Their little competition wasn't a problem in my book as long as it only remained friendly competition, so the Wolverine and I followed along Alice's, Rei's, and Mary's collective path of destruction. As I trailed behind them and kept an eye out for the real threats, cacophonies of fire constantly sounded off in bursts as we ascended the mountain one step at a time, and before long my system sounded with a welcome notification.
[ Ding! ]
[ Level Up ]
Sheesh, I don't even have to do the killing myself now to gain exp... Welp, this isn't exactly the time to be leveling up so I'll save it for later when we reach a safe-ish spot before I go ahead and use it... Or should I say them since I'm sure I'll gain at least a couple on our way up the mountain.
Unable to do anything with my awaiting level up just yet, I delayed its use until we were out of the woods and kept an eye out for my three girls whilst they had their fun gaining loads of real combat experience. These same old sets of events kept repeating themselves for a quarter of an hour longer and would've continued had I let them. However, the path forward was eventually obstructed way too much by the local plant life and rocks that had slid off their peaks and deposited themselves in the mostly covered roadway over the years to let the girls continue their fun.
"Alright, that's enough, girls. It's time you've taken the back seat while I clear the overgrowth, otherwise we'll be lucky to reach Fort Kern by nightfall."
"Oh, okay, we'll head on back then." Alice spoke for the three of them.
"Aww, that looks like that's the end of our fun." Mary sounded.
"For now, but I'm sure handsome over here has plenty more in store for us later, don't you?" My sexy fox commented, obviously implying a different type of fun would be happening later.
"Hmm, I don't know. We'll just have to find out when we get there."
The three young ladies didn't seem to mind the break at all, so they quickly returned to my side less than a dozen seconds later, and when they did, I retrieved my heavy greatsword Severance from my item box. From there, I coated it in the qi-like energy of | Martial Weapon Master |, held my massive weapon at my side and primed a swing whilst the girls ogled at the increasing amount of energy that was gathering around my weapon.
I was unused to this new, much greater strength and power I now wielded, but even so, it didn't take longer than a few seconds to accumulate the maximum amount of energy I could. And as soon as I did, I swung the glowing blade that was brimming with an incredibly dangerous amount of energy forcefully and watched a slightly larger than six-foot horizontal blade of energy whip out from Severance.
The blade of unruly qi-like energy I unleashed swiftly cleaved through the smaller foliage, the bushes, the mutated creatures hiding amongst the cover, and the numerous trees that had spent many years struggling to uplift the asphalt to make room for their growth. After cutting down practically everything for a hundred meters, it continued into the mountain itself and boomed loudly as it kicked up a shitload of rock and debry. And in the blink of an eye, the road was clear... Though it didn't really exist anymore.
My strike was so devastating to the environment that everything surrounding where my weapon energy went was thrown back ruthlessly by the shockwave my attack produced, if not annihilated outright.
Fuck, I'm gonna have to go through a ton of training when I get back to regain the former control I once had over my abilities.
Knowing I had even more work ahead of me, I took a pause to just examine the rough channel I had carved with my single swing and couldn't help but stare in amazement at the landscape altering destruction I had caused with nothing but a single swipe of my blade.
"..."
"...Dom, what was that?" Mary asked mechanically as she and my two lovers stared gobsmacked at the destruction they had just bared witness to.
Unsure of what to say initially, I took a few seconds to gather my thoughts before responding. "My new power level, apparently, and this isn't even all of it..."
Alice, Rei, and Mary remained silent at my words, unable to come up with anything, but my partner in crime, who had been with me the longest, decided to move things along. "So, are we good to continue, or..." She calmly asked, as best she could after witnessing such a powerful display of force that literally carved a path upon this mountainous landscape.
Although I could tell she and the girls now looked at me with a bit more awe than they had prior to this newest display of strength of mine and what seemed to be some angst or fear, or even a mixture of both I was sure they'd get over it especially as they themselves increased in power through their increasing mage ranks and realms. "For now, but I will need to continue clearing the path ahead since nearly every bit of the road has been reclaimed by the wilds that cover this mountain. Additionally, it'll also help with refining my powers and regaining the formed control I once had over it, so I'm going to have to take all the fun for myself from here on out."
"I guess that's the end of our fun here then. How unfortunate." Rei commented, feeling slightly relieved to hear that the trip up Mount Irish would help with reigning in this unbridled power of mine.
"As sad as that is, you'll still be able to let loose plenty once we make it to the base sitting near the top of the mountain."
"That's fine, dear. As long as we get to take part when we reach our destination, I'm happy." Alice said before turning to the other two. "Right, girls?"
"It doesn't bother me one way or another." Mary answered, not caring about the break.
"Mm, I don't really care. I was just kidding, you know."
"We know Rei." The three of us responded in sync.
After having a laugh at my little fox's expense, we once more continued treading up the mountain.
…
The trip up the overgrown, snaking roads that once covered this mountainous scape went by faster than the four of us originally expected. However, that was mainly due to most of the mountain's residents fleeing for their lives once my terrain-altering strikes entered the range of their territories.
So after pretty much strolling through the densely forested landscape for nearly two hours, we caught our first glimpse of Fort Kern a bit further up the road, which remained clear for one reason or another… Maybe the mechanical remnants inhabiting the base had something to do with it.
