Outrun – Cyberpunk LitRPG

The man I was hunting wound up being in an observatory half buried in the snow near the edge of the city. Only the top half of the massive domed building peeked up out of the snow, and there was a clear hole in the side from where someone blew into it.

“You sure he’s in there?” I asked while brushing snow off of my shoulders. The visibility had dropped to next to nothing thanks to the snowstorm starting back up, and that came with the unfortunate side result of covering me in the white fluff.

”Ninety percent… I guess his runner could be using this place as a relay to spoof his connection, but I doubt it,” she muttered that last part under her breath.

Red Furry-13… honestly, I didn’t even remember what he did to end up on my hit list. All I knew was that the Eidolons wanted him outta this competition, so that’s just what I’d do. Even if it meant ignoring the rest of the battle royale to hunt him down in particular.

I eyed the exploded wall. Didn’t look like a grenade… the center of the explosion was pretty high up, too. Could’ve been some kind of plastic explosion, but it looked more like a grenade launcher? Maybe?

If he had a grenade launcher, I needed to be a bit more careful. One shot of that could end me before I realized what was happening. Or I might be able to dodge it? Depending on the type, the projectile speed could be kinda slow. Dexterity and ThunderGod Greaves gave me an incredible amount of speed.

Speaking of, I drew my rifle, and slowly crept up toward the hole in the wall. The snowflakes slowed in the air around me. It wasn’t much of a slow, but it was enough to make a difference. That difference proved to be invaluable a moment later.

Thwump!

Burst Step activated the moment before my brain caught up with me. I catapulted across the space in a split second. An explosion echoed off behind me, and the concussive wave sent me staggering forward into a catwalk.

The entire dome of the observatory was filled with snow, just like the outside city was filled with so much that the street level wasn’t even visible. It put it just on level with a series of lower catwalks that stuck out of the white stuff. The catwalk, in turn, was what I found myself leaning on as I tracked the trajectory to a series of catwalks higher up in the dome.

“So you dodged that, rat!” A familiar voice echoed down from above. It was dark inside of the place—nearly pitch black. The only light came from the dim glow of the hole in the wall, and a few spots in the roof. Through it all, I spotted the man standing on an upper catwalk while sweeping the area with a grenade launcher.

Could he not see me? I glanced back toward the entrance blown through the side of the building. He would’ve seen my shadow long before I even slipped through the hole in the wall thanks to the ambient light bouncing off the snow.

If he couldn’t see me… ha. This might be kind of fun? I slunk out of the shadows, and moved around silently across the snow while tracking him with my rifle. He continued to look around as if his eyes could pry through the darkness. He couldn’t. That became apparent as I stood in the middle of the snow field.

I eyed a pair of stairs off to the back of the place and slowly worked my way around. Instead of the rifle, I should use my sword. More experience wouldn’t hurt. Why wasn’’t his runner telling him someone was nearby, though? “Does he even have a netrunner still?”

”Red Fury?” Luna went silent for a moment. “Uh, no. Got wiped by black ice about an hour ago. It’s just him.”

”Oh.” Well, that takes some of the fun out of it. It was fine, though. I wasn’t here to have fun. I eyed the catwalk. It was a crosswalk up over the top quarter of the sphere, just under one more catwalk at the very top of the dome.

I stepped up onto the same level as him and flicked out my sword. The blade whipped through part of the catwalk, and caused it to rumble furiously as its main support vanished.

”Who’s there!” The man shouted, and flinched back toward me. I was already across the catwalk and to the other side thanks to Burst Step. “I know you’re out there!”

I watched him for a moment before slashing through the second of the four supports holding the catwalk up. It instantly careened to the side, and nearly dumped me off. I grabbed onto the railing just in time to save myself.

I stared down at the ground far below me. Maybe… maybe this wasn’t such a great idea? I totally forgot I didn’t have my drop chutes. At least I remembered before I hit the floor this time around, but…

Instead of cutting off the last two sections to collapse the catwalk entirely., I looked down toward the man. He weighed much more than me, so the entire catwalk was tilted down toward his direction… yeah, that could work.

“Show yourself!” Red Fury grabbed onto the railing with one hand, and swung his grenade launcher with the other. He squinted into the darkness.

I let go of the railing and slid down toward him. He looked back up the catwalk just as my metal leg slammed into his torso. Normally, that wouldn’t do much damage. I Burst Stepped onto his torso right as I slammed down, and redirected all my force into him for a much more explosive kick. Combined with my metal ThunderGod Greaves, it was a brutal attack.

