The skies above our heads were different from the ones we’d left behind in the gnomish simulacrum. That pseudo-world was still accessible, but there was nothing left that it could offer us at this stage. I mean, Vince, Thunder Fist, Mittens and I were still having fun, but I had already come to accept that what I considered justified catharsis made my parents very uncomfortable.

  So, we’d gone back to the door chamber and entered the second door of the Peak difficulty Tutorial. I knew there was supposed to be a System vendor there waiting for us, but I wasn’t overly surprised to see no one had come.

  Granny Golden’s story would have spread around their inner circle by now after all. Even if she kept her beak shut or if no one believed her, Hazimon sure as (Gnome) wouldn’t let someone take the assignment without warning them first.

  Not that it mattered, since Vince, Thunder Fist, Henry, Mittens and Puffin all had plenty of time left on the clock to access the System store. Even after buying Symbiotes of their own and a whole host of other trinkets and supplies. Turns out the timer only runs while you’re buying and browsing, so they could get a lot of bang for their buck if they bought things quickly and then shut it down immediately after.

  So, second door it was.

  That one led us to a hotel. A nice, beachside hotel. With pseudo-humans and other species for staff and nice, clean rooms. And Internet. Somehow.

  No food though, but that was more or less expected.

  But the rooms were clean and the staff wasn’t programmed to start shapeshifting into us for a few hours. Sure, they’d want to try and kill us after hordes of monsters burst out from the water to eat us all, but…

  Well….

  The guys who designed the instance hadn’t accounted for [Limited Omniscience].

  Therefore, all the staff that were supposed to stab us in the back while we fought ended up being all too-eager to serve.

  Add in the recent Excursion we’d just returned from and things honestly couldn’t be better.

  “Isn’t this nice?” I said to my group.

  “The sun is shining. The birds are singing. The flowers in the garden are all vibrant and beautiful. And all this after we all got the satisfaction of helping those guys fend off an alien invasion.”

  I turned to my parents. A big smile on my face.

  “Isn’t this nice?”

  Dad’s eyes bore right through me.

  “You… you shot their ships down.”

  “Noooo.” I corrected. “They overloaded their generators. After I made them realize the error of their ways. Honestly, those frogs got off easy. They had the gall to come to that Earth and try to strip it of all its natural resources and use it as a galactic parking lot or whatever. They were planning to put the few thousand humans they didn’t exterminate in zoos. I am of the opinion that I went easy on them.”

  “Did you?” He asked again.

  ‘Well no. Of course not. Those guys tried to wipe out an entire human world. They can all go (Gnome) themselves with rusty chainsaws as far as I’m concerned.’

  “Of course.” I lied smoothly. “Think about it for a second. They came in all greedy and genocidal and murderous and they’re leaving with a whole new appreciation for peace and inter-species co-operation. I mean, not only did I stop their invasion of that Earth, I also stopped all the other wasteful, bloody wars they had going on with a bunch of other species. Now they all get to live in peace and prosperity.”

  The, Under the enthusiastic guidance of Serpent-Tongue, part went unsaid.

  As did all the colorful consequences of being exposed to the full might of my [Prescence] for any real length of time.

  Dad knew and he knew that I knew that he knew. I could see it in his eyes, even without having to read his mind.

  “Oh, come on. Think about it like this.” I began again. Taking him by the shoulder. “How many billions of humans would have died if we hadn’t stepped in and done what needed to be done? Hmn? I’ll remind you, those guys had orbital death rays. And they were so advanced they hadn’t seen the need to use them until the humans there on the surface pulled out the volleys of nukes. They were all done for and not only did we step in and save a whole planet, we also did it while Randall shot around the sky absorbing all kinds of radiation and cleaning up the planet. Think about it, we solved nuclear fallout and stopped an alien invasion in, what? Fifteen hours? How many people did we lose? How many people would have been lost if it weren’t for us being as strong as we are now?”

  Those thoughts permeated into his mind. I knew it without having to use any powers. His shoulders were drooping with some lost tension and his eyes seemed clearer than before.

