Chapter 8: Escaping

While waiting for Harley Quinn to return, Jekyll wasn't just idling away. During this time, he finally had the chance to seriously study the special abilities he gained upon reincarnating, particularly the Demon Jester–Shaco's skills.

Though these skills roughly matched those in the game he played in his previous life, there were some differences in reality, especially in the finer details.

First was the Deceive. For Jekyll, who wished to avoid trouble and only longed for a peaceful life, this skill was simply miraculous.

According to Jekyll's tests, its specific effects involved short-distance teleportation and a brief period of optical invisibility—lasting approximately thirty seconds with a cooldown of about a minute. The teleportation and invisibility effects covered his clothes but not other living beings or larger objects. For instance, Batman and tables didn't teleport with him.

This skill allowed Jekyll to escape from Batman's clutches and aided in killing Bane, making it an excellent ability for both offense and defense. However, it wasn't invincible; Jekyll could only teleport to a location within roughly 5 meters, and it had to be a visible spot.

Additionally, while in stealth mode, although unseen by the naked eye, he still produced footsteps and other noises. In the DC world, where people with super hearing is as abundant as the stars, it was easy to be discovered—even experienced individuals like Gordon could easily pinpoint the hidden location.

The second skill was the Jack in the Box, significantly harder to use than the previous one.

This skill involved creating a small magical box on the ground, which vanished automatically after five minutes, with a cooldown of one minute. Thus, technically, there could be a maximum of four boxes simultaneously.

As Jekyll couldn't trigger the box himself, he couldn't test its effects. However, judging by Batman's unlucky encounter with the box, it seemed to cause minor attacks and powerful mental disturbances when activated, even causing trouble for the usually strong-willed Batman.

The third skill, the Two-Shiv Poison, allowed Jekyll to hit targets by throwing his dagger.

An interesting aspect of this skill was that although Jekyll had never trained in dart throwing, once he locked onto a target with his eyes, the thrown dagger unfailingly hit its mark—akin to a modern-day flying dagger.

The locked-on target wasn't limited to living beings; previously, Jekyll diverted the attention of Gotham detectives by throwing a dagger at a police car's fuel tank, showcasing the ability's flexible use.

Moreover, judging from the name, this ability seemed to involve poisoning the flying dagger. Of course, Jekyll wasn't foolish enough to test the poisonous effects by licking the blade for show.

Besides these three skills, there was also a passive ability—Backstabbing. According to the interface in his mind, this skill inflicted extra damage when he attacked someone from behind. Perhaps his ability to effortlessly pierce Bane's throat from the back of the neck was due to this.

As for an additional invisible skill, although not detailed on the mental interface, Jekyll could create a sharp little dagger on his hand by concentrating, which disappeared after five minutes of leaving his body or creating a second dagger.

This wasn't difficult to comprehend; after all, his passive skill and the Two-Shiv Poison were related to the dagger, almost like accompanying effects. Furthermore, in this comic world, summoning various objects from a pocket dimension wasn't something too unusual.

Apart from these, there was also the title ability acquired from killing Bane. However, this title ability only took effect after ingesting a toxin. Jekyll couldn't simply gamble with his life by searching Harley Quinn's place for poison and risking his own neck.

In summary, these were all the unique abilities Jekyll currently possessed. Frankly speaking, although these were all magical abilities, compared to the godlike beings in the DC world engaged in epic battles across the universe, they seemed a bit underwhelming.

However, for Jekyll, who simply wanted to live a normal life, these abilities were sufficient—at least to escape from Harley Quinn's illegal confinement.

Creak!

Standing on a stool, Jekyll used the dagger in his hand to forcefully pry loose the nails holding the strange wooden boards in the ceiling. After removing the boards, he glimpsed the reflection of glass behind them.

Seeing this, Jekyll felt a surge of joy, knowing his speculation was correct.

A normal house wouldn't entirely lack windows. There was only one possibility: this place was actually a basement—considering the presence of a bathroom, the basement seemed designed to be habitable. And for such a basement, one essential element was indispensable.

A skylight.

No architect would prioritize concealment over comfort when designing a house. For a livable underground room, a skylight design like a light well was essential. Perhaps Harley Quinn sealed the skylight for secrecy.

Crash!

The glass shattered under Jekyll's impact, but the skylight's other end seemed pitch black, suggesting that the surface portion was also sealed by something.

Jekyll flipped the dagger in his hand, took a deep breath, and forcefully hurled the blade toward the ceiling.

Swoosh! Crackle!

The knife seemed to pierce through the glass covering the skylight on the ground and the boards sealing it. Jekyll concentrated; another dagger appeared in his hand, while the previous one vanished.

A beam of cold moonlight pierced through the tiny hole created by the dagger, casting a coin-sized spot on the room's floor. Despite its small size, Jekyll knew he had succeeded.

Under normal circumstances, escaping through a hole several meters high and less than a centimeter wide would be impossible. But for Jekyll, it wasn't a challenge.

He donned the duckbill cap he found in Harley's closet, then stood on the stool, calculating the distance between himself and the tiny hole at the top of the skylight.

Deceive

That odd sensation, akin to being squeezed into a rubber tube and then forcibly expelled, surfaced again. In the next instant, Jekyll found himself lying on grassy soil, breathing air drastically different from the basement's stale atmosphere.

Farewell, prison! And goodbye, Harley Quinn. I'm off to find a place far from superheroes and supervillains to lead a peaceful life! (AN: Hehe...)

Just as Jekyll briefly reveled in the joy of escape and prepared to stand up, suddenly, a powerful force pressed his head forcefully back to the ground.

"Hmm?!"

"What now, Miss Dinah? Don't tell me you're planning to buy more desserts again. If we're late, Harley will blame me."

"No—it's just that I seem to have stepped on something strange."

The pressure on his head eased, allowing Jekyll to lift his head from the ground.

At that moment, Jekyll realized another special ability—he seemed to see clearly in the darkness.

The first thing that caught his sight was a pair of well-toned girl thighs—and an unobstructed view of the skirt hem from his angle.

Ah, white.

That was Jekyll's last thought flashing through his mind before his neck was squeezed by the thighs, choking him.

°°°

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