《Starbound: A Space Odyssey》 Lost in Space (1) [Where am I?] This was the first question that came to John Connor''s head when he woke up. He was lying on a cold and metallic floor. The whole place was illuminated by just a simple and dim blue light in the ceiling. He was able to hear the sound of an engine and some beeping noise. John shook his head trying to recover from his dizziness. He felt something in his forehead. He reached it with his hand and soon he touched something sticky. He looked at his hand and it completely drenched in red liquid. From the smell and texture, he was certain that it was blood, his blood. He tried to get up, but his body wasn''t responding. So, while he waited for the numbness to go away, he tried to remember how he ended up in this place. Soon memories crushed hard in his brain together with a splitting headache that made John cry in pain. He remembered... Red tentacles bursting from the ground, without forewarning, destroying everything that it touched, shattering buildings, flipping the escaping shuttles. The Grand Protector, Leda Portia, stayed behind to protect the fresh graduates from being torn by the tentacles. She gave John the Matter Manipulator, the symbol of the Protectors, and a key to a spaceship to every single one of the graduates. He could still remember the words she spoke, "The Terrene Protectorate must survive. Now, go leave this planet. You are the future of this Organization, doesn''t matter which race you are, as long as you survive the Terrene Protectorate will survive", She turned around and charged toward the closest tentacle to save some civilians. John ran and ran until he found the ship Leda gave him. He started the ship and tried to flee the planet. As his spaceship was leaving Earth, he watched in horror as a great red tentacle thrusted itself in the Terrene Protectorate''s Headquarters and split it in half. A few moments in the past, it was an organization that brought peace to the Universe and its races, but now is nothing more than just a symbol of a gone organization. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.John''s spaceship was about to leave the atmosphere and the FTL Drive was already charging when a tentacle hit his ship. The damage was enough to shut down most of the engines of the ship, but the FTL Drive warped the ship away from Earth milliseconds after the attack. When the tentacle hit the ship, some debris of the cockpit came toward John''s head and knocked him unconscious. Felling the headache and numbness fade, John tried once again to get up. With much difficulty, he was able to stand properly, but his legs were still weak and trembling with just the weight of his body. He looked around and realized he was in the cockpit of the spaceship. He focused his eyesight on the console. He pressed the button "Spaceship Status". -----###------###-------###------###------###---- Engines --- Offline FTL Drive --- Offline Thrusters --- Online Life Support System --- Online Emergency Light System --- Online Teleport Device --- Offline Artificial Gravity Generator --- Online S.A.I.L --- Offline Power Generator --- Offline Solar Power Generator --- Offline (...) Oxygen Level --- 79% Fuel Tank --- 0% Power Level --- 45% (...) -----###------###-------###------###------###---- John tightened his fist. The situation of the ship was grim. That hit from the tentacle disabled almost 80% of the ship. Looking at the reports that kept appearing in the screen John''s became uglier and uglier. He helplessly sighed and sat down in his comfortable captain chair in the cockpit. He closed his eyes and started to formulate his plans for the future. He hasn''t lost hope yet. His eyes flared open as a determined light shone in his obsidian black iris. He must survive, the Terrene Protectorate must survive. The last words of Grand Protector Leda kept ringing in his ears. He couldn''t give up, he must survive, not for him, not for humans, but for the entire universe. With the towering force known as Terrene Protectorate Organization out of the way, numerous criminal organizations, and conflicts will rise and bring chaos to the once stable universe. John resolutely stood up and walked toward the Ship-based Artificial Intelligence Lattice console, or S.A.I.L for short, and turned it on. Once he saw that the console was undamaged, John was overjoyed. With S.A.I.L''s help he had hope, hope to turn this grim situation around and survive. His eyes focused on the letters and codes that kept popping out in the screen. When he saw the word "Online" in the screen, he smiled and said with his hoarse voice, "Now... Let''s get started" ------------ The destruction of Earth and the Terrene Protectorate was a presage of years of chaos that were about to come. With the organization that kept the peace between the races gone, wars and conflicts were bound to happen. However, it is in times of desperation and hopelessness that some people will stand up, fight against the odds and arise from the chaos as the symbol of hope, they are the ones who would be known as heroes. With this, a hero would rise. A hero that would be know throughout the entire universe in the future, his name was John Connor. Lost in Space (2) John looked at the humanoid form that appeared in the screen of the S.A.I.L console. The humanoid stared at John before it said with a mechanical and emotionless voice, "Greetings, Protector... John Connor. I am S.A.I.L, your Ship-based Artificial Intelligence Lattice. I manage the maintenance of your ship, and I am also programmed to offer you information and advice" [So this is my S.A.I.L] John analysed the humanoid figure in the screen. Every S.A.I.L is somewhat different from the other. Be it in appearance or voice tone. Probably because the spaceship John took was a standard edition and was not ready yet for the graduates, the S.A.I.L he got was also the most basic edition, basic looks and emotionless voice. "The ships''s navigation systems were damaged in our escape" The emotionless S.A.I.L continued, "Our location is currently unknown" "Wait, what ?" John was shaken from what he had just heard. "Our location is currently unknown" S.A.I.L unhurriedly repeated. John fell on his chair and sighed, "There is nothing to help us travel in this unknown place ?" "None" John got up and walked toward the glass window. There he was able to see the vast space. Filled with bright dots of lights in the distance. In face of this outspread space, John felt only solitude and helplessness. "!!!" John exclaimed in surprise. When the ship slightly rotated he was able to see that they were close to a planet that looked habitable. It was a mixed of blue and green, just like Earth. But what caught his attention is that the planet was close, it was inside the range of the teleport, "S.A.I.L, make an analysis of the planet that is closest from us" "Yes, Protector" S.A.I.L than disappeared from the console and what appeared was a detailed analysis of the planet. "Analysis complete" In a few seconds S.A.I.L once again appeared in the console, "Readings indicate the landing site is not unfavorable - the area is safe, and lavish with both flora and fauna. A lush and hospitable place. Threat Level 1, mostly harmless. Geological analysis indicate the presence of iron, coal, gold, copper and silver. Weather analysis indicate that it has a complete water cycle with rains and, occasionally, storms" S.A.I.L than looked at John and said, "The ship is heavily damaged and we are unable to leave the planer''s orbit. I suggest you beam down to the planet''s surface using the teleporter, and search for supplies and perhaps a means of fixing the ship" John acknowledged S.A.I.L''s suggestion. Staying put won''t solve anything, he might as well try his luck down there. He left the cockpit and walked toward the Crafting Room of the ship. The standard Terrene Protectorate ship has 5 rooms. The Med Bay, the Crafting Room, the Captain Quarters, the Prison Bay and the Cockpit. The Med Bay is where the Healing Pods are located. The Healing Pods are advanced machines that can automatically identify the problem with the petient and choose the most effective method to heal him. The problem is that they can only heal wounds and sickness that already have treatment and the method of treatment is installed in the Healing Pod''s software. Also, the Healing Pod need a lot of energy and medical resources to keep running. The Crafting Room is where most of the Crafting Stations are located. In this room there is the Scanner, the Atomic Furnace, Assembler, Armory, Refinary, Bio-Chem Lab and is where most of the cargo is placed as well. The Scanner is where most of the object can be scanned to understand its materials and how it was made. As soon as the scan is completed the Scanner will create a blueprint on how to make the object and save it in the Data Base so that the Protector can later use the blueprint in another Crafting Stations and recreate the same object. Unfortunately, the Scanner isn''t perfect, it is unable to scan extremely complicated objects. The Atomic Furnace is where most raw ores go to became ingots of the most perfect quality achievable. This ingots can be used in the other Crafting Stations to become any type of object that might help the Protector in his travels. The Assembler is where most the primary resources and raw materials go to be transformed in something else. Wires, cogs, circuit boards, etc. This crafted components will be used in other Crafting Stations so that they can become something else to aid the Protector in his travels. The Armory is where weapons, armors and other useful tools are made. The Armory mostly use the Assembler''s components, the Furnace''s ingots and the Scanner''s blueprints to automatically create the tool the Protector desire. The Bio-Chem Lab is where natural resources go to create drugs and other medical/chemical useful items. This crafted items can be used in the Healing Pods for a more accurate healing or the Protector can use them in his travels if the situation require immediately action.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. The Refinary is basically where metal ingots can be transformed into Pixels. Pixels is the universal currency used by all the races across the universe. Moving on, the Captain Quarters is, as the name implies, the Captain''s room. There is a big bed, a safe, a kitchen, the bathroom and a private computer. There is everything possible to make the Captain''s time in the ship a very comfortable one. The Prison Bay is where the Protectors temporarily lock down criminals they catch throughout their travels and then they go the nearest Terrene Protectorate Outpost to move the criminal to a more comfortable jail. The standard Terrene Protectorate ship has only three small cells. The Cockpit is where the Captain pilot the spaceship. Inside the Cockpit there is the Fuel Hatch, the S.A.I.L Console and the Navigation Console. After the invention of the FTL Drive the whole universe began using only one type of fuel that is able to charge this engine, the Erchius Crystal or Erchius Liquid. The Fuel Hatch on the ship only accept those two types of fuel. The Navigation Console is where the Captain can select a destination from a set of coordinates and the ship will automatically travel toward those coordinates. When John entered the Crafting Room, he just took a quick glance at the apparatus on the room before moving toward the Shiplocker. John stopped before the Shiplocker and used the fingerprint of his right thumb to allow access to open Shiplocker. He looked at the contents inside it. Inside the locker there was a flashlight, 3 cans of food, a pistol, 10 bottles of water, hunting knife, 3 handcuffs and a Personal Information Processor System, or PIPS for short. The PIPS is a very important tool that all Protectors must have so that they can efficiently use their Matter Manipulator. This tool is about the size of a wrist clock and to use it the host has to wear it in his wrist. The PIPS is able to read the stats of the host''s body and show it in the screen. Stats like energy, hunger, heartbeat, stress, sanity, blood count, etc. The PIPS also has a Pocketed Dimension inside it. This dimension is able to store all types of object and things for an unlimited time. The size of the Dimension is extremely big. Protector often call this Pocketed Dimension as Inventory. The PIPS also has a Codex function that everything the host reads or every information that the host desire to save the PIPS will save it in its Data Memory. John opened the Codex and saw that there was a book in the library, it was called Terrene Protectorate Field Guide. He clicked in the book icon and immediately after a floating holographic big screen appeared in front of him. Terrene Protectorate Field Guide Welcome, new Protector! The first thing we would like to say is ''do not panic'' - you have trained for this position for years, and you would not have graduated if you did not earn the distinction of doing so. Handy hints to help you keep your head: - Your comanding officer is not just there to issue orders, but also to guide and support you. Utilise this support and you will quickly find your feet. - Do not worry about being left on your ship alone, this will not happen at any time. There will always be at least three crew members aboard so that you can aid and assist one another. - Every ship is equipped with a SAIL. As you will be aware, the AI is a useful source of information, especially when tempered by the reassurance of your crew mates. - NEVER BEAM DOWN TO A PLANET YOU DO NOT RECOGNISE. (...) When John read until there his face twitched a little. He was about to break this last guide line... (...) - Always equip yourself for the climate and threat level of the planet you will be visiting. You will be briefed by your captain before you leave the ship and will be able to discuss concerns, should you have any, about the new environment. Though you will be issued with all the necessary equipment remember: there are always untold dangers. - Always wear your Terrene Protectorate issued uniform, this will allow anyone you meet to identify you as a member of the Protectorate. - Help others in need. Try your best to defend the innocent where possible, but do not engage in combat above your level. Call for back-up when you need it. And remember, graduate - wherever you may go, you will always have Earth to come home to. [Home...] John''s eyes teared up when he read the final line, [Home... Earth is now destroyed. I don''t have a home to go back anymore] John stayed silent, absent-mindedly gazing at the holographic screen. His lonesome shadow casted in the pale white metallic floor trembled a little as he started to silently sob. Even though he was orphan, he still had a lot of friends and other people he regarded as family in Earth. Now he lost everything. Even when he wanted to stay positive and look at his mission ahead he couldn''t forget, [I better take this chance to grieve] John thought, [I have a very important mission ahead and I cannot lose my time and concentration grieving in the future] He went toward the corner of the room, sat down and started to cry like a child. He must take this chance to let the emotions out of his chest. The road ahead is going to be rough and grim. He must stay focused and cannot spend time thinking about the past. He was never toughest or the most intelligent of the class, but there is something no one was able to beat him, it was in adaptability. It doesn''t matter how grim the situation was he was always the fastest to adapt and move on. Now is no different from the past. In just a few minutes he stopped crying. He resolutely got up and walked toward the Captain''s room. He went to the bathroom and looked at the reflection of himself in the mirror. The figure in the mirror was approximately 1.85 meters height and weighted 90 kilograms. He was Caucasian with jet black short hair and obsidian dark eyes. He wasn''t what most people would consider handsome, he was normal, a type of person that could easily blend in the crowd. He was wearing just the standart blue Protector uniform. John cleaned his reddened and tearstained eyes. He stared once again at his own reflection, but now there was no more grief or sadness in his face, just a casual smile. "You must stay strong John" He whispered to himself, "I can do it. Nothing will stop me. The Terran Protectorate..." He looked at the PIPS and saw that S.A.I.L had already fixed the teleportation device, "...Must survive" He walked out of the Captain''s room and went toward the teleportation device that was located near the cockpit. His eyes were shining with a fiery light of determination when he entered the device. "Initiate the teleportation device. Protector John Connor ready to beam down" S.A.I.L than began counting down, "Teleportation starting in 3... 2... 1... Now" The Mysterious Mine (1) When the teleportation device was activated, John had to close his eyes because of the strong light that enveloped his body. He felt like he had no weight for a feel seconds and everywhere he looked was just a white world. Soon enough, John was hit by a sudden dizziness. When he opened his eyes he saw that he had already landed on the planet. His foot was touching the gentle mat of grass and flowers. Looking in the horizon he could see the voluminous quantity of towering trees in the horizon. Figures of flying creatures traveling through the beautiful and clear blue sky. John inhaled. Given that the PIPS gave no warning that means the air of the plane can be breath by humans. The air was clean and fresh. The only smell was that of nature itself. He looked around and saw that the ideal landing spot selected by S.A.I.L was atop a small mount, outside the forest. John than proceeded to check his belongings and see if he was ready to start the exploration. ''PIPS, flashlight, food, water, pistol, handcuffs, hunting knife and the Matter Manipulator'' He took note of everything he has. He opened his Inventory and took the Matter Manipulator out. The Matter Manipulator is completely colored in gold color and looks like a pistol, but it can''t fire anything. This tool allow the Protector to dismantle or build with its laser. The laser is capable of slowly absorb the thing the Protector want to retrieve and store it directly inside the PIPS''s Inventory. This tool is the symbol of the Terrene Protectorate and is an irreplaceable tool to garantee the Protector''s survival during his travels. The Matter Manipulator is also able absorb any type of liquid. This incredible tool has a lot of functions but to unlock them the Protector has to use Tech Modules that aren''t easy to find now that the Terrene Protectorate Head Quarters in Earth is destroyed. John went to the forest. When he entered, the first thing he did was test the Matter Manipulator. He pointed the tool toward a tree and pressed the trigger. The moment he pressed the finger a blue laser left the muzzle of the Matter Manipulator and enveloped a small fraction of the tree trunk and slowly started to encompass the whole tree. After a few minutes the tree disappeared like it was never there in the first place. Looking at the Inventory, John was able see just some wood boards. The PIPS automatically cut the tree and stored it using the most optical possible way. One tree gave John the amount of 20 wood boards relatively large. "You found some wood" John heard S.A.I.L''s voice coming from the PIPS in his wrist, "My databanks tell me wood is a material with a great many uses. I suggest you kill additional trees for more resources" John''s PIPS is connected to the spaceship, so this way he was able to hear S.A.I.L, monitore the situation of the ship and, when the time comes, he could activate the teleport and beam up to the ship. He dismissed S.A.I.L''s suggestion and looked at his own Status in the PIPS. He saw that the Energy that previously was at the maximum 300 Units of Energy (UE), dropped to 270 Units. His current Energy Regeneration stats is 1200 Units/24 hours or 0.8 units per minute. It is possible to increase the Energy Storage and Regeneration by using Tech Modules. This show that to absorb the tree, the Matter Manipulator used 30 of energy.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Energy is the most important resources that allow the PIPS''s host to use a huge variety of tools, weapons and armors. The body of a human is constantly generating Energy from heat, kinetic, friction, etc. The PIPS is able to store this Energy and convert it so that other tools that are in direct contact with the host is also able to use this Energy. Some type of Armors or clothes can increase the Energy Regeneration by absorbing energy from outside the host''s body and store it inside the PIPS, and some other Armors have a different space that increase the Energy Storage of the host. Next, John took the Protector Pistol from the Inventory. He looked at the stats of the gun. --------- Protector Pistol Mk.1 Type: Semi-Automatic Energy Pistol Tier 1: Basic range weapon that is a able to somewhat pierce armors from the Tier 1, but it will have difficulty piercing Tier 2, and is basically useless against Tiers higher than 2. Durability: 100% Energy per shot: 2 UE Fire Rate: 2.0 (Bullets per second) Augmentation: None Upgrades: None Special Ability: None Special Ability Energy Cost: None --------- John stored the Matter Manipulator and held the pistol with his two hands. He aimed at a bright colored bird that was resting in its nest, just about 20 meters away from John. *Bam* With a muffled sound, the energy bullet left the muzzle, travelled faster than sound, and hit the bird in its head. The bullet pierced the head but no blood came out. The heat of the energy bullet was so high that the moment it pierced the flesh it instantly cauterized the wound. Even though the gun wasn''t powerful, the somewhat low energy cost of each bullet and the high fire rate for a Semi-Automatic weapon was enough to cover for the deficiency in the fire power. John placed the pistol in the Protectorate uniform''s holster that was in the right side of his waist and went to check out the carcass of the bird he just had killed. He approached the body and took a closer look. The bird was 1 meter long by measuring from the tail to the end of the beak, and 3 meters from the end of one wing to the other one. Its entire body was covered in bright colored feathers, it was a mixture of blue, red and yellow, and the beak had a small curvature at the end. John used a stick he found in the floor to flip the body over. Under the wings of the winged creature, he was able to see some razor sharp feathers that probably was the creature''s natural weapon. John took his hunting knife from the Inventory and started to dissect the bird. He patiently pluck the feathers out and cut the bird into pieces. He just have 3 cans of food in the Inventory, he need more food. John stored all the meat and feathers, but not sharp ones. He took the razor feather and tested its sharpness in one of the tree trunks nearby. He threw the feather with all his strength. The feather easily cut through the wind pierced halfway in the trunk. "Oh?" John exclaimed in surprise. It wasn''t because of the sharpness, but because of the accuracy of the feather. He didn''t just casually threw the feather, but he aimed for a specific place of the tree trunk and the feather easily travelled the distance without changing the course and hit where he aimed. The feather was just what he needed. A silent weapon that can be used from the distance and it doesn''t badly destroy the preys he hunt. He looked inside the Inventory and saw that he had about 80 of this feathers. John packed up his things and started to walk deeper in the forest. All kinds of creatures appeared from time to time. Most of them could be categorized as a mixture of Earth''s animals, strangely enough. The small creature John would use the feathers to kill, and the big ones were a lot sturdier so John had no choice, but to use the pistol to finish them off. He always take everything he killed with him, after he dissected and separated what could be useful and what was useless to him. Just when he was about look for place to go through the night, he saw some black smoke coming from the distance. He stared at the smoke for moment before he started to walk toward it. The sun was just about to completely set when He finally arrived at the location of the smoke. It was a campfire. John crouched at the nearby bush and stealthly approached the campfire. He looked around, but he was unable to see anyone close. He changed location and then he was able to see a tent. John cautiously approached the tent. The moment he was a few meters away from it he smelled something, the pungent smell of blood. He opened the tent and there he saw a middle-aged human male lying his own pool of blood. The man had a burly constitution and he had full-grown beard and short brown hair. John squinted his eyes and examed the body. Soon, he discovered what killed the man. There was a deep cut right in his throat. There was no fight, it was almost like... An assassination. The Mysterious Mine (2) John stared at the body and sadly sighed. The first human he encountered since he fled Earth was a dead one. His luck in the recent hours wasn''t good. He crouched by the body and lifted it. He carried the middle-aged man out of the tent and placed it on the ground next to the campfire. "Sorry about my intrusion" John whispered and then began searching the body. He took every object from the body and put them in the ground. After he was done searching the body, John stood up and took the Matter Manipulator from his Inventory. He searched for a suitable place and used the Matter Manipulator to create a hole at the ground about the size of a person and with 1 meter of depth. He then returned to the camp, lifted the body and gently placed it on the grave that he just made. After he places the body on the grave John used the Matter Manipulator to fill the grave with the same soil he had previously dug. He returned to the campfire and used 2 wood boards that was in his Inventory to fuel the fire. He placed a few pieces of the bird''s meat on the fire and sat by the side of the fire and looked at the starry sky. He ate the roasted met while admiring the the stars. The meat had a somewhat bland taste because of the lack of seasoning, but John ate it with no problem. He was already used to it. In the Terrene Protectorate training they had to learn how to eat every kind of food. It was already night, but the lack of artificial light made it possible for one freely see the beautiful sky filled dots of lights from all sizes. The was so beautiful that John was entranced by its beauty. Suddenly John was shook awaken from his trance by a few roars coming from the distance. The planet was beautiful, but amidst its beauty, danger might lie anywhere. It was nighttime, the moment the most dangerous predator leave their dwellings to hunt. John swiftly threw soil in the campfire to extinguish the flame and stored the objects that were in the ground in his Inventory. He stood up and climbed the nearest tree. He decided to sleep in the branches to a avoid the predators on the ground. He found a thick branch, rested his head on the tree and soon enough he doze off. It has been a long day and the emotional burden affected his mind and body as he was already very tired. He was awoken early in the morning by first sunlights that hit him right at the eyes causing him to be momentarily blinded when he woke up. He climbed down from the tree and made a fresh campfire using the woods in the Inventory. John placed a few pieces of meat on the fire, and while it was roasting he decided to take a closer look at the belongings of the middle-aged man. He took two objects from his Inventory, a piece of paper and small notebook. He started with the notebook.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Opening the first page John saw that the notebook was in fact a diary. He read through the entire diary while eating his breakfast. Apparently the middle-aged man was a Explorer. Those who travel through the universe exploring way beyond what Organizations like Terrene Protectorate would explore. The man came to this planet because he found some recordings say that somewhere in this planet there was an Ancient Gate, a infrastructure created by the mysterious race long gone, the Ancients. While the man explored the planet he found what looked to be a abandoned mine. He tried to explore the mine, but the high quantity of agressive creatures made him reconsider his actions. So he decided to call for reinforcements by the next day, but... He didn''t lived to see the next day. John stored the diary and went to look at the piece of paper. When he unfolded the piece of paper he saw that it was actually a map that had a huge red cross at the extreme right side. John carefully looked at the map and realized that it was a map to the abandoned mine. John stood up and started to clean the site. He thoughtfully looked at the tent and the hiking backpack that belonged to the Explorer. He hesitated a little, but decided to take it with him. He found a lake that close to the camp and decided to clean the tent and his uniform. After everything was ready he started to walk toward the abandoned mine fallowing the direction indicated by the map and using the compass option of his PIPS. On his way he found some berries he took all of them and kept walking. John stopped by a lake and decided take a moment to rest. He used his Matter Manipulator to absorb a few trees and then he skillfully used his hunting knife to carve the wood into simple wooden compartments to fill it with water. He didn''t had rubberand neitheir a bther cutting equippament to use and create a btter lid to prevent the content from leaking at the opening, but he didn''t need it since the dimension on the PIPS would prevent such situation. He filled them to the brim, stored them into the Inventory and resumed his travel. The day was about to be over when John finally found the abandoned mine. On his way, he took everything that looked edible and useful, and stored them. You never know when they might come handy. He hid behind a tree and took a careful look at the entrance of the mine. He was acting stealthly because as soon as he saw the mine he also saw that parked just outside the entrance was a old looking orange Hoverbike. Despite the rust here and there, the vehicle looked quite new. Hoverbikes doesn''t have wheels, they have two disc-shaped hovers, one at the back and one at the front, that create a magnetic field strong enough to push against itself, generating the lift which levitates the bike off the ground. And at the back is where the thrusters are located, they are the one who pushes the bike forward. This bike model doesn''t use Erchius Fuel, but rather the good old fossil fuel. John carefully approached the bike and saw that even though it was an very old model it was in fact still operational. He glanced at the exhaustor and tried to touch it. It was warm, it was used not too long ago. John crouched at the ground and saw footprints that went from the Hoverbike toward the mine. [The murderer?] John remembered the clean cut in the middle-aged man''s throat. [No...]He looked carefully and saw another set of footprints going into the mine. This one was older than the previous one since most of the footprints had started to fade. [Two people... One of them is probably the murderer] John thoughtfully looked at the dark entrance of the mine. He walked and than stopped by the entrance. He took the pistol and the flashlight from the Inventory and entered the mine one step at the time. Soon he was engulfed in darkness. He turned on the flashlight and resumed his walk. The Mysterious Mine (3) As John ventured deeper in mine all he was hearing was the noise of his own footsteps and the shallow sound of his breathing. It had been already 30 minutes since he entered the mine, and he had yet to find a single creature. He walked very slowly while carefully looking everywhere. There was no light source but his flashlight. Now and then he would find some mineral ores that were left behind by the miners and he would impolitely take them for himself. Coal, iron, silver, gold, and occasionally some gems, that was what he was able to find. "Hm?" John saw that in front of him the path divide in two. The footsteps show that they went to the right tunnel, the left tunnel was shrouded in darkness. John pointed the flashlight at the left tunnel and saw that there was a building right at the end. He decided to check out the wood building at the left side first. As he approached the wood building he was able to see more clearly the infrastructure. It looked like a countryside wood shack, not big and neither small. He stopped by the door and placed his ear in the wood frame to try to listen if there was something or someone inside. Nothing. There was no audible sound coming from inside. John carefully opened the door and peeked through the small opening. Using the flashlight he was able to see what it looked like inside. There was no furniture inside, just a lot of metal boxes. He used the flashlight to illuminate the ceiling. The was some creatures dangling in the ceiling. They looked like bats, but they were at least twice bigger and they, strangely enough, had some big tongues coming out from their mouths. Batongs. The name of this creatures. They often reside in caves from all types of planets. Their existence was recorded inside the Universal Bestiary Codex. This Codex was created by the Terrene Protectorate joining hands with all the races and Explorers. The Codex record all the creatures that were found from across all the possible planets in the universe. One of the few joint research made by all the races. Batongs don''t have eyes, they use their big and developed tongues to taste the particles in the air and this allow them to sense what is ahead of them. They are twice as big as Earth''s bats and their entire body is completely colored black, while their tongues in crimson red. They are carnivorous and they often practice cannibalism in time of food shortage. What is threatening is the fact that in their tongues there are small spikes that contain a powerful paralyzer poison capable of causing the heart to stop beating in mere seconds.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. John silently opened the door with one hand and he used his other one to store the pistol and retrieve the Razor Feathers, a name that John came up for those feathers he took from the colorful bird, with the same hand. On his way toward the mine he had killed some more of those birds and he accumulated almost 300 of Razor Feathers. With the flashlight in one hand and Razor Feathers in the other he finished opening the door. With a fast motion he threw 3 Razor Feathers into the flock of Batongs. He turned around and hastily withdrew from the door. He kept his distance and waited, soon enough he heard some shrieks coming from inside the shack. In no time flocks of Batongs started to leave the shack from the narrow door, searching for the insolent who dared to kill some of their own. John sinisterly smiled and started throwing a bunch of Razor Feathers into the door. He didn''t need to actually aim, since the door was narrow he just need to throw forward and there would be almost 100% sure to hit one of the Batongs. In a few seconds he threw more than 10 Razor Feathers, by the next minutes it had reached almost a 100 Razor Feathers, he continued until he saw that no more Batongs were leaving the shack. He started to approach when suddently a Batong dashed out of the door toward John. John took a step to the side, dodging the charge, and he threw 3 more Razor Feathers at the same time. The Batong swiftly flew around making the Razor Feathers miss the target, but John took the chance to charge toward the creature with the hunting knife in his hand. He kicked the ground and jumped high enough to reach the Batong. With a swift move the knife cut one of the creature''s wing, making the bat fall directly on the ground. John then gave the finishing blow by piercing the head. He cleaned the blood of the knife and stored it, then proceeded to retrieve the bodies of the Batongs, he would deal with the bodies once he left the mine. John took and cleaned the Razor Feathers that were in the ground. After he finished cleaning he once again entered the shack. He looked around and found a switch beside the door, he flipped it and then the old lamp on the ceiling turned on. With the help of the light coming from the lamp, John started to open one of the metal containers. Just as he opened one of them he saw a faint reddish light coming from inside. He curiously looked inside and saw that there a pile of oval red stones that kept emitting the red light. John reached his hand to take closer look. The moment he touched the red stone he heard S.A.I.L''s voice, "You discovered a Core Fragment" It said, "These naturally occurring crystals are commonly found near the core of a planet. They produce energy for a long period of time. They are often used as batteries or grinded into powder to produce explosives. I suggest that you collect as much as you can, they have all kinds of uses, and it might help you in the future" John looked at the crystal in his hand. It was the size of his palm and was warm at the touch. He fallowed the S.A.I.L''s suggestion and absorbed all the Core Fragments into his Inventory. He opened the next container and then the next. All of them was filled with Core Fragments. Each container had about 20 of Core Fragments. John had collected almost 100 Core Fragments when he heard something. He stopped what he was doing, closed his eyes and tried to hear carefully. *Bang* He was able to hear it. The sound of gunshots echoing through the abandoned mine. He hurriedly left the shack and returned to the bifurcation. *Bang, Bang, Bang... * The sound of multiple gunshots were coming from the right passage, where the footprints were. John took his pistol and flashlight again. He entered the right passage and started to walk deeper into the abandoned mine. Auxiliary Chapter: Starbound Races --------------------------- Humans: The Humans are one of the six races entrusted with an Ancient Artefact. Humans hail from the planet Earth and greatly resemble the Apex, only with much smaller brow-ridges and much less body hair; it is said that the Apex were likely much more Human-like before the VEP "inoculation" altered their physiology. Humans are generally an inventive, optimistic species with a drive to explore and learn, and are considered mostly harmless. Not much is known about Human history before their discovery of warp drive, though what is known is that it involved a series of wars and conflict over finite resources. The ability to travel quickly between the stars soon led to a peaceful post-scarcity society, using advanced technology in the goal of exploration and advancement of learning. Despite their voyages across the stars, large-scale colonization was actually uncommon, as many Humans either chose to return to Earth or live a more nomadic existence. Though settlements are rare, Humans are a common sight in scientific outposts and spacelanes throughout the universe, including many installations run by the Hylolt-owned Letheia Corporation. During this time two major groups came to prominence: the altruistic Terrene Protectorate, which sought to assist and welcome beings of any race for the betterment of all life in the universe, and the profit-seeking and less-morally-upright Universal Space Corporate Military(USCM). The latter eventually collapsed after a long string of bad luck followed by a catastrophic bioweapon failure, with most of its members taking up interstellar banditry. Humanity would suffer a crippling blow with the destruction of Earth, as it was torn apart by The Ruin. Billions of lives were lost, as well as most of the Protectorate''s membership which had gathered at the main headquarters. Despite this, Humanity continues to survive, and perhaps one day may again thrive. --------------------------- Apex: The Apex are one of the six races entrusted with an Ancient Artifact. They were originally a much more human-like race until a completely natural mysterious water-borne pathogen of unknown origin threatened their survival. Fortunately the ruling government, known as the Miniknog, had developed a cure that countered the harmful effects of the pathogen... with the unexpected side effect of starting the VEP(Vestigi-Evo Process), which "devolved" their bodies to a more ape-like state. On the other hand, it also greatly increased their mental capabilities, leading to even bigger advances in super-science. This process took less than ten years to spread to the entire race, and also coincidentally at the same time the Miniknog began a complete societal restructuring(Purge). All records of the Apex society prior to VEP were destroyed, and the Miniknog''s leader Big Ape took complete and total control over the Apex society... for their safety and security, of course. Apex leadership dictates jobs, the exonomy, fashion trends, food rations, and who "volunteers" for tests in the advancement of Apex biological science. Big Ape''s rule is so all-encompassing that nobody knows exactly how long Apex society has actually been this way. And thus the Apex were happy and complacent, under the watchful eye of Big Ape and his many, many, many surveillance cameras and heavily-armed guards. For some reason this has bred resentment in some very ungrateful and rude Apex, and rebel cells have begun to pop up here and there but it is such a small thing, really, and totally not a huge undercurrent that has spread through the entire society. Carry on about your day, citizen. Big Ape is watching you. Based culture and technology: Advanced Humanity --------------------------- Hylotl: The Hylotl are one of the six races entrusted with an Ancient Artifact. The Hylotl are a semi-aquatic race with trinocular vision, highly-adaptable genetics and a relatively short lifespan, which over the generations has led them from being a strictly land-based species to one that can live comfortably in aquatic environments, though they still lack the ability to breathe underwater. They have a long and rich history of art, science, and philosophy, with reverence for tradition and meditation. Despite their highly-advanced technological level, most of their structures are still made of wood bedecked with ornate carvings. This leads to an interesting clash of Hylotl cultures in their massive underwater cities, with hand-painted calligraphy next to bright neon signs advertising the latest fashions, and quiet paper-walled garden rooms not far from the heavy bass thumping of a "bubbstep" dance club. The Hylotl-owned Letheia Corporation is one of the largest companies in the galaxy, providing everything from entertainment to space stations and starship fuel to people across the stars. Hylotl pride themselves on seeking peaceful solutions to problems, though they recognize that sometimes their side of a philosophical debate on the merits of not dying carries a little more weight when backed up with a sharp enough blade. Thus, the ability to use weapons with skill and proficiency is similarly a fine-honed art passed down through the generations. Some find the Hylotl to be stuffy, arrogant, and passive-aggressive, which the Hylotl deny and figure you''ll see the error of your ways once you''ve become a bit more enlightened like they have. The Hylotl have a long and ugly history with the Floran. Though the "why" and "how" has been lost to history, the two races were effectively at war with each other for a long time. It was a war the Hylotl fared poorly in even with their advanced technology, as a massive Floran invasion of their homeworld forced the Hylotl to settle under the oceans. Though open hostilities have been over for a long time, there is still plenty of animosity between the two races, though the average Hylotl will claim there really isn''t and they''ve totally forgiven the Floran for being a bunch of bloodthirsty murderous brain-dead savages. Based culture and technology: Japanese --------------------------- Floran: The Floran are one six races entrusted with an Ancient Artifact. Plant-based humanoids, they are extremely violent carnivores with no central government or power structure, split into numerous tribes spread across the universe, each led by a Greenfinger. Though they are biologically a single-sex race, they may adapt sexually dimorphic physical traits and male/female identities if they so choose. Their speech is often simplistic, and they tend to hisss their sibilantsss. Their primary drives are hunting, acquiring trophies, fighting, eating meat, and more hunting. It is speculated that their general casual view towards killing and consuming other intelligent species stems from not viewing "meat" as "alive" in the same sense they are. As the Floran spread throughout the galaxy however, more and more individuals are recognizing a need to integrate, make friends, and maybe not stab anyone that slightly inconveniences them.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. A relatively young race, they have primitive technology but are incredibly adept at scavenging and -thanks to the Greenfingers'' unique gifts- reverse-engineering other races'' tech, much to the universe''s chagrin. They have a long and ugly history with the Hylotl, as the two races were effectively at war with each other for years. This culminated in a massive Floran invasion that drove the Hylotl under the oceans. While open hostilities have ceased and things have been peaceful for generations, both races harbor deep-rooted resentment towards the other. The Hylotl are very passive-aggressively condescending in their disdain for the Floran, where the Floran are just openly and bluntly insulting to the Hylotl. Based culture and technology: Tribal Human societies, and a mix of all the other races'' technology. --------------------------- Avian: The Avian are one of the six races entrusted with an Ancient Artifact. A birdlike race of humanoids hailing from the planet Avos, their stone structures, simple clothing, deeply-religious nature and rather simplistic battle tactics (primarily consisting of "overwhelm the enemy with thousands of disposable soldiers") make them seem primitive at first glance. But the Avian are very intelligent, and anyone brave or foolish enough to venture into an Avian temple or tomb will find examples of advanced -and deadly- technology, powered by Avolite crystals. These enigmatic power sources are mined solely by the Stargazer priests on their homeworld, and power everything from simple lights to spaceships capable of interstellar travel. Avian culture is centered around the worship of Kluex, the "Winged God of the Aether". According to their religion, the Avian once existed outside the mortal plane alongside their god, but grew jealous of the mortals'' pleasures. The Avians crossed into the material world, an act punished by stripping them of their ethereal wings, dooming them to be forever flightless. An Avian can only be reunited with Kluex by shedding their mortal body while keeping the truest of faith in their hearts. Ceremonies to achieve this state of pure being include ritualistic sacrifices of captured enemies, and an elaborate procession that culminates in the most devout, chosen by the priests, climbing a tall tower and taking a leap of faith, their spirit breaking free of their mortal prison and flying into the Aether, as their now-discarded body plummets to the ground below. This bloody theology does not sit well with all Avians however, and a growing number have rejected the words of the Stargazers and the divinity of Kluex. Calling themselves "Grounded", they have taken to the stars and formed their own colonies. Some have crafted terrestrial flying ships and make their lives in piracy, and many others have joined multi-racial organizations like the Terrene Protectorate. Based cuture and technology: Ancient Egypt --------------------------- Glitch: The Glitch are one of the six races entrusted with an Ancient Artifact. Despite being incredibly advanced robots, Glitch society is quite literally medieval. Built by an unknown race eons ago to simulate organic life and society, something went wrong and the Glitch got caught in an unending loop where they would not advance past the "stone castles and agrarian villages" stage. Just how long the Glitch have been locked in this state is unknown; empires have risen and fallen, and the citizenry just keeps trundling on at their assigned tasks year after year, content in their work, and letting the universe pass them by. The Glitch themselves look like something constructed in the dark ages, their simplistic exteriors belying the stunningly enhanced programming that keeps them running. Glitch knights are not constructed any hardier than a mere automato farmer, so warriors don bulky steel armor and carry old-fashioned melee weapons, and sometimes simple bows. They have to eat to draw power, using the released methane from digestion as fuel rather than the actual foodstuffs themselves. Even their "medicine" is meant to simulate organic cures and healing, despite them not physically needing the processes to work this way. As their "faces" are not built to convey expression, Glitch preface their speech with a single-word statement of emotion or intent to make sure their meaning is clear. "Cordial. Happy to meet you!" "Enraged. I''ll chop your head off!" Glitch do die and do procreate, though the latter is decidedly not the same process as it is with biological life-forms. The "parents" choose parts for their "offspring", then enter a trace-like state where the two assemble the new Glitch silently and with a speed and skill not shown in everyday Glitch activities. This process takes several building sessions over the course of weeks, and is performed in private. Not all Glitch stay within their programming, however. It is not common, but sometimes a Glitch will break free of their coding "blind spots", and become truly self-aware. These individuals are pitied yet shunned, as this self-determination is considered a flaw, detrimental to the smooth operation of the Glitch way of life. These "Outcasts" still retain many of the same psychological quirks of their race despite this awareness, but their sudden yearning to be more than what they were leads them to travel the stars and find their own purpose. Though most Glitch stay in their villages and castles, a few Glitch splinter groups have formed and spread across the cosmos. The Rainbow Rogues don brilliantly-colored and sparkly capes and cowls, bringing blinding justice wherever they travel. Less virtuous are the battle-hungry All-Seeing Knights, who at least have a code of honor and will fight for those who offer them shelter... unlike the similarly-themed All-Seeing Crusaders, who patrol ruins in Eyepatches across the galaxy and attack anyone within sight. Based culture and technology: Medieval Europe. --------------------------- Novakid: The Novakid are a race of interstellar gas-bag people who are constantly on the move, mining asteroids and harvesting nebulae in order to distill and imbibe it ("moonshine" if mixed with regolith; "sunshine" if without). They are a scattered and uncoordinated people, having developed the technology for moving through space before developing the technology for long distance communication. The Novakid have no known history, since none of them were interested in keeping any sort of record. In addition, their being so spread out makes it difficult to even guess what system they may have come from, making independent investigation impossible even for the curious. Thanks for nothing. Speculation is that they came from either a gas giant or an exploding star. Though they have a high intuition and aptitude for learning, they are extremely lacking in patience and attention span to the point of making them terrible students and teachers. As a result, only a small fraction of each generation''s knowledge is passed on to the next - the rest of it constantly being re-discovered or re-invented. The Novakid as a race have reached a technological equilibrium centered around steel and combustion. Any "space-age" technology introduced to them would be forgotten within 3-4 generations, and a "stone-age" community of Novakid can be expected to catch up to the rest of the population within 10 generations. The most important part of a Novakid is the brand - the dense metal symbol situated in the middle of their face. The brand is responsible for metabolizing fuels and producing a magnetic field/membrane that defines the shape of the body, keeping the precious plasmas from dispersing. Breaking the "skin" results in plasma venting / bleed-out, which if left untended leads to fuel depletion and inevitably death. The least important part of a Novakid is the corona - the hair-like emissions that emanate from the head. This serves no function other than to be pretty and impress other Novakid. It can be styled by running a low electric current through the Novakid''s brand. A new Novakid is born when its parents mix their plasma together in a high temperature, high pressure condition and enough elements fuse into denser materials that form a new brand. The new brand then claims the plasma mixture as its own and a protokid (which hardly resembles a mature Novakid) is born. Based culture and technology: Wild West USA. --------------------------- Ancient: They are a very old race of unknown appearance. They''ve left behind many ruins such as the Ark and challenge rooms. The ancients have their own language, written in runes. These runes have been found on the Ancient Plaques, Monolith Gates and other ancient structures. They also seem to have sophisticated technology. Their gateways allow travel to pocket dimensions, and their mysterious light sources do not have a known power source. The most mysterious of these structures is the Ark, found beside the outpost. ------------------ Penguins: They look like the penguins back on Earth, but this ones have a higher level of intelligence. They are generally regarded as troublemakers of dubious moral standing, selling their services as mercenaries, mechanics, and merchants on the black market. Auxiliary Chapter: Star Systems, Planets, Biomes and Minerals Star Systems: 1) Gentle Star (White Star): - Star Tier: 2 - Planets: Garden, Forest and Desert 2) Temperate Star (Orange Star): - Star Tier: 3 - Planets: Savannah, Snow and Ocean 3) Radioactive Star (Yellow Star): - Star Tier: 4 - Planets: Toxic, Mutated, Jungle 4) Frozen Star (Blue Star): - Star Tier: 5 - Planets: Artic, Tundra 5) Fiery Star (Red Star): - Star Tier: 6 - Planets: Volcanic, Decayed, Magma /////////////////////////////////////////// Planets Overall: Threat Levels: 0) Unknown Threat (Tier 0) 1) Low Threat (Tier 1) 2) Moderate Threat (Tier 2) 3) Risky Threat (Tier 3) 4) Dangerous Threat (Tier 4) 5) Extreme Threat (Tier 5) 6) Inconceivable Threat (Tier 6) Geological Analysis of Planets: 0) Planet Tier 0: Erchius Fuel 1) Planet Tier 1: Coal, Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold Ores 2) Planet Tier 2: Coal, Copper, Iron, Silver, Gold, Tungsten Ores 3) Planet Tier 3: Coal, Copper, Silver, Gold, Tungsten, Titanium Ores 4) Planet Tier 4: Coal, Copper, Silver, Gold, Titanium, Durasteel Ores 5) Planet Tier 5: Coal, Copper, Silver, Gold, Durasteel, Ferozium, Aegisalt, Violium Ores 6) Planet Tier 6: Coal, Copper, Silver, Gold, Ferozium, Aegisalt, Violium, Solarium Ores ///////////////////// Planet Biome Types: 1) Moons: - Moon is a primary biome type characterized by dead airless worlds with no plants or life. Because moons have no atmosphere there is no color in the sky, simply a view of nearby planets and stars day and night. - Moons are an ''Unknown'' threat level, the ghosts on moons are deadly to any living being. Tier 0. - Moons often have low gravity. - The primary reason to travel to moons is to gather fuel for ship travel. There''s an abundance of glowing Crystal Erchius Fuel and Liquid Erchius Fuel located on moons. - Most systems has a moon, usually orbiting a larger planet type. 2) Garden: - Garden is a primary biome type characterized by grass and pine trees. Garden planets are a ''low'' threat level, geared toward tier 1. - There is only the weakest creatures in the universe.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. - Garden planets can only be found orbiting gentle star types. There are no environmental hazards in garden biomes which require use of an environmental protection pack. 3) Forest: - Forest is a primary biome type characterized by mild temperature with many trees growing closely together. Forest planets are a ''moderate'' threat level, geared toward tier 2. - Densely colonized by trees and other flora. - More agressive and stronger creatures. - Forest planets can be found orbiting temperate star type. - There are no environmental hazards in forest biomes which require use of an environmental protection pack. 4) Desert: - Desert is a primary biome type characterized by sand, clear weather, cacti, and palm trees. Desert planets are a ''moderate'' threat level, geared toward tier 2. - There is limited flora, but life still claimed this type of planet, wild and agressive creatures loom the surface. - Desert planets can be found orbiting temperate star type. There are no environmental hazards in desert biomes which require use of an environmental protection pack. - Weather in desert biomes is mostly clear, with occasional sandstorms. These storms, in addition to slowing down living things caught inside them. 5) Ocean: - Ocean is a primary biome type characterized by a vast expanse of water with small scattered sandy islands. - Traversing the surface is best done with boats or by swimming. - The ocean floor is covered with plantlife, breakable shells, and possibly submerged ruins. - Ocean planets are a ''risky'' threat level, geared toward tier 3. - Ocean planets can be found orbiting temperate star type. - There are no environmental hazards in ocean biomes which require use of an environmental protection pack. 6) Savannah: - Savannah is a primary biome type. It''s characterized by grasslands, trees, and wide open spaces. - It is a "dry grassland" planet, not to be confused with the decayed biome. - Savannah planets can be found orbiting temperate star type. - There are no environmental hazards in Savannah biomes which require use of an environmental protection pack. - Savannah planets have a Risky threat level and a planetary Tier of 3. 7) Snow: - Snow is a planetary biome type. It''s characterized by snow, trees and lower temperature. Not to be confused with the more dangerous Tundra planetary biome. - Snow planets can be found orbiting temperate and frozen star types. - There are no environmental hazards in Snow biomes which require use of an environmental protection pack. - Snow planets have a Risky threat level and a planetary Tier of 3. 8) Jungle: - Jungle is a primary biome type characterized by many tropical trees and ground growth growing closely together. - Jungle planets are a ''dangerous'' threat level, geared toward tier 4. - Jungle planets can be found orbiting radioactive star type. - Exploration without Radiation EPP Upgrade can be very dangerous because of the deadly radiation while on the planet. 9) Mutated: - Mutated is a primary biome type characterized by large colorful striped or spotted trees made from striped wood. - Mutated planets are a ''dangerous'' threat level, geared toward tier 4. - Mutated planets can be found orbiting radioactive star type. - Exploration without Radiation EPP Upgrade can be very dangerous because of the deadly radiation while on the planet. - The Mutated biome is characterised by odd flora, aggressive fauna and sickeningly high levels of radiation. The area''s inhabitants are severely mutated. 10) Toxic: - Toxic is a primary biome type characterized by a vast expanse of poison ocean with small scattered islands made of mud, raw sewage and waste. - Traversing the surface is best done with boats rather than swimming because coming in contact with the poison can be deadly without the right protections. - The ocean floor is covered with plant life, pipes and glowing waste. - Toxic planets are a ''dangerous'' threat level, geared toward tier 4. - Exploration without Radiation EPP Upgrade can be very dangerous because of the deadly radiation while on the planet. 11) Artic: - Arctic is a primary biome type characterized by a vast expanse of ocean with small scattered islands made of ice, and slush. - Traversing the surface is best done with boats. - The ocean floor is covered with coral and glowing oshrooms. - Arctic planets are an ''extreme'' threat level, geared toward tier 5. - Arctic planets can be found orbiting frozen star. - Exploration without an Heating EPP Upgrade equipped can be deadly because of the extreme chill of the planet. 12) Tundra: - Tundra is a planetary biome, signified by a cold, frozen plains. - Not to be confused with the less dangerous Snow Planetary Biome, the surface of the biome proper is dotted with trees holding orbs of ice with their branches. - Tundra planets are most frequently found orbiting Frozen stars. - Tundra planets have an Extreme threat level and a planetary Tier of 5. 13) Decayed: - Decayed is a primary biome characterized by its burnt, post-apocalyptic look and urban garbage. - It has dry weather, warm temperatures, little or no trees, and no other plant life. - Decayed planets are notable by having ruined cities in the background suggesting that the planets were once populated and may still have some inhabitants. - Decayed planets are a ''inconceivable'' threat level, geared towards tier 6. - Decayed planets can only be found orbiting fiery star type. - Exploration without a Cooling EPP Upgrade equipped can be deadly because of the extreme heat on the surface of the planet. 14) Magma: - Magma is a primary biome type characterized by vast oceans of deadly lava. - Magma planets are an ''inconceivable'' threat level, geared toward tier 6. - Not to be confused with the also hot volcanic biome, this biome is primarily lava ocean. - Magma planets can only be found orbiting fiery star type. - Exploration without a Cooling EPP Upgrade equipped can be deadly because of the extreme heat on the surface of the planet. 15) Vulcanic: - Volcanic is a primary biome type characterized by intensely hot temperature with hard scorched Magmarock, ash and scattered pools of lava. - Volcanic planets are an ''inconceivable'' threat level, geared toward tier 6. - It is similar in appearance and temperature to Magma planets, but doesn''t have oceans of lava. - Exploration without a Cooling EPP Upgrade equipped can be deadly because of the extreme heat on the surface of the planet. Auxiliary Chapter: Armors, Weapons and Techs Weapons Overall: 1) Weapon Types: *Ranged Weapons: Rocket Launcher, Pistols, Revolvers, Machine Pistols, Assault Rifles, Sniper Rifles, Granade Launchers, Shotgun and Bows* - Physical Projectile Weapons: It is a type of projectile accelerator consisting of one or more coils used as electromagnets in the configuration of a linear motor that accelerate a ferromagnetic or conducting projectile to high velocity. They use physical and expendable bullets, rockets or granades. - Energy Weapon: They use the energy stored inside the PIPS of the host (Unit of Energy, UE). They use energy bullets. They can be highly augmentated. - Melee Weapons: They are close combat weapons. They are separated into various groups (Daggers, Knifes, Shortsword, Gauntlet, Broadsword, Spear, Axe, Halberd, Hammers) 2)Weapon Tiers: - Tier 1: Weaponry capable of piercing Steel metal plate without problem. They can penetrate Tier 1 and damage Tier 2 Armors. However, they almost useless against Armor any higher than Tier 2. These weapons are mostly made of Steel metal. - Tier 2: Weaponry capable of piercing Tungsten metal plate without problem. They can penetrate Tier 1, 2 and damage Tier 3 Armors. However, they almost useless against Armor any higher than Tier 3. These weapons are mostly made of Tungsten metal. - Tier 3: Weaponry capable of piercing Titanium metal plate without problem. They can penetrate Tier 1, 2, 3 and damage Tier 4 Armors. However, they almost useless against Armor any higher than Tier 4. These weapons are mostly made of Titanium metal. - Tier 4: Weaponry capable of piercing Durasteel metal plate without problem. They can penetrate Tier 1, 2, 3, 4 and damage Tier 5 Armors. However, they almost useless against Armor any higher than Tier 5. These weapons are mostly made of Durasteel metal. - Tier 5: Weaponry capable of piercing Ferozium, Aegisalt and Violium metal plate without problem. They can penetrate Tier 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and damage Tier 6 Armors. These weapons are mostly made of Ferozium, Aegisalt and Violium metal. - Tier 6: Weaponry capable of piercing Solarium metal plate without problem. They can penetrate Tier 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and Tier 6 Armors. These weapons are mostly made of Solarium metal. 3) Weapon Upgrades: - Piercing Mod: It increase the piercing power of Physical Projectile and Energy weapons. - Fire Rate Mod: It increase the fire rate of Physical Projectile and Energy weapons without increasing, in energy weapons, the Energy Cost. - Energy Cost Reducer Mod: It decrease the energy cost per shot of energy weapons. - Durability Mod: It increase the durability of both Energy and Physical Projectile weapons. - Recoil Reducer Mod: It decrease the recoil of Physical Projectile and Energy Weapons. - Sharpness Mod: It increase the sharpness of melee weapons - Weight Increase Mod: It increase the weight of Melee, Energy and Physical Projectile Weapons. - Weight Decrease Mod: It decrease the weight of Melee, Energy and Physical Projectile Weapons. - Augmentation Enabler Mod: It makes it possible to put Augmentation into the Energy, Physical Projectile and Melee Weapon. 4) Weapon Augmentations:The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. - Fire: It shoot fire projectiles. - Frost: It shoot freezing projectiles. - Electricity: It shoot electrified projectiles. - Explosion: It shoot explosive projectiles. - Corrosion: It shoot corrosive projectiles. ///////////////////////////// Armors Overall: 1) Armor Tiers: - Tier 0: Clothing without any type of protection. - Tier 1: Armors made primarily of Steel. They can offer protection against Tier 1 Weapons and a reasonably protection against Tier 2 Weapons. - Tier 2: Armors made primarily of Tungsten. They can offer protection against Tier 1, 2 Weapons and a reasonably protection against Tier 3 Weapons. - Tier 3: Armors made primarily of Titanium. They can offer protection against Tier 1, 2, 3 Weapons and a reasonably protection against Tier 4 Weapons. - Tier 4: Armors made primarily of Durasteel. They can offer protection against Tier 1, 2, 3, 4 Weapons and a reasonably protection against Tier 5 Weapons. - Tier 5: Armors made primarily of Ferozium, Aegisalt or Violium. They can offer protection against Tier 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Weapons and a reasonably protection against Tier 6 Weapons. - Tier 6: Armors made primarily of Solarium. They can offer protection against Tier 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 Weapons. 2) Armor Upgrades: - Hardness Mod: It increases the hardness of the Armor''s material and thus increasing the overall protection in can provide. - Weight Decrease Mod: It decrease the weight of the Armor, without decreasing the overall protection the Armor give. - Radiation Protection Mod: It give the Armor the protection against Radiation hazards. - Heat Protection Mod: It gives the Armor the ability to adapt into any given change of tempeture situation. - Fire Protection Mod: It gives the Armor the protection against Fire Augmented Weaponry. - Frost Protection Mod: It gives the Armor the protection against Frost Augmented Weaponry. - Electric Protection Mod: It gives the Armor the protection against Electric Augmented Weaponry. - Corrosion Protection Mod: It gives the Armor the protection against Corrosion Augmented Weaponry. - Energy Regeneration Mod: It increase the regeneration of energy by absorbing the energy from outside the host''s body. - Energy Storage Mod: It increase the energy storage a Armor can have. ////////////////// Tech Abilities: Techs are enhancements that can be equipped into the PIPS to enhance movement and provide new abilities to the user. These Tech can effect the user''s body in a molecular level making it possible to use fantastic powers and break their limits. They use the UE (Units of Energy) stored inside the PIPS to be activated. 1) Dash: A tech that use UE to create a propulsion that move the user forward. Can be used multiple times. 2) Blink Dash: A tech that uses UE to create a propulsion that blink the user forward, possible to pass even through solid barriers. Cannot be used multiple times, it have a cooldown time. 3) Pulse Jump: A tech that uses UE to create a propulsion that move the user upward. Can be used multiple times to reach higher height. 4) Rocket Jump: A tech that uses UE to create a extremely powerful propulsion that move the user upward for less UE than using multiples Pulse Jumps. Cannot be used multiple times, it have a cooldown time. 5) Healing Zone: A tech that uses UE to create a zone that influence the user''s body and the others around to make the body accelerate the natural healing process. Cannot be used multiple times, it have a cooldown time. 6) Phase Attack: A tech that uses UE to allow the user to launch a attack that can bypass almost all type of Armors and solid barriers. Cannot be used multiple times, it have a cooldown time. 7) Telekinesis: A tech that uses UE to allow the user to control objects from distance. Can be used multiple times. 8) Pyrokineses: A tech that uses UE to allow the user to have control over the element of fire. Can be used multiple times. 9) Cryokinesis: A tech that uses UE to allow the user to have control over the element of ice. Can be used multiple times. 10) Stimulant: A tech that uses UE to make the user temporarily enchant the strength, thought speed and senses. Cannot be used multiple times, it has a cooldown time. 11) Rebound: A tech that uses UE to create a forcefield that rebound any type of attack directed toward the user. Cannot be used multiple times, it has a cooldown time. 12) Thorns: A tech that uses UE to create a forcefield capable of hurting anything that touch it. Cannot be used multiple times, it has cooldown time. 13) Singularity: A tech that uses UE to create a small black hole capable of absorbing Energy and Physical projectiles, and even absorb living beings. Cannot be used multiple times, it have a cooldown time. 14) Barrier: A tech that uses UE to create a forcefield around the user that block any type of attack against the user. Cannot be used multiple times, it have a cooldown time. 15) Wrath: A tech that uses UE to make the user break the limitations of his body by greatly enchanting the strength and senses, but it make the user temporarily lose his rationality. 16) Overload: A tech that uses UE to create an electromagnetic pulse capable of disabling electronic devises. Can be used multiple times. 17) Tactical Cloak: A tech that uses UE to create a cloak around the user that enable him to blend with the area around him. Cannot be used multiple times, it has a cooldown time. 18) Gravity Field: A tech that uses UE to allow the user to control the gravity around a specific place for a limited time. Cannot be used multiple times, it has a cooldown time. 19) Predator: A tech that uses UE to allow the user to see the heat of other living beings even through solid barriers. Can be used multiple time. Auxiliary Chapter: Goverments and Organizations ########### 1)Universal Space Corporate Military (USCM): - Headquarter: Planet Earth - Description: A warmongering organization made completely of humans that prioritized the research and production of weapons. They also worked as mercenaries and arm dealers. They were usually in conflicts with the Terrene Protectorate. - Status: Destroyed. They were mysteriously destroyed by ???. ########### 2)Terrene Protectorate: - Headquarter: Planet Earth - Description: A peace seeking organization that had influence in all over the universe. They were a non-profitable organization that travelled through the universe, exploring, protecting the innocent and punishing the evil. They were originally created by humans, but slowly became composed of all the 7 races. - Status: Destroyed. It was destroyed once the Ruin attacked Earth and all the high ranking officers were killed there. ########### 3)Interstellar Police: - Headquarter: ??? - Description: ??? - Status: ??? ########### 4)United Earth Government (UEG): - Headquarter: Planet Earth - Description: After the Humanity Great War and the start of the of the Cosmic Exploration Era nations all united to focus on the same goal, the betterment of mankind. The Cosmic Exploration Era brought to humanity the opportunity to stop the fights over resources and the end of the Era of wars, the Old Earth Era. As nations fell a united government rose at that was the United Earth Government. They focused on the politics in the planets of majority Human presence, while the Terrene Protectorate focused in the other planets and the relationship between humans and the other races.