Chapter 325

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, 7:20 AM

I drank two Arcane Breakfast Teas to restore my Mental Points to a level I was comfortable with as we surveyed the carnage that laid before me. It had taken ten minutes to reduce their numbers to the double digits, and the only monsters left were those unlucky enough to be maimed but not killed. Yet, anyway.

The closest any of them had gotten was twenty feet away, and that had been a lynx that managed to jump over my razor wire fence. It had been swiftly dispatched.

Mercury had stood by my side the entire time. Some of the braver members of the defenders had come near, though I wouldn’t say they were close. We were standing on the precipice of the radioactive zone and everyone here knew better than to enter it without burning the Chernoshrooms first. Most of those had been cut down to size due to my lowest wire, which was going to make their job easier.

“Well?” I asked, turning around. Some of the other people flinched as I suddenly addressed them. “We’re in crisis mode, people! Your jobs are about to get harder once the reactor bosses are taken down. I want everyone we have burning the remains! I saw some wind mages among you, fan the flames! The longer you take, the faster they’re going to spread once the big boss wakes up and we don’t want to make it any harder than it has to be. Do you understand!?”

“Yes, sir!” a few of them yelled, and I could tell by the way they stood that they had military training.

The sound of concrete crumbling and metal bending reached our ears as the reactor bosses finally broke free of their cages. I doubted Hernigan thought the monster’s initial push would go so poorly for them, and it didn’t seem like he accelerated their exit. That was his loss, and I appreciated that he was being so shortsighted.

“How long do you think we have?” one of the more anxious men asked as the fire mages and those with flamethrowers moved forward and started working. “It’s just, that’s a lot of kills you just did… single-handedly.”

I turned to face him. “Minutes,” I answered confidently. “You have minutes. So get to work.”

“O-of course, sir. Right a-away, sir,” he stammered before joining the others in their cleansing.

After taking a moment to establish a Mental Link with Mercury, I retrieved the Staff of Raphael from my inventory. We began to fly over the battlefield with my four feathered saw blades taking up position behind me. I specifically avoided the smoke coming from the defender’s efforts as that would be unnecessary, and we entered Chernobyl proper.

Passing into the zone felt like moving through a wall. Pain tingled across my body, settling into my gut. Mercury audibly groaned as it suddenly struck him all at once.

“Whenever you need to retreat to heal, don’t hesitate,” I ordered as I kept an eye on the shifting buildings that used to be the decommissioned reactors. “Other than that, it’s business as usual. Come and go as you please.”

“Do you want the final kills for the points?” he asked as he unsheathed the Princess. Her blade of light was longer now than would normally fit in the sheathe, more the size of a katana. The ninja had always wanted one, so this fit.

“It’d be nice, but not necessary. If you get the chance to kill one then do it. No mercy,” I answered before a glowing blue light caught my attention from the rubble. “Hey, do me a favor. Hold the Princess out in front of you like you’re about to block.”

Mercury blinked at the request but did as requested, holding her up and putting his palm on her blade. “Like this?”

“Yup. Now stay that way,” I told him before maneuvering him in front of me.

A beam of crackling blue energy erupted from the rubble of the second reactor and streaked through the sky towards us. Mercury flinched but held firm as it struck the Princess’ blade. He was pushed back towards me, and I placed a hand on his back to stop him. A more powerful blast of radiation washed over us, but it only lasted a moment.

The Princess’s multicolored light started to turn the same shade of blue as the beam while she absorbed the energy. It no longer struck us, having barely singed our clothes, before she got a handle on it. Mercury grunted with the effort, but kept his blade interposed between us and the attack.

My four feathered saw blades shot around us before following the beam towards its origin. The beast was outside of my aura’s range, but I could see it clearly with my enhanced vision from the Absolute Awareness passive. A massive, mushroom-riddled elk slightly smaller than the building it had burst out of stood half-covered in debris. Between its antlers was the source of the attack, a large blue eye.

It bellowed out, which was a strange, rasping noise that filled the countryside, and the other reactor bosses joined in. A boar, bear, and lynx all emerged from their respective reactors, shaking the dust off of their mushroom-covered hides. The cat was the smallest of them all, but that didn’t mean much when it was still the size of a tank.

The beam faltered as my feathered saw blades collided with the Atomic Elk’s antlers. They slowed, but continued to Spin as fast as I could make them. I Pulled them back, letting them return to maximum speed, and Pushed them again. Their targets were thick, but I had no doubt I would win out.

<<<>>>

[[Patron Quest: Defeat the Reactor Bosses!]]

