Chapter 24 - Retreat
"... Whew."
As Cyanide heard the sounds of the angry mutant mob behind him fade away, he let out a sigh of relief and stepped out from behind one of the outskirts pillars of the two-story car park he was in.
Of course, he didn't head deeper in, since he had no idea what could be laying within the darkness inside — especially not during the Scarlet Hour. As a professional assassin, the darkness was his friend, but he wasn't an assassin in this world. He was prey — given his current strength, anyway.
"That… was too close," Luna said with a sigh.
"… I didn't expect those mutants to be within earshot to hear the body falling to the floor," Cyanide muttered. "It would seem I've underestimated their Overdriven form."
"I did too," Luna said with a smile, then tensed up as her expression turned serious once again. "But that aside, we have to deal with that mutant blood on your face — and quick. Take a look."
Saying this, she pulled up the character panel screen for Cyanide, displaying all his stats and such.
[STATS]
[Level: 10]
[HP: 51/100]
[STR: 25]
[AGI: 25]
[VIT: 15]
[INT: 5]
[DEX: 5]
[LUC: 11]
The HP value read 51, and it was still continuing to go down. Definitely not good.
"Consuming mutant blood directly is fine, but if it comes into direct contact with your skin, it will act as a poison that drains your HP overtime until it is cleaned," Luna explained. "Just wiping it won't work. We have to find water, fast."
Cyanide was still wondering why that was and how these mutants even had 'blood', being made of machinery and all, but now wasn't the time to ask. He nodded and stood up, deciding to just head back to the convenience store for the day before this poison claimed his life.
However, just as he was about to leave, he tilted his head slightly and looked back at the half-demolished multistorey car park, narrowing his eyes at the darkness that lay within.
"… Luna, is there a way to set waypoints?"
"Through your map? Yes. Would you like me to set a waypoint for this building, Cyanide?"
Cyanide nodded. "Something about this place… it intrigues me."
Making a mental note to come back here once he was stronger, he left.
High above on the very top of the car park building, a lone shadow stood, wearing a tight motorcycle racing bodysuit that highlighted her voluptuous feminine curves and alluring figure. She had overheard the entire conversation below, and was now deeply curious.
As she watched Cyanide disappear from sight, she laughed softly and bit one of her sharp, removable metal claws, contrasting with her otherwise human body.
"Hm~ a human, huh? He was able to detect my presence just with his instinct alone… how interesting. His flesh will be delicious, I'm sure…"
Slowly, she raised her body and turned around, walking away like a professional model, made to be seductive and sexy.
"Fufu~ I look forward to your return… Cyanide."
*****
Shortly after, Cyanide was able to make it back to the convenience store. With the use of [Dodge], he could essentially chain his [Invisibility] forever with all the mutants roaming the streets.
All he had to do was use [Dodge] on top of a roof with a mutant nearby down below, and the cooldown reduction would still proc. The invisibility wasn't too necessary thanks to his silent footsteps, per se, but it could never hurt to be more careful.
Thankfully, there weren't any mutants near his new house. Cyanide did not want the new home he just found hours earlier to get raided and destroyed. The location was good, and there was plenty of food and water inside. He didn't want to lose this place.
Once he got inside, the first thing he did was take a bottle of water out of the fridge and pulling the cap off. Then, he went back outside and rinsed his entire face clean, letting the water wash over him.
After several seconds, the bottle was nearly completely drained, and his hair and face were soaking wet. Shaking his head around violently to get the water off, he used the rest of the water on his own hands and tossed the empty bottle into a recycling bin nearby, lined up against the wall of the narrow alleyway.
"It should be fine now, right…?" Cyanide panted, feeling abnormally weak.
Luna's figure in the hologram nodded and pulled up her master's character screen to let him see it for himself. His HP was dangerously low at a mere 19/100, but the good news was it didn't drop any further. The poison from the mutant blood had been completely cleaned away.
Seeing this, Cyanide let out a sigh and headed back into the convenience store, grabbing a second bottle of water and downing it to quench his thirst while letting his HP recover on its own over time.
"So, Luna… since I'm not planning on going out there again tonight anyway, tell me about Soul Arts and Crafting," he said, sitting down on the cashier's counter. "You mentioned before that Soul Arts were like the 'magic' seen in fantasy fiction, but what about Crafting?"
"Indeed, Soul Arts are similar to magic, and they are extremely powerful," Luna replied. "Crafting, on the other hand is an important system that will be of great help to you in the future. Which one do you want to hear about first, Cyanide?"
"Hm… Soul Arts," he replied after some thought. "I don't feel like sleeping anyway, so we have plenty of time. Go on."
In response, Luna smiled wryly. "Very well. Listen closely, Cyanide.. What I'm about to tell you may change your combat style forever."