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. - Status: Heavily damaged. After the fall of Earth, the planet ??? became the new central government planet of humanity. ########### 5)Universal Hylotl Government (UHG): - Headquarter: Planet Kuraokami - Description: The government created by the Hylotl after they forced to flee from their home planet when the Florans invaded. The government in currently divided between three factions: Central Ocean Faction, Extremist Reef Faction and Pacifist Sea Faction. Hylotl were originally a very peaceful race, but after the war against the Florans they started to militarize themselves and also began to act more xenophobic. The government is divided between three powers: The Senate, the Courthouse and The Presidential House. The Senate is where the laws are made and proposed, the Presidential House is where the laws and decisions that affect the entire Hylotl races is approved, and the Justice House is where the laws are applied and enforced. - Status: Active ########### 6)Letheia Corporation: - Headquarter: Planet Kuraokami - Description: The biggest corporation of the entire universe that basically control more than 60% of the technologies of the universe. It was created by the Sumeragi family, a Hylotl family, and until this day is basically controlled by Central Ocean Faction members. They have monopoly over the entertainment world, Erchius Crystal mining facilities and the technology to massively mine and smelt ores from high tier planets. They are extremely powerful and is viewed with good eyes by the public. They also are currently a power infighting between the Central Ocean Faction, the Extremist Reef Faction and the Pacifist Sea Faction. - Status: Active. ########### 7)Hyperion Corporation: - Headquarter: ??? - Description: ??? - Status: ??? ########### 8)Nova Rebellion: - Headquarter: ??? - Description: ??? - Status: ??? ########### 9)Ministry of Knowledge (Miniknog): - Headquarter: ??? - Description: ??? - Status: ??? ########### 10)Greenfinger Council: - Headquarter: ??? - Description: ??? - Status: ??? ########### 11)Occasus Cult: - Headquarter: ??? - Description: ??? - Status: ??? ########### 12)Black Star Syndicate (BSS): - Headquarter: ??? - Description: ??? - Status: ??? ########### 13)Holy Kluex Cult: - Headquarter: ??? - Description: ??? - Status: ??? ########### 14)Roundtable Council: - Headquarters: ??? - Description: ??? - Status: ??? ########### 15)Rainbow Rogues: - Headquarter: ??? - Description: ??? - Status: ??? ########### 16)All-Seeing Knights: - Headquarter: ??? - Description: ??? - Status: ??? ########### 17)All-Seeing Crusaders: - Headquarter: ??? - Description: ??? - Status: ??? "Its huge..." (1) The Novakid are a race of interstellar gas-bag people. They have in their heads what scientists call "Brands", a dense metal symbol that is responsible for metabolising fuel and producing a magnetic field, the membrane that defines the shape of the body, keeping their plasma from dispersing. Breaking the "skin" results in plasma leaking/bleed-out, which if left untended leads fuel depletion and inevitably death. They have no known story since none of them were interested in keeping any sort of record. They often use clothes, weapons and armor that resemble those that was used in the Wild West, and they behave like cowboys. Their being is so spread out and out of touch with the affairs of the universe that they are a rare sight. (A/N: There is a more detailed description in the "Races" auxiliary chapter) Or at least they were supposed to be a rare a sight. In front of John there was two Novakids fiercely fighting against each other. Both of them were wearing clothes that resemble those used at the Wild West. Long gaiters, leather vest, leather gun holsters, wool trousers and denim shirts. *Bang, bang, bang...* The revolvers from both of them kept firing at each other and they only stop when it''s time to reload. They are using physical bullets rather than the usual energy bullets. They have been like that for more than 5 minutes. The one that had blue plasma and a cross symbol as his brand was slightly in disadvantage against the one with yellow plasma that had a omega brand. From the intensity of their colors and light John was able to deduct that both them were middle-aged, similar to a 30 years old human. John was hiding behind a rock near the entrance of the tunnel. He was inside a huge dome, artificially made. There was Core Fragments everywhere and they were radiating a light strong enough to illuminate the whole dome that had about 50 meter radius. There was wood pillars, rails and minecarts all around the dome. *Bang* Another gunshot. The bullet just so happen to hit right beside John''s rock. He stayed hidden, waiting until they got tired or they run out of bullets. *Bang, bang, bang, bang...* John looked over and saw that the yellow Novakid was slowly pressuring the blue Novakid. It became a game of catch. The yellow one was persuing the blue one that kept trying to hide and rest a little. *Click, click...* They were out of bullets. John looked over.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Damn... Stop running and fight like a man" The yellow Novakid shouted. "Why would I do that? You are a better shooter than me why risk my life and fight for something as useless as honor" The blue Novakid mocked. "Fuck you. I''m going to-" *Bang* The gunshot echoed in the dome. The bullet hit the place right in the middle of the both Novakids. The two looked at the source of the gunshot and they saw a young black haired human wearing what looked like a blue uniform. In his hands, a complete black pistol that was pointed straight at the yellow Novakid. "Who are y-" "I am the one who will ask questions" John interrupted the yellow Novakid. "Fuc-" *Bang* John fired again. The bullet missed the yellow Novakid''s head by mere millimeters. "Want to speak again? The next one is going for your head" John threatened. John took a glance at the blue Novakid and saw that he was rejoicing by seeing other''s misfortune. He couldn''t quite read their emotions because they don''t have facial expressions. He was able to read a little because of the tone of voice and body expressions. He squinted his eyes and sternly looked at both of them, "One of you killed a middle-aged human male that in the surface, who did it?" "It wasn''t me!" "It wasn''t me!" Both of them answered at the same time The yellow Novakid was instantly enraged, "Of course it was you, Oscar. Stop lying motherfucker" "What!? Stop falsely accusing me, Lenny. There is no doubt it was you" The blue Novakid retorted. [The blue one is Oscar and the yellow is Lenny] John noted their names, [I am a Protector. I must protect the weak and uphold justice when needed. I have to find out the truth] John thought. He reached for the handcuffs in his Inventory. He threw one of them toward Lenny. From his observation earlier he saw that the yellow Novakid was more skillful than the blue one, so John decided to lock the most dangerous looking one first. "What''s this?" Lenny picked up the handcuff. "It''s a handcuff. Put it on" John ordered. "What? No way-" Lenny was about to get angry again when he saw that John was almost pressing the trigger, "Okay, okay. I''ll put them" He discovered how it worked and them he handcuffed himself, "Happy?" "A lot" John indifferently answered. He glanced at Oscar who was gleefully looking at distressed Lenny. John threw the other handcuff toward Oscar, "You too" "What!? Why?" Oscar was confused, [He already locked Lenny why me too?] That was Oscar''s thoughts. "One of you is the murderer. I''m a Protector of the Terrene Protectorate. I must uphold justice. I don''t know which one did it, but the interrogation can be properly made when we leave this mine" "Ha! You thought you would get away, didn''t you?" Now it was the time for Lenny to rejoice over other''s misfortune. Oscar picked up the handcuff from the ground. He hesitated a little, but when he found that John was impatiently looking at him he decided to do it. He was about to put it when... *Roarrrrrrrrrrr* A monstrous roar shook the entire mine. Some debris even fell from ceiling. From the other tunnel that lead deeper into the abandoned mine a figure appeared. "It''s huge..." John muttered while he stared with his eyes wide opened. The creature that had surfaced was at least 3,5 meters high and had a somewhat plump body. It was mostly white, only the arms, that were connected to thehead and not from the torso, that were black. Its dangerous red eyes gleamed with sevageness when it spotted the three intruders. John only recovered from the stun when he heard S.A.I.L''s voice, "That is a Mother Poptop. It has the same appearance of Adult Poptops, but it is a lot more stronger, faster and agressive. They are usually found deeper into caves and mines. Threat Level: 2. I suggest that you retreat" John turned around and was about to retreat when he saw Oscar, who was just in front of him a moment ago, now at the entrance of the return path. Oscar stared at Lenny and John. He gently smiled, "I will be taking my leave. Don''t have too much fun, kids" He took a dynamite and exploded the entrance causing debris to fall and block it. "Get back here!!!" Lenny shouted with all his strength. "Sssssshit" John''s face twisted. He glanced at the Mother Poptop and saw that it was starting to charge toward him. [I''m fucked...] "Its huge..." (2) John rolled to side and dodged the Mother Poptop''s charge. "Woah!" Lenny, who was behind John, clumsy jumped away from the charge. He was still handcuffed so his movements was somewhat awkward since he didn''t had his his hands to offer him balance. *Bang, bang, bang* After he finished rolling, John gave the beast a triple shot. *Roarrrrrrrrrrr!!!!* It was ineffective. The energy bullets only left some charred marks on the Mother Poptop''s body. John''s mouth gaped open, [How the hell I''m going to deal with this... This monster!?] The beast swang its large arms toward John. The claws in the hands almost cut him in half if it wasn''t for him unconsciously evading the attack. He jumped backward to create some distance. But it was to no avail. The monster charged once again and fiercely attacked. The Mother Poptop''s attacks never stopped. John was getting exhausted from all the evasive motions that he had to continuously do. The onslaught was neverending. "Hey!!!" Lenny shouted, "Give me the key for the handcuffs!!" John dodged the creature''s claws once again and took the moment between its attacks to reach for the key in his Inventory and then he threw toward Lenny. Lenny jumped high in the air and caught the key. With a couple of swift movements he opened the handcuffs. He happily smiled. He looked at John who was having difficulty to keep dodging and then took his Tungsten Sniper Rifle from his own Inventory. *Bang* The recoil made the sniper jump a little, but Lenny skillfully returned it to normal and aimed again. The bulled just scratch the side of the creature''s body. *Bang* *Roarrrr!!!* This time the bullet pierced deep into the body of the Mother Poptop. John looked with a surprise face at Lenny. The creature turned around and focused its red, and filled with anger eyes, at Lenny.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. *Bang...* The sniper rifle shot again and this time it pierced the right eye of the creature. *Roarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!* The Poptop started to swing its arms everywhere while slowly retreating. *Cling* The bulled case hit the floor as Lenny prepared to shoot again, "This thing won''t go down easily" He grimly said, "I only have one more bullet!" He shouted to John. John who was almost relieved that the monster was about to die, froze when he heard Lenny, [Fuck...] He cursed in his mind, [What to do, what to do? Think, think] John''s mind raced as he tried to come up with something to help them get out of this predicament. [Right!] He suddenly thought of something, "Lenny! When I throw something at the beast you have to make sure to hit the thing!" John shouted to Lenny. Lenny confusedly looked at John, but he still got ready to fire. He fixed his aim and focused on the scope. John reached for the Inventory, while the beast was occupied wailing in pain, and took a red and oval stone. It was a Core Fragment. He threw the Core Fragment in the direction of the monster and started to run away. Lenny focused at the stone he was seeing through the scope. Time seemed to slow down for him. This usually happen when he was too focused in something. This is what allowed him to became one of the best shooters of the universe. *Bang* The bullet left the muzzle and went directly toward the Core Fragment. *BOOOOOOOOM* The whole mine shook with the explosion that came from the Core Fragment that was hit by the bullet. The explosion sent a huge amount of dust and debris into the air, covering the entire dome in a cloud of dust. John was sent flying since he was very close to the explosion. He hit the wall of the dome and sprayed a mouthful of blood. Lenny left better off. He was 30 meters away from the explosion, so he was only hit by the shockwave. He looked at the cloud of dust in the distance, [Damn, that small thing really can make some damage] He thought. *...roar...* Lenny''s expression changed when he heard the faint roar, [How!? That thing still alive!?] When the dust cloud settled down Lenny was able to see that the Mother Poptop was only alive because of its huge vitality. Almost half of its body was blown away. It was a matter of time for it to die. Lenny walked over John, "Hey are you okay?" Lenny asked the bloodied figure of John. "*Cough* Somehow..." John weakly stood up and started coughing blood. "Well..." Lenny looked at the blocked tunnel, "What do we do now?" "Let rest for a while..." John fell on the ground and closed his eyes. "Alright then..." Lenny shrugged his shoulders. He sat down and started to clean his weapons. John rested for little before he stood up and walked toward the blocked tunnel. He took the Matter Manipulator and pointed at the tunnel. He watched as the light slowly encompassed the entire debris on the way. When it finished John''s face changed. His PIPS sent him the notice that to mine his way out he would need to use almost 3000 UE. That would mean that he would have stay almost 10 days in the dome. If he alternate with using a pickaxe, that are lying everywhere in the floor, and the Matter Manipulator maybe we could get out in about 6 to 7 days. John helplessly stared at the tunnel than proceeded to look at his Inventory. At least he had enough food and water to survive for a month. "How about it?" Lenny approached from behind. "It is possible to open the path, but it is going to take a few days, about 6 to 7" "Damn. That fucker would have already left and being very far from here" Lenny started to curse. "Protector" John heard S.A.I.L''s voice coming from his PIPS, "I''m detecting a radio signal coming from deeper into the mine" "Hm?" John looked at the tunnel that the Mother Poptop had appeared. Oscar and Lenny "Hey, hey! Where are you going?" Lenny asked John as he saw that John walking toward the other tunnel. "I''m going to investigate. My PIPS is receiving some radio signal coming from there" John indifferently answered. "What? Are you mad? Don''t you remember the monster that just came from there?" "Mother Poptops are extremely competitive, agressive and protective creatures. They wouldn''t allow another Mother Poptop, or any type of creature, to make a nest near their own. In other words, the path is cleaned from any possible threat" "Okay, I get it. But wasn''t your job as a Protector, or something like that, to protect the weak, innocent and whatever?" "You? Weak? Innocent?" John amusedly laughed, "You are way better than me, a trained soldier, in using weapons, even in face of danger you are able to stay calm. This are peculiarities earned only by experience, a lot of it" "Well... But aren''t I a suspect of the murder?" Lenny curiously asked. "Not anymore. When I threw the handcuffs you placed them without hesitation, and when I was facing danger you didn''t took the chance to kill me. But Oscar on the other hand, hesitated to put the handcuffs and when danger arrived he left immediately fled, leaving us both behind without hesitation and blew the entrance of tunnel, trapping us here" "Uh. You really observed well..." "Of course. Observation skills is one of the basic one if you want to be a Terrene Protectorate" John proudly said. "Whatever..." John stopped walking and looked at Lenny who was behind him, "Why are you fallowing me?" "I can''t mine all of that alone you know. I didn''t brought enough food to stay here for 7 days" Lenny shrugged his shoulders. "What makes you think I have enough food?" "Because you looked pretty calm when you said that we need to stay here for that long" John facepalmed himself, [Great... now I have a extra mouth to feed] John sighed, [Think positive John. He is a person in need. Right, that''s it! I''m only helping a person in need] "Alright you can tag along"Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. "I would whatever you wanted or not" "Are you always this annoying?" "No... But if I try hard enough it isn''t that difficult" "Just... Just shut up" And like this both John and Lenny walked deeper into the mine. "By the way what is your name?" Lenny asked John. They have stopped their walk and were currently seating around a campfire that John had made. "John Connor..." Answered John while he prepared to put a few bird meat in the blaze. "John, what a generic name. I will call you Connor than" John almost dropped the meat in the fire, "So... What is going on between you and Oscar" John tried to change the conversation topic "That fucker is a son of a bitch..." John was surprised to know that Lenny had come up with more than 100 degenerative words to describe Oscar in less than 2 minutes, "That guy betrayed me. He stabbed me at the back when I least expected" "That was a recent event?" John instantly became interest. "No, it happened 16 years ago. We were both Explorers. We roamed freely in the universe, togheter we explored more than a 100 worlds" Lenny deeply gazed at the burning fire, reminiscing the past, "We were like brothers, but it all suddenly changed when he met a female human called Ferris Laparte. He started to get more agressive, merciless and... cold. I don''t know what she did to him, but it completely changed him..." "..." Lenny continued, "I started to notice his changes, but I thought it would pass with time. I was wrong. It all changed for me in a single night. We were exploring a distant planet, we found what appeared to be a old USCM (Universal Space Corporate Military) facility. Inside there we found what appeared to be a project for a Bioweapon. I didn''t want to have this kind of thing, but all that mattered for Oscar at that point was if that Data Memory was going to please Ferris. I became enraged because of that and tried to destroy the Memory, but Oscar didn''t let me do it. He literally stabbed me at the back, took the Data Memory and fled with our ship, leaving me there, to... die" Lenny reached his hand and took a roasted bird meat, "I escaped the planet through a mysterious portal that lead me to what it called, Challenge Room. I was forced to stay inside there for one year before I found the exit portal. The challenge was a survival one. I had to stay alive while facing the most dangerous adversities and... Ops. Sorry, I deviated from what I was saying. Ahem, continuing, I left the planet, found a city and bought a ship. I spent the last 15 years working as a Bounty Hunter, looking for him and honing my skills. 5 days ago I received a bounty to hunt down a Novakid outlaw that was running rampant at Sector Gamma. I fallowed the trails and I found out that the outlaw was Oscar, and thus it began our game of catch for 3 whole days until I was able to destroy his FTL Drive. He had no choice but land in this planet. I fallowed him here and we began trying to kill each other again. The rest you know about it. He killed the middle-aged man, because he wanted to take his resources, but I arrived almost at the same time, so he had no choice but leave everything behind and keep running until he found this cave" John ate his dinner while he was listening to Lenny''s tale, [So it''s a pretty huge grudge between both of them], John suddenly remembered something, [Ferris Laparte... I know this name, but from where?] "And you?" Lenny interrupted John''s thoughts, "What are doing in this distant planet?" "Ahhh... It''s a long story, well... not really" John then started tell Lenny about his history as well. Since Lenny already told something very personal nothing more fair than doing the same. Side Story (1): Never Invite a Novakid to Tea My dear Itsuki, I write this letter to you from the remains of my camp. It appears that missionary work is more difficult than I anticipated. Despite the training we received, I was woefully underprepared for creatures such as these. The morning began as peacefully as one could expect on an uncivilized planet like this. Nonetheless, it was chosen so that I may spread Hylotl peace to the less fortunate, so I was determined to "rough it." I placed my tea atop a gentle flame and eased myself into my morning meditation as usual. However, I could hardly achieve a state of enlightenment for the cacophony that soon assaulted my ears from beyond a hill! After a calming breath, I set out to investigate. A brief hike to the top of the hill revealed two alien lifeforms, shining like beacons, each with a marking atop their face! A search through my xenobiological handbook revealed these to be Novakid, a primitive gaseous species.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. The two, glowing blue and yellow respectively, whooped and hollered as one strummed a guitar, creating some semblance of music. "What better specimens to enlighten than these creatures?" thought I! I strode down the hill. They seemed wary of me, but I assured them that I meant no harm. I introduced myself in customary fashion, and they returned with their names, the blue one "Oscar," the yellow "Lenny." Lenny extended his hand, and I, assuming it was a customary greeting, reached out in response. The savage shook my hand with a vigour that nearly toppled me, the whole exchange quite uncouth. Determined to civilize these ruffians, I invited them to tea, as tradition dictates. They seemed very excited at the prospect, eagerly following me back to camp. My tea boiled, and as I prepared the proper settings the Novakid perused my camp. There was not a single ornament they were not curious about. Their filthy hands touched all my perfectly-aligned furnishings. They shattered my favourite coral sculpture! Nevertheless, I knew I could enlighten them. Over tea, I spoke about opening their third eye to the world. They seemed to barely pay attention. The tea I served was my finest blend, but after a single sip they dropped my cups, shattering them on the floor! I struggled to remain calm as Oscar removed a jug of some liquid and passed it between himself and Lenny. "Perhaps I could earn their trust by partaking in this cultural tradition," I thought. After a hesitation they allowed me the jug. "Maybe they''re warming up to my teachings after all." Those thoughts faded away after I lifted the jug to my mouth. The drink burned down my throat, and after one sip I fell unconscious. When I awoke, Oscar and Lenny were gone, leaving me in my battered camp nursing a terrible headache. I end this note with a warning for your missionary travels, Itsuki. Never invite a Novakid to tea. Ark Outpost (1) John and Lenny took turns in sleeping. Lenny went to rest first, he had tirelessly hunted Oscar for 5 days, he was already very tired. They rested for 7 hours before John packed up the camp and they resumed their walk. John stopped by a rock and took a water bottle. He drank a little and offered the rest to Lenny. "Nah, I don''t need it." Lenny said, "Novakids only need fuel, oxygen and hydrogen to survive. Anything inflammable can be our food. Of course we will die from explosion if we consume something that liberate far too much energy that we can contain. Our ''brands'' use the inflammable product and the gases to metabolize the fuel that keep us alive." He explained, "Well... At least is how I heard it works. We don''t have patience and neither the curiosity to study complicated subjects, almost everything we know about our own race came from studies of other races." He smiled, "We don''t need water, but we do appreciate a good alcohol" [Basically they are a walking, sentient combustion engine.] John thought to himself. "Hm?" John stopped in his tracks and looked ahead. At the end of tunnel, just a few hundreds of meters away, John was able to see a orange light shining through the opening "Protector" John heard S.A.I.L''s emotionless voice coming from his PIPS, "The radio signal is coming from that opening. You are almost there." The closer they walked toward the light, the hotter the air around them become. When they arrived at the end of the tunnel, John was already sweating, Lenny, on the other hand, was completely unaffected. Inside the Novakid''s electromagnetic field, or ''skin'', their bodies can reach incredible heat, about thousands of degree Celsius. The moment they emerged from the tunnel, they were greeted with a quite a sight. In front of them was a huge open area that had a giant lava pool as floor. The lava casted a bright orange light upon the two people and basked them in a fiery heat.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. "Conner, look over there." Lenny pointed at the small island in the middle of the lava pool. John stared at the island and saw that on top of it there was a building. He looked around and saw a cobblestone bridge that connected the to the island just beside them. "Protector." S.A.I.L started talking, "The radio signal is coming from that structure in the middle of the lava pool." "Let''s take a look" John walked forward. "Alright then." Lenny helplessly fallowed along. John approached and inspected the structure. It was a grey, ancient-looking platform that had two pillars forming a arch on top of the platform, and at the middle was something that looked like a computer on top of a solid cubic table. At the pillars John wasn''t able to read the lenguage that was written, but he identified some figures that were sculptured into it. There was 8 figures, 6 which were carrying something like a sphere. There was the plant-like people, Florans; the fish-like people, Hylotls; the bird-like people, Avians; the ape-like people, Apexes; the robot people, Glitches; and the Humans. Beneath those 6, it was the gas-bag people, Novakids, and another race that John couldn''t identify. Those last two wasn''t carrying a sphere. "Protector." S.A.I.L interrupted John''s inspection, "I have downloaded the message that was being sent via radio signal. Would you like to hear it?" "Yes" The message started, "If you''ve picked up this message, you must be near an Ancient Gateway. Please activate it to come and find me. You can power up the Gate with Core Fragments." The voice seemed to belong to a old woman, "Please come. I urgently require help; the universe depends on it. Use this Ancient Gateway and meet me in the Ark Ruins, just past the Outpost." "Wow!" Lenny exclaimed, "Looks like the universe depends on it, we must hurry then." He sarcastically commented. John ignored Lenny and circled around the computer. He tried to touch the computer''s screen. *Click* *Puff* The moment his finger came to contact with the surprisingly cold screen, a hatch opened in both sides of the cube like table. John crouched and took a look inside the openings. His eyes laid on the 10 oval compartments inside. "There are 10 holes in this side." Lenny was looking at the opening at the opposite side from John. "There are 10 in this side as well." John replied. He took one more glance before he retrieved a Core Fragment from his Inventory. Just as he was about to place the Fragment into the compartment, the hole instantly sucked the Fragment out of John''s hand. The Fragment easily entered the hole and then it began to shine even more brilliantly with a crimson light. John filled the spots on each side, the 20 Core Fragments started to shine more and more brilliantly until the hatches closed automatically. "What the fuc-" Lenny was sucked by a portal that appeared behind them. "Len-" John too, was sucked almost at the same time. Ark Outpost (2) "Urgh..." John groaned in pain. He was sprawled in the cold, gray platform of the Ancient Gateway, but he was already at the other side. "Connor..." Lenny weakly called for John. He tried to get up, but he was too dizzy to do so. "I''m here..." John replied. "Damn... I always hated teleports..." Lenny muttered while helping John stand up. When looked at John''s face he saw that John was staring straight ahead, his eyes, wide open. Lenny looked as well and gasped in shock. "What... Is... That?" In front of them was a extremely giant metal building. It glowed with a darkish blue light. The entire building was covered with neon signs of various shops and advertisements for numerous products. From the Gateway, John and Lenny were able to see that in the crowd of people entering and exiting the building there were people from all races. But what made them state in shock was the fact that the building was built using Durasteel. This metal can only be found in planets of Tier 4 and 5. This planets are extremely dangerous and the process to extract the ore and make it a ingot is extremely expensive to do it large quantity. The only ones who could do something like this would be... "Letheia Corporation..." John saw the logo of the Corporation on top of the building. John and Lenny started walking toward the building. "Welcome..." The moment they approached the building they were greeted by a female Hylotl wearing the usual red Letheia Corporation''s uniform, that was standing by the entrance of the building. The Hylotl are a semi-aquatic race with trinocular vision, highly-adaptable genetics and a relatively short lifespan, which over the generations has led them from being a strictly land-based species to one that can live comfortably in aquatic environments, though they still lack the ability to breathe underwater. They have a long and rich history of art, science, and philosophy, with reverence for tradition and meditation. Their culture style very much resemble the Japanese from the Old Earth Era, the era whereas the planet Earth was devided by multiples nations that were constantly in conflict. "Can I have a look at your identification card." The female Hylotl politely asked with friendly smile on her face. "Identification cards?" John asked. "Oh?" The female exclaimed in surprise. "It''s our first time here, we know nothing." John explained. Lenny on the side, merely nodded and kept looking around. "It''s rare for us to have new visitors." The female Hylotl gave slight bow toward them, "If you sirs fallow me, I will bring you to the administration office to have your identification cards made." She signaled to two guards that were by the entrance and they began fallowing the female Hylotl, John and Lenny. John curiously glanced at the security members. They were using full armors with helmet so John wasn''t able to see how they looked, but what caught his eyes were the armors. The armors were made of Durasteel and then painted in red, armors Tier 4. The Assault Rifle in their hands were also made of Durasteel and thus they were of Tier 4 as well.Stolen novel; please report. The Letheia Corporation sure was big and powerful, the building, the armors and the weapons of their securities were all made with Durasteel. "So... What''s up with this place?" Lenny couldn''t hold anymore and asked the female Hylotl. "This building was built by the Letheia Corporation a few dozens of years ago." She started to slowly explain, "This Dimension is detached from our Universe. The only way to enter here is by what we call Ancient Gateways. We don''t know the origin of this Gates or the origin of this place, but there is a person that might know. The researcher that lives in the Ark Ruins just past the Outpost. Well... Anyway this place became a hub for Explorers, Mercenaries and businessman since you can easily reach here from any Ancient Gateway in the Universe. Here you can find all types of services and products from any place across the Universe." She stopped and pointed toward a few shops, "Look at those, Terramart, 2-Stop Teleshop, Infinity Express, Frogg Furnishing, etc. Various shops belonging to various people from all the races. Those are just the shops that have the license to sell their product here. At the back and under this complex you can find more and strange products from unlicensed shops, but they aren''t as reliable as the ones you find in this complex." John looked around amazed by the sight. Neon signs and huge holographic screens playing advertisements everywhere. Crowds of people walking by and curiously staring at John and Lenny from time to time. There was more than 4 hundred people inside the Shopping Complex. It was a rare sight to see Florans and Hylotl friendly talking to each other despite their bloody past. There was even a few Novakids walking by. "The Shopping Complex have 4 floors whereas only the 3 first ones are only for shops" She said, "The fourth one is where the administration office is located, that''s our destination." They got into a elevator and went to the fourth floor. "Hello, Itsuki" When they entered at the administration office the middle-aged Hylotl at the reception greeted the female Hylotl. "Hello, Tepei" Itsuki greeted back. "What we got here? Troublemakers?" The middle-aged man, Tepei, glanced at John and Lenny. "No sir, they are newcomers." Itsuki calmly explained. "Oh? That''s quite rare." Tepei was also surprised to see newcomers, he stood up and welcomed them, "Welcome to Ark Outpost, gentlemans." Then he continued and introduced himself, "I''m the Administrator of this Outpost, you can call me Tepei." "Nice to meet you, Administrator Tepei, I''m John Connor." John politely introduced himself. "I''m Lenny. Just Lenny" Lenny fallowed John and casually introduced himself. John facepalmed, [We meeting a Hylotl, they are a extremely polite and tradition based race. To act this rude in front of them, you are making yourself look stupid.] "Hm?" John looked at Itsuki and Tepei. They didn''t reacted like he expected. "Surprised?" Tepei saw the confusion in John''s face and chuckled, "He he he... We usually have some Novakids coming and going from time to time, we are already used to their peculiar... Behavior." "Oh..." John nodded in understanding. Tepei made a few hand signals and then Itsuki and the guards retreated from the building, "Good, now that we had a small talk let''s get back to business." Tepei sat up and turned on his computer, "You are here because you need identification card, right?" "Yes" John nodded. "Alright let''s get it done then." Tepei tapped at his touchscreen keyboard, "I''m going to make some simple questions and then you answer, are you okay with that?" Both John and Lenny nodded in agreement. "What is your full name?" Tepei started asking. "John Connor" John answered. "Lenny" Lenny answered as he lazily sat on the reception''s sofa. He realized that John and Tepei were looking at him, "What? It really is Lenny, just Lenny, okay?" "How old are you?" "I''m 18 years old" "I''m 43 years old" Lenny answered. "What is your occupation?" "I''m a... Protector" John hesitated for a moment, but still answered. "Oh? Tepei took his eyes off the screen and glanced at John, his eyes gleamed with a mysterious light, "That''s why I thought I had seen this uniform before." John was still wearing his blue Protector uniform so it was easy to identify him as a Protector. "I''m a bounty Hunter" Lenny answered. ... After a few more questions they finally ended the process. "Okay, now these are your identification cards." Tepei gave to John and Lenny a red card. The card had a photo and some information about both of them. "We welcome our two new visitors." Tepei gave a slight bow toward them. "Thanks" John returned the bow. Lenny was lazily seating on the sofa dozing off. John kicked Lenny''s feet, waking him up, "We will be taking our leave then." John left the building with the complaining Lenny. Tepei stood by the door staring at the two for a moment before he went back to the office. The Ruin and The Cultivator When Tepei entered the office again he took his PIPS and made a call, "Another Protector appeared here." He said in the phone, "Shall we use him?" "..." "Okay, I understand. I will keep him under surveillance." Tepei disconnected from the call and called a guard in, "Keep him under a tight watch." He gave the order. The guard saluted and left the office. "Hum..." Tepei thoughtfully scratched his chin, "Looks like the higher ups are still acting cautiously." "It''s no wonder." Itsuki entered the office, "You can never underestimate a Protector, principally a human one." "Heh" He snorted, "The Terrene Protectorate is gone. Protectors are just like stray dogs now." Itsuki sighed and shook her head, [You can always underestimate someone, but a Protector you should always adopt a careful approach] She thought to herself, [The time for chaos is here, great changes will happen in this universe.] ... John and Lenny left the Shopping Complex and walked toward the Ark Ruins. "I don''t like that man, he give me some bad vibes" Lenny commented with a rare serious expression. "So you felt it too..." John felt as well, the fake smile and those eyes that were looking down on both of them, "You really have some keen senses." "I''m a sharpshooter, I need to have keen senses." Lenny said, "All my ten plus years working as a bounty hunter allowed to see all kinds of people. I can tell for certain that guy, Tepei, is the type that hide daggers in his smiles." "..." "Well... However. You go meet that person that called you here, I''m going to take a look around." Lenny went his way, leaving John behind. John walked through the Ark Ruins. Everything around the Ark Ruins was made of the same gray material that the Ancient Gateway was made of. At some places there was some neon drawings showcasing the six races carrying the sphere, a singular person overseeing those six races and this same person fighting a entity that was covered in tentacles. John stopped and looked at that last drawing. His memories of the attack in Earth resurfaced. He unconsciously tightened his fists. "Hello, dear!" John heard a voice behind him.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. He turned around and saw a somewhat old woman with a short gray hair sitting in a Hoverchair. The woman was wearing glasses and a classic Old Earth Era beige explorer clothes. "Oh my. So you are a Protector." The moment he turned around, the old woman was able to see the Terrene Protectorate insignia in his blue uniform, "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Esther Bright, retired Grand Protector." "Wha-wha-what?" John quivered when he heard the woman''s name. He took a closer look and he he confirmed that indeed she was Esther, he had seen a portrait of her in the Protectorate''s Hall, "Ma''am!" He hastily saluted. The woman chuckled at the sight of the trembling John, "No need to act this cordial, I left the Terrene Protectorate years ago. I am no longer the Grand Protector." "But..." John hesitated. "It''s okay, now I''m just Esther Bright an researcher." "Alright... But may I make a sensitive question?" "Oh? Go ahead, I will try to answer if possible." "Why did you left?" That was the question that a lot of Protectors had in mind. Their previous Grand Protector suddenly renounced and mysteriously disappeared. A lot people started to spread conspiracy theories around. "Well... It''s quite simple." She gently smiled, "When I was still the Grand Protector I started to research about a certain subject, but my spare time was too like so I decided to leave and spend more time researching." "This is all...?" John was shocked, [She left because she wanted to spend more time in her hobby, like... Seriously?] "Oh dear, you might not know, but I discovered things long forgotten that weigh heavy on the present." Esther explained, "Long ago there was a force known as the Cultivator, it maintained balance in the universe. Under its influence, harmony reigned. So it was for aeons. But this tranquility proved finite. A being arose, one of hate and destruction. It was the Ruin. The Ruin could not abide life in any form, and reaped destruction upon the universe. It fought to blot out all life, and would have succeeded, but for the sacrifice of the Cultivator. This Cultivator rose against the Ruin, and succeeded in sealing it away. But in doing so, the Cultivator exhausted its power completely. Before its last energies dissipated, the Cultivator gifted six chosen races with precious artifacts. Those six artifacts, when united, form a key that opens the gate to the Ruin." She stared at John with a very serious face, "The defenses are crumbling. We must unite the artifacts, reach the Ruin, and truly destroy it." "..." John was trying to organize his chaotic thoughts. She gently smiled, "That''s a lot to take in, dear, and a huge request to make of you... But I would like your help. The artifacts are scattered across the stars, I can''t find them alone. We must find them and eradicate the Ruin, before other planets go the way of Earth." "... Alright, I will do it" John said resolutely, [This is the job of the Terrene Protectorate. To protect the weak and uphold justice. I must protect this universe and punish the Ruin. Of course I must do it because a retired Grand Protector is also requesting my help. What a honor!] John was overjoyed. He had a purpose, and now he had a way to revive the Terrene Protectorate if he work togheter with Esther Bright, but... "My spaceship is almost completely broken..." John ashamedly said. "Oh, dear. That''s not a problem at all." Esther reassured John, "I have a friend here in Ark Outpost who can fix your ship. He goes by the name Penguin Pete, he stays by his Shipyard Shop at the back of the Shopping Complex. Go see him and say that was I who sent you, he will treat you a little better this way." John saluted once more and left to find the so called Penguin Pete. The Erchius Mining Facility Incident (1) John walked around and soon found the Shipyard Shop. It was difficult to not see from far away. There was all kind of ship wreckage around the shop, some old Hoverbikes and a lot of Penguins walking around, carrying stuff from here to there, dismantling some of those wreckage. The Penguins of the space are just like the ones in Earth, but just in appearance, little birds with a mixture of black and white color. In the space, the penguins you find around all have high intelligence, but they are generally regarded as troublemakers of dubious moral standing, selling their services as mercenaries, mechanics, and merchants on the black market. John looked around and saw a familiar face. Lenny was taking with a middle-aged human man. The man had a orange full beard and short hair. He was wearing a eye patch in his left eye, a black leather jacket and jeans. He had a artificial metal right leg. His face had what could be said as a mean look, that of a person with almost no friends. He gives a dangerous vibe to those around him, his right eye was sharp and gleamed with a mysterious light from time to time. "Watch yer doing? Gonna buy or not?" The bearded man impatiently asked Lenny. His voice was dry and somewhat loud. "Can''t you give me some discount ?" Lenny started to shamelessly pleaded. "No!" The man decisively said. "Ahhhhhh... Come on. 10 million pixels for that trashy spaceship, really?" "Yes, buy it or get out of here!" The man shouted. "Hey Lenny, having fun?" John approached from behind, "You must be Penguin Pete, right?" "Yer talkin'' with him." The bearded man responded. "I want to hire your services. I need my ship to be fixed" John said. John placed a Data Chip inside his PIPS and then he gave it to Pete, "This is a resume of the situation of my ship, take a look." Pete retrieved the chip and placed it in his own PIPS, "A Sparrow class corvette, heh..." With a single glance Pete identified the model of the ship.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Spaceship can be divided in 5 classes or types, the most basic one the Sparrow, then there are the Kestrel, Falcon, Eagle, and the most advanced Condor. The ships are divided by their sizes and the amount of their crew. The Sparrow class is the most basic one. They have the basic 5 rooms and can accommodate at their maximum 5 members, including the captain, depending on which intention they were built for. John''s ship was built for Exploration and to arrest criminals, that''s why there is only one room for crew member, the Captain''s Quarters, but it has 3 prison cells. A normal Sparrow class doesn''t have a Crafting Room and neither a Prison Bay. Those two rooms would have been built to accommodate 4 crew members, 2 in each room, if it was a normal Sparrow Class. The Kestrel class is slightly more advanced, they are bigger and can accommodate 9 people, including the captain. They have 8 rooms that vary depending on what the ship was built to do. The Falcon class has 10 rooms and can accommodate up to 13 people. The Eagle class has 12 rooms and can accommodate up to 17 people. And the Condor class has 14 rooms and can accommodate up to 21 people. The spaceships usually aren''t bigger than a Condor class, because if it is bigger, the FTL Warp Drive won''t be able to transport such big and heavy ship through warps. That''s why about 90% of the ships in the universe belong to one of those classes. ... Pete scrolled down at the resume of the situation of the ship, "Damn, yer ship is in a pretty bad situation." He started to calculate how much would cost to fix such damages, "It''s possible to fix it. It will cost yer about 500 hundred thousand pixels." "..." John looked at his PIPS and saw the miserable number of 2 thousand pixels in it, "Can''t you give me discount?" "Impossible" Pete said without hesitation. John glanced at the smirking Lenny at his side and annoyingly asked, "Do you have some pixels?" "Nope, most of my money is stored inside the vault in my ship." He sighed and helplessly said to Pete, "I came here because Esther asked..." "Esther!?" Pete jumped high and almost fell down, "I-I''m sorry, lad, I didn''t know. I-I-I''ll fix yer ship with no problem." He fearfully said. [What''s up with that sudden change?] John confused, but elated at the same time, [Using Esther''s name really worked, but why is him so fearful of her?] "But-but there''s a small problem..." Pete hesitated a little, but still spoke. "What is it?" "You see... Yer ship''s FTL Warp Drive engine is heavily damaged and there''s no way to fix it. Yer are goin'' to need a new one." "Okay, then what''s the problem? "I''m out of Erchius Crystal. It was supposed to arrive about 20 of them two weeks ago, but till this day I heard nothin'' about my shipment." "Where I can find it? It will probably be faster if go personally." "Well...*Ahem* there''s just tiny little problem. The cargo is supposed to be smuggled from a Letheia''s Mining Facility in the Lunar Base 12" Pete awkwardly said. John''s face twitched a little, [This guy really has balls. To think that he would be smuggling goods from the Letheia Corporation.] "Please... Don''t tell Esther about or else I will be finished." Pete started to shamelessly beg John. John could only nod and promise to not do so. But he was curious at the same time, what had Esther did to make Pete fear her so much. The Erchius Mining Facility Incident (2) Lunar Base 12, Letheia''s Erchius Mine Facility 2 weeks ago... "Is the shipment ready?" Clark asked the middle-aged miner. Clark was a Overseer of the Mining Facility. He was a middle-aged man with short black hair and a full beard on his face. His eyes were black and sharp. His job is keep the facility working properly. He was rather payed off very well, but not enough to satisfy his greed. He liked to smuggle some Erchius Crystals from now and then to earn an extra revenue. "No sir, we are still trying to figure out what we''ve just found deep in the mine." The miner said. "That giant crystal?" Clark asked. He had received a message just a few hours ago that they had found a giant Erchius Crystal deep into the mine. Before he was promoted to Overseer, he was the geologist of the facility so he know a lot about Erchius Crystals, but he never saw any type of report about a Crystal with more than 30 meters of height and width. Clark decided that before he reported to Letheia Corporation he should know for certain if it was worthy or not to call the attention of his superiors. "Yes, we are almost done uncovering it from the ground and..." "Sir!" A young miner entered the Overseer''s office. He was sweating all over and gasping for breath, it was obvious that he came running all the way toward the office, "We have finished digging the crystal. The supervisor is just waiting for you." "Good! I was getting tired of waiting." Clark was about to take the elevator to the deep mine when he turned around and said to the middle-aged miner, "Get the shipment ready. I don''t want to hear that bastard, Penguin Pete, screaming at my ears again because I delayed the cargo." "Alright..." The miner turned around, but warned his Overseer, "Be careful. When dealing with the unknown you have to think through." "Alright, alright" Clark dismissed the overly cautious middle-aged miner. He entered the elevator and fallowed the young miner down deeper into the mine. Clark was able to see, all around him, the faint purple glow coming from the Erchius Crystals that had yet to be extracted.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. They stayed at the elevator for 5 minutes before they had hit the bottom of the mine. Clark walked toward the mining site and the first sight that greeted him was of a giant crystal suspended in the air by cables made of Titanium. The crystal was enormous and was able to generate a bright purple light, different from the small crystals that emit just a faint glow. Just as he approached, the crystal started to tremble and hum. "What''s happening?" Clark grabbed the nearest handrail as his body swayed with the trembling cavern. "Sir... Look..." A miner pointed his finger at the crystal. "What... Is... That..." Clark saw it. The Erchius Crystal suddenly broke free from the Titanium cables and started to float on its own, "Is it... Sentient?" Clark fearfully muttered. The nine hundred miners that were all on the same place started to frantically run away from the crystal. "What are doing!?" Clark bellowed to the miners, "Fire the mining laser cannon!" Clark started to give orders as the humming sound coming from the crystal started to get louder and louder. A giant machine was brought brought to the tunnel. Its long and menacing long pipe pointed at the crystal. Soon enough, the pipe started to glow with a bright blue light. The cannon had started to charge up. "Fire!!!" The cannon roared with Clark''s order. *BOOOOOOOOM!!!* Shards of Erchius Crystal was sent everywhere once the laser beam hit the crystal, some of those even hit some miners on the eye, blinding them. *Shriek* The crystal started to loudly shriek. It was alive. That was the thoughts of most of the miners in the cavern. Once they looked again at the crystal to see if the cannon had damaged the monster or not they became stupefied with the sight in front of them. The cannon had hit right in the middle of the giant crystal, creating a huge hole in the crystal''s surface. But was made the miners stared unblinkingly was something else. "What... On Earth... Is that...?" Clark''s lips trembled as his body grew weak. From the hole that the mining cannon had made, it uncovered a single, unblinking eye within. The eye stared menacingly at the miners that were all around the cavern. The eye started to glow with a bright purple glow. "Shit..." Clark turned around and ran toward the elevator. When he saw that purple glow, he suddenly felt a foreboding that if he stayed there he will die on no time. *ZUMMM* A purple beam was fired from the eyeball within the crystal. The streams of searing plasma started to destroy everything in the cavern while the miners that were close to the crystal were drawn by an invisible force toward the crystal and in no time they began to mutate into a pink, strange looking monster that started to attack other miners and transform those in mutants as well. Chaos broke out as the miners desperately tried to reach for the elevators to get out of the cavern. Clark was already pretty high up in the elevator, but he was still able to see everything happening beneath him. He stared in horror as he saw more and more people become those horrendous pink mutants that attacked and ripped apart other humans with no hesitation. The Erchius Mining Facility Incident (3) When the elevator stopped. Clark bolted out of it and dashed straight toward his office. He didn''t bother to explain to those he saw on the way, why the whole moon was trembling and what was that screaming sounds coming from deep into the mine. He opened the door and reached for his computer. He took a cable from under the table and connected it into his PIPS, this would allow him to have a direct connection with the Letheia HQ. "Hello, may I help you" Clark saw a holographic female Hylotl figure appearing in his PIPS. "It''s a emergency! I need to speak with Ferris Laparte!" Clark was sweating and anxiously said. He glanced at the screens that were showing the images captured by the cameras in the elevators. Watching them he saw that there were a lot of mutants catching a ride in the elevators coming toward the surface of the moon. [This is bad...] He knew that if those things arrive they would kill everyone. "Just a moment sir, your call will be redirected..." The Hylotl bowed and disappeared form the screen. While he waited, Clark searched in his computer keyboard for a specific key. [Found you...] He pressed the yellow key. "Emergency shut down of the elevators." Clark heard the emotionless voice of the warning system saying. [This will probably stop them for a while] He thought. "Hello, Ferris speaking." Clark heard a flirty woman voice coming from his PIPS. Clark looked at the screen and saw the charming holographic figure of Ferris. She was in her thirties, but she looked like she was still in her mid twenties. She had a long and sliky blonde hair, enchanting blue eyes, and a beautiful and charming smile. Her figure was about 1.80 meters tall, she had a slim waist and voluminous breasts. Ferris Laparte was the most beautiful middle-aged woman Clark has ever seen, but he didn''t had time to appreciate her beauty right now. "An incident had happened here, in Lunar Base 12..." Clark than proceeded to hastily explain what happened, "I want to know what I have to do now..." Clark was anxious. He glanced at the camera screens and his jaw almost dropped. He saw that those pink mutants started to use their slimy hands to climb the wall. Even though it might take longer for them to reach the surface, the mere fact that they were still coming scared the soul out of Clark''s body. "Oh?" Ferris just slightly exclaimed, not surprised at all, "Okay, wait a moment I will call my superior about the procedures that you have to fallow, wait a moment." She disappeared from the screen without even changing expression, in her face, she was still casually smiling. "Wait!!" The call was turned off. Clark tried to call again, but he received the fallowing message, "This is the Letheia automatic call response. The Letheia Corporation is aware of your situation. Outgoing communications from ''Lunar Base 12'' have now been shut down. We hope you have a nice day."Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. "What the fuck!!" Clark screamed with his eyes wide open, but the series of unfortunate events had yet to end. Soon enough he received a message in his PIPS, "The Lunar Base 12 has been put into full lockdown in accordance with procedure Alpha1a: Awakening. All ships coming and going from the Lunar Base has been redirected from their routes. All ships that were in the docks have been launched into the space. An erchius lifeform has been awakened in your facility. We ask that employees remain calm. Letters will be sent to your families, thanking them for your services. We hope you have a nice day, The Letheia Corporation." This message had been sent to all the miners. The miners confusedly looked at the messages. They weren''t aware of the danger that was heading toward them at this very moment. Clark slumped in his chair and blankly stared at the ceiling, [It''s over... They abandoned us here.] Soon he started to hear screams and gunshots coming from the distance. He looked at the screens and saw that those mutants had already climbed all the way toward the surface and were in the middle of a fight with the miners and securities of the facility. The mutants started to launch some pink and slimy liquid at the securities. The liquids started to corrode the Tungsten armors of the guards. They had no chance to fight back as they slowly became a puddle of melted flesh and blood. ... Somewhere else in the Lunar Base 12 The middle-aged miner that was supposed to send Penguin Pete''s shipment was relaxedly sitting on a room far away from the chaos. The middle-aged man had a normal looking face and build. He had a short brown hair and a pair of brown eyes as well. His name was Mouro. He worked in the Lunar Base 12 for almost 5 years. But he wasn''t just a miner, he had another very important job... Mouro looked at his vibrating PIPS and saw that Letheia''s HQ number was calling him, he picked it up, "Hello?" "Agent 067?" Ferris'' holographic image appeared on Tom''s PIPS. "Yes, it is me" Mouro casually answered. "Good! I have a mission for you. Initiate procedure 347." "Alright ma''am" Mouro saluted and turned off the call. [Procedure 347... So... That giant crystal was really a Erchius Horror... This people here really have some bad luck.] Mouro mused himself. He reached for his guns in his inventory. He took a generic Tungsten Pistol and Sniper Rifle. Procedure 347: Sarcophagus. His mission is to make sure that no one was able to leave the facility alive. He must make sure to silence all the witness. "Hm?" He looked outside. He saw a Eagle class generic ship landing on the Lunar Base. Mouro reached for his sniper rifle and took aim. He watched as the door opened and 9 people wearing full purple robes left the ship in a skillful and organized way. Mouro gasped in surprise and decided to not fire his weapon. He dialed Ferris'' number in his PiPS. "What is it?" She annoyingly asked. "I have a problem here..." He showed the scene he had just watched, "I don''t know how they look like or what is it the Tier of their Armors, but I know for sure that their weapons are of Tier 4, made of Durasteel." "Who are them?" Ferris also didn''t recognized the purple-robed people, but hey have access to heavy weaponry, that mean they had money, "The Syndicate? No, they wouldn''t dare to cause trouble in Letheia''s territory." "Ma''am, look" Mouro shook Ferris away from her thoughts. She looked over and saw that the purple mans were carrying someone out of the Lunar Base. She enlarged the screen and saw that they had took Clark, the Overseer of the facility, [What they want with him?] "Mouro, continue carrying the procedure 347, I will talk with my superiors about this." She watched as they boarded the ship and swiftly left. "Alright..." He rested his Sniper on shoulder and sat down. He just had to make sure no one leave the moon alive. He stayed in his advantage point looking at the miners struggling to survive against the mutants, or how the Letheia Corporation call them, Moontants. The Erchius Mining Facility Incident (4) Ark Outpost Present day... "Give me the coordinates of the Lunar Base I will use my teleporter to there." John said to Pete. "Alright, but it''s better for yer to use the teleporter of the Shopping Complex. While yer go there retrieve my shipment I''ll start fixing the ship." Pete said while he was commanding his Penguins to gather up materials. "Okay..." John agreed. Pete placed a Data Chip in his PIPS and uploaded the coordinates inside it, he took it out and gave it to John, "The coordinates is inside. Go to the 2-Stop Teleshop, the teleporter is there, yer just need to pay a small fee. When you arrive at the Lunar Base search for a guy named Clark. He is the Overseer of the facility, pretty easy to find him." John took the Data Chip and was about to leave with Lenny when Pete called him out, "Lad!" Pete took a box from his inventory and gave it John, "This is just a armor and weapons from my ol'' times. It is nothing much, just a Tier 1, but is still better than the standard Protector uniform and pistol." John took a look inside the box and saw the glimmer of the metal armor, "Thanks, but it is better for me to use the uniform. I am a Protector I must use it all the time." "Well there is nothin'' I can do about it then." Pete shrugged his shoulders, but still decided to advise John, "I will warn yer, be careful when usin'' the uniform, there a lot of people who hated the Protectors, but refrained from takin'' action because they were afraid of the Terrene Protectorate. Now, however, they will never let go the opportunity to kill a Protector." John appreciated the concern and thanked Penguin Pete for the armor and weapons. "He gave me nothing..." Lenny sadly commented. "Because you are annoying." John immediately retorted. "Whatever... Let''s get this done with. The sooner we fix your ship, the sooner we can find Oscar." "Who said I was going to help you in your vendetta?" John stared straight at Lenny. "If you don''t help me, I''m going to stay by your side all the time." Lenny slyly smiled, "It''s not like I have money to buy a new ship." "Oh... God..." John gave up and went to find a hotel. They needed to rest and prepare to go to Lunar Base 12. They delayed the shipment for a whole 2 weeks and all the communication with the base were dead, something must have happened, better to stay prepared. Outside of the Shopping Complex, just at its right side, there was a small luxurious building. The sign at the top was written with the words "Royal Hotel". John entered the building and he saw that it was indeed beautifully made. The inside was all made of marble and there was painting of all kinds of landscape at the walls, and skillfully sculpted statues as pillars. John looked a little closer and saw that the statues weren''t representing humans, but instead what looked like a robot.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. "Happy. Welcome customers." John and Lenny were greeted by a robotic male voice. John looked at the reception and saw that it was a Glitch that was the receptionist. Despite being incredibly advanced robots, Glitch society is quite literally medieval. Built by an unknown race eons ago to simulate organic life and society, something went wrong and the Glitch got caught in an unending loop where they would not advance past the "stone castles and agrarian villages" stage. The Glitch themselves look like something constructed in the dark ages, their simplistic exteriors belying the stunningly enhanced programming that keeps them running. They also have a very simplistic kind of speech, they first say how they are feeling at the moment and then proceed to properly speak. It was no different for the Glitch in front of John. He had a black colored frame and simplistic looks for a robot. "Hello." John greeted the Glitch, "I would like the most basic room you have, for just one night." "Glad. The most basic room is 300 pixels for one night." The Glitch cheerfully said. John''s eyes twitched, Lenny who was beside him also gasped when he heard the price. "Alright then..." John helplessly said. He took his PIPS and placed a cable inside it, then he connected the cable at the payment machine that was in the Glitch''s hands. Soon the pixels were transferred, John now has only 1.7 thousand pixels. The Glitch gave John the key and proceeded to bring them to their room. The moment they entered the elevator John was able to see that the hotel wasn''t as simple as it looked. Even though it had only one floor at the top, it had more than 10 floors under the earth. The Glitch pressed the button "U1". The buttons in the elevator went from "F1", floor 1, "R", reception, and then "U1'' to "U10" for underground floors. Soon they arrived and the Glitch gave the key for the room 103 to John. Each floor had about 5 rooms so basically the Hotel had about 50 rooms. John and Lenny entered the room. Inside he was able to see that luckily the room had two separated bedrooms, one for John and the other for Lenny. The room was very simplistic. It had the basics, a bathroom, a small kitchen, a living room and the bedrooms. The whole placed was built using wood and marble. "Good." Lenny was obviously satisfied with the room, he was happily smiling, "I will be sleeping. When the time comes wake me up." He slammed the door of the bedroom shut. John ignored him and sat down at the living room. He took out the box that Penguin Pete gave him and took a more careful look at the items. It was 3 piece set armor. It had the head, chest and leg armor. The head armor has in fact a headset that featured a fancy and useful augmentated glass visor. ----------------------- Name: Scouter''s Visor Type: Tier 1 Heavy Armor Durability: 87% Energy Storage: 100 UE Energy Regeneration: None Special: Visor that gives the host detailed information about what he is seeing. Upgrades: None Additional Description: The most simple Steel Armor given to the foot soldiers of the USCM. ------------------------ Tier 1 Armors are made primarily of Steel. They can offer protection against Tier 1 Weapons and a reasonably protection against Tier 2 Weapons. ... "Hm?" John was surprised after he looked at the description that his PIPS gave him about the head armor, [A USCM armor? Penguin Pete said that this armor is from his old days. That mean he was a member of the notorious USCM? That would explain why he was so afraid of Esther.] He thought. The USCM and the Terrene Protectorate were always at odds. But everything change in a single week, the USCM suddenly disbanded, no one knew with details what happened. The ex-members told everyone that all the higher ups died and that the internal fight for the next leadership had led to the disbandment of the once second biggest human organization. The USCM was at odds with the Terrene Protectorate because they were a group of warmongers that fabricated all types of weapons and sold them to whoever had the money. This led to criminal organizations having the opportunity to get their hands in extremely powerful and militaristic weaponry. After the disbandment of the USCM. Most of their members became outlaws, mercenaries and bounty hunters. ... [Alright let''s take a look at the rest of the armor set.] John started to take out the other two pieces of the armor, starting with the chest armor. The Erchius Mining Facility Incident (5) ---------------------------- Name: Scouter''s Chestguard Type: Tier 1 Heavy Armor Durability: 92% Energy Storage: 300 UE Energy Regeneration: None Special: None Upgrades: None Additional Description: The most simple Steel Armor given to the foot soldiers of the USCM. ------------------------------- John looked at the sleeveless iron plated vest. It was completely made of Steel and was very polished. It only head some damage at the corners of the armor, that''s why the durability wasn''t 100%. John then took out the leg armor. --------------------------- Name: Scouter''s Greaves Type: Tier 1 Heavy Armor Durability: 98% Energy Storage: 100 UE Energy Regeneration: None Upgrades: None Additional Description: The most simple Steel Armor given to the foot soldiers of the USCM. --------------------------- The leg armor was a blue pants togheter with a pair Steel greaves. He looked at the armor and found it pretty good. He hesitated a little, but still made up his mind. He would use it, the armor. To rebuild the Terrene Protectorate he must first stay alive, and the Protector''s standard uniform wasn''t enough to protect him. He looked inside the box and saw that it had two more items. It was the weapons. John took the biggest one. ------------------------------------ Name: Hyperion Energy Sniper Rifle 02 (HESR02)You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Type: Tier 2 Energy Sniper Rifle Durability: 77% Energy Per Shot: 20 UE Fire Rate: 0.5 B/s (Bullet per Second) Augmentation: None Upgrade: None Special Ability: None Special Ability Energy Cost: None Additional Description: A mass fabricated weapon from the Hyperion Corporation, made primarily with Tungsten. -------------------------------------- [Hyperion weaponry?] John stared at the weapon. Hyperion is a mysterious corporation that rose up very fast and was never uncovered who actually own it. There are no evidences pointed at any specific race or person. All that have are clueless employees that work for the Corporation. ... John then took the pistol from the box. ------------------------------ Name: Hyperion Energy Pistol 02 (HEP02) Type: Tier 2 Energy Pistol Durability: 93% Energy Per Shot: 2 UE Fire Rate: 2.0 B/s (Bullet Per Second) Augmentation: None Upgrade: None Special Ability: None Special Ability Energy Cost: None Additional Description: A mass fabricated weapon from the Hyperion Corporation, made primarily with Tungsten. -------------------------------- [Both weapons came from Hyperion Corporation. They are at least more reliable than most weaponry sold around.] John thought. He placed everything back into the box and went to his room to take a rest, they would go to the Lunar Base 12 tomorrow. ... After 6 hours of sleep John awoke. He then woke Lenny up. "Here use this" John gave sniper to Lenny. "Why?" Lenny confusedly asked. "You''re out of bullets for your own weapons, right?" "Oh... That''s right, I had already forgot." John wore the armor. It was a strange feeling sensing the heavy armor rub against his body when he move around. But the feeling of security was better than what he felt when he was using the Terrene Protectorate uniform. Both John and Lenny took the elevator and left the key of the room with Glitch receptionist. They walked toward the Shopping Complex. John looked around the first floor and soon he found the sign of the 2-Stop Teleshop. He entered the building and soon he was able to see, all around him, rooms that had Teleporters. John walked toward the counter. There he saw the owner of the shop. It was a human woman. She had a kind of ''futuristic'' hairstyle whereas her purple short hair was almost all at one side, covering her right eye. She wasn''t very beautiful, but she was indeed charming for a young woman, about 18 to 24 years old. Her slim waist and somewhat big chest gave her a big sex appeal. He skin was slightly tanned and her black eyes were enchanting. "What''s up?" She asked while relaxedly sitting on her hair. She was smoking a cigarette, so when she saw customers entering the shop, she took out the cigarette from her mouth. John wrinkled his brows when he smelled the smoke. He decided to ignore it and proceeded to speak with her, "I want use a teleporter." "The price of the teleporter depend on the distance of where you want to travel, and if you want to use a Retriever to come back." A Retrieve is a simple tracking and teleportation device that allow the user to teleport toward the previous teleporter they used. "I''ll take a Retriever. The coordinates are this one" John gave the woman Penguin Pete''s Data Chip. The woman took the ship and inserted it in her PIPS, "Alright..." She took out the Chip and gave it back to John, "The fee for this coordinates is going to be 100 pixels." "Okay..." John connected his PIPS to the pay device via a cable, almost the same one he used at the Glitch hotel. "Transaction complete. You can use the room 4 just at your right." The woman said. John thanked the woman and took Lenny with him toward the teleporter. They entered the room and he was able to see that the teleporter looked almost the same he had in his ship, just a little bigger. "Alright then..." John connected his PIPS into the teleporter via wireless connection and gave it the coordinates, "Let''s go..." The Erchius Mining Facility Incident (6) After a temporarily blindness, John opened his eyes. He was in a room that was completely colored black and there was a blinking red light at the top of the room. He was able to hear the warning siren echoing through the entire facility. John looked at his side and saw Lenny sprawled in the ground. "Are you okay?" John''s eyebrows lifted when he saw Lenny laid with his face on the ground barely moving. "I''m fine, it''s just... I really hate teleporters..." He tried to get up, but he fell on the ground again. John sighed and helped him up. Lenny thanked him and they soon moved out of the teleporter room. When they reached the hallway they saw that there was barely any type of light source beside the blinking red light, and the sounds they were able to hear were only of the siren and some strange roaring coming from the distance. John looked at his PIPS, "S.A.I.L can you communicate with anyone in this base?" "No." S.A.I.L''s emotionless voice ringed from the PIPS, "There is no radio signal coming and going through this entire facility. But I''m receiving reports off a high concentrated energy coming from the center of the moon." "There are life signals?" John worriedly asked. "Searching... Yes there is... But it isn''t human or from any of the other 6 major races..." "What do you think" John asked Lenny, since he had better senses than him. Lenny closed his eyes and concentrated in his other senses, smell, hearing and tact, "There is something wrong here... I can feel... Death... All around the facility..." "What does feeling ''death'' means" "A lot of lifes were lost here." Lenny looked at the dark corridor in both of their right and left, "The feeling is stronger in the right... I think we should go to the left first to see what''s going on." "Let''s go then." John took the Hyperion pistol and a flashlight from his Inventory. Lenny retrieved the Hyperion sniper and fallowed John as he walked toward the left corridor.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. John stopped and looked at Lenny, "Can''t you turn your shining, bright yellow light a bit lower." Lenny''s entire body was glowing with a light even stronger than John''s flashlight. He was just like a walking beacon screaming "I''M HERE, SHOOT ME" or "I''M HERE, DEVOUR ME". Either way, it was bad for them, since they don''t know what is happening and they need to keep stealthly. "Impossible, that''s how my body, and the body of any other Novakid is." Lenny said in annoyance. "Well... Then-" John suddently stopped speaking and started to look around, "Have you felt it?" John whispered. "Yes..." Lenny readied his gun aiming all around them, "Someone or something is watching us." John spotted a security camera just above them. He took a small debris that was on the ground and threw it on the device. *Bam* The camera broke instantly, and the feeling of being watched, as well. "Someone was on the security office." John commented. "Let''s find out where it is..." Lenny said. ... At the same time, in Ark Outpost... "He is where!?" Tepei asked the guard again. The guard trembled in fear, but still said again, "From the coordinates we got in the 2-Stop Teleshop, he went to the Lunar Base 12..." Tepei sat in chair frowing and tapping his finger in the desk repeatedly, "We have to deal with him now..." Tepei muttered in low voice, "Send a message to the Agent that is there, Agent... Agent..." "Agent 067..." "Yes, Agent 067. Send a message that he must make sure that John and that... Lenny die in that place." "Tepei." Itsuki entered the room, "I don''t think it''s appropriate for you send orders while the higher still hasn''t given their position in this case." "Hmph" Tepei snorted, "They are being overly cautious. Even when the Terrene Protectorate was still active the Letheia Corporation was able to do unethical actions, and decisions of dubious moral. We were always the biggest investor of the Terrene Protectorate, bringing peace to the whole universe isn''t cheap, so they needed to tolerate some of our actions. Now that they are gone there''s no one who can get in the way of the Letheia. I''m doing this to give them a push and let them see the reality that there no more binds in us, we can do whatever we want now." "But still... We shouldn''t drop all the pretenses and started to do this kind of a actions. In just a few days the people would think that we are becoming more and more like the Syndicate" Itsuki worriedly said. "Itsuki... You are still to kind. I don''t know how they have let someone like you to enter the Extremist factions." Tepei shook his head in disappointment, "Send the message..." He said to the guard. The guard saluted and left the office. Itsuki fallowed along and left the the building with her head lowered. Once she was outside, her innocent face disappeared and was replaced with a more serious one. He reached for her PIPS and called a number, "Hello it''s me." "..." "The Extremist''s are starting to take more agressive actions even in a important place such as the Ark Outpost. I suggest we root Tepei out and place a member of our faction here." Itsuki seriously said. "..." "Okay, I understand... I will watch how the Protector deal with this situation. I will be sending you some proofs of corruption from Tepei''s part. When the time comes we must not let a single hole in the plan." "..." "Understood. Have a nice day, sir." She disconnected from the call. She took another glance at the office and left while sweetly smiling. The Erchius Mining Facility Incident (7) Mouro watched as John and Lenny walked toward the Overseer''s office. He turned off the computer and the screens, turned around and left the Overseer''s office. He was almost reaching a good position to ambush John and Lenny when he received a message in his PIPS. He looked at it, "New orders. Make sure, whatever it cost, the Human and the Novakid die." [Well... I was about to do it anyway...] Mouro confusedly looked at his PIPS, [Whatever... I''ll just be more careful.] Mouro retreated to safer distance and decided to watch for now and wait for a opportunity. ... John and Lenny reached the Overseer''s room. It was empty, there was neither Clark or anyone else. John started to roam through through the office, while Lenny stayed by the door. "Shhh..." Lenny tried to silence John, "There''s something there..." Lenny pointed at the end of the corridor. John glanced at there and soon he was able to see a silhouette of a humanoid being. It was about the size of a normal adult human, but what was surprising was the fact that its entire body was covered in some kind of pink slimy material that keep dropping from its body and corroding the floor beneath it. John tried to approach a little more, but the monster soon discovered them. *Growl!