Chapter 59

They decided to test it out on the street. It was still daylight outside, late afternoon. The pub exited onto a typical street, but one that wasn’t littered with broken-down cars like he often saw. The road had obviously been quiet when the event hit and it was a country town, so it was spacious. It was a generous two-way street then car parking on either side, with a three metres nature strip in front of each building. It gave them fifteen metres across to play. There was heaps of room to move, now that there were no cars, it was almost as good as a sports field. The asphalt was potholed and the grass strip heavily overgrown, but that was the same everywhere. Nice manicured lawns didn’t exist anymore.

On either side of the street, close to thirty healers had gathered. Outside of decapitation, he would survive almost anything.

Jules was standing beside him, too. She would have her potion after his. Adrian, with a thought, dressed in his full armour. His hand went to the damage that had been done to the shoulder. It had only been an hour, but it was no longer a gaping gap, most of it had closed up. But his fingers could still go through some of the remaining holes. He remembered neither the blow nor Omala healing, but then again he had been distracted.

“I can’t believe the echidna popped your shield that quickly,” Jules said next to him.

“Me neither. I’m pretty sure we will pick our way through the mountains tomorrow.” He nodded towards the east, away from Bendigo. “Kiyoko will tell us the plan.” It looked like everyone was in position. “Ready?”

The healers nodded, and he saw Charlotte, Omala and Joanne giggling to each other. Mike grinned and gave a thumbs up.

He gulped down the liquid.

Alarms filling his vision warned him he had been poisoned. Everyone appeared to be frozen, or maybe moving in slow motion. All the lessons from his internal haste experiments flowed through his mind. The spear in his hand reacted, promising help. Adrian engaged internal haste, all of it, apart from what affected his brain. Twenty times dilation in his brain and movements sped up by four times. But there was fat there. He remembered when he learned the skill that he could move even faster and had limited his body movement to match the mind. Those lessons had upgraded him. His moves were no longer dependent on something as mundane as nerve impulses that needed to jump from brain through backbone to muscles. Instead, it relied on magical channels that communicated the information almost instantly.

Just a simple step.

It was something he had done so many times that it was instinctive. He went to move and then paused. A step was the wrong choice.

A jump?

It would be better. Both feet on the ground lowering his body weight, bending the knees and then jumping forward only a couple of centimetres.

The world rocked. The sounds of cheering were just a roar of noise, with his mind unused to interpreting it.

His body, even enhanced to the highest levels that he could manage, moved sluggishly. It was like he was floating, but he focused on fundamentals. Imagining a line from the centre of his body to the ground. Keeping himself straight and not changing his feet position.

The asphalt slapped against his feet. Momentum pushed him forward, but his core muscles arrested the movement.

Success.

Adrian did not scream or throw his hands up in the air, that would be completely self-defeating. Instead, he bent his knees once more and jumped again.

Once more, it was like he was floating, but this time he threw a bit more energy into the jump. He travelled almost ten centimetres. When he landed, he realised his body angle was too far forward.

A gust of wind pushed him back to standing before he pitched face first onto the ground

Yes.

It felt like the surrounding noise was increasing in volume. A silly grin expanded ever so slowly over his face, or at least that is what it felt like from his perspective. He could move.

Jump!

This time it was twenty centimetres, and the spear did not need to save him.

Wind gust, wind gust,

Blasted off his feet and deliberately sending himself spinning through the air. While he knew the acrobatics were ridiculous, time was slowed so much he could see the surprised looks on the faces of those watching. Coming in for the landing, the spear helped to stop the rotation but not the forward momentum. He landed with his body weight pushing forward and rather than use the spear he took a step.

The leg did not respond, but this time he had internal haste to compensate, and the magic forced the leg to move as he needed, his internal force power overcoming the partial paralysation the Liquor was supposed to be imparting.

Everything continued to flow in slow motion.

Pushing hard off his left foot to change directions. The combined effects made his push off too strong. There was a click as a bone snapped, but he did not need to worry, as healing spells were already pre-emptively hitting him. He did not know what briefing Ma had given, but she had clearly detailed the need for continuous healing.

The foot throbbed for a moment till the healing fixed it. He concentrated on landing and then pushed off sideways. For an instant he tipped over too far, but the spear righted him once more.

He moderated his strength and focused on internal haste’s force net. Bits of him spasmed or failed to respond, but he had the answer now.

He sprung towards Jules.

She saw him coming and tried to counter him. But her attempt was hardly worth commenting on.

