Chapter 16: Fate Points

When the mutated Jack charged at Russell like a tank, Russell didn't retreat or dodge.

He wanted to personally experience just how strong Jack had become after his mutation.

If he didn't understand the strength of his opponent, the battle ahead would undoubtedly become extremely difficult.

So, even though this wasn't the best choice, Russell had no choice but to brace himself and face it head-on.

When Jack's massive right fist which was thicker than Russell's waist came hurtling toward him, Russell raised both hands to block, intending to withstand the blow.

As Jack's enormous fist collided with Russell's hands, Russell felt as if he had been hit by a high-speed train. He was sent sliding uncontrollably backward.

After sliding more than ten meters, he finally managed to dissipate the force of Jack's punch.

Although his hands were burning with pain and seemed on the verge of fracturing, Russell didn't dwell on it.

As Russell had expected, Jack's strength after mutation was an entire tier above his own.

According to the system's evaluation, Russell's strength was rated B, and he estimated Allen and Heather in their transformed states could reach B+.

However, Jack's strength was clearly a full tier above theirs, reaching the A-level range.

This was Russell's personal assessment, but it shouldn't be too far off from the system's evaluation.

Whether it was 'A-' or a solid 'A', this level of strength was something Russell couldn't match head-on.

While Russell silently assessed Jack's strength, the 'Dionesium Factor' within his body was quietly at work, repairing the damage he had sustained.

In the blink of an eye, Russell's hands returned to their uninjured state.

It was precisely because of this trump card that Russell dared to engage in a one-on-one fight with Jack.

After gauging Jack's strength, Russell immediately abandoned any thought of direct confrontation.

In the following moments, Russell did his best to assess Jack's constitution and speed.

He concluded Jack's constitution and speed to be rated 'B+' and 'C-' respectively.

Russell's own constitution was rated B, while his speed was rated C. Jack's constitution was slightly stronger than his, but not enough to reach a qualitative leap, so it remained within the B-tier range.

As for speed, perhaps due to his larger size, Jack's speed was slightly lower than Russell's.

By now, Russell had a rough assessment of Jack's abilities.

~ Strength: A- ~

~ Constitution: B+ ~

~Speed: C- ~

If you added Jack's combat skills and experience, his overall combat ability would likely reach around 'B+', while the system rated Russell's overall combat ability at 'B-'.

Although there was a two-tier difference, they were still within the same general range, not to the point of complete domination.

The 'DC Apostle System', although emulating the game originally developed by Russell, had a modification after his transmigration, and he wasn't entirely sure how it had changed.

The only thing he was certain of was that the system's underlying rules seemed to be the ones he had programmed, without significant alterations.

So, while the system could provide ability evaluations, Russell could also make his own assessments, just one was automated, and the other was manual.

There would inevitably be some discrepancies between the two, but they wouldn't be too significant.

After all, there was always a slight difference between machine and manual evaluations.

Once Russell understood Jack's general ability range, he finalized his battle strategy.

Using his slightly superior speed, he would focus on precise, small-scale attacks.

Whether the attacks landed or not, he would retreat immediately after each strike, never risking overextension.

With a clear battle plan in mind, the next steps became much simpler.

In the eyes of Allen, Heather, and the others, the fight between Russell and Jack turned into a scene of Russell occasionally sneaking in attacks on Jack, followed by Jack chasing Russell around the field.

This assassin-like fighting style wasn't something Russell particularly disliked, but he didn't exactly enjoy it either.

The reason was simple: he lacked the kind of lethal one-hit-kill attacks that true assassins possessed.

Russell's attacks could cause Jack pain, but that was all they could do, far from inflicting any serious damage.

'Looks like I'll have to use that move...'

After dodging another punch from Jack, Russell turned and shouted to Allen, "Allen, throw that bald guy over here!"

Russell hadn't brought Jasper Sitwell to the training field on a whim, he had a plan.

When developing the DC Apostle game, Russell had included a feature called 'Fate Points'.

Fate Points were the only way to activate the Gacha Function of the system, and obtaining them came with certain restrictions.

By altering one's own fate or the fate of others, thereby creating a significant impact on the future, one could earn Fate Points.

However, this feature was still in its early stages when Russell transmigrated, far from being fully developed.

After all, Russell had transmigrated during the game's first alpha test, so he hadn't had time to refine the Fate Points system.

When he first transmigrated and was facing imminent death, the DC Apostle system activated prematurely, granting him one Fate Point. This allowed him to draw the 'Dionesium Factor' as his Apostle reward... the only one he had received so far.

Now, Russell was once again pinning his hopes on the system's Apostle rewards.

This was also one of the reasons he had brought Jasper Sitwell to the training field.

"Bald guy, don't let me down..."

'You're supposed to be someone of importance in the future. Rather than dying inexplicably in some HYDRA/S.H.I.E.L.D. conflict, why not lend me a hand now?'

'No matter the outcome, I'll definitely take care of your family in the future.'

With these thoughts flashing through his mind, Russell caught Jasper as Allen threw him over.

Jasper was still unconscious, which was probably for the best, at least he wouldn't feel any pain.

Just as Russell, holding Jasper, walked toward Jack and intending to use Jack's hand to 'sacrifice' Jasper and see if he could earn Fate Points, Jasper suddenly woke up.

"S-soldier, what are you doing? Let go! I order you to let go!"

Sensing something was wrong, Jasper struggled wildly, trying to break free from Russell's grip...