* It growled toward them and waved its arm, launching a few drops of the pink, slimy liquid. "Wow" Lenny and John dodged the projectiles. John aimed with his pistol and swiftly fired two times, one at the head the other in the place where was supposed to be the heart. *Fisst* The energy bullet opened holes in the monster''s body, but it only made the thing more angry. *Growl!!!!! The sound that came of from the monster''s mouth reverbered through the claustrophobic hallways, making John''s ears ring and making him dizzy. Lenny on the other, wasn''t that affected, he readied his gun. *Bang* The energy bullet exploded the monster''s head. This time the pink mutant fell on the ground with a thud sound. "What is this thing." John shook his dizziness away.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it "There''s no information about them in the Universal Bestiary Codex." S.A.I.L''s voice came from his PIPS. Lenny approached the creature and tried to touch it. With the touch a very small part of Lenny''s finger was corroded. He immediately retrieved his hand. "I''ve seen them before..." Lenny said. "This things?" "Yep, when I was mining at a moon a long time ago, I found a Mining Facility, similar to this one, but a lot older. Inside the place it was completely swarmed with this things. I didn''t try to approach I just observed from afar. But I found a crashed ship that was somewhat away from the base. Inside the ship I found some recordings and notes. I read them and discovered that the Facility was abandoned because of a monster that was awakened deep inside the moon, they called it, Erchius Horror. This creatures, pink mutants that we see here, they received the name, Moontants." Lenny explained. "Strange... If this things are likely common, why there is nothing on the Universal Bestiary Codex...?" John muttered. "We''ve a problem..." Lenny interrupted John''s thoughts. "What''s it ?" John asked. "Look at your Retriever..." John took from his inventory a item that looked like a remote control. He looked at the screen on top of it. "No signal...?" John looked at the words that appeared there, "But when we have just arrived I checked it and saw that he still had signal." If the Retriever won''t work Lenny and John would be stuck at the Lunar Base. "It''s probably being jammed." Lenny said. "You mean... Someone is doing it?" "Probably... Or might be something else...?" "Erchius... Horror?" "That too. I think is one or the other." John frowned his eyebrows in deep thought. Ever since they teleported to this place John felt like someone was watching them in the dark, and he also felt a foreboding. "We need to keep going..." John said, "We need those Erchius Crystals, but let''s be more careful. We must kill every single Moontan we findt." "Why kill all of them?" Lenny curiously asked. "There might be survivors in this place... We need to provide help, while we can" Lenny helplessly sighed, "This personality of your will probably end up killing you, or worse, killing someone important for you." "There''s no way around." John said resolutely, "I''m a Protector after all." "Alright..." John looked at his PIPS and checked his Energy Storage. His PIPS''s storage togheter with what the armor provided gave John the amount of 800 UE of storage. When he fired the pistol two times he spent 4 UE, but he had already recover about 1.6 of the energy he spent, because his regeneration was about 0.8 UE per minute. "Let''s go. We need to go to the mine, there might be some Erchius Crystals down there." John called out for Lenny. The two of them walked deeper into the Base. They were able to hear some discernible growls ,coming from the Moontants, over the siren sound. They reached a bifurcation on their way. John decide to fallow the path where he was able to hear the most amount of growls. John and Lenny were soon able to see two more Moontants, and before they could get ready, the Moontants saw them and charged toward them. *Bang, Bang, Bang, Bang..." While Lenny spent only one bullet to skillfully explode the head of one of them, John had to spent more than 5 pistol energy bullets to do the same, not counting 1 bullet that he missed. Lenny started to laugh without reservation. "What are you laughing at?" John angrily rolled hos eyes and asked Lenny, "They saw us even before we could get ready because you are simply a walking beacon." "A walking beacon with better shooting skills than you." "Shut up." After they fussed for a while, they moved on. They were moving by a claustrophobic hallway when John saw a opened door in his right. He carefully opened while watching every corner. It was a food storage, but the stands were all empty, there was only empty food boxes and water bottles scattered around the floor. John saw a humanoid figure sitting on ground while resting on the wall. John aimed at it with his flashlight and saw that it was a human body. The Erchius Mining Facility Incident (8) John crouched by the side of the body and inspected it. It was a young man, he was wearing some kind of orange and yellow clothes, and a heavy mining hat with a flashlight attached at the top. In his hands there was only a key looking object and a pistol on the other. John looked a little more and discovered that the young man had killed himself. There was blood on the muzzle of his pistol and there was only one wound that was able to kill in the body, it was at the side of the head. John depressingly sighed. He was able to tell that the miner had killed himself because it started to lack food and water after sometime. John took the body and laid it on the ground. He used his fingers and closed the miner''s eyes. He took the key looking object and the miner''s ID card and left with Lenny. "...What have you taken?" Lenny asked John, trying to initiate a conversation to shook John away from the depressing mood. "Don''t know..." John inspected the object and he soon saw some words written on it, "It appears to be the key to control the Mining Laser Cannon of the facility." John than looked at the ID Card, "We are probably going to need the ID to open some kind of door, or activate the elevator, I think." Both of them continued to walk deeper into the facility until they arrived at a huge and open space in the subterranean, beneath them was the platform where the work elevators were, they just needed to take a stair to go there. The problem was... "How many of those things are there?" John asked in wonder. "Don''t know..." Lenny also looked. The platform beneath was filled with pink monsters slowly and blindly walking around with no apparent purpose. It looked like they were guarding the elevators to prevent people from going down. John walked a little further forward and stopped by the handrail, "I don''t think we can deal with so many of them." "Yep... This Hyperion Sniper here takes 20 UE per second and I have only 1800 UE in my storage." Lenny observed the situation below. In his counts there might be more than 100 Moontants there. "Why do you have so much storage?" John asked. "My Tier 1 Heavy Armor give me about 600 UE. The rest comes from my upgraded PIPS." "Oh..." "So... What do we do?" "From what I can see we have 3 options. Option 1, we go like crazy and bypass all of them and enter the elevator..."This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "Sorry, but I not in the suicidal stuff." "Option 2, one of us stay behind and create a distraction so that the other can go to the elevator..." "Who is going to stay behind?" "The one with the better shooting skills." John seriously said. "Then you stay behind." "Wasn''t you the better one?" "Was I ?" Lenny shamelessly asked. John rolled his eyes, "Option 3, we attract them toward the hallways and wipe them out, slowly, one to three at a time." "Hmm..." Lenny started to think about it. John looked at his inventory and started to rain around searching for something that might be useful. Suddently he felt a killing intent locking on him. "Watch out!" Lenny jumped toward John and both of them fell backwards. *Bang* A gunshot echoed in the open space. It was difficult to hear from where it came. The bullet hit the wall that was behind John, the trajectory was aimed at John''s head. John pushed Lenny back and both of them started to roll around in the ground, dodging the incoming bullets. *Bang, bang, bang...* *Ding* A bullet had hit right at John''s back while he was rolling. Even though he had armor, the bullet was made of metal and not energy, it made a dent in the place where it hit. "Shit!" John jumped backwards and retreated toward the entrance from where they came. Lenny also fallowed along. *GROWL!!!* They soon were able to hear the growl of tens of Moontants that had started to climb and walk up the stairs toward them. "Fuck. Connor, I think we need to go with the Option 3!" Lenny shouted while running toward the entrance. "Let''s go!" They entered the claustrophobic hallway and backed up a little until they were deep enough into the corridor. *Growl!* Hearing growling sounds fastly coming toward them, made John sweat. He reached for his other pistol in his inventory. With one weapon in each hand, he aimed at the entrance. Lenny also readied his sniper. *Growl* Soon enough the first Moontants started to pop out in the entrance. John recklessly pressed the trigger on his both pistol. *Bang, bang, bang, bang...* While he was shooting the huge amount of Moontants that were coming, there was times one or another mutant would survive John''s barrage of fire and approach them. It was in this times that Lenny took the opportunities to fire. Both of them seamlessly cooperated. As they kept their barrage of fire, the pink monsters would climb at their companions'' dead bodies just to get closer at John and Lenny. John and Lenny slowly retreated while keeping their pace in maintaining their barrage, the hallway in front of them was filled with dead bodies belonging to the Moontants, but it didn''t seem to have end, the noise they are making was enough to make the Moontants from all over facility to be attracted to their place. "This isn''t working!" Lenny shouted over the sound of gunshot and the siren. *Bang, bang, bang...* "I think we will need to blow them up!" John shouted. *Bang, bang, bang...* "But the passage will be blocked!" Lenny disapproved. *Bang, bang, bang...* "There must be another way toward there! That sniper that was shooting us might have taken another route!" John shouted. *Bang, bang, bang...* "Alright! Do it then!" John reached for the Core Fragments in his inventory and threw 3 of them in the monster horde. "Fire!" John shouted. Lenny aimed carefully at one of the Core Fragments and pressed the trigger. *BOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!* The whole base shook with the explosion. John and Lenny were thrown hard backwards. They were sent flying for more than 20 meters before they hit a wall. "*Cough, cough* Are you alright?" Lenny asked the bloodied John. "I''m... Fine. Just some scratches..." John weakly responded. Lenny looked at the hallway and saw that it was now blocked with the debris that fell from the hallway, "Now, what?" Lenny asked. "We go back to the Overseer''s office..." John weakly got up, "There must be a map there." "Then... We better get going..." The Erchius Mining Facility Incident (9) Elsewhere in the Erchius Mining Facility... "Damn..." Mouro cursed, "Those guys really have some keen senses and fast reflexes..." Mouro was the one who was shooting John and Lenny. He was at the other side of the opened area, one platform higher than John and Lenny. Even though he had thought of the possibility of them escaping from his shooting, he never thought that his plan B, that was to make the Moontants all go crazy toward them, would also fail. He had heard the gunshots and the explosion at the hallway. He looked at his PIPS and saw that it was still able to detect the life signal of two living beings different from Moontants. [Well... At least they won''t be able to escape from the Lunar Base 12 as long as I stay jamming the signal of their Retriever.] Mouro thought. Mouro looked beneath him and saw some Moontants coming toward him. He took a grappling hook that looked like pistol, and fired it toward the platform that was just above him. Once the hook was sent 20 meters in the air, it stopped going further and fell on the platform. It got stuck and Mouro swiftly pressed the other trigger and soon he started to ascend. "I''ll get them next time..." Mouro muttered while he disappeared into a hallway. ... "Found anything?" Lenny asked. John and Lenny were at the Overseer''s office. Lenny was by door observing the outside, while John was searching for a map inside the office. John turned on the computer, "Luckily we didn''t followed my option 1, the elevators were turned off." John saw at the screen that the elevators were in the emergency mode. He looked at the keyboard and saw the yellow button that Clark had pressed. He clicked it and soon he received the message from the emotionless voice of the base warning that the elevators had been turned on. "Alright... Elevators on. Now... A map..." John silently muttered while searching everywhere in the room, "Found it" John found a Data Chip that had the words ''Lunar Base 12 Building Map''. He placed inside his PIPS and now he had the full map on his disposition. He roamed through the floating holographic screen in front of him, looking for a alternate passage toward the elevators. "Got it." John exclaimed, "There''s another way." "Okay, lead the way." Lenny followed John as they went through tiny corridor and wide spaces until they arrived at the platform that Mouro was previously. "Look." Lenny pointed at the ground, "The bullet cases." "He was here..." John crouched. He was still able to smell the faint odor of burned gunpowder.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. "He might be using some kind of device to know where we are..." Lenny pointed that out. "You mean like a life detector? But what is he detecting? Heat, noise, or he''s using a echo location device?" John tried to think about, "We cannot go down before we deal with this guy before. I don''t want to be shot in the back, again." "I can camouflage my heat and noise..." Lenny said. "Really? How?" "I have a tech in my PIPS that can achieve this kind of result." "Tech...? Oh... You mean those things..." Techs are enhancements that can be equipped into the PIPS to enhance movement and provide new abilities to the user. These Tech can effect the user''s body in a molecular level making it possible to use fantastic powers and break their limits. They use the UE (Units of Energy) stored inside the PIPS to be activated. "Yep. The one I have is called Cold Blood, it can make it appear like I''m not producing any heat to devices like the one that he might be using." Lenny explained. "Alright... You stay here with the sniper, while I go down and act like a bait, good?" "Good." "Get ready." John entered the hallway at their back and went to another passage until he found another platform that was 10 meters beneath the one Lenny was laid, waiting. He went forward and stopped by the handrails. He started to look around, searching and also waiting. ... Mouro looked at the black haired Human through his scope, [Strange... Where is the Novakid...] Mouro glanced at his PIPS and saw that the Novakid had disappeared from his life sensor, [Maybe he died from wounds suffered in the explosion?] He started to search at the other platforms, there was no one. He couldn''t see anybody. [Bait... Or decoy...?] Mouro wondered. "Hm?" Mouro suddently felt something. He rolled to the side. *Bang* The energy bullet created a little charred crater where he was. He stood up and ran toward the edge of his platform and jumped. Beneath him was the abysmal hole that led to deeper into the mine, the jump he made to the other platform that was just at his side, was a jump of almost 10 meters. He swiftly changed the sniper in his hands to the grappling hook and shot it at the Erchius Crystals above him. The hook got stuck at one of the crystals and he skillfully swinged all the way toward the other platform. *Bang, bang, bang...* Multiple shot coming from the energy sniper was following his trail as he swinged and changed his position to dodge the bullets. He retrieved the grappling hook and took out his Tungsten Sniper Rifle. He localized Lenny and started to return the fire. *Bang, bang...* It was at this moment that he realized that he had negligentied John. He took a glance at his life detector and saw that John was swiftly approaching from behind him. He stored his sniper and took out a Tier 2 Tungsten Pistol from his inventory. *Bang, bang...* He fired toward the hallway and jumped to side while preparing to use his grappling hook once again. *Bang* A new shot coming from Lenny, but this time Lenny had aimed for the grappling hook. The energy bulled sent the grappling hook flying out of Mouro''s hands. Mouro turned around and decided to go in for close combat against John so that it could make it hard for Lenny to shoot. He used his pistol in one hand and a knife in the other. The moment John emerged from the entrance he had to immediately take a defensive stance to block the slash coming from Mouro''s knife. Mouro proceeded to use his Pistol to fire at John. *Bang* John dodged in time and the bullet only scratched his arm. John gave a roundabout kick toward Mouro while using his guns to fire at him. *Bang, bang* The pistols'' bullets were dodged by Mouro, but he has hit by the kick and he was thrown a few steps backward. *Bang* Lenny took the chance once John and Mouro were separated to take another shot. *Fisst* The bullet penetrated the place where Mouro''s armor wasn''t covering, the arm. A charred hole was soon present in his arm. *Bang* Mouro groaned in pain, but still was able to take a clean shot at John that still had to take time to recover his position after a roundabout kick. The Erchius Mining Facility Incident (10) The bullet was from a Tier 2 Weapon and John''s armor was of Tier 1. The bullet hit the weak spot of the armor that was located right at the waist. Blood gushed out as the projectile penetrated into John''s body. "Argh!" John groaned in pain. He placed a hand in the wound trying to stop the bleeding and with the another hand he continued to shoot at Mouro. *Bang, Bang, Bang...* Mouro was only able to dodge one bullet the other two hit him right at the middle of the chest, opening a hole in his Tier 1 Armor. Lenny took the opportunity and shot the pistol out of Mouro''s hand. Mouro fell on ground while clutching his wounded hand. "Wait, wait!" Mouro put his hand on the air. "Lenny! Stop shooting!" John shouted at Lenny when he saw that Mouro Jas given up. Lenny on the other hand kept his aim at Mouro. John dropped his guard. He took a handcuff from his inventory and threw toward Mouro, "Put it on..." "Alright..." Mouro ignored his wounds and placed the handcuffs. When John saw that Mouro had truly put them, he approached. The moment he was right in front of Mouro, the agent suddently jumped from the ground, took the knife in ground and charged toward John. *Bang* Mouro was immediately shot at the leg by Lenny. John jumped back and stared in shock and anger at Mouro, "Why would you do that!?" Mouro ignored the pain and ironically said, "What else could it be? I''m just completing my mission." "You..." Mouro took the knife again and sprang toward John once again. *Bang* Lenny shot again, but this Mouro slightly moved his body to the side and dodged the bullet. Mouro''s knife was just about to pierce at John''s head, when John hastily pressed the trigger of his gun. *Bang* The energy bullet flew out of the muzzle and cleanly pierced Mouro''s head and left at the other side.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Mouro''s body continued forward because of the momentum, but the arm that was with the knife dropped and no longer was a threat to John. *Blam* John fell on the ground with Mouro''s body on top of him. John threw the body away from him and hastily stood up. He looked at the body and then at his own hands. He didn''t saw blood, but for him, his hands were now stained. He fearfully closed his eyes. His hands were trembling. He had killed a person. A sentient race. A Human. There is a difference of seeing dead bodies and actually killing someone of his own race. He always felt bad and depressed whenever he saw a dead body, but now... He had killed one person himself. It doesn''t matter if it was a bad person, a assassin, this doesn''t change the fact that he had ended a life. John kept rooted on the ground for a long time. Lenny approached from behind. When he saw the state that John was he realized what was happening. Lenny sighed and placed his hand at John''s shoulders, "Let it go... This was bound to happen, sooner or later. It''s for the best that happened sooner..." "I know..." John weakly said with a trembling voice, "It''s just... Awful..." "Yes... It is... The first time you take a life of a person... It isn''t the best of experiences..." Lenny tried to console John. "Don''t worry about me... In just a few minutes I''ll return to normal... Like I always do..." Lenny sighed and retreated to the side. ... Meanwhile at the Ark Outpost... "Sir... Agent 067... Is dead" A outpost guard informed Tepei, "The life signals we were receiving from his PIPS stopped working." "I don''t care whatever he is alive or dead." Tepei coldly said, "What I want to know is if he completed his mission or not." "We are not sure..." The guard trembled when he heard the coldness in Tepei''s voice, "But... I think he failed... We haven''t received any update coming from him before he died..." "Useless!!!" Tepei angrily berated, "Humans just a bunch of useless creatures!" He stared at the guard and coldly said, "Send Agent 080 to finish the job that 067 had started." "That''s inappropriate." Itsuki entered the office. "What do you mean Itsuki?" Tepei angrily glared at the female Hylotl, "Are you going to disobey my orders!? The orders from a superior!?" "No..." Tepei snorted and turned to the guard, "Then do what I ordered you to do!" "What I mean was... You''re no longer my superior..." "What do you mean...?" Tepei suddently felt a foreboding. "You''re being investigated by corruption and no longer has is the Overseer of the Ark Outpost." Itsuki coldly smiled. "What!? Impossible!!" Tepei stood up. *Bam* The door of the office was opened with great force. 3 guards wearing a armor that was a mixture of purple and bright orange, one of the Hylotl''s Tier 5 armor , entered the office carrying electric batons. "Tepei, you are under arrest by the Hylotl Government." The guard in the middle said. "The Hylotl Special Force (HSF)!?" Tepei fearfully retreated a few steps, "Impossible... They wouldn''t fallow orders from anyone of the Letheia Corporation beside..." "My father..." Itsuki relaxedly said, "Sumeragi Hanzo." "You''re from... the Sumeragi family..." Tepei stared in disbelief at the pale blue female Hylotl in front of him, "The leader of the Central faction... No wonder... He already had set his eyes at the Ark Outpost..." "Yes... Ever since it was found, the Sumeragi family had plans for the Ark Outpost, but who have thought that the Extremist faction would get it first." Sumeragi Itsuki sweetly smiled at Tepei, "I have to thank you. Because of your corruption and recent agressive actions I was able to make the usually illusive Pacifist faction help the Sumeragi to take you down." "You... Witch!" Tepei cursed a little just to have his body being beaten up by the HSF''s soldiers with electric batons. "Have a nice life in prison..." Itsuki gave her goodbye to Tepei. She than looked at the guard, cowardly hiding behind the chair, "I''m the one in charge now..." She sweetly said with a mellow voice, "Just leave the Protector do whatever he want. I have great changes to do in this place." The guard hastily acknowledge Itsuki and ran away from the office. The Erchius Mining Facility Incident (11) "I''m good now." John walked toward Lenny, "Let''s get this done. This place is making me sick." "Then..." Lenny looked at John''s wounds, "I don''t think you can fight in this situation..." John''s whole body was covered in scratches from the previous explosion, two wounds from gun fight with Mouro and a more deep injury in his abdomen. "I''m alright..." John mumbled. "No you''re not. Sit down while I search for a med kit or bandages." Lenny sternly ordered. "Fine..." John grudgingly sat down. Lenny shook his head and started to take out the belongings of Mouro. Tungsten Pistol, Tungsten Sniper Rifle, Steel, a strange object that looked like a cellphone that had a antenna on top of it, Knife and grappling hook. That was the items that were outside of Mouro''s inventory. Lenny separated the items, took Mouro''s PIPS and started look inside the inventory. There was food, water, flashlight, a med kit, bullets and maganizes for the weapons. "Here..." Lenny took the med kit and went toward John, "Take out your Chestguard, let me take a look." "Fuck off, I will do it myself!" John snatched the med kit from Lenny''s hand. "Okay." Lenny just shrugged his shoulders and walked away. John carefully took out his Chestguard. "Urgh..." He silently groaned in pain when the armor passed through his injuries. He opened the med kit and saw the contents, there was some syringes that had a red liquid inside, some natural salves and bandages. The red syringe was in fact Regeneration Induce Liquid or RIL for short. It is a red liquid that once it enter the body it induce the body to prioritize the healing process of injuries rather than any other bodily function. That''s why when people use the liquid they feel weak for 1 to 5 minutes, depending on how bad or quantity of wounds there is. John took the salves, put them in the bandages and started to bandage himself. After he placed the bandages he took the Red RIL Syringe and injected in himself. He lumped weakly by the stone wall. "Say..." John started a conversation while he waited for the Red Syringe to do its job, "How was your... First kill?" "Really?" Lenny glanced at John, "Are you really in the mood for this?" "I don''t know..." John shook his head. Lenny sighed, "It was 20 years ago, when I was 23. I was already a explorer, togheter with... Oscar. But in this particular day I was alone. I was traveling around the planet when I met a human wearing a complete set of purple clothes. He was heavily wounded and I, innocently, decided to help him. He was unconscious, so I carried him back to my and Oscar''s camp. Oscar was away, hunting. I bandaged his injuries and even sewed his purple clothes back. But..."Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Lenny''s face became grim and his fist tightened, "When he woke up, the first thing he did was stare blankly at me. He realized I was a Novakid and started to say things like ''You filthy non-human, you dared to touch me with those foul hands!'' and other frases like ''By the Occasus Cult I must wipe this filthy creature in front of me from the universe'' He reached for the knife that I was using to make food and charged toward me. I tried to reason with him, but it was of no use. He was crazy, a lunatic. He kept saying that he must kill me for the Occasus Cult and that he was blessed by his great leader Asra. I wanted to defend myself so I took my pistol to threaten him, but he still charged toward me, so I unconsciously pressed the trigger... He died with a bullet lodged in his brain." "..." John kept his head lowered while listening to Lenny. "I felt bad, but just for a moment. I convinced myself that I was protecting my own life. It didn''t changed a lot about myself, maybe because I''m a Novakid. I don''t know how humans deal with this kind of situation, or any other race. The only thing that really changed me was that I became more distrustful around strangers." "..." "Well... That''s it..." Lenny looked at John and stood up, "The effect of the Red Syringe must have gone way by now. Take that guy''s stuff and let''s go." John calmly stored Mouro''s stuff in the inventory and walked toward the stairs with Lenny. They steadily wiped out the rest of the Moontants guarding the elevators and search for one that was still working, and in good condition. "This one." Lenny found a service elevator at the utmost right side of the giant hole. John inspected the machine and saw that it was working. He used the young miner''s ID and was able to enter in the elevator. John pressed the lowest floor and they soon began descending. "Will you be able to fight in your situation?" Lenny asked John while he was reloading the Tungsten Sniper Rifle. Lenny preferred normal guns rather than Energy guns. "I should be fine." John moved his limbs around, "The Red Syringe really work fast." "We''ll probably have to face off against what they call Erchius Horror." Lenny said in a somewhat serious tone. "We have this." John showed the key for the Mining Laser Cannon, "You''re faster then me in dodging and you are uninjured, so it would be for the best if you distracted the thing we''ll face while I search for the Cannon." "We don''t even know if we are going to need the connon and neither if it will be effective against the monster." "It''s better to have a plan than having none when facing the unknown." "Okay, okay. We go with your plan first..." Lenny agreed with John''s plan. Soon enough the elevator arrived at the deepest part of the mine. When the door opened a strange Moontant appeared in front of John and Lenny. "That Moontant..." John blankly stared at the monster. "Yep..." Lenny nodded, "It is wearing a armor and wilding a weapon." The Moontant was different from the others because it was bigger, wearing a Steel Tier 1 Armor, belonging to the security of the base, while wielding a giant hammer that was probably used by some kind of machine. *ROAR!!!!* It roared and charged toward them. John and Lenny jumped in different directions. The monster glared at Lenny and swinged the hammer at the Novakid. "Whoa!" Lenny exclaimed and ducked his head. The hammer was only able to take out Lenny''s cowboy hat from his head. *Bang, bang, bang...* John started to fire at the monster, but most of the bullets were only able to make some charred dents in the armor and in the armored mining helmet it was using. Seeing that the energy pistols weren''t working, John decided to switch to the Hyperion Energy Sniper Rifle (HESF02). Lenny gave it back to John after he took the generic Tungsten Sniper Rifle from Mouro''s body. John carefully aimed with the sniper. When John was about to fire, the monster turned around and swang the hammer toward John. John dodged by rolling backward in the ground. *Bang* Lenny took the chance to fire his sniper at close range. *ROARRRRR!* The bullet successfully penetrated the armor and hit the monster on the back. The Moontant turned its head and glared at Lenny with its viciously looking red eyes. "Looks like I successfully made it angrier..." Lenny turned around and ran. *Bang* The Moontant was about to persuit when John also fired his weapon that made a charred hole in the steel armor. The Erchius Mining Facility Incident (12) The monster became confused and tried to decide in which he would try to attack. *Bang, bang, bang...* The momentary confusion allowed Lenny and John to take various shots at the Moontant. *ROARRRRRRRR!!!!!* It gave up and decided to swing the hammer at the one that closest, it was Lenny. *Bam* "Puu..." Lenny was hit by the hammer and was sent flying backward while spraying a mouthful of yellow plasma. "LENNY!" John shouted. He took his sniper and carefully aimed at the Moontant''s head. At this moment it seemed for John like the whole world slowed down. It was a wonderful sensation, like he opened his own world and was in full control of it. *Bang* He pressed the trigger, and he watched as the energy bullet slowly left the muzzle and travelled toward its target. John aimed at a tiny hole in the Moontant''s helmet that Lenny had made. The bullet easily travelled the distance and found its way toward the target. The monster stopped moving for a while after it was hit, and then it fell flat on the ground. John was shaken off from that weird sensation, [What was that?] He asked himself. "Lenny" John searched for the Novakid and found him on the ground, a few meters away from him, "Are you okay?" John concernedly asked. *Cough, cough...* Lenny started to cough some of his yellow plasma, "I''m not fine. But in a few seconds I''ll be." He struggled to get up, but he gave up after a few attempts, he stayed laid on the stone ground, "Can you get my hat, please?" "Here it go." John gave the brown cowboy hat back to Lenny, "Let''s hope that aren''t anymore of this type of Moontant..." John said. "Yeah... I don''t know if I can handle a few more hits." After a momentary rest John approached Lenny, "Are you good now ?" Lenny stood up, "Yeah... Let''s continue." They walked carefully deeper into the mine. But for their surprise there was no more Moontants around the place. "Now... What... The... Fuck... Is that?" Lenny stared at the giant purple crystal floating in the middle of the room in the deepest part of the mine. "I don''t know, but-" John stopped speaking when he saw that the crystal had started moving. The Erchius Horror slowly turned around, reveling the giant eye that was behind the crack from the Mining Laser Cannon. The eye glared at them for a while before it started to glow stronger with a purple light.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. "Shit!" John and Lenny started to run in different directions. *ZUMMM* *ZUMMM* It was of no use. The Erchius Horror divided the laser in two, and the laser streams followed them. John jumped behind a rock and protected himself. He could feel the rock that he was hiding behind was getting more and more hot because of the laser. When the laser beam was over John got out of the hiding and swiftly started to look for the Mining Laser Cannon. Lenny got out of his hiding spot and started to distract the monster. *Bang* He first tried to take a few shots at it, but it didn''t worked as planned, "Force field? Really?" Lenny stared in disbelief at the invisible field around the purple crystal that was able to easily deflect the bullet. *Bang* *Whoosh* With a explosion followed by a sound of laser cutting through the air, a laser stream hit the Erchius Horror that was about to shot a beam at Lenny. *SCREECHH* The Erchius Horror screeched in pain. The sound was loud enough to make John, who was way far from the monster, dizzy. He had found the Mining Laser Cannon, used the key he found with the young miner and fired the cannon. The monster turned its rage filled eye at John. The monster charged another purple beam. John also started to charge Mining Laser Cannon. Both of them finished at the same and they fired. *Bang* *Whoosh* *ZUMMM* *BOOOOOOOOM!!!* The blue beam faced again the purple one. Both of them were kept in balance while the clash was ongoing, but the Erchius Horror started to lose power and slowly the blue beam arrived the opening that the first laser beam made. *SCREEEEEECH* The laser destroyed the eye within the crystal, and the monster started to screech in agony again. *ZUM* *ZUM* *ZUM* *ZUM* Series of unfocused purple laser started to leave from the hole while the crystal started to float everywhere, hitting the walls and making giant pieces of rock fly around. *Bam* *bam* *Bam* John hid behind what appeared to be a Mining Drill. ... Once the screech sounds and collisions stopped, John walked out from his hiding spot. The first thing he saw was the giant crystal that was dropped in the ground. The only difference was that it had lost almost all of its luster. "Lenny!!" John shouted. "I''m here!" John heard Lenny''s voice coming from the other side of the Erchius Horror. John circled around the crystal and found out that Lenny was stuck beneath a giant rock. "Can you give me a hand?" Lenny asked. "Sure." John took out the Matter Manipulator and slowly absorbed the piece of rock, "Done." "Ahhhhhh... Thanks" Lenny moved his limbs trying to see if there was something out of ordinary. He pat his hand around his body and cleaned the dust, "I''m good now." "So..." John looked around and saw that still had a lot of Erchius Crystals in the walls, "Do we have to mine this stuff ourselves?" "Can''t you use the Mining Laser Cannon?" "No... It was damaged by one of the Erchius Horror''s lasers when it went berserk." John helplessly shook his head. "And what about your Matter Manipulator?" "It won''t work. The Erchius Crystal is to hard to mine it. I would need to upgrade it before i can mine it." Lenny looked around and soon spotted the Mining Drill, "How about that?" "We don''t have the key, and even if we had, we don''t know how to operate it." "No. That''s not what I meant. There must have a storage inside the drill, right?" "Yeah! That''s true!" John was elated. He walked toward the giant Mining Drill and opened the back compartment. The moment he opened it, a bright purple glow came from the inside. It was Erchius Crystals. "Here it is..." John took a palm-sized crystal and inspected it, "They look good." "Let''s take them and get out of here." Lenny hurried John. "Okay..." John stored 20 Erchius Crystals and closed the compartment, "We can finally get out of here." "Right... We need to go to the surface. The Retriever can''t get any signal here." Lenny looked at the Retriever. "And what about the jamming?" John and Lenny were already by the elevator. "It was coming from that guy... You... You know." "Oh..." John looked at the inventory and saw the object that looked like a old fashioned cellphone with a antenna, "This thing?" John asked Lenny. "Yes, this is a short range Teleport Signal Jammer. A quite expensive device." Lenny instantly recognized the object, "I wonder... What he meant when he said he was doing his mission." "It doesn''t matter for now. I just want to get out of this place as soon as I can." The Harsh Reality (1) Ark Outpost, 2-Stop Teleshop... "Urgh..." Lenny groaned while trying to get up from the teleporter''s floor, "I really, really hate teleporters." "Stop whining and put yourself togheter." John rolled his eyes. "Well..." Lenny dizzily stood up, "At least I don''t look ridiculous all bandaged up like that." John was still using the bandages covered in salve. "Shut up, and let''s go." "Okie dokie." John and Lenny were about to leave the shop when they heard the owner calling them from behind. "Hey, the human and Novakid! Aren''t you forgetting something?" The woman lifted her eyebrow and stared at them. "Ow, right..." John took the Retriever from his inventory and gave it back, "Here..." "Thanks, have a nice day." John waved goodbye and left the shop. They were greeted with quite a sight. The Shopping Complex seemed more bustling than before. "What happened here?" John asked in wonder, "There is a lot of new people here... At least triple the amount that had before..." "Yeah..." Lenny also surveyed the place. "We go see what happened later, we need to find Pinguin Pete." John and Lenny left the Shopping Complex and walked toward the Shipyard Shop at the back. John was soon able so see the middle-aged man with orange hair in the distance, "Hey, Pete!" "Oh!" Penguin Pete exclaimed in surprise, "What happened to you ?" Pete saw that John was all bandaged up and some of the bandages were colored in red with John''s blood. "The Lunar Base 12 was..." John then explained what happened in the Erchius Mining Facility. "Ohhhhhh... That was quite a fight." Pete commented, "And Clark? Did you saw him?" "No... He... We weren''t able to find him." John said. "That''s fine." Pete waved his hand, "That guy''s luck was always the best. I don''t think he died that easy." "So... My ship?" "Oh... Right... I had finished the fixing of everything. The piece that is left is the FTL engine that needs the Erchius Crystal."This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "Here..." John handed over a box that contained 20 Erchius Crystals. Penguin Pete opened it and glanced at the crystals, "Now this is some good stuff. Look at the glow..." "Can you make the engine now?" John asked. "Yeah." Penguin Pete was snapped away from his fixation over the Erchius Crystals, "It will take one full day to complete." "That''s fine, I can wait." "Yer should look around. There more shops and entertainment businessman at the subterranean of the Shopping Complex." "Okay... Ow, by the way, what''s up with the Ark Outpost? Why are there some many people around here?" John asked what he had been wondering all this while. "That..." Penguin Pete hesitated a little, but still spoke, "The ban had been lifted. Newcomers are welcome now." "They weren''t?" John confusedly asked, "What about me and Lenny?" "It is because yer are a Protector. Remember, weren''t yer wearing the Terrene Protectorate''s blue Protector uniform when yer first arrived here?" "Yes... It''s true..." John remembered that he only changed clothes when he decided to wear Pete''s armor. "Well..." Penguin Pete awkwardly scratched his chin, "I can''t speak about this, but Esther know a lot about it, yer better ask her." "Alright... I''ll go find her..." John turned around and was about to leave when he heard Pete. "Yer better go to the Shopping Complex. Esther left the Ark Ruins a few minutes earlier and went to the Office in the last floor of the Shopping Complex." "Alright, thanks..." John thanked Penguin Pete, and went find Esther. "You go find her." Lenny lazily said, "I''ll go take a look at the unground facilities." He left as soon as finished speaking. John entered the Shopping Complex and took the elevator to the last floor. "Can I help you?" John was greeted by a purple male Hylotl with large three eyes the moment he entered in the Administration Office. "Ah... I''m looking for a old woman with gray hair..." "Oh..." The male Hylotl looked at John, "You''re looking for Esther Bright?" "Yes." John strangely looked at the Hylotl, [They know about her?] "She is talking with the Administrator Itsuki right now, could you wait a few minutes?" The male Hylotl politely said with a professional smile in his face. "Sure..." John agreed, but then he realized something, "Wait... Administrator Itsuki? Wasn''t Tepei the Administrator?" "Well... Tepei was-" "Oh, dear..." The male Hylotl was interrupted by Esther who just left the Administrator''s room, "I thought I had heard your voice, looks like I was correct." She gently smiled. "Hello." John politely greeted her. "Come in, dear. Me and Itsuki want to talk with you." She invited John to enter the John entered the room after Esther. The moment he entered the room he saw the beautiful, pale blue female Hylotl behind the the big Administrator''s table. John didn''t took a careful look at Itsuki before, but now that he did he saw that even for human as himself, he couldn''t help but admit that she was a beauty. Her three crimson eyes locked at John, "Hello again, John Connor." She stood up from the big chair and extended her hand in greeting. "Hello... Administrator Itsuki." John shook her hand. He couldn''t help but feel a ticklish sensation when he touched her scaled hands. "Oh?" Itsuki slightly exclaimed, "You heard about the news already?" "Partially. The secretary told me that you became the Administrator." "Yes, that''s correct." She weakly chuckled, "I''m the Administrator now." "What happened to Tepei?" John curiously asked. "He was arrested." She said with a wide and friendly smile in her face. "Arrested?" John glanced at Itsuki, "Why?" "Because of corruption, and attempt of murder." She calmly said. "Corruption? Murder?" John remembered the bad vibes that Tepei emanated from his body. "Yes. He didn''t payed a lot of taxes of the Universal Hylotl Government and also stole a lot of products from the Letheia Corporation." Then she glanced at John, " As for the attempt of murder... It was against you." "Me?" John was shocked, "But when-" He stopped speaking when he remembered something, [That guy in the Lunar Base!?] "You probably met with someone that tried to kill you when you were at the Lunar Base 12, right?" "Yes." John didn''t tried to lie, since they already know that we was there he couldn''t lie. The Harsh Reality (2) "That man was called Mouro. A famous assassin around the Gamma Sector. He''s usually very expensive to hire. His primary mission wasn''t to kill you, but to kill a man named Clark. Tepei wanted to erase all evidences of his corruption before we were able to get him. That is why he also ordered the lockdown of the Lunar Base 12 and tried to make all the miners there to die. A lot of smuggled Erchius Crystals came from that particular Lunar Base, and Tepei was the one controlling everything from behind the scenes." "Really?" John squinted his eyes and glared at the smiling Itsuki. He didn''t know why, but he felt that she was lying. His senses were telling him that she was lying, and in his training to became a Protector one of the most important things he learned was to trust in his instincts and senses. "Yes." Itsuki nodded and then gave a bow toward John, "I''m representing Letheia Corporation to say that we are sorry for the inconvenience that we caused for you and that we are willing to compensate you as a apology for our disgraceful mistake." John hid his suspicions behind a very polite smile, "Oh, there is no need to bow. It isn''t necessary to compensate, after all, gratefully, nothing bad happened." "No." Itsuki shook her head, "It''s one of our policies, to compensate wronged parties." Esther interjected and said, "You should just agree to it, dear. You know how much Hylotl value honor and rightfulness. When they do wrong they should compensate, it would be impolite of you don''t accept the compensation, it''s like you don''t accept their apology." "Alright then..." John helplessly decided to accept it. "I''m happy that had chosen so." Itsuki opened a drawer of her table and took a Data Chip from it, "This data chip contain an Interstellar Map of the Alpha, Beta and Gama Sectors. They are 100% complete. They have the location of all the Star Systems, Planets and their Biomes. The Map also shows the location of Scientific, Mining and Business Stationary Space Stations. And it also has information about dangerous locations with meteor showers, black holes, spatial disturbances and places where pirates and outlaws are more frequents." "This seems valuable and confidential..." John eyed the Data Chip at Itsuki''s hand. "Yes, it is valuable, but not that much. All of the confidential information had been extracted from it, so you can freely use it." Itsuki circled around the table and stopped before John. She took John''s hand and gently placed the Data Chip on top of it, "I think you really need something like this, right?" Itsuki threw a side-glance toward Esther. Esther bitterly chuckled a little. John saw the silent exchange between them, "She knows...?" John whispered to Esther. "I know a lot more than you think, Protector." Itsuki slowly returned to her seat, "Nothing in the Ark Outpost happen that I don''t know..." She gently smiled. That smile made John have chill down his spine. His instincts screamed that the female Hylotl in front of him was way more dangerous than Tepei. Not in raw strength or skill, but in something else. The difference was that he didn''t felt bad vibes coming from her, just a mysterious atmosphere.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. "From the look in your face I can tell that have something to speak." She sat again in her chair. "Yes... Why are there so many people around the Ark Outpost now?" John diverted his eyes from Itsuki''s. "Oh..." Itsuki lightly chuckled, "This isn''t what really is in your mind, but whatever." She relaxedly sat on the chair and started to tap her finger on the table, "Before I can I explain that I have to tell you about the situation the Universal Hylotl Government and the Letheia Corporation os currently. The Hylotl people is currently divided, politically, in three sides, the Extremists, Pacifists and the Centrals..." John found sat down at the sofa that was in the room. "Originally almost every Hylotl adhered to the Pacifist faction, or Sea Faction, but then came the war with the Florans. The savage Florans were strong enough to beat the pacifists Hylotl so hard that made us hide deep in the ocean. We lost our home planet to them. After the war the Extremist faction, or what we call Reef Faction, and Central faction, or Ocean Faction, they were factions more inclined to military and they took this opportunity to rise up. Their factions saw a exponential growth. The Pacifist Sea Faction lost the power and the Universal Hylotl Government became the stage for a game of power between both the Extremist Reef Faction and the Central Ocean Faction. While the Extremist Reef Faction is a complete warmongering and xenophobic faction, the Central Ocean is also militaristic, but they aren''t xenophobic, on the contrary, they are very welcoming of other races and their cultures. But as the game of power on the Government was ongoing, the game in the economy also started. With the rise of the Letheia Corporation, created by the Sumeragi family, the head of the Central Ocean Faction, the Extremist Reef Faction also wanted a piece of this giant pie. To wage war, the most important thing is resources and money, the Extremist Reef Faction is mostly made of Military Personnel so they know they need resources to build up a army, thus they aimed for the Letheia Corporation. The Central Ocean Faction is mostly made of businessman and politicians, they know that war is extremely unfavorable for politics and economy, so they tried their hardest to stop the Extremist Reef Faction. The Pacifist Sea Faction is mostly made of scientists, researchers, philosophers, etc, they simply despise conflicts so they usually help the Central Ocean Faction, but they prefer to stay away from this game of power." She explained the overall situation. "So... What that have to do with the current situation at the Ark Outpost?" Even though John was intrigued by the internal fight of the Hylotl, he was more interested in the situation of the Ark Outpost. "There is a lot to do with it. When the Ark Outpost was discovered by the Letheia Corporation It was already populated by a lot of people. But the ones who discovered it was true members of the Extremist Reef Faction, they wiped out everyone here and wanted to make the Ark Outpost a Military Outpost that could be used to deploy soldier anywhere in the universe through the Ancient Gateways. The Central Ocean and the Pacifist Sea factions discovered their plan and decided to make the Universal Hylotl Government involved in the case to put a stop at their plans. After a long negotiation the Extremist Reef Faction was able to have the Arm Outpost, but they weren''t allowed to militarize it. If it can''t be militarized they decided to transform it in an Interstellar Hub, whereas they would have the monopoly of the products here sold and also control who can enter and who can''t." "So... What you mean is that Tepei was a Extremist?" John asked. "Yes. They implanted a ban in this place to control who can enter and leave. This was a economic and safety decision. They didn''t wanted to have spies of other races and spies from the Central and Pacifist factions running around their territory. But even though they have a lot of military personnel, it was impossible for them to go around the universe and find all the Ancient Gateways and block them up, so they needed help to locate and secure all the Ancient Gateways. There is when the Terrene Protectorate enter the scene..." Itsuki gave a gentle smile and looked at John and then at Esther. John''s eyes sharpened a little and he glanced at Esther. Esther sadly sighed and turned her head to the side, dodging John''s questioning gaze. The Harsh Reality (3) Itsuki unhurriedly continued, "The Grand Protector before Esther was a Hylotl of the Central Ocean Faction. As I told you, the Central Ocean Faction is basically composed of businessman, so the Extremist Reef Faction ''bought'' the Grand Protector and made him make the Protectors do the job of travelling through the universe, finding the Ancient Gateways, securing those in strategic points and locking down those that had no importance for them." Itsuki glanced at John and was surprised to see that he was calm. "So... What''s next?" John calmly asked. "Fast forwarding to the future, the Terrene Protectorate was destroyed, so the Protectors guarding the Ancient Gateways stopped doing their work. Tepei, as a member of the Extremist Reef Faction, was ordered to arrest and send anyone that entered the Ark Outpost to be sent back, to be silenced or arrested for eternity. I''m a member of the Central Ocean Faction that had infiltrated in the rankings of the Extremist Faction and was able to climb all the way to being deployed to serve in this place. I found proofs of corruption and murders committed by Tepei and sent them to the Universal Hylotl Government, they had no choice but to take the Ark Outpost out of the Extremist Reef Faction and give it to another Faction, the most influential one, the Central Ocean Faction. We believe in equality among races and also equality in the business world, so we decided to open the Ark Outpost to every single person who want to come and make business, but we still forbid the construction of homes, only hotels are allowed. The Central Ocean Faction want to transform the Ark Outpost into a hub where everyone can buy and sell all kinds of products from a across the whole universe that is connected through the Ancient Gateways." Itsuki widely smiled, "That''s what you are seeing now, the beginning of this dream." "All right. That answered a few of my questions." John was strangely calm about all he just heard, "I''ll be taking my leave. Thanks for the Interstellar Map, Administrator Itsuki." John turned around and left. The office became silent for a while until Esther broke the silence, "You really had to tell him about the shameful side of the Terrene Protectorate?" "He would find out, one way or another." Itsuki calmly replied. "He isn''t ready to know about it." Esther sadly sighed and rested on her Hoverchair, "He''s too young..." "Too late." Itsuki shrugged her shoulder, "You better go find him and explain to him in more details, or he might outright abandon the ideals that he learned in the Terrene Protectorate Academy." Esther nodded her head, turned the chair around and followed John. ... Esther returned to the Ark Ruins and saw that John was there, silently looking at the pictures at the walls. She quietly approached from behind, but John still heard the sound coming from the Hoverchair''s engine, "I have connected the dots, you know. Everything about what I heard and saw through my time in the academy, now togheter with what I heard from Itsuki, I understood a few thing that kept bothering my mind since the day I entered the academy. The time when the Terrene Protectorate started a massive enlistment of of young people all across the universe was also the time when they started to send more Protectors into unexplored and dangerous places like the Sigma, and Omega Sectors. It all started 30 years ago, before Leda Portia was the Grand Protector, before you was Grand Protector, it was when the Grand Protector was Kazuo, a Hylotl. Hundreds of thousands of Protectors sent to death in those forsaken Sectors and I always wondered why. Now, however it makes sense."The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Dear..." Esther calmly spoke, "You must understand-" "We were Letheia Corporation''s dogs." John interrupted Esther, "Weren''t we?" John was eerily calm at this moment. "John..." Esther sadly sighed, "I wish your dreams and the image of the Terrene Protectorate would still remain positive in your mind, but now, it seems to be impossible. Yes, we were treated like dogs by the Letheia Corporation, in fact I must say that almost all the humanity were in their hands. If you look more carefully in our story you would realize that Letheia Corporation had almost monopoly over the market of technology, eletronic devices, entertainment and even energy. Before humanity even knew it, we were already depending on the Letheia Corporation for almost everything. Of course a lot of people tried to cut out the monopoly, but that''s when the Letheia Corporation made a genius move and started to heavily invest in the Terrene Protectorate, giving money, technology and profissional personnel. The Terrene Protectorate started to protect the Letheia Corporation, ensuring that they were able to have the monopoly over humanity and, eventually, even over the universe. Almost 40% of the new technologies created in the universe came from the Letheia Corporation, 20% came from the Apexes, 20% from humans and the rest 20% is divided among the other races." John looked at the jet black sky of the Ark Outpost, "I spent more than 10 year in the Academy wanting to be a Protector, so that I could actually protect the universe, but from what I learned today, it seems that all I was doing was protecting the interest of the Letheia Corporation..." "John..." "That brings the question." John stared hard at Esther, "Why didn''t you stopped them? They toyed around with lifes of millions of Protectors, sending them to certain death and making them guard Ancient Gateways like watchdogs. Why!?" Esther sadly sighed, "I tried to stop them, but the Grand Protector never had the final say on any decision..." "What do you mean?" "The ones with the final say when a Grand Protector propose a decision is the Elder Council." She said, "The Council works like a opposite force of the Grand Protector. They can interpose any decision made by the Grand Protector and the Grand Protector can also interpose any decision made by the Council. It is a balance, if one side want to approve something they must convince the other side. But to the Council to put forward a decision they need more than 50% of the votes in their ranks, that is formed by 7 members, the oldest member of the Terrene Protectorate of each of the 7 races. The Hylotl have in their side the Apex, Human and Avian, that is more than the 50% that they need. So you can see the political situation in the Terrene Protectorate, if I wanted to interpose or change a decision I needed to convince the Elder Council, but if the decision was against the interest of the Letheia Corporation, the Hylotl would unite with the Apex, Human and Avian Elders to interpose the decision." "..." Esther lumped I the chair and her expression became gloomy, "That''s one of the reasons why I decided to left the Terrene Protectorate. It had became a corrupt, and outdated government and organization. I was tired of the mind games and politics play that I had to constantly do. People wearing masks, ordering millions of Protectors to charge to their deaths with no guilty." She sadly sighed once again, "The Terrene Protectorate was already a dying organization by the time I left, and I was able to tell that the organization wouldn''t last another hundred year, before it collapsed from the inside to the outside. It was destined to this future. Luckily the Terrene Protectorate was destroyed by the Ruin while its image was still positive by the eyes of the public." The Harsh Reality (4) "That''s the harsh reality, dear." Esther made the chair approach John and gently patted his head, "Nothing in this world is all good and nothing is all bad. Yes, the Terrene Protectorate obeyed orders coming from the Letheia Corporation and made a few terrible decisions, but this doesn''t change the fact the Terrene Protectorate also brought a semblance of peace throughout the universe. We protected the innocent and weak from the criminal organizations, wars and even natural hazards. Don''t let the harsh reality change your view over the Terrene Protectorate''s image. People, from whichever race, need hope, they need something that bring them the sensation of security and the Terrene Protectorate was that. You was that." "I know..." John''s eyes reddened, "But it hurts... Having being lied for so many years. Seeing the the image of the organization that I treated like my home being so different from the reality. It... Hurts..." He never got to know his parents, he never had a home until he was 5 years old and was adopted by the Terrene Protectorate to become a Protector. He spent most of life in the Terrene Protectorate. The Terrene Protectorate was like a home for him. He admired Protectors and the Terrene Protectorate. Since the time he saw what was the job of the Protectors, he aspired to became a Protector himself. He thought they were the symbol of justice and peace, but now, this image was torn apart by the reality. The organization had became corrupted and outdated. Exploiting from the young Protectors'' beliefs and passions to send them to certain death or to become watchdogs for the Letheia Corporation. John rested his head in Esther''s shoulder and silently sobbed for a few minutes. He felt like his heart was being teared apart by the sudden revelations. Each new information was like a knife stabbing in his heart. His beliefs, will and determination were shaken to their core. He felt lost. He didn''t had the determination to fight against the Ruin and restore the Terrene Protectorate anymore. ... "I''m fine now..." John lifted his head from Esther''s shoulder. "Really?" Esther concernedly asked. "Yeah..." John cleaned his reddened eyes. Esther took a careful look at John and was relieved that he really seemed to be okay now. "What you plan to do now... That you the shameful truth of the Terrene Protectorate?" Esther hesitated, but still asked.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "What else can I do?" John''s eyes burned with determination, "I don''t have to think about this for now. I must focus on the task that is ahead of me, right?" Esther sighed in relief and gently smiled, "Yes." "I don''t remember if you said before, but may I ask, what is my first task?" "Oh. The task is to find the Ancient Artifacts. We can started with any race, but since your ship is currently in the Gamma Sector I think is better to start with the Florans, there is a lot of Floran colonies around this particular sector." "So... How exactly I find this Artifact?" "Your job is quite simple. You must use the scan mode of your Matter Manipulator to scan cultural objects from Floran cities and then I''ll analyse them and search for clues about where the Artifact is located." "That simple?" "That simple." "Alright..." John didn''t thought the job would be so easy, "Then... I be taking my leave." "You better get a few days of rest, dear." Esther advised John, "You''re still completely bandaged with bandages covered in blood." John looked at himself and realized that he didn''t took out the bandages. He waved goodbye to Esther and embarrassedly left the place. He went to the Royal Hotel, again, and took the same room for 2 days. After entering the room the first thing he did was to take a shower. He took off the armor, the clothes and the bloodied bandages away. Looking at himself in the mirror of the bathroom he saw that all the injuries had been healed and just a few faint scars were left behind. John took a long shower in the hot water and then proceed to select a clothing for himself. It was at this moment he realized, he had no clothes beside the Protector uniform and the Scouter''s Armor. He walked off the bathroom and called the reception of the hotel using the old style phone that was in the living room, "Hello, may I know if the hotel has clothes selling or to renting?" "Earnest. Yes, he have clothes that our customers can rent." The receptionist Glitch said through the phone. "Okay, I would like to rent a casual clothing, something like a jeans, t-shirt and a hoodie." "Wait a moment sir, your clothes will be sent in the next 10 minutes." The Glitch said, "Something else?" "No, that''s all." John said thanks and turned off the phone. He went back to the bathroom and started to comb his hair and doing the finishing touches. *Ding Dong* The bell of the room chimed. John tied the bath towel around his waist, covering the lower parts and went to the door. He opened the door and he saw the receptionist Glitch outside. "Here, sir." The Glitch reached for his PIPS and took out a box out of it, "Here is your clothes, there is more options inside the box, pick what you like." "Thanks." John thanked the Glitch and took the box inside the room. He roamed through the clothes of the box and picked up the black jeans, white simple t-shirt, and a black hoodie. He was going to use his boots of the Terrene Protectorate uniform, he always found those for comfortable. After he wore the clothes, he looked at the mirror and approved his new look. He almost never had the chance to use casual clothing in his entire life. Since young he was adopted by the Terrene Protectorate and had to follow orders and regulations of the Academy, no casual clothing, only uniforms were allowed in the Academy and in the campus. He liked the outfit, it was light and comfortable, different from the uniform. [Now... What next?] Esther said for him to rest, but his definition of rest was only sleep, he never really had what people called fun, [Lenny said he would be in the underground facilities, maybe I should go find him...?] With that decided he left the hotel and went back to the Shopping Complex. Side Story (2): Humanitys Redemption In order to appreciate how far humanity has come, one must take a journey through our history. Human history dates back so far that many records have been lost. Old tales speak of our ancestors somehow venturing into space without the aid of warp travel, but there is no real evidence for this. The desire to discover, pioneer, and prosper has always been our strength, and was a common value amongst the diverse populace of Earth. This passion often erupted into conflict when confined to our tiny planet, blinded by greed we stripped Earth bare of its finite resources. The planet was torn apart by our wars and segregation. We killed our own people for profit, religion or simply racism. The 100-Year Great War had left a deep scar in our history and environment.