seriously powerful too. And it looks like this bout was over, the guy was unconscious and had some severe burns on his chest, shoulders and neck.
Since she still had to fill out the five hours, she used the remaining time as an extra break before the next fight.
The next couple of bouts were one-sided like the first few ones. Then, in the one after that, her opponent managed to graze her while she was slacking off and not paying attention, and she again got pissed off and flustered before using the same fiery leap move.
And again a few fights later, when her opponent accidentally grabbed her tail. She kicked him away several meters, and as he began to stand up, knocked him out with that rapid flaming leap and slash.
I think I've got a good read on her speed and timing of that attack...countering it was going to be pretty straightforward if you knew it was coming and had the ability to react to it both by sight and physically.
My only chance against her is to use the element of surprise for all it's worth. I'll max out my perception enhancement using Lightning Boost, and try and bait her into attacking me with that move, I'll use guns since I don't want to give away my fighting technique. This could be fun...
A couple of bouts later, it was my turn. I picked two guns as my weapons, and walked out to the middle, a fair distance away from her. Just as I'd hoped, she wasn't paying attention, perfect.
As Lagusa flipped the hourglass to signal the start of the bout, I fired a bolt of lightning at her head with my right hand. The moment she turned her head to evade it, she blinked. In that instant, I fired a thin but rapid streak of lightning at her feet, striking her ankles and making her stumble back a bit.
I then quickly drew out the two guns and fired a barrage of bullets at her, she evaded all of them without any effort, an annoyed look on her face. I had one bullet left in each of them, hm...let's see if she could dodge a ricochet, assuming I could pull it off. Here goes...
I aimed and fired one bullet past her right shoulder, and then...fired the second one straight across the side of the first one's trajectory.
It hit the side of the first one and deflected its trajectory towards her left shoulder. She was thrown off by the ricochet and, in her moment of confusion, dodged to the left, the bullet striking her in the chest-...no, wait, it struck a button on her shirt, but she managed to deflect it before it went any further, using a flick of her finger.
It didn't inflict any damage, but it did blow off one of her buttons, and her shirt had already been nearly halfway unbuttoned, and with the one I just shot off...her boobs were almost completely spilling out of her shirt.
I quickly took a few steps back to get a bit more distance, steadying myself and beginning to charge up lightning in my right fist, hiding it behind my back as she furiously adjusted her top and began to crouch on all fours, with an outraged and flustered expression. I need to time this, I can't afford to let her burn me, it'll reveal my Healing Factor.
As she crouched and sprang towards me, I boosted my eyesight as much as possible, waited till she was within my range and...swiftly stepped forward and drove my lightning-enhanced fist towards her as fast as I could.
Shocker Punch!
My fist slammed square onto the middle of her face, killing her momentum and dissipating her flames, a wave of heat slapping me as my fist made contact. Woah, that felt like it nearly took my arm off, I definitely had some fractures in my fingers, but nothing external, so healing shouldn't be a worry.
She somehow managed to stay on her feet, but dizzily stumbled back with a groan, her nose broken and bleeding. I quickly activated Lightning Boost at x2.5, and shot towards her throwing a few punches and kicks at her...she wasn't as physically strong as Lagusa, but she was still extremely sturdy, my attacks barely doing anything to her. I quickly zipped back to get some distance, and reloaded the guns.
Well, I had used up the element of surprise, but now I didn't stand a chance against her without using Karma or Vampire Mode, and those were obviously not an option. I didn't have any more tricks up my sleeve, so my strategy now was to keep my distance and run out the clock.
"You little...!" She growled, as she regained her bearings, flames violently sprouting all around her, "I'm gonna burn you to ash!"
I zipped away as fast as I could, increasing lightning boost to x2.7...I couldn't afford to use the full extent of it, but it was really tempting right now.
She was crazy fast, I was just barely staying out of her reach by running in zigzag patterns and firing the guns at her. But I can't keep this up for long, it's only a matter of seconds before she catches up.
Suddenly, a flash on black lightning appeared in my peripheral, rapidly shooting towards her. What the-...!?
It took me a second to process what just happened. Lagusa had shot forward using Lightning Boost with his Karmic Lightning Magic and then restrained Azeria before she reached me, pinning her down.
"Now, now, it is hardly appropriate, and rather contradictory, to punish a candidate who performed well in training, don't you agree? It was your own fault for keeping your guard down the entire time, and it is only a minor injury," He remarked, letting her go after she stopped resisting and stopped spouting flames.
"Tch, whatever. This bout is over. The next one starts when I say so," She growled irritably, walking away to the sidelines and sitting down with a huff, taking a drink of water and using a safety pin to clip her shirt in the spot my bullet had struck after healing her broken nose with a Spell Card.
I let out a sigh of relief and returned to the other end of the sidelines, noticing that Lagusa was watching me. I don't think I blew my cover, but I did use a fair amount of my power. I didn't exactly have a choice though...maybe I shouldn't have tried to land a hit on her, after all. I mean, it felt pretty good and all, but it kinda almost backfired horribly.
Anyway, for the remaining bouts in her five hour block, she continued to stay on defense, but also was paying more attention to prevent anyone from catching her off-guard again. I noticed that she was flashing me the occasional glare in between the bouts.
...I should probably watch my back.
...
It wasn't long before the five hours were up, and she left with a sigh of relief, making sure to give me a death glare before she headed out. Well, I had a somewhat significant reading of her strength and speed, but I would have liked to see more of what she can do, and I don't know the maximum intensity and scale of her flames yet either.
We were given a half hour break, before the second block of five hours would begin. And the person in charge of the next block was going to be Arturo Lagusa aka Sicario, and...I was a bit stressed about that. I knew better than anyone how sharp and cunning he was, and it wouldn't take too many hints for him to figure out who I am, so I can't afford to give anything away.
"Now, then...the second block of this training camp will begin. I had a few ideas on how to go about conducting it, but after watching the last round...I shall do the same thing. Come at me with everything you have got, one by one in ten minute rounds, simple as that. Any questions? No? Good, let us begin immediately!" He instructed, motioning for us to draw lots again, in order to determine the order in which we go.
I drew...number three. Damn it, I'd have liked to have gotten something after ten again. Well, I'll just have to observe the first two rounds as closely as possible, and then-...
...the first two candidates to go up against him didn't land a single hit between them, or even come close for that matter. Unlike Azeria, Lagusa was fully alert and on-guard the whole time, so trying to surprise him wasn't going to be easy.
And, now...it's my turn.
This is gonna be a pain, but I can't avoid it, so might as well make the most of it. There's no better way to get stronger than by fighting those that are stronger than you, and this training camp was being conducted by six of the most powerful humans in this world...an opportunity like this will probably never come again, so I'll take full benefit while I can.
I steeled myself as I picked two guns again, along with a small dagger, and headed out to the middle. Here goes nothing, I guess.
On another note, I wonder how the others are doing right now...
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