  “Look, like I keep saying. I know it looks bad. Okay? I know this isn’t what you wanted and I know its traumatizing to think about what’s happening. I know. And I can only imagine what you and mom are feeling. But I am still me, dad.” I pleaded. “Everything I do, I do it for the right reasons. For reasons I think are just. I think that much should be obvious by now, so I hope you’ll give it some thought, at least.”

  I sighed dramatically and left for the beachfront. Looking hurt.

  In truth, I was currently over the moon with giddiness.

  That Excursion could not have come at a better time. We stocked up on all kinds of human-tailored supplies, treats, and distractions. All basically for free.

  Not only that, it was one of those instances where there was a very clear and obvious solution that didn’t involve any kind of complicated moral problem to sort through.

  I mean, sure. I kicked three different galactic empires back to the stone age, but they had it coming.

  What was really important was that I scored not one, not two, not three, but five whole parades where everybody crowded around and heralded us as heroes and the unquestioned saviors of earth. And all of that without me having to use my [Presence] on any of the people. Why, I even got myself a nice coat and a lot of shiny medals to dangle in front of Puffin whenever she called me a heinous unforgivable monster.

  Dad was still skeptical of the whole thing, but mom had loved it. So much so that the current timeline had soundly beaten my old predictions for how long it would take them to come around to me and my current circumstances.

  I was over the moon and all my teammates had themselves a good time too.

  So it was with that same gusto that I went over to where my friends were training.

  “Hey guys! How are you doing!” I called out cheerfully.

  Luigi coughed on the ground.

  “I think I’m dying.”

  “Well, people usually feel that way when they get their arms ripped off.” I mused. “But you do look like you’ll be good in no time.”

  Luigi coughed up blood.

  “Okay, okay. Hold on. I’ll heal you.”

  I bent down and let the Psy flow.

  The limbs grew back immediately. The bones exploding from his torso before a flurry of nerves, muscles and sinews rushed out to cover them.

  “I take it training didn’t go all that well?” I asked politely.

  “(Sully)… you.”

  I raised my hands.

  “Hey man, I was just asking. I’m not trying to pick a fight. If anything, I’m trying to help.”

  “I thought you did help.” He coughed up another chunk of flesh and blood. Now raising his torso up and spitting it sideways into the crystal-clear waters beside us.

  “What the (Sully) Sully!? I thought that boost was supposed to put me on an even playing field with Vince and Thunder Fist! How come that Mittens monster is still flinging me around!?”

  I shrugged apologetically.

  “Well, for one, you’re not exactly fighting a person. Strictly speaking. Mittens is one of the strongest Intruders I’ve got and he’s possessing Anezka. Who…”

  I knew my parents weren’t around, but I turned my head around just in case.

  “Who isn’t someone I care to remember if I’m being honest. I went easy when I boosted you. And the Tall Man went kinda easy on Henry and Vince and the others too. Mind you, I’ve got over two hundred million Psy to spend. I could have done a lot more.”

  Luigi looked horrified.

  “More!?”

  “Yeah. See that? You’re thinking of the pain again and I don’t blame you. It hurts man. I get it. It feels like…”

  “Like your spirit is being flayed and then pressed back again into you with hot irons?”

  “Yeah! Only, like I said. You got off easy. It can get a lot worse.”

  ‘Like it was for me.’ I thought. But I chose not to say it. Hearing that wouldn’t help Luigi. It might make him think that I was making this about me.

  “Which is why I didn’t go harder on you or the others. It hurts and it might have killed you guys. I was right there healing and changing Anezka while I was boosting her. While Mittens was possessing her and becoming even stronger.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  I shrugged.

  “Well she’s technically the strongest person in the Tutorial. Level wise at least. Don’t feel bad for getting beat up.”

  I stopped to pat him on the shoulder.

  “I personally think you did great! And I’m sure you’ll improve even more the more you train!”

  Luigi didn’t look relieved.

  “Could you say that again without sounding extremely condescending?”

  “I don’t think I’m sounding condescending.” I countered. “I’m being completely genuine with you. Here, I’ll show you.”

  I took a few steps back.

  “Mittens? Will you come here for a second?”

  “NOOOOO!!!” Luigi cried out in terror.

  “Oh come on Luigi. Mittens is not that bad.”