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Even though complete mass destruction was barely avoided, so much was lost in the war, our past, and a lot of our own history. Although the tapestry of our past is stained with bloodshed, in times of strife, ingenuity is humanity''s saving grace. Once the discovery of warp travel was made mankind was quickly able to advance both technologically and culturally. With each improvement in our technology we were able to travel further into space, and in time we encountered other sentient life and plentiful resources resulting in the last several thousand years of peace and prosperity, that much we know. We were forever changed, enlightened by these discoveries. As more and more alien races visited our homeworld, bringing with them tales of their own rich histories, it is easy to see how mankind slowly became the "tenders" of all life. Earth became a place of solace, a bright flame in what was once darkness, and the call for an organisation, one of peace and enlightenment, to shield that flame, and to feed its warmth, started to grow more and more powerful. We united with representatives of all the sentient race and traced a joint goal to establish the Terrene Protectorate here on Earth as a bastion of peace and acceptance for all throughout the universe. May the Terrene Protectorate live forever in the hearts of the people. Hangover (1) Once he entered the Shopping Complex he saw that there was even more people coming in from the Ancient Gateway in the distance. There was Floran, Avian, Glitch, Novakid, Humans, Apex, Hylotl, and... Penguins. (Author''s Note [A/N]: I don''t know if everyone had read the auxiliary chapter "races", so I have to put this informations, a lot more condensed and with some slight changes, in the regular chapters.) Apex were originally a much more human-like race until a completely natural mysterious water-borne pathogen of unknown origin threatened their survival. Fortunately the ruling government, known as the Miniknog, had developed a cure that countered the harmful effects of the pathogen... with the unexpected side effect of starting the VEP(Vestigi-Evo Process), which "devolved" their bodies to a more ape-like state. On the other hand, it also greatly increased their mental capabilities, leading to even bigger advances in super-science. They have a ape-like appearance with lots of hair in the face and body, in both female and male sex. They also have prolonged skull that resemble the apes from Earth. Avian is a bird-like race of humanoids hailing from the planet Avos, their simple clothing style and deeply-religious nature make them seem primitive at first glance. But the Avian are very intelligent and they have monopoly over their own energy source, the Avolite crystals, this allowed them to live recluse from the rest of the universe and avoid the Letheia Corporation''s influence. They have a humanoid bird-like appearance with the whole body covered in feathers, beak and bird claws in their hands and feet. Floran is plant-based humanoid race, they are extremely violent carnivores with no central government or power structure, split into numerous tribes spread across the universe, each led by a Greenfinger. Though they are biologically a single-sex race, they may adapt sexually dimorphic physical traits and male/female identities if they so choose. Most of them have a speech that is often simplistic, and they tend to hiss their sibilants. ... John walked around the Shopping Complex, but saw nothing that lead to the underground facilities. John walked toward one of the Shopping Complex''s guards that were wearing Durasteel armor and asked him how to go to the underground. "Oh, you mean the Underworld Facility." The guard said, "You have to take a special elevator that hidden from the general public''s sight. It''s just at the far end of the Shopping Complex. You will have to exit the Shopping Complex, circled it and at the end you will see some suspicions looking people, they are the securities of that place."This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. "Why is it hidden?" John curiously asked. "Well... Is simply because the type of people that go to that place is rather... You know... Dangerous..." "Oh..." John slightly exclaimed. He thanked the guard and left the Shopping Complex. He circled around the building and soon saw what appeared to be an abandoned construction site behind the Shopping Complex. He approached the place and soon he saw what the guard called ''suspicious looking people''. At the giant pitch black door that lead to the underground, a couple of people wearing some battle-scarred Titanium, Tier 3 armors and carrying electric batons. The armors were completely black, simple, and covered the entire body. The guards themselves emanated killing intent and were constantly looking around with sharp eyes. [Veterans...] John concluded at the same time he saw them. They were like the veterans Protectors back at the Terrene Protectorate, those that had killed a lot of people and had saw all kind of atrocities of the universe. The guards saw John and all of them simply curiously stared at him. John approached the door, but he was stopped by a guard. "Hey, kid!" The guard walked in front of John, "This isn''t the place for snot brats, turn around and leave." The other guards snickered at the guard''s remark. "Yeah, right!" "Go back to your mom!" "You better get out of here brat!" They started to happily bully John. John squinted his eyes. He was about to make a move when he heard someone behind him. "What are you punks doing!?" The shout came from a guy wearing the same kind of armor that the guards were wearing, but the armor had 2 golden stripes at the left arm. "SIR!" The guards all stopped talking and saluted. "I had said before to scare possible customers. Do you think master Jevil will be happy with you guys doing so!?" The older guard with the 2 stripes armor howled. "NO, SIR!" The guard said in unison. "Than don''t do it again, do you understand!?" "YES, SIR!" "Return to your posts, immediately!" "YES, SIR!" They replied, returned to their places and stood there like statues. "I''m sorry kid." The guard that appeared apologized to John, "They lack any sort of entertainment while they are guarding there so they usually resort in this type of activities to entertain themselves." "Ah, well... I don''t really mind." John said with a relaxed tone, [As long as they let me in, I don''t care whatever they think about me.] "Come." The guard signalled to John, "Let me show you the entrance." John followed the guard toward the door. The guard gave series of knocking in a strange pattern in the door and immediately after he finished the door started to open. From the inside, two guards emerged. They were carrying real weapons instead of electric batons. They saw the guard beside John and the two of them stopped in their tracks and saluted the guard, "Captain!" "Rest." The captain waved his hand. The guards saluted once more and returned inside. "Well..." The guard looked at John, "To enter the underground you just have to go ahead until you get to the elevator. Welcome to the Underworld Facility." The captain said and was about to leave to the outside when he turned around and evilly chuckled toward John, "Lad, be careful and see if you aren''t going to get terrified or... Die. Hehehehe..." John''s eyebrow lifted and he glanced at the retreating captain''s back. Hangover (2) Somewhere inside the Underworld facility... A handsome young human male was drinking whiskey inside a fashioned bar with dim light. He had fiery red hair and enchanting black eyes. His hair was messy, but still looked good on the handsome man. He was wearing a black tuxedo and a black rimmed glasses. His entire being was covered in a cold aura and emitting a fierce killing intent. Even though he was suppressing his aura and killing intent, it was enough to cause the black armored guards in the bar to tremble and start to sweat. He was relaxedly sitting in the expensive red sofa of the bar while casually and silently drinking his whiskey. "Sir..." A guard, wearing the same armor as those guards at the entrance of the Underworld Facility, carefully entered the bar. The guard easily kneeled by the young man, even with the heavy armor in his body, "She is here..." He said in low voice like he was afraid that if any louder it would disturb the peaceful young man. "Let her in..." He said with a casual tone. "Yes, sir." The guard stood up and retreated from the bar. The young man stopped drinking and reached for the cabinet in his right. He opened it and took a small glass cup from inside. He placed it on the small table in front of him and also took the bucket filled with ice cubes and put it next to the table as well. After he was done he took the whiskey bottle and filled his cup once again. "You still enjoy this type of drink." A flirty voice, belonging to woman, came from the entrance of the bar. The young man casually lifted his head and looked at the beautiful middle-aged woman with silky, long blonde hair and enchanting blue eyes. "Ferris Laparte..." The young man casually smiled, "You came sooner than I predicted..." "Jevil." The woman sat at the sofa opposite of the young man, "It''s a pleasure to meet you once again." "It isn''t for me..." He rudely said, not at all affected by the other party''s beautiful appearance. "Brute as always... Completely different from your exterior appearance." She grudgingly mumbled. "It''s because I don''t like superficial womans, like yourself..." The man used his finger to put his glasses back at the place, "What do you want now? You know i don''t have time to play games..."This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Straightforward, I like it." Ferris was wearing a very short skirt and a blouse with a opening at the front that give full view over her peaks. She flirtatiously inclined forward, reveling the full view to Jevil. She grabbed the whiskey bottle and started to serve herself, "The Letheia Corporation need more... Workers. We lost a lot of them at the Lunar Base 12." "The Letheia Corporation?" Jevil disdainfully looked at Ferris, "You shouldn''t lie to me, you know. I''m very aware that your little puppet, Tepei, is gone and that you abandoned the Lunar Base 12. I rather said it isn''t the Letheia Corporation that need workers, but the Extremist Reef Faction, am I right?" "You know a lot..." Ferris'' eyes flashed with a fierce glint, "Knowing to much it isn''t always something good..." "It isn''t..." Jevil inclined forward and forcefully clutched Ferris'' chin and moved her closer, "It isn''t for those without power to protect themselves." We coldly smiled. Ferris'' eyes became covered with gloom, but still didn''t moved away from Jevil, "I''m here to make a deal." She decided to open up the game right away, she disliked being around people she couldn''t read or manipulate, like Jevil. "Finally, over with the games and threats." Jevil eased up the hand, but still kept his hand in her chin. His finger slowly moved around, "So... What''s it?" "Like I said workers, we need lots of them." "Not normal workers, I assume..." He chuckled, "I don''t work with that kind of thing anymore. I''m a clean businessman now. If you want this kind of... Workers... You should go see the Syndicate." "I know... But that fat, heidous boss of the Syndicate keep wanting to have his way to me. I feel disgusted just by looking at his lustful eyes." "He haven''t changed nothing." Jevil gave a low chuckle, "You want me to be the middle man and make the deal..." "Yes..." "Declined." Jevil let go of Ferris'' chin, "The Central Ocean Faction is watching me like a hawk now that they have full control over the Ark Outpost. And more than that, they gave me a lot of benefits now that the Ark Outpost is going to be completely open. You and me, we are different. I seek profits while still having some moral grounds, but you, you completely seek profits and personal gain, whatever the cost. It''s too dangerous to work with you. I prefer making deals with the Central Ocean Faction and Administrator Itsuki." Ferris'' eyes darkened, "Are you sure? Cutting up old ties, just like that?" "Alright, alright. Don''t look at me with those venomous eyes." Jevil helplessly said, "I will help you. One last time. Give me the contact of your messenger. I will send my guy to take him." Ferris sweetly smiled, "I knew I could count on you." Ferris reached for her PIPS and took a Data Chip out of it, "Here it is his number, personal information and location." Jevil took it and connected it on his PIPS, "He is a Novakid?" He slightly exclaimed, "That''s rare... For them to work for the Letheia Corporation." "Correct. He''s my favorite pawn." "Alright... Just for clarification, the money is already with him, right?" "Yes. You just need to take him and then he will guide you toward the Syndicate''s hidden fortress." "Then... This will be our last time working togheter." Jevil stood up and showed his hand. "Unfortunately..." Ferris also stood up and shook hands with Jevil, closing up the deal. Ferris took the her cup of whiskey and started to leave. "Wait!" Jevil called out from behind, "Can you give me his name. Here on the Data Chip it only show his Agent number." "Oh... Sorry. I forgot about that..." Ferris gave a sweet smile toward Jevil, "His name is... Oscar." Hangover (3) The elevator that lead to the Underworld Facilities was made of some kind of reinforced glass. From there, John was able to see the scenario in front of him pretty clearly. The Underworld was extremely big. It was at least thrice as big as the Shopping Complex. Even though a lot of places were empty, the center of the Underworld was crowded with buildings. The elevator slowly descended for about 2 minutes. Once the door opened, some people rushed in before John could even realized what happened. He squeezed through the crowd and was able to exit the elevator. The moment he left the elevator he saw the narrow roads illuminated by the dim light coming from street lights at the side. People from all the 7 races and Penguins walked back and forth. The majority of the people there emitted killing intent, and some were strong enough that the pedestrians open up the passage for these guys to pass through. John looked around and realized that the building were all made of different materials, but they were glued together, in the two sides of the street, forming the long and narrow road. The was Japanese, Chinese, modern, Victorian age, types of building. Looking up, John was able to see some Hovercars drifting through the closed ''sky''. It was a lot more boisterous than the Shopping Complex. John looked around and saw that there was guards that were that black colored armor from the entrance securities, all around the place. On the building''s ceilings, the dark alleys, and even some Hovercars in the air. John walked forward and from time to time he would be able to sense that there was a lot of people curiously glancing at him. The was no evil intent, so John just let it be. John walked until he saw a bar that was extremely boisterous, with loud laughs and shouts coming from it. He looked at the sign and saw that the bar was called Beakeasy Saloon. He entered the bar and soon spotted a yellow beacon that was on a table playing some kind of card game. John approached and when he saw the Omega ''Brand'' on the yellow Novakid, he realized that he was correct. It was indeed Lenny. He silently walked forward and curiously looked over to what kind of game would make Lenny so concentrated.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Lenny was playing poker against two Penguins and a Human. The banker was also a Penguin, but he was wearing some expensive tuxedo different from Lenny and the other that wearing some kind of armor or nothing at all, like the penguins. Penguins usually don''t wear clothes. They mostly use only armors, when is necessary. John never played gambling games before, so he started to focus on the game. He easily blended into the crowd and started to closely watch the game. After the round was over, the banker took the cards. Lenny had just lost 1k of pixels in that round to the Penguin that was wearing some kind of red wig. John''s eyes shifted toward the banker that had started to shuffle the cards. As his concentration was getting deeper he suddenly felt like world was slowing down, [This sensation... Again?] He looked at the banker''s hands, or ''wings''. He wasn''t able to see before because the banker shuffled very quickly and skillfully, but now that the world slowed down he was able to see clearly all the movements of the banker. He watched as the Penguin swiftly and stealthly took a card from the middle of the deck and placed it on the top. The penguin repeated the process 7 times. John glance at the players and the audience, no one had noticed the strange motions of the Penguin. The moment he shifted his eyes the world returned to normal, "Heh..." John slightly exclaimed, [Why it returned to normal?] He tried to focus again, but it didn''t work. All that he got was a splitting headache. He lowered his head and his the expression twisted in pain. Once he lifted his head again he saw that Lenny has lost 200 pixels to the other Penguin, the one with a giant black wig. John took this opportunity that the banker was shuffling the cards and approached toward Lenny. "Lenny..." John called out with a low tone. "Connor?" Lenny looked behind him and saw John, "What are doing here?" "Didn''t you said for me to find you in the underground facilities?" "Oh, right... I forgot" Lenny screeched his head. From the stench of alcohol coming from Lenny and his awkward movements, John was able to determine that Lenny was a little tipsy, if not drunk. "I think the banker is helping someone cheat." John whispered in a very low voice by Lenny''s ear. "What!?" Lenny exclaimed, but soon calmed down. He threw a quick glance at the players and then said, "Ahhhh... I think I lost enough for a day. I will taking my leave." He stood up, took his poker tokens and left with John. The banker curiously glanced at John for moment and then started to shuffle once again. Lenny took John to the bar, he looked at the Penguin barman that was by the counter, and ordered a Martini for himself, "What do you want to drink?" "I... Don''t know any drink." John embarrassedly said. "What!?" Lenny loudly exclaimed. "I never drank alcoholic drinks in my entire life" "Then you never had a life to begin with." Lenny looked with eyes filled with pity toward John. "It was against the regulations of the academy, and I had read in the Internet that alcohol is extremely bad to Human brain." "Humans are so fragile..." Lenny sighed. The Penguin barman was very small and he had to jump on a chair to reach the top of the wooden counter. The Penguin barman jumped at approached Lenny while carrying the tray that had Lenny''s Martini. "First time here?" The Penguin barman asked John while he served Lenny. "Yes... How do you guessed?" John curiously asked. "Well... I would have remembered you if I had seen you before." "What do you mean?" "Simple, you are different from everyone else here. Just feel around, the thick killing intent and the faint stench of blood. Most of the customers here are mercenaries, outlaws and bounty hunters, the types that had their fare share of deaths in their hands. They come here relief their stress from their life that is always hanging between dead and alive, or they come here to find possible patrons and service. But you... You are different. You are so young and have neither the killing intent or smell of blood, in other words, you are a greenhorn." The Penguin casually said. Hangover (4) Lenny laughed, "Yeah just one look at your face and anyone around here can say for certain that you are a greenhorn, a kid who barely learned how to shoot a weapon compared with them." John rolled his eyes, annoyed by Lenny he browsed through the bar''s menu. He tried to read the description of the things there, but he didn''t had any prior knowledge about alcoholic beverage. John stared at the menu for far too long and Lenny lost his patience, "Come on, don''t be a pussy. Here take a sip, see if you like." Lenny took a glass cup from the barman''s counter, poured a little of his Martini in the cup and placed in front of John. John put down the menu and reluctantly reached for the cup. He took it and sipped a little of its content. The moment the Martini touched his tongue, he felt the taste. He instantly frowned and his mouth started to have slight burning sensation. He tried to swallow, but the burning sensation also followed and the he soon felt the burning in his throat, all the way toward his stomach. Lenny laughed without holding back after seeing John''s grimace, "HAHAHAHAHA! Look at your face." "What the hell." After he finished swallowing it John exclaimed, "Is this type of thing really good? How can people enjoy such thing?" "Hehehe..." Lenny chuckled, "Don''t worry, it gets better after you get used to it." "I don''t know... I don''t see myself liking this type of stuff." "OH MY GOD! Stop whining." Lenny then looked for the barman, "Hey! Get this lad here a Summerset beer." "Right up." The Penguin jumped down from the counter and started to roam through the alcoholic beverages. "When did I said I would continue drinking?" "You didn''t, I''m actually forcing you to do so. Let me teach you... How to have fun." "Great..." John helplessly let Lenny do his thing. It isn''t like he has something better to do anyway. "Here." The barman brought a brown bottle with a label that was written ''Summerset''. Lenny took the bottle, opened it and poured it in John''s cup, "This is the most famous beer around the universe. As you might expect it belong to the Letheia Corporation, but that doesn''t matter. This is perfect for the types of you who are drinking beverages for the first time. It has only 2% of alcohol in it. Give it a try, I''m sure you will kind like it."Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. John suspicionsly glanced at Lenny and then at the cup. He sighed and decided to go with the current. He took the cup and sipped. "Huh?" John looked surprised for a moment. "It''s good isn''t it?" Lenny let out a knowing smile, "it''s my favorite beverage. It is cheap and good." Indeed. The moment the beverage hit John''s tongue, he felt a sweet and somewhat sour flavor, different from the overwhelming sour and heating flavor of the Martini. John nodded, "It''s indeed not bad... I could get used to it." Lenny gleefully smiled, "My friend, Connor. I shall take this opportunity to show you the wonders of life..." Lenny approached John and placed his arm around John''s neck. John tried to created some distance because the stench of alcohol coming from Lenny was really perturbing him. "How many drinks you had? It really looks like you are tipsy." "Don''t know." Lenny said casually, "Maybe about 4 bottles. I''m not drunk. Totally not drunk." John curiously looked at Lenny. Apart from some awkward movements, stench of alcohol and overreacting, he looked almost normal. He wasn''t drunk, but was surely tipsy. "Hey, Connor. How did you noticed that the banker was cheating?" Lenny was still with his arm around John''s neck, so he asked in a very, very low voice. John frowned over the alcoholic stench from Lenny''s breath, but he still answered, "I saw it, when he was shuffling the cards he was stealthly taking some cards from the middle of the deck and placing them on top. I don''t know how to play the game and neither the conditions to win, but of he was doing something stealthly, I''m sure it isn''t something good." "Heh." Lenny unhappily snorted, "They advantage over me. Just because I''m a little tipsy, my eyes won''t be able to follow fast movements that well. It looks like my suspicions were spot on. They offered me some free drinks and then introduced to the poker table only after I drank the whole bottle of beverage. I forgot the basic common sense, never fully trust in a Penguin." "So that''s the answer...?" John remembered that wondrous feeling of the world slowing down, [It was just a feeling? Or... Something else.] "But this doesn''t make sense." Lenny curiously looked at John, "Even though I''m tipsy that doesn''t mean I wouldn''t be able to follow such fast movements while you still could. How did you do it?" "I... Don''t know how to explain it." John thought carefully about that feeling, "It seemed like the world slowed down the moment I started to concentrate at the cards on the banker''s hand." "Oh?" Lenny exclaimed, "That''s some good news." "Why?" "Why? You ask. Simple, this, if what you explained for me isn''t wrong, is a kind of power that very few people have." "Power...?" "You know... Power, special abilities. They are quirks that you earn, or by birth, or by experience. In your case I''m not sure what it is. But the power you said to me, is a type of Kinetic Vision coupled with some kind of Thought Acceleration. I have it too, but I can''t control it. Sometimes it work and sometimes it doesn''t, it''s pretty random. I don''t know the scientific name for it, but I call it Bullet Time." [Bullet Time...?] John thought, [What a chuunibyou name for it.] John strangely looked at Lenny, [I wondered why we always wear what appears to be a cowboy clothing. Maybe... He has... The chuunibyou syndrome...?] "How is it?" Lenny broke John''s thought process, "Can you freely control it?" "I don''t think so. When I stopped my concentration over the cards I tried to do it again, but I didn''t worked." "Hmm..." Lenny hummed while scratching his chin, "You know... We can have fun later. Let''s first test out your power." "How are we going to do that?" John felt a foreboding sensation. "Well..." Lenny let out a evil grin, "I will show you... The perfect place to test it out." Hangover (5) "So..." Lenny talked with John that was walking beside him, "What kind of fetishes you have? What kind of woman turn you on?" Lenny was taking John to the place he said that they were going to test out John''s powers. On their way toward there Lenny suddenly came up with this weird question out of nowhere. "What the hell are you talking about?" John strangely looked at Lenny and decisively took a step to the side, creating more distance between them, [What''s up with this kind of topic out of nowhere... You are freaking me out.] John instantly noted to never stay around Lenny while he was drinking alcohol. "Oh... I see." Lenny''s eyes glinted with a unkown light, "You''re a virgin, am I right?" "Wha-wha-what?" John stared at Lenny, speechless and embarrassed. "Spot on." Lenny let out a dirty laugh, "No drinking, no sex. You sure are a innocent lad." "Shut up!" John embarrassedly shout at Lenny. "How about it? I will take you to the brothel so that you-" "No, fucking, way." John instantly rejected Lenny''s idea, "I won''t have my first time in a... Brothel. I plan to have it with my love, and I don''t plan to get into a romantic relationship so soon." "Tch." Lenny clicked his tongue in displeasure, "Virgins..." They walked for while until John was able to see a giant, circular building. John looked over it and saw that there was a huge stream of people going inside the building. John than glanced at the giant sign on top the building, it was written ''Iron Fist Arena''. [Don''t tell me...] John switched his sight from the sign to Lenny. He saw that Lenny evilly grinned toward him, [Fuck...] John tried to turn around and run, but Lenny caught John''s arm right away. "Don''t be pussy. It''s just unarmed combat, what are you afraid of?" Lenny chuckled. "Hell no!" John got scared when he saw some buff out people signing off in the participants line. It was useless how much John tried to break free from Lenny''s hold, Lenny''s hands were like claws clutching into his arm. Lenny dragged John all the way toward the line where the interested in be a participant go. "Stop struggling." Lenny gave a slap at the back of John''s head, "What are you so afraid. It isn''t some kind of battle until death. You win as long as knock out your opponent or he give up. I''m pretty sure you have learned unarmed combat before, it''s impossible that such gigantic organization such as the Terrene Protectorate wouldn''t train their soldiers to be able to perform unarmed combat."If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "It''s not that I don''t know how to fight, but look at that." John pointed at the giant and buff out people at the line, "Do you think I stand any chance against something like that!?" "Come on... All they have is looks and strength. They are amateurs, they mindlessly swing their limbs around, hoping to hit their opponent. You will win as long as you know to properly fight." "Yeah... Basically it will be a one hit KO in me..." John silently mumbled. John helplessly sighed and just let Lenny do his thing. Slowly the line got shorter until it was John and Lenny''s turn to sign up. The person who was doing signing job was a female Floran. Her whole body was of a light green shade, but on top of her head was a big, colorful flower that had petals from all kinds of colors. Her ''hair, or so to speak, was made of long, thin and dark green vines that looked like hair fibers. The eyes were completely black, it didn''t had the sclera, the white part of human eye. Even her mouth was somewhat creepy, since it was possible to see some fangs coming out from the sides. John was unsurprised by her appearance, he had seen a lot of Florans through his time in the Academy, they almost have the same body type, the only very noticeable difference is the coloration of the eyes, ''hair'' and the big flower on top. But what do surprised him was that the female Floran was wearing practically nothing, it was just what humans would call a bikini made of plants. He also had to admit, even he as a human could only say that she was quite the beauty even within all the Florans and other females he had previously see. He did read that Florans that weren''t from the Terrene Protectorate or any other organization usually have a very tribal culture and clothing style. After a moment of cultural shock, John swiftly recovered and started to hear what Lenny and the female Floran were talking about. "Hey bae..." Lenny leaned over the balcony and flirtatiously said, "Wanna go have a drink with little ol'' me." Lenny winked and smiled. "Sorry." The female was sweetly smiled, "I only ldate strong males. But I do enjoy eating weak male''s flesh..." She scanned up and down at Lenny''s body, "I don''t think I can eat a Novakid... Maybe I should try..." "Nope, no way. We aren''t delicious at all, 100% disgusting." Lenny swiftly changed attitude and retreated a few steps from the balcony. John sighed and shook his head, "Sorry about my friend. He was very... Impolite." John apologized on Lenny''s behalf. "No worriesss-" The female Floran started to speak, but stopped midway, "Sorry about my hiss. I''m not quite used to speak normally." "Not all..." John said dismissively with a casual smile. Lenny looked at John and then at the female Floran, then he suddenly mischievously smiled, "Hey, you two, could you guys stop flirting-" *Pah* A flying object hit Lenny right in his face. John facepalmed. It was the female Floran that threw something toward Lenny. He helplessly sighed and apologized once again, "Sorry... Again. He''s quite drunk-" "I''m not drunk!" Lenny spoke while he tried to get up from the ground. "He''s problematic... As you see." John was slightly annoyed at Lenny''s behavior. "Don''t worry about that. I''m quite used to it, when you work in a place like this one, you meet all types of people, and learn to properly deal with them." "How long do you worked here?" John unconsciously continued the conversation. "For about 2 months, not that long. In fact, this is my last day here. After tonight, I''ll return to my home." "Oh my God!" Lenny rolled his eyes, "Just ask for her name and numb-" *Pah* This time it was John who sent Lenny to the ground with a swift kick on the back of Lenny''s knee. The Floran slightly chuckled, "How about we finish our procedures of your participation. There are people getting impatient behind you, at the line." "Okay..." John sighed, and it sounded somewhat... Sad? Hangover (6) John quickly gave his information to the female Floran and signed as a participant. He and Lenny were just about to enter in the participants'' room when he heard the female Floran say. "By the way. My name is Peri. It was a pleasure to meet you, John Connor." She said. "Oh..." Lenny, that was beside John, smirked, "You didn''t messed up in your fist encounter with the opposite sex-" "Shut up." John rolled his eyes. Lenny scratched his chin and mischievously said, "I didn''t knew you liked interracial relation-" "Shut up!" John kicked Lenny right in his buttocks, "Can''t you keep your mouth shut. Dammit!" The alcoholic beverage from before was taking the effects, John got more social interactive and outspoken. Once they entered John''s waiting room, Lenny found the couch and immediately sat down. He looked at the side and opened the freezer. "Want some?" Lenny took a bottle of whiskey from the freezer and offered to John. "No." John rejected it, "I''m going to fight. I need to keep my body at top notch performance." He walked toward the changing room, he must put a clothes that allowed him more freedom of movement than a jeans and a hoodie. Lenny let out a hearty laugh, "You''re right. You don''t need now, but you''ll need..." John entered in the bathroom and took out his clothes. He searched for clothing in the cabinets until he found some blank, blue and elastic sport shorts, he wore it. Lenny was casually seating in the safe when he heard the door of the bathroom being opened, "Have you finished changing..." Then he stopped speaking and blankly stared at John. "Is it bad?" John saw that Lenny was staring at him. He looked at the mirror and saw that it was okay. He was wearing nothing but the sport shorts. "Damn..." Lenny clicked his tongue in displeasure, "I hadn''t took a closer look before, but your body is really top notch isn''t. Despite you looking very slim and weak when wearing normal clothes, you sure have a muscle body." "Really?" John flexed up his arm and looked at the mirror, "Those guys at the line surely have a lot more muscles than me." "Yes, they have. But their muscles aren''t earned through a long period of exercise. Those are probably muscles that were grown using medices, drugs and going in intensive bodybuilding." Lenny stood up and circled around John, "Your body was carefully trained throughout years under a military training with the proper food diet and exercise. Your muscles aren''t overgrown, they allow you to use a lot of strength while maintaining the elasticity and not increasing the weight by much, allowing you to make fast movements."This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Is this good?" "Good?" Lenny took a long sip in the whiskey bottle, "It means that now you have a lot more chances to beat up those guys." Lenny walked over the sofa and casually fell on it, "You know why I brought you here, especially today?" "To test if I can control the power... Bullet Time...?" "Yes. But I brought you today because it is the day of the amateurs to fight in the arena. There will be almost no profissional fighters today. Also since its amateurs'' day, the fights won''t be death battles. Yes, this place has death battles, fights whereas the opponents go all out to kill the other side. Some people make a living fighting that way, it''s their profession." Lenny finished drinking the whiskey and loudly burped, "In other words, you might have a easy time in the arena, or you might get beaten up to pulp." Lenny wildly laughed imagining this specific scene. "Participant 0368..." John and Lenny looked over the speaker on top of the door that lead to the arena, "... John Connor, please go over to the stage 6." "It''s your time, lad." Lenny took another whiskey from the freezer, "Try not to be beaten so badly on the first round." "Wait..." John looked at Lenny, "First... Round...?" "Yep, I signed you to the Amateur Tournament. It is 10 rounds. One after another with only 10 minutes of rest between them." "Fuck..." John cursed. He shook his head and threw away all the distraction thoughts away, [Since I''m already here... I''ll treat this as just like another day of training.] The metal door opened and John went through it. Lenny stayed at the room, but he turned up the holovision of the room and changed it to the channel 6. Holovisions are the type of televisions used by most of the people. They are little machines that is connected beneath a large glass screen and once it is turned on, it project the holographic image over the whole glass surface. John walked through the narrow corridor for a while until he entered in a elevator. "Please, place your hand over the panel to confirm your identity." A robotic voice came from the speakers of the metallic elevator. John placed his hand over the black panel, beside the floor buttons. "Identify confirmed. Have a nice fight, John Connor." The voice trailed off and soon the elevator started to descend until it stop by the floor 6. John looked over an saw that the building had 10 underground floors and 2 floors at the surface of the Underworld Facility. Probably the main events, fights, happen at the surface, while other types of events happen at a more closed place. After the elevator stopped, John walked out of it and was soon inside a very white room. There was only one sofa in the corner of the room. John looked around and saw that the only door of the room had a back screen of top of it that showed numbers slowly going down. "Ladies and gentlemen..." John was able to hear the anouncer''s voice coming from the door, "... Welcome to the Iron Fist Amateur Tournament..." And soon John heard the sound of loud applauses, "Today we have two amateurs here. Fighter number 0056 in our right side. It''s a male Apex with the height of 1.98 meters and the weight of over 130 kilograms. Let''s welcome him..." When John heard the announcer he started to curse, [How the hell I''m going to face a Apex with over 100 kilograms and 1.98 of height.] John heard the cheers probably coming from the live audience when the Apex entered in the arena. "Now... At our left side. Fighter number 0368. It''s a male Human with the height of 1.85 meters and the weight of over 87 kilograms. Let''s welcome him..." After the announcer finished his lines the door at John''s room slowly opened and he heard the robotic voice, "Please, fighter 0368. Proceed to the Arena." "Well..." John stood up, "Let''s do this." Hangover (7) "Why does it seems like I had seen this guy before..." Jevil stared at the holovision of the dim lightened bar. At the holovision it showed John slowly walking up at the Arena. The Arena was a big circle with 10 meters radius. The floor was made of a somewhat soft material so that in can allow for the fighters to perform more radical and dangerous moves, and also so that they can fight without any shoes. There is no way to fall from the Arena, the only way to win is by knocking the other opponent out, or by making them admit defeat. "That''s John Connor, sir." The captain guard that John met by the entrance was at the bar with Jevil. "Oh... The Protector that was able to kill a Erchius Horror..." Jevil became suddenly very interested in the coming battle at the Arena 6. "It''s not unheard of someone killing a Erchius Horror, why would you, sir, became interested in him?" "Simple." Jevil smirked, "The existence of the Erchius Horror and Moontants are a close and classified information by the Letheia Corporation. Anyone apart from the upper echelon know nothing about it. To actually meet something that resistant and hard to kill, and actually eliminate it, without prior understanding about what he was facing, it is something very admirable." "From the reports we received, he used the Mining Laser Cannon to destroy it..." The guard was still unconvinced. "Would you think of something like that in the heat of the moment, when facing something that is able to completely destroy even Tier 4 armors? One slight hit from that thing is extremely deadly." Jevil sat more relaxedly in the spacious sofa, "Of course if it was by luck or skill, we don''t know, and we have no way to know it." The captain stared at the young man in the holovision, "Are you going to... Use him?" "I don''t know, yet. The Central Ocean Faction is very interested in him, and I want to know why." Jevil casually pulled up his glasses in a skillful way, "Of all the Protectors around the universe that survived the red tentacle monster''s onslaught, they chose to focus on this specific Protector. He has a connection with Esther Bright, that''s confirmed by the spies, but they only met each other recently." "Should we do something?" "No. I don''t want the Letheia Corporation setting its sight on me, Asra wouldn''t like it..." "Asra... I really don''t get it... Why would you work with those radicals..." "The Occasus Cult is evil, a necessary evil, so to speak. The Letheia Corporation had started to make extremely big moves now. The Occasus Cult is a force that is able to stop them from growing too much, too fast. It give us time... To prepare..."The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "But... The Occasus is a double edge sword. It can be used to cut down the enemy, but it can also kill the wielder. To sponsor them so much... It''s dangerous... You know how fanatic they are. They simply kill any non-human at sight, whatever they are bad, good, or young, old." "I know... That''s why I''m using Ferris. I need to slowly make the Occasus Cult angrier with the Letheia Corporation. They won''t sit idle as they watch hundreds of Human workers die in the Lunar Base 12. I indirectly made the Erchius Horror incident happen there so that they start to set their eyes on the Letheia''s actions. I didn''t expect them to actually go there and investigate on themselves, they even kidnapped the Overseer of the facility, Clark. This shows that they don''t actually believe in my words. It doesn''t matter, after all. I just need to the Occasus Cult and the Letheia Corporation to go against each other, they will weaken one another, and then... Then we cleanly eliminate this two evil things from the face of this universe." "Now I understand..." The guard looked with eyes filled with worship toward Jevil, "Pardon my uselessness." Jevil dismissed with a wave of his hand, "Don''t worry so much, just make sure that the deal with Ferris is perfectly completed. Once we help her make the deal with the Syndicate, we will have proofs of the horrendous actions that the Letheia Corporation do against Humans, how they enslave Humans, using debt-enslavements. We give the proofs to Asra and watch from the sidelines the two devils killing each other." Jevil sadly sighed, "I don''t want to implicate innocent people, but... To achieve results you must make sacrifices..." "Yes boss. I will garantee that the job will be perfectly completed." The guard saluted and left the bar. Jevil slightly shook his head and absent-mindedly looked at the young man getting ready to fight in the holovision, [John Connor... You are very unlucky to be caught in the middle of the storm... Let''s see if you have determination and strength to survive in this chaotic universe.] ... Underworld Facility, Iron Fist Arena 6... John looked at big, brow pelage Apex in front of him. The Apex was flexing his muscles, probably trying to intimidate the small, and frail looking John. John strangely looked at the fighting stance of the Apex, [What the hell is up with that fighting stance? His guard is completely filled with holes that I can easily exploit... It is certainly an amateur.] John carefully entered in fighting stance. He had trained all types of martial arts, from the old ones until the most recent. But the ones the Terrene Protectorate most trained them was in self-defense and other martial arts that the main objective is to restrict and control the opponent. The other martial arts John trained just because it was one of the few things he did that was close of being enjoyment for him. His face became calm and cold. In his eyes, the Apex in front of him wasn''t a opponent anymore, but a enemy. Just as his mentality changed, the world started slow down, [This... The power!] He became overjoyed since he was able to activate it. At the sound of the siren, signalizing the start of the match, the Apex charged at full force toward John. His speed was extremely fast at the eyes of the audience, but for John, he was moving in slow motion. The Apex raised his arm and went for a punch. John easily dodged, with the minimum amount of movement, to the side. John and the Apex were less than 30 centimeters away from each other. At this close range, the Apex was basically unable to do anything because his arms were a lot longer and he was taller than John. John clutched the Apex''s arm that threw the punch and swiftly moved toward the Apex''s back. He placed the Apex''s arm at his own back and gave a low kick behind the Apex''s knee, making him fall flat on the ground with John on top of him, holding Apex''s arm at the his own back. The Apex struggled, but John had everything under control and was able to keep him on the ground, unable to fight back. Side Story (3): The Departed Floran To my father, the Greenfinger of the tribe, Can you not see the horrors inflicted by our kind upon the people of the universe? Once we gained access to space travel we spread across the stars like weeds. It breaks my heart to see Floran colonies leaving only chaos and destruction in their wake. But we each have a choice, we don''t have to live to hunt, we can even learn to talk without hissing.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. I know you will hate me for leaving the tribe, but I want to travel around and explore the infinite universe. I won''t let others decide my future, I will forge my own future. I''m leaving, perhaps I may never have the chance to come back to this tribe, my home. You, and the tribe, will always be my family, to eternity, but the time have come. I''m already an adult so I must find my Warrior''s Path. I know I have been invited to participate in the Great Hunt in the Ceremonial Hunting Caverns, but I feel... I feel that my path doesn''t lie there... Goodbye, may we meet again. Your beloved daughter, Peri Side Story (4): Among Florans For a Human scientist like myself, every day among the Floran is a fascinating experience. I have spent several months now observing a typical colony of the plant-like race and have made countless groundbreaking observations. The common opinion is that Floran are inherently savage or evil, but from my experiences I can concede that they merely lack understanding. They simply cannot empathise with flesh-based races in the same way you or I may not empathise with a blade of grass. To the Floran, the game of the hunt doesn''t hurt anyone, at least, not on any level that they can comprehend. There is a powerful kinship among a tribe, Floran are asexual beings and consider a whole settlement to be a single family unit.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Every tribe is lead by a special Floran they call Greenfinger. Greenfingers, as most already know, they are special because different from most of the other Florans they seek knowledge and have the power to reverse engineering almost any type of technology. They have a very high intelligence and can even be diplomats. Unfortunately, because they have almost no contact with the outside world they don''t understand the culture and education of the various races, different from them. But, I believe it is not entirely futile to educate them, I even managed to explain to some of them how I am sentient, just as they are. Small steps, but there''s hope for them yet. I just wonder why I am the first to make these discoveries. Maybe others were simply not as cautious about their own survival. Tomorrow I''ll accompany them and see first handedly the event what they call "The Great Hunt". The event is extremely big and important for the Florans of the Gamma Sector, every great Great Warrior from all the Official Colonies recognized from by the Greenfinger Council is invited to partake in this huge event. Even though I''m a Human, they allowed me to go. I must take this chance to see for myself and comprehend more deeply about the culture of the Florans. Wish me luck! Side Story (5): The Greenfingers Manual To be a successful Greenfinger, you must first understand the intricacies of our race''s familial structure. As you will already be aware, there are no other central figure in Floran culture and as such a Greenfinger must act as the tribe''s authority figure. Florans will always respect a Greenfinger that protects their tribe, regardless of their age or experience, for respect among our kind is awarded to those who show strength. For example, even a very young Floran with great hunting skills will be regarded highly by their peers. Many Greenfingers lack strength and as such use their cunning to appear strong. Outsmarting others and paying close attention to the shifting hierarchy in your tribe will allow you to get ahead of those who are influential among your people.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Having been a Greenfinger for many years I can attest that good behaviour is key to the survival of a Floran tribe. First and foremost, I would advise discouraging any cannibalistic tendencies, which most often arise during funeral rituals. This tradition is giving Floran a bad name amongst the other peoples of the universe. Also, try to not fight with other tribes. I''m sure it might feel like a good idea, but our best chance is for Floran to unite against the external forces that threaten us from beyond the stars. Encourage your Floran kin to focus their energy into growing the size of the tribe, for there is safety in numbers! ... --- Excerpt from "The Greenfinger''s Manual" written by the an unknown member of the Greenfinger''s Council. Year 255BR (Before the Ruin). Hangover (8) The audience was stunned at how the frail looking young Human was able to easily and swiftly restrain the big and ferocious looking Apex. After a few seconds of silence they started to loudly cheer and chant. There was more than 200 hundred people inside the at the audience, the loud sound caused by them stunned John. He looked around and saw that they were cheering for... Him. John regained his focus after the Apex started to break free from his restrictive move. "You better give up." John kindly advised the Apex under him. "Fuck you!" He started to struggle even harder and angrily curse John at the same time. "Alright then..." John''s voice became cold, "I didn''t want to cause you more pain then what was needed, but... You rejected my kind advise." John was on top of the Apex while using his left and to restrict the Apex''s arm behind own back. John resolutely moved his right arm and swiftly got hold of the Apex''s other arm. John used the other arm constrain the Apex''s neck between the his own arm''s forearm and biceps, making the Apex unable to breath and suffocate. The struggle became more intense and beads of sweat appeared at John''s forehead as he kept holding the Apex on the position. The Apex was very stubborn and didn''t gave up as John wanted, so he applied more force and started to suffocate the Apex even more. Soon enough the Apex stopped struggling and remained unmoved in the ground. John released him and got up. The judge of the match was a middle-aged Hylotl, he climbed up at the Arena and hastily went toward the Apex. The judge analyzed the Apex and once he confirmed that he had only fainted and wasn''t at life''s risk, he stood up and walked toward John. "We have a winner!" The judge took John''s hand and lifted it on the air, "Fighter 0368 knocked out his opponent and now he can continue on the tournament. Stay tuned to see him at round 2, folks." After the judge finished he allowed John to walk away. He looked around and saw that there was quite a few people cheering for him. He amicably waved his hand toward the audience and walked away. The moment he returned to his participant room he was met with the sight of Lenny casually lying in sofa, loudly snoring, with a bottle of whiskey in his hand.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. John angrily kicked Lenny''s leg. Before John''s leg was able to touch Lenny''s, he suddenly lifted his leg, dodging John''s kick. "You missed..." Lenny lazily opened his eyes and made a smug face. John just rolled his eyes and found a chair to sit down, "It worked. I was able to use the... Bullet Time." "That was just the first round... We need to see if you activate, deactivate at will and see if you can repeatedly activate it, as well." "Ahhhh..." John sighed, "It is going to be rough." "Here..." Lenny took something from the cabinet and threw toward John. John caught it and curiously looked. It was a protein bar. Something that was small but capable of making the the person who eat it feel completely full. It has most of the vitamins, protein, etc, need to keep someone alive for a day. "You haven''t ate something yet, right? You gonna need it." "Thanks" John opened , and ate the bar. "Your next opponent is a Human." Lenny pointed at the Human figure in the screen of the holovision. John looked over and saw that the channel 8, Arena 7. John analyzed the Human. It wasn''t big as the Apex, it has about the same size of John, but it was clearly that he was a lot more burly, his limbs were at least twice as thick as Johns limbs. The strength he demonstrated by simple knocking over his Avian opponent with three movements shows his ability. Even from the holovision John was able to feel the piercing glare, and dangerous aura coming from that man. It was at this moment that John''s head started hurt. The pain was excruciating. "Argh..." John clutched his head between his hands. "Are you okay." Lenny stood up and walked toward John. "My head..." John gritted his teeth, but it didn''t stopped him from moaning in pain. "Looks like your mind isn''t able to deal with huge amount of information in process in just a small amount of time when you activate the power, Bullet Time." The pain stopped shortly after, but John''s whole body was covered in sweat. "To make it hurt less when you use it, you have to make your mind get used to it." "That means..." "You are going to use the power constantly until you don''t have the side effects." "Fuck..." John trembled. He didn''t want to go through that pain again. "Hehehe..." Lenny creepily laughed, "I told you were going to need this." Lenny showed to John a bottle filled with alcoholic beverage, "This might help numb the pain in your head." John reluctantly reached and grabbed the bottle. As the brownish liquid entered John''s mouth, the heating sensation and the strong taste assaulted his tongue, and throat. John started to cough. "Damn." Lenny amezedly stared at John. "You sure have guts to try something like drinking so much and so fast, whiskey." "This... Is simply horrible!" John placed the bottle at the table at his side. "I don''t know how you can like this thing." "Yep. This little thing is too strong for you." Lenny too the bottle away from John''s table, cleaned the opening of the bottle, and started to drink. John strangely looked at Lenny. "That''s my bottle you know." "Of course it is." Lenny swiftly finished the bottle. "You wasn''t going to drink the rest of it anyway." *Burp* Lenny loudly burped. "But it worked, wasn''t it?" Lenny threw a glance at John. "Worked?" John suddently realized that the throbbing pain from his head had started to reduce. "Yeah... The leftover pain had vanished." "If in confusion, drink alcohol. It is almost always the answer for any problem." Lenny''s omega ''brand'' (The Novakid''s face) shine with a very strong light as he started to preach. John just rolled his eyes over Lenny''s preach about the usage of alcoholic beverage. Hangover (9) John entered the room that was close to the Arena 8. Just a few moments earlier John was called again by the robotic voice to enter the elevator go to the Arena 8, where he was going to fight his second round. "... Now, at the left side of the arena, please, welcome the participant 0368!" The announcer shouted. John helplessly sighed. He stood up from the chair and walked through the metal door that opened automatically. The moment he emerged from the door, the sound of cheers and clapping from the audience entered his ears. It was a wondrous feeling, almost the same when he walked up the stage of the Terrene Protectorate''s Academy to receive his Matter Manipulator from the Grand Protector. Hundreds of eyes focused on him as he slowly walked up in the stage. His eyes were slightly blurry, his heartbeat was slow. [Damnit... I think I''m tipsy.] As soon as he entered the arena he met with his opponent. It was just as he saw at the holovision. They looked at each other in contemplation. John''s opponent was a burly middle-aged aged man with a complete full beard in his face. His whole body was covered in all different types of scars, from blades, bullets and burnt wounds. One look at him and anyone would say he was certainly a battle veteran. "Hey, lad..." The man called out for John. "You''re a Protector... Aren''t you?" He cruelly smiled. "..." John suddently remembered Lenny''s words, that the less amount of people that know his identify, the longer he would probably live. "No... I was just a citizen-" "Stop the bullshit." The man''s eyes glinted dangerously. "I always hated Protectors... I had killed a lot of Protectors in the Sigma Sector. I can identify a Protector with a single glance. Their mannerism, speech, actions, and... Combat movements, I had seen and killed a lot of them, so I know all this at the back of my hand." John pulled up his guard immediately. The conversation between them was heard by no one, the judge had already retreated to the side togheter with the announcer. "I''m going to crush your skull and drink your blood." The man licked his lips and locked his eyes on John''s body. John slightly trembled. This was the first time he met with someone that had this much hatred and killing intent locking on him.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Even that Agent that he met at the Lunar Base 12 only wanted to kill John and Lenny because it was his job. The person in front of John was different. The amount of hatred and killing intent was overwhelming. One look at the man''s eyes and John was able to tell that the hatred was very deep. [Why does he hate Protectors...?] John tried to think of something, but his thoughts were interrupted by the siren signalizing that the battle began. His movements were slow because of the drink he had earlier, so he was unable to dodge the man''s fast attack. *Puh* John was sent backward heavily coughing. The punch was very strong, with no intention of holding back, it hit John right on the stomach. *Bam* John fell on the ground. He tried to stand up, but what greeted him was a knee that was at the full speed toward his face. He hastily placed his hand in front of his face, trying to protect from the attack. *Bam* John was sent backwards once again like a ragdoll. *Drip, drip, drip* A faint red line appeared from John''s nose. The blood dropped onto the white floor creating a small puddle. Then John suddently felt the killing intent getting near. He rolled to the side and dodged the man''s attack. John swiftly stood up and retreated. He was dizzy and his eyes were blurry. John didn''t felt the pain coming from his face, his adrenaline levels were at the highest at the moment, preventing him from feeling the stinging pain. He lifted his hand and cleaned the blood out of his nose. "You''re a fast one..." The man grinned widely while casually standing where John was. "I want to see... For how long you can dodge." "Can I ask you a question?" John tried to buy time to rest for a while and recover from his dizziness. "Trying to buy time... Amateur..." The man slightly laughed. "Sure. I will give you a few minutes to live..." "Why do you hate Protectors so much?" At the very mention of the word ''Protector'' was enough to make the man''s face twist in extreme hatred. "Heh." The man coldly snorted. "When I was a kid my colony was burnt to the ground by the Black Star Syndicate. Me and my family were captured by them and sold to the Letheia Corporation. They told us that if we worked hard and saved enough money, one day we could buy our freedom. But guess it... They lied to us. We became debt-slaves, the debt would never go away and we would work forever for them. It was one day that I saw some Senior Protectors going inside the debt-enslavement camp, I tried to ask for help, since I thought they ''protected the innocent and punished the evil''..." The man''s eyes looked on John''s. "I made a mistake... They took me and punished me for it trying to escape. I was whipped until my back was nothing more than a blood and flesh mess. I soon discovered the harsh truth... The Terrene Protectorate would never denounce any action made by the Letheia Corporation... Protectors are nothing more than Letheia''s dogs, they abide to their every order..." The man smiled. "This answered your question... Dog?" John''s eyes were covered in gloom and sadness. [Terrene Protectorate... Esther was right... It was already a dying organization...] He lifted his head and shove away the sadness, instead, his eyes shone with determination. "Looks like we are done with the talking..." The man saw that John was ready, so he charged once again toward him. John''s stopped thinking about random stuff and focused on the man in front of him. Time slowed down. Everything around John seemed to be in slow motion. John stared the man and started to think in a way to end the battle as fast as possible. The man was charging up and was ready to throw a punch with his right hand. John swiftly and naturally dodged to side. The bearded man looked in surprise at John and tried to switch his position. John didn''t gave him the chance. He took the chance that the man''s guard was lowered and kicked him right at the back of the man''s supporting leg knee. The man lost his balance and started to fall forward, toward John. John took this advantage and used the man''s momentum and his own strength to throw a devastating punch right at the side of the man''s jaw. Hangover (10) *Bam* *Crack* As soon as the punch connected to the jaw, a loud sound of bones breaking travelled toward John''s ears. The bearded man was knocked out instantly. The shock and pain coming from the dislocated jaw was enough to KO the man. The audience cheered even more loudly as they witnessed a good fight, despite being too fast, it was quite good for a amateur fight. John deeply looked at the fallen bearded man. The words he had spoke still echoed in his mind. "In behalf of all the honest Protectors, I say, we are sorry..." John whispered in a low voice that only himself, and possibly the man, had heard. John didn''t even waited for the announcer to declare his victory he walked straight out of the arena. His mood was simply terrible. ... The moment John entered the resting room he saw that Lenny was sleeping with his hat covering his own face, again. John sadly sighed and walked toward the freezer that was beside Lenny''s couch. He opened it and took a bottle of Goodman whiskey. It was a very expensive alcoholic beverage, a lot more expensive that the generic one he and Lenny had been drinking. He silently opened it. "Tough... Fight?" Lenny took his cowboy hat away from his face and glanced at the gloomy John. "Yes..." John drank a mouthful of the beverage while grimacing. The headache had already started to attack his brain, but as soon as the alcohol kicked in, it dissipated to nothing. "Why ssssso... Moo- *hiccup* -dy?" Lenny was already drunk. His words were almost unrecognizable, he could barely move his body, and he was hiccuping every few seconds. "It... It has nothing to do with you..." John hesitated, but decided to not tell about it. He doesn''t want others to know about... The sad truth of the Terrene Protectorate. "Yoooou know *hiccup* I have realizzzzzed *hiccup* that you have been veeeeery sad this last couple of *hiccup* hours." Lenny lazily glanced at John. "Sometimes... *Hiccup* is for the best to speak with other people about their *hiccup* problemssss." "I-I-I don''t know..."If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. "Come onnnnnn. I promise I will be a good listener." Lenny spent a lot of strength to move his body closer to the freezer. He opened it and took another bottle of generic whiskey. His movements were very awkward and funny that John slightly chuckled. He took another sip from the Goodman. "Well... It happened a few hours ago, when I was Administrator Itsuki''s office and..." John let the alcohol affect himself and said everything that he had heard from Esther and Itsuki. When he finished the resume, he felt relived, like a weight had lifted from his heart. John glanced at Lenny and... He was asleep. John lightly shook his head. He looked at the watch in his PIPS and saw that the 10 minutes of rest were almost over. He stood up and stayed by the door, waiting for the moment the robotic voice would call him over. "Participant 0368... John Connor, please proceed to Arena 5." John awkwardly stood up. His movements were slow and stiff. With much effort he was able to ride the elevator. His eyes were blurry and his mind was working very slowly. ... "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the round 3 of the Amateur Tournament." The announcer walked up to the stage. "..." He spoke a few more pleasantries and about their sponsors. "Now... Let''s welcome our fighters. To our right we have a female Floran with the height of 1.75 meters and weighing 60 kilograms. Fighter number 1189!" A round of ablaze applauses resonated in the large Arena as a attractive Floran, middle-aged, female Floran emerged from the entrance. It was obvious that it was a middle-aged because the foliage on her skin was yellowish. The older a Floran is, darker is the colour of their foliage, or ''skin''. Also, the flower on top of her head was also wrinkly and wlost its vivid colors. The Floran John met, Peri, the foliage of her skin was very green, it means she was still young, about 15-25 years old. "Now... To our left we have a male Human with the height of 1.85 meters and weighing 90 kilograms. Fighter number 0368!" John slowly emerged from the door while awkwardly walking and stumbling ever after a few steps. When John saw that his opponent was a Floran, and a female on top of that, he knew he was screwed. [Florans are the strongest warriors in raw physical strength. While the male Florans are know more for their strength, the female ones are know for their speed... I''m fucked. Speed was supposed to be my advantage, but now...] John didn''t wait for the bell to announce the start of the match and immediately placed all his focus and concentration on the female Floran. Bullet Time. As the time slowed down before John''s eyes, he heard saw that the battle had started. The female Floran immediately rushed toward John with a speed greater than what he ever saw before. Not even those Florans he met in the Academy had so much speed such as this Floran. John tried to dodge the incoming attack, but he made a mistake on judgement. Yes, indeed he was able to see the world in slow motion, but this power only accelerated his Thought Speed and gave him something like a Kinetic Vision, so, basically it only changed his senses, not his actual speed. His body couldn''t move as fast as he wanted. The power had worked against the other opponents because they were slower than him, so he was able to maintain an balance between mind and body, but against the Floran, that was faster than him... It was of almost no use. He could only helplessly watch as the Floran''s attack slowly got closer to his body that was still in dodging motion. *Bam* John was sent backwards while spitting a mouthful of blood. [Strong...] John realized he was wrong. She wasn''t just fast, but also very strong, probably not strong as the Apex, but a lot stronger than the middle-aged man. *Blam* John stopped flying backwards after he hit the barrier of the arena. He hastily stood up. He cleaned the leftover blood on his lips with his hand. John lifted his head looked at the female Floran that was slowly walking toward him. [This is going to be difficult...] Hangover (11) *Woosh* The female Floran''s feet missed John''s face by centimeters. After a few exchanges, John was able to find a balance between his body and mind, by controlling how much he want to slow down the world around him. To fight against the Apex and the middle-aged man he used his Bullet Time to the maximum, slowing down the world to ten times the real speed. John was forced by the female Floran''s onslaught of attacks to find the proper balance between the speed that his mind was working and the speed that his body could accompany. After being beaten up like a ragdoll for a few minutes, John found out that the best was to slow down the world by three times. *Woosh* John dodged another attack. He was now able to dodge, but... He was unable to counterattack. John rolled backwards gave her a low kick. The Floran easily jumped, wanting to make John''s attack useless, but... *Bam* While his leg was in a horizontal motion it suddently stopped and then flew vertically, hitting the Floran right in jaw. She flaw backwards for a few meters and then graciously landed on her feet. She blankly stared at John like she was confused about what had happened. John finally found a way to hit the Floran despite her speed. When he tried to give a low kick it was in fact a faint. The real attack would come later, when he attacked he switched the 3-time slower Bullet Time to the 10-time slower, with this change he was able to see in details every motion made the female Floran. He used this to his advantage and predicted her next move, when this was done he switch it back to 3-time slower and changed the attack. Using this switch technique he can give a faint attack, predict the opponent''s next move, and then change his attack accordingly. [I can do this.] John''s whole body was covered in bruises and wounds from the Floran''s almost deadly strikes. He cleaned his bloodied lips and faced the Floran that had already recovered from her confusion. The Floran was enraged and immediately charged toward John. John nonchalantly entered in fighting stance and threw a punch forward. The Floran dodged by simply inclining the head to the side, making John''s hand miss the target by centimeters.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She was ready to followup with a attack when John''s arm suddently stopped and moved to the side. *Bam* The Floran was sent to the side by John''s elbow attack. John ran toward her and tried to catch her. The Floran bent her body and escaped from John''s clutches. She did a twirl and landed with her hands on the ground. She immediately threw a roundabout kick. *Whoosh* John inclined his whole body backwards, making the kick miss the target. He swiftly returned to normal and reached his hand for the leg. He caught the Floran''s leg, lifted her high and mercilessly threw her in the ground. *BAM!* The Floran spat a mouthful of green blood and started to moan in pain. John stopped for a moment to catch his breath. His head was starting to hurt from the multiple uses of Bullet Time, and his whole body was screaming in pain from the Floran''s earlier attacks. John almost fainted when he saw that even after that devastating move the female Floran was able to stand up again, even though she was trembling, she was back. Deciding to finish this as soon as possible John charged, he didn''t gave her time to recover. *Bam* *BAM!* She was unable to dodge in time, her whole was body was weak after John''s move, and she was flying and hit the barrier of arena with full force. John followed her and arrived next to her not even a second after she hit the barrier. *Bam* John mercilessly attacked with his fist at the Floran''s torso while she was still by the barrier. *Splat* She spat a mouthful of green blood all over John''s body and then fainted. John fell on his knees. His chest was waving up and down as tried to properly breath. His whole body was a mess of bruises, sweat, red and green blood. The judge entered the arena when he saw that the Floran fell and wasn''t moving. He approached and checked her situation. After he saw that she had just fainted he walked toward John and lifted his arm high in the air. "We have a winner!" He announced. ... John dragged his body toward the resting room. He saw that Lenny was sprawled in the couch with the hat in his face, loudly snoring. The headache was attacking with full force so was the pain in his entire body. He moved toward the freezer and took another bottle of alcoholic beverage. He drank a mouthful at once. He coughed a little, but it was worthy, his headache showed clear signs of reducing. "Damn..." Lenny woke up and blankly stared at John. ", You''re really beaten up badly this time." John nodded his head. "Of course. She was no push over..." "She?" Lenny questioningly glanced at John. Lenny had already sobered a little since the last time. "Female Floran..." "Oh... Now that makes sense." John sat on the chair and drank another mouthful of beverage. "How was it...? The power, Bullet Time, I mean." "I was able to activate it and deactivate it at will during the match." John drank another mouthful of alcohol. "But the side effects came earlier and possibly stronger. I don''t know how strong it would be if I was sober, but I''m certain... It would be very painful." "Hehe..." Lenny snickered. "Stop whining like a little kid, Connor." "Why don''t you try yourself then!?" John was annoyed. "You have the power, but didn''t you said you couldn''t control it... Why don''t you take a try, huh?" "Fuck off." Lenny lazily laid on the couch. "I''m lazy and I''m not a masochist to go through this painful training." "Wait, what?" A sudden question popped up in John''s thought. "If you haven''t trained like this... How do you know it will work?" "How would I know?" Lenny laughed. "I never trained this power before." "What!? Were you fucking playing with me all this time!?" John stood up and raised Lenny by his collar. "Yes and... No" Lenny said jokingly. "Yes, I was playing with you, but at the same time I was testing on you if my hypothesis about how to train this power was correct." "Fuck you!" John threw Lenny at the couch with all his strength. "You used me as a tester." "Yep." "..." "Ah come on, stop being so mad about it. It worked didn''t it?" "Just... Just shut up. I''m really mad right now." "Hahahahahahaha..." Lenny joyfully laughed at John''s predicament. Hangover (12) Ark Outpost, the next day... "Argh..." John moaned in pain as he slowly woke up. He was with a headache that was hurting very badly and his whole body was screaming in pain. He was unable to move, trying to move a single finger caused his whole body to tense up and make John moan in pain. He looked around and realized that he wasn''t in the Iron Fist Arena, but he was actually in his room on the Royal Hotel. He was alone in the bedroom. [How did I ended up here...?] John tried to remember the events from yesterday. All he was able to remember was until he finished his third match, the one against the female Floran, from this point forward he wasn''t able to remember anything. He was feeling dizzy, thirsty and nausea. He also had a splitting headache and his whole body, every single muscular fiber was aching. [How the hell I ended up this way...] He looked at his own body and realized he was filled with bruises and spots with dried blood. The good news were that he was still wearing the fighting clothing. He sighed in relief when he saw that. After a few minutes he was finally able to stand up, but as he tried to walk he frowned. Every each step his whole body would ache. He entered the bathroom and took his garment He slowly walked toward the shower. He spent a lot of time in the shower because of the pain in his body. Every movement was a torture for him. The shower cleaned the bloodstains, dirt and helped him to wake up. He wore the casual clothes that he wore last day, a jeans, a simple t-shirt and the hoodie. When he woke up, he saw that they were by his bed. He dragged his body toward the living room. Even after tens of minutes in the shower, his body was still aching, a little less than when he woke up, but still was very painful. His headache and nausea had decreased by a lot, just his muscular pain that was taking a lot of time to start to decrease. The moment he entered the living room he saw Lenny lying in couch, and snoring with a bottle of Summerset beer in his hand. John''s entire forehead was covered in cold sweat and he had a grimace as his expression, the spent a lot of effort to walk toward Lenny. He kicked Lenny in the leg that dangling out of the couch, trying to wake him up. "Ah! What...?" Lenny immediately woke up while looking everywhere around him.