He could control hundreds of ‘forms’. They’re like, humanoid, animal, or straight out of the imagination. Minions. Hundreds of them, made out of water. That’s the type of power that makes a supervillain. So I’m glad as hell he’s on our side. I’ve never met a Controller more precise than him.

- On Welfar the Tsunami

Waking up in a random alley of Newhold wasn’t exactly the most peaceful of awakenings. Doing so completely sore and stinging only stoked the unpleasantness. He also smelled. Reeked. And so the first gut instinct was a terrible gag that accentuated an empty stomach and a dryer mouth.

Wiping tears away, he focused on breathing exclusively through that mouth. Something he wasn’t sure was any better than using his nose at this point. If it had been bad before, the sewage had dried.

At the very least, he’d gone undiscovered—small wins. The alley was a dead-end and not for any particular use. Being South Hold, there’d been soft soil and shrubbery for him to lie on. Now, he was staring at the strip of sky framed by two buildings.

He had almost died.

It was an errant thought as his eyes followed colorful birds darting between building and branch. He tried moving, failed, and was lost to his thoughts for a while more.

There was… something else too. A certain change to his person, one that he was intrinsically aware of. He was—stronger? No, tougher? Still in terrible shape, only not nearly as much as he should be.

He’d gained CON, he realized. Constitution. He’d raised his stats under pressure—without investing his Stat Points. He wasn’t sure whether to laugh at his fortune or cry at the cost it came. Free Stat Points, if he was willing to push any aspect of his person as far as he had just done his body.

He grimaced, pocketing the knowledge, and taking it as the extreme fortune it was. It put him into the superhuman range of healing. The attribute sitting at a respectable 11, without the bonuses of his armor.

He groaned, laying his head back. You fucked up, Ludus. What happened to slow and steady? Instead, you go waltzing right into a rathound horde! He’d done exactly what he set out not to do, stumbling into danger born from his own stupidity and power.

There was a distinct lack of motivation to do anything. It could’ve stemmed from anything between his own stupid carelessness to the fact he smelled exactly like what you might expect. It was not pleasant, no matter how the birds sang, in fact Ludus was almost certain they were making fun of him. The sting of his wounds was a constant reminder, while diminished the pain hadn’t left, only subsided into the background of his tiredness.

Sadly, he realized there was nothing his power could do to help him here. Cleaning, it seemed, was manual labor that couldn’t be avoided. Which was particularly annoying because he couldn’t exactly explain his current state to anywhere he’d go for cleaning supplies without raising a few brows.

He sighed. “The Verdant then.” South Hold had a number of flowing streams but only one was notable enough to be named, at least officially. The Verdant River was the main tributary that flowed from The Wild itself all the way through Newhold.

The Architect, the genius-type super who had designed Newhold, had integrated the river into the city’s development. After all, as much as some hated The Wild’s unruliness, it did serve as the city’s lifeblood. The Verdant a bit more acutely.

He pried himself off the floor like a wet sticker, went walking, and somehow managed to find it without anyone screaming about a sludge monster attack.

Ludus climbed down a small ledge, opening up to a secluded beach shaded by low trees. A small spectacle to anyone not already acclimated to South Hold’s quirks. The water was crystal clear, sparkling, and while he couldn’t see anyone downstream, he did internally apologize as he waded in.

He unequipped everything down to his birthday suit, each item appearing in that intrinsic ethereal space of his—the inventory. He felt them there, clear as day, hoping he was somehow seeing them wrong. He was not. Unfortunately, taking them back out proved that simply swapping the items in and out of his inventory did little to clean them. They were, indeed, still disgustingly covered in sewage. Much to his dismay and anyone with smelling distance.

Weakness washed over him as the bonuses from his [Rathide Armor] disappeared. He felt those two points of CON like a blow to his wounds. This time, he accepted it, no longer fighting the tiredness. He engulfed himself in the water, the shocking cold killing the constant sting of claws and teeth as it enveloped him.

He dived down to the river bed, spotting schools of colorful fish and glistening plant life. The river life was just as abundant as the rest of South Hold and it gave him some measure of energy to see it all around him.

The river was deeper than it appeared in some places and if rumors were true there was a vast underground network of tunnels and rivers below. He wouldn’t have put it past the Architect to work around them which made said stories entirely plausible. If there were a super to navigate something as small as that it’d be the same who designed a city in the middle of the Changed Lands.

That said, Ludus was enjoying a shallower portion of the Verdant, freediving underwater. The current was strong enough for him to get swept away if he wasn’t careful. The shocking cold was a million times better than the lukewarm sensation of—he shivered, a reflex having nothing to do with temperature.

