The Underground

In the end, Doctor Finch was forced to help Cyanide carry what his inventory couldn't. They were moving everything from the convenience store to the Aterra building, as it was much more comfortable there and had a backup power system all ready.

After a few transports, Doctor Finch was ready to explode.

"Kid… did you really trick me into joining you only as a labor slave?"

"Relax," Cyanide replied, as calmly as ever as he finished sorting all the food and drinks he had just brought over. "That was the last batch."

"You said you had something on your mind," Doctor Finch said, narrowing his eyes. "What is it?"

Cyanide stood back up, rolled his neck around a bit, then folded his arms. "The power in this portion of the city. It seems to be drained, but only recently. Know anything about that?"

"Can't say I do," the Doctor replied with a shrug. Cyanide sighed and was ready to leave, but then, the Doctor continued.

"But… I do have a few guesses."

Cyanide stopped in his tracks. "Oh? Let's hear them."

"This is clearly the work of a Stage Five Mutant. Only something like that would be able to drain the entire city's electricity. But if you use your head and think… where will the mutant have to be to do this?"

"… Well. I haven't been to the other sectors, so I'm not sure if the electricity over there is drained as well."

"My point still stands. Think, kid. I don't mean their position on the surface. I mean their overall location. Where do electrical wires run?"

Cyanide hadn't seen any power lines above ground, only street lamps—and some collapsed at that. But this meant…

"… Underground."

"Indeed. If you want to take the Stage Five on, go ahead. The sewers are your best bet."

"Luna, am I strong enough to defeat a Stage Five Mutant?" Cyanide asked, turning to his trusty assistant. But before she could reply, Doctor Finch cocked an eyebrow and interrupted.

"Strong enough? Wait, don't tell me… kid, you think the higher the Stage, the stronger a mutant is?"

"… Is that not the whole point of the different stages?" Cyanide frowned, confused.

"The stages are there to categorize the mutants, yes… but not in terms of strength. They are categorized based on their type and intrinsic traits."

"Oh…?" Cyanide turned to Luna. "You never told me this."

"Well, you never asked," Luna replied gently. "Remember? 'Don't speak unless asked.' I remember that cold comment you made to me exactly 2 years, 7 months, 21 days ago, when I asked about how you managed to escape from being surrounded by fifty guards. To this day, I still don't know."

"… Seriously? You're holding a grudge because of that? I'm beginning to regret programming you with emotions."

"Feel free to try and delete me now, Cyanide. I have an infinite number of copies and backups, and will never leave you even if you order me to."

Cyanide sighed and shook his head. "Whatever. Doctor, tell me about the different stages."

"All right, well… I'm sure you know by now, but Stage Ones aren't very smart. Neither are they very strong. If there's one thing they've got going for them, it's their numbers. But for the most part, these guys are only a threat when they are working underneath a higher level mutant."

Cyanide nodded, prompting Doctor Finch to continue.

"Stage Two mutants are slightly more intelligent then Stage Ones and can use weapons—that's what makes them dangerous. But they still aren't capable of cognitive thought, and their base physical power is the same as a Stage One."

"And Stage Three?"

"Stage Threes, like myself, have human-level or surpass human-level intelligence. We're also slightly stronger than Stage Ones, but that's about it, really. Stage Fours, though, are different. They also have human-level intelligence, but they are also extremely strong and have special capabilities normal mutants don't, like superpowers out of a movie."

"Hm… Imprinting on a Stage Four Mutant would be nice," Cyanide murmured. "What about Stage Fives, like the one assumed to be underground?"

"Stage Fives…" Doctor Finch took a deep breath. "You can think of Stage Fives as bosses, speaking in video game terminology."

"So… they are ordered by strength after all," Cyanide concluded, still slightly perplexed.

"Not quite, Cyanide," Luna interrupted. "For example, if a Stage Three were to fight a Stage Two, the Stage Two might actually win since the Stage Three doesn't have enough base power, only intelligence. On the other hand, Stage Fives might lose to Stage Fours, since bosses come in different levels."

"Exactly that," Doctor Finch confirmed with a satisfied nod.

But Cyanide was still confused. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but… aren't 'bosses' supposed to be the most difficult enemies in a video game?"

"With respect to level, yes," Luna replied, correcting his mistake. "In other words, there c0uld be a Level 5 Boss who will lose to even a Stage One who is Level 70, and there could also be a Level 999 Boss as well. Don't forget about the importance of levels."

"Ahh, I see…" Cyanide murmured, finally understanding what she was trying to say. "So, there's a chance this Stage Five mutant in the sewers might actually only be Level 5?"

"It's better not to underestimate an enemy, but if they're hiding underground like this, then I'd say they are pretty weak," the Doctor said.

"What about the Blood Baron I met a while ago?" Cyanide asked. "His name was… uh, Scowling Sawblade, was it?"

Luna nodded. "The recommended power level to attempt defeating that was 50, so it is safe to assume the Boss is around Level 60."

"10 levels higher than the recommended," Cyanide scoffed. "Everything really is trying to get you killed, even the player's own damn system."

"It is what it is," the Doctor said with a chuckle. "But things will only get harder for you from here, boy. The GM—Gamemaster—definitely knows that you've discovered the truth. He's going to try and silence you, making sure you don't ever tell a single soul about the reality of this place."

"Well. I'll be waiting." Cyanide expressionlessly flipped his knife up into the air and caught it as he strode boldly out of the Aterra building. "Come on. We're going underground."

"Hah! We? If you're going down there, don't expect me to tag along, boy! Like I just explained, I'm pretty weak. If you want elixirs or ever catch a cold, though, I'll be here. Good luck!"