Chapter 25: The Aftermath of the Electrical Dilemma
"HELL YEAHHHH!!!" I shouted to the sky in celebration as I finally got through the so-called Lightning Grid obstacle.
My heart was beating fast from excitement, and I was quite ecstatic. I had just beaten what I thought was an impossible obstacle by using the most improbable method I could think of. I still couldn't believe that my insane idea had actually worked.
Charging my whole body with electricity so that I could radiate EMFs myself? If I were still the normal human I once was, I would have died from just the sandpaper-like rubbing that I had to endure to even start generating any electricity in my body. It's all thanks to this new body of mine that I could even attempt such superhuman stunts.
Of course, I also owe my utmost gratitude to my nanobot suit, the Grunt Battle Suit. Not only for allowing me to conceive this wild idea but also for protecting me all this time since I was reincarnated as Grunt No. 703. Hell, these nanobots enveloping my whole body even started to mend the damage done to my skin as I felt soothing relief throughout my whole body.
I also felt tingling all over my body... or more precisely, the tingling was coming from the nanobots. I've said this many times already in the past short amount of time, but I really have gone insane because I felt that those tingles were my nanobots telling me something... and that something was more or less a cheeky 'you're welcome' for helping me out. "Yup, I am definitely insane," I muttered to myself in amusement, realizing that even talking to myself was a sign of insanity.
But then again... these nanobots were connected to my entire nervous system, so it wasn't really a farfetched idea to think I could talk to my own nanobots.
"Well, if that's the case, then I'm counting on you from now on, partners," I said, looking down at my GBS suit, or specifically, at my nanobots. Again, I felt tingling from my nanobot suit, and I could somewhat tell they were agreeing with me.
And again, I realized that I looked like I was talking to myself again... Maybe I should try talking to my nanobots through... what was it? Telepathy? Speaking through my mind? I felt another tingling from my nanobots, and it felt like they were saying 'yes' or something similar.
My own crazy thought process had to stop for now because I heard the familiar sound of a drone's spinning rotor blade approaching from the sky.
I looked up to the source of the sound and found the familiar drone with a familiar display monitor attached to it. The drone's display monitor was also showing yet another familiar face that I still found somewhat irksome. It was none other than the mad scientist Victoria "Mad Star."
The drone itself quickly approached me, and I was surprised by how fast it was speeding towards me. I was relatively calm, expecting it to stop near me... But it didn't show any sign of stopping. It was still flying fast towards me!
I quickly shielded myself with my arms, dreading that it would crash into me, but... it didn't. I could still hear the loud sound of the drone's spinning rotor blades, but the impact never came. I slowly looked forward, letting go of my shielding arms, and found that the drone was right in front of me... with Victoria's full visage right in front of my face, shown through the drone's display monitor. It was as if we were facing each other through a glass window.
But the thing was... her expression was rather different than usual. Rather than the usual irksome mischievous expression that she usually showed me, this time... Her expression was that of genuine excitement and delight.
I was quite taken aback by the expression she was making. Because... My gut was telling me that this expression of hers was not one with pure intentions.
"Amazing! Grunt No. 703! That was truly amazing, what you just did!" Victoria congratulated me with full excitement, emphasizing her astonishment by having her drone approach me closely. It was trying to stick to my face, close to hers as shown on the drone's display monitor.
I firmly tried to push off the drone that was invading my personal space. "Okay, okay! I get it! Thank you!!" I replied to her congratulations, wanting her to back off her drone from me.
Fortunately, she finally did back off her drone, but it was still hovering a bit too close for comfort.
"That was truly amazing, Grunt No. 703," she congratulated me once again, but this time it wasn't as energetic as before. "I thought that when you asked how to use your Grunt Battle Suit, you would use it to destroy the obstacle right in front of you like a muscle-brain idiot." She quickly started explaining her astonishment to me... but her speaking was a bit too fast for me to comprehend. However...
"Wait, did you just call me an idiot?" I caught her last comment, thinking that she was secretly insulting me.
Unfortunately, Victoria ignored my question and continued her rambling. "I never expected you would use the triboelectric principle to charge your own body with electric charge, just to create your own EMF zone? Simply outrageous!" She continued her explanation with the same fast-paced excitement as before.
"'Tri' what now?" I tried to repeat what she had said about the electric charging thing, but the term was quite foreign to my ears and she was still speaking too quickly.
Again, she ignored my confusion and continued her rambling.
"But you did it! You created a mini-EMF zone that was able to block and repel the electric current produced by the Lightning Gate! Simply amazing, Grunt No. 703~," She finally finished her astonished rambling, which was fortunately a bit slower than her previous ramblings. Furthermore, her last praise felt quite genuine and made me blush a little.
"I-I see... thanks, I guess?" I thanked her for the genuine congratulations she had just given me.
Suddenly, her drone moved quickly and once again tried to stick close to my face. To be precise, she was sticking her monitor-displayed face close to mine. Of course, I was taken aback yet again by how close she was trying to get. I was about to protest and push away the drone, but...
"Grunt No. 703!" Victoria suddenly called my name, which shut me down from any protest. She was showing a serious expression as if she was about to say something important to me.
"Y-yes?" I asked back, waiting in anticipation and a bit of fear as to what she was about to say...
