By the time Dante arrived at the first basement floor, everyone who could flee had already done so, leaving the place empty save for the transformed Michael Jason and one more man whose fate was already sealed. Sneaking behind one of the flipped tables, Dante peeked at him and silently watched.
[Evaluation complete.] Volcan said. [The Enhanced Individual is a Level 2 Intermediate.]
'... are you sure?'
[Yes. Though he seems to have enhanced bones and muscle tissue, most of his cells remain human. The only significant divergence is his skin, which has gained a high concentration of condensed carbon.]
'That's… hard to believe…'
Looking at Jason in his current state, it was a little difficult to believe that 80% of his cells are that of a human. He appeared to have five times his previous muscle mass, making Dante wonder where he got the nutrients to build all of that in such a short time.
[Dante, my evaluation shows that the best countermeasure to this Enhanced Individual is Type 3-2, but…]
'Let me guess, you have to place a time limit on it?'
[Yes.] Volcan said, sounding a little apologetic. [Type 1 to 3 does not put as much strain on the user as Types 4, 5, or 6, but at your current state, you can only use it for 180 seconds before your body becomes incapable of handling its strain. Keep in mind those calculations do not include damage dealt by hostile entities, which could further decrease the time you have.]
'... I'm gonna need you to explain every type to me later.' Dante said internally. 'Three minutes should be fine. Let's give it a go.'
[... understood.]
A Level 2 represents the destructive power of a grenade, which doesn't sound like much, even though it's still perfectly capable of obliterating the average human. Still, even if two different things are evaluated at the same threat level, one can still be far more powerful than the other.
Light enveloped Dante and he soon found himself encased in darkness. Before he could think something was amiss, a projection appeared showing the exact scenery in front of him.
'Ah, I think I get it now…'
He was wondering what this strain Volcan mentioned was like, but soon after donning the armor, he began to feel it. A strange force enveloped his body, pulling and pressing on every cell individually as if trying to tear them apart. The sensation wasn't strong enough to be a hindrance, like a mild annoyance he could ignore after a while, but Dante had a feeling that wouldn't be the case.
'Alright…' Just as he stood up, a counter appeared in the corner of his vision. 'Let's see what this can do.'
"Hm?"
No sooner had Dante stepped out of his hiding place than Jason noticed his presence. The hulking man was done with his latest victim and was laughing to himself like a maniac just a second ago. Dante had no idea how a gambler drowning in debt got such powers, but he could tell it came with a massive power trip.
"Now who the hell-"
Not giving him the chance to ask a question, Dante rushed straight at the transformed Jason. The first step alone allowed him to feel the boost in speed granted by the new armor. It wasn't big enough for him to struggle adjusting to it yet it took Jason by surprise.
The hulking man raised his fists and brought them down only to strike the empty floor. Having slowed down a moment before that, Dante evaded the attack and leaped right over it, placing his arms on the gambler's muscular arms as he performed a simple cartwheel followed by a flip.
"GughhaaAAAAAAA!!"
Jason arched backward and screamed, his body trembling violently. Taking that as his chance, Dante moved to close the distance but was met with a horizontal swing that sent him flying into the wall. Though he barely felt the impact, five seconds disappeared from the counter in one go, leaving him with 02: 45.
"Yellow… bastard…" Jason grabbed his right arm, glaring at Dante as he growled. "Did you… did you just tase me?"
Dante stared at him for a moment then looked down at himself. The armor he wore was mostly made of a black spandex-like skin-tight material, making him doubt whether it qualified as armor. The only solid parts were a chest piece, a pair of gauntlets, and a pair of boots, all of which were bright yellow. Then there was the helmet. It appeared like a bike helmet and was mostly yellow as well, but the visor was different, being shaped single black lightning bolt.
The helmet wasn't the only place that had it. The lightning bolts were on the chest piece, the gauntlets, and the boots. On his back, right under his shoulders, two transparent cylinders jutted out. Bolts of lightning rampaged inside each one like a storm contained inside small bottles.
Dante couldn't get a proper look at the whole armor from his perspective, but what he could see didn't give a very good impression.
'This is a little…'
If he had to choose a way to describe it, the armor looked like a costume for one of those ranger shows that were popular back in the day.
"Not much of a talker, huh?"
Jason slammed his feet into the ground as if to forcefully stop his body from trumbling. He then crouched down and placed his fists on the ground, taking a pose much like that of a sumo wrestler about to lunge at his opponent.
"Just stay where you are." He said, his grin spreading. "I WILL CRUSH YOU TO DUST!!!"
Like a cannonball, Jason came rushing toward Dante who stood his ground as if waiting to be crushed. At the very last moment, he leaped out of the way and let the hulking gray man smash the wall.
[Type 3 armor specializes in lightning and electricity.] Volcan explained. [The target might have developed a tough outer shell capable of withstanding impacts of a certain caliber, but its high conductivity leaves him susceptible to electric currents.]
Rolling back onto his feet, Dante kicked the floor and closed the distance between him and Jason with a single lunge.
[Type 3-2 is capable of channeling an electric current of roughly 30000 amperes with a voltage of 100000000 volts, which results in a-]
As Volcan explained, Dante placed both of his palms on the hulking man's back. In the short instant they made contact, the lightning contained within the cylinders on the armor's back died out, and at the same time, Jason's massive body lit up like christmas lights.
[It results in an electric shock charged with 90 megajoules of energy.]
"GRYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!"