He tried not to think of it as the pieces sloughed off him like he was shedding. The cold was familiar, he’d swam in the Verdant growing up and it was no different now. The river current and ecosystem were strong enough to withstand the abuse of running through a very urban city, a subtle reminder of the super behind the wildlife.

Underwater, the river was as clear as it was cold. The kind of water sunlight loved. Undulating waves of light danced on a beige sandbed as Ludus reached the bottom. He grabbed a handful of sand and began carefully scraping off the peskier parts of his sewer adventure. The pain of the grit against his wounds was a small price to pay.

He did so in the muted silence of cold water, at peace. The swirling noise of movement drew his eyes to the locals again, darting between seaweed, shells, and rocks covered in moss. This time he spotted a larger fish moving across the moss, although his attention was on the smaller denizens darting around it.

He breached for air before coming back down, leaving a cloud of sand behind, quickly being swept away. The larger fish swam away with that ever-surprising burst of slippery speed inherent to marine life. Ludus tilted his head, looking at the smaller ones, fearless, oblivious, or perhaps expectant of him.

He swam over on a hunch, trying to recall if they were what he thought they were.

Something nibbled his side. It tickled but was harmless, a strangely powerful sucking sensation. The size of a small fish’s mouth. He smiled sitting still as the locals did their job, swarming around him like a cloud of color. Where they passed over him, the strange feeling of a hundred little vacuums, and perfectly clear skin.

Some things, he reflected, had no need for his power, but someone else’s. He sent a mock prayer to Wildgrowth and his fishy friends when throwing his clothes and everything else into the water achieved the same result.

He had to breach three more times before he was completely clean, a few stragglers following him. When he did leave the water, his skin was raw, clean. Whatever scabbing had occurred over his wounds was undone by the cleaner fish but that was fine in his eyes.

Most of his injuries were stymied by the cold water, multiple scrapes from either claw, teeth, or something else entirely. The more serious injuries he couldn’t see. He could only feel the tightness on his back, where he’d been most exposed during the whole ordeal.

Now, a light red ran down his torso, the color of open wounds diffused by water running off his body. He found a large flat rock, directly in the sun, and sat upon it, feet hanging off the side. Warmth returned to his body as he stared at the sun, idly imagining how nice it would be to have a regenerative power. Well, one beyond the boost to his hardiness his CON stat allowed.

He was feeling lightheaded, dizzy. And while the sun felt nice, he wasn’t blind to how much blood he had lost. His skin was warm here, but it was the sun supplying it, not his body.

“Oh but it feels so nice.” He said quietly, thoughts lost to the stream.

His eyes snapped open and he inhaled quickly, realizing his breath had slowed. “Get up.” He groaned and did so.

His clothes were nearby, drying.

Item: [Flexwood Armband] (Common)

A band of flexible wood designed to fit around the arm at the bicep. The wood retains tension and can stretch a surprising amount.

- STR +1

Item: [Rathide Armor] (Uncommon)

A patchwork set of rathide armor offering decent protection against mundane attacks. The various browns, greys, and blacks worked into the armor allow some measure of camouflage in the dark.

- CON +2

- DEX +2

- 20% increased camouflage in the dark

He took them into his inventory and threw everything on once again. He felt a modicum of strength come to his limbs as he put on the [Flexwood Armband], tight around his arm. This time, the [Rathide Armor] came after his shirt and before his hoodie, completely concealed. His mind cleared somewhat and his limbs gained some strength as his CON jumped to 13, higher into the superhuman range.

His wounds, unfortunately, did not instantly heal. There were few supers who could achieve such a feat. If anything, at this point he’d be classified a Regenerator 1 and barely that. His wounds itched and he did notice it should’ve been worse, if he remembered correctly, but he had been passed out for quite some time judging by the sun. With his armor on. And a high CON.

His body was working against his injuries surprisingly well, but not yet at a level detectable to be superhuman. Just… better than one might expect the human body to perform. His base CON had been 5 before and he realized if he had left it there, hoarding his Stat Points, he would’ve died.

He sighed, basking in the sun. He couldn’t help but steal a moment more of the rays.

Then he was moving away from the shore and into the trees, internally going through a checklist of all the things he did wrong. It was a strange combination of realities that warred. His power, rooted in the real world, though undoubtedly touched by some semblance of fantasy.

“As they all are, frankly.” He said to himself, pushing through the overgrowth. He could see the switch from river shoreline to soil, then sidewalk, and finally urban buildings up ahead. He did concede, after a thought, that video games were a unique vector of that fantasy though. Even in the realm of superpowers.