"Would you like to become my own personal grunt?" She suddenly offered.
"... huh...?"
HIATUS
HIATUS. Not much to say here other than it's not working out.
Chapter 26: A Tempting Offering by The Mad Scientist
"Would you like to become my own personal grunt?" the mad scientist Victoria "Mad Star" suddenly offered me with an enthusiastic expression.
Yet again, I was taken aback by her, never expecting that she would offer me something out of the blue. "Personal grunt...?" I repeated what she had said with confusion.
"That's right, Grunt No. 703," she briefly confirmed.
I stared at the display monitor showing her visage, her expression brimming with excitement. "What do you mean by 'personal grunt'?" I asked cautiously, trying to gauge her intentions. The idea of working closely with Victoria both intrigued and terrified me.
Victoria's eyes sparkled with anticipation. She lifted her glasses slightly, and the ever-familiar glint shone from them. "As my personal grunt, you would work directly under me. You would receive special tasks and assignments that no other grunt would get. You would have access to advanced equipment and training, and you would be involved in cutting-edge experiments that could push the boundaries of what we know about human enhancement and technology!" She explained her offer with the same enthusiasm as before. She was telling me the gist of the position, as well as the boons and advantages I would get as her personal grunt.
Hearing her explanation left me quite speechless. Honestly... her offer was quite tempting. Working under her meant I would be working directly with what I assumed to be one of the right-hand people of Max Brain, which meant I would be in a pretty high position in his Evil Empire. Not to mention the plethora of support I would get from possibly one of the best scientists in the world.
It sounded as if I was turning into some sort of super-agent... for the evil villain, that is. I was quite tempted to accept her offer immediately, but... I could see the gleam of madness in her eyes, the same one I had seen when she increased the difficulty of the Lightning Grid obstacle. My recent experience with her whimsical cruelty was still fresh in my mind.
"And what's the catch...?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. I wasn't about to dive into this offer without understanding the full implications of what she was offering me.
"No catch!" she said with a wide grin. "Think of it as an opportunity. A chance to prove yourself, to grow stronger, to achieve greatness. Under my guidance, you could become extraordinary..." She showed me her clenched fist, signifying the seriousness of her offer. Her intensity was almost palpable through the display monitor's screen, making it clear how much she believed in her own words.
Seeing her determined expression as she tried to get me to accept her offer, I began to mull over her words as I hung my head low. My mind began to race with many thoughts and scenarios of what would happen if I accepted her offer.
On one hand, the offer sounded tempting. Really tempting. The promise of advanced equipment and training, the prospect of being the right-hand man to the right-hand woman of the infamous No. 1 supervillain, Max Brain. If what I was looking for was a high position that could ensure my safety in this superhero versus supervillain world, accepting her offer would lead me to it... but on the other hand...
I looked back toward the Lightning Grid obstacle that I had just gotten through. Its lightning barriers, which I remembered she called the "lightning gate," were still crackling with a large amount of electricity.
Now that I had passed through it, it seemed that she (or most likely her scientist lackeys) had lowered the difficulty. It now had a thinner-looking lightning gate, and the downtime for the said lightning gate was more reasonable to get past. She had only raised the difficulty to an impossible level for me...
I had found out the hard way that she was more than willing to make things difficult for me. If I accepted her offer, I was not just going to be her right-hand man but also most likely the first choice to become her guinea pig for her crazy experiments. Hell, in her offer, she even explicitly mentioned how I would be involved with her "cutting-edge" experiments.
So, my life would become trials after trials of overcoming her experiments and whims if I accepted her offer... Even if my new super grunt body could withstand whatever stuff she would throw at me, I didn't think my heart could handle it...
I grumbled to myself, thinking deeply about whether I should accept her offer or not... The decision weighed heavily on my mind. I thought about the potential glory and the peril that came with it. The vision of becoming an integral part of Max Brain's empire clashed with the haunting images of Victoria's relentless experiments.
Hell, it wasn't just her that I would have to worry about as there might be other villains equally as bad or even worse than her. HELL, the one and only supervillain Max Brain himself might even use me for his own whims... Okay, now the offering sounded less tempting after thinking about it.
I lifted my head and looked back at her serious expression. "I'll need some time to think about it," I said cautiously, putting out an excuse to buy more time. While I did think that the offering was less tempting, it was still one of many paths that I could potentially choose. I thought it was better to have as many options as I could possibly get.
Victoria's expression softened slightly, though the excitement in her eyes remained. "Of course, Grunt No. 703. Take all the time you need. But remember, opportunities like this don't come around often. I'll be expecting your answer soon." She teased me more, trying to entice me with the 'limited-time offer' tactic. Hearing her teasing made me stifle a bit of laughter.
"Yeah, yeah." I waved my hand in dismissal as I turned my back on her hovering drone and faced forward toward the next obstacles in this "Orientation" obstacle course. I heard her giggle at my casual remark as I walked away. However, before I could leave...
"By the way, Grunt No. 703," she suddenly called, halting my advance. I turned my head around to see the hovering drone still displaying her face. But... her expression was one I was quite familiar with... the face that always irked me to no end: a mischievous expression completed with the same mischievous smile. She was planning something quite malicious yet again.
"There is a surprise for you waiting at the finish line~."
HIATUS
HIATUS. Not much to say here other than it's not working out.
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