My Spectral Reach had range and versatility but limited raw power. Blitz was useful for repositioning but burned through stamina fast. I’d used two dashes so far, had three more before I’d need to play conservative.
Which ant I needed to be way more tactical with my abilities. Stop trying to solo everything and start looking for situations where a small intervention could make a big difference.
I sprinted down the street, keeping Spectral Reach active and scanning for targets. The Oracle Feed highlighted movent patterns, flagging multiple contacts ahead.
Two one-pointers rolled out from an alley, their guns tracking sothing around the corner.
I followed their line of sight and saw her.
Pink. That was my first impression. Pink hair, pink skin, pink everything. She looked human but her body had this translucent quality, like she was made of gelatin that had taken girl-shape. A sli girl. Her arms were raised defensively as the robots opened fire, rubber bullets passing through her body and leaving rippling holes that sealed up imdiately.
She couldn’t be hurt but she also couldn’t fight back. The robots had her pinned in a dead end.
I grabbed a loose brick with Spectral Reach and whipped it at the nearest one-pointer. The brick caught it in the side, knocking it off balance. The robot’s treads spun uselessly as it tried to right itself.
The sli girl’s head snapped toward , her eyes wide with surprise. They were bright pink and way too big, giving her this ani character energy that was simultaneously cute and slightly unsettling.
"You good?" I called out, already moving.
She nodded frantically. "Y-yes! Thank you!"
The second robot adjusted its aim toward . I was already moving, Blitzing forward and coming out behind the sli girl’s position. The robot fired where I’d been standing.
I grabbed the fallen brick again and launched it at the second robot, catching it in the head. The impact destroyed sothing important. Its body sparked and went still.
ONE POINT
The first robot had recovered from being knocked over. It rolled toward us, gun tracking my position.
I stepped back, putting the sli girl between us. "Can you do a favor?"
She blinked. "What?"
"Grab that robot."
Understanding dawned. She lunged forward, her body stretching unnaturally as her arms extended. Pink pseudopods wrapped around the one-pointer’s chassis, engulfing it completely.
The robot fired inside her body. The bullets traveled through transparent pink sli, slowing down until they were barely moving, then dissolved completely.
I grabbed a piece of rebar with Spectral Reach and drove it through the sli barrier, piercing the robot’s central processor.
ONE POINT
Six total.
The sli girl released the destroyed robot, letting it clatter to the ground. Her body flowed back into human shape, solidifying enough that she looked almost normal except for being pink and see-through.
"That was amazing!" She bounced excitedly, which created so very interesting physics given her body composition. I tried not to stare and failed. "You’re so smart! I didn’t know what to do and you just knew exactly how to beat them!"
"Team effort," I said, turning away before my thoughts went anywhere problematic. "Stay safe out there."
I left before she could respond, jogging back toward the main street. The Oracle Feed pinged another contact, this ti flagging distress signals.
Green hair guy
He was trapped behind an overturned vehicle, three one-pointers closing in from different angles. His hands were raised and glowing faintly green, but whatever his Aspect was, it clearly worked better as support than offense.
I Blitzed again, closing the distance in a rush of compressed movent. Two dashes left.
The nearest one-pointer was ten feet from the guy, its gun raised and ready to fire. I grabbed a stop sign that had been knocked loose during setup, tore it free from the ground with Spectral Reach, and swung it like a baseball bat.
The tal pole caught the robot in the torso, the impact denting its chassis. I followed up with a second swing that caved in its head.
ONE POINT
Seven.
The green-haired guy stared at with wide eyes. "You just, you just saved ! I was gonna get tagged and lose points!"
"You’re not gonna lose points," I said, already pivoting toward the next target. "You’re gonna help with these two."
His mouth opened and closed. "I don’t have a combat Aspect! I make things grow!"
"Perfect. Make sothing grow in front of that robot." I pointed at the one-pointer on the left.
He hesitated for exactly one second before dropping to the ground and pressing both hands flat against the artificial dirt. Green light pulsed from his palms. Cracks appeared in the concrete. Vines erupted from the ground, thick ropy things with thorns that wrapped around the robot’s treads.
The robot’s movent locked up. It tried to fire but couldn’t adjust its aim.
I grabbed another chunk of debris and threw it, destroying the immobilized target.
ONE POINT
Eight.
The third one-pointer was already retreating, rolling backward down the street. I let it go. Not worth the stamina to chase when there were other targets around.
"Holy shit," the green-haired guy breathed. "That worked. That actually worked."
"Keep doing that," I told him. "Lock down targets for other people. You’ll get assists and nobody can say you didn’t contribute."
He looked at like I’d just explained quantum physics using interpretive dance. "You’re a genius."
"I’m practical." I clapped him on the shoulder and kept moving.
The Oracle Feed was tracking multiple contacts now, painting tactical overlays in my vision. The upgraded Intelligence made processing the information effortless. I could see patterns in the chaos, opportunities erging from the random movent of robots and students.
A girl with blue skin and fins was struggling against a two-pointer, her water blasts barely denting its armor.
I grabbed a tal beam with Spectral Reach and drove it through the robot’s back while it was focused on her.
TWO POINTS
Ten total.
A guy built like a linebacker was grappling with a three-pointer, trying to physically overpower sothing that outweighed him by several hundred pounds.
I used Spectral Reach to grab the robot’s laser cannon and bend the barrel, jamming the weapon. The three-pointer tried to fire and exploded from internal feedback.
THREE POINTS
Thirteen.
Another sli girl, this one purple instead of pink, was dissolving a one-pointer from the inside.
I destroyed the second one-pointer that was sneaking up behind her.
ONE POINT
Fourteen.
The pattern continued. I moved through the simulation field like a scalpel instead of a hamr, finding places where small interventions created big results. My Spectral Reach beca a tool for setting up other students, creating openings they could exploit.
A two-pointer went down because I held it in place long enough for soone’s lightning blast to connect.
TWO POINTS
Sixteen.
A three-pointer collapsed after I tripped it with a well-placed chunk of rebar, letting a girl with super strength finish it off by tearing its head clean off the chassis.
THREE POINTS
Nineteen.
I wasn’t trying to be a hero. I was being pragmatic. My individual combat ability was decent but not overwhelming. I couldn’t solo three-pointers efficiently. But I could create force multipliers, make other students more effective, and rack up points through assists faster than I could through direct combat.
More importantly, I was making an impression.
Every student I helped rembered my face. The examiners watching from wherever they watched were seeing soone who recognized the value of strategic cooperation. Soone who could think beyond the obvious objective.
Soone who fit the Halloran model.
The Oracle Feed pinged urgently. A cluster of three robots, all two-pointers, converging on a single student who looked very much like she was about to get overwheld.
I sprinted toward the contact, Spectral Reach already active and searching for useful debris.
Ti to see how high I could push this score before the tir ran out.
And maybe, just maybe, I’d figure out what the zero-pointer was all about.
But that was a problem for future Lukas. Current Lukas had robots to destroy and goodwill to farm.
The tir in my vision showed nine minutes remaining.
Plenty of ti.
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