Chapter 100

The Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta - 1:54 PM

I sat on top of the Georgia Aquarium without my Ringmaster’s Hoodie and Seven-Tenner’s Bowling Shirt on. The sun beat down on my skin pleasantly, warming me despite the chilly breeze, and I thoroughly enjoyed my moment of quiet crafting.

The Iron Anchor Patch was simple to sew into my bowling shirt, and the simple back stitch I used was quick. I used my new sewing kit to attach it to the right side just underneath where my Filbin nickname, Perfect Game, was embroidered on the chest. There was enough room to attach two more before I had to start a new row. .

Crafting was calming, even knowing what was coming next. The feelings of nervousness before a boss fight that I had felt at the beginning of the run were still there, but at this point they had become heavily watered down. My Regression Imbalance was, thankfully, starting to disappear. I didn’t feel that familiar bloodlust at the Skyloft Lounge with Jacob Branson’s thugs, at least.

For the most part, anyway. Discipline was needed to make sure any flair ups would be squashed immediately. I was still working on that, but it was better. Everything was better than those first couple of days in the system in a younger body.

Holding up the Seven-Tenner Bowling Shirt, I nodded to myself as I admired my craftsmanship. The anchor shaped patch had a nice contrast compared to the vertical white line on the left side of the shirt. I slipped it on.

[[Equipped]]

Seven-Tenner Bowling Shirt

(This item has one (1) Patch; +2 Strength, +2 Dexterity, +2 Constitution, Heavy Strike passive acquired, Anchored passive acquired)

The Ringmaster’s Hoodie went on next before I snapped open my inventory and pulled out a thin, smooth metal tube that was as long as my forearm. I slid the vambrace over my right arm and locked it in place with the twin harnesses. The silver shone for a moment before the reflection of a long, metal rope coiling around the item appeared on its surface. I brought up the stats for my second Unique Item.

[[Equipped]]

Vambrace of Wires

(Unique Item; +5 Strength, +5 Constitution, Cable Conglomerate skill acquired)

[[Skill]]

Cable Conglomerate

The Vambrace of Wires contains 50 feet of braided wire rope. At your mental command, any to all of this rope may be ejected from any spot on the item. It moves according to your thoughts and returns to the vambrace as easily as it is ejected. You may choose to unravel the rope into up to seven wires and control each one individually. You may also choose to cut the rope at specific points, though you do not have mental control of the pieces no longer attached. This skill regenerates wire rope at a rate of 10 feet per hour, and any pieces removed from the vambrace disappears at the same rate.

I whistled at my new toy as I moved my arm to look at it. There was no indication of the rope on the outside other than the ghostly reflection, and the metal was incredibly lightweight and comfy. Ashley had told me that it took on several elements of both the Metal Conglomerate’s core and the ghostly control Mathias Gray had over the noose. Both were imparted to me as the owner. Thanks to the bits of flesh that had fused to the rope, the final product became a unique item.

Unique items were one of a kind, and could only be used by specific people or organizations. In this case, the Vambrace of Wires was mine because it was made using a part of my body. According to Ashley, it also meant the skill came out more as a more powerful version because of this restriction. Even if someone else managed to make the same item with just the base materials, theirs would come weaker because anyone could use it.

Lashing out with my right arm and mentally commanded the rope inside. An ethereal glow appeared on the vambrace as a one inch thick wire rope flew out of it, stopping at ten feet and hitting the ground with a light thud. The light where it was still connected to the armor remained, and I had watched the coiled rope move to accommodate my wishes.

Turning my attention to the length on the roof, I thought about it rising into the air, and it did. I brought it close to my face, paying careful attention to the individual wires. Making it sway back and forth like a snake, I chuckled. “Well, I always fancied myself a charming man,” I mumbled at my own amusement.

The wire rope was made of seven different cables, and I thought about it unraveling. It was a slow process at first, but as I practiced it became easier and easier to control the individual strands. Releasing more rope didn’t make much of a difference, not even the weight changed. In fact, the whole thing was incredibly light.

In order to test it out, I raised my arm and lashed the rope against the roof. The Cable Conglomerate skill didn’t deal any damage at all; it simply didn’t have enough mass. While it wouldn’t make for a good weapon, there was still the matter of durability.

Pulling out the axe I had taken from a trap in the Mausoleum of the Arsonist, I raised it above my head. Aiming for the last few inches, I swung the weapon downwards and used Drop to give it a little extra oomph.

The individual strands were cut off completely from the wire rope. That made sense, I had given it all I got. Testing was important, though, and I continued with two and three twisted strands. Both of them were cut, though I felt the resistance this time. When I tried four, I couldn’t cut it in one strike, but I could in two. Five strands took four, six strands took eight, and the full wire rope took fifteen swings to get through. The tests cost me three feet altogether, which I felt was a fair trade.

Incredibly satisfied by the durability of my shiny new toy, I was almost ready to take care of the Georgia Aquarium. Thanks to the Vambrace of Wires, I had a new way of dealing with the monster inside. A safer way, though I would need to spend points to make it work. Snapping open my menu and navigating to my status screen, I started increasing my Strength.

[[Notice]]

Would you like to spend 400 points in order to increase the following stats?

Strength 20 -> 30

Yes

No

I just barely had enough points with a total of 405, but I hit Yes and accepted it anyway. My body swelled up, though not as much as it would have at the beginning of the system. The boost gave my muscles more definition, but didn't blow me up like a balloon animal.

The difference between 30 Strength and 20 Dexterity wasn’t nearly as large as the 16 point difference I would have had at the beginning if I had accidentally drank the Wondrous Strength Enhancement Potion first.

