Gun Blade
Page 27
I press my body flat against the massive fuel tank of the motorcycle, lowering my aerodynamic profile as the speedometer on my HUD slips pasts 200 MPH.
My hearts races like I’m Sprinting, but it’s from pure adrenaline alone.
I barely remember to breathe as the exhilaration sends my mind into a new zone of euphoria. Buildings and side-streets fly by in a blur as the open stretch of highway gets swallowed up before me. I twist the throttle, pushing out every last drop of speed.
217 MPH
221 MPH
226 MPH
I can’t hear the engine anymore, only the rush of wind as it presses back my hair and threatens to drive the tech-shades on my face straight through my eye sockets. I spy the off-ramp fast approaching, still a couple miles away but the distance is eaten up in mere seconds. I finally release the throttle and shoot upright in the saddle, using my body as an air-brake.
The rush of air hits me like a wall and I work the gears and throttle in tandem, downshifting and applying the brakes to reduce my speed. The exhaust pops and backfires in protest, surging with the rev of the engine. I get down to just under 100 and lean the bike with my knee out, navigating the ramp.
The suspension bumps and jostles as I glide through slower traffic and transition onto the surface streets, blowing through intersections as I head for my destination. I see it just up ahead, a small shopping plaza where both Gilly and Lexi are waiting for me, all smiles.
I make a big show of accelerating at just the last minute and then slam the rear brakes to turn the bike into a power-slide in front of them. Gilly bounces up and down clapping, while Lexi merely shakes her head at my over-the-top bravado.
“You look so hot on that thing!” Gilly exclaims and lets out a little squeal of delight. She latches on to Lexi’s arm and tugs at it. “Didn’t I tell you?”
Lexi laughs as I kill the motor and dismount, removing my shades like ‘Mr. Cool’.
“Aye,” she says. “You were spot on with that one, mate. How’s it ride, Reece?”
My heart is still hammering in my chest, my knees weak with adrenaline, but I can’t wipe the smile off my face. “Like a dream…” I manage to get out despite my rapid breathing. “So much different than on the simulators. Gilly, this was the best present ever.”
I glide over and lift her into my arms, giving her a great big kiss on the lips.
She giggles as I set her back down. “Well, you earned it. You managed to bust out 20 Veteran Points and level Gun Blade to 37 in only 6 days. So I figured you deserved an extra reward. Besides I saw you kept sneaking off to play that sim while we were ‘supposed’ to be watching the Gun Queen runs.”
I laugh at being called out, but it’s the truth. “Hey, it’s only so many times you can watch a party get wiped.”
“At least he has more patience than good ole Lance did,” Lexi says.
We share a laugh at that. It’s almost hard to believe it’s been over a week since we first arrived and had that impromptu test by Lance. In truth the days have been literally flying by since defeating my first Overlord and getting that odd threat/compliment from Kurgan. Thankfully I haven’t seen the android since, but seeing as he didn’t slaughter everyone on sight, I suppose Queen Angela was right about him.
He is holding out for the main course.
And that’s still only a few days away.
But I’ve accomplished a lot since then. Every morning we’d have breakfast as a team before heading off for our various assignments. For Gilly, Lexi, and I, that meant Overlord hunting all day long. Turns out they are a somewhat rare mob and we spent perhaps as much time looking for one as me to solo them, but the drives through the desert laughing and joking with my two ‘best girls’ as I’ve come to call them, has been nothing short of magical.
We’d break for lunch at whatever joint we felt like. Burgers, pizza, Mexican food…I’ve never eaten so well. I’m not even sure it’s possible to gain weight in these nano-bodies but I’m sure I must have. After getting in our quota of four or five kills for the day, we’d meet up with the rest of the guys at the City of Dreams and watch their Gun Queen training. After a group dinner at some spot in town, we’d then head back home for late-night PvP practice in the Dojo, where my brother would pester me incessantly about how to animation cancel. I still have yet to figure it out myself, but I can do it flawlessly now, even without the ring. Maybe it’s a Kono-Zemsu thing—something only I can do—but I’m hoping, with some more focus, I can reverse-engineer what I’m doing to share it with everyone else.
