Lost Rain

Outrun - Chapter 227

Four days passed quickly as I tinkered around and set my gear up. I even went and started making different elements for Aether Imbuement. At the moment, it was only ice imbuements that I had to a stable condition, but I had plans for a bunch of different ones way down the line. 

Anyway, my gear was all repaired and ready to go. I even had some new additions on top of that. Everything—except the coil gun—was ready for combat. Even my wristguns, which had been heavily modified on...

Outrun - Chapter 226

I rubbed at my new eye, looking around my speakeasy as I moved to the back workshop. Everything was as I left it. No sign of any intruder. One less worry on my shoulders if this place was still safe.

The eye would take some getting used to. It was slightly worse off than my normal eye, but still far better than my vision had been back before the system. After the surgery, the interface had mutated the cloned flesh, applying all my Perks to it. It likewise had an amber core in the pink i...

Outrun - Chapter 225

“Thank you,” I called out to the taxi driver as I stepped out near the Blue Crusade’s building. My bike was still at the apartment’s parking garage, and I didn’t want to risk going back there. Especially now that I lost my feature scrubber alongside my eye. No telling if they were still camped out waiting on me. It was taxi life for me... unless I requested one of the Crusade's vehicles, I guess.

I stared at the building in front of me. As the glowing blue neon flashed in the ...

Outrun - Chapter 224

Once we were alone, the Shrinemaiden summoned a sprite. It was a quick action, and the spell that followed was even faster. At my questioning gaze, she spoke up. “Anti-eavesdropping magic. Just in case! Never know who might be listening~.”

”Right…” There were a plethora of things she could want to talk about privately. The least of which was Vulpes personally hanging out with me or the magical tracker in my neck. Speaking of which, the tracker was gone. Must’ve taken care of...

Outrun - Chapter 223

I awoke to a warmth surrounding me on all sides. I struggled to open my eyes, feeling them burn with tiredness as I blankly stared at an unfamiliar roof- 

Why? One of my eyes was blank, leaving my vision off. Did the chrome-

A flood of memories hit me, instantly turning my tiredness into a raging migraine. I raised a hand, feeling as though I had to fight through an ocean of warmth, and rubbed at my head. After a second, I paused, inspecting it. Perfectly fine flesh, as if it...

Outrun - Chapter 222

I staggered back, shuddering as I felt yet another bullet tear through my thigh as I failed to dodge. They’d swapped to live rounds after their attempt to flush me out. Unfortunately, it looked like they were finally starting to see me as an actual opponent. Or so the several flesh wounds all over my body told me.

I flew through open space, using the shadows to my advantage as I repositioned away from the shots once more. Mid-move, I pulled a handful of knives and through them up. To ...

Outrun - Chapter 221

Cold-Blooded was the only thing keeping me moving as I tiredly staggered for the door. I wiped at my cheek, wiping away tears of blood as the bursts of cold drowned out the pain. I glanced back, spotting the mangled chrome from where I plucked it out of my eye socket. Most of the mess was tech, though gouging it out hadn’t exactly been a clean process.

At the very least, I was no longer getting tased by my own chrome. My Neural Link and Neural System Interface had nothing else to conn...

Outrun - chapter 220

Lightning struck above, causing a deep rumble that seemed to fill the city. The lightning illuminated the Ryu Container Yard just in front of the sky tram. It was just a few blocks now, close enough to sprint to without any issues.

I sighed as I stood up and stretched out, hearing my spine pop in several places. I barely suppressed a yawn. I'd been woken up in the middle of the night, and after a desperate flight through the city, I was definitely feeling it.

I glanced back out th...

Outrun - chapter 219

I looked around at the damage I wrought. Honestly? It went way better than expected. Hidden Hands, Hidden Weapons, and Throwing Weapon Master were truly a perfect combo. Add in Ambidextrous, and I could perfectly throw daggers without anyone the wiser. It was a seriously lethal combination. 

I pushed aside the guy who forced me to the ground. He easily collapsed, frothing at the mouth as his arms continued to bend and break. He was beyond the point of screams now, his nerves shatte...

Outrun - Chapter 218

Netrunners. I’d been lucky these last couple months to only run into them when they weren’t prepared. Taking one by surprise and dealing with one that was active and ready were two completely different situations. Especially since I didn’t have a Netrunner of my own to defend me.

Not all was lost though. I’d intentionally prepared my gear to one day run up against a Netrunner. Almost everything was offline and hardwired, leaving little to no places for one of them to get in outs...