I was expecting the trip up the backside to take at least another hour or more given how long the foray took, but most of the creatures on Mount Irish had enough sense to pick themselves up and bail when my wide cleaving swings rocked the area... I honestly kind of wish they were a bit more stupid, like their in-game counterparts, since it would've made our expedition through these woods so much more lucrative. But on the other hand, I suppose it's a good thing they're not because I'd be wondering if I was stuck in a game instead if all the creatures were dumb as fuck and were incapable of prioritizing their own survival over mindlessly attacking a threat that can easily kill them.
Having spotted our goal in the distance, I scanned the area with my own eyes briefly before opening my mouth. "Okay, we're on the last stretch, everyone. Let's speed it up a bit since we wasted enough time on our way up here."
"Honestly, I can't wait, Dom... I mean, although I've enjoyed our time strolling through these forested mountains, I have to admit I've grown tired of watching you slash massive, increasingly smoother and more refined channels through the mountains." Rei responded.
"Yeah, it was thrilling the first dozen times, but after watching you do so time and time again as we climbed the mountain, I gotta say I've grown desensitized to it long before we arrived at this point. So the sooner we get there, the better." Mary agreed, hyped to reach the top.
"Come on, then, otherwise we won't be leaving here before nightfall." I replied simply, having grown bored with the slashing I had been doing for the last hour and change.
With our patience wearing thin, the girls and I took off and swiftly ascended the small remainder that lay ahead of us. As we closed in on our destination, I raised my senses to their limits in case of any surprises, such as roaming robot patrols. However, we encountered none on the way up, luckily, and soon enough a large military complex cut into the peak of the mountain came into view. The military installation featured massive, defensive concrete walls, that blocked the view of normal entities given their height, and many weathered but still functioning automated turrets and other types of defenses dotting its top.
Although I was powerful, I wouldn't have been able to see past the walls as well like anyone else if I relied solely on my own eyes alone, but I wasn't incapable. Hence, I used my other pairs of eyes, i.e. my Sparrows, that had been providing vision from far above all this while. So what would've normally been blocked was revealed to me in full.
What I saw through my many extra pairs of eyes in the sky was numerous rusted and aged armed mechanical robots and constructs from a bygone age performing pre-programmed automated patrols, routines, and holding defensive positions at every entrance in and out of the base's walls.
In addition to that, there were dozens upon dozens of heavily armed and armored Sentinel units covering the entrances to the various structures and facilities that dotted the interior of the base. And further in where the main underground entry was located, lay a pair of stalwart Ogres standing at 15 feet tall and weighing who knows how many tons. The rusted pair were truly a sight to see, to say the least, with their two massive crushing clawed hands and heavy wrist-mounted armaments gleaming under the hot Nevadan sun.
It's been years since I've last gone up against a mechanical threat such as these two, but I've had my fun on the way here, so I'll let the girls have the privilege of taking these mechanical brutes out... I know it's going to suck having to take the back seat in this operation, but it's the right thing to do. Plus, it'll give my women a chance to grow and really become something more once we've cleared this place out and taken it for ourselves.
As the image of the conquered base entered my mind, Alice broke me away from my thoughts. "So that's the base, dear?"
Eyeing the multi-story tall reinforced walls lying hundreds of meters away, I answered with a simple reply. "Yup, that be it."
The four of us studied the defensive structure for a few moments in silence when Rei figured it was time to follow up Alice's question. "How do we want to approach? I know, we could go in for a frontal assault, but I suppose you have a better plan in mind than taking on the many turrets lining the tops of the walls."
"Of course, how could I not."
"What we're going to do is infiltrate the base from the rear before we sneak into one of the underground entrances. From there we'll explore the base's interior, and when we eventually manage to locate the infrastructure running this military installation, i.e. the central server, we'll hack it and use it to disable most of the defenses."
"And only once we've knocked most of the defenses offline, will I let you girls have your fun with the many threats that inhabit this fort. Sound good?"
"Sounds good to me. Though I know going with the loud and proud method would've been one hell of a time." Mary chimed in, excited about the whole idea of infiltrating a long-abandoned but still very active military installation.
"I'm sure going in guns blazing right from the get-go would've made for one exciting and intense battle, but instead of risking you three getting seriously injured or, God forbid, gravely injured, I'd rather we take the smarter approach. Also, the three of you girls have yet to acquire your suits of power armor, so I don't exactly want to put you in more danger than what I know you can handle, you know what I'm saying."
"It's unfortunate, but we understand, Dom." Rei spoke for the group.
"So, when do we start?" Alice inquired, raring to get this mission started.
"Right this very moment." I said last before motioning to the three young beauties to follow my lead.
[ Creatures Killed & EXP Gained ]
Armored Toad (87) Exp 160,080 - Assassin Flies (5) Exp 50,600 - Gray Wolves (152) Exp 922,944 - Jackals (177) Exp 423,384 - Killer Hornets (59) Exp 217,120 - Man Eaters (17) Exp 143,888 - Rattlers (35) Exp 257,600 - Rock Scorpion (24) Exp 132,480 - Sand Flies (77) Exp 28,336 - Sandpills (433) Exp 398,360 - Tiger Salamanders (27) Exp 183,816 - Total Exp 2,918,607
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After the next chapter or two, I'm going to reorder the chapters into the proper volumes and make the auxiliary chapters for the system status, perks, items, bestiary, and other information. Once I've gotten that done, I'll start writing more chapters for Fallout Wastelander.