He was hard on himself but it was a learning process. A lesson, albeit exceedingly harsh. He had been careful. He took his fights cautiously, improved on each one, and played to his strengths. That horde of rathounds was an unexpected variable he couldn’t really account for. He vaguely understood what to expect not what was possible. But he should’ve come more prepared, not just mentally, and that was on him.

He should’ve come with supplies. Something to fall back on. A contingency plan.

Hell, now that he was thinking of it, he should’ve brought a bow! He didn’t need an artifact born from his power for it to be useful against rathounds. A bow and arrow would do just fine and getting one in South Hold was relatively easy. Hunting in South Hold wasn’t exactly rare.

“Paragon’s Fists, Ludus, you don’t need anything fancy to kill a rathound.” He chastised himself. “An arrow to the neck does just as well as lightning.” He muttered.

And even then, weaponry wasn’t even the main takeaway, though he was kicking himself about it. It was potions—healing items! He’d already confirmed his power supplied something of the sort. He’d gotten one after he stopped that robber, a [Weak Healing Vial]. He’d even used it at the beginning of the Dungeon. Which meant there were similar items somewhere, it was a Common Article after all.

“Meaning with a little forethought, I could’ve prevented almost dying.” He said grimly.

He’d been so taken with the [Wildgrove Cornucopia] and the equipable Items it sold that he’d never bothered with consumables. Unfortunately, the walk to the Wildgrove Mall was fairly far now. He’d walked quite a distance following the ?’s on his map. Thankfully, there happened to be a Shop icon on his minimap that he’d been heading to for the past couple of minutes.

They weren’t so numerous on his map but this place was one he’d actually been to. Before the electrical baptism, of course. It wasn’t anything particularly exciting, which made it surprising the place turned out to be an Article on his minimap.

When he emerged from the trees, he only received a few passing glances. Most people in South Hold knew where the Verdant was. Many more made a day out of swimming in it. Filters downriver, generators and other systems made use of the current to power or water the city.

He crossed a few blocks before he got to the Shop.

New Shop: [Corner Mart] (Common)

A general store selling everything from food, medicine, and drink, to lottery tickets, toiletries, and other groceries.

He stepped into the actual shop, even though he could access the Shop from the sidewalk. A ringing bell greeted the cashier who welcomed him inside. The last time he was in a convenience store, it hadn’t been a Shop, so he wondered exactly what made this one significant.

If he recalled, that night was when Repair had died. He shivered, conflict between supers was bound to get messy. Ludus suspected more people died than those that made it to the public eye and he was determined not to be one of them.

Which was exactly why he needed to be prepared in the event of grievous injury. With a start, he realized he had used all his Credits on the [Flexwood Armband].

Name: Ludus Rowth

Level: 8

Titles: [One Man Army], [Rathound Slayer]

Traits: [Lightning Touched]

STR: 4 (+1)

CON: 11 (+2)

DEX: 4 (+2)

AGI: 6

PER: 8

INT: 8

WIS: 8

WIL: 5

CHA: 6

LUK: 4

Stat Points: 4

Credits: 523

Skills: [Lightning Magic], [Acrobatics]

Or so he thought…

“What?” He blinked, drawing the eye of another person in the aisle. “Ah sorry, I thought these were cheaper.” He looked at the chips he was holding before putting them down as the person gave him polite smile.

He turned back.

Where did all this money come from? Killing the rathounds? There’d been no notification about it. Yet, something had ‘dropped’ into his inventory, he distinctly remembered that. He’d thought it was nothing but the armor. That little boost from the armor had probably saved his life and after that, his main priority had been leaving. He wouldn’t have noticed it.

There was a spot in his inventory for currency.

But 523 Credits? He checked his Titles again, the only things available that might give him some context, and found he could easily pull up their requirements again. What would warrant that much of a reward? He understood he’d killed a lot… but were the numbers right?

Title: [One Man Army] (Epic)

Requirements: Defeat 250 Enemies of Greater Level Alone In A Single Encounter.

You are a tide breaker against both armies and hordes. The mass of bodies crash against you, only for you to stand and they to break. You have faced down countless enemies, rising higher upon their corpses, holding steady upon a mountain. What hope does an army have against a single man as strong as their whole?

- 30% increase to efficacy when outnumbered

- 20% increase to efficacy when alone

Title: [Rathound Slayer] (Common)

Requirements: Defeat 100+ Rathounds In A Single Encounter or Extinguish A Rathound Colony

You are the bane to all rathounds. They are, as any rat, nothing more than a pest to be exterminated. They come in hordes, hiding in nooks and crannies, repopulating and infecting. You are unavoidable and absolute, slaying them in number countless times.