Outrun - Chapter 217

Two things happened in a very short period. First, I heard my door lock rattle near silently. A flush of Insight hit me as yet another spell was cast. The lock on my door went silent, though it still moved as I watched it.

And secondly, I pulled the pins of my two grenades and boldly threw them out the window. I counted the seconds, hoping my locks could hold up for just a few moments longer. I still had the element of surprise, but it’d be over as soon as the door opened-

Two g...

Outrun - Chapter 216

I awoke early the next morning, feeling completely refreshed compared to yesterday. I checked my legs- perfectly healed. Quick Healing truly was a cheat trait. I can’t even imagine how fucked up I’d be if I didn’t have it. Insight too, for that matter. Both of them were indispensable. Fox’s Grace was just… nice. Had a bunch of auxiliary effects.

Anyway- today’s schedule! The Constellation Night Market was the major event for today. I was really looking forward to it. There w...

Outrun - Chapter 215

I arrived at the location Inquisitor Ligh sent me. It was Downtown, just outside of the Corporate Quarter. It was a ‘small’ skyscraper home to dozens, if not hundreds, of different corporations of varying kinds and types. The one Inquisitor Ligh sent to me in particular, though? Dru Industries. I checked it on the Net—it was a kind of security firm specializing in magical defenses.

I caught some eyes as I slowly made my way from the front door, across the lobby, and to the elevato...

Outrun - Chapter 214

I managed to find his bag with the help of the shark sprite. To no surprise, it was buried under a mound of rubble. It had been a pain to clear, though once I did, I returned to the Inquisitor’s side.

The stim shot he talked about was easy enough to use. It was already loaded up in a needle. I just needed to point and click for it to shoot into his veins. Medtech Stim BB-31 is what it said on the side. Unlike what I expected though, it only made the Inquisitor start bleeding even more...

Outrun - Chapter 213

My legs burned as I sprinted out of its wide AOE attack, dodging the attack itself even as splinters of wood and bits of metal pelted my back. Nothing too serious- rather, nothing that pierced through my poncho and trench coat combo. It was a near thing. My hand was all scraped up by the splinter storm.

I glanced over my shoulder as I repositioned, checking on the massive ent creature. It seemed to lose track of me, mindlessly slamming its thick arms around as it destroyed everything ar...

Outrun - Chapter 212

The bad feeling intensified as we headed deeper into the cavern. I felt as though something watched me, though no matter where I looked, I couldn’t see whatever it was. Still, my guard was most definitely up as we trudged through the water.

“So you wanted a Magus to lift the water?” The Inquisitor easily put together why I wanted him down here with me. He wasn't an Inquisitor for no reason.

“Chek. CI said it blocked out the magic circle.” I waved a hand to the murky wate...

Outrun - Chapter 211

Trip looked out onto a peculiar scene and not one he expected to see down here. Interactions between groups were typically shoot first ask questions never in the Underground, though he stood in a confused stupor for several seconds, losing the advantage.

Really, he couldn’t be blamed all that much. Never in his life would he expect to see an Inquisitor down here, sheepishly rubbing at the back of his head while a Squire glared up at him in rage. His rifle dropped instinctively in an a...

Outrun - Chapter 210

Getting down to the cavern was much, much easier than last time. Back then, I didn’t know where I was going or the routes to get there. Mira and I even entered through the Jade Fangs’ entrance, which was really far away from our destination.

Now though? Now getting down was easy. There were several entrances if you knew just where to look. This time, we got down through an ancient pump facility next to the tower. It was mostly abandoned, though at one point pumped up water from the ...

Outrun - Chapter 209

I returned to my apartment and nearly immediately collapsed onto my bed. I didn’t move to spend the Intimidation Perk yet. Instead, I spent some time surfing the Net and checking recent events after my talk with Shinobu. Specifically Aythryn City Live, the largest news company in Aythryn City.

ACL had a daily crime tracker on the website that I paid particular interest to. Especially the gang crime tracker. It had a noticeable uptick starting a couple of weeks ago, as did violent crim...

Outrun - Chapter 208

Down in the depths of the Underground, I stood at the crossroads to the stash. I’d already done a lot of security work with the place, opting for simple boobytraps, sensors, and hidden doors. I’d like to get some sentries and the like, but that’ll have to wait till I can get some proper auto-targeting arrays and programs.