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. "Hey!" John waved his hand in front of Lenny''s face. "Wake up, gas-bag." John may have forgotten about a few things that happened last day, but he still remembered that Lenny used him as a lab rat, he was still mad about that. "Oh... Connor..." Lenny rubbed his brand like a normal human would rub their sleepy eyes. "What''s up?" "What''s up!?" John berated. "How the hell did I end up in this place!? What happened yesterday!? And why the hell my head and body is so damn painful right now!?" John angrily threw one question after another. His mood was very sour for almost no reason the moment he woke up. "Oh..." Lenny looked at John from the top to the bottom. "This my friend, is the result of a night of fun." Lenny mysteriously said. "Stop acting and say it already." John said, annoyed. "Well... Simple, you are suffering from the symptoms of hangover. You drank way too much yesterday. It''s no wonder you forgot a lot of what happened and woke up with this amount of pain, and with this very sour mood." "Hangover..." John had read about it in the Internet. "So... Okay, now what really happened yesterday? I only remember until the time... We quarreled after the third match." "Oh..." Lenny tried hard to remember until he started laughing very hard. He almost fell from the couch from laughing. "Are you okay?" John curiously looked at the madly laughing Lenny. "Ha ha ha ha ha... I-I-I can''t breathe. Ha ha ha ha..." "Stop it! Say what happened!" John was tried to send another kick, but his whole body screamed in pain the moment he lifted his leg. He gave up and begrudgingly sat back on the chair. After a few moments Lenny stopped laughing and threw a mocking glance toward John. "Well... You basically won the Amateur Tournament." "Oh... I won?" John was surprised. He was drunk and had been beaten up a lot by the female Floran, he never thought he had a chance against his next opponent. "Yes, and... Ha ha ha..." Lenny tried to contain his laugh, but he failed to do so. John rolled his eyes and decided to not get angry, or his body might start aching again. "Connor... I must say that you... You really finished up your opponents with in a very good fashion." Lenny had to try very hard to contain his laugh. "You won against your opponents one after another with unprecedented speed and accuracy. The audience was very surprised by it since you almost lost the second and third match. They... *Muffled laugh* They started to call you... *Muffled laugh* Black Lightning... Ha ha ha ha... I can''t take it..." Lenny started to laugh again. [Black Lightning...?] John was baffled for a moment before his expression darkened. [What''s up with this chuuni... Nickname.] When Lenny saw John''s expression he started to laugh even harder. He was rejoicing over other''s misfortune. "Hey mister Black Lightning..." "Lenny..." John threateningly glanced at Lenny "Okay, okay. I will never talk about it again." Lenny swore. [It''s not like I''m the only one who will remember that day...] Lenny smirked. John tried to stand up, but his whole body was aching too much to do it. "You have some kind of medice that can decrease the effects of the hangover?" "Yes..." Lenny took a pill from PIPS and gave it to John. "Thanks..." John took the pill and swallowed it. He laid back on the chair and closed his eyes. After a few moments the medicine started show to the effects. The pain slowly disappeared. John opened his eyes and looked at Lenny... He was snoring again. "Hey... Hey!" John lightly kicked Lenny''s leg. "Ah! Wha-what!?" Lenny woke up. He looked at John. "What else happened yesterday?" John asked. He had already restored his calm demeanor. "Hmm... If I remember correctly you met up with a person right after your fourth match..." Lenny tried hard to remember the person. "He was a Human, a young man, and... His hair was... Red...? I don''t remember in details, I was also very drunk at that time." Lenny then remembered something, "Oh I remember his name... Jevil, if I''m not wrong." The Floran Colony (1) "Argh..." A Floran groaned in pain after being shot right in the chest by a rifle. The male Floran fell on a pool of his own green blood. "That''s the last one..." The soldier who shot down the Floran casually said while reloading the gun. "Sector clear." He said in his PIPS'' radio. "Sector clear." "Sector clear, as well." "All finished around here." The soldier received the awnser from all the other soldiers. "All right everyone, good job!" The soldier heard a voice talking in the radio, "Since it is done, blaze the whole colony to the ground and come meet up at the point B." "Yes, sir!" Every soldier acknowledged their orders. The soldier turned around and saw that the members of his squad had already stored their weapons and were carrying flamethrowers. All the soldiers were wearing armors that completely hid their body, it was was painted as forest camouflage, and in their chest had a black star painted. Their armor was made of Tungsten, Tier 2, and their weapons were made of Titanium, Tier 3. The soldier did as he was told and set the a few of the grass huts on fire. From time to time he would hear some shrieks coming from Florans that weren''t dead, but now were being burnt alive. He just casually glance at the Florans trying to put out the flame off their body. He took the rifle from his Inventory and shot them, one by one, dealing the finishing blow. After the soldiers burned the whole colony, they walked back to the point B. There they were able see the Floran kids they captured from the colony they just set on fire. There were rows and rows of cages which had 3 or more Floran kids. Most of the kids were covered in injuries from sword slashes and bullet holes, but they were still alive, since none of the injuries were fatal. "Looks like we are going to have a bonus..." The soldier unconcernedly said while looking at those helpless kids they just captured. "Hell yeah!" Another soldier, a burly one said by the side of the previous soldier. "We captured more than 90 this time." The burly soldier took off his helmet and revealed a human face. He grinned from ear to ear. "Even though we had to kill more than 10 of them to make them obedient, we still have a lot off them. Hehehehe... The Miniknog is going to pay us very handsomely."If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "Shut up..." The previous soldier said. "You know very well that most of our bonus is going to end up in the hands of that blue Novakid that gave us the coordinates for this place." The Human soldier''s smile disappeared. "Why don''t we... Deal with him and take the money...?" He said filled with dissatisfaction. "Are you mad?" The other soldier said while eyeing the Human soldier. "That guy is from our biggest business partner, the Extremist Reef Faction. If you do something to him and the Faction stop making deals with the Black Star Syndicate, do you know what the boss is going to do with you?" The Human soldier trembled when he heard that the boss would personally deal with him. "Yeah... You are right..." He resigned the thought of dealing with the Novakid, but he was still filled with dissatisfaction. The other soldier saw that and sighed. "I know very well that you would take the money and go around brothels to have fun. You know what... Go take a look in our prisoners take one of your liking and have... Fun with it. I don''t think the Miniknog would care about losing a single lab rat such as this." "Are you sure?" The Human soldier''s eyes glinted. Just imagining the pleasure of a virgin, light green Floran was able to make his little guy excitedly stand up. "Yes..." The soldier was disgusted at the Human soldier''s behavior, but they were companions, so he had to make sure to maintain at least a proper friendship. With that being said he didn''t tried to create deeper bound with him, but he didn''t completely shoved him to the side, even though he was disgusted by the Human''s fetishes of raping young, virgin females. "Hehehe..." The Human soldier fiercely glanced at the cages. The Florans cowered after seeing the blazing gaze of the soldier on them. "Hey! Don''t damage the goods." A voice loudly said from behind the two soldiers. "Who the fuc-" The Human soldier was about to shout at the person that dared to interfere in his joyous moment, but when he saw who said that to him, all he could do was to swallow his words and stare at the man with eyes filled with dissatisfaction. "What!?" The blue Novakid with a cross symbol as his brand, ''face'', asked the dissatisfied soldier. "Have anything to say to me?" He threatened. "No... Sir..." The soldier could only swallow his pride and salute the Novakid. "Good!" The Novakid smirked. "The little guys are for the Miniknog. I can''t allow you to have fun with them, but he do had captured a few adult Florans from the other colony... You can choose one of them and do whatever you want with it." The Human soldier was overjoyed. "Really!?" Even though it wasn''t as good as little virgins, it was better than nothing. The Human soldier started to fawn over the Novakid, "Oh great captain Oscar..." The other soldier just rolled his eyes over the Human''s shamelessness. Oscar chuckled at the soldier''s behavior. "Go ahead, they are the Spaceship SBS1776 and SBS1777. Just remember to deal with the aftermath yourself." "Don''t worry boss!" The soldier said excitedly. "After I''m done I with it I will kill and burn the evidence." The soldier saluted and happily went inside the temporary concrete outpost they had at the planet. "Black Star Syndicate... What a bunch of dickheads..." Oscar muttered while looking at the retreating Human soldier. He looked at the side and saw that there was another soldier there. "You, command the squad 5, 6 and 8 to take the cages to the temporary outpost, the Miniknog is going to arrive in one week." "Yes sir!" The soldier saluted and walked away. Oscar nonchalantly looked at the caged kids and then walked away as well. [Lenny...] He suddently thought of his old friend. [Don''t worry, after I''m done here, I''ll personally hunt you down and kill you.] His eyes glinted with a vicious and dangerous light. The Floran Colony (2) After recovering from the effects of the hangover, John and Lenny left the Royal Hotel and went to find Penguin Pete on the Shipyard Shop. On his way toward there, he felt a lot of eyes focusing on him. Even though there was no malicious intent, it creeped out John, he started to walk faster. Lenny who was by side saw that. He glanced at the people that were looking at John and realized that most of them were from the audience of the Iron Fist Arena. Lenny smirked and threw a side glance at John''s direction. "How does it feel being famous now... Black Lightning." "Lenny..." John angrily stared Lenny. "Don''t start it now..." "Alright, alright..." Lenny stopped messing around. They arrived at the Shipyard Shop after a few moments. There were Penguins working everywhere in the Shipyard, they were dismantling ship wreckages, and building new ships with the pieces. John was able to see a middle-aged man with orange hair berating the Penguins from the distance. John approached the man and the Penguin Pete also felt that there was someone behind hun, so he turned around. "John... Yer is here." Pete greeted John but ignored Lenny. "Pete, how are you?" John greeted Penguin Pete. "I''m fine, thanks." "Is the ship done?" "Yeah, it is done. Come, let me you show you how it looks now." Pete brought John and Lenny to enter inside the shop. The shop was completely made of a rusty metal, it looked very old from the outside, but the inside was sparkling new. There was catalogs of ships, other types of vehicles and pieces for repair on the walls. There was some advertisements about what appeared to be... Mechs. Mechs aren''t a rare sight in the space, a lot of people have them. They are a piece of machinery that is extremely needed since most of the spaceships doesn''t have weapon system. Usually, criminals use the Mechs to destroy, or board into ships and space stations. The prohibition of building Warships and placing weapons on spaceships was made by the Terrene Protectorate. If any ship was sighed using a weapon, they would be hunt down by the Terrene Protectorate and destroyed to serve as an example for the others. As for the Mechs, the Terrene Protectorate tried to prohibit them as well, but the Letheia Corporation refused to do it. Most of the mining operation in asteroid field and other planets are made by miners using Mechs to venture in this dangerous places. It was also because if this prohibition that most people started to lose interest in making big ships. Why would they build something big that couldn''t have weapons? They would only be an easy target for pirates since bigger ships cannot use the FTL Warp Drive. So this was also one of the reasons why almost 90% of the spaceships on the universe belong to one of the 5 classes, Sparrow, Kestrel, Falcon, Eagle, and Condor.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Pete stopped by a door that was inside the shop, he pressed some blank keys that were by the side of the door, and soon enough it opened. After the door opened John and Lenny was able to see that there was a stair that leads to the underground. "Come," Pete called both of them as he slowly stepped in the stairs. John and Lenny followed behind him. Once they entered they were met with a huge warehouse and what appeared to be a workshop. "Hey, Pete! You came at the right time, I need some help with something!" A Penguin wearing giant glasses appeared from the workshop. His entire body was covered in oil and some burnt marks. "Not now, I have customers!" Pete said to the Penguin. "Oh... Sorry for interrupting." The Penguin said apologetically. "Nevermind..." Pete said dismissively. "John this Penguin right here is the best mechanic of the Ark Outpost, his name is Akaggy-" "Dr. Akaggy." The Penguin corrected. "Dr. Akaggy..." Pete rolled his eyes. "He focuses his works in building and repairing Mechs." "Oh..." John curiously looked at the small Penguin. "Hi!" The Penguin used his wing to lift the oversized glasses back to the place. "Welcome to Dr. Akaggy''s Mech Workshop!" He said enthusiastically. "Don''t worry! I can assure you that this is a 100% legitimate business." "They''re not here for your Mechs, Akaggy..." Pete facepalmed. "It''s Dr. Akaggy!!!!!!! How many times I have to say!" The Penguin started to shout right at Pete''s face. "Get out of here." Pete sent the Penguin away with a kick using his artificial metal leg. "FUCK YOUUuuuu..." The Penguin shouted as he crashed right into his Workshop. "*Ahem* Sorry about that..." Pete said embarrassedly. "You sell Mechs?" John glanced around the warehouse and saw that there was indeed some giant humanoid robots in the walls. "Well... Not me, but that Akaggy fella!" Pete started to bring walk again. "I don''t have experience messin'' around with Mechs, they are way too complex for me. All these Mechs that see in this warehouse were projected and built by him. He''s a... Genius..." "If he''s a genius why wouldn''t he open a shop for himself in the surface?" Lenny was bored so he casually asked. "He had a shop there... Once... But he lost it..." Pete sadly sighed. "It''s all because of that... Fucker called Dreadwing and his crew." Pete shook his head and smiled. "Let''s not talk about this for now. Come I''m going to show how yer ship looks from the exterior." Pete brought them to a giant and empty room that only a single machine in the middle of the room. Pete turned the lights on and then turned the machine on. After a few rumbling noises, the machine shot out a huge light from the cylinder that was on top of it. The blue light formed a giant hologram that showed the exterior of John''s ship. "Here is your new ship..." Pete pointed at the ship. John walked closer at stared at the giant hologram. It was almost like a completely new ship. The whole frame had been changed, now it looks like a militaristic Sparrow spaceship from... The USCM. "As yer can see I changed the frame to a more... Useful one" Penguin Pete started to explain the changes, "While the Terrene Protectorate''s spaceship frame is also good, it isn''t the best for when you engage in a space battle or yer have fled... Since the Protectors almost never have to flee, their ships were never designed as such. But the main motive I changed the frame was because your previous one remembered too much a Terrene Protectorate ship, it had the style and even the logo by the sides. Now that the Terrene Protectorate is destroyed, any person with grudges would hunt down yer if they found that yer have anything that remembers them the Terrene Protectorate, so I took the liberty to make these changes." Pete explained about the changes, but also warned John using an undertone, about the risks of being found out that he had any relation with the Terrene Protectorate. The Floran Colony (3) "This is yer new ship." Penguin Pete said after him, John and Lenny used the teleporter to beam to John''s ship. John looked around and was impressed by Penguin Pete''s work. The whole ship look like it just came out of a shop. The metals were and the paint job was also very simplistic, just the way he like it. The interior of the ship was completely painted in white with some black stripes. "Wow!" Lenny exclaimed as his expression brightened. "This ship is amazing, better than mine." "As yer may have noticed, I took the liberty to change a bit of the rooms, I exchanged the Prison Cells for a standart Crew''s Quarters. It can accommodate 2 people." Penguin Pete said. "Why did you got rid of the Prison Cells?" John wasn''t mad about it. Even though John barely knew him, Penguin Pete had already proven himself of being trustworthy. "Simply because there are no more Terrene Protectorate Outposts and Prisons... These facilities had been overtaken by Letheia Corporation, Black Star Syndicate, Nova Rebellion and the Dreadwing Pirates. These are the organizations that had started to make bigger movements now that the Terrene Protectorate is gone. In other words, yer have no place to send prisoners." "Oh... It makes sense." "As for the outside hull, I made it usin'' Titanium and Tungsten. Since Titanium is way to expensive to make the whole hull made of it, I decided that this metal would only be used at the few important places of the ship, like the FTL Warp Drive engine, Artificial Gravity Generator, and the Life Support System. As for the rest of the outside hull, it was made completely by Tungsten. With that bein'' said, your ship is basically a giant Tier 2 Armor." Penguin Pete proudly said. "Damn." Lenny looked surprised. "That''s good stuff... My ship is only made using Steel." "Of course, most ships would be built using only Steel for the hull. There was almost no reason to spend more in a expensive hull anyway. There was no space battles that would involve the main ships, most of the battles were done using the Mechs in the outside. But now that the Terrene Protectorate''s law are gone you can imagine what is goin'' to happen in the future. Warships and prohibited weaponry are going to start to appear more and more often as time passes. It''s better to be prepared than to suffer later on." "Thanks... Really..." John was touched. To make such a giant ship made of Tungsten and Titanium would be very, very expensive, and Penguin Pete had done it for John without asking for anything. This, coupled with the fact that John only asked him to repair the ship, but he basically made a complete new ship. John couldn''t even imagine how expensive it was to make this much.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. "Well..." Penguin Pete embarrassedly scratched his nose. "Just... Just try not to die around there kid, or Esther might get depressed." He walked back to the teleporter. "That''s all I had to say to you, lad. Be careful out there..." He activated the teleporter and disappeared. "Okay..." Said Lenny, "I''m going to the Crew''s Quarters take a nap. Wake me up if you need something." He left as soon as he finished speaking. John helplessly shook his head. He decided to go to the cockpit. Once he entered there, the first thing he did was to check the Fuel Hatch. Once he looked at the screen on the console he saw that the Fuel Hatch was half full. [He even filled a little of the Fuel Hatch...] John was very thankful of Penguin Pete''s kindness. John took out the Data Chip that Itsuki gave to him and inserted into the Navigation Console. "Loading Data Chip..." John heard the emotionless voice of S.A.I.L once again. It had been a while. "Loading Completed... All information had been downloaded, you are free to use the Navigation Console now, Protector." John sat on the Captain''s chair and rested his hands on the console in front of him. [Now... My adventure is finally beginning...] His fingers flew across the touch screen and soon enough the ship''s engine had started to make rumbling noises. He looked at the planet that he met up with Lenny in the Navigate Console, Planet Gamma 213-4, and saved the coordinates of the planet. John saw that the ship was slowly starting to move forward. He could hear the sound of the engines and the thrusters going full force. [I need to find a Floran Colony...] John remembered the mission Esther gave him. [Florans often live in... Gentle Star Systems, Forest Planets, if I''m not wrong...] The universe is devided in 5 different types of Star Systems, each have their own differences, Threat Levels and environment hazards. The Gentle Star System is the most basic and also the most abundant ones. The Star of this Systems have a white color and don''t have any type of environment hazard. The planets that orbit this stars can only be of Forest, Garden or Desert biomes, and they often have a Threat Level 2. A Threat Level of a planet represent how dangerous is the planet, what materials it have, and also warn the explorer what kind of Armor and Weaponry you would need to use in this specific planets. For exemple, a Threat Level 2 planet have the metal Tungsten in their Geological Composition, and it also shows that the most advisable Armor and Weaponry you should use in the planet is also from Tier 2. John looked around the Gentle Star System he currently was. After navigating through the console he soon found that there was a Forest Biome Planet in the Star System. He activated the autopilot at the coordinates of the planet. He decided to not use the FTL Warp Drive since it would only take 2 days to get to planet. Erchius Fuel Liquid was very expensive it was for the best to not use it too much. The ship started to gain speed at move faster toward the planet. After seeing he was done with his job in the Cockpit, John stood up and went to the Crafting Room. [Okay... Now I need to smelt those ores that I took from the Mine in that planet.] John took the ores that he found in the Mine that he met Lenny, and threw the ores in the Atomic Furnace. [Hmm... It says that it''s going to be done in 2 hours...] John looked at the timer on top of the Atomic Furnace. John looked around the room. [Now... What next?] The Floran Colony (4) Lenny woke after 1 hour of napping. He walked around the ship while admiring it until his started to feel hunger. He began looking for John since it was his first time in the ship, he didn''t know where was the kitchen. He stopped walking after he saw that he was in front of a door that had a sign on top it that reads ''Crafting Room''. Walking closer to the door, he was able to hear some sounds coming from inside the room. [He is here...] Lenny thought. He walked even closer and soon the door automatically opened. He entered the room and looked around. The room was filled with top notch apparatus and machines that he had never seen before. Suddently he started to smell the stench of blood. He frowned and followed the smell. After walking for a while, he soon saw John that had his back turned to him. John was doing something in the table in front of him. He was so concentrated in his work that he didn''t sensed Lenny approaching from behind. The moment John felt a presence behind him, Lenny was already only 2 meters away. "Oh, Lenny..." John turned around and saw that it was Lenny that was behind him. "What the..." Lenny exclaimed in surprise when he was John turned around. He wasn''t surprised by the fact that John sensed him, but by the fact that John was wearing a apron, gloves, and was wielding a knife, that were all covered in crimson blood. "...?" John confusedly looked at Lenny. "What''s up with all this... Blood" Lenny glanced at the table and saw it was filled with Batongs'' carcass. "Oh... This?" John looked at himself and realized what Lenny was talking about. "I''m just cutting and processing the meat of the Batongs. Also, I''m taking the poison from their tongues and placing it on this bottles" John showed a few bottles filled with some kind of transparent liquid. "Great..." Lenny glanced elsewhere. "Where is the kitchen?" "Hungry?" "Starving." John lightly chuckled. "Wait a few moments, I''ll make something for us to eat." John placed the knife on the table, took out the bloodied apron and gloves, and left the Crafting Room. He entered the Captain''s Quarter and went directly for the kitchen. "Hmm..." John searched around and saw that almost everything he had was canned food and some dried vegetables. He frowned. [Looks like I''ll need to make use of Batong meat...]This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. He took the meat out of his PIPS and placed it on a chopping board, then he took a new apron he found on one of the kitchen''s cabinet. With a kitchen knife on his hand, John got ready to start cutting the meat. His hands were very fast as he separated the meat from the bones and also cut the meat in small pieces. After he was done with the meat he started to slice some vegetables. John took everything and started to cook a soup. In just a few minutes he had finished cooking. He opened the lid of the pan and the delicious aroma of the food exploded out of the confined pot. "Food..." Lenny appeared like a ghost behind John. His mouth was hanging open while a fine trail of sparkling saliva came out of his mouth. "Hey!" John slapped Lenny''s hand that was almost reaching for the pot. "Go sit down on the table over there, the food is almost ready." Lenny dejectedly walked back and sat at the table. John helplessly shook his head and then returned to finish the food. He took a few spices that were at the kitchen''s cabinet and carefully put a little of it on the pot. John saw that it was done, so he took it to the table. He placed it down and then went back to the cabinet to retrieve some plates and tablewares. "Now you can eat." John couldn''t look at the suffering Lenny anymore and allowed him to start eating. "Thanks!" He swiftly took the pot and served himself. John lightly chucked and waited for Lenny. "Damn!" Lenny''s Brand shone with a fiery light. "This is good! I didn''t expect that you knew how to cook." He commented after he ate a spoonful of the soup. "It''s nothing..." John became full of himself after being praised. "If I had more seasonings, vegetables and more tender meat, I would show you what I could really do with all skills." "The Academy taught you how to do cook?" Lenny curiously asked while he ate one spoonful after another. "No, they only taught us how to hunt, skin, and prepare food. The basic of survival in the wilderness. As for cooking I taught myself, simply because I lived alone and sometimes I wanted to eat something different from what they served in the canteen." "Oh..." Lenny suddently took a bottle from his PIPs and placed over the table. John glanced at the bottle and couldn''t help but stare. "Wine? Seriously?" "What? There''s no good dish without a good alcoholic beverage." John rolled his eyes and kept eating. Lenny also retrieved two cup from his PIPS. "Want some?" "No!" John said decisively. He doesn''t want to experience the pain of hangover once again. "Tch..." Lenny clicked his tongue in displeasure. John only threw a side glance at Lenny and resumed his meal. "What are we going to do now?" Lenny played around with his cup that was filled with wine. "I need to find a Floran colony..." John resumed the mission Esther gave him to Lenny. "...That''s basically what I need to do." "Cool..." Lenny was completely uninterested and kept drinking wine. "Hmm... If I''m not wrong you are completely out of bullets, right?" "Yes..." "What type of bullets you need?" "I use the ammunition of 12.7x99mm USCM for my sniper rifle and a .45 (11.43x33mmR) Hyperion for my revolvers." "Well, you are lucky then. I have the blueprint for those ammunitions in my Assembler, I can basically make lot of bullets for you." "Really!?" Lenny was overjoyed. Even though his primary sniper rifle was of the same Tier of the energy sniper John gave him, he still prefer the old style fire weapons. John, of course have those types of ammunition, since most of the guns in the universe came from USCM, Hyperion and Maliwan. While USCM focused solely on fire weapons, Hyperion focused in Gaussian weaponry and also worked a little with energy weapons, and Maliwan only create the best of the best energy weapons. Maliwan is a special case because it belong to the organization Nova Rebellion, this organization is very secretive of their operations, but they usually involve themselves in fights against the Letheia Corporation. Their products is so good that they are able to go head to head against Hyperion and USCM weaponry. As for USCM weapons, after the fall of the organization, the ones who manufacture the weapons is the Black Star Syndicate. That''s why John had the blueprint of calibers of bullets that weapons from USCM and Hyperion use. The ship already came with the blueprints for the Protector to be able to make bullets for himself without the need to go supply in a Terrene Protectorate Outpost. The Floran Colony (5) John opened the Atomic Furnace and withdrew the metal ingots and a few other things. Lenny curiously looked at the furnace. "So... How are you going to make the bullets?" "It''s very simple, in fact." John said while he cautiously retrieved some kind of powder from the furnace. "I just need to place the necessary materials inside the Assembler, select what I need to be done, and then we just have to wait." "What is that?" Lenny looked at the orange powder that John was carefully collecting from the Atomic Furnace. "This is Volatile Powder." John filled some metal tubes with the powder. "It''s what you get after grinding a Core Fragment in molecular level. It''s basically a very powerful gunpowder, it''s what create the explosion that propel the bullet, and also what is used to create granades, rockets, dynamites, etc." "Oh..." John took the Volatile Powder, iron, copper and lead ingots into the machine that looked just like a washing machine with some high-tech things here and there. "Now... I just need to find the blueprints..." John scrolled through the list of things that the Assembler was able to create. "Ha! Here it is." He soon found the ammunition he was looking for. "How many do you need?" John turned around to look at Lenny that was behind him. "I think about 200 for the revolvers and 100 for my rifle." Lenny answered after some thought. "Okay..." John clicked at the options for the two types of ammunition. "Do need some mags?" "No, I already have enough of them." "Alright... Then... All done." John walked away from the machine and it soon started making various noises. John looked at it, but he couldn''t see what was happening inside it. "It will be done in 6 hours." He glanced at the timer that was displaying in the Assembler''s screen. "Then... Wake me up when we arrive at our destination, I''ll be at my room, sleeping." Lenny yawned and stepped out of the Crafting Room. John helplessly shook his head, then he went back to slicing and processing the Batongs'' meat. He also separated the paralyzer poison since it might come handy later. And so it passed two days without problem, John was working in the Crafting Room while Lenny stayed by his room doing whatever he was doing and only left his room when it was time to eat. "Protector..." S.A.I.L''s emotionless voice woke John up. "... We''ll be arriving at our destination in 1 hour." John lazily stood up. He was inside the Captain''s Quarter, in the bed. After waking up, he went directly to the bathroom and took a shower. He decided to wear the Scouter Armor Set and not the Terrene Protectorate uniform.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Soon enough he was ready. Then, he went find Lenny. And... He was sleeping at the Crew''s Quarters, what a surprise! "Lenny!" John went beside Lenny''s ear and shouted at the top of his lungs. "Ah!" Lenny swiftly woke up and apprehensively looked everywhere around him. "Connor?" Lenny saw that John was the only living being around him, so he dropped his guard. "We will arrive shortly, get ready to beam down" Lenny sadly sighed and stood up from his bed. John''s lips twitched when he saw how lazy Lenny was. "I''ll be waiting for you by the teleporter." John walked away from the room leaving Lenny alone. Lenny slowly stood up and after that, he checked his own PIPS. [Oh, right, I forgot to take the ammunition.] He left the room and went find John. "Connor." Lenny called out for John when he saw him by the elevator. "Ready?" John glanced at Lenny. "No, I forgot to take the ammunition." John sighed, "Ahhh... Just go take it, they are inside the Assembler." "Alright." In just a few minutes Lenny returned to the teleporter. "Now I''m ready..." "Let''s go then." John said. "S.A.I.L, Protector''s ready to beam down." "Roger that." S.A.I.L acknowledged the command. "Teleportation starting in... 3... 2... 1... Now!" A white light enveloped both John and Lenny''s body, and soon they disappeared from the spot. ... Somewhere in the Forest planet that John and Lenny just arrived... "Sir." A soldier wearing a complete set of black armor called out for another soldier that looked way more burly, bigger and menacing. "We got a situation." "Explain." The burly guard approached and said with a deep and menacing voice. "Two more people had just teleported to this planet." The guard explained. "Two more!?" The burly guard berated. "Send the squad 8 to eliminate them." He sternly ordered. "Also, how is the squad 6 in their mission of eliminating the previous intruder?" "I''ll check immediately..." The guard faced the computer in front of him and started to send the order for the squad 8, then he went to check the situation at the squad 6''s side. "Squadron Leader what''s the situation?" The guard asked, but there was no response from the other side. "Squad number 6, do you copy?" He tried again, but no answer. "God damnit!" The burly guard punched the metal table in front of him. "Send the Squads 5 and 9 toward the first intruder. I want him or her dead in less then 2 hours!" "Yes, sir!" The guard started to send the orders right away. [What is happening here?] The burly guard angrily thought to himself. [Why all of sudden we have 3 intruders in this planet? Do I warn Oscar...? No, I can resolve this problem by myself. The Miniknog will arrive in just 5 days, I can''t fuck this up.] ... In the Forest planet... "ARGH!!!!" A scream of pain echoed throughout the previous calm and peaceful forest. The guard wearing a complete black armor fell on the ground while moaning in pain. He tried to get up, but he was unable to do so because there was a spear that had pierced his abdomen and pinned him on the ground. He looked at the spear and realized that it was completely made of a grayish wood. It was very simplistic and there was almost no decoration but the strange runic patterns that were everywhere in the spear. The guard tried to take the spear out of his chest, but the spear didn''t bulged even a single centimeter after he used all his strength to take it out. It was at this moment he heard the sound of footsteps coming from in front of him. He lifted his eyes, but all he was able to see was a young Floran with a green skin and a colored flower on top of her head. She approached very calmly, even though she was sometimes stepping in dried leaves it didn''t made any sound. The guard looked at those black eyes and a dreaded feeling rose inside of him. It was that same Floran that had killed all his companions from the Squad 6. He was the sole survivor, but from the looks of it, not anymore. "Wh-who are you?" He fearfully asked while his mouth trembled in dread. "My name is... Peri." She said calmly, but her voice was cold and filled with killing intent. "I''m here to avenge my family." She stopped by the guard and with a swift move she cut the guard''s throat using a knife that she was caring in her hand. Peri than took the spear and walked away from the body. The Floran Colony (6) As soon as the blinding white light disappeared, John was able to finally see his surrounding. It was a very beautiful forest all around him, the trees were colored with a kinds of color, from white to black. John was entranced by the sight in front of him. "Hey, can you help me?" John heard Lenny''s voice coming from beneath him. John looked downward and saw Lenny sprawled in the ground like a dead body. He lightly chuckled. "Let me guess, you always hated teleporters." John crouched and helped Lenny stand up. "You are completely right." Lenny stood up and fixed his hat and scarf. "Teleporters are my worst enemy." He said in a very serious tone. "Right..." John just threw a side glance at Lenny and then took out his PIPS. He reached for the inventory and retrieved his two pistol, HEP02 and the Protector Pistol Mk.1 from the inside. He placed them in the holsters that were in his armors. Now he was ready. He looked at Lenny and saw him doing the same thing. Lenny realoaded his two revolvers and placed them in the holsters that were in his leather belt. He also reloaded the sniper and put it in his back. "Ready?" John saw that Lenny had finished preparing so he asked. "Let''s go." Lenny relaxedly said. Both of them started walk deeper in the forest. "How are we going to find a Floran colony?" Lenny asked while he was admiring the beauty of the forest. "I don''t know..." John shook his head. "We just need to keep looking." John and Lenny walked around for the entire day and just stopped when became night. The two of them sat by a campfire. John was cooking and Lenny was drinking a bottle of wine. It was at this moment that both of them felt a killing intent locking on them. John rolled backward and dodged the grayish flash just passed by his head. Lenny jumped to the side fast enough to evade the green blur that went toward his direction. The moment he dodged he heard the sound of the wind being cut by a extremely sharp object just by his ears. "Connor!" Lenny looked around while he drew his two revolvers from the holsters. "I''m fine!" John walked out from the bush that he had just rolled inside while he also drew his pistols.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. "Be careful." Lenny said while he scanned everywhere around him. "I can feel we are being watched at this exact moment." "Yeah..." John also looked at their surrounding. They stayed with their back turned from each other as they slowly made circular movements that allowed them to see everywhere around them. "John Connor?" John heard a feminine and familiar voice. John turned around to face the source of the sound. Suddently a figure emerged from the bush that John was staring. It was a beautiful Floran with green skin and a colored flower on top her head. It was Peri, the Floran that John met in the entrance of the Iron Fist Arena. The only notable difference was that she was wearing a green Tier 2 Armor made of Tungsten and her whole aura was covered in bloodthirsty and hatred. "Peri?" He was surprised to see a familiar person on this planet. Peri stared hard on John, her eyes were very cold and filled with killing intent. "Are you... With them?" She coldly asked while her body entered in fighting stance. "Them?" John confusedly looked and Peri. "Who?" Peri and John kept looking at each other until Lenny couldn''t help but interrupt the moment. "Hey, lady, we just arrived in this planet. So, please can you low your knife?" Peri glanced at Lenny. "Oh... The drunkard idiot from before... I remember you." "*Cough*, *cough*" Lenny awkwardly coughed. "Nice to meet you, lady. And please refer to me by my name, Lenny." "I''ll try." She sweetly smiled as she lowered her knife. "So... What are you two doing here?" She glanced at both of them with questioningly eyes. "We''re looking for a Floran colony." John responded while he sat back by the campfire. Lenny was already downing in his wine. "Then... I''m afraid you''re late..." Peri sadly sighed. "Why?" John curiously looked at Peri. "The Floran colony of this planet had been burned to the ground." She said while her voice slightly trembled. "Burned?" "Yes, it was those bastards from the Syndicate." She kicked the ground in anger, it was so strong that it created a small crater on where her feet landed. "Wait..." John than glanced at Peri with eyes filled with pity. "Don''t tell me... It was your family?" "Yes..." Peri sat by the campfire togheter with John and Lenny. "My whole family and tribe was destroyed... Just like that." "I''m sorry..." John tried to comfort her with some words, but he wasn''t good at it. "Nevermind..." Peri stared at the dancing flame of the campfire. "We Florans are different from almost every other race. Since young we''re trained to become warriors with stone hearts, so that we could easily adapt through any situation and move on. While it''s true that I''m very saddened about this unfortunate event, it isn''t enough to break a heart that had been honed for years." Peri took a piece of meet from the campfire and ate it. John glanced at her, but he was able to see, the desolate shadow and the sadness in her eyes. She had planned to return to her home tribe, but what greeted her was the sight of a burned tribe. It truly was... Saddening. John sighed. "Do you want our help? I mean, help to deal with your enemies?" "No... I can deal with this alone." Peri glanced at John and lightly smiled. "Thanks for your... Worry, but I think I must do this alone." John was momentarily entranced by the sight of her smile. He shook his head and recovered from the stun. "I think we can help each other you know." John suddently thought of something. "Oh?" Peri stopped eating and stared at John. "I need to find a Floran colony, but I don''t which planets have it and neither do I know how to find one when I''m the planet, so..." "You want my help..." She realized what he wanted to say right away. "And in exchange of this help you are willing to help me, right?" "Right." John nodded his head. Peri chuckled. "Alright, alright. I accept your help. It''s not like I have somewhere to go after I achieve my revenge anyway." [Yes!] John cheered inside his mind. A smile slowly creeped out from his mouth. "Nice work." Lenny poked John with his elbow while he teased him. "You have to take this chance while she is saddened and lost to get some points with her and-" "Shut up." John said in a low voice while he slapped Lenny away from him. The Floran Colony (7) It was in the middle of the daybreak, when the night was at its darkest. John, Lenny and Peri were each on their tents, presumably asleep. It was at this moment that Peri''s eyes flared open and glinted with a dangerous, and malicious light. She slowly left the tent, her footsteps didn''t made any sound, but... "Leaving, so soon?" Peri heard a voice coming from behind her. She turned around and saw the yellow beacon known as Lenny, resting by a tree that was behind her tent. She squinted her eyes and stared at Lenny. "It''s none of your business, Novakid." "Yes, it is." Lenny took a revolver from his holster and aimed at Peri. He was calm and his expression was unreadable. "Why don''t you just say the truth right away?" Lenny glanced at her. "I don''t want to envolve him, and you in my problems..." She sadly sighed. "Even though I appreciate your sentiments... It''s too late now..." Lenny glanced behind him. "We have company." He took his other revolver. It was at this moment that Peri also sensed the presence of 6 people coming from the direction behind Lenny. She looked at Lenny with eyes filled with surprise. Florans have been trained in the forest since they were young, so they are the best hunters in this type of environment. Because of their living style, after centuries of evolution, they also evolved enough to have night vision. That''s why she was surprised. How was Lenny, who didn''t had night vision and neither spent almost his entire life in forest, able to sense the approaching enemy before her. "Enemies?" John emerged from his tent while carrying his two pistols. "There is 6 of them." Lenny said while throwing a glance at Peri. "Indeed..." She confirmed with her high instincts. John looked at Lenny and then at Peri. He noticed that there was tense atmosphere around them the moment he emerged from his tent. "What we do then? Engage in direct confrontation or ambush?" "I prefer direct confrontation." Peri said unhesitatingly. "What a crazy woman..." Lenny sneered at her. "We''re in disadvantage of number, of course we have to go with ambush." "This isn''t the Warrior''s Way. Ambush is for the cowards and weak." She looked down at Lenny.Stolen novel; please report. "Hey!" John interrupted their quarrel. "They are almost here, we go with the ambush, alright?" John switched his sight between Lenny and Peri. "Alright..." Lenny shrugged his shoulders. "..." Peri just nodded her head. "Okay... Lenny, climb a tree and give support while me and Peri will go there and meet them face to face. We start when I fire." Lenny was about to left the place when he glanced one last time at Peri. After a few moments he took his sight away from her and swiftly climbed a tree. Peri, of course sensed that glance from Lenny, but she just ignored it. She stayed with John and both of them went silently toward the group of 6 enemies that were in their front. When they were almost closer to the enemies, John made a signal for Peri to go toward the left side while John went to the right side. They were going to pinch the enemy from both sides while Lenny would take care of the front. John crouched by the bush and waited. "They were around here..." John heard one of the enemies say. "Hmph! They couldn''t have gone too far, keep looking." Said another of the soldiers. John lifted his head and analysed them. All of the enemies were wearing a forest camo Armor with a conspicuous black star on their chest. John was unable to see which Tier the armor was, but he was able to identify the weapons they were using. [USCM Spit Fire...] John''s face became grim. [The advanced Assault Rifle used by the USCM forces. Tier 3 weapon with high fire rate and high penetration... They are well equipped.] John was also able to identify some of their granades and equipments, including the Teleport Signal Jammer. John glanced at his PIPS and saw that he was indeed unable to beam back to the ship. He deeply inhaled and then stopped breathing. His full concentration was on the enemy that was the closest of him. Bullet Time. The time around him slowed down by 10 times. He lifted his HEP02 and aimed at the unprotected joint between the Chestguard and the Helmet, right at the neck. He calmly pressed the trigger... *Bang* The energy bullet left the muzzle of the pistol and travelled at a speed faster than sound. "Argh!" The bullet pierced the neck of the enemy from one side and left at the other. There was no blood splattered because of the high temperature of the bullet that was able to cauterize the wound as it went through. The guy fell dead on the ground. "Contact!" The other enemies realized they were being ambushed so they started to fire at the direction from which the energy bullet came. *Bang, bang, bang...* They pressed the trigger with determination and the Assault Rifles shot a barrage of fire. John rolled around to dodge the bullets, but a few of them hit his armor. "What is th-" Another enemy fell when a grayish light flashed right before his eyes. He didn''t even had time to finish speaking when a gray spear pierced his helmet and head. Blood splattered everywhere. The 4 remainder enemies fell in panic and started firing everywhere. Peri jumped from her hiding spot and launched toward the closest enemy. She waved her hand and the spear that was lodged in one of the soldier''s head disappeared, and appeared in her hand. John looked with a surprised expression when he saw what Peri had done. It was just like magic, but he didn''t see any trick involved in that, it really disappeared in one place and appeared in another. Peri moved like snake between the enemies, they had no chance of fighting back in such a close range against Peri. "Argh!" The sound of another enemy falling entered the ears of John. Peri''s spear was very sharp, sharp enough to pierce through the armor of the soldiers with no problem. After the spear penetrated the enemy''s heart, she rotated the spear and completely destroyed the heart, giving no chance of recovery to the soldier. Her entire body was covered in blood and her eyes glinted with hatred and bloodlust. There were only 3 soldiers left, but they stared blankly at Peri. They haven''t realized the carefully approaching John from behind them and neither Lenny that was taking aim at one of them. The soldiers were locked at a triangular formation of Peri, John and Lenny. The Floran Colony (8) "Wait, WAIT!" One of the soldiers shouted when he saw that Peri was about to start attacking again. The soldier''s back was covered in cold sweat when he glanced at Peri''s bloodlust eyes. "W-we are from the Black Star Syndicate. We are currently in the middle of a operation, and if you guys leave now, we won''t persuit any of you bacause of this transgression." His voice trembled while he tried to persuade their enemies to retreat. Using the name Black Star Syndicate would have worked if their opponents were from a small group of outlaws, pirates or organization, but they weren''t. John and Lenny won''t care a damn about the BSS while Peri just couldn''t wait to eat the flesh of those who killed her family. In other words, it was useless. Peri sprang forward with high speed and attacked with the spear. *Puchi* The spear pierced the heart of another enemy. But this time the soldier didn''t fell, he gripped the spear and didn''t allowed Peri to take it out from his body. The soldier let out a bloodied grin at Peri''s enlarged eyes. The other soldier took the advantage and aimed at Peri that was locked. *Bang* Before he was able to shoot her, he was shot right in the head by a sniper rifle. His helmet was sent flying in the air, but he was still okay, only a bit dizzy. *Bang* John took the opportunity and shot the soldier in his unprotected head. Peri let loose of her grip in the spear and used her green knife to cut the soldier''s throat. *Splash* More blood drenched Peri''s body. She locked her sight at the last soldier. The last soldier dropped his weapon and lifted his hands high in the air. "I-I-I Give up." He said with a trembling voice. Peri was about to finish the enemy off when John grabbed her shoulder. "Let''s interrogate him first, shall we?" He glanced at her eyes and saw the burning desire for revenge. "..." She just casted a side glance at John and then lowered her knife. With a wave of her hand, the spear that was lodged in the heart of another enemy, disappeared and appeared in her hand, once again.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. John saw that and became more curious about how she do that. Lenny looked at Peri from the scope of his sniper. His finger stayed over the trigger for while before he sighed and jumped from the tree he was in. He gazed with a profound look at Peri and walked toward John. "What the Syndicate is doing in this planet?" John asked the soldier. "We''re in a mission to capture Florans for the Miniknog." The soldier said without hesitation. Just one look at the Floran beside him and he became terrified so he decided to take the chance and surrender. John frowned when he heard the word Miniknog. [The Apex''s Ministry of Knowledge... What they want with the Florans?] John tried to think deeper, but he was unable to make any link between the Apex and the Florans. The Miniknog is basically controlled by the Big Ape, the dictator of the Apex''s race. He rule over the Apex race with a iron fist. The Miniknog control the culture, science, entertainment and even the life of each Apex under their rule. Of course some Apex don''t like being controlled by a dictator, so they escape from the government and live like rebels, trying to put down the Big Ape''s rule, but they are the minority. But the most heidous fact about the Apex is their persuit of knowledge. They seek knowledge whatever the cost, material or even life. The Terrene Protectorate was almost always in some kind of conflict with the Miniknog because of their actions of experimenting in bodies of people from various races without their agreement. [Looks like the Miniknog is also rejoicing now that the Terrene Protectorate out of their way...] John sadly sighed. "Where''s your base?" John shook the unnecessary thoughts away and continued asking. "It''s just a few kilometers from here, you just need to follow a straight line toward east and in no time you will see our outpost." "Okay..." John looked at Lenny. "Now what do we-" *Puchi* "..." The soldier clasped his hand in his throat trying to stop the bleeding. He stared at Peri with his eyes wide open. Peri was holding a knife that was currently lodged in the soldier''s throat. "Goodbye, scum." She kicked the body of the soldier to the ground. "Peri!" John looked at her, their eyes met and John was able so see the emotionless expression of Peri. He decided to not say anything, even though he disagree with her actions of killing someone who had just surrendered. "She''s dangerous." Lenny approached from behind John and said in low voice. "More dangerous than you think." After he spoke this lines, he started to strip the soldiers and take their equipments. John glanced at Lenny and then at Peri. He thought it was just an impression, but now... He was certain, there''s something going on between both of them. "Here." Lenny threw something toward John. John caught the object. He looked at it and saw it was the Spit Fire Assault Rifle. "It''s better than using low tier energy weapons." Lenny said. --------------------------- Name: Spit Fire Assault Rifle 03 (SFAR03) Type: Tier 3 Fire Arm Assault Rifle Durability: 70% Energy per Shot: None Fire Rate: 10 B/s (Bullets per second) Magazine: 50 Bullets Augmentation: None Upgrade: None Special Ability: None Special Ability Energy Cost: None Description: The weapon used by the special infantry of the USCM army. Destroy the enemy with high fire rate and penetration in exchange for the accuracy. A weapon good for close to medium range, but terrible for long range. --------------------------- "How many bullets do they have." John asked. Lenny was right, using the pistols wouldn''t be appropriate in this situation. Their enemies were better equipped then them. John decided to use the SFAR03 rifle rather than dual wielding low tier pistols. "I found about 3000 rounds in their PIPS." Lenny commented while he looked through the inventory of the soldiers. "I have 20 mags here as well." Lenny took everything out of them, including the Armor. The Floran Colony (9) John took one of the armor''s piece from Lenny''s hand and tried it out. [Too heavy...] John frowned. Just a single piece of the armor was almost 10 kilograms of weight. This type of extremely heavy armor would work for those who seek protection above everything else, but John wasn''t that type. "I''ll keep the Scouter''s Set." John prefer to maintain freedom of movement and speed, this camo armor of the BSS was way too heavy for it. The Scouter''s Set was sleeveless and the material was Steel, way lighter than the amount of Titanium used in the BSS''s Tier 3 Heavy Armor. Even though Titanium is lighter than Steel, the amout of such material used in the amor made for the Syndicate made the armor bulkier and heavier than the Scouter''s Set used by the USCM. "Okay... We got a few new toys." Lenny joyfully smiled while he played around with the granades that he took from the soldiers'' body. "That is a... EMP Grenade?" John recognized the granade in Lenny''s hand. "Yep." Lenny threw one at John. John caught the object and looked closer. It was almost like a Frag Grenade, but it was blue and not yellow. The grenades can be categorized in various types, each with a different color. Yellow is for fragmentation grenades, red is for flammable grenade, blue is for EMP grenade, green is for poison grenade, black is for tactical smoke granade and white is for flashbang grenades. This was the categorization made by the USCM centuries ago, but it''s still under use until this day. Most of the categorization of weapons, ammunition, techs, etc, was made by the USCM mostly because they were the biggest supplier of weapons of the universe by the time they were active. It was only after their fall that Maliwan and Hyperion were able to grow, but the USCM was on the top for far too long and the people got used to their categorization, so these companies followed the trends and kept using the same as the USCM. "This EMP Grenade can disable weak electric devices in a radius of 10 meters for about 1 to 5 minutes." John analysed the grenade in his hand. He played around with it for a while before he stored it on his PIPS. "We can''t lose our time here, let''s go before their reinforcements come." John looked at Lenny and Peri. "Let''s head east for now." And so they went east, following the direction given by the soldier. ... "What!?" The captain of the BSS soldiers in the forest planet shouted as he stood from his big chair. "The whole Sixth Squad is dead?" The captain asked again the soldier that delivered the information to him. The soldier trembled, but still repeated the information. "Th-the Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Ninth Squad were killed in action..." "How could this happen!!" The captain threw a sharp object at the human soldier in front of him. *Bam* The soldier''s forehead started to bleed, but he kept mum about it and didn''t even groaned.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "How many we have left?" The captain chest rose and fell very fast. His eyes were bloodshot when he glared at the soldier. The human soldier was scared out of his mind by how mad their captain looked right now. "W-we g-got-" "STOP STAMMERING AND SPEAK PROPERLY!!" The captain shouted with all his strength. "We only have the Seventh and Tenth Squads here on the outpost, SIR!!" The soldier spoke with all his strength, saluted and fainted from fright. The captain''s angry eyes hovered in the human soldier for a while before he switched his line of sight. "Carry this useless guy out of my room." He ordered one of his personal guards that were by the door of his room. The guard saluted and easily dragged the soldier away from the room. The captain reached for his PIPS and stared at it for a while. He hesitated, to send or not send his remaining forces. "What''s the problem?" The captain heard a lazy and hoarse voice coming from the door. [Shit... The one I don''t want to meet came to find me...] The captain glared the humanoid blue beacon that liked to wear cowboy clothes known as Oscar. "Something that you might need help...?" Oscar entered the room like it was his own and relaxedly sat on the chair with a bottle of Summerset beer in his hand. "No..." The captain doesn''t want to get Oscar involved in his problems. "Well... If you don''t need my help I''ll be taking my leave." Oscar stood up and politely smiled. "Heh...?" The captain looked at Oscar, surprised by his reaction. [Usually this guy is annoying to the extreme... What''s up with him now?] The captain stared hard at Oscar. "Oh, right, I forgot." Oscar that was about to leave the room suddently turned around and faced the captain. "I''m here just to remind you that if anything goes wrong with this operation the head that is going to be cut it isn''t mine, sooooo.... If you need help, don''t hesitate to call me out. Hahahaha..." Oscar left the room while gleefully laughing. The captain clenched his fist until his veins were almost popping out. "FUCK YOU!" The captain angrily crashed everything that was in his table. "Sir, calm down..." A burly Apex soldier wearing the same forest camo armor that the previous soldier were wearing, entered the room. "Leader of the First Squad..." The captain looked at the burly Apex. "Just call me A1." The Apex fixed his full beard with his hand and glanced at the objects that were at the floor. "You really should watch out your anger, you know." "A1... Just say what you want..." "Hm..." The Apex sat at the opposite chair of the captain and thoughtfully scratched his chin. "This 3 Invaders... We can assume they are for us, right?" "How can you say that?" "Simple... The first invader came and then stopped by the Floran Colony we just burned to the ground. After that it started to hunt down our forces. I can assume... It''s for revenge... Maybe?" "So what?" "Well... Since they are coming for us, why don''t we just wait for them...?" The Apex smiled sinisterly. "I mean... We got the Floran kids. They need to come to us." "Ambush, then?" The captain liked the way A1 was thinking. "Not just ambush... But we can actually force them to submit, as long as we have hostages. If one plan don''t work, we go with the next. Simple as that." "Alright." The captain nodded in response. "I''ll give you free reigns over this situation." He then turned around and sharply glared at A1. "You better not fail me, okay?" "Yes, sir." A1 stood up, saluted and left the room. ... Oscar was walking by the cages that were filled with Floran kids when he suddently felt a burning sensation on the back of his hand. He took of his leather gloves and glanced at the burnt mark on the back of his hand. The mark looked like one of the Ancient Runes that were everywhere in the Ark Ruins. "So it really is you Lenny." Oscar joyfully smiled when he saw the mark glowing with a faint light. ... 10 kilometers away from the BSS Outpost... Lenny stopped by a tree, hidden from John and Peri''s line of sight. He took off his leather glove and stared at the burnt mark that was faintly glowing on the back of his hand. [Oscar...] Lenny''s eyes sharpened when he looked at the BSS Outpost in the distance. [You are here...] He chuckled. The mark on the back of Lenny''s hand was the same that was on the back of Oscar''s hand. Both marks were in fact a single Ancient Rune that mean "Survivor". Memories from the past flashed through Lenny''s mind. He calmed down and looked once again in the distance, but this time his Omega ''Brand'' flashed with a mysterious light. "This will finally end..." He whispered to himself and started to walk again. "Today... Oscar... You must die." The Floran Colony (10) John saw that Lenny had lagged behind for a moment, but he ignored it when he saw that he had already caught up with the pace. Peri, on the other hand stared at Lenny. Their line of sight met with each other. Lenny innocently smiled and Peri just rolled her eyes over Lenny''s antics. "We are almost there." John looked at the green square building in the distance. The BSS Outpost almost like blended within the forest. Its color was the same as the trees, but the artificial lights were what gave the position of the building away. Peri''s eyes stayed glued at the building. Killing intent started to irradiate from her body "What''s the plan?" Lenny lazily inclined by a towering tree and yawned. "Kill everyone..." Peri said. "Yeah, yeah... But how?" Lenny threw a side glance at Peri. "We don''t know how many enemies we have to face because SOMEONE killed the guy we captured before we could interrogate him further." Peri dismissively shrugged her shoulders and ignored Lenny. "What do you think, John?" She glanced at John. "I don''t know..." John squinted his eyes and was able to discern some movements in the outpost. "Let''s watch for a while before we decide to act." John then looked at Lenny. "Do you have some binocular or something like that." It was still dark, since they left the camp when it was still a few hours away from dawn, so John was unable to properly see with details the building from where they were. "Wait, let me see." Lenny roamed around his PIPS for while before he took a object that looked like a cylinder with about 15 centimeters of length. "Here, a Electronic Spyglass." John received the item from Lenny''s hand and took started to look around the Outpost. "3... No..." John started counting the guards that were outside the Outpost. "8 soldiers and... What!?" John clicked a few keys on the Electronic Spyglass to magnify the reach. "Hey, Lenny, guess who I just saw?" John lowered the Spyglass and strangely glanced at Lenny. "Oscar, right?" Lenny said, completely uninterested. "How did you know?" "I just got the felling that he was here..." Lenny glanced at his left hand, here the burning mark was. "Okay..." John looked again through the Spyglass, but this time when he glanced at Oscar he realized that Oscar was looking at him. "He knows we are here..." John lowered the Spyglass.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. "What were he doing?" Oscar asked. "He''s at the front door of the BSS Outpost, smoking what appears to be a cigarette." "Well..." Lenny stretch out his arms. "He''s waiting for me..." Lenny started to walk toward the Outpost. "What are you doing?" John grabbed his shoulder and stopped Lenny. "I''m going to meet up with a old friend." Lenny casually smiled and shook off John''s hand from his shoulder. "While I dristract him, you two can go by the backdoor and kill them when they least expect." John frowned and stared at the departing Lenny. "Let''s go..." Peri stopped beside John. "He already went ahead, let''s do our part." "Okay..." John and Peri started to silently walk toward the back of the Outpost. ... Oscar was silently smoking a cigarette while he waited by the front door of the Outpost. All the defense systems of the front door had been turned off by Oscar. "Are you sure about this?" The captain asked A1 that was beside him. Both of them were at the roof of the BSS Outpost watching the situation below them. "It''s not like we can stop him, anyway." The Apex, A1 said with a troubled smile. "At least is just the front of the Outpost. My soldiers are watching the backdoor coupled with the defense turrets, I think they don''t stand a chance if they decide to take that route." He said proudly. "Let''s see..." The captain was still skeptical with A1''s arrangements. "Hmm?" A1 looked ahead of him, surprised. "One of them is here." The captain glanced at below them and saw a yellow Novakid with a Omega ''Brand'' on his face, calmly walking out of the forest. "Are they crazy or what...?" A1 and the captain were confused. ... "Lenny, Lenny... We met again." Oscar took the cigarette of his mouth and smiled. "It''s always a unpleasant felling for me whatever I see you." Lenny approached step by step. "You still hate me because of what happened in the past..." Oscar puffed smoke out of his mouth. "I don''t blame you for that." "It doesn''t matter anymore..." Lenny reached for his Tier 3 Revolvers in the holsters. "...Right?" "Right..." Oscar took a menacing looking shotgun from his inventory. "We all changed, one way or another in that hellish place... Only those who survived know what kind of pain we suffered and what kind of sacrifices we had to do..." They stared at each other, silently, with guns in their hands. "Today... We end this..." Lenny calmly said. "A duel... Just like the old days." "Yes..." Memories from the past flashed at Oscar''s mind, memories of when they were kids. "The old days... How I miss them..." Oscar nostalgically smiled. "Ready...?" Lenny doesn''t want to stay reminiscing about the past, so he readied his guns. Oscar spat the cigarette of his mouth. "I''m always ready." He lifted his shotgun and aimed at Lenny. *Bang* Lenny dodged the bullets and sprang forward toward Oscar. *Bang, bang...* Lenny started to open fire with his both revolvers. ... *Bang, bang, bang...* John looked at the distance, at the direction from which he was listening the gunshots. "They had started..." Peri said. "It''s our time now." "Right..." John used his knife to open the entrance of the vents. They weren''t going to enter by the backdoor, but by the vents and surprise their enemies. John opened the grid and took a blue, round object from his inventory. He threw the EMP Grenade at the vent. *Puff* It made a low explosion sound and when it hit the ground. John looked around and saw that most of the lights in the outside were turned off. "It worked. Now we have about 5 minutes before they are able to reactivate their defense systems around this place. Let''s hurry." "Okay..." Peri entered first at the vent and John soon followed behind. The Floran Colony (11) John and Peri silently, but swiftly travelled through the claustrophobic vents. *Bang, bang...* Even when they were deeper in the Outpost they were still able to hear the gunshots coming from the battle that was happening just outside. "Will he be okay...?" John wondered in low voice. "He will be fine." Peri said with certainty. "After all, he is a Survivor..." "...?" John glanced at Peri. Her words looked like it had a deeper meaning that he didn''t quite understood. [Survivor? What''s up with that?] He was about to ask her what she meant when she pressed her finger at John''s lips, stopping him from making any noise. John inspired the scent coming from her. He didn''t realized before because they were in the middle of the forest, but now that he was so close to her and isolated from the nature, he felt it. Her scent was like nature and flowers, a pretty good and comforting smell. Very different from the Florans he met in the Academy, those had lived for far too long in civilization, they lost the their natural odor and looks. John always dreamed of being a Protector, roaming across the universe and protecting the people. He never really liked living in cities, it felt like prison for him. That''s why he always liked the unknown and the natural. For him, the nature represent the most perfect beauty, that''s why since the first encounter with Peri he became entranced by her. Her style of clothing, her wild appearance and mannerisms. It fascinated him. Even though Peri had already got a lot of contact with civilisation, she still had this natural and somewhat wild aura. She doesn''t hiss like most Florans do, and she doesn''t kill everyone that it isn''t a Floran at first sight, luckily for him. "Shhh..." Peri woke John from his entranced moment when she signalized for him to not make any noise. He glanced at her and saw that Peri was curiously looking at him. He embarrassedly avoided her eyes and looked at the side. "Huh?" At his side was a grid with some small holes that he was able to see through. He inched closer and stared at the sight below the vents. "Florans..." John grabbed Peri''s shoulder and stopped her from going deeper in the vents. "What...?" She crawled back and looked at the grid John was looking. "!!!" Peri instantly recognized the kids that were in the black cages made of Tungsten. She was about to angrily burst the grid with her hand when John swiftly grabbed her hand and stopped her.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Her anger filled eyes stared straight at John. "Look closer..." John met her eyes, unafraid. Peri stared at the situation at the room and realized that the power had turned on again, the EMP Grenade had lost it''s effect. The whole room was covered with cameras, heat, noise and motion sensors. If Peri had jumped down at that moment, they would have been busted. "Power room..." John tried to convey what he wanted through the less amount of words and noise. "Turn off... Power... Cage, Open." Peri nodded her head in understanding. Both of them started to crawl deeper into the Outpost through the vents. ... "Where are them?" A1 was talking with his squad through his PIPS. "We don''t know sir." A voice came from the A1''s PIPS. "The power went out for about 2 minutes and we were completely blind for that time. They are probably are already inside the Outpost." A1 repeatedly tapped his finger in the desk in front of him. "Close up the backdoor. Since they are already inside, let''s make them stay inside." He commanded after some thought. "Also, turn on all defense systems, including the turrets. I want them dead, understood?" "YES, SIR!" Multiple voices came from the PIPS. The captain looked at A1. "Are you sure about this?" "Yes." A1 used his long fingers to relaxedly caress his beard. "They are inside, but that''s not the problem. I prefer this way. They are caged in our stronghold." "They might have more EMP Grenades." "It''s okay, I already set up the defense system against Electromagnetic Pulse. I didn''t left it activated 24 hours since it consume way too much Core Fragments, but now that it''s on, any EMP won''t have effect in this Outpost''s surrounding." "Good..." The captain looked at the duel happening below him, Lenny versus Oscar. Lenny was dual wielding some Wild West looking revolvers while Oscar was using a pump-action, Tier 3 Shotgun. Both of them were wearing cowboy clothes and surprisingly they were able to juggle, and jump around with those tight clothes. "Who do you think is going to win?" The captain asked the A1. He was more inexperienced in actual combats since he is more like a commander and thinker, not a fighter himself, so decided to ask the more veteran A1. "Don''t know..." A1 frowned when he looked at both of them. "They haven''t started giving their all, yet... Oh...?" He exclaimed when he saw Oscar''s next movement. "Oscar is starting to get serious now." ... *Bang* Lenny sprang forward and ducked his head fast enough to dodge the close range shot that Oscar just fired. While he was able to maintain his head intact, his hat wasn''t that lucky, it was almost completely obliterated by the multiple pellets of the shotgun bullet. Lenny took the chance that Oscar had to pump his weapon before he was able to fire again and swiftly ran toward him. He lifted his revolver and aimed at Oscar''s head. They were less than a meter away from each other, it was physically impossible for Oscar to avoid a bullet at such close range. *Bang* Lenny pressed the trigger. Smoke exploded off the revolver''s muzzle and the bullet easily travelled toward Oscar''s head. *Pzzt* Lenny''s expression changed when he saw that the bullet had stopped mid air, centimeters away from Oscar''s face. Oscar sinisterly grinned and lifted his gun. *Bang* *Splat* Lenny inclined to the side, but he wasn''t fast enough. His left arm was completely obliterated by a close range shot from Oscar''s shotgun. Yellow plasma splattered everywhere. Lenny hastily retreated and hid himself behind a tree. *Bang* Oscar tried to fire again, but all he only hit the tree bark. "Tch..." Oscar clicked his tongue, unsatisfied. "Urgh..." Lenny clutched his what remained of his left arm. He took a bandage from his PIPS and swiftly stopped his plasma leaking. The Floran Colony (12) John silently approached a BSS soldier from behind. John''s knife glinted with sharpness. *Puchi* "Urgh..." The soldier groaned in pain as John''s knife went through the soft spot of the armor by the neck, John used his other hand to stop the struggling soldier from doing anymore noise. Fresh red blood leaked from the deadly wound on it''s neck, drenching John''s hand. John silently dropped the dead body on the floor, with plop sound, it rested on the ground, forming a pool of blood around the corpse. He looked behind him and made a few hand signals, soon enough Peri emerged from the corridor, her hands were drenched with blood. John looked at his own hand. He realized it was slightly trembling, he cleaned his hand and knife at the soldiers clothes. [They are enemy... Enemies...] John shook the unnecessary thoughts away. He mustn''t feel bad for them, he need to go on. Peri curiously glanced, she lifted an eyebrow when she saw that at John was acting a little strange. He crouched by the body and retrieved the soldier''s PIPS. After looking around the soldier''s PIPS for a while he finally saw what he wanted, a map. "We are close..." John spoke to Peri that was beside him. "Let''s keep moving." ... "Sir, we lost contact with A3 and B6..." A soldier reported to A1. "Where are them now?" A1 impatiently asked the soldier through his PIPS. "We... We don''t know..." The audibly gulped. "They are avoiding the cameras and sensors." "Hmm..." A1 minimized the call with the soldier and switched to see the map in his PIPS. After a carefully look he realized something. "They are going for the power room!" A1 went back to call with the soldier and ordered, "Send every nearby soldier toward the power room, they will be there!" "Yes, sir!" ... Lenny leaned his back at the tree, he was breathing heavily. *Drip, drip...* In the place where his left arm once was, there was nothing, only faint droplets of yellow plasma that kept dripping from his wound. "That''s quite unfair don''t you think." Lenny spoke while he reloaded his revolver with difficulty. "Using a Barrier Tech Ability around... That''s dirty."Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Techs are enhancements that can be equipped into the PIPS to enhance movement and provide new abilities to the user. These Tech can effect the user''s body in a molecular level making it possible to use fantastic powers and break their limits. They use the UE (Units of Energy) stored inside the PIPS to be activated. The Tech Ability that Oscar was using is called Barrier. It basically creates a forcefield around the user that protect him against any type of harmful force for as long as he kept the barrier activated. Oscar that was a few meters away from Lenny and also hiding behind a tree, smiled. "I never said we were going to have a fair duel." Oscar finished reloading his shotgun. "Why don''t you use your little power anyway... No, I''m not talking about that stupid Bullet Time thing, but your other power." Lenny''s expression darkened. "Stop provoking me... You know really well why I won''t use it." "Oh, come on..." Oscar left his hiding spot and looked around, trying to figure out where Lenny was. "If you don''t use it, you are going to die..." Lenny clenched his teeths togheter. All around his body shining blue particles started to appear. "Why don''t you just die? Isn''t what you want, what you always wanted ever since we left that hellish place?" Oscar started to walk around, searching. Lenny''s body slightly trembled. He finished reloading his weapon and glanced at Oscar that was a carefully looking everywhere while he was walking. "One thousand lives..." Oscar''s lips slowly lifted. "You killed more than a thousand, presumably, innocent people." His smile slowly got wider. "I''m not saying that I''m innocent neither... I killed a lot of people in that place as well... You are a monster, just like me. Even after all this years, seeking redemption, drinking away your sorrows, you still have a death wish. You want to die, but something... Something kept you from completely giving up on live, a goal, a desire..." Lenny clutched his chest, in pain, as memories from all the things he had done passed through his mind. "Ferris... I know her very well. I was never bewitched by her like you always thought. She sees me like a toy... No, it''s more like a pawn. But I already had future planned by following her. You and me, we are like same, Explorers, wild and unrestrained. We would never stay caged in the Starkid Outlaw Crew. That''s why I wanted to forge my death at the USCM''s base. It was supposed for you to die there and they would presume that I would had died there as well. But... Not everything goes as planned... I don''t know how or why I was thrown in the Challenge Dimension togheter with you. It was truly... A hellish experience... Thousands of lives, lost in our hands." Oscar stopped walking and took off the leather gloves of his right hand. A faint light blue glow came from his burned mark. "We are sinners, Lenny. We weren''t supposed to have survived in that place." Oscar grinned. "You know very well that there are more people like us, people who have been marked. For the lust of power that we were granted by this marks, we are bound to go around killing anyone that have it." Oscar placed his glove again and readied his weapon. "You were the true winner of that Challenge Dimension while I was just another ''Survivor''. As the winner you were granted power. A power to break the limitations of your physical body and do things considerate impossible. You refrain from usimg that power because it was earned after so much spilled blood. The more ''Survivors'', or so to speak, you kill, the stronger the power gets. You killed a lot of them, haven''t you? Your bounty hunter jobs were just a way for you to locate people who survived the Challenge Dimension. You devoted most of your recent years in eliminating all those who had been marked, it''s your redemption, isn''t it?" [Shut up...] Lenny yelled in his own mind. The blue particules around his body started to get restless. "You want to die... But before that, you want to kill me, the person who heartlessly betrayed you. Your desire for revenge... Is what kept you alive." Oscar scanned his surrounding and soon he was able to see some blue particles moving around behind a tree, no more than 3 meters away from him. He smirked and aimed at it. "So let it be... Let everything end... Today." He steadied the aim and pressed the trigger. *Bang* The Floran Colony (13) John approached the power room. He used the PIPS he got from the soldier he killed before to open the door. "All clear..." John beckoned for Peri to follow him when he saw that there was no one inside. The whole room was illuminated by the light coming from holograms and monitors of the computers that were all around the place. "The main terminal..." John glanced at one side and then the other, looking for the main console. "Here it is!" He approached the bigger the computer that was at the end of the room. There was a ton of different keys and flashing lights that John became lost while looking at everything. [Alright... What the fuck...] He frowned as he stared at the keys. [How the am going to know what to do?] "Something wrong?" Peri spoke from behind John. She curiously glanced at the flashing lights and the amount of keys that were everywhere on the computer. "Well... I kinda don''t know what to do here..." John embarrassedly looked away from Peri''s questioning eyes. "Let me see..." Peri pushed John to the side and extended her hand toward the computer. As soon as her hand touched the piece of machinery, her hand started to glow with a faint blue light. John stared amazed at the scene. It was... Pretty. Peri had her eyes closed and she looked like it was concentrating very hard on something. Small blue particle were peacefully floating around her glowing hand. "I get it..." She opened her eyes and the light disappeared as well. Peri glanced at her side and saw that John was blankly staring at her. "What''s wrong?" She waved her hand in front of his face. "What... What was that...?" John recovered from his surprise. "That thing with the blue light and the... Particle, I guess." "You..." Her eyes glinted with a mysterious light as she looked at him. "You saw... The blue light...?" John repeatedly nodded affirmatively. "Strange..." She threw a side glance at John. "I think... It''s for the best if you ask your friend, Lenny, about it..." She switched her sight to the computer in front of her again. "Let''s first concentrate in what we were doing..." "Oh... Right..." "What we have to do?" "Turn off the power system and also the emergency power system." "Alright..." She started to swiftly press some keys. Her fingers danced across the holographic keyboard and in no time, the lights of the power room was turned off. "How...?" John stared at Peri. It was true that he was unable to do anything, initially, when he saw the huge amount of keys in front of him, but he was trained to deal with this type of situation, it would only take a few dozens of minutes, maybe hours to figure how the systems of the Outpost work.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. But Peri was able to it in less than minutes. The only way she would be able to it would be... "Reverse engineering..." Peri answered the John''s question. "The special ability of a Greenfinger. I touched the the terminal and was able to completely decode the whole machine in my head and understand how it works. After that, it''s simple, I just need to do what I want." "But... You are obviously a Floran warrior..." John was very confused, his little amount of common sense about Florans, had been crushed at this moment. She coyly smiled. "I''m different... A lot different..." She inclined forward and whispered at John''s ear, "You really should ask Lenny some questions. He is hiding a lot of things from you." John just enjoyed a moment of the ticklish feeling of Peri''s breath by his ear when he stopped caring about it because of what she said. [He''s hiding things from me...?] John glanced at Peri, she flashed a coyly smile, showing off her line of pointy teeths. [I don''t really care... It''s not like he is obligated to tell everything he know to me anyway... But it really got me curious, I should ask when I get time for that.] "Huh?" John stopped for a while and started to listen closely. "Footsteps..." His expression changed when he realized there was a dozen of people coming toward the power room. "We need to get out of here." "Why? Let''s just kill them..." She disliked the idea of running away from her enemies. "We need to be certain that the kids are okay first, right?" "..." "Let''s go, they are still a few meters away from us." Peri gave up the idea of facing off the soldiers and decided to follow John. They swiftly left the room and used the darkness to stealthly move around and evade being saw by the soldiers. ... "Puh..." Oscar fell on the ground while spitting a mouthful of blue plasma. His clothes were completely ragged, filled with holes and rips. Oscar struggled to stand up, but he was unable to do so. Every time he tried to move, huge amount of blue plasma start to leak from his wounds. "You really used it..." Oscar lifted his head and stared at the approaching Lenny. Lenny walked closer, step by step. His clothes were still fine, only his left sleeve was still missing, but surprisingly his left arm, that had been obliterated, had returned to normal. "This kind of power... No living being should allow have." Oscar spoke. "..." Lenny stopped walking when he was face to face with Oscar. He silently stared at the state that Oscar was. "Heh..." Oscar snorted, "If you waiting for me to say something like sorry or beg you to spare my life, you are wasting your time." "..." "Just get it over with it. I might really die from the leaks all over my body before you finish me off." "Goodbye... Old friend..." Lenny coldly stared at Oscar and reached his hand toward Oscar''s Cross ''Brand''. As his hands touched the cold metal metal ''Brand'', blue particles started to appear around his right hand. The burnt mark on his hand shone with intensity. "Argh!" Oscar groaned in pain as the particles entered in his body. He started to tremble and shake, plasma started to leak even faster from his opened wounds. Slowly, but visible to naked eye, his body started to shrink. As his body shrunk, more and more blue particles started to appear around Lenny''s hand. "If..." Oscar was able to suppress the pain and stared at Lenny. "If Hell really exist, I will be waiting for you there." *Boom* With this last words, Oscar''s body exploded and formed a blue cloud. The particles started to enter in Lenny''s body through the burnt mark of hand. Lenny silently watched this event unfold, he had already seen it many times. The amount of people he had killed and absorbed... He already lost the count. After it absorbed everything, the mark stopped to shine and Lenny fell on the ground. Lenny sighed and waited for the ridiculous amount of pain that was about to come. He always hated the backlash of using that power. The Floran Colony (14) John used the map he got from the soldier''s PIPS and found a way toward the place where the Floran kids were caged. After walking around for a few minutes he finally saw the door that lead to the basement, the place where the cages was. He opened the door and was greeted with the sight of rows of cages, in both of his sides, filled with small and light green Florans. Their eyes were filled with wary when they looked at John that had just emerged from the door. John glanced at them and saw that they were, surprisingly, unafraid. Their strength and will isn''t something that can be broken in just a day or two. Florans are natural born warriors, they wouldn''t submissively obey other people, the only one able to earn their respect is usually only their Greenfinger. John was in fact surprised that this kids didn''t fought to death against the people who killed their tribe and destroyed their colony, Florans are a very vengeful race, in fact, the most vengeful one, more than Hylotls. "Moa...?" Peri recognized one of the kids that was behind the first cage of the row in the right side. "Big sssiter...?" The youngling Floran walked up to the bars. By the coloration of his skin one would assume he was still a kid, but he was already bigger than most of his peers that were at his side and his eyes gleamed with intelligence. He was what a Human would call adolescent. His coloration was still light, but it was a lot darker than most of the kids. "So it was you who kept everyone safe." Peri sighed in relief. She walked up to the cage and easily bent the metal bars barehanded. "That''s Tungsten..." John''s cheek twitched when he saw how easily she was able to bend the metal bars. "Who''sss him?" Moa asked Peri while he warily stared at John. Moa had lived most of his life in the tribe so he was unable to speak without hissing. John stared back at the kid. It has dark and profound eyes that shouldn''t belong to Floran, including one that was this young. [Greenfinger...] John came up with the most reasonable understanding. [A young Greenfinger... That''s my first time seeing one. In fact, it''s my first time seeing a Greenfinger in flesh.] "Just a Human that helped me finding you guys." Peri said while she worriedly looked over Moa, searching for any injuries. "I''m fine..." Moa completely ignored John after he received Peri''s explanation. He pat her head and comforted her.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. John looked at the door of the room. The whole facility was shrouded in darkness, but there was still some faint lights coming the emergency light. "They are coming..." John was able to hear the sound of approaching footsteps coming from the dark corridors. "John..." Peri turned her head and spoke with called out John that was behind her. "I have a favour to ask." "...?" John turned around and met with Peri''s eyes. "Bring them to security. All of them." "Where are you going...?" John looked Peri that had just walked by him and stopped by the door. "I''ll go avenge my tribe." Her eyes glinted with bloodlust. "Moa... Listen to John for the time being, you can trust him. Take everyone out of this place." She let out a sweet smile. A complete contrast from the bloodlust that just started to emanate from her body. "Kill them all, sisss." Moa waved his hand toward Peri and cheered her on. John strangely glanced at Moa and then Peri. This kind of interaction was really... Unique for him. "Alright then..." John couldn''t deny her request. After Peri left the room, Moa got to work and started to open up the other cages, John helped him. ... "They are at the basement, sir." A soldier walked up and reported to A1. "This fast?" A1''s face was terrible to the extreme. "How they were able to figure out the password of the terminal that fast...?" [A traior!?] The A1 turned toward his PIPS and looked through his subordinates'' profiles. [That''s a possibility... Or might it be... The Miniknog...?] He suddently thought that this might be the truth, after all, he was a Apex, and he had been under the Miniknog''s rule for a period of time so he know how they work. [Is they trying to undermine a operation that they themselves are founding? What would they gain with that?] A1 tried hard to think of what Miniknog might win by messing around with this operation. [A motive to finally make a move against the BSS, just like they did with the USCM?] If this was true... [I have to warn the HQ that the Miniknog might have set their sights on us!] He ignored everything else and reached for his PIPS, rather than trouble himself with what was happening, he had to warn about the possibility of the Miniknog wanting to destroy the BSS. ... "Sir? Sir!?" The soldier tried to reach A1, but the call wouldn''t go through. They were all the remaining soldiers of the base. They were en route toward the power room when, suddently, they had to switch to go to the basement, their enemies had already turned off the power and were going for the ''cargo'' on the basement. And just like this, 12 soldiers were running through the dark hallways with weapons on their hands, going for the kill. "How is it?" Another soldier came up and asked. "The call isn''t going through, I think he''s occupied with something else..." "Alright... We just need to deal with two intruders, how hard could it be?" "How hard...? They had already killed more than 10 of us, counting those who died in the outside and the inside together." "Ha! They were just a useless bunch, we are the real elites." "Don''t speak like that, we are all comrades..." "Of course I''m-" *Puchi* With a flash, a spear suddenly lodged itself inside the throat of the soldier that was speaking. Blood flowed through his mouth and wound, his eyes opened wide as he tried, to no avail, to use his hands to stop the bleeding. "Enemy attack, take cover!" The soldier realized they were being attacked and ordered, even though he didn''t knew how and from where the spear came from. "Where are them!?" The soldier readied their assault rifles and looked everywhere around them. They were currently in an open hall that was slightly big, about 10 meters square. The problem was that it was almost completely shrouded in darkness, only the small glow coming from the emergency lights illuminated the room. The Floran Colony (15) "Elites...?" The soldiers heard a voice echoing on the room. They tried to locate the source with their flashlights, but they were unable to find a single person. "I wonder... How powerful you ''elites'' are..." The hatred and scorn was evident in the tone of voice of the speaker. "Who are you? And what is your objective by interfering in the Syndicate''s business?" The soldier scanned the room and tried to force the other party to speak so that he could locate where he was. The answer the soldier he received was just a low chuckle. "Show yourself, asshole!" A more hot tempered soldier lost the patience and angrily shouted. "Oh...? Why would i? I prefer the game of killing you, one by one, and enjoy my revenge to the fullest." The voice sounded casual but all the soldiers were veterans so they were able to detect the thick killing intent locking onto them. The soldier frowned and then glanced at the corpse of his fallen comrade. "Huh?" He exclaimed in surprise when he realized that the gray spear that was in the throat of the corpse was no longer there. He felt a chill down his spine. He lifted his Spit Fire Assault Rifle and glanced at his left and right. *Zum* He heard the sound of something cutting through the air. "Careful!!!!" *Puchi* He tried to warn his friend, but he was too late. Another one of them was sent flying by a spear, but this time the spear completely pierced the Helmet and the head of the soldier. *Bang, bang, bang...* He opened fire in complete automatic mode toward the place from where he saw that the spear came from. The other soldier awoke and started to open fire as well. *Zum!* *Puchi* A grayish light flashed once again and another one fell. "Sir, sir!?" The soldier tried to contact his superior, but there was no response. "Ahhh!!!!" All they saw was a green blur jumping and running around, they tried to hit it, but they were unable to get a clear view of it. "We''re all going to die..." The soldier stared forward, blankly.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. *Zum!* *Puchi* With a quick throw, Peri took out another one of the Syndicate''s soldiers. She stayed hidden in the darkness, like a predator, waiting for the best chance to swiftly kill her enemy. Normally she would rather go and have a direct combat, but she doesn''t want to give her enemies the pleasure of having the honor of dying in a duel. She killed, one by one, to drive them to despair, and destroy their determination. Revenge isn''t something you must aquire immediately. Her black eyes glinted with viciousness when she glanced at the remaining enemies. She waved her hand and the gray spear once again appeared out of nowhere in her hand. She got in the stance and mercilessly threw it once again, aiming at the heart of another soldier. ... John looked back. He was still able to hear the sound of gunshots and screaming coming from deep into the Outpost. "Let''s hurry..." John beckoned for the kids behind him to hurry. He must bring the Florans to safety first and then he would go back and look for Peri. Even though he feel that she is strong, at least stronger then him, he was still worried that something unfortunate may happen. John and Moa had already freed everyone from the cages and they left the room and started to look for the nearest exit. They were close to the backdoor by following the soldiers'' map. Once they got near the backdoor, John realized it was closed, and Moa would be unable to open it up because there was no power in the base. "Get to cover, I will blow it up." John spoke to Moa and went by the huge metal door. He reached for the Volatile Powder and placed some bags filled with it by the door. He used more than 5 kilograms of powder, that was about the weight of 2 Core Fragments. He retreated to a safe position and took aim. *Boom!* As soon as pressed the trigger of his assault rifle, the powder exploded making the door become nothing more than burnt scarp metal. John''s ear was ringing from the explosion. Even though he was relatively away, the explosion was done in closed door and sound completely echoed throughout the whole Outpost. He shook away his dizziness and looked at Florans. They were fine. John took his weapon and was the first to leave, he wanted to make sure everything was clear. They were just outside the Outpost, everywhere around was covered in trees, so the visibility was very low. The light coming from the rising sun, however provided way more comfort than the dim lights of the base. The Florans were more than happy for being basked with the natural light coming from the yellow sun in the horizon. "Alright..." John looked back and flashed a comforting smile toward the kids. "Everything is-" *Bang* John felt the killing intent locking onto him, but it happened way to fast and he was unable do dodge. *Splat* John started to fall forward with blood splattering from the gaping wound in his chest. The bulled completely destroyed the Scouter''s Chestguard and pierced his whole flesh, bones and organs that were in the way. *Plop* John''s body fell on a pool of his own blood. There was a terrifying 5-centimeters radius hole in his chest, right at the place where his right lung was located. He tried to breath, but it was difficult, his eyes were getting blurry and he started to lose all his feeling of heat. His lips trembled as he tried to utter some words. "Run..." He spoke toward the terror-stricken kids while he tried to cover the bleeding and stand up. Moa was the fastest to recover, he turned and started to led everyone back to the Outpost. *Bang* Another shot rang out from the forest. ... *Puchi* Peri swiftly dodged the barrage of bullets coming from the last soldier and swiftly finished him off with a spear at his heart. "Elites..." Peri looked at the 12 bodies at her feet. "Humans are so weak. They depend too much on their weapons and technology." She said scornfully. "Combat is more than just weapons, technology and training..." She turned around left the place without glancing back. Her incredibly developed senses easily caught the scent left behind by Moa, John and the other Florans. She started to follow it. When arrived by the door she saw John and the kids that were already outside. She was about to call them out when she saw him turning around and flashing a smile. "Alright... Everything is-" *Bang* She saw John being shot at the chest and fall directly on the ground. The Floran Colony (16) "Fuck this shit..." The captain of the Outpost cursed as he ran. He was currently very far away from the Syndicate''s outpost. When he saw things going south, he completely abandoned the place and ran away, leaving A1 to deal with the mess back there. He leaned in one of the tree and rested for while. [What to do...?] He couldn''t go back to the outpost or he might die and even if he return there when the Invaders left, it would be useless because their cargo, the Florans, would had already fallen in their hands. The Miniknog was already on their way and this operation was very, very lucrative for the Syndicate''s Boss. So, if he return his end would be death by the hands of the Boss, or perhaps worst, he might even be sold to the Miniknog and live forever as a experiment subject. [Fuck, fuck, FUCK!] He screamed inwardly in frustration. [I have to find a spaceship... The Syndicate''s ships are all tracked, if I try to run away with one of them, I will be found out in no time.] That''s why he decided to not beam up to his ship, he wanted to take the risk and wait in the planet until the Syndicate, the invaders and the Miniknog leave, then he might try to use his PIPS'' S.O.S emergency message and catch a ride with any ship that would be passing by. [I have to wait for about 4 to 6 days... I think I can make it.] He thought. Even though he wasn''t the best of soldiers, he was at least trained for survival in all types of common environments. "Huh?" He started to hear some noise coming from above. He listened closely and realized it was the sound of turbines. He looked up and saw a metallic bird, or something else coming toward him from the sky. Squinting his eyes he saw that it was in fact a space shuttle. [More invaders!?] He ducked his head and hid behind the tree. It was of no use, the shuttle started to land near the place the captain was hiding. The captain reached for his Spit Fire Assault Rifle in his PIPS and stayed hidden. He glanced at the shuttle when it got closer and saw the symbol that was painted at the side. [Nova Rebellion!?] He exclaimed when he saw the symbol of the newcomers. [Are they the ones behind this attack?] He wondered. The shuttle kept hovering above the captain for while until the side door opened at some ropes fell from there.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. As soon as the ropes hit the ground people wearing Armor that was a mixture of blue and green, started to climb down from the shuttle using the ropes. They landed on the ground and aimed at the spot where the captain was hiding. There was only two of them, but they still looked intimidating. He looked at those people and his expression became grim. Their armor wasn''t as bulky as the Syndicate''s armor, it was way lighter, and so their defenses were worse than the Syndicate''s armors. The Nova Rebellion was know for their tactics of hit and run that''s why they often use Armors that provide them a decent amount of protection while maintaining flexibility and speed. That''s why even though both the Syndicate''s and the Rebellion''s standard Armor are Tier 3, made of Titanium, their defensive capabilities are very different. The weaponry was also another differential. While the Syndicate''s firearms have a huge amount of penetration capability, they are heavy and expensive to maintain, since they use material bullets, while the Rebellion''s energy weaponry is light, have high fire rates and are cheaper to maintain. But the most glaring difference between the Black Star Syndicate and the Nova Rebellion is in fact their troops. The Syndicate simply mass product troops and use the strategy of number over quality, while the Rebellion has the most well trained troops beside the ones from the Terrene Protectorate. With one look the captain was able to identify the weapon on their hands. [Maliwan Wunderwaffens...] He looked at those small guns that looked just like some light blue old-fashioned P90 from before the 100-Year Great War. [Shooting energy bullets with shock elemental ability... That thing can barely penetrate a Tier 3 Armor, but the shock element is enough to fry the person withing the armor before it could get pierced by the actual energy bullets.] "You there..." A Nova Rebellion''s soldier started to speak with the captain. "Surrender or die." The captain broke in cold sweat and hesitated, to fight or not fight. [Wait...] He suddently thought of something. [I can''t return to the Syndicate, so I might as well just try to enter in the Rebellion.] He dropped his weapon and walked out from his hiding spot with his hands lifted. "I''m out, don''t shoot!" He spoke toward the soldiers that were eyeing him like a prey. The soldier walked up toward him and handcuffed his hands. He didn''t tried to fight because he knew certain death would be the result. "All clear now." The soldier spoke at his PIPS and soon the shuttle that was hovering in air started to land on the open ground. The captain glued his sight an the shuttle. The shuttle landed and one of the soldier that were in the ground approached the door and opened it. "The smell of nature... How I missed it." The captain heard a casual voice coming from inside the shuttle. He watched as a figure emerged from the inside. A young man with a messy fiery red hair walked out from the shuttle. He was wearing a complete black formal suit. His enchanting black eyes were hidden behind a black rimmed glasses. The captain had seen this person before. He tried to remember who he was. "Master Jevil. This is the guy we found." The soldier that opened the door pointed at the captain. [Jevil!?] The captain was shocked beyond belief. [What''s he doing with the Nova Rebellion!?] As far as he know, Jevil was part of the Letheia Corporation, or perhaps work for them, as the Administrator of the Underworld Facilities. [Is he a spy?] He wondered. But just as he thought of this he suddently broke in cold sweat. [I saw him... Is he going to silence me?] He glanced at Jevil and saw that the person was staring at him, with a casual smile. "You recognize me..." Jevil said lightly. "N-no I-I-I don''t know who might you be, mister." The Captain''s mouth trembled as he tried to come up with a something that might help him get out of this situation. "Oh, don''t need to be so afraid. It''s not like I''m a monster, right?" Jevil chuckled. "Y-y-yes." The captain repeatedly nodded. The Floran Colony (17) "You''re... A Syndicate''s soldier." Jevil recognized the black star on the captain''s armor. "Yes..." The soldier could only admit it. "Why would you be all alone, this far away from the Outpost?" "It''s because..." The captain hesitated. He didn''t knew if it was the Rebellion''s plan, the whole invasion situation. "What''s the problem?" Jevil saw that the captain was hesitating and this made him even more curious. "Is it classified?" Jevil casually asked. If it really was it would make sense why the captain was hesitating. Jevil doesn''t want to have anything with the Syndicate, so he spoke again, "Doesn''t matter, I''m here to see Oscar. We kinda made a arrangement to meet up in this planet." The captain that was about to sigh in relief broke in sweat again. This time was because how could he explain that Oscar was probably already dead. When the captain decided to leave the Outpost he saw that the yellow Novakid was alive and well, while Oscar never appeared again. "Something happened..." Jevil saw the captain''s change of expression. "What happened?" Jevil''s eyes sharpened and his face became expressionless when he stared at the captain. The soldiers all pointed their weapons at the coldly sweating captain. "W-w-we got a tiny, little situation in our outpost." The captain evaded Jevil''s questioning eyes. "Elaborate..." Jevil coldly spoke. "Well, it went like this..." The captain spoke everything that happened from the start of when they hazed the Floran colony until when he fled. Of course he changed some facts and placed all the blame of what happened on A1, that was somewhat the truth, since he gave permission to A1 call the shots. "Hmm..." Jevil scratched his chin, thoughtfully. He felt like he know the yellow Novakid he was talking about. [Yellow with a ''Omega'' brand... I know him...] Jevil tried to think on the people he met recently and then remembered. [Lenny, of course. He was with that kid... John Connor, the Protector, if I remember correctly.] Jevil remembered that black haired young man he met at the Iron Fist Arena. It wasn''t... The most pleasant meeting because John was totally drunk and Lenny was half dead as well, but it did gave Jevil some kind of... Unique first impressions. [They are here? Why?] Jevil asked himself. The captain fearfully looked at Jevil that was immersed in his deep thoughts.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. He was waiting... Waiting for a opportunity to mention his desire to join the Nova Rebellion. Even though he don''t know if Jevil had this kind of power, to recruit him, he was still hopeful since it was clear that the soldiers around treated him very respectful at least Jevil''s opinion might help him get into contact with someone that probably had the power to recruit people. "Oh, right, I forgot about you." Jevil realized he was blankly staring, deep on thought, and apologized. "So... What happens next?" The captain asked, he was trying to lead the conversation to other topic so that he had the chance to make his request. "Next...?" Jevil widely grinned. When the captain saw Jevil''s smile he suddently felt it looked very cold and cruel. He felt a chill down on his spine and sensed the growing killing intent around him. *Bang* The captain fell on the ground with a bullet hole in his head. Even until death he didn''t even saw how he was killed. "Sir..." The Rebellion soldier that was beside the captain called out. "It''s done." He said while he lowered his gun. From the smoke that was coming from the muzzle of Wanderwaffens it was clear that he was the one who shot. "Yes... We can''t allow them to know that I''m a member of the Nova Rebellion." Jevil used his hand to casually lift his glasses up. "Well... I must thank John and Lenny for killing everyone here." "Than... Our soldiers that are on the planet''s orbit?" "Leave them there, we have no use for them now, the two of you is enough for now." Jevil spoke and started to walk toward the outpost. "Oh, right, take this guy''s PIPS. It might have some interesting stuff there." "Yes, sir!" The soldier saluted and crouched by the captain''s body. ... A1 looked through his sniper''s scope. He had just shot the black haired Human in the chest and was about to finish the job. He fixed his sight at John that was on the ground and placed his finger at the trigger. [You fucker... You guys ruined my career. If I return, death might be the best of my futures.] He angrily thought. [You will die here, by my hands!] *Bang* He pressed the trigger. *Ding* "What!?" He loudly exclaimed. He just saw something very unbelievable. When the bullet was almost by John''s head, he only saw a green blur appear in front of John and block the bullet. A1 stared at the Floran, wielding a gray spear, that appeared in front of John. "Let me see how many of those you can block!" He coldly smiled and placed the Floran on his crosshair. "Hey." "Hmm?" A1 looked back because he thought someone called him over. The moment he turned back his eyes were met with the sight of a muzzle pointed at his head. His smile froze as he looked at the yellow Novakid that was with a revolver in his hand, aiming at him. "How my many can you... Block." Lenny''s was expressionless when he spoke. "H-h-hey, it was just a joke-" *Bang* Lenny mercilessly pressed the trigger. "It wasn''t funny, at least for me." He turned around and walked away. ... Peri stood by John''s body, waiting for the next bullet, but... It never came. She had heard a gunshot in distance, but from what appears, the target wasn''t John neither her. "It''s okay now." Lenny emerged from the forest, casually walking, from the direction where the bullets had came. "I killed the guy." She lowered the spear and then glanced at John. "He''s badly wounded it seems." "Yeah..." Lenny crouched and analysed John''s situation. "The bullet went through the left lung, barely missing the heart. Even though the bullet left on the other side, some fragments are still on the body." Lenny took Oscar''s PIPS and retrieved a Regeneration Induce Liquid syringe. He injected the red syringe directly on John''s wound. "This should be enough as a first aid..." Lenny stood and stared at Peri. "We need to take him back to the ship and place him inside a Healing Pod." "You go, I need to make sure my tribe''s children are safe." She indifferently said. The Floran Colony (18) "Wait!" Lenny stopped Peri that was about to walk away. "You still need to help John to find a colony." Lenny spoke. "I know. I won''t back down on my promises." "And I should just trust you?" Lenny reached for his revolver. "It''s your choice whatever you trust or not." Peri readied her spear. Both stared at each other. The intensity of the standoff was so great that the Florans behind Peri just kept silent and watched as things unfold. "Wow, I just came and I''m witnessing a quite good show." A voice suddently could be heard coming from inside the BSS Outpost. Lenny and Peri turned at the source. They watched as a young man with red hair and wearing a formal black suit emerged from the backdoor togheter with two soldier wearing a armor that was colored with a mixture of blue and green. The armors were obvious a lot less bulkier that the Syndicate soldier''s armor, but this soldiers'' aura was a lot stronger and threatening. "Jevil..." Lenny recognized the young man at first glance. Even though he was half dead drunk when he met him, he still remember that person, it really left some deep impression. "Lenny, good to see you. How long since our last meeting? Three or should I say four days?" Jevil smiled warmly and approached Peri and Lenny. "And... Who might this lady be?" Jevil curiously glanced at the female Floran and then at the kids behind her. "Wait... I think I saw you before?" Jevil had the impression he had already seen Peri before. "Yes, I was one of the Underworld Facility''s employee for quite some time." Peri was unsurprised that Jevil didn''t knew her, after all she was just another employee, and Jevil was a very busy man. "Oh? Maybe I remember you from some report or something alike." Jevil stopped trying to remember since it would probably be useless. He have a lot of employees and remember I all of them is quite hard. "What are doing here?" Lenny suspiciously stared at Jevil. "It''s pretty far away from the nearest Ancient Gateway." "Oh?" Jevil saw the suspicion and cautiousness in Lenny''s eyes. "Do I make you nervous, unsettling?" "Yes. After all, you are quite a big deal, and you are now in this forsaken place. It really make people wonder..." Lenny casually smiled, but his hand was still gripped at the revolver in his holster.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. The soldiers that were at Jevil''s side all turned their sights at Lenny and lifted their guns. "Nothing much, you know..." Jevil waved his hand and the soldiers lowered their weapons, but they kept staring at Lenny, waiting for any harsh movement so that they could open fire. "I''m here to meet with... Oscar." Jevil was looking at Lenny''s expression when he said that so he saw the subtles changes in his expression when he said the name Oscar. "What''s your relationship with him?" Lenny''s face became expressionless as he coldly asked. His hand gripped harder on the revolver. "Nothing much, I think." Jevil started to tease Lenny. "You can say that I''m a business partner with his... Boss." "Ferris... Laparte...?" Lenny''s face became ugly to the extreme with the mention of that name. "Yes, that''s the one." "Business partner with that blue Novakid''s boss?" Peri, that was being ignored all this while, spoke up. "That mean you are involved in the case of my tribe being hazed to the ground?" Her grip on the spear strengthened. "Perhaps..." Jevil flahsed a subtle smile at Peri. Peri''s eyes squinted as she slowly lifted her spear. One of the Rebellion''s soldier saw her moves so he pointed his gun at her while the other soldier pointed the gun at Lenny that just had drawn his revolver. "Now, that''s a standoff." Jevil''s smile became wider. He looked completely unaffected by the tense atmosphere he just created. "You better explain yourself... My patience has a limit and my finger is very restless today, I might start to fire some bullets here and now." Lenny stared at Jevil. "..." Peri silently agreed with Lenny. "Oh... The tension is rising up. I like this. I really, really like this." Jevil''s eyes flashed with madness. His smile was as big as it humanly possible. "Master..." One of the soldier tapped at Jevil''s shoulder. This move of the Rebellion''s soldier woke Jevil from his... Peculiar state. "Sorry about that, I was just teasing you guys. Come on, how about a laugh or two to ease up the atmosphere?" Jevil innocently chuckled. Both Peri and Lenny stood there, emotionlessly watching Jevil, with their weapons ready. "No, I wasn''t involved in this operation at all." Jevil said to Peri. "And my relationship with Oscar is just because both of us work under someone that is part of the Letheia Corporation." Jevil turned back to Lenny. "You? Letheia Corporation?" Lenny was unconvinced. "Why are you with Nova Rebellion''s soldiers then? The Nova Rebellion and the Letheia Corporation are usually at odds with each other to the point they kill when they see one another." "It''s... A long story. One that I ain''t got time for tell you." Jevil dodged Lenny''s question. "Oh...? But I have plenty of time." Lenny doesn''t want to let Jevil go without explaining. "Yes, you have." Jevil seriously nodded, but then casually smiled. "But I think he doesn''t?" Jevil was talking about John that was still on the ground. Lenny glance at John and saw that even though the RIL syringe had done its job, the wound was still very serious and John needed medical attention. His expression became ugly as he looked back and forth, between John and the smiling Jevil. "Alright..." Lenny placed his revolver back to the holster. "I''ll leave... This time." He turned his back at Jevil and crouched by John''s body. "Hey, cowboy, not that fast." Jevil squinted his eyes. "What do you want?" Lenny angrily turned and stared at Jevil. "You have something that belongs to me, you know." Jevil''s eyes flashed with a cold light. "I don''t have anything." "It''s inside Oscar''s PIPS." Jevil said. "I know you are with it." Lenny glanced at the PIPS that was on his pants'' pocket. "I don''t think I have the obligation of giving it to you." He won''t give it back to Jevil even if it might cause him to die. There''s a lot of thing that he need inside Oscar''s PIPS. His hand went toward the revolver in his holster, once again. The Floran Colony (19) "I don''t need the PIPS. In fact, you can have it, I don''t mind. But there is something inside there that I must have..." Jevil coldly smiled, "And I will take it, even if means to take it from your dead body." "What''s it?" Lenny cautiously asked. He doesn''t want to have conflict with this madman anymore so he tried to talk his way out. "It''s a briefcase." Jevil saw that Lenny now wanted to evade conflicts so doesn''t pushed it too far with threats. "It''s completely white and have a black star on top of it." Lenny took Oscar''s PIPS from his pocket and looked inside it. Soon enough he found what Jevil was talking about. He retrieved it and showed it to Jevil. "Is this it?" "Yes..." Jevil nodded in confirmation when he saw the white briefcase. "Take it." Lenny strongly threw it at Jevil. "Thanks." Jevil effortlessly took the briefcase, like it had no force behind Lenny''s throw. "Now... I should take my leave, yes?" Jevil glance at Lenny and then at Peri. Peri squinted her eyes at Jevil. She was still partially unconvinced that he had nothing to do with the operation in her planet. "Sssister..." Moa approached from behind and poked Peri at her waist. "We must let it go... At least for now." He said in a very low tone so that only them could hear. Peri turned her head and ignored Jevil''s existence. Jevil smiled when he saw that. He looked at Lenny and saw that he had already started to ignore him as well. "Looks like it''s my time to leave." He said while he joyfully hummed. "Oh, right." Jevil turned around and spoke, "Lenny, can you say to John that I have some really interesting news to share with him when he have time?" "I will think about it." Lenny answered without turning at Jevil. "So cold..." Jevil was very happy at this moment that he started to want to tease Lenny even more. "Master..." The soldier could only helplessly sigh and poke at Jevil''s back, taking Jevil''s attention. "Yes, yes. I get it." Jevil rolled his eyes. "Let''s go. We can start with Phase 3 now that I have this thing." Jevil gleefully smiled when he looked at the briefcase. [Letheia Corporation, Occasus Cult and Black Star Syndicate. I will enjoy watching you all killing each other.] He happily thought to himself as his eyes flashed with a deep and thick hatred toward all this organizations.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Jevil walked away with his Rebellion soldiers. Peri saw that her job was done so she started to walk away with the Floran kids. "Hey." Lenny called for Peri. Peri turned around and stared Lenny. "How is John going to call you if you don''t give him your number?" Peri annoyingly rolled her eyes. She reached for her PIPS and took a Data Chip out from it. "Here, give it to him." She threw the chip toward Lenny. "You better uphold your promise..." Lenny caught the chip mid air. "I will." She seriously said without turning to face Lenny. Lenny watched as Peri led the kids away from the Outpost. "Now..." Lenny crouched and lifted John up. He took John''s arm and started to use John''s PIPS. He selected the option to beam up. With a blinding white light, both Lenny and John disappeared from the planet and were teleported toward John''s ship. ... Jevil was happily staring at white briefcase when he received a notification from his pilot. "Master, we have a hologram call incoming." Jevil heard the voice coming from the ship''s speakers. Jevil was already inside his ship and on his way toward the nearest Ancient Gateway. "Who''s it?" Jevil frowned. He was now very unhappy that someone interrupted his joyous moment. "It''s Dreadwing." The pilot replied. "Oh, that Penguin pirate, again..." Jevil was sick of dealing with Dreadwing. He always hated making deals with Penguins, they always try to pull something shady behind his back and this really pisses him off. Jevil helplessly sighed and walked toward the Briefing Room of his spaceship. He couldn''t just ignore Dreadwing they had a lot of deals, including some that was very beneficial toward his business in the Underworld Facility. He stopped by the hologram projector and turned it on. Soon enough a blue light flashed out from it and a holographic figure slowly started to appear. A small blue Penguin wearing a eye patch and a pirate hat with crossed bones as the illustration on it, appeared as a holographic projection. "Dreadwing." Jevil greeted the Penguin. "Jevil! My friend, how you have been." The Penguin greeted enthusiastically like they were best friends. "I have been better." Jevil''s lips twitched when he saw the enthusiastic greeting. Usually when Dreadwing goes like this, it means that he wants something from him. "Hahahaha... True, true." Dreadwing gleefully laughed. "Cut the chase." Jevil rolled his eyes. He really doesn''t had the patience to deal with Dreadwing. "What do you want?" "Well..." Dreadwing embarrassedly scratched his bald head. "As you know since the last time with Dr. Akaggy''s... Problem, I took in another engineer, Akaggy''s brother, Cog." "Yes, and..." "And..." Dreadwing dryly coughed. "It happened again... Cog ran away, just like Akaggy did." "Ah..." Jevil helplessly sighed. "You really need to watch out how you deal with the members of your crew, principally the important ones." "It happens." Dreadwing doesn''t want to admit that he was on the fault. "I had asked around and I got the information that he is currently on the Underworld Facility, looking for jobs on the Beakeasy Saloon." "So... What you want me to do?" "Before he ran away he asked me if I would allow him to quit from the crew, I, of course, rejected it. I took his family as hostage so that he wouldn''t suddently ran away, but... He was so adamant of leaving that I allowed it when I went on a fit of rage. He asked for his family and I said I would only free them once he paid me 50 millions pixels." Dreadwing narrated the series of events that lead to the situation he currently was. "So... I don''t want to let go of this mechanic talent. I want you to pass around the word so that no one would hire him. He then would become helpless and end up coming back to me." Dreadwing hopefully looked at Jevil. "It''s a good plan, isn''t?" "I have seen and done better." Jevil said. "I can''t do it. You know that something like this would ruin my reputation." The Floran Colony (20) "Come on dude." Dreadwing started to shamelessly beg. "I really like this mechanic, I don''t want to lose him." "Alright, alright..." Jevil could only agree to this request. It might be good to have Dreadwing to stay on debt with him. "I''ll try doing a few things. Let''s see if it will work." "Oh yes!" Dreadwing cheered as he threw his wings up in the air. "Thanks, man. I owe you one." With that Dreadwing ended up the call. Jevil sighed in relief. [Peace... Finally peace.] "Master, we have another call incoming." Jevil''s face froze. [What the hell is going on today!? Can I have some peace?] "Who''s it?" Jevil coldly asked. He was unhappy now, really unhappy. The pilot trembled all over when he heard Jevil''s tone of voice. "I-it''s Asra Nox..." "Hmm?" Jevil was slightly surprised. [She''s already calling me? So soon? Looks like she really is inpatient.] Jevil turned the hologram projector on again. Soon, the call was connected. With flash of blue light a humanoid holographic figure appeared in front of Jevil. "Hello, Jevil..." The figure greeted with her stern and cold voice. "Asra, how have you been lately?" Jevil asked with a polite smile on his face. After a few seconds, the call stabilized. The holographic figure changed and showed Asra''s real appearance. She was a middle-aged woman with short black hair and small, but sharp black eyes. She was slim and almost 1.85 meters tall, but her atmosphere and aura make her feel more towering and older than she looks. She didn''t had some developed bust and waist, and lacked almost any feminine charm. She was wearing some purple, tight militaristic outfit with metal shoulder pads and some medals on the chest. She was completely expressionless when she looked at Jevil. [This woman... She have more presence and aura than even the most battle-scarred veteran.] Jevil couldn''t help but be amazed every time he sees her. Her stern and strict attitude, her cold and merciless temperament. She was one of the few people Jevil felt some kind of pressure. He had met all kind of people. Veterans, generals and even Race Leaders. All of them pale in comparison with Asra, even Leda Portia and Esther Bright weren''t as imposing as she was. "Not very good." She answered. "The Letheia Corporation Has started doing some very... Annoying actions around here." "Hehehehe..." Jevil grinned. "Now that the Terrene Protectorate is out of the way, it was bound to happen, wasn''t it?"Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. "Even when they were in the way." Asra indifferently smiled. "The Terrene Protectorate was already a dying organization. Luckily for them, they were destroyed before their image went completely to the drain." "Yeah, yeah. So... What made you call me today?" Jevil asked. "Our meeting. I think you shouldn''t have forgotten about it, right?" Her eyes sharpened as he stared at Jevil. Jevil casually smiled as he was being stared by Asra. "No, I haven''t. In fact, I just got a few things that you might be very interested in." "Oh... You really make me curious now." A slight smile surfaced in her cold and stiff face. "Hehehehe... I don''t know if you''re going to like it or hate it. It makes me curious to see your reaction when it''s time." Jevil tried to tease the stern militaristic woman. "That was all..." Asra''s face returned to become expressionless. "I see you in 5 days." And with her last phrase the call ended. When he saw that Asra''s hologram image fade his smile disappeared without a trace from his face. Only coldness and hatred remained on his expression. [Asra Nox... One day, I''ll personally kill you.] His eyes stayed glued at the place where the hologram once was. [But... Not soon. I need you to eliminate the number one in my kill list first, the Black Star Syndicate.] He turned around and left the Briefing Room. His lonesome shadow stretched out on the cold metal floor of the ship. His past... Was very dark and filled with blood. His hatred went beyond one or two organizations. He was abandoned by the world, by the universe. Now, he''s out for revenge, and he will do anything on his power to accomplish his goals. He was... A mad man, a Harbinger of Chaos. ... Lenny stood by the Healing Pod. He watched as John was slowly submerged in a red liquid that was filling up the glass tank. Some small robotic arms appeared from the Healing Pod and started to enter inside John''s wound and retrieved the armor and bullet fragments from inside his body. "This will do..." Lenny took one last glance at the machine and saw that the timer was set to finish the operation in 2 hours. Lenny walked way and returned to his room. He glared at himself at the mirror. His hat and left sleeve were completely destroyed at the fight with Oscar. His clothes and armor pieces at some important parts of his body were all dirty and messy from rolling and jumping around in the dirt of the forest. He took off his clothes and entered inside the shower. When he finished showering he retrieved some new cowboy clothes from inside Oscar''s PIPS. This time the clothes weren''t light brown, but black this time. In fact, it weren''t really clothes, but a very thin armor made of leather, cotton and Titanium strings. The overall armor was rated Tier 3, but the protection was a lot lesser than most of other generic armors from the same Tier. The armor was called the Outlaw''s Set. A very thematic and popular style of armor for Novakids. He wore the armor and looked at himself at the mirror. [Looking good...] He narcissistically smiled. When he took one more look at Oscar''s PIPS he saw a very old cowboy hat. He retrieved it and stared. [You still have it...] Lenny''s hand trembled as he touched at the old texture of the hat. This was a gift from Starkid to Oscar. Starkid also gave one to Lenny. It was when they were just little kids and were under the Starkid Outlaw Group''s wings. Lenny sadly sighed. Time wouldn''t go back, it doesn''t matter how many times someone wish for it to happen. He took everything from Oscar and the soldiers'' PIPS on his own. "Hm?" Lenny looked at the chip in his hand. It completely blue with some golden details in it. "A tech chip?" Lenny looked at the words engraved in the chip, it was written ''Barrier Tech Ability''. Lenny also took an armor set, two weapons, a few other things from the PIPS. "This armor..." Lenny glanced at the armor set in front of him. "I remember he took from that USCM base. Why would he still carry such thing." Lenny shook his head. "John will need this more than me." Lenny stared at the items in front of him. "After all, it''s time for us to go on our own ways..." Lenny took one last look at the John''s ship. "Well... May we meet again, John." With those words he activated the ship''s teleporter and beamed to his own ship that he was able to retrieve from Oscar''s belongings. Side Story (6): Devil Unchained Frehja Journal Entry #267 Today Lieutenant Tiro brought back an interesting person, a young man, about 14 years. He had a surprisingly a bright red hair. I thought he was bringing back the kid because they wanted to recruit him, but I was wrong. He brought him back to be tortured for possible information and then executed. I must say that I don''t approve this action and when I joined the Occasus Cult I thought they had a better moral standard. Like, really? They are going to torture a boy that is barely 14 years old. God save my soul. I have a daughter at this age. Seeing this really make me sick and regret my decision. I know that most people here just want to make the difference for humanity, but a lot of the people here really has some hatred issue and twisted mindset. Unfortunately, I''m but a small Private, I can''t help the boy. I pray that he die soon, at least this way he might be freed from the pain. -------------- Frehja Journal Entry #270 How many days have it been? Three, four? I lost the count. They kept the young boy locked in the cell room. Every day they would go there, torture him and tease the boy.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Now, they are doing it just for fun since they know it is impossible for such kid to know any information that might be useful for us. I''ll try and see if I can do something to at least ease some of the pain the kid might be suffering or will suffer in the future. God have mercy on him. ----------------- Frehja Journal Entry #271 I have applied myself to take care of the kid since no one had bothered to do it. I can''t just sit idle anymore, I must at least make him a little more comfortable. Today I met him face to face for the first time, and I must say that the aura coming from the kid was something a little off. I was able to feel some lingering killing intent and bloodthirstiness, but I''m not sure if it''s really coming from the kid. I mean, it''s impossible that someone at such young age would have already killed enough people to be able to develop and control his killing intent to this degree... Right? ----------------- Frehja Journal Entry #272 Bastards! Now they have gone too far. Some of the members even raped the poor kid. The tortures are getting worse and worse. I really can''t watch this anymore. I''m close of breakdown and asking for a transference to another place. I just don''t do it because I''m worried that the situation might get worst, after all, I''m the only person on this entire outpost that take care of this kid. I''m starting to question my beliefs and the objective of the Occasus Cult. God have mercy of that poor soul. ----------------- Frehja Journal Entry #275 I knew something was bound to happen, but not like this... The red-haired boy killed everyone on the outpost, I don''t know how he did. I was away on scouting mission and when we got back, everyone was dead. The moment we entered the first, there he was, waiting for us. He was very fast and deadly, he killed my comrades that were beside me in a blink of an eye. I didn''t reacted. Or should I say I couldn''t allow myself to. After he finished off my last comrade he walked toward me. His entire body was drenched in blood. Every step he took left behind a blood mark on the ground. He smiled. I was able to tell, It was a cold and mad grin. "Don''t worry, I won''t kill you." He said to me. "You were the only one that cared about me... I appreciate that. For this reason, I allow you to keep your life." With those last words he disappeared from the outpost. I blankly stared the way he left for a long while before I returned to my senses and left the outpost. I have thought a lot about what happened this last days. I decided to leave the Occasus Cult. But even if I ran away all my life, I''ll forever remember that red-haired boy with a mad smile on his face. From that day foward I knew that a monster had been born on this universe. The Occasus Cult is going to suffer under the hands of this... Devil. A mad and bloodthirsty Devil. May God have pardon me, pardon me for letting this Devil get away and not tried to stop him when I had the chance. Side Story (7): The Harbinger of Chaos He was just a 5 years old child when he, and his family, were forcefully taken away by the Black Star Syndicate. His father became a debt-slave for the Letheia Corporation and his mother was forced to become a prostitute for the outlaws of the Syndicate. He was sold away to become a toy for a rich tycoon, in a very far away place from his colony of origin. It was a hellish place for the young boy. He was raped and toyed to the extreme by the sadist owner. Everything was about to end when the tycoon got tired of the boy and decided to kill him off and buy another one. The young boy found his determination and canalized all his hatred in the tycoon. He killed off the rich owner and all his guards and family. That was the time his inhuman strength and senses were awaken. It was a bloodbath. More than 100 people had died in that same day. That was the day a monster was born. A monster extremely dangerous and covered in madness. By the age of 13 he was already a renowned pirate that had his own crew that ran around creating chaos in the Beta Sector.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. He was forced to flee the Beta Sector by the age of 14. The Terrene Protectorate launched a big operation to clean up the outlaws of the Beta Sector. The boy''s crew was wiped out. He was captured by fanatics from the Occasus Cult. He thought he was safe since the Occasus Cult was made of Human extremists, but reality proved him wrong. He was accused of having good relationship with other races since his crew was very diverse when he was the captain. He was tortured by some people of the Occasus Cult. But the boy showed once again how strong his patience and determination was. He killed all the people that tortured him for a whole month and ran away from the place. Dozens of fanatics were assassinated on that day. And the killer remained a mistery for decades. It was only by the age of 18 the boy suddently appeared once again in the Gamma Sector, after a long 4 years of disappearance. He appeared again and joined the Letheia Corporation and started to do the the corporation''s dirty jobs for more than 3 years. After this 3 years of service, he retired from the Letheia Corporation, but was hired to control the Underworld Facility of the Ark Outpost, by Itsuki from the Central Ocean Faction. ... "No one knew his real name or his place of origin, even in the present day so little is known about the past of this enigmatic person. From the records of that age, and from the diary of my ancestor, John Connor, he went by the name Jevil. It was only after the death of the Ruin that he received his famous title, Jevil, The Harbinger of Chaos..." Commentary of the Historian Yerlo Connor. --- Excerpt from "The History of The Ruined Era" written by the Historian, and Starbound Protectorate Academy''s principal, Yerlo Connor, in the Year 576AR (576 Years After the Ruin). Side Story (8): The Start of the 100-Years Great War March 30th of the Year 2209, from the Terran calendar. It had started. It really had started. The people never thought it was going to happen, but it did happened. The war broke out between Marcians, from planet Mars, and Terrans, from from Earth. The reason for the war is pretty simple that even a person completely uninterested in politics like me could see. Resources, natural resources. Earth has always been the center of humanity, but because of it, the need of resources is also huge. Ever since the start to of the Spatial Race in 2111, Earth had been always on front of Mars in the exploration, colony and extractive technology in space and foreign planets. While Earth was exploring the infinite space, Mars was focusing their technology in something else... Augmented Humans.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. They used biology, technology, and chemistry in a research to create supersoldiers capable of sustain the FIMMS (Full Immersion Man-Machine System) technology that was used in their humanoid mobile robots that they called Mechas. Mechanical implants are made in the Human''s spine so that it could easily connect to the Mecha through a cable, and... Oh, sorry I started to ramble a little. I''m a mechanic and I was really interested in such innovative technology that the Martians had created. But, anyway, I saw with my own eyes how such a army of humanoid machines can be as fearsome as a fleet of Earth''s warships. The official declaration of war came two days after the conflict in the planet ASPX-801. The planet was extremely rich in natural resources that Mars really need, but Earth also need the resources and don''t want Mars to get stronger, so the fleet of warships and fighters, from Earth, entered in conflict with the army of Mechas of the Martians. It was a quite a battle. I''m just a mechanic in one of the warships that were lucky enough to survive the battle. I saw how the Mechas were able to destroy warship''s forcefield, frames, and able to infiltrate into the ship, causing a complete bloodbath. This conflict was bound to happen... Ever since Mars win the war for Independence against Earth in 2086, diplomatic tension between the two planets has always been raising. The relationship had always been stained, with Terrans looking down at Mars, their previous colony, and Martians looking down at Terrans, for losing a war against them. This war is going to be a very long one, and the amount of deaths is going to be higher than any previous war we have ever experienced. I just hope... Hope that this war isn''t going to end with both sides throwing mass destruction weapons at each other''s planet. Let us pray that such situation doesn''t occur. The Floran Colony (21) John had long and strange dream. He saw images of an Ancient civilization, its people and their... Power. In the dream, the people that he saw were very strange to him. They were tall, had gray skin, red eyes, and pointy ears. They were all very strong and able to do unthinkable things. But what really got John''s attention was their power. From the images that flashed in John''s mind, that race was able to manipulate nature, time, space, and everything around them by controlling a kind of energy that was present in everything and everyone. John saw that before every single one them activated their power, their hands flashed with a blue light and small blue particles floated around their hands... Just like what John saw happening with Peri in the power room. The last series of images were different from the previous. John was unable to understand the context of the previous one, but the last few, he was able to understand. The images showed a lone giant person from that race facing another person that had the same body build of the previous one, but his entire skin was crimson red, and his eyes were completely black. "You disappointed me, brother..." The giant said to the red person. "I warned you about the dangers of forcibly acquiring the power, now look what happened." He sadly sighed. "Your soul, your entire being became... Corrupted." The red person only groaned in response, but kept his anger filled eyes glued at the giant. "I know that I''m unable to kill you right now. You became way too strong for that, but I''m more than certain that still can beat you." The giant said while staring at the red man. "Grrrr..." The red man growled at the giant and waved his arms, causing enormous red tentacles to appear from every single part of his body and they immediately started to attack the giant person. His body blew up in a red mist. From deep within the mist a single giant eye appeared. It viciously stared at the giant person in front of it. Black particles floated around each tentacle, making a mixture of red and black, it looked way more menacing now. "This will probably end with my death... I hope my preparations are enough for the future..." The giant sighed once again, then he started to attack the tentacles that were already in front of him. Blue particles floated all around his body, until it formed something like a shield around him.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. This last image looked almost like the neon painting in the Ark Outpost. The painting that showed the Ruin and the Cultivator fighting each other... ... John''s eyes flared open. *Cough, cough, cough...* He started to endlessly cough some kind of slimy, light red liquid that was inside his lungs. "Where am I?" The last thing he remembered was getting shot right after he left the Syndicate''s outpost, and then he went unconscious. He looked around and saw that he was inside a glass tank. He knocked once in the glass and immediately the glass started to go up, opening a space big enough for John to walk out of the platform. John tried to leave the platform, but his body was weak and his legs were wobbly. *Bam* He fell on his face on the cold metal floor. John embarrassedly stood up and looked around around him. [The Medical Bay?] He soon realized he was on his ship''s Medical Bay room. [How did I end up here?] John looked down and saw that he was on his underwear. "What the..." He exclaimed. He turned around and saw that his clothes and armors were beside the Healing Pod. "SAIL." John called out, while he wore his clothes. "Yes, Protector?" The emotionless voice echoed in the Medical Bay. "Who brought me here?" John finished wearing the clothes and walked out of the room. "It was... Lenny." SAIL answered. [Lenny and not Peri?] John was confused. When he went unconscious only Peri and the Floran kids were beside him. [He probably finished his business with Oscar and returned in time to save me...] "How long have I been out?" "Protector had been in the Healing Pod for two hours." "Two hours, huh..." John walked along the narrow hallway. [What happened after I went unconscious? Where is Peri? Is they safe and sound?] John was worried about the safety of Peri and the Floran kids. "Where''s Lenny?" John stopped I''m his tracks and asked. "He left the ship one and a half hours ago." SAIL unhurriedly spoke. "He left? To where?" "Searching teleporter database..." SAIL stopped speaking for a while before it started again, "No information have been found, coordinates have been deleted by the user." "Deleted?" John was curious as to why would Lenny suddently leave and even delete his coordinates, leaving no traces behind. John entered the Crew''s Quarters and looked around. When his eyes went pass Lenny''s bed something caught his attention. The whole bed was filled items, from an armor set, to some grenades. "Hm?" When John got closer he was able to see that there was a piece of paper on top of the pile of items. He took it and read the contents: "John, Lenny here. I don''t know how you will feel when you wake up and found out that I was gone, probably confused and a little angry, I assume. Well... For the reason I left, it''s in fact very simple, I took my ship back from Oscar''s hands. Basically that''s it. I have a few things to do around the universe, some targets with high bounty in their heads need to die. As for Peri, she had to leave and bring the kids to a safe place. I took her PIPS'' number for you, is in one of the Data Chips in the pile of items. I really enjoyed the time we spent together, even though it was short. I consider you my friend, the first after the whole fiasco with Oscar. Don''t be sad my sudden leave, it''s not like we aren''t going to meet again. You have PIPS'' number, we can meet again, soon, but not for few days, maybe months. That''s it. Enjoy the the things I left behind. May we meet again Lenny signing out" "May we meet again..." John whispered the last words. "Indeed, it''s not like we''re parting ways forever." John brilliantly smiled. "We all have different lives, different ambitions and objectives." He shook away his negative emotions. "I wish you luck and safety in your travels, Lenny. May we meet again." The Floran Colony (22) Somewhere in the universe... "Sir, we lost contact with A1 and the whole outpost that was involved in the operation for the Miniknog." A Syndicate soldier was kneeling in front of another person. This person was a middle-aged Human with a gray hair and gray full beard. The middle-aged man was very good looking for someone of his age. He was tall and had a very fit and strong body. He looked like a butler in his classy formal suit. "This is a problem indeed." The man scratched his beard. "You are dismissed." He waved his hand showing to the soldier that he was allowed to leave. "Something troublesome, Alfred?" The middle-aged man heard an arrogant voice coming from behind him. He turned around and saw a handsome young man lazily seated on the sofa with one of his hands supporting his chin. The young man had a bright, short, messy blond hair and sharp blue eyes. He was tall and had a slim body. In his arms were tattoos from skulls, snakes and a few other things. He also had piercings in his ears, and had golden rings in his fingers. The young man was wearing some casual clothing. A gray pants, white shirt and black hoodie. "Jason..." Alfred frowned when he saw how casually and lazily the young man was seating. "Have some manners while you are in the main house, please?" "How about... No?" Jason rolled his eyes, annoyed at how Alfred was talking with him. "So, what happened?" Jason casually asked. He wasn''t that interested in what happened, he just asked because he was bored. "Some trouble in one of the outposts of our most recent large operation." Alfred sighed when he realized that the young would never hear his advices. "That''s a big problem then." Jason frowned when he thought of the possible implications that might befall onto the Syndicate. "Indeed... If something really happened with the ''cargo'', the Miniknog might use this as an opportunity to finally deal with the Black Star Syndicate, just like how they did with the USCM." Alfred slightly trembled when he remembered what happened with the USCM. Alfred was someone with a high post in the USCM when they were still operating. He saw with his own eyes how the Miniknog was able to deal with them with barely using their troops and resources. "I need to speak with you father and decided how the Syndicate should deal with this tricky situation." Alfred sighed once again. This time he was very troubled, the situation in front of them was very hard to deal with, and Jason''s father, the boss of the Black Star Syndicate, was a headstrong and harsh person. With how things were progressing Jason''s father might just try to fight against the Miniknog, which wasn''t the wisest choice.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "My father won''t listen to you, like always." Jason closed his eyes and leaned his head at the sofa. "He is getting more and more stubborn and suspicious of everyone around him." Alfred walked around the living room and sat at the sofa across Jason. "Just yesterday he wanted to execute two innocent soldiers for treason. If he stay taking such actions, the members of the Syndicate might start to turn their backs at him." "He''s getting old..." Jason spoke. "Too old to be actually in power of such gigantic organization." "I think is better if you tell him the news." Alfred hopefully stared at Jason. "If I tell him... He won''t listen to my suggestions. You''re his son, I think he would at least hear you out." "Hahahahahaha..." Jason laughed. "Of all of us, he wouldn''t listen to me the most. He thinks I can''t wait to see him dead so that I can take control over the Syndicate. He truly has some mentality problems." Alfred helplessly sighed and also leaned back on the sofa. "What do we do, then? We can''t just ignore such possible threat." Jason shrugged his shoulders. "Why would we do something? He will found out, one way or another. Let''s just wait for him to hit a wall and then he will need to ask for help." "Yes... That''s probably our best course of action." Alfred nodded. He too thought it was for the best if they waited for him to ask for help. ... "That''ssss everyone that survived?" The old, yellowish orange, Floran asked Peri that was in front of him. "Unfortunately..." Peri sadly lowered her head. The old Floran sighed. "That''sss the third colony we lossst in lessss than sssix monthsss." "Yes. I believe it''s the Black Star Syndicate that''s targeting our colonies, lately." Peri remembered the black star that was painted in the armor of those people in the outpost. Her eyes glinted with hatred and thirst for revenge. "How the Greenfinger Council plans to deal with this situation?" Peri asked the old Floran. "I think they didn''t even sssat to talk about this situation at all. They are occupied with the Great Hunt for now." "It''s already about to start?" Peri completely forgot it was that time of the year when the Great Hunt was the center of attention of the Floran Colonies. "Yes, in 4 days, more ssspecifically." The old Floran nodded in confirm. "Are you going to participate? You are the only one that isss capable to going againssst Nuru and don''t lossse ssso badly." The old Floran looked at Peri, hopeful. "No..." Peri shook her head. "My Warrior''s Path isn''t in the Great Hunt. I can feel it. I can feel that my path, my destiny is out there, in the stars." Peri looked at the blue sky and closed her eyes. She felt the cool and gentle breeze of the nature. "The endless space out there... I can feel it calling me... Ever since I won that Challenge Dimension, I was able to hear and dream about strange images. Sometimes, I can even hear someone or something calling me, urging me to follow my destiny. That''s why I won''t go to the Great Hunt, sorry grandpa." "Ahhh..." The old Floran helplessly sighed. "It''ssss fine asss long asss you are happy, my child." "Well... That was all I came to do here. I have to go now. I made a promise and I need to uphold it." "You are talking about that Human that you sssaid that helped you?" The old Floran gazed at Peri''s expression, searching for something. "Yes, he was of... Some help." Peri admitted with a expressionless face. The old Floran squinted his eyes. "You ssshould take him to the planet Gaia, where the Great Hunt is going to happen, and sssearch for your grandmother. Ssshe became a member of the Greenfinger Council lassst year, ssshe might have sssome information that could help your friend." He seriously stared at Peri. "You can''t bring him here. This planet isss a sssacred place. No knowledge of this place should be known by anyone bessside our family." "I know..." Peri nodded her head in a serious manner. "Thank you, grandfather, for all the help. I will go look for grandmother." Peri said goodbye. She turned around and left the premises. She reached for her PIPS and beamed up to her ship. The Floran Colony (23) "Protector... You have a call incoming." John heard SAIL''s voice echoing throughout the Captain''s Quarter. John was on the ground, making some exercise. He was without his shirt and only in a away shorts. "Who''s it?" John stood up. His body gleamed when the light coming from the lightbulbs hit the sweat in his body. "The caller is identifying herself as... Peri." "Peri?" John lifted his head. [Is she done with what she had to do already? It only took 4 days.] "Transfer the call to my PIPS." John replied while looked for a towel. "Done..." With that SAIL went into silence once again. John glanced at the pocket watch thing in his right wrist and activated his PIPS. "Hello, John?" He heard Peri''s voice coming from the PIPS. "It''s me." John replied while he used a towel to wipe the sweat on his body. "Everything went well? I mean with the kids and all?" "Yes... Thanks for the help back there. I already brought them to a safe place to stay with one of my family''s member." "It''s good to hear..." "So... About our deal..." Peri hesitated a little but still spoke. "I know a few colonies, but first I want to know your intentions of looking for Floran colonies." Her tone sounded very serious. "I''m looking for... Something, an object belonging to an Ancient Civilization." John said without hiding a lot. He still withheld some pieces of information and specifications because he doesn''t know if he was allowed to tell other people about Esther''s findings, he didn''t mystery her about that. "Oh... Then I think is for the best of we go find my grandmother." Peri said after some thought. "Your grandmother?" "Yes, she''s a member of the Greenfinger''s Council, she must know about what you''re searching for." "That''s good then... Where can we find her?" "Don''t worry about it, I''ll be sending the coordinates for the planet shortly after our call." "Alright, I''ll be waiting for it." He was about to end the call when a few questions popped in his head. "But... Is it okay for me to just go to the planet? Won''t I be stopped or something when I get closer?"Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "You will be fine." Peri assured John. "When you arrive at the orbit just give your name and some sort of identification card and you they will allow you to enter. I had already informed them they you will be coming." "Okay, then... See you later." "See you later." With those words, Peri turned off the call. John glanced at his PIPS and soon enough he received a message coming the number belonging to Peri''s PIPS. "Bellatorsilva... Latin...?" John read the name of the planet that Peri gave him. [If I''m not wrong it roughly means... Warrior''s Forest?] He didn''t really learned Latin in the past, but only a few broken words, since the knowledge about this language it was one of the things that were almost completely lost with the 100-Years Great War. John left the the room went to the Cockpit. He transferred the coordinates from his PIPS to the Navigation Console. "Coordinates have been placed..." John heard SAIL''s voice. "The targeted location is too far way from Protector''s current location. It will take... 27 days at full power thrusters. I recommend to use the FTL Warp Drive, it will take only 2 minutes to reach the targeted location." "Let''s go with it then." John wanted to complete his mission the fastest possible, he simply couldn''t wait 27 full days just to get to the planet. "The FTL Warp Drive will be activated in... 10 seconds. Passengers should fasten your seatbelts to minimize the chances of an accident." SAIL''s voice echoed throughout the whole ship, but only John was in to, so the remainder was for him, alone, to listen. John did as SAIL instructed, he sat on the seat and fastened the seatbelt. "5... 4... 3..." SAIL stared the countdown. "2... 1... Starting the warp process." The sudden forward momentum of the ship made John felt like he was being crushed and glued at his seat. Looking at the outside from the Cockpit''s glass, John was able to see prolonged lights of starts and other spatial bodies going around his ship as it passed around them with a speed faster than light. After a few seconds, the ship stopped to accelerate and stabilized at the proper speed. "Speed stabilized. Warp jump is under the process, Protector''s free to roam around the ship." SAIL''s voice stopped after it finished the last line. John took out the seatbelt and moved his limbs around. "Damn, the process of acceleration really is uncomfortable..." He looked at the glass in the front of the Cockpit. It was a beautiful sight. "Now... I wait 2 minutes, it isn''t that much of a long time. The coordinates showed that the planet he was going was still on the Gamma Sector. There''s no information about it on the Data Chip that Itsuki gave me... Such mistery..." John stayed at his seat, waiting for the warp jump to end. ... "AHHHHH...!!!" Screams of pure pain and agony echoed throughout the whole dirty, dim-lightened basement. In the middle of the basement, there was a group of menacing people that were wearing some technological armor, and weapons, staring at a Human male that was tied at a wooden chair. The man was covered in dried blood, and dirt. He was completely naked and his body was filled with cuts, burnt marks, and other types of wounds. His breathes were long and weak. His entire body was barely moving at all. "Made him talk?" A casual voice came from behind the people wearing armors. They looked at the source and saw a young man with red hair steadily walking toward them. "Not yet boss." An armored man stepped forward to report to Jevil. "He''s quite a tough and loyal dog." "It doesn''t matter." Jevil stood before the man roped in the chair. "They are always tough in the beginning, but they always give up in the end..." Jevil flashed a bright smile as he carefully used his hand to lift the man''s head by the chin. *Ptui* The man spat an at Jevil''s face just as his eyes met with Jevil''s. Blood and saliva mixed up at Jevil''s face. His expression instantly turned from smiling to expressionless in a matter of milliseconds. The Floran Colony (24) "Looks like you haven''t been torturing him enough..." Jevil retrieved his hand from the man''s chin and casually took a handkerchief that was in the pocket of his suit, and wiped clean his face. After cleaning it up, he threw a side glance at one of the armoured men. "I''m sorry, master Jevil." The soldier lowered his head and apologised to Jevil. Jevil retrieved his eyes from the soldier and stared at the man that was tied at the chair. Despite his wretched state, he was actually smiling; it was a bloody smile. He didn''t have any teeth because all of them were taken out as a way to torture him. "I usually don''t like to involve myself in this kind of... Activities, but now..." Jevil flashed another smile, but this time it was extremely frosty and filled with some dark aura around him. "I''ll enjoy breaking your... Determination and loyalty." *Bam* Jevil sent a heavy punch straight at the man''s chest. *Crack* The sound of bones being crushed travelled to all the soldiers'' ears that were present. They slightly trembled as they felt the chilling atmosphere around Jevil. *Cough, cough, cough...* The man coughed a mouthful of blood at Jevil''s hand, staining it in a crimson red colour. But it didn''t end there. He kept coughing blood for quite a while before he was able to recover his breath and stop. "How about it?" Jevil grabbed the man''s hair and lifted his head so that his eyes could match with Jevil''s eyes. "Do you feel it? The pain? The agony? The helplessness? The desire....to die?" Jevil''s eyes shone with a mad light. "Don''t worry; I know how all this feels. After all, I have been tortured quite a few times as well." "..." The man silently stared at Jevil. His eyes were filled with determination and mockery. "I never actually said a word during my time being the one tortured, you know why?" Jevil''s smile widened. "Because all they were able to use against me was physical pain. I didn''t have any weak spot or neither close friends or... Family." He stared at the man''s expression that had started to change. "I then understood that when dealing with some types of people you can''t use only pain to make them submit. You have to break them, emotionally and psychologically." Jevil took his hand from the man''s hair and started to look for something in his PIPS. "Let me show you something that I think you would be very, very interested at." The man felt some foreboding feeling that had started to cloud his mind. "Take a look..." Jevil crouched by the man and showed his PIPS'' holographic screen.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The man''s eyes were a little blurry, but he was still able to discern the image that Jevil showed. His expression turned into disbelief for a split second before it went normally. He calmly turned his sight from the screen to Jevil. "What do mean by showing this image?" "Oh, you don''t know them?" Jevil faked a surprised expression on his face. "This beautiful woman and her two children. I really thought you knew them." The image that Jevil was showing was, in fact, a video that showed a family of three happily walking in a park, a beautiful woman in her thirties, and tow small children, a boy, and a girl. "You know.....this isn''t a recording, but rather a live video." Jevil wickedly smiled as he saw that the man''s expression completely froze. "If you don''t really know them, then... I don''t think I have a reason to keep them alive." "Stop!" The man momentarily lost his composure and roared. He realised that he committed a mistake and tried to correct it. "Are you a man? I mean involving innocent people in something that is between you and me." As the man spoke, he suddenly remembered something. He flashed a mocking smiled at Jevil. "Oh, sorry. I forgot that you aren''t a man anymore, after all, you been used and abused as a toy for men for quite a while when you were young." The armoured soldiers all trembled by the terrifying and frosty aura that was coming out from Jevil. "Oh?" Jevil acted casually, as he lifted his black-rimmed glasses. "Trying to make me angry so that my judgment would become cloudy and like that you could save your wife and kids from my wrath by taking it on by yourself." His eyes gleamed with anger and madness as he stared at the man. "I usually don''t like to involve Innocents in my machinations and conflicts, but when they are on my way to achieving what I want, I have no other choice than using them or eliminating them." The man''s face completely changed. "No, NO!" He didn''t care about anything anymore and angrily roared like a beast. "DON''T TOUCH THEM!" "Why wouldn''t I?" Jevil coldly smiled. "I''m pretty sure that if I torture them right in front you, you will spill out the information that I want in no time." "NO! I''ll talk! I''ll talk, just....just don''t touch them." The man lowered his head and actually started to cry. "Give me what I want then I''ll only grant one wish of yours." Jevil leaned closer and whispered by the bloodied ear of the man. "Choose one of them. I let you live and kill them, or I kill you, and they live. You have 10 seconds to deci-" "Kill me..." The man said without waiting for Jevil to finish his lines. "Kill me and let them live." He fearlessly stared at Jevil; his eyes showed no hesitation whatsoever. "..." Jevil''s smile slowly faded away from his face. "I thought this was going to be a hard choice and I was going to watch some internal struggle, but..." He sadly sighed. "Tell me then. Where''s Arianne?" "I want you to promise first, promise that you will not touch them." "I promise not to touch them." "..." The man stared at Jevil for a while before he gave up and gave all the information about Arianne to Jevil. *Bang* Jevil pressed the trigger if his handgun and watched as the bullet smoothly went through one side of the man''s head and left in the other. "See? That''s how it''s done." Jevil threw a side glance at the armoured soldier and started to walk away. "Dispose the body and clean up the mess that you made." "Yes, sir!" The armoured soldiers saluted and went to work. Jevil left the basement and went directly toward the living room of the house he currently was staying. The house wasn''t big and neither luxurious, it was a simple house that belonged to the man that had just died. He sat down on the couch and absent-mindedly looked at the wooden ceiling. [I have become a monster...] He thought. [One day after another go by and I grew more and more like the people that want I want revenge...] He sadly sighed and closed his eyes. [I have already hopped in the train, there''s no stopping and turning back now. The only way....is forward.] His eyes flared open and shone with determination and ruthlessness. [I must... Go on.] The Floran Colony (25) John was about to arrive at his destination, so he decided to get ready. He looked at his PIPS and started to take out some items that he was going to equip. The first part of the armor he took from his PIPS was the boot and pants that as a whole was the Leg Armor of the set. It was a mixture of hard leather and metal, the boot. As for the green camouflage trousers it was made using some kind of high resistant fabric. ---------------------------- Name: Scavenger''s Trousers Type: Tier 2 Light Armor Durability: 100% Energy Storage: 200 UE Energy Regeneration: None Special: None Upgrades: Temperature Protection Mod Additional Description: The armor made of Tungsten given to the USCM soldiers that were tasked to act as explorers of unknown planets and also as vanguards in conflicts. ---------------------------- After wearing both the boots and trousers, he retrieved the Breastplate piece of his set of armor, the black military gloves, and also the camouflage shirt with long sleeves from his PIPS. The shirt was made with the same fabric as the trousers, but the gloves were made with a harder and flexible type of rubber coupled with a cloth. ---------------------------- Name: Scavenger''s Breastplate Type: Tier 2 Light Armor Durability: 100% Energy Storage: 500 UE Energy Regeneration: None Special: None Upgrades: Temperature Protection Mod Additional Description: The armor made of Tungsten given to the USCM soldiers that were tasked to act as explorers of unknown planets and also as vanguards in conflicts. ---------------------------- He didn''t realise before, but now that he started to wear the Armor set he started fell the effects of the Upgrade that was implanted in the Armor. Even with the effects of the Life Support System of the ship, the temperature it was still rather low inside the starship. Now, however, the Temperature Protection Mod that came with the Armor made John fell a little warmer and comfortable than usual.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The Temperature Protection Mod was an Upgrade applied to an armor that made possible for the user to use his UE to create some kind of invisible mantle around the user that could increase or decrease the temperature, depends on the situation outside. John wore the green camouflage shirt, gloves, and then placed the metal Breastplate in the top of the shirt, then he proceeded to take the Helmet piece of the Armor from his PIPS. ---------------------------- Name: Scavenger''s Helmet Type: Tier 2 Light Armor Durability: 100% Energy Storage: 200 UE Energy Regeneration: None Special: None Upgrades: Temperature Protection Mod Additional Description: The armor made of Tungsten given to the USCM soldiers that were tasked to act as explorers of unknown planets and also as vanguards in conflicts. ---------------------------- The Helmet was completely coloured in green and had a forest camouflage pattern. The Helmet looked like a bowl with a flashlight attached at the side of it. After he finished wearing everything he looked at himself in the mirror. He looked almost like a Marine from old Earth, before the 100-Years Great War. "Protector, we''ll be arriving at our destination in 10 seconds." SAIL warned John that was occupied looking at few things in his PIPS. [Well... I don''t think I''m going to use weapons, so I might as well take a look later.] With that though he left the Captain''s Quarter and walked toward the Cockpit. He sat on the captain''s chair and fastened his seatbelt. "Protector, the ship will begin slowing down in... 3 seconds." SAIL warned John. After the three seconds, John saw the light of the stars around him slowing down. He clutched the armrest as his body was forced to go forward because of the momentum of the ship that was in high speed had begun to slow down. The ship only stopped the Warp Jump after a few seconds. When John looked once again at the glass, the first thing that caught his attention was the planet in front of him. It was a beautiful green planet with some blue places that was probably the ocean, rivers, and lakes. But what really caught his eyes were the massive amount of starships in the planet''s orbit. [What''s up with those ships?] John thought as he stared at the strange ships that had flowers and vines growing around it. [How could these plants survive in the space? Why would anyone plant them around a starship?] Uncountable questions popped out in John''s mind. "Hm?" He was shaken awake from his thoughts when the radar alerted John that a few ships were approaching. He glanced at the image of the ships. There was 8 of them, Condor class; they approached from every direction, they didn''t leave any room for John to escape even if he wanted. [Jamming signal...] John saw that his long-range communication system and also the FTL Warp Drive wasn''t working. The ships stopped approaching once they were about 300 meters away from John''s ship. "Protector, there''s a call incoming..." He heard SAIL''s voice coming from the console in front of him. "Accept it." He relaxedly leaned on the chair and waited for the call to go through. "Greetingsss..." John looked at the holographic image of the person who called him. It was a middle-aged male Floran with a robust and tall body. His entire self emanated an air of strength and leadership. "...we''re Gaia''sss Orbital Patrol Force, and we would like to know who are you and why would you come to our planet." The side doors of the ship that had surrounded John, opened and from inside he was able to see some big humanoid machines coming out. [Mechas...] John stared at those machines that had power weapons in their hands and were all aiming at his ship. "My name''s John Connor." Answered John. "And I''m here because Peri invited me to come." "Oh? So you are Miss Peri''sss guest." The Floran soldier said in realization. "I apologize about our rather... Aggressive welcome." The Floran embarrassedly scratched his head. "You know, we are currently hosting a sssignificant event, and we can''t allow anything bad to happen that could interfere with the event." "It''s okay." John calmly said. "Nothing bad happened anyway, you don''t need to apologize." "Thank you, mister." The Floran soldier bowed. "Now, you can park your spaceship around the orbit, like the other ships." The Floran pointed at the ships that were floating around the planet. "Thanks." John waved his hand in goodbye and controlled the ship to move it forward. The Mechas and spaceship opened a breach for John''s ship to pass through them. The Floran Colony (26) After John parked his spaceship in the planet''s orbit, he went to the teleporter and beamed to the closest Public Teleporter in the planet, just like the one in the 2-Stop Teleshop, but it was for free. Once the blinding light subsided, John curiously looked at his surrounding. He was in the middle of a giant city with towering buildings made only with colourful plants and woods. All around him there was Florans from all ages, all types of colours and body types. The Florans that were walking around the central park that was in the middle of the city stopped in their tracks and curiously stared at John. Some of them had their guards up; others were just curious by seeing a Human for the first time. [So this is the biggest Floran colony of this sector.] John was impressed by the scale and beauty of the city. "So you arrived." John heard a familiar cold voice coming from behind. He turned around and was soon face to face with Peri. The only notable difference was that she was actually wearing some kind of dress made of plants fibres with some decorations of flowers. She looked way more inoffensive in her dress, different from when she was using the armour. But John knew that this was just her exterior appearance. She was way stronger than him and probably stronger than anyone he ever met, in raw strength. "Hi." John warmly greeted Peri. "Come with me." She glanced around and saw that both of them were the center of attention of the whole park. "There''s too many people here." She turned around and started to walk away. "Okay..." John could only helplessly follow along. ... "Here''s my grandmother''s house." Peri beckoned John to enter in the vast mansion made with beautiful trees and flowers. "It''s huge..." John looked around. He was impressed by the size and also the beauty of such structure. "Now we can talk." Peri fell on the sofa and relaxedly leaned on her back. "My grandmother will be here soon. Don''t worry." They were inside the living room of the mansion on the first floor. The room was completely decorated with flowers, from top to bottom.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. One thing John realised was that there was no energy in the house. The light of the living room was coming from a kind of plant that was dangling on the ceiling. "Well..." John lowered his head as he nervously tried to come up with a topic for conversation. "How are you?" His lips twitched immediately after he spoke his question. "Fine." Peri didn''t overthink about John''s question and just answered rather indifferently. John slightly frowned his eyebrows. [Her behaviour is somewhat different from when I met her in the Underworld Facilities in the Ark Outpost.] He threw a quick glance at Peri. [Looks like the event which her tribe was wiped out really affected her rather profoundly.] "Peri, dear, are you here?" John was about to speak again when he heard a voice coming from the main door. The voice clearly belonged to a female, a somewhat aged one on top of that. John looked over his shoulder at the newcomer. It was old Floran, and it was clear from the brown coloured foliage of her body. Despite her old age she still looked fit and healthy, and more importantly, her eyes glistened with wisdom. John was only able to deduce the age of the Floran because of the colour of their foliage and also because of the voice. "Grandmother..." Peri stood up and happily hopped toward the old Floran. "Oh?" Peri''s grandmother was surprised by Peri''s move, but she was still able to safely secure the young Floran in a tight hug while she was still in mid-air. "I missed you." Peri snuggled in her grandmother''s embrace. She was behaving just like a child, and that really surprised John that was watching from the sideline. "Oh, my child." The grand other warmly smiled as she caressed Peri''s head. "And who might this be?" She suddenly squinted her eyes and looked at John that was sitting in the corner of the living room, trying not to interrupt such warm reunion. "I''m-" "He''s John Connor, a Human that helped me a little." Peri interrupted John''s presentation and straightforwardly gave the resume of the resume about John and why he was accompanying her. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, John Connor." The grandmother warmly smiled and extended her hand toward John. "I''m Akna, Peri''s grandmother." "The pleasure is mine." John flashed a polite smile and shook Akna''s hand. He was surprised inwardly, Peri''s grandmother wasn''t like most Florans that would hiss and also had a more simplistic way of speech. After both of them greeted each other, they went back to the living room and sat on the sofas, John in one side, Akna and Peri in the other. Peri resumed what had happened on the planet where her tribe resided. How the tribe was wiped out, how she arrived and immediately went for revenge, how she met with John and Lenny, and finally how both of them helped her achieve her revenge. "Oh, I see now." Akna nodded her head in understanding after Peri finished telling everything that had transpired on that planet. She switched her sight from Peri to John, "I must say thank you for helping my granddaughter in her endeavour." "It was nothing." John dismissively waved his hand, telling Akna to don''t worry too much. "So..." Akna narrowed her eyes and sternly stared John. "About my granddaughter''s promise... What exactly you want to know?" John also switched from unexpected behaviour and tone to a more serious and stern as well. "I''m looking for something... An object in particular." "And how might this object look like?" "I... I don''t know." John helplessly shook his head. "All I know is that it probably is a sphere that is capable of emitting light and great power." "A sphere, huh..." Akna thoughtfully scratched her chin, trying to think of something that might look like John was looking for. Even after a few seconds of pondering she was unable to think of something that matched the description that John had just gave her. John saw that Akna probably didn''t know anything about it and helplessly lowered his head. [Looks like I''ll have to do as Esther asked me to do. Using my scanner to look for historical objects of the Floran culture and then she would try to find out where the Ancient Artefact is.] Entering The Ceremonial Hunting Caverns (1) "Grandmother..." Peri pulled Akna''s sleeve to catch her attention. "The prize for the winner of the The Great Hunt, Nature''s Sting spear, hasn''t a jewel that matches John''s description?" "Really?" Akna tried to remember the look of the prize. "Indeed... Now that you mentioned, it really matches his description." Realization dawned upon Akna, but not long after that, her face became somewhat ugly. "I can''t help you see the spear. It''s going to be the prize of the winner of the Great Hunter, and thus belong to him." "Can''t I just see it, just to make sure it''s what I''m looking for?" John saw the light of hope and then tried to convince Akna to allow him to analyze the so-called prize. "No..." Akna helplessly shook her. "If you had arrived just one day earlier I could have allowed you to see the prize up close, but now..." She sighed. "The prize is already placed inside the Ceremonial Hunting Cavern, the place where the Great Hunt is taking place. I can''t allow anyone to interrupt such an important event." "Really...?" John lowered his head and sighed. Then he suddenly thought of an idea. He rose his head and asked Akna, "You said the spear is going to be the prize of the winner of the Great Hunt, right?" "Yes." Akna was confused about John''s exciting behavior. "That means... Can I take part in the event and compete for the prize?" "Huh?" Akna''s eyebrows jumped when she heard John''s question. She frowned and entered in deep thought. "Grandmother, I don''t think there''s a rule that forbids that other races could take part in the Grand Hunt." Peri glanced at her grandmother in deep thought and softly said. "Yes, you are right. There''s indeed no rule that forbid John from joining the Hunt." Akna nodded in acknowledgment. "But he doesn''t have an invitation." Akna shook her head. "I can''t help you get one-" "He can use mine." Peri suddenly said, interrupting Akna. "Yours?" Akna glanced Peri, surprised to know that her granddaughter still remembered that she was invited to join the Great Hunt. Peri was one of the young geniuses in the art of hunting and battle, so much so that she was even compared to the youngest winner of the Great Hunt, Nuru. Almost every Floran looked forward to the day both Nuru and Peri would clash to determine who is the strongest, but Peri backed out from the Great Hunt when she was invited. She decided to leave her home planet and tribe to search for her own destiny in the endless space.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. "Yes, if I''m not wrong I''m allowed to do this, right?" Peri asked her grandmother. "Well... There''s no rule that forbids such action because no one did it before... But do you still have the invitation, I mean after all these years?" "Yes, I have it stored in my PIPS. Then... problem solved?" "Hum... The only problem is whatever he will be able to win the Great Hunt or not." Akna stopped looking at Peri and glanced at John. "The Hunt had already started one day ago. And worst of that is the fact that this time the number of strong competitors is way higher than previous years." This Great Hunt was something that a lot of Florans were excited to see, even after Peri announced her leaving. The number of young geniuses in this generation surprised the Greenfinger''s Council and the population in general. They were expecting that this might be the most competitive Great Hunt in years. "I don''t know if I can win or lose without trying." John said determinable. "I don''t see any problem in you at least trying, but... Are you sure going to enter in the Great Hunt?" Akna looked at John with some concern. "Why?" He asked.confused why would Akna be concerned and somewhat worried. "Isn''t this event just to hunt down some kind of beast?" "So you don''t know the rules, right?" Akna immediately figured out after hearing John''s question. "Yes, you''re right. The event indeed is just to hunt down a beast that''s inside the Ceremonial Hunting Caverns, but there is more than that in this event. The Great Hunt is a lot more than just a hunting game..." Akna leaned on the sofa and said seriously. "This event is a test of strength, wisdom, and survival instincts. That means..." Akna eyed John with stern eyes. "...you will be facing against the best of the best young Floran hunters. In the Ceremonial Hunting Caverns is kill or be killed. John, are ready for this?" John frowned an entered in deep thought. He hesitated to whatever he should or not enter in such bloody competition. He must make his choice fast, the clock was ticking and the competition had already started. His eyes shone with a light of determination before he spoke, "I''ll join the competition." He was determined to win the competition while avoiding unnecessary killing. [Who said I need to kill the Florans to win? From what she said I just need to find, and kill the prey to ultimately win. I can do this... I think.] John tried to think positively. "Are you sure about this?" Akna stared at John and tried to confirm his intentions. "From what I heard from my granddaughter you really seem capable, but not enough to survive in such a place. The Caverns are crawling with all types of monsters, and also all type of experienced young Floran hunters. You are not the type of person who would go around killing someone just to survive or accomplish your goal. I can feel it. You are selfless and even have the spirit of self-sacrifice, if the situation forces you to do so. I must say, you are the kind of person that really embodies the spirit of what the Terrene Protectorate should have been, protecting the weak and innocent even if it means to sacrifice oneself." John lowered his head and kept silent as he heard what Akna had to say about him. "If I''m not wrong you are planning to win the Hunt without killing, am I right?" Akna glanced at John. His silence meant a lot more than of he had just denied or said anything at all. "Like I thought... Even though I admire your conviction and will, I must say that this selflessness of yours will be what will ultimately be your doom in the future. If you are going to enter in the Ceremonial Hunting Cavern to join the Great Hunt with this mentality of yours, I''m afraid that you are going to perish right there." Akna leaned on the back of the sofa and calmly watched John. "With that being said, I ask again. Are you going to participate in the Great Hunt?" Entering The Ceremonial Hunting Caverns (2) "Are you sure about thisss, Akna?" An old, brown, Floran male asked Akna that was in front of him. His face showed that he was clearly angered by what Akna had just suggested. "There is nothing in the rules that forbid a Human from participating in the Great Hunt." Akna said while looking at Floran in front of her in the eyes. She ignored the anger in the Floran''s eyes and spoke calmly and collected. "We know..." Another old Floran interjected in the conversation. This one was way older than the first one. All of his foliage, or ''skin'', was from a dark brown color, which indicates that he was almost on the end of his life. "But why would a Human enter in thisss competition to begin with?" "He desire the prize for the winner." Akna glance at the older Floran. "Outrageousss!!" The first old Floran hit the wooden table in front of him. His twisted face clearly showed the huge amount of anger brewing inside him. "The Nature''sss Sssting isss a weapon that should be wield by the best of the young Floran warriorsss, and not sssome Human brat. I will not accept hisss entry in the competition, don''t try to convince me otherwise, Akna." "Councillor Thure, it isn''t up to you whatever he can enter or not." Akna calmly threw a side glance at Thure before she looked at the older Floran that was now silent in the corner of the table. "What are your thoughts, Senior Councillor Morto?" The older Floran, Morto, thoughtfully scratched his chin and gazed at Akna. "There''sss nothing about sssuch a thing, forbidding other racesss from taking part in the Great Hunt, in the rulesss. I don''t have any opinion on thisss matter. Akna, you, asss the organizer of thisss year''sss Great Hunt, have full control, and resssponsibility, over thisss situation. You are free to do whatever you want asss long isss within the rulesss." "Yes, Senior Councillor!" Akna got up from her chair and respectfully bowed to Morto. "Sssenior Councillor!!! You can''t be seriousss?" Thure got up from his seat and angrily glared at Morto. "We can''t just allow such Human enter in this sacred competition and-!" "Sssilence!" Morto loudly shouted at Thure. The air around them even rippled with the strength behind Morto''s shout. "Councillor Thure, you are not the organizer of this year''sss Great Hunt, this time is Akna. Your time will come to hossst it and then you can organize it as you sssee fit, asss long asss it fitsss in the rules of course. Ssso, ssstop opposing Akna. I know how you tried to make thingsss difficult for Akna, I''m not blind and deaf, yet. Don''t let your envy over other''sss sssuccess blind you. This time I will leave you with just a warning. I want that thisss will be the lassst time we talk about thisss, okay, Councillor Thure?" Morto stared at Thure with stern eyes.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. "Yesss...Sssenior Councillor..." Thure angrily tightened his fist so strong that green veins could be seen popping out from his foliage, ''skin''. Thure resentfully glanced at Akna for a moment before he snorted and begrudgingly walked away from the room. "Why would the Greenfinger''s Council maintain such a narrow-minded person?" Akna was unfazed by Thure''s fits and resentful glares. She stayed calm and collected at the whole process. She didn''t had any once of respect toward the older Floran called Thure. In fact, she despise him for being so narrow-minded and harsh like a normal Floran warrior despite being a Greenfinger that was supposed to be the symbol of intelligence and calmness within the Floran community. "They were right about you." Morto admired the personality and mentality of this newly addition to the Greenfinger''s Council, known as Akna. She was a lot younger that most of the other Councillors, but her demeanor was a lot more polished than most of them. "Sssuch a person hasss itsss usesss." Morto dismissively gave a half explanation. Akna frowned for a moment before realization downed upon her. "I understand." She spoke while she bowed once again. "That''s all that I had to report, shall I take my leave?" "Yesss, you ssshall go now." Morto waved his hand, dismissing Akna. Akna bowed once more before walking away from the room. ... John was inside a room of Akna''s mansion taking a few things off his Inventory and stacking them on top of his bed. The items he took out from his PIPS were almost all from the pile of stuff that Lenny left behind for John. After stacking everything he saw that could be useful in the Ceremonial Hunting Caverns, he started to roam through them, one by one. He first took a complete white handgun. ------------------------------ Name: MX801S Type: Tier 3 Semi-Automatic Pistol Fabricator: Unknown Durability: 100% Ammunition: 9mm Physical Projectile Energy per shot: 0 UE Fire Rate: 1.0 Bullet per Second Augmentation: None Upgrades: Recoil Reducer Mod Special Ability: None Special Ability Energy Cost: None Additional Description: No additional information available for this weapon. --------------------------------- "This...is a good handgun..." John took the white pistol and admired its futuristic look. The hand fitted perfectly into his hand, it was comfortable to wield it. He prefer Energy Weaponry, but he still was able to use normal weapons as well. It is just a preference of John''s. Energy weapons are a lot easier to use and cheaper to keep since they don''t require the constant use of physical projectiles. The test out a few things with the gun before he placed it down. [I can''t test the effect of the Recoil Reducer Mod that was already implanted inside the pistol.] John regretfully looked at the pistol. He really wanted to test it out. The upgrade Recoil Reducer Mod does what the name implies, it is used to reduce the recoil that certain weapons has when they are firing and as such it increase the aiming of the user when firing repeatedly. John then took a few small boxes that were filled with bullets and magazines for the pistol and put them beside the weapon. After he was done with it, he followed up by taking another object from the pile. Entering The Ceremonial Hunting Caverns (3) It was a dagger in itself scabbard. John unsheathed the dagger. The moment the dagger left the scabbard it gleamed with the dark, eerie, reflection of the sunlight coming through the window of John''s room. The dagger was pitch black without the slightest decoration or fancy form; it was completely simplistic. The dagger was apparently built to be used to kill and had already seen its fair share of blood. John moved the dagger around, admiring its beauty, even though it was rather simplistic. He really liked it at his first sight of it. ------------------------------ Name: Dark Wraith Type: Tier 4 Melee Weapon, Dagger Fabricator: Hephaestus Durability: 89% Ammunition: None Energy per shot: None Fire Rate: None Augmentation: None Upgrades: None safe Ability: (???) Unable to read this information. Special Ability Energy Cost: (???) Unable to read this information. Additional Description: There are no additional information available for this weapon. But the surpasses was made by the famous blacksmith Hephaestus. No one knows his real name, origin, or if he''s even still alive. All his melee weapons are considered a piece of art and hugely sought by warrior from all across the universe. They are embodied with a mysterious power that only enable a few users to use the weapon''s Special Ability. The needs is made of the Tier 4 Metal, Durasteel. --------------------------------- [Unable to read the information...?] John glance at the weapon''s information in his PIPS. [My PIPS and SAIL are unable to read the information about such mysterious weapon...it really should be good stuff.] John admired the dagger for a few seconds before he sheathed it once again and placed beside the pistol. [What''s this?] John took something that looked like a chip from the pile. "SAIL what''s this?" John decided to ask SAIL since he doesn''t know what was the chip he was holding.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. "That''s a Barrier Tech Ability Chip, Protector." SAIL''s emotionless voice sounded right beside John''s ear. "The Barrier Tech Ability enable the user to make use of his UE to create a forcefield around himself that is able to block any type of attack against the user. Of course after every hit the barrier suffer it is going to cost UE from the user to keep him safe. As long as the attack surpass the strength that the user''s UE could support, the forcefield will be destroyed. The Tech Ability cannot be used multiple times in a roll, it needs time to cooldown so that the Chip doesn''t overload and explode." "That''s a lot useful..." John played around with the golden chip on his hand while he listened to SAIL''s explanation. When she finished speaking John took the chip and placed it in socket that was right beside the PIPS. The chip easily entered the socket, and soon John heard SAIL''s voice once again, "Barrier Tech Ability Chip detected. Now starting installation...done. The Tech Ability is now ready for your use, Protector." "Thanks, SAIL." John thanked SAIL and then when to the middle of his bedroom to test out the Tech Ability. He concentrated and then activated the Tech Ability by only using his thought. *Whommm* The moment he thought to activate the Tech Ability, it activated instantly. A fine layer of transparent screen appeared around John. [So this is the Barrier?] John tried to touch the screen. It was cold and surprisingly flexible. John looked down at his PIPS and searched for how much UE it took to activate the Tech Ability. [100 UE!?] John almost jumped from the scare he just took. [100 UE just to activate the Barrier? The expenditure of this thing is huge.] He frowned. He wanted to have something that could be used at his will and save his life whatever it was needed, but from the looks of it, he needs to be careful when choosing to activate it or not. He deactivated the Barrier and tried to activate it once again. "Warning! Cooldown is set to be 30 seconds. Using the Tech Ability before the cooldown is done might cause irreparable damage to the Tech Ability Chip." John heard SAIL''s warning coming from his PIPS. [Beside the huge expenditure, I still have to deal with the cooldown.] He thoughtfully stared at his PIPS. "Looks like I have to think very carefully whatever I need or not to activate the Barrier if the situation seems grim..." John mumbled silently. John then went back to roam through the items in the pile. Apart from some medical resources, nothing else was going to be useful for his venture into the Ceremonial Hunting Caverns. He decided to store everything once again into his PIPS. John took the pistol, placed it on the holster of his belt in the left side, then he took the dagger and set it on the right side. With the sheath on the right and a holster on the left, he almost looked a proper soldier, what was really lacking was the primary weapon, such as Assault Rifle, Rifle, or something of sorts. He doesn''t want to to use such weapons despite having them because he want to avoid accidentally killing a Floran by using such heavy weaponry. John walked out of his room and went to find Peri. He found her seating on the sofa of the living room that he, Peri, and Akna were discussing about the Great Hunt. She was solely focused on cleaning her grey spear. She was very careful with every movement she made. John stayed at a safe distance, far enough that she wasn''t able to detect, and admired the sight. After a few minutes of carefully cleaning, Peri finished what she was doing. "What do you want, John?" She turned her head to the side and asked John that was hiding behind a pillar, watching her. "You knew I was there?" "I felt you approaching in the first moment, but I didn''t want to get distracted while I was doing something that requires my full attention." She simply said. Peri had felt John the moment he had spotted her. She just decided to ignore him and finish what she was doing before speaking with him. John embarrassedly scratched his nose and shyly sat the opposite couch from where Peri was seating. Peri''s eyebrow lifted up as she questionably stared at John. "What do you want?" Entering The Ceremonial Hunting Caverns (4) "Do you have some kind of bow and arrows that you could give or lend to me?" John asked Peri that was right before him. "Why would you-." She was about to ask something when realization fell upon her. "Looks like my grandmother was right, you really want to go forward with your plan of winning the Great Hunt without unnecessary killing." Peri helplessly sighed. "Do you have one?" John was unfazed that Peri realised what his plans were, and asked her once again. "Yes, I do have one..." She took her her PIPS and started to look for what she wanted. "Here it is..." Peri retrieved an old looking wooden bow from her PIPS. "It was me who carved it..." She let her fingers roam across the wooden bow and she emotionally gazed at it. "Take it it." After admiring the bow for a few moments she placed it on top of the table that was between John and Peri. The bow had a simplistic look to it. It was completely red coloured without any kind of decoration at all. It was crudely made to be a weapon used for killing rather than admiring and exposed. "Are you sure...?" He just saw how she values the bow. "Yes, I''m sure." Peri nodded in confirmation. "This bow was made using some rare type of wood that is as tough as a plate of Titanium. I had already forgot about the existence of this bow, i wouldn''t even remember that still had this thing if you haven''t asked for a bow to me." "Then... thanks..? I guess." John went forward and secured the bow inside his PIPS. "My grandmother just sent me a message. You''re going to enter in the Ceremonial Hunting Caverns by the morning." Peri said to John. "You should take a proper rest while you still can." John nodded and stood up. He thanked Peri once again and left for his room. [Tommorow I''m going to enter in the Great Hunt...] He looked at his own hands. He was still able to feel the blood from that assassin in the Lunar Base 12 and also the blood from the Syndicate''s soldiers at the outpost. He wasn''t that same innocent person; he already had killed people. John closed his eyes. Even after all these days, those he had to kill still hunt him in his dreams. [I have changed... hopefully, for the best.] He thought about what he have to do tomorrow. [They are innocent...I cannot kill them. I mustn''t allow myself to become a cold-blood murderer.] His eyes flashed with determination. [There are people who have to die, and there are others that don''t.] John took off his clothes and went to sleep. ... "The Cultivator fell on the battle..." "Yes...I can feel that his presence in this universe is slowly disappearing."Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. "We are the last Ancients...we must do as we were tasked..." "I know, I have the Artefacts in hand already. We just need to distribute between the races." "I wonder what the Cultivator did with the Ruin''s Worshippers..." "From what he told me, he banished them to another universe, parallel from our own." "Those guys are very troublesome. Thankfully the Cultivator had already dealt with them before going to battle." "Yes. Now that we are the last ones to stay behind in this universe, we should carry our duties until our end." "After distributing the Artefacts, you are going to guard the entrance of where the Ruin''s sealed, right?" "That''s the task he gave to me..." "He gave nothing to me at all besides guarding the structures that we left behind and be sure that our dangerous technology doesn''t fall in wrong hands." "That''s a pretty heavy task, you know." "Yes, I know...then...I think it''s our time to part ways." "Unfortunately...it was a pleasure to meet you..." "The same...if you need me for something I will be in my workplace, the Dragon Keep Forge, but I don''t think we will have the chance to meet again in our lives." "That''s how it is. Well...goodbye." "Goodbye...may we meet again." ... John soon woke up. He looked outside through his window and realized that they didn''t even have started to appear. This night he had another strange dream. Different from the previous time, this time there was no images and neither something visual. It was only a conversation between two people. [They were Ancients...?] John remembered the contents of the dream and frowned. [Are this dreams of mine something that really happened? If yes, why I''m having them?] John placed his hand over his chin and started to think about it. "Huh?" He felt his hand somewhat itchy. He roamed his chin with his fingers and realized that his beard had started to grow again. "I have to shave it..." John muttered to himself and stood up. He walked toward the bathroom, retrieved a razor blade from his PIPS and started to shave his facial hair. ... "So this is the Ceremonial Hunting Cavern..." John looked at the large entrance made of rock and vines, with his mouth wide opened. "Yes, this is one of the many entrances for the participants..." Akna nodded in satisfaction when she saw how surprised John looked. "I just to walk forward and then I''m in?" "No. Just a few meters into the entrance you''re going to see a metallic structure that you''re quite familiar with, a teleporter. When you enter the portal, it is going to transport you to a random place inside the huge Ceremonial Hunting Cavern. If you are lucky, you might even be transferred right beside the place where the prey you have to slay is." "So... let''s see if my luck is good or not..." John had just started to walk forward when Akna placed her hand in his shoulders, stopping him in his tracks. "I must warn you again." Akna''s grip on John''s shoulder tightened as she sternly looked at John. "Don''t try to be the hero...or else...you are going to die in there..." John looked at Akna''s stern eyes, and she kindly smiled. "Don''t worry...I know how take care of myself." "..." Akna released John and watched him enter in the pitch black entrance of the Cavern. She helplessly sighed. She knew that she was unable to change his mind, but she had to at least try. ... After a slight period of dizziness and blindness, John was finally able to analyse his surroundings. He was already inside the Ceremonial Hunting Cavern. All around him was almost entirely dark. If not for some torches and other mysterious lights that illuminated the way, he would have been thrown in complete darkness. *ROARRRRR* John''s eyebrows twitched as he heard the endless roars and screams coming from the distance. He was able to feel that this place reeked blood and even from a very high distance from any creature or person, he was still able to feel the lingering killing intents that were all across the Ceremonial Hunting Cavern. "Let''s get started..." John retrieved a bow and a quiver filled with arrows from his PIPS. After he was sure that he was ready, he started to walk forward, deeper into the Cavern. Side Story (9): The Origin of the Great Hunt The Hunt was first established long ago by a Greenfinger called Idamta. The planet they decided to create the event was then called Gaia, from that moment afterwards. After the establishment of the colony, then began the long and tortuous process of creating the hunting grounds. As they, Idamta and the Florans, were excavating the planet, they found some huge caves that weren''t connected to each other, with all kind of different landscape and biomes, each with their own wildlife. Idamta saw the potential of the caves and thus decided to connect the caves with giant metal doors. It was a long and arduous process, but it was still completed successfully.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The first Great Hunt was a success and the number of geniuses young Florans only rose, year after year, with the help of the caverns. From that day onward, the caverns were named, Ceremonial Hunting Caverns, by the Florans. Idamta successfully created the Great Hunt, a test of determination, survival instincts, prowess, and skill; a great trial in which the young Florans could compete to prove themselves the most powerful and mighty hunter. ... "In my travels, I found a diary that once belonged to Peri. In there, it was said that the Hunt was created by Idamta because he wanted to find a way of "Stopping the young Florans from bickering about who''s the best hunter/warrior". There wasn''t the whole details of how it came to be since it was written that she heard the story from her grandmother, Akna, who told her about it, and by the time she went to write the diary, she already forgot about the details of the story." Commentary of the book''s author, Boriales. --- Excerpt from the book, "Untold Stories", written by the Explorer Boriales Makintosh, Year 157AR (After the Ruin). The Great Hunt (1) *Swish* *Puchi* Another giant, white spider fell on the ground with an arrow pierced right in the middle of its eyes. Around the corpse of this spider, there was another seven more, that was killed earlier by the same method, a single arrow in its weak spot. This giant spider had more than one meter of height, they are very nimble and have a deadly poison in their fangs. But against the silent and stealthy killer, they were unable to even flee. John left from his hiding place that was above the spider''s nest and approached the body. "Another nest..." John retrieved the arrows from the spider''s bodies and helplessly sighed. He had been in the Ceremonial Hunting Cavern for one full day by now. He had been travelling forward in full speed, searching for the prey that he had to hunt. Even after one day inside the cavern, he was unable to see a single Floran hunter. [They should be a lot deeper than where I''m currently...] He frowned as he thought until there. All the hunters were one day ahead of him, he needed to hurry up. His journey would have been smooth if it wasn''t for the uncountable White Demon Spider''s nests that kept appearing to block his way forward. These creatures had a complete section just for them in the Universal Bestiary Codex. In the Codex they are categorized as a creature of Tier 2 of danger. But their poison was more than enough to kill a person in less than seconds if it got inside the bloodstream. Basically, the best strategy that the Codex give is to kill the creature before it got the chance to approach. The catch was that in the Codex the White Demon Spider was written to only reach about one meter of height and not the two meters that John was killing. Sometimes such information errors happen, mainly because such creatures can also suffer from mutation, adapt to their environment, and thus the changes in physiology. But from the first moment, John entered the cavern he was able to feel that this place was a lot different from any other that he ever entered before. He wasn''t able to explain how different it was, but he was able to feel it.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The place was able to bring peace of mind for John, one that he never felt after the destruction of Earth. The longer he stayed in the cavern he was able to feel his senses and body strengthening. It was a strange sensation. After every battle, he could feel his body becoming stronger. It felt like he had always been shackled and then when he got inside the cavern he was finally free from the limitations, and shackles of the world. [That''s probably why they would make their young Floran hunters enter in this place for training.] John finally came to an understanding as to why the Florans would make the Great Hunt always in this exact place. After he finished taking and cleaning the arrows, he resumed his journey. The deeper he went in the cavern, the darker it gets. The place around him was almost illuminated by luminescent mushrooms in the wall and glowing ores. John wasn''t using a flashlight because some creatures would be attracted by the light. And he was neither using night vision because the energy that keeps it running also attract creatures. At the first moment, he entered in the Ceremonial Hunting Cavern he tried to use the night vision, but it ended up with him attracting a horde of creatures. Later on, he tried flashlight, but the results were the same as the last one. To speed up his process and to try to not get involved in unnecessary fights, he decided to not use those things. He was cautiously walking in the stone passage, but in the next moment, he suddenly felt a killing intent locking onto him. *Swish* John immediately ducked his head. The incoming object went pass at the place John''s head was. He wasn''t fast enough he would have ended up with his head pierced. John placed up his guard and swiftly retreated toward a huge rock. After he was safe and sound behind the rock, he popped his head out and took a look at the object that almost went through his head. When he saw what the object was, his face went to a complete change. It was an arrow. An arrow made of wood and stone. "Floran hunter..." John analysed his surroundings and then glanced back at the arrow. He was at a huge disadvantage. The cavern was way too dark for Human, and his opponent was cautious, it knew how to hide its presence after a failed attack. [He''s waiting for another chance...] John''s expression soured when he thought of the Floran''s strategy. [They are really going for the kill...if I wasn''t fast enough, I would have become a corpse by now.] Seconds, then minutes passed by, John stood unmoved in his spot with his bow in hands, ready to attack at the moment''s notice. The Floran didn''t try to carry out another stealth attack since John already knew about his existence and was ready for the possible next attack, making it way too difficult to have another chance to stealthily kill John. John decided it was about time to leave, so he cautiously left his hiding place. After every each step he would glance around him, searching from places the could be used for an ambush against him. John went deeper into the cave while following the sources of light. "Huh?" John looked forward, surprised for a moment. Right in front of him, there was a huge metal door blocking his way. He tried to push it open, but it didn''t bulge a single centimetre. [Why would a door be here...?] John was in deep thought when he started to feel something. He was able to feel that someone was watching him from the darkness behind him. There was no killing intention, yet, so it wasn''t that much dangerous. He stood unmoved like he didn''t felt the Floran watching him at all. As for how John was able to feel the presence from the Floran that was clearly hidden, even he was unable to explain. It was one of the effects that the cavern had in John''s body. His senses had been greatly enchanted, enchanted enough to even rival Floran''s senses. The Great Hunt (2) John slowly created a distance between him and the door. His grip over the bow tightened. Droplets of sweat dripped from his face and back. He did his movements very slowly and calmly so that he didn''t alert the Floran hiding. He doesn''t want to make the Floran go into hiding once again and take hours to appear one more time. John closed his eyes so that he could feel his surrounding better. The sound of his sweat dripping on the cold, hard stone. The roars from monsters in the distance... He was able to hear all that. [Found you...] John''s ears twitched when they captured a strange sound coming from almost 100 meters away from him. The rustling of dried grass indicates that a creature was walking closer at John''s back. While the Floran silently approached, John calmly took an arrow from his quiver and placed in his bow. The Floran stopped for a few seconds after he saw John''s movements. Once he was certain that it was safe, he proceeded forward, but now a lot more cautious and calm. John took a deep breath and started to roam around the door, showing that he was still occupied with what was in front of him. When the Floran was about 70 meters away from John, he stopped. [Now!] John immediately turned around and aimed with his bow. As his concentration peaked, he felt the world around him slow down. Bullet Time! He was unable to clearly see what kind of expression the Floran was making, but he could guess it was one of surprise. John took his time to properly aim at the Floran with his bow. The arrowhead glinted with the light coming from the glowing mushrooms around him. *Swish* The moment John released the arrow, he stopped his Bullet Time power and went back to take cover behind a rock.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. *Puchi* "Ah..." John was only able to hear a faint groan of pain that disappeared as soon as it appeared. [Florans surely are strong.] John waited for a few seconds while hearing what the Floran was doing. He was able to guess that he want to go around and see if he could shoot John from another angle, but... It didn''t happen. Not even a few seconds later, John heard the sound of a painful groan, and then the sound of something falling on the stone ground. [It worked...] John popped his head out from the cover to take a look at the Floran that had just fell head first on the ground. One closer look at the young Floran body and anyone would be able to see that there was a fresh wound on the Floran''s arm. It was John''s arrow that created the wound. He had hit exactly where he wanted to hit with his arrow. As to why the Floran suddenly fell? Of course, John used poison, paralysis poison. He used the one he took from the Batong''s tongues. Those bat-like creatures that John found on the cave where he met with Lenny and Oscar. He had collected at least a hundred of them. He never got the chance to use the poison, but now he had the chance to test it out. And looks like it was successful. A few millilitres of the poison was more than enough to knock out a young Floran without killing by a heart attack or something similar. John cautiously approached the Floran. He didn''t want to face a surprise attack, so he approached with caution while he unsheathed his dagger, the Dark Wraith. When John was able to confirm that the poison really worked, he sighed in relief. He sheathed his dagger and crouched by the young, male Floran''s side. John took a proper look at the equipment that the Floran was carrying. Aside from the PIPS, the Floran was carrying nothing more than a bow, and a sword on his back. John tried to feel the armour that looked like it was made of a grey wood. He instantly frowned as he touched the wood. He was able to tell that it was incredibly hard. "Well.....what now?" John looked at the sprawled guy on the ground. "How should I deal with this?" John scanned his surroundings and soon found a stone platform that was on top of the giant door. The platform looked it was naturally made. [I will check it out...] John was about to go forward when he stopped and glanced at the Floran. [First, I need to immobilize him.] John took out a rope from his PIPS and proceeded to tie up the Floran in the same rock that he used to hide. After he was done, John took out the Grappling Hook from his PIPS. It had once belonged to that assassin that was killed on the Lunar Base 12, Mouro, but now it was on John''s hands. He took a deep breath and raised the Grappling Hook. Taking his time, he carefully aimed at the platform. When he was certain that he aimed correctly he fired. *Bang* With a low explosion noise, the hook was sent flying toward the platform. *Clang* John soon heard the sound of the hook hitting something. He tried to pull the hook through the rope, it didn''t bulge, "Alright..." He confirmed that the hook was stuck on the platform, then he pressed the other trigger of Grappling Hook, and soon he started to ascend. John swiftly went up the platform and looked around him. It was very dark up there, he was barely able to see a few centimetres in front of him. "Huh?" His sight soon locked in a metallic object that was on the corner of the platform. As he approached he discovered that it was, in fact, a lever. John narrowed his eyes and carefully scanned the lever from a safe distance. "It doesn''t seem to be a trap..." He muttered under his breath while he slowly approached the lever. John gripped the metallic bar and pulled it to the opposite side. The Great Hunt (3) *RUMBLEEEE* *SCREECH* John felt the ground beneath him tremble. He supported himself over the wall and tried not to fall from the platform. He looked at what was happening and realized that all the trembling was caused by the giant metal doors that were opening. Once the door was fully opened, the tremors stopped. John took his Grappling Hook and slowly descended from the platform. Once stepped on the ground he realized there was a huge amount of light coming from the door. John squinted his eyes, trying to get used to the sudden illumination. Soon he was able to see what was on the other side of the door. There was huge, open landscape filled with green fireflies, glowing mushrooms, and other creatures, plants, that generated some sort of light. It was a very big space, but one careful look and John was able to see that it was quite what he expected. He gasped at the sight in front of him, when his eyes were able to finally see with details. The landscape was really open and huge, but it was made of various rock, island looking platforms. Between those platforms, there were giant ravines that were completely dark. John was also able to see some floating piece of stones travelling between the islands. [What the hell...] John stared with his eyes wide opened. [First, it was a path of almost complete darkness filled with spiders, now I have to jump from platform to platform until the end?] John wondered how big was the Ceremonial Hunting Cavern, to be able to have various sections with different landscapes. [Looks like it really is a test...] John glanced at the patch behind him and then at his front. [Different landscapes, with different kind of monsters.....it''s a test for survival instincts and adaptability....] He took one last look at the opening before he went back to the rock he left the Floran. [Let''s deal with this guy first.] John stood beside the young Floran and lifted him up. He placed him right at his shoulder at then went for the Grappling Hook that was still connected at the rock platform that the lever was located. It took quite some time to ascend this time because of the extra weight but still was fast enough.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. John carefully placed the Floran on the ground. He checked the pulse, "It''s going to take close to 10 minutes before he awakens..." John retrieved his fingers from the Floran''s neck and climbed down the platform. He decided to carry the Grappling Hook at his waist, on the right side, since his pistol was already on the left side. *RUMBLEEEE* As soon as John passed through the door, he started to feel the ground shaking once again. He glanced back and saw the metal doors closing. He curiously gazed at the doors, he wondered, it closed because he passed through it, or because it has a certain time limit to stay open. Resuming his walk, John was soon on the edge of the platform that he was. He glanced at the precipice beneath him and was shaken when he saw that it was impossible to see the end of it. Fortunately, he didn''t have to worry about the light anymore since this section of the Ceremonial Hunting Cavern was very bright. John looked around and spotted a floating, giant stone slowly hovering toward where he was. He took the Grappling Hook from his waist and fired it once again. *Bang* *Clang* The hook immediately penetrated the stone and stayed in place. John confirmed it was safe by pulling the rope and then jumped over. *Swish* "Whoaa..." John started to swing to one side and to the other, in a pendular way. He waited until he stopped swinging before he pressed the trigger and ascend at the giant rock. "I''m not going to enjoy this part..." John caught a breath when he finally his foot on the ground once again. "Worst than that.....I''ll probably have to fight in this tiny islands and platforms." He grimaced as he thought of the possibility. He knew it was going to happen. If not against a creature, he would have to face off against another Floran, something that he didn''t look forward to. John crouched, and pierced his dagger onto the rock. This way if something happens he wouldn''t fall from the place he was. He watched as the rock made slowly walked deeper into the new landscape. As he went forward John maintained his guard up and watched his surroundings. Soon enough he spotted a bigger, stationary platform. He decided to go there, so, just as previously, he fired the Grappling Hook and climbed the stone wall until he was on the new platform. He decided to take a rest on this platform since it was fixed to ground and not moving at all. He crouched and took a few pieces of wood that he had gathered on the first planet he landed after the destruction of Earth. At no time, he made a campfire and started to roast some Batong meat that he had already prepared when he was the ship. He watched as the fire danced on the campfire. From time to time he would lift his head and scan the surroundings to make sure that it was safe. He wasn''t able to make a campfire in the previous landscape because as soon as a light source was created, creatures would flock toward it. He had been eating dried rations when he was there. Now, however, he was able to eat once again some succulent meat. After he finished eating, he realized that he was quite tired. He stood up and took the Matter Manipulator from his PIPS. In the previous section, he was unable to find a safe place to sleep because those spiders were able to climb everywhere and they would probably eat him once they find him. So he thought on a plan. He used his Matter Manipulator to create a 3 square meter room underground. He entered the room and then used the Matter Manipulator once again to create a improvised ceiling using some rocks that he collected when he was making the room. Once everything was closed up, he lied down on the ground and was able to safely rest. This time he used the same plan as before. The Matter Manipulator soon shot out a light beam and started to absorb the rocks and make the 3 square room. It didn''t cost too much UE since it was only a small size opening, but still, he had to carefully calculate his UE and use it wisely, since the same UE that he might use creating or destroying something with his Matter Manipulator could be used in a moment of need when he need to use the Barrier Tech Ability. That''s why he was very careful when using anything that consumed his UE. The Great Hunt (4) after approximately 6 hours of sleep, John finally woke up. He stood up in the underground room that he created and took a deep breath. He tried to hear and feel the outside. As soon as he felt it was safe to leave, he used his Matter Manipulator to open a hole that was big enough for John to climb out from the room. He cautiously looked at his surroundings with his dagger, the Dark Wraith, on his hand. The dagger glinted with a malicious light as it reflected the light that sent on its way. John only sheathed the dagger when he felt that there were no threats around him. *ROARRRRR!* *RUMBLEEEE* The ground quaked as the loud roars from beasts resounded throughout the whole landscape. John had to crouch down to not fall from the sudden quake that came out from nowhere. "That''s some giant beast..." John looked at the distance, from where the sound came. [Is it the target...?] John wondered. He immediately took action, he couldn''t allow another person to kill it before him. He must be the winner of the Great Hunt. John jumped from one platform to another. Some of the platforms he passed through he was able to see some skeletons and dried blood on the ground, there was even some with bodies of Florans that were clearly killed by another Florans since the wounds in their bodies came from primary arrows, spears, and swords. John only took a quick glance at the bodies, and then proceed to continue in his route. He felt pity. The way the Florans trained their future warriors surely was bloody and merciless. They abide by the law of the fittest. Only the strongest would survive while the weak would be nothing more than a pile of bones that was served as a stepping stone for the strong. In this case, he preferred the way other races treat their young generation. Even the Avians that were highly religious and also a kind of merciless and warrior race, they weren''t as bad as the Florans.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. The Florans only know how to value two things, strength and intelligence. It had neither of them, you were as good as dead, in their eyes. Warriors and Greenfingers, they were the only two types of Florans. Any other talent was deemed as useless to them. Of course, they were at least better than a few centuries, or decades ago, when they abandoned any child that was unable to become any of the two specializations. It was only with the rise of the Greenfinger''s Council, that the Florans had started to finally appreciate other types of talents so that their civilization could flourish and, at the same time, avoid being influenced by the culture of the other races... John stopped his stray thoughts when suddenly felt like being watched. He paused in his tracks and scanned his surroundings, yet, he was unable to see a single soul. *Swishhhh* An arrow just went past his head, centimetres away from his cheeks. It John hadn''t been fast enough to incline his head to the side, he would have been killed the arrow. John took his bow and notched an arrow on it while he glared at the position the arrow had come from. The Floran that he was against this time was a lot more experienced than the previous one that he faced. This time, the Floran knew how to hide his/her killing intent, making difficult for John to located from where exactly the arrow came from... Just as John lifted his bow and aimed, he felt the shadow of death looming from his left side. *Swish* A new arrow came directly toward John. John tried to dodge, but... *Puchi* He was able to evade the fatal strike by twisting his body, but the arrow still pierced him in the left arm. Blood gushed out from the injury. Even though the shirt he was using was rather strong, it was incapable of blocking such a strong arrow. If even with the metal plate over his chest and back, he still felt the looming of death, how could a mere fabric block such arrow? [Two enemies..... probably more...] John bit his lips as he felt the pain on his arm intensifying. *Drip, drip, drip...