"See, the thing with magic is, it's all smoke and mirrors. Until it isn't." ~ Liam Glauchester, Scion of the Unknown Deeps, master of the dark arts, and the grand- OUCH!

  "Get to the point Liam." ~ Foxfire

  <”Stryx? Any way you can help with some music or something?”>

  It took me all my willpower to keep my expression the confident mask that I showed the soldiers previously. To say that I was tense would be a huge understatement. This entire situation was far outside of my comfort zone, but I had to make it work somehow.

  Sadly, I am unable to assist with that without a small purchase on your end. I was not designed with musical talent in mind, and while I likely would be capable of producing sounds that are more soothing than whatever your music industry is selling these days, I do believe that they would not be to your liking. I do have some inexpensive earpieces available, however.

  <”That’s fine by me, I just want something to help me relax a little.”>

  That is certainly understandable. Please hold out your hand.

  New purchase: Class 0 Universal Earpiece!

  Points reduced to: 33

  I did as I was told and soon found a small little earbud in my hand. At first glance it seemed just like any other earbud you’d find on the second hand market, but the moment I put it in, it was immediately clear that this wasn’t your average trash. It didn’t hurt, felt perfectly moulded for my ear, and didn’t feel loose at all.

  You can connect it to your augs to play any song of your liking. I have also taken the liberty to obtain a copy of your preferred playlist and download it for you.

  “Wait, what?”

  That took me by surprise.

  <”How did you do that without net connection?”>

  Do you honestly believe I am limited to the same archaic network that you are using?

  Okay, that made a lot of sense and I felt kind of stupid for not realising that sooner. But it also brought up a different question.

  <”Does that mean that you can keep in contact with Yurei? And our parents? Wait, could you have checked the other shelter before they left?”>

  Technically, I could have, yes, although there are rules and regulations in place to limit how much I can act on my own.

  The sounds of movement ripped me out of my thoughts, and I shook my head. <”Okay, we have to talk about that later. For now… Can you help me shield everyone? I’m not sure how much my Hard-Light emitters can do, and I doubt that I’ll be able to take control of them and fight. Well, as much as I can fight anyway…”>

  Of course. I presume you still want to keep up appearances?

  <”Yes.”>

  Before I could continue, I was interrupted by a small group of model Threes breaking through the underbrush on the far side of the open area. Immediately some soldiers pointed their rifles at them and fired. The sound of gunshots had my heart stopping for a moment, and I nearly fainted from shock.

  Without much thought I navigated my augs and put on some music, desperate for something that could help me calm my nerves. It didn’t help nearly as much as I was hoping for, truth be told.

  Once the first batch of aliens was dead, things immediately broke out into chaos. More and more antithesis came rushing out of the underbrush, beelining it to the shelter entrance, and for a moment I was certain we’d be crushed underfoot without any chance for survival.

  Then my Hard-Light emitters sprang to life, figures appeared directly in front of the barricades, half-translucent and wielding massive weapons and tower shields. It took me a moment to realise, but they all looked like variations of me, wearing different kinds of armor. From knights in full plate, to rogues in leather armor straight out of a fantasy game, everything was present.

  It was also pretty apparent that Stryx took some inspiration from video games, since one of the images wielded a rather oversized lance, kneeling down to send a volley of hellfire out the end of the thing and into the horde of xenos. I knew that one to be a weapon from a certain series about hunting large monsters.

  As awesome as it looked, it was clear that the counter attacks were nothing more than show. Few, if any, of the attackers were wounded, much less killed. But at least it looked awesome, and that already seemed to help.

  Finally I was able to move again, the initial shock dying down. My heart was still hammering in my chest, my breathing coming a bit too quick to be healthy, and I forced myself to focus. My glove didn’t have a lot of range, but it was enough to fend off the aliens that managed to break through the gunfire and reach all the way to the barricades.

  With a wide gesture, I sliced through some of the model Threes that tried to jump over the defences, just as some of my jerry rigged grenade launchers started throwing their payload into the mess of moving plants. The music in my ear was nearly drowned out by the continuous gunfire, but I did my best to focus on it. It helped me calm down a little bit.

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  Despite the dread I felt, it was almost childs play to fall into a sort of rhythm. One of the soldiers stopped firing to reload, and I moved over, filling in the position for a moment, before I walked past, holding out a hand for another grenade when I came past one of my contraptions.

  Then the battle shifted, when the grenades started to show their impact. The flood of aliens died down, instead turning into a sort of chaotic mess that didn’t seem to have any sort of direction. Some still managed to get closer to us, but most seemed to be confused as to where they even were.

  Perhaps it would be a good idea for you to capitalise on this situation.

  Stryx was right, although I still wasn’t all too sure what I was supposed to do about it.

  You should show more trust in your new armor. The equipment you have is certainly not low quality. It should allow you to fight any smaller models head on. And I do believe that seeing you push back will help with the morale, no?

  I swallowed at that. She was right, but I really didn’t like the idea of running into close quarters with a bunch of hungry thorn bushes.