Atomic Elk, Nuclear Boar, Irradiated Lynx, and Fission Bear, the heralds of the upcoming radioactive apocalypse. They range in size and power with the last one being the biggest threat by far, but I’m sure you’ve already plotted out how you’re going to deal with them.

To make matters worse, Hernigan just announced that Chernobyl has become a No Fly Zone. You’re going to lose out on your Flight ability in thirty seconds.

Objective: Defeat the 4 reactor bosses.

Reward: +60,000 points.

<<<>>>

“Our wings are being clipped!” I yelled so Mercury could hear me over the sound of the energy beam. “Dropping in ten!”

“Understood!” he replied.

I continued our approach, flying us closer as the other three reactor bosses broke free of their buildings and turned towards us. Each of them roared, though the noise was eerily muted. I knew the Chernoshrooms were inside their throats, too.

A loud crack filled the area as my feathered saw blades succeeded in shearing through the Atomic Elk’s antlers. The blue eye the beam originated from fluctuated chaotically as the attack rapidly lost strength before exploding entirely. This misfiring forced the reactor boss’ head towards the ground, but it wouldn’t be nearly enough to kill it.

Mercury hit the ground first and was about to run forward when I put a hand on his shoulder. “Expel the radiation first,” I told him when I landed next to him. “You don’t want to hinder your own attacks by using something they resist.”

“Good call,” he said before jumping back.

I surged forward on my Heelies as Mercury swung towards a nearby building. A blast of blue energy rocketed out of the Princess’ blade as he released it all at once. It wasn’t a thin effect like my Distant Slice but wide and destructive, and it tore through the air like thunder. The energy collided with the siding, blasting this half of the structure away in its entirety.

“Atta boy,” I said with a grin, though I didn’t have time to bask in my pride.

The building next to me was demolished as a huge boar, curled in on itself like an armadillo, rolled through it. Thick, bristle-like hair stuck out of its back anywhere the mushrooms hadn’t covered. Each one pulsed with a bright, radioactive green light. I lowered myself to the ground, stopping on a dime, and Constructed a ramp between us. I protected it with two Force Fields and used the Staff of Raphael as a brace.

I strained both physically and mentally to keep the Nuclear Boar from crushing me as it rolled onto my Construct. The two Force Fields broke under its bulk and the ramp bent, but it was moving fast enough that the damage beyond that was minimal.

Not a moment later, it was in the air having passed right over me. I dismissed my current Construct before summoning four augurs where it was going to land. They started Spinning rapidly, ready for the inevitable impact.

Behind me, the Irradiated Lynx stalked through the wrecked building and got ready to pounce. I paid it no mind; I could already tell it had been spotted thanks to the Mental Link I had with Mercury.

It leapt into the air, deadly claws coated in radioactive energy, and came down on me. The ninja intercepted the beast. He kicked it away, his feet landing firmly in its midsection before exchanging positions with one of the larger pieces of debris. In one clean motion, Mercury turned and sliced downwards.

His attack caught the cat boss just as the Nuclear Boar landed on my augers. Though they bent slightly under its weight, they Spun and drilled deep into its hide. The monster continued forward, diving into a disgusting pool of water before starting a fast turn back to us. I alternated between Lift, Drop, Push, and Pull to ensure that the augers were still moving their way through the beast.

Beside me, the Irradiated Lynx hit the ground. The Princess had cut it rather deeply, but it didn’t seem to feel the pain as it bounced and landed on its feet. By the time it turned to face Mercury, he was already following up. The boss’ reflexes were astounding, allowing it to leap backwards with less than an inch to spare.

It wasn’t enough. The Princess extended by twice her length, cutting into the cat’s face. It growled and spat but didn’t recoil, instead charging forward and striking out with its claws again. I placed a Force Field in its way, protecting the ninja as he followed up.

The boar, too, didn’t feel pain. Against anything else, the burrowing augers would have at least slowed it down but that wasn’t the case here. Instead of trying the ramp again, I was forced to wheel out of the way towards the Irradiated Lynx, hoping it wouldn’t want to squish a friendly.

My hopes had been right, but it slid to a stop where I had once been and almost immediately tried to run me over. I blinked away with Fae Step, getting out of the boss’ path before it could skewer me with one of its huge tusks or knock me down to be trampled.

A toxic fog filled the streets as the Fission Bear joined the fray. It was far larger than the buildings around us, so much so that it could have only fit in the fourth reactor’s building by curling up. Every step created craters in the ground whether it was on soil or road, and it started coming in hot. The debilitating mist came out of its mouth with every heaving breath as it charged at us.

