Blood Mongoose placed his helt on the ground beside him. He remained silent for a mont, studying Maximilian with a faint smile.
"Is this your new body? Looks much better than your previous one! Honestly, the old one looked like prey... a sheep in a flock," Blood Mongoose comnted, referring to Maximilian's previous soul avatar, a copy of his forr life's body.
Maximilian remained silent. He recognized Blood Mongoose's attempt to provoke him and analyze his ntal state for weaknesses. He refused to take the bait.
Seeing that Maximilian didn't take the bait, Blood Mongoose sighed and scratched his head. "Sorry, Old habits die hard." He paused, locking eyes with Maximilian.
"Owen Lane. It's nice to et you... Max." Blood Mongoose extended his hand toward Maximilian, but the latter crossed his arms instead and leaned back in his chair.
"What's your ga, Mr. Lane?" Maximilian asked suspiciously.
Blood Mongoose's expression shifted as if realizing sothing. "Ah... I see. It seems the condition I proposed for this trial - denying you key information - has backfired on ." He nodded thoughtfully before continuing.
"Here's the truth, Max. We trial masters... we all made a deal with the devil. We serve as trial masters in this... mysterious space. In return, if we kill all trial participants... we get our heart's desire. A wish granted, if you will."
This piqued Maximilian's interest. "What did you wish for? Money? World domination?" he asked with sarcasm.
"Hahahaha! What do you take for? So comic book villain?" Blood Mongoose chuckled. "While money would be welco, that's not it. I just wanted... a clean slate. A true, fresh start where no one recognizes except my daughter. Where I wouldn't need to stay on guard 24/7, waiting for soone to co kill us for what I've done with the UEC." He paused.
"I wanted to start over and beco a father worthy of my daughter and my deceased wife... That's all I ever wanted."
Maximilian studied Blood Mongoose's rugged, weather-beaten face - a face shaped by endless battles.
"So now that your wish is impossible... are you trying to gaslight into letting you take my body?" Maximilian asked sarcastically.
Blood Mongoose smirked. "Co on, we both know that's impossible." He paused. "Since my wish can't co true, I'll settle for second best - the right to ask you for one final favor."
Blood Mongoose hesitated, collecting his thoughts. "I want you to find my daughter... It's been over ten years. She should have graduated from university by now if the UEC kept their word. Make sure she's safe. If she's in danger... help her. I just want her protected. That's all."
Blood Mongoose's body began shimring as he spoke, slowly disintegrating into motes of light.
Maximilian sighed deeply. "Sigh~ What's her na and where is she?"
"Rebecca Lane - no, it should be Rebecca Prescott now, her mother's surna. She should still be in Arkadia City." Blood Mongoose sent a mory fragnt to Maximilian. "This is the location of my ergency cache in Arkadia. The gear there might help you."
Reviewing the mory, Maximilian saw it was on the city's outskirts near an area called 'The Fringe.'
"Consider it a down paynt... Goodbye..." Blood Mongoose managed these final words before his body completely dissolved into light.
-The Second round of the Trial of Soul Concluded-
Type: Trial by Combat
Trial Master Special Rule: Withholding Key Information.
Status: Second round - Passed
-Trial Master-
Na: Owen Lane
Villain Na: Blood Mongoose
(Evolution Factor): Frenzy Trance
Skills/Abilities: Marksmanship Proficiency, Modern Firearm Mastery, Cold Weapon Mastery, CQC Mastery, Harsh Environnt Survival Mastery, Guerilla Warfare Mastery, Camouflage Mastery, Peak Human Physique, Black Ops Squad Leadership.
-Reward-
- Full assimilation
The mories, skills, and abilities of Blood Mongoose rapidly integrated into Maximilian's body. Like a miracle, his physical form outside of teh space quickly adapted to accommodate the assimilated combat expertise, skills, and abilities, all of it was integrated into teh very essence, such as muscle mory and battle-honed instincts becoming second nature.
Maximilian's mind grew more resilient, his aura intensifying to match that of a hardened warrior who had survived countless battlefields, drenched in the blood of enemies. If the Maximilian who passed the first trial was at the level of an elite black ops operative, the current Maximilian could effortlessly crush an entire squad of his forr selves.