”Gah!” The grenade launcher flew out of his hands, and he was catapulted backward off the side of the catwalk.

The man slammed down into the snow just below me, and groaned. So that was survivable? I jumped down after him with a downward swing. He rolled to the side just before I could fully skewer him into the ground, and tossed a handful of snow into my face to blind me.

”Gun!” Luna shouted across our private channel.

“Got it!” I dropped to the side, and flung myself away from him just as a gunshot rang out. My vision cleared up a second later, and I darted forward into a slash.

My sword trailed along his arm, and it collapsed alongside his pistol a moment later. The man wouldn’t go down without a fight, and slammed me with a left hook a second later. The impact sent a sharp jolt up through my skull.

I staggered backward, and rubbed at my face with my free hand. “That was a good one. Think you would’ve knocked out a tooth had this been real.”

”I would’ve done more than just that.” He spat off to the side, and drew a knife. He flicked it open and glared at me. “Finally done playing in the shadows?”

”Finally ready to end this?” I pointed my sword toward him, and stood to my full height.

“I’ve been ready.” Red Fury’s glare intensified, and he growled low in the back of his throat. ”You going to fight me like a man or use a gun now that I’ve been disarmed?”

I lifted a brow, and pointedly looked at my sword. I hadn’t once shot at him. “Is that seriously a question?”

”Fair.” He twirled the knife and lowered his stance—just in time to take a face full of snow as I kicked forward. The white fluff totally covered up his vision, and I stormed forward just behind it.

“Cheap tricks!” He roared and his metal arm shifted. In less than a second, his remaining arm warped into a sparking cannon that let out a dangerous blue glow.

Says the guy that was going to bait me out with melee combat. I rolled my eyes, and Burst Stepped backward the moment before he fired. An electric blue arc erupted from the barrel, and launched into the side of the dome. It blasted a brand new hole into the building. In its wake, molten metal dripped from the superheated frame of the dome.

I looked back toward the still steaming snow. “Right, I’m the one with cheap tricks.”

The electro bolt cannon charged up once more and fired a shot at me. Just like the Graviton Bolt the projectile was slow moving. Slow enough I easily darted to the side, and redirected forward around it. Another slash claimed his arm before he could get a third off.

“You bitch!” He staggered away from a third slash. A third slash I never threw as I watched him move away from me.

“Ah, that’s right.” I finally remembered why he made my hit list. Man, the Eidolons really were petty, weren’t they? “So? Still never heard of me?”

“If it wasn’t for the equipment disparity, you would’ve never even had the chance!” He spat off to the side. “Meet me in the Northern Sovet, you’ll—!”

I slashed forward into one final attack to end this. He had one last trick up his sleeve, and dodged backward. His knee bent awkwardly, and a sharp spike shot out at me. A click redirection of my sword cut it into two before the blade could get anywhere near me.

A second slash smoothly cut through his torso without any issue. A beat later, three points entered my account. I sheathed my sword just as his torso collapsed off his still standing legs. “Like I’d ever go there.”

“It’s really nice this time of year.” Luna appeared next to me, and pawed at the guy. “Don’t let him spoil it for you.”

”Yeah? You been there?” The ferrofluid sheath flowed back over the blade, and I dropped it back through the loop at my waist.

“Once with my brother.” She sighed heavily. “Kaynis… We’re almost there. There’s not too many people left, Shiro.”

“Small mercies.” Though my spider tanks had played a large part in that. It didn’t matter how good these guys were in combat if I kept avoiding direct fights just like I had. The spider tanks were perfect to take advantage of the chaos. I really had to thank Summoner next time I saw him.

I’d only be able to do that for so long, though. It was only a matter of time until the ring forced us into a final confrontation. I had a plan for that too, though. One that’d ensure Luna and I could win given her… capabilities.

One of the indicator lights on my HUD blinked out abruptly. “One of the spider tanks was just destroyed.”

”Was only a matter of time.” I sighed and shook my head. The game continued. I eyed the map. The wall of the Node—and the Dark Net beyond its perimeter—was just outside of the city. There were only three minutes left until it started to collapse inward again. “Any idea on the next ring?”

”No… but there’s a console right next to you.” A blue glow lit up a console near the roof of the domed observatory.

So Red Furry actually had a plan set up, huh? Not too bad of an idea to camp out near a ring console and ambush anyone who came. A bit too passive in my opinion. I climbed the stairs along the back and worked my way to the console. In just a few minutes, this entire battle royale would end. One way or another.