Mercury deflected the lynx’s claws, nearly falling onto his back as he was overpowered, which would have made him a prime target. I activated Shield as the cat suddenly went vertical, its back paws striking the ninja before jumping after him.

Normally, he would have teleported there to get out of danger but the results of our Mental Link training was leagues above what I had with the others. Mercury had trusted the feelings I had sent him and taken the blow, which caused the Shield I put on him to shimmer but not break, and he chased after the boss now that it was in the air. It twisted so it was in a better position to land, but he struck its stomach open with his blade.

I didn’t have much time after that, but I was an exceptional multitasker. Still keeping tabs on the Nuclear Boar as it stopped and turned, I jumped and landed on my Force Field before repeating the process. At the apex I activated Crash Test and headed right towards the Fission Bear.

Dropping one of the Constructed augers inside the boar, I created a thick blade at the end of my Staff of Raphael. The process took less than a second, and the boss barely had time to roar defiance at my charge. I slammed into its snout and stopped dead in my tracks as I lashed out. Not only did I take the recoil damage from Crash Test, but it flung me towards the water as well.

I took its eye, though, so I called the clash a win.

Once again there was no cry of pain as blood and fungus poured out of the Fission Bear’s cornea. It snarled before turning on Mercury simply because he was there. Raising onto its back legs, the beast swung its massive paw at the ninja.

Who still didn’t get out of the way. I landed on a Force Field so I wouldn’t fall into the radioactive water, skidding to a stop on top of it, and was ready to intercept the attack. Shield was still up, but I wasn’t going to trust that. I let myself fall as I conjured two more of the barriers in the bear’s path.

Mercury had managed to get underneath the Irradiated Lynx before it could land. Four clawed paws were coming right for his face, and he took a breath before he momentarily disappeared. He didn’t go anywhere, instead starting the big attack he got from his class.

Tenfold Slash had him teleport in place and attack every time he did. The Princess flashed, taking off two of the cat’s paws in one swipe before he instantly shifted into position to make his next strike. There was no loss of momentum; he was in the perfect place to smoothly continue the string.

The Fission Bear’s paw broke through the first Force Field but bounced off the second as Mercury flowed from attack to attack. Each strike was equal to his regular attacks now that the ability had been leveled up so much, but he still benefited from the enhanced speed, precision, and his new skill.

Shocking Strike activated three times as Tenfold Slash finished before the Irradiated Lynx hit the ground. Lightning coursed through Mercury, into the Princess, and shocked the boss. The smell of burnt fur and mushrooms spread through the air.

Additionally, the blade absorbed some of the electricity from the skill, turning a pale yellow. Mercury turned and rolled away as the bear’s paw came down. The cement where he had just been shattered, and he lunged for the cat. It stumbled on stumps, having only one paw left, and I helped him with Orbit to give his attack a little more power.

The Irradiated Lynx’s head tumbled to the ground, and its body slumped with it.

As much as I wanted to congratulate him on taking down the second reactor boss, the Nuclear Boar hadn’t been idle. It spun towards me, and I planted the Staff of Raphael, which still had the Constructed blade on it, into a crevice in the ground. The augers in its body were still spinning along, nearly making it out of the other side, but the thing was proving sturdier than I remembered.

I stared down the boar as Mercury fled from the bear. He needed to get to safety and drink some potions. While he hadn’t been hurt all that much in his tussle with the lynx, the extra damage from the toxic mist was getting to him.

The Nuclear Boar slammed into the Staff of Raphael and the ground I had used to help hold it up cracked underneath me from the force. I kept both hands on the weapon and used Drop twice on the shaft and Push on the blade. The boss slowed under my efforts.

It was a damn good thing the Staff of Raphael was basically indestructible. The Constructed blade required me to renew it as it cut against the boss’ skin while it spun in place, and I had to constantly do so. Unfortunately, another matter held my attention.

Mercury had left the battlefield, which made me the only target left. That much was fine, but the Fission Bear turned to me, its chest glowing with a bright, orange light, and I knew I had to move. The moment I stopped putting pressure on the boar was the moment it would continue speeding, so I just needed to replace the force.

I activated Cheetah Sprint the same time my feathered sawblades joined the fray. They Spun the opposite direction as the Nuclear Boar as they thudded against its hide with as much force as I could muster. The sound of them ripping and tearing through flesh and bone was music to my ears.