He ducked under her swinging hand and then to the side as her knee came up and then as easily as he liked picked her up. A muscle in his shoulder tore. He ignored it and tossed her in the air.

Her mouth was open, and he presumed she was screaming.

She kept going up. He had thrown her with all his strength.

Three strides aiming for Mike. Charlotte responded, well sort of, she was still too slow. Adrian estimated that time had slowed to half speed when he moved his body. Meaning he was probably moving ten times faster than normal and his agility was already ridiculous. He suspected that everyone outside Charlotte and maybe the rangers were seeing him blurring.

He grabbed Mike, tugging off balance. Adrian tensed and then threw Adrian toward where Jules was still going up, but more carefully, as he did not want to tear any more muscles. The fact he had moderated his power meant there were no breaking bones or tearing muscles, though several joints complained, and he knew he was right on his limit. With Mike flying, he scampered over to where the two were going to land. He stood between them. Using his hands to gently slow them. When they were both safely on the ground, he pulled Jules’s arms around Mike and one of his on her shoulder and the other on her waist. There was resistance, but everything was happening so fast that they did not know what he was doing and their efforts to stop him helped him as often as hindered.

Their faces were close but he figured pushing them to kiss was taking the prank too far. He took half a step back and watched, in case they had more momentum than he expected. In this state, it was hard to tell.

The effects of the liquor were running out.

They didn’t fall.

Jules and Mike stood there in the middle of the road with a crowd of onlookers hugging each other.

The grip of the liquor was vanishing.

“Adddrrrrian,” he heard Jules screaming.

He stood still, waiting for the next stage to hit.

The two in front of him disentangled.

Adrian assessed his body to see if he could work out what was happening. Emotionally, he did not feel any different, which meant the agility penalty was probably active. His agility was halved, which was still a lot more than he had started with.

Agility --- now 1.94 --- Minus 1.94 from temporary Elasca Liquor debuff --- Population 1.31

The abrupt change in agility did not even bother him. He was an old hand at functioning with that attribute nerved and the current level close to two was still significantly better than most.

“That was fun,” Adrian said mildly, “however, I wouldn’t try it.”

“Why?” Jules asked, stepping back hastily from Mike.

“Adrian,” Charlotte said.

He ignored her.

“I have higher internal haste and I only managed it because my spear has an ability to help me balance.”

Jules nodded. “Yeah, Basher,” she looked at her club, “doesn’t have that capability.”

“Are you going to do more training?”

Adrian shook his head. “I don’t mind succumbing to phase one poisoning, I don’t need,” he waved at the healers, “that level of support.”

“Can you walk?”

“With halved agility. Easily. It is the other stages which worry me.”

Jules laughed. They settled at the table and everyone took the poison . In the morning, they would deal with the latest setback. For now… they could have some fun. That liquor trick was something he could use in a fight. It was forever in his back pocket in case he needed it.

“World Saver?” he looked up at Ma. “Would you like some fried chicken?”

“Yes.” He bit into the offered piece of meat. “This is not chicken.”

“I meant fried mystery bird. It’s something I’m championing. Eight different types of bird, you don’t know which you’re getting but they’re all deep-fried goodness.”

“It’s fantastic.”

Ma smiled and dumped a bowl full of pieces in front of him. There were other bowls already placed elsewhere on the table. “Thank you,” he called out, but she was gone. There was something magical about post-event parties. Maybe it was the adrenaline left over from almost dying in combat or the ever-present concern that the next day might be the last day, whatever the reason the parties were always good. The fact there were exotic trader bought drugs and amazing food, definitely helped as well. The ‘fried chicken’ reminded him of the Bird and that first triumph. Melbourne, at one point, was so far away and now there was one more hurdle and he would get there.

Jules bonked him on the head. “Stop thinking about the future.” She waved at Omala who was looking embarrassed. “Omala was just thanking you.”

“There’s no need,” he blurted.

“She was getting sloppy about it and everything. You’re so amazing, World Saver, great person, sunshine shining out—”

‎ “Jules,” Omala interrupted forcefully. “I did not say that. I said it’s great to see someone with power not abusing it.”

“Like I said.”

“It’s nothing like what I said. I didn’t mention arse once.”

“Nor did I,” Jules howled. “I was going to say sunshine shining out of glowing hand.”

“You were not.”

“Can’t prove it.”

Omala pushed her and Jules fell right off her chair.

“Damn agility debuff,” she called from under the table.

The entire place roared with laughter. When Adrian calmed down, he helped himself to more fried chicken. In this one, the meat was blue and tasted like a barramundi chicken cross. Salted and battered, it was his favourite type yet.

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