But for now, besides leveling, my main focus is the Gun Queen. Even though I’m not participating in the Gun Queen practice, I’ve learned a heck of a lot about how to fight the LM just by watching the holographic projection of my friends battling inside. They’ve made it up to challenging the A-Rank boss now and can get her to about 40 or 50% before Aiko’s luck runs out on casting Shadow Copy and the whole team wipes due to her getting killed by either the mega aerial attack or the flamethrower AOE, but Val Helena has developed a really good strategy for how we can survive the real fight once I can join in the fray.
Her plan is to pair Aiko and I with Gilly and Becky and to alternate tanking the Gun Queen between us. Whoever is not tanking will then use Rescue to protect our respective mage when the AOE hits and sacrifice ourselves so they can live and raise the rest of the team. It’s the same way I was able to save Gilly from dying when we fell through the surface down to the ancient city below the wild, when I took the fall damage for her.
It’s going to be painful as heck to keep dying like that and it’s not something I’m looking forward to, but Val Helena’s plan would leave a Dodge Tank tanking the boss while a Celestial Mage would still be alive to cast Great Miracle and bring the whole party back. With the five-minute cooldown timer on the Great Miracle, we should just be ready for another wipe-slash-recovery by the time the next mass AOE goes off.
And if we get really unlucky, Val Helena herself will act as a backup and use her Invincibility 24-hour move to do the same thing, although for her it would be a one-shot deal. So we can really only screw up once.
But I’m not planning to at all.
I check the party list on my HUD and for my newly gained level.
Reece Level 37 Gun Blade
HP 392/392
STAM: 236/236
TP: 140/140
It seemed like a long way away, but I’ve finally done it, and I’ve gotten all the Veteran Points I need to slot it as well.
“So, I too have a congratulatory gift for you, dear Reece,” Lexi says all uppidy-like as she calls it, approaching me with her hands behind her back. “Two actually.”
She holds something towards me.
Lexi wishes to trade with you.
Lexi offers you:
A Memory fragment: Bullet Weave Level 37
My eyes widen. “Whoa! When did you even get this? And where?”
Lexi grins as we make the trade. “I do have time away from you, you know? And don’t worry, it was cheap. It’s a rare drop, but since no one plays Gun Blade all that much, I was able to snag one for a decent price after some networking.”
“Networking?”
“Hey, hustling is like my sub-class,” she says with a grin. “Speaking of which, you should level up Runner so you can truly get some performance out of that new machine of yours.”
“I’ve already got that part covered,” Gilly says proudly. “The Blacksmith and the Mechanic class here are pretty interchangeable, so I was able to soup it up a little for you.”
“You did?”
“Take a look!” she says enthusiastically.
I focus on the cherry-red street bike and a character sheet of sorts pops up on my HUD.
Name: Gilly’s Gift
Type: Motorcycle
Model: Razor Mk III
“Look under augments,” Gilly says. “And oh…you can change the name if you want, by the way.” She blushes a little. “Tha
t one was kind of a placeholder.”
I grin and give her a hug. “It’s perfect. I wouldn’t have it called anything else.”
I access the Augments Tab and new information scrolls up.
Augment slots [4]
“Sweet!” I say. “This is like a whole new character to manage.”
“You can see why being a Runner can be completely addictive now, yeah?” Lexi says with a grin. “You can purchase more augment slots too. They’re almost like androids in a way with how far you can upgrade them. But like I said, if you want to get the most out of her, you’ll need some abilities from the Runner skill tree.”
I nod and recall our first encounter with Kurgan where Lexi rescued us, driving like a madwoman. “Like that Punch It ability, right?”
She nods. “That’s a must have. And it’s only level five. Trust me, once you start using it, you’ll want to level to 85.”