Under the effects of Cheetah Sprint, I was able to pull back and speed away on my Heelies, heading towards the Fission Bear. The boar made progress the moment I did, but had been slowed down enough that I didn’t have to worry about getting run over. It stopped again as the sawblades remained where they were, simply cutting into the beast faster.

I was forced to dodge under the bear’s claws as it swiped at me, limboing as close to the ground as I could. A plan came into my mind and I reached out and grabbed its fur. I was violently ripped from my path as I was taken for a ride.

At the end of its swing, I jumped off of the Fission Bear’s paw towards its head. I ejected the Cable Conglomerate from the Vambrace of Wires at the same time, snaking it under the beast’s mouth and back towards me. 

Alighting on its snout in front of its useless eye, I grabbed the end of the rope and pulled it tight. The beast roared as I attempted to muzzle it, shaking its head in an attempt to send me flying away, but I persisted. It backed up, head lowered, as I made progress.

I gritted my teeth as a paw batted at me, but Shield took the brunt of the blow. Its mouth closed completely, limiting the amount of miasma flowing from it, and the orange light in its chest grew brighter. I tied off the rope before cutting it off from my vambrace and bouncing down.

The Fission Bear smacked its own snout and tried to push the obstruction off, and it would have succeeded if I weren’t a little evil. Letting all of my current Constructs fade away, I made staples that pierced through the boss’ skin and held the Cable Conglomerate in place.

Once I hit the ground, I rushed back in towards the distracted bear. Giving up the Staff of Raphael for a moment, I summoned the Vague Stick from my inventory and changed its form into that of a sword. My slashes on the boss’ tendons in its back leg were fast, brutal, and enhanced by my boosted speed.

I was forced to move out of the way as the bear fell towards me. My strikes had made its leg harder to use but I could tell that this was more in an effort to squash the pest attacking it than simply collapsing. It reached for me, but I was far too fast.

The Fission Bear had given up trying to remove the muzzle I had put on it and gave chase, clawing the ground as it pulled itself forward. Even when it tried to stand up, its injuries made it difficult. I pulled the feathered sawblades from the corpse of the Nuclear Boar and sent them towards the final target. Once I felt I was a safe enough distance away, I stopped to pay full attention to my handiwork.

Mercury appeared beside me as he wiped the tea from his lips and pulled his mask back over his face. “Weren’t there supposed to be four reactor bosses?” he asked. “What happened to the beam monster?”

“That was the elk, and it was the first to die,” I answered as I watched the sawblades brutalize the bear, which was now persistently crawling towards us.

“Those things are terrifying, Warmonger,” the ninja stated, gesturing towards what could barely be called a battle.

“Aren’t they?” I asked with a grin. “Yeah, I’m really happy with how they turned out.”

We fell into silence as my telekinesis finished the job. Muzzled, hamstrung, and only able to attack high-speed weapons, the Fission Bear didn’t last very long at all.

<<<>>>

[[Urgent Scenario Quest Complete!]]

Congratulations! The reactor bosses of the power plant have been defeated, heralding the uprising of the true boss of Chernobyl.

This was only a taste, but one the Antagonist and his henchman took on quite easily. Enjoy an awakened scenario boss while you can, and die.

Reward: +12,000 points.

Optional Rewards: +30,000 points (Anthony Franklin), +10,000 points (Leonard Langston).

[[Patron Quest Complete!]]

Okay, so far so good. The No Fly Zone is still in effect, but you should be able to handle the final scenario.

The defenders only managed to clear out a little more than half of what you had killed in that time, so they’re going to have a hard time keeping up with the mushroom’s proliferation. You’ll have to be fast to maximize the gains from my first quest.

Reward: +60,000 points.

<<<>>>

“Alright, what’s next?” Mercury asked as he tightened his grip on the Princess. He looked around, ready for the next threat. I pointed up towards the sky where the giant mushroom cap hovered above us. “What’s that mean? What are we fighting?”

A pulse of energy disturbed the air around us, and each of the bosses we had fought were dragged into the air. The remains of the regular mobs, even those that were still on fire, followed immediately after. Each one headed towards the stalk holding up the massive mushroom cap, which began to undulate. There was nothing I could do to stop this, so I saved my Mental Points.

All around, the buildings cracked and broke apart as tendrils of fungus moved through them. Concrete and metal were dragged and misplaced, becoming like armor for the towering Chernoshroom. It made no noise, but an aura of menace descended on the power plant as if it had just declared its intent to kill us.

“Chernobyl, Mercury,” I finally answered. “We’re fighting Chernobyl.”