Mistrunner: A Cyberpunk LitRPG by Nicholas Searcy

Author:Nicholas Searcy [Searcy, Nicholas]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Podium Publishing
Published: 2023-09-18T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER THIRTY

SPY GAMES

There are more skills out there than you can imagine. Some are specialized. Others are broad. Learning to counter each and every one of them is folly. Instead, we must lean into our own strengths, lest we get lost in the weeds.

—Jeremiah Braddock III

For all that it was outwardly silent, the incessant beeping of my alarm was like a horn blaring in my mind. With a flick of thought, I turned it off, and for a moment, I considered simply going back to sleep. The fight with the crab had been more tiring than I expected. Not physically—I was well past the point where that short battle would be more than a warm-up—but rather, mentally. Still, my training hadn’t been for nothing, and I quickly pushed past my tendency to procrastinate and forced myself to rise from that little corner of the building.

As soon as I did, the day’s efforts caught up to me. Not only was the smell of the not-so-fresh-anymore crab strong in my nose, but my brief bath had been wholly unequal to the task of getting me clean. As a result, I felt crusty in ways I didn’t even want to think about. The thick braids of my hair had grown stiff with old crab guts, and I knew it was probably too much to hope that I didn’t smell like a fishery.

Even so, I was alive, and the crab wasn’t. So, there was that, at least, to give my mood a little perk. Plus, if everything went right, I’d only have a day or so before I was back in Mobile and training.

It struck me then that it was kind of strange, how much enjoyment I got out of training. There was just something about seeing those numbers go up that I found addictive. But it wasn’t just that, either. I liked getting better at things, seeing the improvement, day by day. Inch by inch. Minute by minute. That, as much as the changes to my status, was reason enough to look forward to training.

But first, I needed to prove that I could take it. That’s what these tests were all about, after all. Making sure I had what it took to keep going. I was eager to show that my training hadn’t gone to waste. So, with that in mind, I did a few light stretches, then stepped out into the salty night air.

Unsurprisingly, the village was mostly deserted, save for a handful of staggering figures who looked inebriated. However, I did catch sight of a few drones hovering near the palisade that encircled the small town. According to my uncle, there were a host of other measures in place to ensure their security. From drones to motion sensors and everything in between, it would be almost impossible to covertly infiltrate the town. Except the way I’d come, at least—and that was only possible because I looked relatively unthreatening. If my uncle—or one of the Amigos—had tried the same thing, they’d have

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