Returning to real space, Maximilian examined himself. While his body felt more energetic and powerful, everything else remained unchanged - the sa clothes, the sa stool he'd been sitting on.
[Welco back, Host. No ti to be bewildered - hostiles are closing in.] The System's warning snapped Maximilian back to the present danger.
Breaking the stool, he selected the leg with the sharpest edge, fashioning an improvised dagger. Checking the GPS, he saw three hostiles preparing to breach through his window. Since his room light had been on, they likely wouldn't be using night vision. Maximilian switched off all lights just before their assault.
Crash!
The three intruders burst through the window, their montum carrying them through the closed curtains. The sudden darkness disoriented them; it was a brief mont, but it was long enough for Maximilian to strike.
He drove the stool leg deep into the eye socket of the nearest attacker. The other two reacted instantly, but Maximilian used the first man's body as a human shield.
Ratatatatatata!
Submachine gun fire riddled their comrade's Kevlar armor, with stray bullets piercing Maximilian's arm that used to hold the first one. He grunted in pain.
Then... the mont his regeneration kicked in, his senses, strength, and reflexes sharpened threefold from his peak condition. The world seed to slow around him as his combat capabilities surged.
Maximilian pulled the knife from the first attacker's holster and hurled it at the second man's eye socket. The blade struck deep in the eye socket, blinding his target. Without hesitation, Maximilian rushed forward and struck at the knife handle with his palm, driving the knife deeper into the skull... finishing the second assailant.
Even as the body began falling, Maximilian was already moving. He swept the legs out from under the third attacker, making him lose balance, then locked his neck and let gravity do the work. The man's own falling weight snapped his neck with a sickening crack.
Though describing these actions takes ti, in reality, the entire sequence lasted re seconds.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Ratatatatatatatata!
A barrage of gunfire erupted from the first floor - specifically the front counter. Checking the GPS imdiately, Maximilian saw most of the assault force was stalled at the entrance, with only a few infiltration teams having entered the building.
He quickly retrieved a combat knife, submachine guns, and several magazines from the dead invaders. These soldiers wore full body armor from head to toe, and their weapons weren't high caliber... aning their own bullets couldn't seriously penetrate their armor.
The GPS showed three more operatives systematically clearing rooms, moving straight toward his location. They clearly have military training, but not quite at the UEC elite level. They surpass the local police capabilities. This ruled out the Chinatown hero whom he had beaten being behind the attack. It could be a new faction that might see him either as a threat... or an experintal subject. The idea seed far-fetched but not entirely impossible.
Their willingness to use lethal force suggested they didn't strictly need him alive... unless... they specifically chose low-caliber weapons, knowing regular firearms couldn't stop him. Just what kind of trouble had he stumbled into?
As Maximilian fastened a stolen holster, his mind raced through possible scenarios while gathering magazines. He leaves the armor alone because removing it takes ti, and the group searching for him is about to arrive at his room.
Maximilian quickly set a surprise for the group about to breach his room before slipping out the window. He needed to check on the grumpy motel owner. If he's dead, Maximilian will use the night as cover to escape; if alive, he'll help him.
Monts later, the door to Maximilian's room exploded inward.
Boom!
His improvised trap - grenades taken from the first three invaders - detonated. Shrapnel tore through the unprotected faces of the invaders, instantly killing the lead intruder. The two following mbers, having entered slightly later, avoided the full blast but still suffered heavy injuries from the reimagining fragnts.
Maximilian made his way to the motel's front entrance, neutralizing any invaders he encountered along the way. He periodically checked the GPS to track enemy positions, wishing the System's locked 3D map feature was available - it would have been invaluable in this situation.
Reaching the motel's front area, he concealed himself in nearby shrubs. He heard the thunderous sound of a large-caliber machine gun echo through the night, suppressing invaders attempting to enter the building.
A quick GPS check confird that only about twenty invaders remained at the front entrance. All other hostile forces had been eliminated. Taking out this final group would completely neutralize the threat.
Maximilian readied his submachine gun before hurling several grenades toward the group of invaders taking cover behind the covers.
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