Bodies and Skills refreshed, they stood in front of the heavy iron door.

There would be no beating around the bush, no waiting around.

It was time to end this.

Steven pulled, and the door swung silently on oiled hinges.

"No monsters close by, but he's in there," Micheal said.

Steven opened the door the rest of the way and took in the room.

The Mad Doctors lab was a large dark space with a high ceiling, and it looked exactly how Steven thought it would.

Strange equipment cluttered the stone floor, from beakers filled with bubbling purple liquid to racks of metal tubing that crackled with electricity.

Steven's gaze snapped to one wood wall where a heavy metal tube snaked down from the ceiling and led to a massive metal table in the center of the room.

From the cracking lines of lightning rolling over the tube, he had a feeling it led to the giant tesla coil on the roof.

Standing in front of that table, his cloak covered back to them, was the Mad Doctor.

“So you’ve made it this far?” For once, the man’s voice wasn’t a furious scream.

“Impressive. But your lives end here. My final creation, it is finished. YOU ARE-“

Margie shot him in the back.

Steven had been planning on calling a shield to knock him down if she didn’t, but the crack of the gun still took him off guard.

The Doctor staggered and leaned on his table. “YOU SWINE!”

He slammed his hand down, and lightning thundered from the tube.

It crashed into the table, lighting the room with bright flashes of yellow and blue.

The dank smell of the room was overpowered with an acrid, burning stench that made Steven’s eyes water.

The Doctor turned to them and threw his head back in a desperate cackle.

He was lanky and thin, with sickly pale skin stretched over his narrow face and a crazed shock of white for hair. He lowered his head, and his too-wide eyes took them in. He cackled louder.

Something lurched up from the table and roared.

They clapped their hands over their ears, and Noodle whined from Margie’s side.

The Mad Doctor side-stepped and gestured to the monster like he was presenting a prize.

It was at least nine feet tall, with dark grey skin, blocky features, and was covered in bits of jagged metal. Each massive fist had points of metal sticking from its skin like nightmarish brass knuckles.

The Mad Doctor was cast in shadow as the beast lit up, electricity sparking along the bits of metal in its flesh.

“GO KILL, MY CHILD!”

The beast threw its head back, shaking the floor with its roar. Then it lowered its dark gaze, and charged.

Margie was already reloading while Micheal ran to the side. It looked like he was going for one of the beakers.

Buford tensed, ready to meet the beast's charge.

Steven clenched his fists and called a shield.

He needed to know if Markov’s monster was going to break his shields or not.

The glowing oval appeared right in front of the monster's chest. It slammed into it and stopped with a grunt.

The shield cracked but didn’t break.

Okay, so no direct blocks. If it can crack my shield by running, a punch would shatter it.

Buford snarled and dashed to meet the monster.

It pulled a fist back and swung. It was much faster than the Giant and didn't have even half its wind-up.

But Buford had fought the Giant 4 Skill levels ago. He slipped past the punch and ripped into the creature's thigh.

The monster punched down with its other fist, and Steven called a shield.

It formed behind the monster's arm, and he pulled immediately.

The shield slammed into its arm, knocking its punch off course. Buford slipped through its legs, giving it another bite as he went.

It roared again, and lightning lit up its body.

It kicked out, the blow much faster than before, and Buford barely managed to turn it into a glancing hit.

He staggered, but the lightning went straight into his shroud, turning the section around his flanks a bright yellow.

Margie shot the monster in the shoulder, and before it even finished turning to her, Steven pulled a sound-trapped shield into the back of its head.

It staggered, and Buford tore at its hamstring.

"ENOUGH!"

The Mad Doctor swung at Margie from halfway across the room.

Despite the distance, Steven reacted as if the swing would hit. He would be a fool to take chances at this point.

A shield appeared in the Doctors path, just in time to intercept the buzzing whip of lightning that formed in his hand.

It wrapped around the shield but didn’t break it.

Steven’s gaze flicked between the Mad Doctor and his monster.

“Can all of you take the monster while I handle Markov?”

Margie grunted. “Might need a few shields here and there, but I think we got it.” Micheal raised the beaker he’d snatched, and Buford firmed his stance.

Steven took a deep breath, and his focus sharpened.

Margie raised her rifle and fired.

