The move toward the Gotham Docks wasn't a sprint; it was a slow, bloody crawl. I needed the Docks to control the flow of the city, but more importantly, I needed the heavy hitters who guarded the smuggling routes.
My skin was becoming like armor plate. Common 9mm rounds now simply sparked off my chest and fell to the ground. If I wanted to grow, I had to stop standing in front of pistols. I needed to seek out the heavy ordnance.
The Siege of Pier 54
The Pier was controlled by a Russian syndicate reinforced with experimental black-market tech. They had heard about the "Shadow Butcher" of the East End. They were waiting.
As I stepped onto the salt-crusted wood of the pier, a spotlight blinded me.
"Stop right there, freak!" a voice boomed over a megaphone.
I didn't stop. I kept walking. The first line of defense opened up with assault rifles. I felt the thuds against my ribs—dull, annoying taps. My Defense was high enough that I didn't even bleed.
"Is that all?" I mocked, my voice echoing over the crashing waves.
The Russians didn't play around. From the roof of a shipping container, a mercenary shouldered an RPG-7. He didn't aim for my chest; he aimed for my feet.
BOOM.
The explosion was a deafening roar of heat and pressure. The wooden pier disintegrated beneath me. Shrapnel tore through my legs, and the shockwave turned my internal organs to mush. For the first time in weeks, I felt that familiar, cold embrace of the void.
[DEATH REGISTERED]
Cause: Anti-Tank High-Explosive Round
Gains: +5 Defense
Current Status:
Strength: 15
Agility: 15
Defense: 55
Spirit: 15
Respawning 10km away...
The Return
I woke up on the outskirts of Otisburg, the smell of burnt gunpowder still clinging to my soul. I didn't waste a second. I stepped into the Shadow Kingdom, the world turning into a grayscale blur of whispers.
Ten seconds later, I stepped out of a shadow cast by the very crate the RPG gunner was standing on.
He was still laughing, looking down at the smoking hole in the pier. "Got the bastard! No one survives—"
I grabbed him by the back of his neck. His laughter turned into a wet gurgle as I squeezed. I didn't just kill him; I held his body up for his comrades to see before tossing him into the dark water below.
"I'm a slow learner," I shouted to the remaining mercenaries. "Try something bigger!"
The Heavy Metal Death
They obliged. Two armored trucks roared onto the pier, mounted with .50 caliber machine guns. These weren't just bullets; they were thumb-sized slugs designed to tear through engine blocks.
The first burst caught me in the shoulder, spinning me around. The second caught me in the throat. Even with my enhanced skin, the sheer kinetic energy was too much. My head was nearly severed.
[DEATH REGISTERED]
Cause: Heavy Machine Gun Fire (.50 Cal)
Gains: +8 Defense
Current Status:
Defense: 63
Respawning...
I respawned in a graveyard. Fitting.
By the third time I returned to the pier, the mercenaries were screaming. They had killed me four times in an hour. Each time, I came back faster, stronger, and more terrifying. I was "farming" their desperation.
By the time my Defense reached 85, the .50 cal bullets were starting to bounce off. I walked through the fire, my Shadow Warriors rising from the bloody wakes of the men I had already broken.
I reached the final truck, punched through the armored glass, and dragged the driver out. I didn't use a gun. I used my bare hands to show them that their "heavy weapons" were just toys to me now.
[NOTIFICATION]
Current Defense: 92
Warning: 8 points until Equal Distribution Protocol resumes.
The Docks were silent now, save for the flickering lights and the smell of salt and iron. I stood amidst the wreckage, a literal titan in the making. I could feel my body hardening, preparing for the moment it would stop being just "tough" and start being "invincible."
Once I hit 100, the real fun would begin. I wouldn't just be a tank; I'd be a god.