- 33% increased damage to rathounds

- 10% increased damage to other rat-aligned enemies

From the conditions he was reading, 250 enemies was the minimum he could have exterminated. Now that he was looking, he paused—could it have been more? He hadn’t sat there counting, that was for sure.

For the [Rathound Slayer] he didn’t think he had extinguished a whole colony. He was pretty sure it wouldn’t be counted in a Dungeon. So he doubted that could’ve been the case. Which meant—

“Excuse me, sir? I’m gonna have you to ask you to leave the store if you’re not buying anything.” Someone tapped him on the shoulder. The cashier with an apologetic look on his face.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry. I’ll be up in a second.” He said numbly.

250 was the minimum, how far above that did he… slay? Could it have been double, triple? Over a thousand? He remembered seeing their floating bodies, unable to distinguish individuals beyond their pinkish tails. And—what? The Credits were the reward? He stood there in deep thought, grabbing chips from the aisle.

It was the first time he’d gotten Credits as loot from battle and it had to be this outlier of an encounter.

He took a breath and slowed down, taking a moment to listen to his power. He searched for that guiding instinct, that sense of his power that afforded him certainties on the intricacies of his ability.

He opened his eyes, feeling more centered.

He paid in cash, coming away with two bags of chips, a bottle of water, and a better sense of what happened in the [Newhold Sewers]. He opened the Corner Mart’s door and found a bench outside that was still within [Corner Mart’s] range.

As it turned out, It was possible to get Credits from encounters just as you could other Articles, rewards varying dependent on a couple of things. Probably the most pertinent being difficulty, which Ludus suspected had the biggest hand in his monetary rewards. Going from that, he was actually unlucky considering the equipment he got, although lucky in the sense of its immediate use it wouldn’t have been a surprise to him if he’d gotten something more powerful.

“Especially from, well, that whole ordeal.” He said, eating chips.

It was also possible to raise his stats naturally, as he’d already found out, though doing so required him to shatter their limits. A process, he’d recently discovered, was not altogether pleasant. As much as it sounded like the best way to do things, it wasn’t realistic. And unfortunately, that was exactly what this was now, reality. Still, it was a thought for another time perhaps.

He browsed the Shop quickly, understanding he’d already taken too long. His wounds weren’t getting any better—well they were, but.

The point was he needed to get some healing products if they were available. He browsed quickly, refusing to be distracted. Sitting in the sunlight was already making him drowsy.

New Item: [Simple Bandages] (Common)

A roll of sterilized bandaging that can be used to stem blood flow, protect open wounds, and allow the body to heal. Effectiveness may vary dependent on application.

- Increases health regeneration by 10%

- Reduces blood loss by 50%

Price: 10 Credits

New Item: [Antibiotic Salve] (Common)

A topical salve used to treat minor wounds such as cuts, scrapes, and burn, in order to prevent or treat mild skin infections. Effectiveness may vary dependent on application.

- Increases health regeneration by 10%

- Reduces chance of infection by 50%

Price: 12 Credits

There were similar Items but nothing as powerful as instant recovery. Even minor, the instantaneous effect of the [Weak Healing Vial] must’ve been on the upper tier of Common consumables. Ludus bought what he needed in excess since his inventory could hold quite a lot. Any copies of an item would stack and take only one slot in his personal space pocket.

“It’ll have to do for now.” He said, checking over his purchases. He was down a couple of hundred Credits, but he wanted to save them for now. He’d do more serious shopping later.

That done, he made his way to a coffee shop. A nice, upscale little place that most importantly looked clean. The scent of coffee filled his nose and he went straight to the bathroom. Once there, he took the handicapped stall and immediately took off his equipment, putting everything into his inventory and leaving him stark naked except for his shoes.

He pushed through the sudden weakness since this was something that needed to be done.

Careful of his wounds, he began to apply the salve. He did his legs first and his lower torso, looking like a mummy. Funnily enough, his [Acrobatics] Skill was helping him in terms of flexibility to treat his back as well, which was the most damaged area.

The salve was of a consistency he wouldn’t have minded in a smaller area. When it covered his entire body? Moving felt like wriggling through slime and it was terrible. Although… he supposed there was a little he could complain now that he’d waded through literal shit. He’d much rather be a slug than ever do that again. Ever.

Wrapping the bandages, and doing a good job of it, was the hard part.

By the end of it, though there was no mirror, he knew he looked ridiculous. And yes, he did feel better, much better. But the best part? The best part was what he didn’t have to do—dress.