  The air before us exploded as a shower of gore materialized out of thin air. The beach’s crystal clear waters turning blood red as a sky-scraper sized fanged whale crashed down and burst open like a balloon. Organs and viscera flying everywhere and coating both of us in warm crimson detritus.

  And there, in the middle of it all, was Anezka’s horned face. Smiling with her long thin tongue out. Almost as if her body were tasting the leftover meat in the air.

  “Mittens hears! Mittens appears! Mittens is here!”

  “Yes, yes. Thank you, Mittens.” I spoke softly. Allowing Buddy to absorb all the fleshy bits.

  “I guess you were having fun fishing?”

  “Mittens was with Dolce! Mittens swam deep! Mittens slew sheep! Mittens is here!”

  I turned to Luigi.

  “See that? Mittens thinks these things are sheep. Which means he thinks they’re weak. Take a good look at the size of this thing Luigi. Do you think they’re weak?”

  Luigi shook his head from side to side.

  “Well guess what? You’re wrong! They are weak! At least compared to you.” I came close again and clasped him on the shoulder with a disarming smile. “You are actually, unironically stronger than this monster whale here. You only lost to Mittens because Mittens is Mittens and Mittens is (Gnome)ing broken.”

  “Mittens has glee. Mittens agrees! Mittens is here!”

  Luigi made a face.

  “Which means I lost to a dead cat.”

  “Mittens was smitten. Mittens was a cute kitten. Mittens is here!”

  “Possessing some (Sully) that tried to (Sully) you over.”

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  “You know, Lu… it sounds really bad when you put it that way.”

  I clapped my hands.

  “But I think I may have figured out a way to make you feel better actually! How about you and I spar for a bit?”

  Luigi whirled and sprinted down the beach. His mind a blur of sheer naked terror while his legs used all those new Enhancer powers coupled with his empowered Projector powers to crush the sound barrier.

  “Come back.” I said flatly.

  His body froze and crashed mid-run. The new boost helping his limbs to stay intact as his face made out with the fine sand beneath him. Then he came back. Sobbing.

  “Please don’t enslave me man! I’m sorry about you being my curse word! Oh my gosh!”

  I smacked him upside the head.

  “You’re an (Gnome). You know that Lu? All I wanted to do was spar. And by that I meant shutting off my Titles so you can actually think of hitting me and using my Shifter abilities. We both know I’d win otherwise so there’s no point in that. Honestly, was the running really necessary? When have I ever abused you for real?”

  Luigi sobbed harder.

  “You mind-controlled me, strangled me, turned me into a monster and did it all while singing…”

  “No. No! That was Nega-Sully, Lu! Don’t go around making (Gnome) u…”

  I stopped and regained control of myself.

  “Right. Sorry. Sore spot. My bad. Let me start again.”

  I brought up my Status and read it out to him.

  “Now I’m sure you’ve noticed something.” I began again. “Care to guess?”

  “You’re reading my mind.” He complained.

  “I’m actually not.” I said, truthfully enough. “I could, but I’m trying to get along with everyone here. And I do get that there are trust issues floating about. I also get that they’re more or less justified. I really do see it. So again, see this as me taking the first step forwards in earning back your trust.”

  I stepped back a bit. Raising my hands.

  “Care to give it another go?”

  He considered it for some time, before finally speaking.

  “You’re weaker than I thought. I mean, the combined abilities are monstrous, but Vince has more levels in Shifter. And more levels in general. Except in Telepath. So does Thunder Fist and Puffin and… and me.” He gulped.

  “I didn’t think you’d be level 112 in Shifter. My own [Luigi’s Self Preservation VI] screams at me whenever I’m near you.”

  “Congrats on the combined ability and the Title by the way!” I snuck in a compliment. “Even Vince and Thunder Fist haven’t gotten Titles yet. You pushed it way more than you had to! And that was awesome of you!”

  My words were nothing but the truth of course. Luigi had pushed way, way past the limits I’d set for him during the boost.

  Granted, most of his drive came from the trauma and sheer (Gnome)ing terror that Nega-Sully inflicted on him, but that didn’t dimmish the lengths he went to in order to get ahead.

  I did think that merging [Regeneration] and [Mitosis] with all the other Instinct abilities was a bit of a waste. But that was neither here nor there. It was still a big accomplishment and I couldn’t be prouder of my friend.