The Nightmarket would probably have what I needed. On top of finally getting a scrambler and a few other devices that I'd been thinking about, that is. The Night...

Outrun - Chapter 207

The process of Aether Imbuement started at one place: the Crystallization Array. It was the centerpiece and the object that delayed me immediately getting to work on imbued bullets. The array was the silver disk marked carefully with a runic script. If I had everything set up right, the runes would allow me to access the Aether even without being a Magi or Adept myself. 

The whole process was closer to old-age alchemy than anything, where the alchemists of old sought to transmute i...

Restless - Chapter 16

As the shuttle left the landing bay, I got my first look at space and all its majesty. Staring out at the endless stars--at the gargantuan planets and the massive Dawn’s Glory--really had a way of making me feel small in a way I’d never felt before. I was a mere speck of dust, if even, amongst massive celestial bodies.

I felt small, and yet? It lit a fire deep in my heart. A fire to get out there, to see all there is. Oh, what it must be like to explore freely! To travel th...

Outrun - Chapter 206

Everything after that passed in a daze. Knight Persha took charge, nearly single-handedly wiping out the small gang hideout on the other side of the lift. For the most part, the Blood Scythes only had numbers going for them. They were a relatively small gang with knives and bats as their best weapons. To no one's surprise, the Knight easily won the melee.

I stayed back with Dev to watch over the survivors of the sacrificial ritual as we waited for reinforcements. An entire continge...

Restless - Chapter 15

The ship exited Umbra a couple days ago on the edge of the system, slowly drifting through space as we neared our destination. I asked Chief Engineer Yor, who looked seriously banged up and drained after being run ragged to jury rig a fix for the sabotaged Reality Anchors. Something about having to be careful with the Umbral Guillotine so it won’t affect inhabited planets. 

I’d been carefully testing my limits with the Instability all this time. After the Lyzar fight, my time o...

Restless - Chapter 14

I twisted on my bed, enjoying the soft comfort of the mattress cupping my body. It was by far the most comfortable thing I’d ever slept on, easily beating out my wooden bed- wait, my bed? 

My eyes shot open, oxygen flooding my lungs as I roughly gasped for air. For a moment, panic struck me as I stared at an unfamiliar ceiling- one even more unfamiliar than the Reality Anchor’s room I’d been stashed in. I twisted, feeling a soft mattress compress below me as I sat up.

I...

Outrun - Chapter 205

A massive crow flew into my view, pausing mid-air as it hovered in place. Its six, red eyes locked onto me as I took in its enormous form. It wasn’t even half of Crow’s size from the last time I saw the eidolon in his graveyard, but still massive. This bird had several dark green, nearly black growths all over its body like sacs of puss. Vines entwined in and under its feathers as if the creature was a mere flower bed.

I swept the surrounding area for the magus responsible for summo...

Outrun - Chapter 204

I breathed roughly through my mask as I stayed low, hiding under the tall pink flowers. They were closer to bushes covered in flowers than anything. I silently approached the green-robed man. He still had my knife in his shoulder blade from where I’d thrown it, and I would rather not lose it to the fire. 

I checked the situation as I moved for him, carefully keeping myself out of sight and hidden. Persha had already charged into the space, cleanly executing seven of the chromed o...

Restless - Chapter 13

The attack came suddenly. A sharp thud from the door roused every soldier in the room to attention, all snapping their aim to the heavy vault door. Another hammering thud rang out sharply against it. It wouldn’t be long before who or whatever was on the other side of the door would get through. 

“Contact! Reality Anchor Three!” The captain of the Gloomguard called into a device on his shoulder. Looked like some kind of communication device.

A second later, the device cr...

Outrun - Chapter 203

We headed for the hallway opposite where the Corrupted Dryads came from. It was one of two accessible hallways and the one that should lead the way back up to the Lang Tower. Assuming I was lined up, that is. I was expecting a guard or something, but other than a semi-permanent-looking lift platform, there wasn’t much to the entrance.

”Looks like a lot of movement through here.” Dev commented as he crouched down and looked at all the rubble kicked aside. Lots of foot traffic....

Restless - Chapter 12

Chief Engineer Yor came down to check on the machinery a few hours later. He called out to me as he fiddled with something on one of them. “You ready, kid?”

“For?” I asked.

“For going into Umbra- wait, this will be your first time off planet, right?” Yor grabbed a tool and started hammering on something. To me, his actions always looked like he randomly hit on this or that, but from the almost reverent way he talked about the machines, there was definitely a method to ...