He snapped, chuckling, as he was suddenly clothed perfectly. It hadn’t really occurred to him but did other supers use their power for convenience? If he could skip the process of putting on his clothes like a normal person, especially when he had the flexibility of a mummy, he’d do so every time. If he’d had to do it manually he probably would’ve passed out on the floor before he got anything done.

He’d like to think there was a pep in his step, but it was more like a hitch. Or a limp. The bandages were tight around his limbs and back so his movement was restricted, a fate he would choose time and time again over literally dying.

On a whim, he sat down for some coffee, dozing off by the warm window. This time the sleep that knocked on his consciousness was not one that did so maliciously, an attempt to drag him into a dangerous abyss. This time it was soft clouds and warmth, enveloping a tired body.

He pulled his hood down and started snoring.

An indeterminate time later, it was ironically someone else’s snoring that woke him up. He glanced around and found a man nearby with his mouth open, doing his best job at catching flies in his sleep. A couple of people nearby were chuckling, a few glaring.

Ludus stretched in his chair, carefully testing how his body felt. Better, incrementally better, he decided. Which was great progress in a single day.

He checked his minimap as he made his way home. His coffee was still pleasantly warm and the sun was just on its trip down to the horizon. The sky was painted orange.

“An hour’s sleep, maybe?” He yawned, walking through crowds of pedestrians.

It was a long walk that he didn’t mind when he finally found himself under a canopy of familiar trees. Sidewalk turned to dirt and trail, then it was only a couple of minutes to his cabin. A cozy thing made from strengthened wood, more than large enough for a single person.

Once he got inside, he started cooking, turning his laptop on. The smell of a culinary classic filled his kitchen. Grilled cheese never got old, especially when one put in the small amount of extra effort to perfect it.

Despite how tired he was, punctuated by constant yawning, he had some research to do. He checked the VHA’s site, Variant Human Affairs, for a compendium of super-types. He would never have thought looking up super classifications would ever become necessary studying.

Today, he considered it as such. Unsurprisingly, there was a lot to go through, though most of which he already knew. He’d gone through that phase of obsession like everyone else. Yes, once upon a time, Ludus Rowth had been a superfan. And could anyone blame him?

He sat back in his chair as he browsed, nose watching the air, alert for that perfect scent of grilled completeness. It wasn’t so much learning anything new, save for new entries, but more like a review of sorts.

Most powers were never so neat as to fall into a single category. That particular detail facilitated the common practice of multi-typing supers. That, combined with a ranking system, allowed someone to quickly gauge a super’s general capabilities and strength.

Ludus classified himself as a growth, reality, and wildcard super.

Firstly, a super possessing the ability to grow in potency in some shape or form—growth. A super with a power that could alter reality to a degree significantly more notable than an average superpower—reality. And one whose power could potentially fulfill the criteria of three or more classifications—wildcard.

They were listed in order of relevance, as was convention when classifying supers. Growth and progression were the centers of his power. The reality classification was based on how his power actually functioned for him. That was to say, completely changing his perspective of the world in a literal sense. And finally, the wildcard classification because potentially, he could fit into any number of other classifications given the time.

Reality-types had two important aspects; potency and scope. Generally, a reality-type would lean in either direction, sacrificing one for the other. Ludus knew his ‘altered reality’ applied only to himself. He was the only ‘player’, to put it to gaming terms. In that, the scope of his power was limited. And in his experience, it was fair to say the potency was not.

Growth-types, on the other hand, were known to start off limited and unassuming. Weak in the general sense, but only at the start. The legendary Bastion, as an example, began as no more than a regular mundane. Constant exposure to damage flared his power, gaining more and more resistance to various types of damage until he became the famed hero he was today.

Wildcards were strong in their scope and coverage but lacked strength in any one field. Their real strength came from combining various aspects of their power for a greater effect than they could achieve alone.

Of course, these were just general guidelines set from historical precedent. Exceptions existed. Classifications, after all, were just a crutch to understand powers. More often than not, powers lay outside any strict box. New classifications were created every year, some catching on, others not.

Ludus had always known the combination of his specific classifications meant his progress would be excruciatingly slow. Rewarding, sure, but slow nonetheless. Or should be, at least.

His escapade in the sewers was an unprecedented explosion of growth in line with the danger he faced. Unnatural and atypical—he hoped—but understandable. He doubted he would level so much in such a short period anytime soon, if ever again.

The combination of the Growth and Wildcard classifications ensured his origination left him barely more than a mundane—putting aside the boons he’d gotten by getting zapped. The Reality classification allowed him to direct that growth.

The caveat being he wasn’t just a late bloomer, he was a slow bloomer too.

Yet with the potential to bloom like no other.