This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

Looking up towards what looked to be the door into the [Rig]\'s bridge, the familiar goggles-wearing Vestygian was indeed calling out to me like he had just seen a gift under the Christmas tree. Of course, his steam rifle was still hanging onto his hip, his weapon already hissing as he jumped over the railing and landing right in front of me.

Talk about a superhero landing. His knees should be wrecked right now.

"Moriya! We meet again!"

...

.....

Well, this was awkward. I didn\'t even remember this guy\'s name. "Uhm... Who are you again?"

"Moriya, that\'s Fleuger," Guidance whispered out to me. "He has a [Manifest] that lets him see projectile trajectories."

Oh... right...

"W-What?! H-How dare you to forget Garnet Fleuger?!" the newly-renamed Vestygian Somatic cried aloud, his rifle hung by the hip as he upped his theatrics. "Did our trajectories not cross paths, Moriya?!"

"Well, I certainly remember fighting you," I weakly pointed out, my pistols slowly aiming themselves at him even as I spoke. "We tried killing each other by the beach, yes?"

"Correct!" the dramatic Somatic cried out. "After the day that you defeated me, I vowed to make sure that you pay for the disgrace you\'ve given to the abilities of my [Flugbahn]!"

"Right..." I trailed off, my mind doing its best to come up with random talking points to get him to stall. "What\'s that again?"

"W-Wha- Are you serious?!"

"Yes, I am," I couldn\'t help but awkwardly chuckle. Guidance was already inching her way behind me, trying her best to hide herself casting [Ruin] as I kept talking to the guy. "While I remember you shooting at me, I certainly don\'t remember getting hit that often."

"Wha- How dare you?!"

Heh. This guy was so easy to distract. How in the world was this guy still alive if-

[*BANG!*]

"Oh fvck!"

Diving down, I halfway expected him to still hit me anyway, only to be surprised as his aim wasn\'t trained at me. Instead...

"O-Ow?! T-That... hurt?"

Guidance?!

"Hah! That\'s what you get for underestimating a Vestygian Somatic!"

I couldn\'t even think as I dove back in to catch Guidance\'s falling body. Her cast interrupted, her keyboard lost its glow as she weakly looked up at me.

"Y-You.... How...."

"I don\'t know," I hissed through my teeth. "Can you heal yourself?"

"I-I...."

Dammit! This shouldn\'t have been possible! Guidance was at max level for crying out-

[COMBAT COMMENCED]

[LEVEL SYNCED]

I should\'ve known...

"So, Moriya, do you remember me now?!"

Focusing my efforts on Guidance, my medical expertise kicked in as I covered the bleeding wound. We were all currently level 30 right now, and this guy\'s attacks actually hurt, if her current state was any indication of it.

Still, I couldn\'t exactly fight if I was busy keeping Guidance alive!

"What\'s the matter, Moriya?! Have you lost the will to fight?!"

"Shit..." This was bad!

Raising up my left-hand [Blanc], I aimed the white pistol solely on Fleuger\'s head as I warned, "Don\'t come any closer!"

"Or what? Are you going to shoot me?" he taunted. "You\'re fellow Somatic\'s already bleeding to death!"

Dammit!

"I-I\'m going to die?" Guidance weakly laughed. "R-Really?"

"No, you\'re not," I insisted. "I\'ll think of something."

There\'s got to be something I could do to keep her alive. Surely, I had some forgotten skill or quirk that might be able to heal her. I know I have something to help her. I just feel it!

"[SS2]"

[SS1][STAT SCREEN 2][SS3]

[MANIFEST: Blanc and Noir]

[MANIFEST LEVEL: 3/10]

[MENTAL FORTITUDE: 1]

[MANIFEST POINTS: 2]

[MANIFEST QUIRKS]

[Blood Bullets: [Blanc and Noir] utilizes the [Somatic\'s] blood as ammunition. Drains 3% of Max [HP] per shot.]

[Negative Damage: [Blood Bullets] can heal Allies for the amount of [HP] expended per shot.]

[Anemic: [Manifest] usage has made the [Somatic] prone to weakness. -5 [VIT]]

"W-What\'re you..."

Ignoring Guidance\'s confusion, I pulled up my Stats screen after what felt like ages now. Scanning for whatever I had at my disposal, my eyes transfixed themselves on the one thing that I honestly didn\'t even remember I had until now.

"[Negative Damage]..."

Quickly, I aimed my [Blanc] right at Guidance\'s wound. Her eyes widened at the gesture, surely thinking that I was probably going to kill her off.

"M-Moriya?"

"Heh... Haha! Have you lost your mind?!"

I let off a smirk as I ignored Fleuger\'s words. Let him talk. I needed all the time he was providing me anyway. "Hold still."

[*BANG! BANG!*]

[HP: 259/275]

Two shots worth sixteen health flowed through Guidance\'s wounds. I didn\'t know if it would work, but the look of relief on the dev\'s face told me that it was probably more than enough to get her back on her feet.

"What the.... You shot her! I saw it happen!"

I almost chuckled as I helped Guidance up, the dev quickly brandishing her [Manifest] she gave herself a more comprehensive heal. "Well, my [Manifest] can do a lot of things. Healing is one of them."

"[Medica]!"

The usual glow of healing washed over Guidance\'s body as her wounds finally closed themselves. She let out a smirk of her own, a grateful smile flashing on her face as she looked at me. "Thanks for that."

"No problem," I chuckled. "Now we can focus on the guy in front of us."

"T-That\'s.... Such a rare power..." he stammered out, his rifle shaking in his grip as he raised his goggles. "You two..."

"What can I say? We\'re special like that," I scoffed as I raised my pistols at him. "Now, sorry if I spun you for a loop there, but your constant talking really helped defuse the situation."

"Huh?"

"Look, can we just kill this guy already?" Guidance sighed. "We\'ve wasted enough time as it is."

"Fair enough..." I acquiesced. "Then again, we do also talk a bit much, don\'t we-"

[*BANG! BANG!*]

Shit! "Get down!"

"[Adloqium!]"

Before I could even try to push Guidance over, a yellow barrier erected itself all over me. From there, the two shots that Fleuger fired bounced off harmlessly before the barrier shattered in yellow motes of light.

"Don\'t underestimate me!" he shouted out, his rifle still smoking.

"Moriya!"

[*BANG! BANG!*]

I crossed my eyes as I quickly returned fire. I guess we couldn\'t close things out diplomatically.

⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