The monster roared as the shot took it in the chest, and at the same time, the Mad Doctor raised his other hand, a dark light warping the air around his fingers.

Steven charged him.

He threw a shield up behind the man's knee and pulled.

The Doctor sidestepped like he had eyes in the back of his head and pointed his hand at Steven.

The dark light shot at Steven and a half dozen objects followed it.

He barely had time to feel shock before a metal cart sailed at his face.

He dove to the side but immediately had to throw up a shield as a tray came racing for his skull.

He blocked three more makeshift missiles before they stopped coming.

He didn’t have any time to catch his breath as Markov threw out another whip.

Steven was too slow to block it and took a lash along his leg.

A bolt of pain tore through him as his leg spasmed.

He grunted and tried to run, but his limb wouldn’t listen to him.

What would that have done to him before Oh Thank You, Heroes durability buff?

Micheal yelled from behind him, followed by the sound of breaking glass.

“Help me!”

Steven’s world slowed.

Micheal’s buff pulsed in the corner of his vision, along with his own Skill, and he could feel its amped strength course through him.

He focused on the Doctor. The man had dodged one shield pull—time to see how he handled three.

As the world started to rush back in, he called all three of his shields behind the Mad Doctors feet, then pulled.

The man jumped. He must have some sort of sensory Skill then, but it wasn’t perfect. Since he tried to hop over the shields, but Steven wasn’t pulling them towards his feet. He pulled them to his forehead.

They slammed into Markov’s knees while he was mid-jump, and the man went down.

Steven dismissed his shields and spun. The monster was charging after Micheal, whose legs were pumping hard as he sprinted away.

Steven called a sound trap in front of the monster's face.

It slipped around it.

He narrowed his eyes and called a shield in front of its back foot. The monster staggered, and Margie shot it again. Buford rushed forward, a blue sheen mixing with the red, and tore at its other hamstring.

Steven used a shield pull to knock its counter swing off course, then turned back to Markov.

The man climbed back to his feet, his pale cheeks flushed with fury.

“I WILL KILL YOU! THEN I WILL KILL THE OTHERS FOR DARING TO TOUCH MY BEAUTIFUL CREATION! I WILL PEEL THE FLESH FROM THEIR BONES! I WILL-”

Steven felt a spark of anger break through his calm, and Hand-Shield pulsed stronger. He dashed at the man, Micheal’s buff letting him eat the ground up in seconds.

The Doctor raised a hand that danced with dark light, but Steven wasn’t about to get caught twice.

He called a shield in front of the man’s hand, and the bolt stuck to the green oval.

The metal around them flew at the shield. Steven gave it a wide berth as he dashed for the Doctor.

He had to duck a rack of crackling wires that flew in from his left and jump a spinning cart, but the buff made it easy.

Markov swung at Steven. He called a shield a few feet in front of the man, and the lightning whip that formed wrapped around it.

He pulled, and the shield raced towards him, jerking the Mad Doctor off balance. Steven's knee caught him in the stomach.

The man gasped, but Steven didn’t give him an inch. He slammed a punch into his face, the faint blue sheen over his fist making it hit like he had another fifty pounds of muscle behind him.

Markov staggered, and Steven called a shield behind him, catching the man before he could stumble away.

He swung and pulled towards his chest at the same time. Carried by the shield on his back, the Madman slammed into Steven’s knuckles hard enough to send pain lancing up his arm.

As Markov rocked from the hit, something changed. His eyes rolled up in his head, and his wild nest of white hair began to crackle with yellow arcs.

A fist slammed into Steven’s jaw before he could react.

Pain exploded in his face, but he still called a shield.

That hit felt like it would have broken his jaw without the buff.

Markov struck again, dodging around Steven’s shield to drive his fist down into his head.

Steven dodged and struck back. Markov smacked his hand away and spun into a counter.

Steven deflected the hit with a shield, but Markov’s hand crackled with lightning before he could capitalize.

The Doctor’s hand lashed out, not at Steven but at Margie!

He reacted instantly, throwing a shield up and charging the man at the same time.

A bolt of lightning tore his shield apart, and then he was in the man's face.

Hand-Shield’s pulses had grown stronger, as if begging to be used.

He obliged, calling a shield behind Markov’s foot and snapping out a kick at the same time. Markov sidestepped the shield, but Steven had read his dodge, and his foot crashed into Markov’s chest.

