Have I forgotten anything?

  She felt for the knives stabbed through her pockets, the tip stuck just right so that it was outside her jeans and wouldn't pierce her skin when she moved. Her fingers skimmed over the tattoo gun clipped to her belt and the wire dangling down her leg beside it.

  The papers she’d just picked up were lovingly folded and slipped into her back pocket. She patted it there, feeling the absence of the phone that had been there every day for years. Satisfied with her supplies, she picked up the fence post.

  Tanya took a deep breath and yanked the door open, staggering outside into the wind. Knives were slid into her pockets but she knew she couldn’t take down a mob this size with them without losing a hand, or worse. All she needed to do was buy time whilst Mrs Eceer finished the barricade so her strategy was hitting them backwards with a huge stick and running.

  The fence post was poised before her, every muscle in her body ready to fight. Nothing was close to her yet. The snarling mass of monsters were further down the street—Mrs Eceer a speck between them. Tanya crouched, running as low and as quiet as she could manage. Her footfalls were so loud in her ears, but she didn’t catch a single look as she jogged closer and closer. The battery pack and tattoo gun clunked against her thighs and each other, strapped into her belt and tied there like some strange utility belt. Her body ached to run away and sleep. Each joint screamed like she’d run a marathon without training. In a way, she had, fight after fight, with nothing but bolstered stats to get her through it—surely messing with bodies like that couldn’t be healthy.

  Her mind cleared as she neared the mob, nothing but their squeals fitting in her overfilled head. Tanya could see Mrs Eceer now—jaw clenched as she cast another barrier with the flick of a hand. It was much faster than in her bedroom, maybe even twice as quick. Heads turned towards her. She clocked the closest in the snout with her fence post. It landed with a satisfying crunch, much harder than she had expected to hit. Others were turning now, gnashing teeth too close for comfort.

  They met eyes, and Mrs Eceer nodded, her face visibly relaxing. Tanya spotted her gap and dove between two writhing bodies, slipping into the cool embrace of Mrs Eceer’s shield. Within the crystalline bubble, everything was quiet.

  “Can ya buy me more time?” Tanya asked. Her voice echoed around the bubble over and over. She winced.

  “And the barricade?” Mrs Eceer asked.

  “More than half. I have a new level up. If you can hold a bit longer, it’ll be safer.”

  They both stared at each other's lips, trying to deduce what they were saying through the echoes of previous words in this strange chamber. Mrs Eceer turned away, a flood of light leaving her hand and bringing the blue barrier into full brightness. Her cradled arm moved from the strain, and she winced. Up close,e Tanya could see the blood trickling down the shoulder through layers of cloth. Lack of blood would not be good for the crushed hand, but they couldn’t fix that now.

  “I can hold them,” Mrs Eceer said through gritted teeth, energy still flurrying through her finger. Rune after rune appeared in the air before them and the barrier went matte, sparkled, and then changed to a deep purple.

  “Oh, uh, one more thing,” Tanya started. She winced. “I need it to be as dangerous as possible. Can ya drop the big barrier but still keep us safe?”

  Mrs Eceer’s head whipped towards her. “Are you out of your mind!”

  Tanya didn’t know how to answer. She stared at the Ability again. The more dangerous it was now, the safer it would be later.

  “No. Tanya stated. “I’m not outta my mind.”

  Mrs Eceer studied her face, then nodded. Tanya thought she saw respect cross the older lady’s face.

  “Then make it quick,” Mrs Eceer sighed.

  She dropped the bubble around them both, and the beasts struggled to clamber over each other, claw marks gashing down joints and blood-stained scruffs where they struggled to be the first to their prize.

  Tanya stared, slack-jawed, as Mrs Eceer’s barriers changed entirely. The once technical drawing style details of the shields solidified into a futuristic matrix. Her hand glowed with a translucent glove of power, the hem dissolving into loose threads that floated around her. She pushed each one with a honed Strength, sending smaller polygons like small walls through the air, herding the monsters to and fro. As each group snapped forward, a wall would reach their path, slicing off any snouts or ears that got in its way.

  That’s when Tanya saw Mrs Eceer’s mouth. Hers was open too.

  She opened her interface, seeing a highlight around their shared achievement.

  The Enemy of my Enemy’s sure one hell of a drug.

  “Wait,” Tanya realised. “Where’s the hand?”

  Mrs Eceer opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, masses of metal clashed around them. Tanya clutched her arms around her head, crouching as the beams landed around her. Whimpers filled the air, and some attempted to back up, shoving the monsters behind them. They were too packed in the crowd to escape. The metal poles were so thin they'd sliced through flesh. Some were dead on impact. The nearest to Tanya had the pole dug into its head, the metal sticking out on either side like Frankenstein's monster. Tanya batted a monster away, missing a paw. Its back leg stepped on it as it leapt forward, squishing it into the concrete.

  What happened?

  That's when she saw the hand for herself. The scaffolding that had been around number 43 for months had toppled from halfway up, a spattering of bolts across the floor that had been holding it up minutes earlier.

  Tanya grinned. The hand waved, wiggling its fingers in excitement.

  Does this new Ability work on me Assistant? How’d I get it down?

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  She focused on it hard, willing its interface to open. It popped open, and she closed it. Another monster dived on her and she hit it away, more taken by surprise this time. It didn’t do any damage, but the monster was angled off track enough to run into the side of its friend. Tanya noticed she could will the hand’s interface open and closed now by following that same string of energy connecting them. She spammed it a few more times, fielding off the nearby threats.

  Out of the corner of her eye, the hand scuttled backwards along the remaining poles, spinning and dashing towards the end and then leaping towards her, fingers splayed and wiggling to keep it upright.

  Fuck, I gotta catch it.

