Prey

Nova spoke up. "Hey, don't you think that's kind of...rude?"

The man took a cautious step away from Nova, before walking away. "You may stay. Just, don't let me run into you again."

"Wha-! At least tell me your name!"

"My name is unnecessary, especially as you haven't given yours." 

With that, the man left, leaving Nova puzzled but relieved. Before he could do anything else, the system appeared before him.

[ New Skill Unlocked.

Skill

Eyes of Judgement - Grants the ability of the all-peering eye. *Cost: N/A *Cooldown: N/A ]

"Holy....I have to test this one out." 

He looked around to confirm he was alone, and then proceeded to use the skill. 

"Right...How do I use the skill?" A specific method ran through his mind.

"Eyes of Judgement!" He shouted aloud, holding his hand out. Nothing.

"Hmm...If I don't have to physically touch the system to use it...then..."

'Use Eyes of Judgement.'

Promptly, Nova's eyes widened. A whole other world just appeared in front of him. Everything was much more brighter to him, and he could see much more further than the average person.

'This is amazing...'

Upon looking around a bit longer, he noticed someone in the distance. 'No way it's...it's the dude again.' Sure enough, the man that Nova could now see, was watching him from a rooftop quite a distance away. But this time, he could see the guy clearly. He was wearing some sort of old, grey tinted military outfit, and a full head metal mask - completely black with a red glow from the sides. There was also a small system screen that appeared above the man's head, however the distance was too far to read it. 

"I need to find out what that says," and so he turned his direction to the man on the building. The guy ducked immediately and made a run for it. Just as Nova was about to make chase, he spotted another screen, in the middle of the building he was in. 

[ Quest: Feels like home.

Household condition: Unsuitable. ]

"This is...wait, my quest...?" The quest's title did appear, this time, with a small bit of text beneath it.

'Unsuitable...this building is unsuitable, huh... Maybe I can find a better house with these new eyes of mine...'

"Speaking of which, they don't seem to have a time limit."

[ EoJ Disabled. ]

[ EoJ Enabled. ]

[ EoJ Disabled. ]

"This is extraordinary."

***

Nova spotted the notification on his phone, immediately. He was just returning to Central Centre when he saw that another Glitch had appeared near his location. Even if he could see which places he could complete his quest with, that didn't mean he could afford them. Off he went, his pistol by his side and an unforeseen sense of determination.

Nearing the site, a loud, agitated voice could be heard, and when close enough, Nova realised he was the last of 10 Raiders to get there. 

"Shut the hell up, will ya?"

A woman, a rather tall and fierce one, stuck her flint knock against another Raider's face. Her overwhelming burgundy (Somewhat brown and purple) hair swayed from one side to the other, and her caramel skin illuminated against the moonlight. The woman's orange, daring eyes surrounded her with an aura of eminence.

"I'm leader, and I get most drops, got it?" Her voice was so raspy, anyone could tell she was a smoke addict. 

Nova approached the commotion. "Is something the matter?"

"Who's this squirt? What in the....Listen here, I don't care what- who you are, but you're following my orders, got it?"

This time, the man wasn't going to be dashed around like trash. "Who the hell are you to-"

The woman punched Nova square in the cheek, knocking him quite far back.

"Cut the crap. You're weak. The weak don't have a right to speak, ain't that right, Little One?" 

A scared, timid, young girl behind the tall woman nodded shakily. 

"Oi, everyone! Let's get this done quickly, shall we? Just obey me, Ruthless, and this'll be over in no time, okay?"

A murmur of yeses came from the group, and the barrier dome appeared. The Raid was beginning. Nova, very much hurt, staggered up off of the ground and watched how the first wave of Mechs began to climb out of the Glitch. Bruised or not, he still had to prepare for this battle. Ruthless took out another flint knock and valiantly shot burst of radioactive toxins at the Mechs, rusting off and melting the shell off. The bots just continued to pour out of the Glitch.

"Don't just stand there!", she shouted, "Come and back me up!" 

Eventually, everyone was doing their part, fighting with all their might. Well, except from the timid girl, who did a incredibly good job at hiding from the Mechs behind a dumpster. Nova, who was holding off averagely with the pistol, complained about Ruthless after finishing another enemy.

"I'll show her."

[ *100 Mana used.

Mana: 0/100 (Regenerating...)

Rage is active. ]

Nova felt an overwhelming surge of energy run through his body as the second wave of Mechs filed in. 

[ Stats

Strength: 3 (+7)

Agility: 4 (+6)

Sense: 2 (+6)

Desire: 3 (+1) ]

'My desire didn't go as high...Oh well, No matter. Let's see what I can really do.'

Soon, Nova was playing the biggest part in the battle. No matter what direction the Mechs came at him from, he was able to react quicker, and his bullets packed a stronger punch. The second wave came, and finished not so long after. During the wave cooldown, even Ruthless had to take a short break. But Nova was up, pumped, and ready to go.

"Oi you. Come 'ere a sec." Ruthless put a cigarette in her mouth as she called Nova over to her. "I don't know what it is about you, but overperforming me 'ain't gonna get you nowhere, alright?"

Nova smirked. "It doesn't seem to be that way, does it? If I were you, I would give up on the 'follow the leader' act you've got up. In reality, that's not what people put up with."

She gritted her teeth at his response. "You say that as if you know it all."

"I don't. But I know I've had it rougher than you.", he replied.

Ruthless scoffed. She chucked her cigarette on the floor and spat on it, because she heard the glitch making mechanical noises. The next wave was soon to begin. "Shut yer trap and fight, ya git."

And so he did. The bots were emerging from the Glitch, bigger and faster. Of course, Nova continued to push himself, and when he glanced at Ruthless, it seemed that she was trying harder as well. In fact, She was performing much better than the last wave. She was hitting headshots only, and finished off some mechs with a few surprising, flashy kicks.

'Taekwondo? But she can punch hard too...'

[ Rage has timed out. 

Cooldown: 24 hours. ]

The man's thought process slowed down, which meant it wasn't quick enough for the incoming attack. A beam of energy was heading straight to his face. He shut his eyes, and hoped that it wouldn't hurt so much.