I laugh. “I completely believe you. Wow, guys. This is really too much. Thank you!”
I hug them both, two of my best friends ever.
“Hold on,” Lexi says, pushing me back. “I have one more gift for you. For both of you actually.”
Gilly gives Lexi a double take. “Oh no…what’s going on here, Lex?”
Lexi pokes me accusingly in the chest. “A little bird told me that someone owes somebody a hot date.”
The blood drains from my face as I try to avoid looking at Gilly. Crap! With how busy I’ve been with leveling and just plain old having fun, I hadn’t even given thought to it again. I feel suddenly like a heel, especially with how thoughtful both Gilly and even Lexi have been about me.
“Oh man…” I look at Gilly shamefully. “Babe, I’m really—”
“Uh uh.” Lexi waves a finger at me. “Too late for all that now, mister. To celebrate your unlocked Bullet Weave, you’ll be taking your girl out on a date. Tonight.”
I swallow involuntarily. “Ah… absolutely!”
“And my second gift to you, Reece,” she says, winking at Gilly, “is that I will prepare Gilly for you in the finest, coolest, and hottest manner possible. So be sure to pick someplace nice and make sure it has a dance floor. Got it?”
Oh crap…dancing? “Yes, ma’am.”
“Now,” Lexi says, gesturing to my new bike. “You finally have your own transportation so be sure to pick her up on time. 7 pm at the HQ. She’s mine till then. Come come, Gills.”
Gilly laughs and grabs ahold of Lexi’s outstretched elbow. She gives me a wave over her shoulder as the two depart. “See you soon, Reece! I can’t wait for our first real date!”
I’m left standing in a fog as Lexi and Gilly drive off honking the horn of the buggy at me, all smiles.
The Gun Queen just became the least of my worries.
Where the heck am I going to learn how to dance?
Chapter 32: Predate Prep
“Guys! You’ve gotta help me!”
My friends, locked in the simulator, almost immediately wipe to the Gun Queen at my abrupt broadcast into their gaming session. About a minute later they all reanimate in their real bodies, standing around the kiosk station that Lord Kurgan all but destroyed a week ago.
“What’s wrong?” Val Helena says, rushing to me. “Where’s Gilly?”
“It’s nothing like that,” I say quickly when I see the level of anxiety I’ve raised in my friends. I almost feel stupid saying it, but I’ve got less than three hours to prepare and no one else to turn to. “I’ve got to take Gilly on a date.”
I then fill them in on the details, all save the dancing part, which I’m a bit too embarrassed to mention in front of Rembrandt and my brother.
Maxis blows out a nonchalant scoff. “You guys are still kids, man. Take her someplace fun. Like here.”
“Don’t listen to him,” Val Helena says, raising a palm to my brother’s face. “You two have been here every day. This is your first real date, right? It needs to be special.”
“Aye, I agree,” Rembrandt says. “You need to go classy, mate. The Lennox City Plaza hotel is the only place for it. Trust me on this.”
“Cool!” I’ve got a venue at least. “What about wardrobe? Lexi is helping Gilly to look amazing for me.”
Becky shakes her head. “Don’t look at me.”
Val Helena smiles. “I helped you in that department before, we can go…”
“Oh no,” Aiko cuts her off, stepping in front of the giantess. “Ms. Schoolmarm here might have been good enough for a meet-the-parents do, but if you’re up against Lexi, you’re going to need someone who knows about true style.”
“Schoolmarm!” Val Helena says indignantly. “Where do you get off calling me that? And how do you even know about—?”
“Come on.” The elf grabs me by the wrist. “We’ve got no time to waste.”
“Hey!” Val Helena shouts. “I do have style! Reece!”
I shrug at her helplessly as Aiko pulls me along, my brother and Rembrandt breaking into stiches.
“Have fun, Reece!” Rembrandt calls out. “Don’t let her spend too much out of your wallet, yeah?”