The man had reminded him that they weren’t fighting in a vacuum, so he threw a shield in the monster's way as he closed in on the staggering Doctor.

Margie fired again, and he heard Buford snarl, but that was all the attention he could spare for their fight.

He kneed Markov than blocked the man's return punch with a shield. He dismissed that shield and immediately called it to Markov’s left with a sound trap. At the same time, Steven called another behind the Doctor.

Then he drove a haymaker at him from the right and pulled the shields towards his fist.

Markov tried to dodge to the left, and the shield slammed into his skull with a bang as it dragged him straight into Steven’s fist.

His cheek crumpled, and The Mad Doctor collapsed.

Steven dismissed his shields and spun.

The monster was glowing with electricity as he drove his fists down at Buford.

The dog slipped between the piston-like blows with a grace that didn’t belong on his bulky form as he tried to close the distance.

The monster punched, then kicked out with no warning.

Steven called a shield in front of the kick, then one behind its leg.

The monster kick shattered Steven’s shield, barely slowing, but he had already pulled the second shield.

As pain exploded between his temples, the shield slammed into the monster's raised leg.

A shield pull against the monster's strength would have broken instantly, but he was adding to its momentum, not trying to stop it.

Buford had dodged in the breath Steven’s first shield had bought him, and as the monster's leg raised far higher than it had intended, he pounced.

The malamute, red and yellow and blue light trailing off him in a stream, slammed into the monster's chest like a blazing cannonball.

On one leg and off balance, the monster flew back, and Buford’s jaws closed on its throat before it could react.

There was a final crackle of electricity, and the monster went still.

Prompts covered their vision along with the blast of an organ.

You have vanquished the Mad Doctor Markov and his Horde of abominations!

Unique Creations Vanquished 3/4

Scenario cleared!

For defeating 3/4 Unique Creations, you have gained bonus rewards! +2 SP +2TP

By being among the first 10 teams to clear a Scenario in your world, you have gained a Trait!

Trait

Scenario Pioneer

Gain 10% increased movement speed while in a Scenario. You are far less likely to get lost while in a Scenario.

Skill gained!

Lightning Rod: Passive

Rarity: rare

Effect: Allows shields to conduct electricity.

The prompts paused for a moment, and when they returned, the words felt heavy.

You have reached the First Threshold. Do you wish to advance?

Steven paused. Why was it asking for his confirmation?

“System, why?”

“Well, well, well. You made it to the First Threshold. I was betting that you’d get yourself killed first.”

It laughed.

“Well, since you’ve reached this point, I can shed a little more light on it. The Thresholds are milestones in your development. They are power. And as for why the prompt asks for confirmation, what Skills and Augments you have slotted affects the benefits and options advancing gives you. Hope that clears things up, Jimbo. I’m excited to see what you lot do next.”

“System out!”

Steven stared at the words and, after slotting Paci-Fist, thought, “Yes.”

He only had one Skill slot, and he didn’t have access to a respec station. He wasn’t about to wait to go find one.

The air grew heavy, and he felt like he’d just stepped into a storm.

Hand-Shield glowed in the corner of his vision, and a soft green light snapped in place around him.

The light pulsed once, then sunk into his skin.

Steven gasped as the power settled into him. It was fiery and hot, and he could feel It refining him from his skin all the way to his bones and everything in between.

As his body strengthened, the green light settled into his head. He gasped again as his vision sharpened. His fatigue vanished, the pain in his cheek faded, and his thoughts flowed more smoothly.

He stretched, and his body was more flexible than it had ever been.

More prompts filled his vision.

You have three first threshold Skills to choose from.

Threshold Skills are stronger or stranger than their counterparts and can include unique benefits.

Bell-Shield

Rarity: uncommon

Effect: summons a brittle medium-sized shield. The shield will ring like a bell when struck and amplifies sounds around it.

Range: 30 feet

Energy cost: small

Duration: 30 seconds

Cooldown: 1 minute

Load Stone

Rarity: rare

Effect: summons a medium shield that draws in nearby projectiles.

Range: 10 feet

Energy cost: medium

Duration 5 seconds

Cooldown: 15 seconds

Kinetic Give

Rarity: uncommon

Effect: Imbue inorganic material with increased elasticity and resistance to blunt strikes.