  ‘Now if only Henry and my folks could take after him…’

  I dispelled the thoughts without showing them on my face.

  “And you are right. I’m not as strong in Shifter as I should be.”

  ‘Or in Telepath for that matter, but I’ve foreseen what needs to be done there and there is no way in (Gnome) I’m doing that in front of you guys.’

  “That and I’ve known this was the way to train moving forwards after my meeting with Mr. Seahorse. But I’ve been kinda busy with mom and dad.”

  I sighed. Not for the first time.

  “Back to the point. No Telepath powers or Titles whatsoever. Just a straightforward melee. I promise. You can wail on me as much as you want and I can use the opportunity to learn more and more about my Shifter side.”

  Luigi didn’t look convinced.

  “And you promise you won’t retaliate in any way when I hurt you?”

  I gave him yet another perfectly timed disarming smile.

  “Lu, come on. I mean, really. Like I said, I know how I come across sometimes. I know things can get out of hand. Okay? I know. But I really cannot say this enough. Deep down, I’m still the same guy I’ve always been. Just some dumb bloke trying to do his best in life. That’s it. I’m not that complicated. If I wanted to hurt you, I could have. But I haven’t and I won’t.”

  That worked even better than I had expected.

  “Okay.” He said after a brief pause. “But I don’t want to wail on you alone. If I’m doing this, I want backup.”

  I gave him a beaming smile.

  “Sounds like a lovely idea!”

  The backup we’d gathered together consisted of both Vince and Thunder Fist. As Luigi pointed out that either one of them could turn him into paste through sheer skill, even with him having a couple of Titles.

  That was true and a fair point to make, so I was more than happy to accommodate.

  What really surprised me was him going out to get Puffin and Henry on top of that.

  Both could still curb-stomp me by themselves if I limited myself to Shifter abilities, but it was still a welcome surprise seeing them here. For one because Puffin hated my guts and, on another note, because Henry still wasn’t sure if he should feel pity when he saw me… or whether he should (Gnome) his pants.

  Naturally, I meant to use this match as a way to steer his views about me back towards friendship and far away from the whole war crimes, crazy tyrant aspect of my image.

  I felt a tug on my arm and looked back to see Dusty and Slab standing there with worried expressions.

  “Are you sure this is the right way to go about things?” Dusty asked pointedly.

  “Of course! Why wouldn’t it be?”

  “Because your parents are right there on the side and the more I get to know them, the more fragile both of them seem.”

  “She has a point.” Slab followed up. “They’re both surprisingly sheltered. I’m afraid they won’t take the gore of battle all too well.”

  “Way ahead of you.” I responded confidently. “I’ve been overlooking some aspects of [Perfect Vicissitude X] until now. The ones associated with [Grow]. I’m gonna pull them out now. Yeah, I’ll take a beating, but there won’t be as much gore as you think.”

  Dusty didn’t look convinced.

  “You know Sully, I’ve been trying my best to make a good impression on your parents, but it has been harder than I thought. I think your mom sees me as a bad influence. This isn’t going to help.”

  I gave her a warm smile.

  “Don’t worry so much. Mom loves you. Or, she will. Eventually. Look, you’ve come a long way from where you were the first time we met. What with the whole de-limbing business. It’ll be fine.”

  “How do you know?”

  I stopped for a second, then connected our minds.

  ‘I saw it already.’

  She, of course, maintained her poker face, but her thoughts were filled with chastisement.

  ‘I thought you said you wouldn’t look into the future Sully. That’s cheating.’ She echoed in her mind so that I would pick the words out.

  ‘Yeah.’ I agreed. ‘But only if I use the info to win. Like you said, I’m mostly worried about how the others and my folks will take things. Don’t worry. The risks I’m taking are calculated. And I’m actually really good at math.’

  She rolled her eyes.

  “Well if you’re sure.” She said out loud, before sauntering off to the hotel beach chairs and laying on one with her legs crossed.

  Slab gave me a raised eyebrow, but moved to follow her anyway.

  “Okay. Are we all ready to start?” I asked.

  “Yes.” Puffin spoke at once.

