1275: Dampener

Dampener

"But even if it all goes to shit, it would be an honor if this is where I was to be buried...where all of them rest." 1

Hao Xuan tied the floodlight to his waist and swung the hammer a couple of times to get acclimated to its new size and weight.

He stood at the edge of the refuge that was created by the light of all the Death Mold herbs and stared at the countless snarling maws just a few meters out.

As many times as he had been in situations like this before there was no getting used to the feeling of impending doom.

"It feels like the sky is going to fall on me."

"It will if the host wastes any more time."

"I know! I-This could very well be the last time I can breathe without some monster trying to rip me to pieces. I just wanted to drag this out for as long as possible. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little afraid."

"Fear is the most primal human emotion, it is normal that the host feels this way. Would you prefer that the system remove the dampeners? Or provide a temporary boost?"

"Remove dampeners? For what? And boost what?" Hao Xuan's brow locked in a tight furrow.

"The nanites can artificially trigger and maintain a state of constant 'heightened aggression' by flooding the system with copious levels of adrenaline and dopamine. For an average person the aftereffects could prove to be detrimental but with the host's physiology there should not be any problems," Baracus quickly explained before going silent but Hao Xuan did not let it go.

"Okay...that explains the boost I guess but what did you mean by removing dampeners? What are you dampening exactly?"

"The system concluded that repeated exposure to distressing experiences would weigh heavily on the host's mind. As such, the serotonin levels have been artificially maintained."

"You...made it so I can't be sad?"

"Negative. The system only maintains the appropriate levels of each chemical. Due to the toxic combination of the host's bloodline and physique, emotional outbursts and random flare-ups occur too often. If left unchecked the host could enter a berserk state with no way of turning back."

"Hmm, so you've been doing me a favor by manipulating my mood all this time, huh? And now you want to get me high enough that all I feel is anger and the desire to fight and kill?"

"Essentially, yes."

Hao Xuan shook his head in wonderment. Partly at how open and brazen Baracus was about everything and partly at his own ignorance for not seeing this earlier.

'Nidhora was right. He has been indirectly trying to control me by influencing my mood and emotional state. But to what end? I guess I'll know if I get out of here.'

After taking a moment to regain some composure by regulating his breathing Hao Xuan gave the go-ahead, "Do it then. Show me what you can do."

[Removing Dampeners]

[Initiaiting Manual Override]

As soon as he gave the word the nanites jumped to action. Hao Xuan could feel faint jolts of electricity running down his spine and when they stopped, something magical happened.

His pupils widened and a red hue began to spread around his neck before dispersing to the rest of the body within seconds. Droplets of sweat squeezed out of his pores before being evaporated by the rising temperature.

Each one of Hao Xuan's muscles convulsed and flexed beyond what he could consciously control. Something that should have only happened in the final death throes was happening now.

His bloodstream was overflowing with adrenaline to the point that the blood vessels were threatening to pop.

This combined with the effects of the lycan bloodline completely pushed him over the limit.

"ARGH!"

Hao Xuan screamed from the deadly combination of anger and annoyance as waves of pain spread throughout his body.

He had almost doubled in size. Almost every part of his body was disfigured and twisted into an ugly abomination but...it proved to be beneficial for the task at hand.

With every breath the atmosphere vibrated around him creating meter-long gusts of searing hot air.

At this point Hao Xuan could not stop himself even if he wanted to. His mind took him to every dark place that he had been trying to avoid, but no more.

"AAAAAH!"

His roar created a shockwave that sent some of the weaker shadow beasts tumbling back. The ones that stood their ground found themselves to be standing in the path of a hammer that now looked like a stick in comparison. Nonetheless, the power held within that slender weapon was nothing to scoff at.

When the hammer came into contact with the first shadow beast the air sizzled before exploding in a puff of black smoke.

*BOOOOOM*

Hao Xuan's beastly figure cut through the hordes at a speed that was unmatched by any nearby.

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