Chapter 103: Is This Person a Game Master?
2023-10-23 Author: Rowing Without Oars 233
Effortlessly.
Super Speed was a skill Orin Vale already possessed in his human form; it was a racial talent. It wasn't unheard of for an Ultraman in the original work to use this skill in their human form. A prime example was their Technology Bureau's Blue-skinned Director, Hikari, who, upon first arriving on Earth, fought the human host of the alien monster Bogar in his human guise, engaging in a real-life fight with instantaneous teleportation.
And after learning new knowledge from the Speed Force, his mach-speed movement, thanks to this new technique, was significantly faster than before. Now, even without needing to transform, he was already incredibly fast.
To be honest, when Orin Vale came to this bar, his original plan was just to use his Super Vision to scan for traces, casually strike up a conversation to get some intelligence, and see if there were any clues related to that group of aliens from Fort Rozz.
But the scene he saw after entering was something he had never expected.
There wasn't a single normal person in this wretched bar.
Aliens from different races, but none of them were particularly strong. Even if their physical constitution surpassed humans, it was by a limited margin.
But that was just how the DC Universe was. Across the entire universe, overpowered individuals on Superman's level were rare. Without relying on technology, and looking purely at individual combat power, most races weren't all that strong.
Orin Vale glanced around. It seemed all the threats in the bar had been eliminated. Now, he just needed to grab someone to question, to see which of the unlucky souls around looked like they might know a thing or two...
Just as he stood up and looked around, searching for a target to question.
He felt a gust of wind.
It surged from behind his neck, the sound of air being sliced apart. Some kind of blade, at the very instant of its sudden appearance, seemed to be already inches from the nape of his neck.
Orin Vale was slightly surprised.
Just a second ago, he had clearly checked and found not a single mobile target left in the bar. Where did this sneak attack come from?
Of course, his confusion didn't hinder the processing of his brain or the movement of his hands.
The moment his pupils contracted, time seemed to freeze once more. But the difference was, this time, within that seemingly frozen time-space, he could still feel the fierce wind approaching from behind.
It was significantly slower, but it was still cutting its way toward him.
Orin Vale immediately understood. This meant the attacker also possessed Super Speed.
In the DC world, Super Speed and Super Strength were practically a package deal. While not exactly a dime a dozen, the number of people who had them was definitely not small. But on the other hand, characters with this kind of ability were very likely not just some minion.
However, Orin Vale was faster.
He sidestepped to avoid it. A wine glass, knocked off the bar counter by his elbow, flew in an arc through the air. The golden-yellow liquid from the glass sprayed out, freezing in the air like a captured piece of artistic photography.
A black blade grazed past Orin Vale's cheek, missing its mark. The hand gripping its hilt was attached to a blue-skinned arm.
Orin Vale dodged the blade, seized the outstretched arm, and, putting force into his right shoulder, used the momentum from the opponent's superspeed strike to execute a perfect Original Ultraman-style shoulder throw!
His own immense strength, amplified by the attacker's momentum from their extreme speed, resulted in a heavy shoulder throw that slammed the ambusher violently onto the ground. The moment they hit the floor, it was as if the very foundations of the bar sank. The floorboards shattered dramatically, and the figure, carried by superspeed inertia, tumbled a great distance, crashing into and breaking a table leg before being buried under the collapsing table.
Orin Vale got a clear look at the attacker's appearance and couldn't help but frown.
WTF, Mystique?
Aren't you supposed to be in the Marvel Universe? Did you take a wrong turn?
Of course, he immediately realized it couldn't be Mystique. Setting aside being in the wrong universe, Mystique couldn't possibly be that fast. Besides, a shoulder throw like that should have smashed her into a mosaic.
But this 'Mystique' before him, though thrown into a daze, immediately shook herself and climbed out of the ruins. Her physical strength was quite formidable.
Her name was Indigo, an inmate from the Fort Rozz prison in the Phantom Zone. She was one of the boss-level villains from the Supergirl TV series, who just happened to look a bit like Mystique at first glance...
Having been thrown by Orin Vale like that, a flash of astonishment was evident in her eyes. Seemingly realizing she had picked a tough opponent, Indigo made a swift decision. She narrowed her eyes, turned, and flickered away.
*I have to get out of here, now!*
The instant she turned to flee, she could faintly sense that the man behind her seemed to be catching up.
But her heart was calm; she even felt a little like laughing.
*Heh, chasing me?*
Yes, he was fast. She had already figured that out from their brief exchange that happened in a flash. Although Indigo also possessed supernatural speed, she was clearly not as fast as him.
But she wasn't panicking in the slightest, because she had an ultimate skill up her sleeve.
Data Travel!
Indigo's entire body suddenly dematerialized. Her graceful, blue form transformed into some kind of liquid substance, which churned and surged before diving headfirst into a cellphone lying on the floor!
Dashing into the Data World, Indigo sprinted wildly, laughing inwardly.
She couldn't win a fight against those overpowered Kryptonians, but when it came to escaping, she had never admitted defeat to anyone.
Even when she was captured by the Kryptonians, it was only because she was ambushed and fell for a scheme.
When she wanted to run, she had never once failed in her life!
Miles away, in some abandoned storeroom, the screen of a bulky, old computer that should have been scrapped long ago suddenly lit up.
A strange mass of liquid substance churned and poured out of the screen, landing on the floor, where it swirled and reformed into a humanoid shape.
Indigo landed on the floor in a half-crouch, struck a pose, and coolly flipped her hair.
*Heh, men. Trying to chase me? Wishful thinking.*
After striking her pose, she calmly stood up. The moment she lifted her head, Indigo's heart nearly stopped.
She saw that man again.
The impossibly fast man from the bar.
He was currently leaning against the storeroom wall with his arms crossed, watching her with a smile.
Indigo: "!!?"
This scene dealt a devastating critical hit to her spirit, a hundred times more damaging than a Kryptonian pinning her to the ground and beating her senseless with monster-like brute force.
After all, it was normal to lose a fight. But if she couldn't even escape, her composure would completely shatter.
*Wait, I used Data Travel to get here. Where did this guy come from?*
*Could he be a ghost?*
At that thought, without a second word, she turned to run again. Her blue form once more transformed into data and dove back into the old-fashioned computer in front of her.
Dashing into the Data World gave her a slight sense of security again. Her body felt like a torrent, carried forward in a surging, endless ocean.
While running at full speed, she spared a moment to glance back.
That one glance nearly frightened her soul right out of her data body.
She saw a hand.
A huge, silver hand, wreathed in an endless, sacred golden light, was following the infinite data stream, rapidly catching up at an astonishing speed.
Then, what was even stranger was that when the hand, wreathed in golden radiance, caught up to her, its five fingers suddenly clenched...
...and actually grabbed her!
Indigo: "?????????"
She couldn't struggle, couldn't move. She only felt as if her very soul was being squeezed in that massive palm, being dragged backward at a speed even faster than when she had arrived.
An endless flood of question marks nearly drowned her brain.
*Wait, I've f*cking turned into data! I don't even have a physical form! How the hell can I still be grabbed?*
*Don't tell me this guy is a Game Master???*
(end of chapter)