This effect can be added to shields, regardless of range.

Range: touch

Duration: 2 minutes

Energy use: small/variable

Cooldown: 5 seconds (does not apply to shields)

Steven wanted all those Skills, but no matter how greedy he felt, he was only getting one.

He forced his giddiness down and focused. He was a defender. His role, his purpose, was to protect the others. Which of these would help him do that better?

Each had its uses, but he quickly found his eyes settling on Kinetic Give. He had picked Hand-Shield over it at level 1, but with the Skill's new ability to affect his shields at range, it offered far more utility.

Load Stone could be very useful in the right situations, and he could think of some interesting uses for Bell-Shield as well, but Kinetic Give would fix a hole in his abilities.

When the Unique Creation had pulled Micheal, Steven had no choice but to jump after him. Trying to catch him with Hand-Shield hadn't been an option. The shield was too hard.

But Kinetic Give would fix that problem. It would directly increase his ability to protect the others, and if it worked as he thought, it would give him more combat utility as well.

He could already block projectiles with Hand-Shield. Load Stone would absolutely be better at it, but not enough to justify it over the other picks right now. And Bell-Shield was too situational. While Alarm Bells had been a very useful Augment, Steven wasn’t planning on leaning into sound that heavily.

Mind made, he picked Kinetic Give. He felt the Skill settle around him. It wasn’t the same feeling as slotting a Skill, but similar.

At the same time, he felt another flash of power settle into him and Hand-Shield burst with green light.

You tempered your Skills. All Skills slotted during advancement are tempered in its power.

Hand-Shield +4 feet range. Absorbent Trait +5% effectiveness.

You have 3 Threshold Traits to choose from.

Threshold Traits are powerful and can direct your future growth.

The Best Defense Is A Good Offense

Effect: turns the edge of your shields into a blade that shares the shield's durability.

All Tingly

Gain a stronger sense of your shields in location to yourself. Gain a rudimentary sense of touch through your shields, and gain the ability to tap into your shields to hear in a 10-foot circle around the shield.

A Touch Of Grit

Gain 5% of summoned shields durability.

Steven scanned the first option again. It was strong, and with Shield Pull, it would become a dangerous weapon. That could be useful, but it…it wasn’t him.

It wasn’t what he wanted from these powers. He could use his shields for violence now, but that was far from their only purpose. That Trait was for carnage, first and foremost. It wasn’t him.

He scanned the second option. It resonated with him far more than the first, and the scouting potential it opened up would be wonderful.

A Touch Of Grit would be nice but not exceptional on its own. The prompt had said these could direct his future growth, so it was reasonable to assume he could find Skills and Augments to complement these Traits. With the right Skills, or if the buff grew stronger with each Threshold passed, then A Touch Of Grit could become insanely powerful.

But it would do very little in the meantime. 5% of his shield's durability would be amazing against people with human strength, but he was fighting things right now that could shatter his shields. 5% of its durability wouldn’t stop them from shattering him just as easily. That would change as he got stronger Skills, but he didn’t think 5% was enough of an edge.

All Tingly—god, he hated that name— would help him now. Setting and avoiding traps, scouting. Information was key, and this Trait would let him gather more.

And a sensory ability could grow in amazing ways. Even if the Threshold Traits couldn’t be improved, getting more range on his shields improved the Trait's effectiveness. And if it did grow…well, Steven would love a future where he could throw out cameras around corners at a moment's notice.

Steven chose All Tingly. Its utility was too strong to pass up.

As soon as he chose it, he felt a wave of tingles wash over his skin. He shuddered.

Steven glanced at the others. Each had blue and red light swirling around them, respectively. They must still be choosing.

His gaze trailed to Markov’s body and he felt a tightness in his gut.

What was Markov, exactly? The man could think, and talk, had he just…had he killed someone?

“Chill. You didn’t kill anyone. The thinking creatures in a Scenario are meat puppets being controlled directly by me. It’s essentially like killing a character in a play. The character is dead, but the actor—me—is very much alive.”

Steven blinked. The System had offered that information without even being asked. “…Thanks, I guess.”

He expected a joke at his own expense, but the System’s response was sober. “You’re welcome.”

Steven took a deep breath and centered himself.

The others were still busy, so he opened his sheet and froze.

Level: 6

Skill slots: 2

Passive slots: 1