“Can always go for the burger, fries, and bowling plan, man,” Maxis shouts. “Gilly will dig it, trust me!”
Aiko is grinning wickedly by the time we ride the elevator down to the ground floor and head for the main entrance where Gilly’s Gift is parked outside.
“Oh…what plans do I have for you,” she says, eyeing me like a piece of meat. “First, the duds and then we deal with that hair, then…”
Her voice trails off as she sees my motorcycle sitting out front. She looks at me wide-eyed. “Is…is that yours?”
“Yeah,” I say. “Gilly just bought it for me. A present for unlocking Bullet Weave today.”
She stares at the bike, shaking her head. “This changes everything.”
“Huh? How?”
“You know how much this thing must cost?” she says. “We need to up our game, Reece. A woman buys you a gift like this, she’s expecting reciprocity…ten-fold. We need to hit the jewelry store too. How much money you got?”
“Uh…” I check my current balance from killing all the Overlords and selling off the stray drops. “Like just over 200k quid?”
“Good,” she says, hopping onto my motorcycle and grabbing hold of the handlebars. “We’ll need all of it. Get on.”
“Get on?” Is she serious? “Aiko, it’s my bike!”
“Well I’m not riding passenger,” she says. “That’s Gilly’s job. Besides, do you know where we need to go?”
I guess she has a point there, but I’m not looking forward to riding on the back with her. I huff out a sigh and wonder if going with Val Helena would have been the safer deal. “You do know how to ride, right?”
Aiko lets out one of her cackles before starting the engine with a roar.
“Hop on and find out.”
* * *
Pushing 200 MPH on a motorcycle is terrifying when you’re not the one in control. I clench my thighs reflexively around Aiko’s shapely hips and squeeze my arms about her slender waist, holding on for dear life. It’s a compromising position and I half wonder if this wasn’t Aiko’s wily plan all along, but right now I’m too afraid of dying to worry about anyone seeing us like this.
“Can you slow down!” I shout above the roar of the wind.
“No!” she shouts back with another cackle and gives the throttle a twist.
After a nerve-wracking ten minutes we arrive uptown and Aiko goes to work while I thank my lucky stars to have survived the transit. Once I regain my breath, I have to admit I feel much better about the whole deal once Aiko begins perusing the various kiosks and conversing with the automated attendants in the high-end shopping complex.
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br /> The place is enormous and trimmed with silver and brass with glass booths containing holographic displays of the various wares within. There are at least two or three stores each dedicated to a single type of clothing. Shoe stores, dresses, pants, shirts. It’s all overwhelming, but as we shop, Aiko narrows the selections down by asking me questions I never would have even thought about.
“What’s her favorite color?
“Her eyes are green, right?
“How tall are you?
“Are you right-handed or left-handed?
“Does she like cats?”
I answer as dutifully as I can and after about an hour or so, Aiko picks me out a stylish-looking grey dress suit that can double as both high-end and cool. She then spends another hour picking out an emerald earring and necklace set for around 120k quid that each gives a +20 bonus to all base crafting skills and a set bonus of +100 TP.
“It’s perfect!” I say, gazing at the gift in my hands. It was a painful process watching her go through almost every item in the store, but I can’t argue with the results. I give Aiko a hug in thank you. “I never would have been able to find something like this on my own. She’s going to love it!”
Aiko squeezes me back and steals a kiss on my cheek. “That’s what I’m here for, stud. Now one last stop. Come on.”
We visit a salon and Aiko helps me pick out a new hairdo that buzzes my hair to a fade on the sides and drapes long over the top. It’s different but with the new suit on and the fresh cut, I’m feeling like a million credits.
Aiko folds her arms as she gazes at me appreciatively from across the dressing room in one of the shopping plazas. “Now…you look ready.”
I smile at myself in the holographic mirror. “I can’t believe this is me.”
“Wait till Gilly sees you,” she says with a chuckle. “You’re going to knock her socks off.”