As I flexed my fingers, I could feel how much stronger I had become. I felt like I would be able to cheese this boss with some effort, but in the worst case scenario I would still be able to dive into the building. I thought back to my past attempts as I pulled out one of the Air Crystals, a small white diamond-shaped stone, and headed towards the opening in the roof.

[[Item]]

Air Crystal

By placing this crystal in your mouth and chewing, it releases breathable air for up to 5 minutes.

Under normal circumstances, I would have to enter the Georgia Aquarium and swim around. The entire building had been flooded by the system and turned into a dungeon. Back at the beginning, the aquarium had slowly started filling with water. The people inside were able to escape if they were quick enough, but it didn't take long for the doors and windows to shut, lock, and turn into indestructible objects as the boss spawned.

Now, the only entrance was near the center of the building:a large, round skylight. The glass here had been shattered and the small circular structure housing it had several gouges along the edges, some of which damaged the roof it came out of. Water splashed out as if something big was swimming inside and making waves.

As a Warmind, swimming was easy enough; using my telekinetic abilities on my weapon allowed me to move easier than any swimmer could. The boss, however, moved just as freely in the water and was incredibly dangerous to the point where one blow may cause me to lose My Golden Bowling Ball. That was something I knew from experience, so now I had a much safer alternative to swimming around.

With the World of Coca-Cola museum sharing the same block, I could also hit two birds with one stone using this new method. The added benefit of taking out other mobs clinched this for me. The fact that the monsters of that dungeon were my absolute least favorite didn’t factor into the equation at all. Not even a little bit.

"Fun fact," I said to the sky. "All together, the Georgia Aquarium's tanks hold over ten million gallons of water. As you can imagine, there's many times more than that now, given the circumstances."

Snapping open my inventory, I retrieved the Vague Stick and set it down at my feet. The next thing I pulled out was a still steaming lobster I had taken from the Angel Express’ dining car.

One of the first things I did when I returned from the Mausoleum was throw some actual meals into my inventory in case I ran into someone like Charlie again. I took a bite before I had the wires begin to separate and grab the lobster.

It didn’t take long, and I pulled my bowie knife out of its sheath for the end of the rope to grab, creating a makeshift hook with lobster bait. I didn’t trust the strands to be able to pierce through the boss’ flesh, but I was betting the weapon was sharp enough to do so without being magical. It was a really good knife.

Grabbing the Vague Stick, I shaped it into a spear with as fine a point as I could make it. Raising it in my left hand, I stabbed at the roof. It pierced through a good half a foot or so, and I found that to be acceptable. There would be times when the boss would attempt to flee where I would need to stand my ground, and this would help steady me.

I took a deep breath as some of those pre-battle nerves finally hit me. I cursed thinking about it earlier, knowing I was just getting in my own head, but I also knew that I was in a good spot. Everything that I could have done was done, and I was ready for it. Throwing my arm back, I extended the rope to thirty five feet and cast it into the hole in the roof.

Then, I waited.

In my past run, I had become well acquainted with the sport of fishing during my “vacation” in the Caribbean Islands. It had been a good source of food and, as the islands continued to sink into the water, a solid way to gain points as monsters started appearing. It was also a good test of my patience.

Back in the early days, I was a loose cannon. Angry with everything and not afraid to let people know it. I had made a lot of enemies with my attitude and certainly deserved the hate flowing my way, but it always ended up making me feel guilty near the end. I lashed out because of my circumstances, but everyone else had the same problems. My situation was different only in the most specific of ways, after all.

Those days had been disastrous for me, but they also taught me a few things that I attributed to my success now. Like who I was, what I could stand to tolerate, and what I couldn’t. It taught me perseverance, patience, and understanding that stuck with me even centuries later.

That said, I still hated waiting for fish.

On my ideal fishing trip, the fish would bite immediately because I had the right gear. In coastal regions or in places where lakes were plentiful it wasn’t hard to find the right equipment, it just hadn’t been necessary for me to get yet. This was a last minute plan change based on the worry of my friends, my girlfriend, and the new equipment that I picked up along the way.

So I continued waiting.

Taking a deep breath, I centered myself.  The bait was good, the boss was still in there. I just needed to be patient.

Ten minutes later, when I was already halfway to contemplating jumping in and doing this the hard way, my rope twitched. All of my attention focused on the line as I braced myself against the Vague Stick.

It twitched again, and again.

Then it snapped taut, causing me to grunt in pain as it felt like my arm was going to be pulled from its socket. My body jerked towards the Vague Stick, which I held in place with Drop even as I began Pulling the rope towards me. I groaned from the effort, but the line held even as the boss of the dungeon began to pull back.

The rope went slack for a moment and I pulled the Vague Stick from the roof. I began running towards the southeast, though I only got a few feet before I planted the weapon again and braced myself.

Once again, the boss started pulling. The water in the hole my line had been cast into was spilling out in waves now as the monster inside became more agitated and fought against me. I had the high ground, but that wasn’t going to count for much soon enough.

As if it read my mind, I heard the sound of a motor revving up in the water. The rope went slack and I started running again as I tried to make sure the boss would stay as close to the surface as possible.

A large chainsaw emerged from the building and began slicing up the hole I had cast my line into. The white teeth were spinning around a dark brown, leathery rostrum that stuck out of the front of the boss’ face. As I pulled, its head breached the water. We locked eyes.

The boss’s chainsaw face roared as it began spinning even faster at the mere sight of me. Shifting, it sliced through the roof and dove back into the unknowable depths of the Georgia Aquarium, trying to pull me down with it.