  Then again… I had to learn how to fight anyway, and with them barely able to walk straight, that would be a good opportunity.

  <”How long ‘til my new weapons?”>

  Only a couple more points. I’ll inform you when the purchase can be made.

  <”Okay… Thanks…”>

  Taking a deep breath, I nodded to myself, then started to walk closer to the barricades and the xenos. Stryx did… something with my Hard-Light emitters. I wasn’t entirely sure what, since I couldn’t quite take my eyes off the chaos in front of me. Whatever it was, though, it seemed to help with my personal defences, since I was almost certain there was a shimmering over my body.

  I still didn’t actually vault over the barricades, but I started to be a bit more aggressive with my xeno killing. Moving my hand left and right, trying for a steady rhythm that hid the jitters that I felt, I cut down alien after alien. Most work was done by the soldiers, though, and I was damn fucking glad I got them the ammunition.

  With a bit of a flourish, now feeling a tad more confident, I cut off the leg of a model Three that tried, and failed, to climb over the barricades with stumbling feet. It fell, and I moved to cut it in half.

  New purchases are now available. Would you like to proceed with the purchase we have discussed earlier?

  <”Yes, please.”>

  Very well, please hold out your arm as if you were to blast the adversary with energy.

  That had me raise my eyebrows, but I did as I was told. The familiar notification of a new purchase rang out, although I was too distracted to pay attention to it, since not even a moment later something on my arm shimmered, then glowed. Once the glow vanished, a bracelet appeared, still with a faint red shimmer. Before I had time to even comment, a lance of red energy shot out of it and impaled a nearby alien, killing it instantly.

  For the time being I will assist you in using your new Hard-Light emitter, although I highly suggest you take some time to properly calibrate it to your wishes after this battle.

  <”Yeah… Thanks!”>

  I couldn’t quite suppress a small smile as I waved my arm with my new bracelet, and more lances appeared, shooting out and into the mess of aliens in front of me. My main weapon continued to be my glove, though, especially considering that my Hard-Light emitter could only do so much before the battery ran out.

  Stryx had told me about that beforehand, and considering that we didn’t know how many aliens we’d have to deal with, I decided to be a bit more conservative with my usage of it.

  <”Any chance I can get some more to help with my illusions capability to actually harm things? At some point they’ll realise it’s all smoke and mirrors.”>

  Certainly. At your current rate of point gain, you should be able to obtain such an item in only a few more minutes. That said, I can work with what you have right now to alleviate those issues a little. Of course, that will require the offensive Hard-Light emitter you have just purchased, rendering it incapable of assisting you at those times.

  <”That’s fine by me, just do it.”>

  Stryx didn’t comment any further, although the flow of battle immediately shifted. With my Hard-Light emitter now being used by Stryx, I took the time to walk along the barricades and restock the grenade launchers. The flesh melters mixed into them weren’t nearly as potent as I originally hoped for, but even from here I could see some aliens looking worse for wear because of them.

  Perhaps I should switch it up a little bit once I get more points?

  Right now, most of the points I got were from the soldiers, and they didn’t give me the full amount. Really, I got very few from them due to the degrees of separation. Stryx had given me a short explanation about that earlier, so it wasn’t a surprise. Still sucked, though.

  You have accrued enough points for more Hard-Light emitters. Would you like to go ahead with the purchase?

  <”Yeah, get something to help with the illusions. I want the bracelet for more personal use in the future.”>

  Of course.

  New purchase: Mark III La Lumiére!

  Points reduced to: 12

  Again, my defensive Hard-Light emitters sprang to life, making me glow a little bit. I couldn’t quite concentrate on it, though, which is probably why I missed what exactly changed. When Stryx didn’t explain, I couldn’t help but speak up.

  <”What exactly did you get me?”>

  La Lumiére, a rather curious piece of technology. Would you like a demonstration?

  <”Yes?”>

  A sudden lance of light caught my attention, and I looked up. Some rather massive looking dragon thing had appeared out of nowhere, hovering some distance up. It was white and golden, with two massive wings, and strange horns on its head.

  The shape of the wings made it look a bit like a star. Small, golden eyes looked down upon us, and with a sudden roar, a small thunderstorm of black lightning struck the ground in front of me. Each time a bolt hit an alien, it was rend asunder as if cut by a thousand blades.

  Once the storm died down, the dragon vanished in a shower of golden light.

  I couldn’t help but stare at where it’s been, blinking stupefied for a long moment.

  While it doesn’t pack a huge punch, it is capable of projecting multiple, rather sophisticated illusions. Perfect, if you wish to fight in multiple places at the same time.

  “Yeah… That was fucking cool!”

  I have taken some inspiration from the games you have played in the past. I hope it was to your liking.

  “Hell yeah!”

  I turned back to the horde of aliens, not quite able to wipe the grin off my face. Maybe this wasn’t so bad after all.

  Epigraph written by LucyKitsune. She also wrote on ScribbleHub! It is really underappreciated, go check it out!

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