  Tanya dived forward. A claw struck her torso, ripping through her jacket and the skin beneath it. She cried out, and tears filled her eyes from both pain and the wind she was staring into. Lifting her hands through it, Assistant landed in her grasp, and a polygon of light whipped past her on both sides, pushing her encroaching enemies aside. The crack of one's neck filled one ear, with the popping of joints on the other. Before her, the forcefield was so bright she winced, pulling the hand into her chest and shuffling backwards on her hand and feet on the floor. The force fields flew further, with far more force than the previous ones. They disappeared as they hit the wall, shattering like glass.

  “This achievement is very potent,” Mrs Eceer quipped behind her.

  Tanya stood and turned to face her, hunching her shoulders so her head was a trickier target whilst she checked the wound on her side. It was oozing and sore but already clotting.

  “Jesus Christ it is,” Tanya replied, watching another leave Mrs Eceer’s hand.

  “Don’t say the Lord’s name in vain.” Mrs Eceer warned, shooing her with one hand.

  She used the motion to release another forcefield, the rune appearing in the air without her even outlining it. It soared towards Tanya’s chest. She didn’t have time to get out of the way, so she braced her muscles for it to hit, lowering into a defensive stance with her arms up. It went straight through her, crushing the beast behind her. From the closeness of the screech, it had been a whisker away from her neck.

  “Don’t you have something better to be doing?” Mrs Eceer asked.

  Tanya backed closer to her, keeping an eye on the monsters around her. They’d stopped lunging, taking smaller steps, snapping their teeth or reaching out a claw. She loathed dropping her weapon to pull out the tattoo gun and power pack. She wound the excess wire around her wrist, getting it out of the way before turning it on. The machine shuddered to life, buzzing up her arm and through her shoulder. She smiled despite herself and opened her Interface, staring down this terrifying new Ability.

  * * *

  The Blink of an Eye

  Level 1

  Unlocked from Achievement: Unique Circumstances

  While performing a tattoo under stress, time slows down. You are capable of completing tattoos at a faster speed. The more lethal the situation, the stronger boon that tattoo will receive.

  Boons granted by The Blink of an Eye depend on the environment’s stimulus as well as the Ability’s level. Boons will be revealed as their causes are utilised.

  * * *

  There was no way she could see of activating it. She just had to hope it would work.

  Pulling the papers from her pocket, she unfolded them, sifting through them one by one.

  This is too slow.

  She dropped to her knees, wishing she had something to put beneath these sketches. They felt so special, even more so now that everything was different.

  They were from a folder called Sword September that she’d left out on top of the filing cabinet after it slipped out with the battlement sketches. It felt like fate. She’d grabbed six or seven from the top, knowing she’d have put her favourites first.

  “System,” Tanya muttered out loud. She looked up for the first time since opening her interface, and the world was already so slow. She crouched there for a second, taking it in.

  A bead of spit flew from Mrs Eceer’s mouth as she yelled. Both hands were stretched in front of her, one tensed and the other so wrapped in bandages Tanya couldn’t tell how much she could even move it. Rectangular barriers circled her, spinning and spiralling outwards to curb the monsters. A couple had leapt forward and the others were following.

  Just focus on what you’re doin’.

  The hand beside her was tapping its fingers in real-time. When she looked down at it, it paused, flicking a finger as if to say, "Yeah, I’m here. Keep going."

  Yes?

  She splayed the sketches out and the hand crawled over them, taking care not to stand on any of the sketch lines themselves. Tanya wasn’t sure if it was a sign of respect or an accident, but she appreciated it all the same.

  “I want to ask a restricted question, but only one. Is that allowed?”

  Yes.

  “What are the most common weaknesses of the different types of monsters invading? I’m not sure if I can add extra info, but if I can, focus on ones that I will see geographically and consider the risk they pose too.”

  The extra stipulations were a long shot, but it was worth a try.

  The most common weaknesses of invading species Hjokrtis are as follows:

  Slicing/ Slashing 73%

  Force 61%

  Fire 45%

  These numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number.

  In the present time in your geographic location, you have the largest number of Uktrikne Hjokrtis, modifying your common weaknesses as follows:

  Force 83%

  Organic Matter 73%

  Slicing/Slashing 70%

  These numbers do not account for future waves of invaders.

  Analysing risk posed to you…

  Analysing…Analysing…

  Due to your lack of area effects, I have deemed Swarms and Mini-Bosses to be the greatest threat level to you. Both classifications utilise large groups of simultaneously invading creatures to target prey and/ or may have Abilities for tracking or increased perception.

  Swarms are most frequently weak to:

  Organic Matter 90%

  Force 89%

  Sensorial Modification 78%

  These numbers do include Swarms also classified as a hive mind but do not include swarms which are better classified under Composite Swarm.

  Mini-Bosses are most frequently weak to:

  Reflection 44%

  Decay 37%

  Distraction 18%

  These numbers include all Mini Bosses as classified under Section 56787 Subsection 324156 where the division is stated as: “Entities exhibiting enhanced attributes, specialised Abilities, and tactical proficiencies that place them above Lesser Adversaries but below true Boss classifications. Whilst they may earn Specialties like their Boss Tier counterparts, their resilience is insufficient for higher status.”

  Initially, the strange letter combinations of the species and all keywords were redacted, but it unfurled as she read, transforming into randomised letters and then rearranging into the real words before her eyes.

  Tanya’s mind boggled.

  I can work with this.

  really cool hearing which Ability you guys would have picked in the last chapter. Special props to Shadell and Wandersail_ for doing full breakdowns of the pros and cons of each Ability! Sorry to all you Adaptive Ink fans! Tanya ended up prioritising surviving the next fight over long-term gains. I think Shykta put Tanya's thought process best with, "You don't get to count utility tomorrow if you get eaten today."

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