  “Vince is ready.” Vince piped up.

  “Ready as I’ll ever be.” Henry sighed. “Oh my goodness. I don’t know how I let you talk me into this.”

  “Oh come on Henry! Give yourself some credit man! You haven’t gained a level since the boost and I know you! You’re capable of so much more! I just know you can rock out at least 5 levels across your Types if you apply yourself!”

  It was the truth, but Henry didn’t seem convinced. Neither did the others for the most part.

  “All right!” Thunder Fist shouted. “On the count of three!”

  He brought up three massive, scarred, clawed fingers.

  “One, two….”

  ‘Oh my gosh, it just hit me that I’m sparring with Thunder Fist. THE Thunder Fist.’ I repressed a squeal.

  People often said to never meet your heroes, but the man was somehow even more impressive in person than on the big screen. Not only was he wholly dedicated to justice and saving lives and general goodness, but he was so humble about it too.

  ‘Maybe too humble, now that I think about it. He keeps putting himself down in his own mind. Saying that he’s dumb.’

  He wasn’t, in my opinion. In fact, it was remarkable how wise and down to earth he was. How he kept his mind open for new ideas and listened to what others had to say without judgement.

  ‘Damn, I wonder if I can still get an autograph after this.’

  “Three!”

  Puffin rushed ahead of everyone else. As I knew she would.

  However, my body had exploded in size just as she leapt. My figure going from a couple of meters, to a couple dozen, to nearly a hundred in the span of a single blink as I pumped more and more Psy into [Perfect Vicissitude X]. At the same time, I used [Protean Form X] to grow a nigh-unbreakable layer of bone both over and underneath my skin, while also toughening the skin with [Metallic Hide II], [Serrated Fur II], [Chitin] and [Feathers]. Making up for the low levels of the latter two by amplifying them further with [Protean Form X]. Even going so far as to douse myself in a secreted layer of adhesive acid, courtesy of [Bio-Chemical Thaumaturgy X].

  For her part, she activated [Scramble II] to try and disrupt my powers, while also activating [Nightmarish Prescence IV], [Stealth III] and [Total Organ Failure III] on full blast. She also used several abilities from the Shifter, Enhancer and Projector trees simultaneously. Bringing out [Muscular Incorporation of Matter IV] and [Shape Systems IV] as well as [Awesome Mastery IV], [Advanced Student III] and [Flowing Might II]. All while channeling [Absorb Energy IV] to rob the island of light and heat and kinetic energy, while boosting her own movements with [Telekinesis III] and [Gravity Well II].

  Not only was there a lot of synergy in that once charge, but all those individual powers were at 20 or 15. With the weakest ones like [Flowing Might II] and [Gravity Well II] being at 10.

  The barrage hit me like several high-speed trains in quick succession and her fist drilled a hole right through my forearm, chest, lung and spine.

  My body shaking even as my mind was rattled after the suppression of my Telepath power and Titles.

  If the target had been any boss monster in the Tutorial, or even some random warlord out there in the Labyrinth, they would have been dead before they even knew what was going on. After all, [Total Organ Failure III] was at 15 by itself. And it was the kind of power sniping-prone Telepaths used as their one-hit-kill move.

  As for my own case…

  There wasn’t any blood. Just as I promised.

  All my own cells had clung on to each other and the wound used up a tidal surge of Psy to close itself even as the momentum carried her nearly a kilometer away.

  After that, it was time to rein in the improvements.

  Oh yeah.

  That hit the spot.

  I smiled within the confines of my mind.

  ‘Haven’t been able to go all out for a while, since the whole exploding arm incident with Mr. Park and the others. Too afraid to accidentally hurt someone.’

  I looked back at Puffin. Recalling her own Status.

  ‘[Awesome Resilience IV] at 20. [Unburdened Conditioning IV] at 20. [Energy Resistance IV] at 20 too. With [Resist Physical Damage III] at 16 and Shifter regenerative powers and Telekinetic force fields on top of that.’

  The others would be at similar levels too. With Lu, Vince and Thunder Fist being even stronger.

  ‘Yes. I do think it’s okay for me to go all out, if only for a moment.’

  So, I allowed my cells to roil and set the Drake within my memories loose once more.