His stats immediately materialized in his head. He took a moment to examine them.
Race: Ex-Human Morphus
Evolution Stage 1: “Primordial Form”
Claws: Rank II (100%) (Upgrades: 2 of 3) (Common)
Swords: Rank I (94%) (Upgrades: 3 of 3) (Common)
Bladed Tentacles: Rank I (57%) (Upgrades: 0 of 3) (Common)
Enhanced Senses: Rank II (100%) (Upgrades: 0 of 3) (Common)
Enhanced Agility: Rank II (100%) (Upgrades: 3 of 3) (Common)
Enhanced Intelligence: Rank II (100%) (Upgrades: 0 of 3) (Common)
Enhanced Reflexes: Rank I (48%) (Upgrades: 0 of 3) (Common)
He noticed that Claws and three of his skills had reached 100%, allowing him to upgrade them to the next Rank to make them more powerful. To advance the Rank of a skill or ability, he needed to invest a skill point in it. After giving the matter some thought, Jake chose to use his skill point to acquire an upgrade for Bladed Tentacles instead. With a thought, he summoned the upgrade menu.
Ability: Bladed Tentacles
Upgrade Options (Common):
1 - Increase the number of tentacles that can be sprouted at the same time to three. Cost: 1 SP
2 - Increase the length of tentacles by two feet for increased reach. Cost: 1 SP
3 - Significantly reduce the time needed to grow tentacles. Cost: Cost: 1 SP
Jake hesitated for a second. The most attractive upgrade was to increase the number of tentacles he could have at the same time. However, he wasn’t sure if it was very useful considering tentacles could currently exist for just a few seconds. Most of the time when he used this ability, it was to gain an advantage over his enemies. This often entailed sprouting a tentacle as quickly as possible to catch his opponents off guard. So he decided to obtain the third upgrade for now. Later on, he would acquire the other two as well.
Jake opened his eyes, and all the info disappeared. He decided to test out the upgrade he’d just acquired. He gave a mental command, and a tentacle sprouted from his back. In less than a second, it grew to its full length. It was incredibly fast, leaving Jake quite pleased with the result.
In previous fights, when he needed to utilize a tentacle, he had to wait a couple of seconds for it to sprout from his back. During intense battles, every second could mean the difference between staying unscathed and getting severely wounded. Being able to create a tentacle so quickly now, he wouldn’t have to worry about that anymore. The tentacle would be ready for use almost immediately after issuing the mental command to create it.
For a few seconds, Jake lashed out with the tentacle at imaginary enemies, slicing through their throats with the blade at its end. While he had grown accustomed to the fact that he had the ability to sprout tentacles from his back, he still couldn’t help but be amazed at how effortlessly he could control it. The tentacle obeyed his commands so easily, giving him perfect control as if it had always been a natural extension of his body.
A few seconds later, the bladed tentacle detached and dropped to the ground, where it withered, turning into dust. For a moment, Jake gazed at the pile of dust the tentacle had become with disappointment. Hopefully, he would be able to increase the lifespan of this ability at some point. Perhaps new upgrades for the ability would be unlocked once he upgraded it to the next rarity level.
Suddenly, the sharp cracks of gunfire echoed from the streets below. Jake was accustomed to hearing the sounds of gunshots reverberating from various parts of the city. He always steered clear of survivors, though. He had nothing to gain from interacting with them. He didn’t even get any XP for killing them.
Whatever was happening in the street below was far from over. Jake could hear numerous firearms being discharged on full auto, along with the screams of people. Some gave orders, others yelled in rage, and some cried out in pain as they were wounded. Judging from the sounds, it seemed to be several people engaging in a shootout among themselves rather than battling mutants. Out of curiosity, Jake crossed the rooftop and stopped at the edge, looking down.
Ten stories below, a gunfight was taking place in the middle of the street. A group of survivors was under intense fire in the middle of the street. Jake could see muzzle flashes visible in some of the two-story windows on both sides of the street. It was clear that the survivors had been ambushed while walking along the street by assailants concealed inside the buildings. The group returned fire, but it seemed they were unable to hit the attackers hidden inside the buildings, their shots pocking the concrete walls instead.
The survivors were sitting ducks in the middle of the street. Eventually, they attempted to escape, but it was no use. The majority of them died before they could reach safety, and the rest decided to surrender. As the gunfire ceased, a voice instructed the defeated group to lie face down on the ground and not move. The remaining people had no option but to obey.
Half a minute later, the attackers emerged from the buildings on either side of the street. There were quite a few of them. Each assailant either sported a red scarf wrapped around their neck or at least had a piece of red fabric half-tucked in a pocket, partly exposed. They walked toward the group lying on the cracked asphalt in the middle of the road. Among the defeated were several dead, a few wounded, and only three who were alive and unscathed.
It wasn’t the first time Jake had encountered a group of people wearing red scarves. The very first person he met with such a scarf was Frank, whose group Jake had tricked into helping him complete a time-sensitive tower-climbing challenge. He had learned that a red piece of fabric symbolized affiliation with a gang known as Los Demonios. In the days following the tower-climbing challenge, Jake had witnessed several similar ambushes by members of the gang, whom he referred to as “Demons” in his mind, attacking unsuspecting passersby. Jake never intervened, choosing instead to watch these events unfold from a distance.
The echoes of gunshots from the street ten stories below jolted Jake from his reverie. He watched the Demons eliminate the wounded people with headshots, having decided not to waste any stims to heal them. As they bound the hands of the remaining three captives behind their backs, three vehicles emerged from the nearby dark alleyways: an SUV, a technical, and a pickup truck.
The Demons had the bound captives get in the bed of the truck that didn’t have a machine gun mounted there and forced them to lie down. Several Demons joined them in the bed, taking seats on the benches and resting the soles of their boots on the backs of the captives lying prone. The remaining attackers boarded the SUV, and the three vehicles quickly drove along the street, vanishing into the distance.
Jake watched as they disappeared from sight. Los Demonios seemed to be a numerous and well-equipped group. They appeared to have access to quality hardware, were armed with superior weapons, and seemed to possess plenty of vehicles. He pondered where they were sourcing their equipment from. He also couldn’t help but wonder where they were taking the captives and what they were going to do with them. Were they planning to recruit them, or perhaps coerce them into working for the gang?
Not that Jake really cared. He had long since decided to avoid dealing with survivors. Whatever they did was none of his business. They could form alliances or fight each other, but it was none of his concern. There was nothing he could gain from interacting with them. Killing them wasn’t worth it either, as he didn’t even receive XP for that.
He spun around, dashed across the rooftop, and leaped over the gap to the adjacent high-rise building.