* Drops of John''s blood fell on the stone beneath him, creating a small scarlet puddle. He stood there, silent while he scanned his surroundings, searching for his enemies. John was unable to determine their position despite the clarity of the place that he was. The Floran hunters were being very calm and tricky. They didn''t follow with another strike since they missed two times in a row. They were waiting, waiting for an opportunity to deal the death blow. Their calmness only incited John. He had to hurry and investigate what was that roar that he heard sooner. "Huh?" He suddenly felt something on his arm. He tried to move it, but he felt that it had gone numb and was barely responding to John''s thoughts. [Poison!] John immediately realized that he had been hit by a poisoned arrow. Luckily for John, the poison was way weaker than that found on Batongs since the poison was only able to create some kind of numbness around the place it had been in touch. [They are waiting for the poison to take effect...] John''s face darkened as he saw that he was in a bad position. He switched his sight and looked a certain place, 40 meters away from where he was. With one arm numb, it was impossible to use the bow, so John immediately placed it back into his PIPS. As he stored the bow, John secretly retrieved something from the PIPS. It was a beautiful, colourful feather, but it gleamed with sharpness. John took three Razor Feathers from the birds that he had killed on the same planet he found the Batongs. He hid the feathers with his sleeves as he watched, waiting for their next move. By now they should have realized that the poison had already taken effect, but the Florans were still being careful and waited for a few extra seconds before going for their next move. The Great Hunt (5) *Swish* Another arrow came from an unknown place, aiming right at John''s head. This time he was prepared. He swiftly moved to the side, leaving from the trajectory of the arrow. [Found you...] John located from where the arrow came by seeing the trajectory. *Swish, swish, swish...* He waved his arm and sent three Razor Feathers with his full strength. He looked with his eyes wide opened as he watched at the incredible speed that the feathers were travelling. The Caverns really changed him. He was able to feel that his overall strength had increased, but he never thought it would have been by this much. The feathers easily travelled the distance of almost 70 meters between him and the Floran that had just shot the arrow. *Clang, clang* *Puchi* Unfortunately, the feathers were rather slow, besides being able to travel the distance, it gave time for the Floran to dodge two of the feathers. Only one of the feathers had hit the target. "Argh..." John heard a low grunt of pain from where he threw the feathers. [A hit...] John was overjoyed for a moment before suddenly his expression changed, and he rolled to the side. *Swish, swish, swish...* A ferocious barrage of arrows assaulted John. One after another, almost non-stop, an arrow came for John, wanting to take his life. The Bowman was obviously the other Floran that was working together with the Floran that John had just successfully hit with the Razor Feather that coated in poison, the same poison that he was using on his arrows. With one them down, John was able to move more freely on the platform that he was. *Swish* Another arrow came directly for John''s head. This time, John directly activated his Bullet Time, the moment he felt that the Bowman was about to shoot. John watched as the arrow slowly moved toward him. He slightly moved his body to the side. The moment the arrow was about to hit him, John reached with hand and grabbed the arrow. *Swish* John threw the arrow back toward the owner with his full strength. *Clang* This Floran was faster than the previous one, he was able to dodge the arrow that John threw back, just in time.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. John was able to see some faint sparks that were created by the arrowhead hitting the stone wall. "*Tch*..." John clicked his tongue in disappointment. He really thought that he would have been able to take the Floran unprepared with such manoeuvre. John glanced at his hanging arm. He already lost all the senses from the arm. It almost felt like his arm didn''t even exist at all. *Bang* John took the Grappling Hook and decided to switch locations. He aimed at an island near the last Floran that was hunting him. *Swish, swish, swish...* One arrow after another followed John''s trail as he swung from one island to another. After a few jumps, He finally landed at one platform that was just beneath the platform from where the arrows were coming. He glanced around and saw that it was a circular island with almost 5 square meters. John''s pupils shrunk as felt a strong killing intent locking onto him. *BAM!* The whole platform that John was shook with a strong impact. In the place that John was standing just a second ago, there was a huge crater and cloud of dust. John had rolled to the side to dodge from the thing that fell from the sky that was clearly aiming to hit him. He had just stood up when he felt the killing intent once again. He turned his head to the side. *Swish* It moved so fast that John was barely able to see what almost had pierced his head. John wasn''t given the time to think about it because he saw a young Floran charging toward him with a spear on her hands while letting out a war cry. The Floran was a young female, about 20 years old. He was able to deduce this much because the colour of her foliage was of a shade of verdant green. She wasn''t slim neither small, in fact, she was at least a few centimetres taller than John and thicker than him. Her huge limbs moved as her muscles bulged. *Swosh* John took a quick step to the side and was able to dodge the spearhead, but... *Bam* John was soon sent flying by the Floran''s kick. *Cough* [She''s fast...] John spat a mouthful of blood. Even though he was wearing armour, the attack he just received was way too heavy that, despite the high tier armour, he received some internal injuries because of the shockwaves. *Clang* He unsheathed his dagger while he was still in mid-air and pierced it in the ground. With this movement of his, he was able to stop his backwards momentum before he was thrown out the platform by the kick. *Slash* The Floran was bent on not giving time for John to recover and so she sprang forward with another charge. This time John wasn''t fast enough, so his limp arm received a deep cut while he tried to him to side. Blood gushed out from the injury. John didn''t felt any pain since the poison made his arm completely senseless. As soon as he recovered from the second charge, John lifted his guard and readied his dagger because the Floran was relentless. She immediately went with another charge. Bullet Time! He was forced to use his power once again. The world slowed down and John was able to have time to properly think of a strategy to defeat the female Floran in front of him. Just as the spearhead was about to touch his face, John finally moved to the side. He dodged the charge and closed the distance between him and the Floran. A spear would be almost useless in such distance. The Floran realized John''s intentions, but she didn''t flinch and sent a kick at John with her left leg. John used his Bullet Time to be able to get a hold of the Floran''s left leg with his only good arm. Once he caught the leg John used his right leg to give a low kick at her right leg. *Bam* She immediately lost her balance and fell on the ground since she was unable to use her legs to stop her fall. "Urgh..." She groaned in pain since the fall was rather heavy. John followed with some restrictions moves as he swiftly disarmed the Floran, and used her own arm to strangle her. He used his legs to restrain her own legs and also used his weight to pin her on the ground. The Floran panicked and struggled as her life depended on it. She used everything she got to try to get out of John''s restriction move. John''s forehead was soon covered in sweat as he kept her in the position. Blood drenched his clothes from the wounds he just received from the nails and teeth of the Floran. [Just....give.....up.] John gritted his teeth and applied more strength into his strangle. "*Gasp*...nooo..." The Floran opened and closed her mouth trying to inhale some air, but John was going to let that happen. She only stopped struggling after a few seconds. John fell on the ground, exhausted and groaning in pain. The Great Hunt (6) John approached the female Floran that was beside him and checked her heartbeat. *Thump, thump...* He sighed in relief when he heard those heartbeats. Luckily he didn''t accidentally kill her. She was just unconscious. *Puchi* John retrieved a Razor Feather coated in poison from his PIPS and gave the Floran a small cut, injecting some poison onto her. With all done, he finally had time to deal with his own injuries. He applied some medicinal salve onto his wounds and then covered them with clean, white bandages. He didn''t use the RIL red syringe because of the side effect that he would be unable to move around for some minutes. In the Ceremonial Hunting Caverns, life and death could be determined in mere seconds. Even though the medicinal salve heals slower than the RIL Syringe, it was the best he had in his hands at the time. John laid flat on the ground with his eyes closed. He looked to be asleep, but he was, in fact, focusing all his attention on the slightest sounds of his surroundings. At any notice of danger, he would be able to jump up and fight back. The effects of the poison had already gone way. The sensation of his left arm had finally returned, but so did the pain from the two huge wounds he received on the same arm. His originally green camo clothes were completely dirty with dried sweat, blood, and dust. Fresh red blood was still flowing from the bandages he had just placed over his injuries. It would take some hours to the salve close up the injuries that were all over his body. After a few minutes of rest, John decided it was time to leave. He used his Matter Manipulator to create a room which he could place the Floran In there. He also went back and carried the other Floran over and shove him on the same hole he created for the female Floran. "Done..." John wiped the sweat on his forehead once he closed up the hole. From the outside, it was almost impossible to see that there was a hole in that place. He made the lid of the hole with the same stone that he took when digging up the hole... *Bang* John resumed his travel as he followed the source of that loud roar that he had heard before.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. *Bang, bang, bang...* He used his Grappling Hook to swing from one platform to the other. "Huh?" John stopped by a stationary platform and looked ahead of him. He was able to see a flock of flying creatures flying toward him from the distance. With a careful look, he was able to identify those creatures. They were Batongs, but a little different from the ones he saw previously, on the other planet. These ones had a red coloration hide, different from the black Batongs that he saw. The red Batongs were also slightly larger than the black ones. *Bang* John didn''t even hesitate, he took the Spitfire Assault Rifle and opened fire at the flock of Batongs. *Bang, bang, bang...* Against such creature, John decided to use the advanced weapon. There was way too much Batongs for him to go forward with a bow and arrow. I''m no time, the flock was completely annihilated before they could even get closer to John. Once he was done with the Batongs, John resumed his travel... The deeper he went into the landscape, the brighter it got. On his way, he had found some more Florans, but they were easily defeated by John since they weren''t even close to the pair of Florans that he had dealt before. John was able to feel that after every each encounter, the next one was easier. The experience that he got by actually fighting against people that would bet their lives on the fight, really helped John to swiftly improve. Unfortunately, the number of injuries also stacked up. His clothes were filled with rips, and his whole body was almost covered in bloodied bandages. Even though he exchange the bandages from time to time, he always gets injuries, it doesn''t how easy the encounter was, stacking new ones and opening old ones. John had just landed in another island when he saw something a few kilometres away from the place was. It was the end of the canyon like landscape. He was able to see a final giant flat platform and at the end of it, there it was, the giant metal door. John crouched in the ground and squinted his eyes to watch what was happening in the platform. He was able to see some figures that were walking around there. He also saw that in the middle of the circle of Florans, there was a huge beast body. The beast looked like a red wolf, but it had prolonged teeth like a sabre tiger, and also a circular horn like that of a goat. John never saw such strange beats and even when he took a picture using his PIPS to see if there was information about it on the Universal Bestiary Codex, it didn''t have any information about such wolf in there. "Am I late?" John''s eyes focused in the situation that was happening there. The group looked completely uninterested about the beast''s body. They were, in fact, resting and recovering from the injuries that they suffered from the battle. Glancing around the platform, John was also able to see some Floran bodies spread around. He sadly shook his head, but his face stayed stoic. He had already seen way too many bodies on his way toward this place. He never thought that one day he would get used to seeing dead bodies. The realization scared him a little, but he knew that the universe was different now, he felt the need to change, get stronger, and get more....cold-hearted. Slowly John walked forward and in no time he got at the edge of the last platform, just behind the group of Florans. He was able to see that there were 4 Florans resting on the platform. That means that there was probably one more Floran around, acting as the watcher for the group. John searched the place around, looking for any indication that there was one more Floran. But even after seconds of analysing, he was unable to spot a single soul besides those four that were around the beast. "Huh?" His body suddenly froze up. He stood still, not daring to move a single muscle. [Someone''s watching me...] He was able to feel that someone was looking at his every movement with great focus. Even though he was unable to feel any ill intent from the intense gaze, he didn''t dare to move. The Great Hunt (7) Cold sweat dripped down from John''s forehead. He stood on his uncomfortable position for more than a few minutes before he felt that the sensation of being watched disappeared. He was finally able to move. He heaved a sigh of relief and stealthily walked away from his position. *Swish* *Puchi* John grimaced in pain as an arrow pierced his shoulder. He swiftly stood up and threw the arrow away. One look behind and he was able to see that those four Florans that were resting, were now chasing him. His eyes darkened as he watched the approaching Florans with their weapons in hand. They were only using close combat weapons such as swords, dagger and spear. John stopped in his tracks at turned around while immediately throwing 6 Razor Feathers. Once they saw the approaching sharp objects, the Florans dispersed from each other. John took the opportunity and sprang toward the weakest looking Floran. It was a small male kid Floran with slim limbs and he was using a broadsword. He looked very weak and innocent, but... *Slash* With a single wave with his sword, John was almost killed. John felt the cold air of the sword that missed his neck by just a few centimetres. Cold sweat dripped from his forehead as he hastily created distance between him and the small Floran. The kid didn''t allow him to do that. He waved his sword once again aiming at John. John unsheathed his Dark Wraith and used it to block the slash. *Clang* He felt the heavy impact that was made when the two blades collided. His arm slightly trembled from the strength that was behind the kid''s blow. *Bam* While their weapons were locked, John took the chance and kicked him right in the abdomen, creating a somewhat big distance between them. *Swoosh* As John inclined his head to the side he felt the chilling wind that came with the spearhead that almost impaled his head.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. John used his free hand to catch armor''s collar of the female Floran that just attacked him and threw her over the kid that was swiftly approaching with his sword glinting with a sharp light. From all the four Florans that he was facing, after a single confrontation, he was able to see that the level of strength of the smaller one was way beyond the other three. *Blam* The kid was caught unprepared and was sent flying backwards with his companion. John had barely got a chance to catch a breath when he saw a light flashing right before his eyes. *Clang* He raised his dagger and met the attack head on. *Slash* With a blinding fast movement, John retrieved a Razor Feather from his PIPS and slashed at the Floran''s thigh. "Urgh..." The Floran groaned in pain as blood oozed from the wound. *Bam* John didn''t rest, he followed with a kick and sent the injured Floran flying a few meters. He turned his head and ignored the Floran since he knew that with the poison entering the bloodstream it was a matter of seconds for the Floran to fall on the ground unconscious. *Swish* Just as he started to move again, an arrow came from an unknown place and scratched John''s cheek, making a long red line which blood slowly dripped from. "Damn you..." John cursed the hidden archer under his breath. "Corner him!" John glanced around and saw the fast approaching three figures coming at him at the same time. It was the kid, a male, and one female Florans. They had on their hands, respectively, a sword, two daggers, and a spear. John turned around and ran away. *Swish, swish...* But he wasn''t able to run fast because of the arrows that were being shot at him from time to time. The archer was very accurate and patient. He only released an arrow when he sees an opportunity. It greatly annoyed John that was trying to create some distance between him and his three pursuers. But because he had to keep dodging the relentless arrows that came at him, he wasn''t able to create distance, in fact, the pursuers were slowly approaching him. John turned around and waved his arm, sending a few more Razor Feathers. The three Florans looked unfazed as they swiftly dodged the attack, but... *Bang* The pistol, MX801X, in John''s hand fired. He retrieved the gun from his PIPS and fired at the closer pursuer. *Puchi* "Argh..." The female Floran fell on the ground with a hole on her thigh. She dreadfully stared at the white pistol in John''s hand. *Bang* Another gun resounded in the open space. This time John sent the spear on the injured female Floran flying with the bullet. The kid Floran wanted to take the opportunity to step forward, but he wasn''t able to take a single step before he was forced to stop because the menacing white pistol was now aiming at him. "I think it''s time to stop this, right?" John asked while he glanced at each of the Florans. "Make a single move and you die." John threatened. His voice was cold and completely emotionless as he said those words. The three of them looked at each other before they dropped their weapons and lifted their hands in surrender. They fearful stared at John. Only the kid Floran that was unfazed by John''s threat. His eyes glinted with a dangerous light as he sprang forward with full strength. *Swish* John was about to shoot the kid when he felt an arrow coming at him. He dodged the arrow and took aim at the kid. *Bang* John stared with his eyes wide open as the kid did the impossible and dodged the bullet at such close range. A sharp light flashed before John''s eyes. Bullet Time John slowed time as he felt the intense killing intent coming from the kid before him. He looked at the hidden dagger that was just centimetres away from his eyes. [That was a close call.] He broke in cold sweat. If he didn''t use his power this time he could have died in the worst case or probably get away by losing one eye. John immediately sent a merciless roundabout kick at the kid''s face. *Bam* The Floran was sent flying while moaning in pain. *Swish* Intending to finish the fight as fast as possible, John threw a Razor Feather at the kid that was still in the air. *Puchi* The dagger soon pierced him right in the arm. "Stop right there!" John lifted his gun when he saw that the male Floran with the two daggers was about to take his weapons from the ground. "I said, don''t move." The Floran stopped in his tracks and lifted his hands high the air once again. The Great Hunt (8) "You there, get out of your hiding place." John stared at a certain stone platform that was a few meters higher than the one they were at. John cautiously watched the Floran walking away from the shadow while carrying his bow. "Who are you?" The Floran with the bow in his hand dangerously narrowed his eyes and asked John. "I don''t need to tell you such information." "..." He silently stared at John for a while before he switched his sight at the fallen small Floran. "You killed one of usss...do you think that we''ll not avenge him?" His tone became colder and the grip in his bow tightened. John pointed up the gun in response to the Floran''s minute movements. "He''s not dead..." John said. The Floran''s eyebrow lifted slightly. He glanced at the male Floran that was with his hands up in the air. "Check him out." He said while pointing at the kid. The male Floran didn''t move. He switched his sight from the archer to John. "You can go, but don''t try anything funny." John threw a threatening glance at him. The Floran stood and walked toward the fallen kid. He placed his finger over the pulse, chest and then at the neck. Once he confirmed that he was alive, the Floran sighed in relief and glanced at the archer. He nodded once and stood up. "Alright, now I believe you." The archer dropped his bow in the ground. "Now...what are going to do?" "Here..." John dropped 3 Razor Feathers in the archer''s feet. "Cut yourselves using these feathers." "Why would we?" "It''s your choice. Do it or I will have to kill you." The archer glanced at John and then at the Razor Feathers. He crouched down and analyzed it. He picked it up and brought it by his nose. Once caught the faint scent coming from the blade, his face couldn''t help but show a surprise. "Ssso they fell so easssily because of thisss poissson, right?" The Floran gazed at John. "Yes, it only takes seconds before the effects start to take over." John calmly explained. "Why would we trussst that you aren''t going to kill usss afterwardsss."Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. "You have two choices. One, believe in me and might survive to see the sunlight once again. Two, don''t trust me and struggle to end, maybe I cannot kill the three of you, but at least two are going to die today." John''s eyes glinted with a frosty glow. The archer narrowed his eyes. He was having an inner conflict. To trust or not? Begs the question. "We ssshould do it..." The female Floran approached the archer from the side and whispered by his ear. "I know you want ssso badly win, but...we never ssstood a chance. Remember that there isss ssstil Nuru... it''sss impossible to people sssuch asss we fight againssst her. Only Oktar''s crew and Peri would have the chance to win." The archer lowered his head and sadly sighed. It was true. They were a lot weaker than the genius known as Nuru, and not crafty and resourceful as Oktar. Not all Floran warriors were the type to go forward and fight to the death. Some have a little more intelligent and self-aware than the others and they often chose to live today to fight tomorrow. As long as they are alive they would have the chance to make a comeback. So why would they waste their lives? "We are going to do it..." He said while taking the Razor Feather with his hand. "I''m going to trussst you... don''t fail my trussst..." "Don''t worry, I might not be the nicest guy in the universe, but at least I''m trustworthy." John said honestly. "All right..." The archer glanced at the female and male Florans before he cut himself first. The other two took a glance at the colorful feather in their hands and immediately cut themselves as well. They did it without hesitation after their apparent leader, the archer, cut himself first. In less than 20 seconds the three Florans were on the ground, unconscious. John took his Matter Manipulator and was about to start digging when he felt something. He carefully scanned his surroundings. When he saw that there was no one he confusedly scratched his head. [What''s happening.... I''m certain that I just felt that I was being watched.] John thought while he took one last look at his surroundings. [Maybe it was just my imagination...] He proceeded to open up the holes in the ground and place the unconscious people in them. Once he was done dealing with them, John proceeded to start finding a way to deal with the huge door in front of him. Last time the lever was hidden in a higher platform, but this time John saw that there was no higher platform near the door. John stepped closer to the door and traced his fingers over the surface. "Mm?" His fingers passed through a small, inconspicuous hole. He inclined his head and took a closer look. [A keyhole?] John saw that the small hole was, in fact, a keyhole. But... [Where might be the key?] John glanced around but saw no place that could be used to hide such an object. [Or...] John''s gaze hovered at the wolf''s body. [Maybe..... it''s inside him...?] John was pretty sure that the key was somewhat related to the beast that now lay dead on the ground. As for why it''s simple. The beast really looked like a guardian of sorts. [I have to at least try...] And like that, John approached the beast with the dagger on his hand. John was about to start cutting when something shone and caught his attention. He looked at the shiny object that was tied in the wolf''s neck. He was unable to see it earlier because it was hidden in the wolf''s fur, but now that he was very close to the corpse he was able to it clearly. After a quick glance, he was able to confirm that it was indeed the key that would enter in the door''s keyhole. [Well...] John thought while retrieving the object from the wolf''s body, [Let''s continue forward then.....I wonder...how many different landscapes I have to go until I reach the end...?] The Great Hunt (9) John inserted the key in the keyhole and twisted it. *RUMBLEEEE* Just like before, the moment the door started to open, the entire landscape trembled like it was occurring an earthquake. He changed his stance to have more balance and not fall flat on the ground because of the quake. Once the was fully open, John glanced at the landscape and challenges that awaited him. The moment his eyes laid on the scene in front of him his face fell. The next landscape was a swamp, but not an ordinary swamp. It was clear from the color of the water, fog, and the putrid smell coming from there that the swamp was poisonous. The trees of the area were towering big. It looked like a mixture of swamp and jungle biomes. As for what kind of poison, John was uncertain. [Damn...this is going too far...] John cursed the organizer of the Great Hunt in his mind. John hesitated just for a second before deciding to go forward. He had a mission, a mission that could decide the fate of the universe. There were five more challenges to overcome after this one. He shouldn''t give up; he needed to keep going forward. The knowledge about the Ruin was minimal, and even if Esther Bright tried to share it, people would think that she was crazy or that it was only a legend. Even with the destruction of Earth and a few more planets by the Ruin, it hadn''t created the biggest alarm. The size of the universe was almost endless, what could possibly mean a few planets being destroyed? Many reasons of course, but the last reason that would come to one person''s mind would be the end of the world. If even Itsuki and the Central Ocean Faction that were usually very cautious and careful with their future were still skeptical also when Esther showed them so many evidence, one could imagine what would happen if it was made to public knowledge. So with that being said, John was almost alone in this quest to determine the fate of the universe.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. While he and Esther were doing the possible to find a way to deal with this looming threat, the other giant forces of the world were fighting each other, wanting even more power. John closed his eyes and banished the unnecessary thoughts away from his mind. The clock was ticking. Once he opened his eyes, they flashed with a determined light as he kept walking forward, into the foggy, and toxic environment. ... A few minutes after John had walked into the Poison Swamp, the door that divided both landscapes started to close. *RAMBLEEEEE* Just as the door was about to be completely closed, a blur passed through the narrow opening and entered into the Poisonous Swamp. "What a sssurprise it isss..." The figure was shrouded in the shadows. "A Human in the Great Hunt. A very interesting Human..." The figure mischievously grinned. "Looksss like thisss time the Hunt isss going to have sssomething a lot more entertaining than jussst hunting down a sssingle beassst." The figure only paused for a second before it started to move again. Its speed was blindly fast as the figure passed through creatures and other hunters without them noticing a single thing. ... John looked around and climbed the towering tree that was near him. Because of the poisonous water of the swamp, John had only a single way to move forward, jump from tree to tree. It was also a lot faster doing this way by swinging in the vines coming from the jungle trees. Luckily for John, his green camo armor was finally able to show some purpose. He was able to hide from predators of the landscape and easily bypass them without having to engage in a meaningless fight. Of course, there were some places that it wasn''t flooded with poison water, but they were few. John suddenly stopped moving when he located a green, slug-looking creature. It was about 60 centimeters high, and it moved very slowly. It moved forward at a terrible slow move speed. John was just about to ignore the creature when he saw something surprising. He saw as the slug creature suddenly turned around and spotted a small bird that had just landed in a tree branch. The green creature locked its sight at the bird and spat a ball of green liquid from its mouth. The bird realized the incoming ball of liquid too late, and so he was hit by it. As the liquid entered in contact with the bird, the animal slowly melted in a pool of blood. [Such strong acid...] John thought to himself as he looked at the scene. [I think I saw this creature before...] John aimed the camera of his PIPS at the slug creature and took a photo. Once the photo was taken, he searched for it the Universal Bestiary Codex. [So that''s why I thought I had seen it before...the creature is called Snaunt. It is usually found in toxic, aquatic, and radioactive environments. The poison that is produced on their bodies is extraordinarily acid and can even melt Titanium if there is enough poison. They are weak against Ice elemental weapons...] John read what was written in the Universal Bestiary Codex. After observing the Snaunt for a while, John decided to keep moving forward. He easily traversed the environment while avoiding any situation that might put his life at risk. This time he was able to avoid fights because he could use the environment to hide and stealthily move around without arising attention. He used his camouflage clothing to his advantage as he blended with his surroundings, rendering predators and also Florans unable to spot him. When he got tired, he decided to find a safe place to rest. He found a tree with a huge tree trunk and opened a massive hole inside using his Matter Manipulator. Once he was inside the tree trunk, he retrieved the Matter Manipulator and closed the entrance using the same wood that he collected when making the hole. The Great Hunt (10) After a full 6 hours of rest, John emerged from the tree trunk and resumed his travel. As soon as he left the tree trunk, he felt that there was something wrong with his body and mind. His body was slightly weaker, and his senses weren''t as good as they were. But he didn''t worry too much about it and just kept his full attention ahead. Different from the previous landscape, this one didn''t have a single body behind, from either Florans or creatures. It was probably because of the higher amount of predators that would eat the corpses left behind without leaving a single bone untouched. The fast-growing vegetation and predators would cover every trace of activity by sentient races. It was only after so much time in the swamp that John had finally started to feel the effects of the poisonous fog. The effects of the poisonous fog had started a long time ago, the moment he entered the swamp, but just now it started to get worst that he began to feel the effects. The dizziness and blurred sight was the primary concern for John as he traversed the eerie swamp. Headache, dizziness, blurred vision, and ringing ears. That was the symptoms that John was able to identify in his body. But the poison had a lot more afflictions than just this few... [Damnit!] He cursed inwardly. [How am I supposed to deal with this!?] He stopped by a tree, not because he wanted, but because he needed it. Soon enough he was able to feel his body growing weak and his eyelids getting heavier. He was getting tired even with the slightest movement. John bit his lips with all his strength to wake him up from the sleepiness. He dragged his body toward a tree trunk and retrieved his Matter Manipulator from the PIPS. "John..." "What!?" John''s eyes flared open as he looked around, searching for the source of the voice that had just called out his name. He was able to identify the owner of the voice. It was a voice belonging to a person he didn''t want to hear the most. "John Connor..." The mysterious voice sounded once again. John struggled to maintain his eyes open as he looked everywhere in his surroundings. "You are dead..." John spoke in a low voice. "There is no way you could speaking with me." "Oh, John Connor...I don''t think I''m dead..." John finally found out from where the voice was coming. When he turned around to look his pupils couldn''t help but shrink. It was a middle-aged man with a regular looking face and build. He had short brown hair and a pair of brown eyes as well.Stolen story; please report. "You..." Once he recognized the person, John couldn''t help but slightly tremble. It was the same person that still haunt John in his dreams. It was Mouro, the assassin that John killed in the Lunar Base 12, the first person John ever killed. "Surprised to see me...?" Mouro was still wearing his miner clothes with the orange hard helmet in his head. He looked exactly like a living person if it wasn''t for the gaping hole right in the middle of his head. The hole was created by the bullet that John had fired at him back at the Lunar Base 12. "This is just an illusion, a hallucination..." John mumbled while shaking his head. He couldn''t accept that such person was still alive and had come back from death just to haunt his life. Blood dripped from Mouro''s charred wound making his ghastly face looking even eerier. "You are a murderer, John..." Mouro approached John, one step at a time. "Stay back..." John said with a slightly trembling voice while he drew his white pistol from his belt holster and pointed straight at Mouro. John''s hands were shaking, and so he was unable to aim correctly. "You killed me, John..." Mouro ignored the weapon aiming at him and just stepped ahead. "It doesn''t matter how many lives you save. It doesn''t matter how many lives you don''t take...it won''t change the fact that you are a cold-hearted murderer..." John felt unusually disturbed and unable to control his emotions and thoughts. "I did what I had to do. You gave me no choice by trying so hard to kill me." "That''s what they all say at the first time..." Mouro coldly smiled as he took a step forward. "That''s exactly what I said the first time I killed, and look what I had become. You, John, are going to be the same. Accept it. There''s no way around." Mouro clutched the pistol and helped John steadied the aim and pressed the muzzle at his heart. "Go on, accept it. You. Just. Have. To. Shoot." Mouro had a manically and faint smile plastered at his face. "No..." John''s finger hovered over the trigger. "I-I-I...it was an accident..." "Yes, indeed..." Mouro nodded, but then his smile deepened. "With me, it was an accident, but what about those Syndicate soldiers....don''t tell me it was an accident as well." "No..." John shook his head in denial. "They had to die....they did terrible things...." "Are you saying....that as long as you deem someone had to die, you can kill. Is that it? Are you implying that you are the judge and the executioner of the universe? Who are that can so easily decide who dies and who lives!?" "No, that''s not it!" "Then what is it? Tell me. I''m very curious..." "I.....I....I don''t.....know." John''s voice quivered as he spoke. He lowered his head and stared at the ground. When he was helping Peri and killed the Syndicate soldiers, he was acting on his sense of justice. He killed those people because he thought they deserve it after they razed a whole Floran colony to the ground and even planned to sell the Floran kids to the Miniknog. "As I thought..." Mouro released his hand from John''s pistol and took a few steps backward creating some distance between them. "You are no hero, John. So just stop acting as one. Accept what you really are....and then....you will finally find peace in your conflicted heart." Mouro took a pistol from out of nowhere and pointed at John. John was still confused and disturbed by the conversation that he didn''t even lift his head to look at Mouro. *Bang* *Clang* Metal shards flew from the armor that was located John''s back as a bullet hit the place. "Urgh..." John groaned in pain as he fell on the ground. Even though the bullet was unable to pierce the armor plate, it had enough strength behind it to make a dent in the armor and also make some shards fly away. He unblinkingly stared at Mouro that had an eerie and mad smile on his face. "It''s time for you to pay for your sins..." He spoke in a calm and steady tone. *Bang* *Puchi* John once again was shot. This time he was shot precisely at the same place of the last bullet, which rendered the armor useless as the bullet penetrated and lodged itself right inside John''s lower abdomen. Blood mixed with metal shards splattered. "Damnit!" John fell on his knees and cursed as he pressed his hand on the wound to stop the bleeding. His vision started to get darker as seconds passed. He struggled to maintain his eyes open. John saw Mouro crouching by his side and looking directly at his eyes. "There are no heroes in this world, John....neither there are villains....there are only ideologies...think carefully, what is your true desire, and how far are going to go to earn it? A single answer might be all you need to clear the doubts in your heart...." Those were the last words John heard before his consciousness fell into darkness. The Great Hunt (11) It was only darkness. Endless darkness and solitude. But from within the darkness, John was able to see it. A singular space rift, just as the air around it was made of glass, it cracked open. From within the rift, long red tentacles slowly creeped out. They calmly moved and swayed around, dormant. As time passed, the crack opened further, and from that hole in space, a single, unblinking orange eye emerged, surrounded by red tentacles. The eye hovered around for a moment before it located John that was not very far away from there. [What''s that thing...?] John thought as he stared the monster that slowly emerged from the spatial rift. Once the orange eye entirely focused on John, out of nowhere, tentacles sprang out from the rift and charged toward John. John was unable to move and could only helplessly watch as the tentacles fastly came for his head. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable. *PUCHI* "AHHHHH!!!!" The tentacle easily pierced John''s head. The pain was almost unbearable. John screamed and screamed in pain until he lost his voice and his consciousness faded into darkness once again. ... John sat up immediately after he woke up. His back was covered in cold sweat after that terrible nightmare. His eyes flared open and immediately went to scan his surroundings cautiously. He tried to stand up, but... "Urgh..." He groaned in pain and rested his head once again in the floor. "You woke up..." John became stiff for a second when he heard a strange voice, and then he struggled to get up even more fervently. Once he was on his feet, he realized that his belt, with the holster and dagger, wasn''t on his waist. Even his PIPS wasn''t on his wrist. "Who are you?" John cautiously asked the female Floran in front of him. It was a beautiful Floran. She was slim, but not enough to make her look fragile, her foliage was green colored, the small flower on top of her head was yellow, and her hair was made of purple, blue and light blue leaves. She looked a lot more savage than Peri, but not enough to make her look like the previous Florans John met in the Caverns.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Her black eyes glinted with intelligence and curiosity as she stared at him. She was resting by a bonfire, not far from John. In her hands, a menacing looking green and brown spear. She was wearing only simple clothes made of leaves and vines. "I''m Nuru." Nuru flashed a wide grin at John, "Nice to meet you....what''s your name?" "Where''s my stuff?" John interrupted her and coldly asked. He was still on guard. He knew that in the Ceremonial Hunting Caverns, it was, kill or be killed, to the young Floran hunters. "Oh..." Nuru turned her head to the side and took a few objects that were on the ground beside her, "You mean thisss thingsss?" She showed an object that looked like a wristwatch, the PIPS, a holster with a white pistol, and the sheathed black dagger. "Yes..." John nodded and took a step forward to reach out for his items. Nuru swiftly retracted her hand that was holding the objects, "Why would I give them back?" She asked while grinning, but her eyes flashed with a mischievous light. John froze in his place, then realized that he wasn''t in a position to ask for his stuff back. However, John still stared at her and reached out with his hand. Nuru easily dodged John''s charge while she grinned at him. "What do you want?" John gave up after only one attempt because he felt that the wound in his abdomen had opened and started to bleed. "You saved me, don''t you? Why?" Nuru sadly Return to her placed by the bonfire when she saw that John gave up. When she heard John''s question, her smile widened a bit. "Do I need a reassson to sssave sssomeone?" John was speechless for a moment. She was right; she doesn''t need a reason to save someone, but... "This is the Ceremonial Hunting Caverns..." John said while glaring at her. "It''s kill or be killed..." "Really...?" Nuru played around with John''s PIPS, then she smirked at John''s remark. "Then....why haven''t you killed thossse Florans back then...?" "Back then...?" John pondered for a moment before he came to a realization. [She was the one that was watching him the whole time in the previous landscape. I was able to feel that someone was always watching me.] "You saw it..." "I sssaw a lot more than you think." She spoke once again. "Why don''t you kill?" Nuru dropped her head to the side and curiously asked John. "And I''m very curiousss asss to why and how a human had found his way into the Ceremonial Hunting Cavernsss. But I have a feeling that you won''t tell me, right?" "It''s... complicated. As for why I don''t kill, it''s because.....I can''t just kill some innocent people..." "Innocent!?" Nuru exploded in laughter. "Every sssingle one of the Floran huntersss here hasss their fair ssshare of blood in their handsss." John froze for a split second before he went back to normal. Yes, he knew deep in his heart that all those hunters that were partaking in the Great Hunt already had experience in killing both animals and people. However, he couldn''t make himself cold-hearted enough to execute the young Florans. "Although I have to commend you for having sssuch ssstrong sssense of jussstice and all, I alssso have to warn you that thisss isn''t sssomething good. This sssense of jussstice will get you killed in the future. I won''t be sssurprised if sssomeday you die by sssomeone you saved, or you didn''t kill." Nuru flashed a wide grin at John before she went back to roast some meat in the bonfire, "But you are lucky. I sssaved you only because I sssaw your previousss actionsss if you had killed thossse huntersss from before I wouldn''t have bothered to sssave you when you needed. Ssseeing how you persssevered in not killing after so many battlesss, made me admire your courage and determination." John silently sat opposite to Nuru, by the bonfire. "While I usually doesssn''t kill, it doesssn''t mean that I don''t kill." She threw a side glance at John while maintaining her smiling face. "Sssooooo... don''t do anything that could make me want to end your life, okay?" "Yes..." John answered with a faint voice while averting his eyes from Nuru''s glare. Just that one glance made John feel a chill down his spine. The Great Hunt (12) John looked around the camp that he and Nuru were and soon spotted a body sprawled in the ground. "Who''s that?" John pointed at the dead Floran hunter in the ground. Nuru glanced at the dead Floran and then said, "The one who ssshot you down." John was dumbfounded for a moment. [Wasn''t that assassin in the Lunar Base 12 that-] He soon realized the problem in the whole situation and turned to ask to Nuru, "The poisonous fog in this landscape is....hallucinogenic...?" "Yesss. It alssso can make you mentally, and emotionally unssstable." She answered and then turned around to look at John, "Why? Did you had an hallucination?" "Yes...in it, I was shot down by someone else." John said with a uncertain tone. The hallucination felt like real life, it didn''t looked like an image or something. So much so that even now that John wasn''t under the effect of the poison and was able to think clearly he still felt like it was real. "Really?" Nuru took the meat from the fire and bit it with her fangs, tearing a huge piece away, into her mouth. "Well...your body ssshould have gotten usssed to the fog by now. At leassst with the Floransss we are only affected once, after that, no more. There''s an antidote for the poison, but now that have already been poisoned once, you are probably not going to need it." Then Nuru devided the meat in half and waved it in front of John. "Want sssome?" "Thanks..." John grabbed the piece and took a bite. As the meat touched his tongue, he instantly frowned. There was no salt and neither seasoning in the food. Even though he was able to eat it that way, if could choose, he rather ate his own prepared food in the PIPS than this spiceless meat. But he still ate the food that was offered to him since he doesn''t want to be rude. "Can you give my stuff back now?" John asked Nuru. Nuru threw a glance at John. She pondered for a second before she decided to give it back. John firstly placed his belt with the dagger and pistol first. Then he wore the PIPS back to his right wrist. Now that everything was in place he took off his armor plate that was on the chest and back to take a look at his injury. John let loose some low groans of pain as the armors scratched at the wounded part. Once he finally took off the plate, he glanced at the injury in his abdomen. It didn''t look very grim, it was just like a bullet injury, but John was still able to feel that there was something inside his injury.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. First John reached for an anesthetic medicine, painkiller, and applied it around the place of the injury. The moment John felt that the painkiller and taken effect, he retrieved a pincer from his PIPS. Nuru just stood by the side calmly watching as John inserted the pincer deep in the wound. Blood slowly dripped from the injury as the pincer went further into the hole left behind by the projectile that had pierced John. It was long process as John slowly took the whole projectile from inside him. Luckily there wasn''t any fragments left behind, the bullet was completely intact. After he was done, he took a clean bandage from his PIPS, applied some salve in it, and wrapped the bandage around his injury. John sighed in relief and exhaustion after he completed everything. He leaned by a rock and closed his eyes to rest. Nuru glanced at John and warned, "If you want to sssleep you better do it on top of the treesss. We are very deep into the swamp. Around this time, the creaturesss in here get restlessss and agressssive." "Alright..." John struggled a little to stand up and then he took his grappling hook. He aimed at a high, thick branch of the closest tree from them and fired. *Bang* With a low noise the hook was sent flying in the air. *Thud* Once the hook was stuck on the branch, John started ascend. Nuru curiously stared at the ascending John. She never saw such strange tool capable and lifting a people this high in the air. As soon as John reached the branch, he made himself comfortable and leaned by the tree trunk. John glanced at beneath him to see what Nuru was going to do. One simple look and John couldn''t help but stare. Nuru was able to swiftly climb up the tree by piercing in the tree trunk with her sharp nails. John''s lips twitched. She was able to climb even faster than him using the grappling hook. In no time, Nuru had already found herself a comfortable spot on a tree opposite from the tree that John was resting. John lowered his guard and closed his eyes. He knew that Nuru wasn''t dangerous for him at the moment. Why would she kill him now, after she bothered to save him in the first place? With those thoughts in his mind, John easily fell asleep. ... Once John opened his eyes he realized he wasn''t on the swamp but rather in a strange and grandiose palace. The whole building was white and completely spotless. [Another strange dream?] John thought to himself. [Why am I having so many strange dreams, one after the other recently?] John tried to look at himself, but he soon found out that his body was completely translucent. Without other choices, John decided to move forward in those long and huge hallways. He soon spotted a door at the right side of the hallway, he was about to open it when heard footsteps coming from behind him. He turned around and saw a tall, person with gray skin, red eyes, and pointy ears. "Ancient..." John mumbled as he recognized the race the person belonged to. The Ancient in special had a long, silky black hair. He doesn''t looked old, but John was uncertain of how old he was since he didn''t know to identify the age of Ancients. He was wearing some kind of full metal armor that looked like a mixture of medieval and modern armory. The person went through John as he didn''t exist at all and opened the door. John followed along the Ancient and entered in the room. The room was empty. There was no one inside. It clearly was a bedroom of sorts. "Fuck those bastards..." The Ancient was fuming with rage as he flipped out a table that was on the corner of the room. His face was contorted with anger. "How dare they say that I''m not as good as my brother!!!" The Great Hunt (13) "Those blinded fools!!!" The Ancient rampaged in the room, throwing everything in the ground while the roared in a voice filled with rage, "Why would my brother be the one selected to be the Cultivator, and not me!? I''m clearly stronger and better in manipulation of Klein energy than him!!!" His chest waved up and down as he caught his breath. Once he calmed down he looked at his own hand. As he closed his hand in a tight fist, blue particles started to hover around the hand. John, that was watching by the side, looked with a surprised expression on his face as he witnessed this event. It was almost like how Peri did when they were at the Syndicate''s Outpost. "I''ll show them...that I''m more capable than my brother..." The blue particles slowly started darkening as the Ancient let loose a cold, low laugh. "With my new power...I''ll be the strongest...they will all bow at my presence, and then..." A smile creeped out on his lips, "I''ll rule this Universe that is mine by right..." The blue particles were soon completely colored with a menacing black. "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!" He laughed manically out loud. As soon as the scene ended, John was pulled away, and sent again to complete and utter darkness. ... John slowly opened his eyes after a long period of sleep. Even now the events of the dream kept replaying on his mind as he tried to find the connection between this and the other dreams that he had. What really kept bugging his mind was why he was he having these dreams? [And what''s up with those blue particles?] John remembered how the Ancient was able to easily manipulate those particles to move around his hand. He then remembered of something that the Ancient said, [Klein energy was what he said...is those particles it? What does that Klein energy have to do with Peri?] So many questions were popping around in John''s head that he was momentarily dizzy. Once he sorted out his random thoughts away, he decided to no think about it for the moment since he was occupied with something more important in the moment. Even though he threw away the thoughts, he still made a mental note to ask Esther if she knew why this was happening to him.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. He also was curious about Peri and the whole situation with the blue particles. He glanced around and soon realized that Nuru had already left the premises. There were no tracks left behind by her, so John was unable to figure out to where she left. John wasn''t that bothered that she left him so suddenly since they were complete strangers with each other, they only got to know because of a series of coincidences. He took some dried rations from his PIPS and had his breakfast. When he was done, he resumed his search for the prey, or for another of those doors. From time to time John would encounter those slug-like creatures that would spat a ball of acid at him. Of course, he was able to easily dodge and outrun them since they were just too slow to catch up John as he swings from one towering tree to another. But even after so much time spent searching, he found no tracks of other Florans, a giant door, or any different type of creature other than the Snaunts, Batongs and White Demon Spiders. Feeling slightly tired, John decided to stop and take a rest for the moment. He had just stopped when his ears twitched as they captured a rustling sound not very far from him. "Florans?" John hid behind a tree trunk. He closed his eyes and listened carefully for the sounds. "Footsteps.... bipedal creatures...." John was able to hear the sound of a single living being with only two legs. He was able to identify that it was bipedal because he was only able to hear two feet from the creature, no more than that. "It''s Florans..." That was the only logical conclusion for John. Retrieving the bow from his back, he carefully notched an arrow, held his breath, and slowed down his heartbeat, completely erasing his presence. He carefully looked over the tree trunk and glanced at the approaching Florans. They didn''t slow down a bit from the moment he felt them until now, that could possibly mean that they haven''t discovered that John was on the premises. Once the Florans showed themselves, John couldn''t help but stare. The Florans were moving in an organized manner, like a proper army squad. They had a menacing and threatening atmosphere around them as they carefully analyzed the surroundings with their guns. Different from the usual guns that usually most of the people of the universe use, the guns in the hands of Florans were made using a mixture of wood and metal. Of course, the wood was not the same as the everyday wood they use, but a rather stronger and resistant one, with a grayish coloration that matched with the slightly dark color of the metal that used on the gun. "Sssir..." One of the Florans that looked like a soldier approached the male Floran that was on the forefront. "The door has been found. From the information we got from our ssscout, it ssshould be just eassst from our current location." "Let''s get moving..." The apparent leader of the group said in a serious tone. "I don''t want to face Nuru in a direct combat again...the faster we get of here, lesser the chance of meeting her." Once they finished speaking, they immediately left. The moment he was sure that they were far away, John emerged from his hiding place. "East..." John looked at the direction they left and mumbled to himself. [Looks like I have my destination now.] John stood on his spot for a few seconds, waiting for the distance between him and the group enlarge a little more before he started heading east as well. The Great Hunt (14) After following the group of armed Florans for a while, John was forced to stop because the group had just stopped in front of him and it looked like they were resting. John stood a few meters away, unmoving, and also observing the group of Florans. Now that they stopped by an open space, John was able to count the number of members in there. There was about 6 of them. The leader that was carrying a rifle-looking weapon, 2 other also with guns in their hands, and the other 3 were using close-range cold weapons, a sword and 2 spear users. John concentrated all his attention on the group, trying to hear what they were talking about. After a few minutes he realized that they were simply chatting about random stuff. It have passed about 20 minutes when John was about to get tired from hearing the chat when his ear twitched as it caught a strange sound approaching the group at a fast speed. The group also heard the noise and they swiftly raised their guards and entered in formation, the leader on the middle, the two rifles behind the leader, and the three close-range in the front. In no time the creature finally appeared from the tall grass that was surrounding the group''s camp. It was a female Floran. Her whole body was covered in bruises and cuts, some small, others fairly large. In her hands was a spear, with some green and red liquid dripping from it, it was blood, from both creatures and other Florans. The group lowered their weapons at the sight of the Floran, so it was clear to John that both sides knew each other and were probably working together. "What happened to you?" The leader of the group approached the female Floran and helped her stand in her feet. She was clearly exhausted and badly injured, she wasn''t even able to stand properly after stopping. "We were attacked once we got clossse to the door." She said after she got time to recover her breath. She turned to face the leader and said, "You need to hurry...if not the ressst of the sssquad might be dead by the time you get there." The leader frowned his eyebrows and asked, "Your group is very ssstrong, who could make all of you sssuffer sssuch a losss?" "It''s..." Her mouth quivered a little in fear as she answered with some hesitation, "Nuru..."Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. His pupils shrunk after hearing the name coming from the Floran''s mouth. The person he least wanted to meet was now attacking members of his group. Even though he didn''t wanted to face Nuru once again, he knew he have to go or else his entire second group would be dead in no time. "Let''sss get moving." With a grim face he ordered the people around the camp, the he looked at the female Floran and worriedly asked, "Are you able to follow usss?" "It should be of no problem, but..." She hesitated for a moment before speaking with a saddening face, "In battle I won''t be able to do much." "Don''t worry about it." The leader dismissively said while patting in her shoulder, trying to light her mood up a little. "You jussst need to take a gun and give usss sssome assistance from the rear." "Okay..." She nodded and sighed in relief. At least she wasn''t useless to the group in the upcoming fight. The group swiftly cleaned up the location and immediately left for the east. John walked out of the hiding spot and followed closely behind this time. They went like that for about 3 minutes until John finally was able to see the giant metal door in the distance. He was about to continue forward when he felt a presence just beside him. *Whoosh* John was able twist his waist to the side and dodge the glob of green liquid that was thrown at him. After stopping his forward momentum, he looked at the side and identified the source of the attack. It was a group of 3 Snaunts that were about 5 10 meters away from him. John bent his knees and sprang forward while taking the Dark Wraith dagger into his hands. *Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh* Three glob of green liquid were spat by the Snaunts. John was able to swiftly dodge the incoming projectiles by slightly twisting his body while running. Before the next barrage, John was able to get close enough. He used the dagger to not alert the Florans that were somewhat close. If fast movements, John easily decapitated one of the Snaunts and left a deep cut in another one. With just a single Snaunt capable of fighting, John easily got rid of him by throwing a Razor Feather right in the middle of the head, finishing him. John swiftly took the corpses inside his PIPS and continued to follow the Florans. As he got closer to the metal door, he slowed down and walked more carefully. Once he was close enough to see the situation on the open field around the metal door, he couldn''t help but stare with his eyes wide open at the scene playing before him. ... "Damnit!" The Floran cursed as he gripped the gun in his hand and pressed the trigger with his full strength. *Bang, bang, bang...* A barrage of bullet came from the muzzle of gun directly at his target. The target suddenly became a green blur as she easily dodged the incoming projectiles and proceeded to aim at the Floran''s friend. When he realized the intention of the target he loudly shouted, "Watch out!" But his warn came too late. The target wielded her spear and was able to put down another of the Floran''s comrade. "Fuck..." The Floran cursed once again as his eyes reddened with anger. He lowered his head and started to reload the weapon. It was in this moment that he felt a chill down his spine. He swiftly looked up, but... *Puchi* A spear appeared out of nowhere just in front of his and pierced his chest, sending him flying backward. *Bam* *Cough* He spat a mouthful of blood as his back hit the tree which he was now impaled by the spear in his chest. Before he could recover he only saw a green blur that approached by his body, took the spear out of the chest, and disappeared once again from his line of sight. "Nuru..." The Floran mumbled while blood slowly dripped from his mouth. "She''s way ssstronger than the rumorsss sssay..." The Great Hunt (15) Nuru just threw a quick glance at the Floran that was impaled in the tree before she retrieved her spear and left the place in search for the other attackers. Her hand softly gripped in the spear as her cold, black eyes scanned the surroundings. It was in this moment that her ear twitched as she heard a sound of rustling grass coming from her left, 30 meters away. With a swift jump she landed on top of a tree branch and started to jump for branch to branch toward the source of the sound. Once her eyes caught a sight of the Floran that was crouching in the tall grass beside a huge tree, she stopped jumping and cautiously glanced around. She was just about to jump and take down the Floran when she felt killing intent locking in her. *Bang* A sniper bullet just scratched her clothes as she twisted her body to the side. After dodging the bullet she swiftly jumped down from the tree and landed on the ground with a loud thud. Before she could recover from landing she felt something coming from behind her. *Swish* The air on top of her head was cut as she ducked her head, making the Floran that slashed with his dagger miss her neck. *Bam* Without turning around Nuru sent a kick at his chest and used the momentum to sprang forward. The Floran was sent flying while spatting a mouthful of blood. Using the momentum, she was able to get closer to another Floran before he was ready for her sudden appearance. *Swish* *Puchi* Her spearhead easily pierced the Floran''s chestguard and carried him together with her for a few meters before they fell on the ground. Blood gushed from the Floran''s injury as it fastly dyed the spear in red. Nuru watched at this with emotionless eyes. "Urgh..." She forcibly retrieved the spear from the Floran and he grunted in pain. *Bam* The Floran was sent flying once again, but this time, alone as he was kicked right in his injury by Nuru. More blood spurt from the wound as it created a faint scarlet trail on the ground. She made a circular move with her spear and was able to clean up the blood that had drenched the spear.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Closing her eyes and focusing in her senses she was soon able to hear the sound of more approaching Florans, 7 of them. The approaching ones were the same that John had been following before he was interrupted by the Snaunts. In no time, just in front of Nuru, 7 Florans were standing watching her with caution and some anger as they glanced at the fallen Florans that were around the area. She alone had dealt with more than 8 of the same group from the people in front of her, but from different squadron. This time, however, she was finally facing against the leader of the group and his 6 comrades. "Nuru..." The leader took a step forward and said through his gritted teeth. "Today isss the day you die. I''m going to be the champion thisss time." "Heh..." Nuru snorted and showed a mocking smile. "It''s easssy to do it with multiple friendsss and comradesss, I won''t lossse to a perssson like you who doesssn''t have the gutsss to partake in the Great Hunt alone, with your own strength." "Ssstrength isssn''t jussst raw physssical ssstrength, but alssso the people around you, luck, and almossst everything." The leader''s face turned from anger to a emotionless in a slipt of second. "Your Warrior''s Path probably is raw physssical strength, different from me. Each Floran have their Warrior''s Path, mine is usssing everything in my disposssal to achieve victory. I don''t sssee any valor in courage and honor, I believe in careful planning and that way reaching the final goal." Nuru casually smiled as she heard what he said and spoke with a even heavier mocking tone, "That''s why you won''t achieve greatnesss among Floransss. In some other organization you might be able to be big, but not among usss. After all, you aren''t a Greenfinger, you are ssstill a warrior." "Thisss isss what remain to be ssseen. I don''t believe my talentsss won''t be appreciated by the Greenfinger''sss Council." He said with a confident smile as he proudly readied his weapon. "That dependsss..." Nuru entered in fighting stance and pointed her spearhead at the Floran leader. "...on whatever or not you can win againssst me..." The Floran leader made a signal with his hand and soon enough the other Florans readied their weapons. His face was plastered with anger as he realized the mocking tone behind Nuru''s smile. It was more than clear to him that Nuru was underestimating them. He knew more than anyone''s else that in a far battle, 1v1, Nuru would never lost to anyone. There was once only one person that was able almost draw the competition between them. The person was called...Peri Even knowing that he was unable to face Nuru he started create his own team and fight alongside against Nuru. The glory of winning against the youngest winner of the Great Hunt was too enticing for most people. The Floran leader knew about this, that''s why he used this strategy. He slowly opened his mouth and shouted, "Go!" With his shout the Florans carrying close-range weapons steeped forward and ran toward Nuru. As a Floran slashed with his sword at Nuru, she bent her upper body back, dodging the attack, while raising her leg right at the Floran''s jaw. *Bam* *Crack* With the loud sound of collision and breaking bones, the Floran was sent flying backward. The others in the back carrying guns took the opportunity to open fire at Nuru. *Bang, bang, bang...* Nuru started to dance around, evading from the barrage of fire, and using her spear to defend against some bullets and the two other close combat Florans that were relentlessly attacking her. *Bang* With a gunshot coming from a sniper rifle the bullet travelled all the way from the back toward Nuru''s face. Just as the bullet was a few centimeters away from her face, the spearhead suddenly appeared right in front of the projectile. She slightly changed the angle of the spearhead. *Clang* The bullet changed direction as it hit the corner of the spear and was sent toward Nuru''s right side. *Puchi* The reflected bullet found his way in one of the close-range Floran''s chest. It missed the heart just about a few millimeters. He dropped on the ground while struggling to breath and stop the bleeding. *Clang, clang, clang...* Nuru kept rotating her spear while the bullets bounced off once they hit the spear while creating some sparks from the collision. The projectiles were being repelled randomly, Nuru was only able to this much, as for predicting where the bullets would end on e they hit her spear, she had no way to know. Of course she would keep her body moving as well so that the few bullets that go pass her spear won''t reach her body. The Great Hunt (16) *Bang* *Clang* "Ssstop!" The leader of the Florans loudly shouted as he stopped firing his weapon. Once she stop hearing the gunshots, Nuru lowered her spear. She lifted her eyebrow and glanced at the 3 Florans that were left standing. "What''sss it? Tired already?" Nuru asked with a small grin on her mouth. The leader''s expression turned ugly for a split second before turning back to normal. "You got ssstronger..." He commented with a darkened face. "I never ssstopped practicing, of courssse I would get ssstronger sssomehow." She said with a casual smile. "Different from you who ssspent your time making ssstrategiesss and thinking of every possible ssscenario that could happen. Planning isss good, don''t get me wrong, but overdoing it... isn''t the wisssest choice. We are Floransss in the end of the day. We are warriorsss." "I disagree." He said with certainty and a stern voice. "I believe that we can be better. While it''sss true that Greenfingersss are better than warriorsss in such assspectsss, I refussse to let my destiny be fixed from the day of my birth. Whatever I become a warrior or sssomething elssse, it''s up to me, and me alone. That''s in what I believe. I don''t follow the teachings of our ancestorsss, I won''t go around looking for the so called ''Warrior''sss Path'' and whatever laysss in the end of it. I''m more realissstic. I forge my own future, my own dessstiny." Nuru''s eyes shone with a mysterious light after she heard what the young Floran in front of her said. This speech...it reminded her of someone she know. A certain person, her rival. [Peri...] The name appeared on top of her mind. Peri also disliked the idea of her future being fixed from the day of her birth. Of course Peri was a lot more determined in finding her path than the male Floran in front of Nuru. Peri left her tribe a lot sooner than most young Florans would be allowed. To reach the end of the Warrior''s Path, the dream of every Floran. Unfortunately, the teachings of how to actually reach the end of the so called Warrior''s Path was lost in the war of Florans against Hylotl, a long, long time ago. The teachings date back to a very ancient era, when the Florans believed in a single deity, a deity they called Pan. Pan, the God they once believed, had left with the Floran ancestors a few items before he suddenly disappeared. A sphere that wield great power, and a single book with the teachings that enabled Florans to achieve great power. The book was then called, The Warrior''s Path mainly because of the strength it gave to Florans which helped them a lot in the war against the Hylotl.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. But the knowledge about the Warrior''s Path was lost forever after the book mysteriously disappeared in the war. As the years went by, the meaning of the expression, Warrior''s Path, changed. Now the Warrior''s Path was nothing more than another word to describe destiny, for the Floran warriors. Those who seek Warrior''s Path want nothing more than fullfil the destiny they think was premade by a higher being for them. "You have grown up, Oktar..." Nuru whispered to herself with her hear lowered before she lifted once again and looked at the Floran leader. "I sssee your point...I also believe that we, Floransss, can be better, not just mindless, bloodthirsty savagesss..." Nuru faintly said while readied her spear once again. "...but this isn''t the time to discuss such thoughts. You are going to be defeated right here, right now. I don''t really care about the game or prize for winning. I only fight to win. The victory is the proof of my sssuperiority in strength, witsss and ssstrategy over my foe. I aim to become the best Floran warrior, and also the bessst in the universsse. Losing is not an option." As soon as she finished speaking she bent her knee, and placed one hand on front of the other while both hands were grasping in the spear. Her expression became stern and her eyes sharpened as they glowed with fighting spirit. Oktar stared at Nuru for a few seconds before sadly sighting and reading reloading the weapon in his hands. He knew it was impossible for him and his last two allies to win against a powerful fighter such as Nuru without a careful pre-planning, more people, and more powerful weapons. But he couldn''t just give up. He was a warrior Floran. Even though he hate to admit, he still fell deep in his bones, in his blood; the desire to win, the desire to fight to death. Such as the way the Florans had always been. It doesn''t matter how much time he spend meditating, studying, and training, he was unable to change the nature he was born with. In the face of a challenge, or a strong opponent, his blood boil, his mind scream with the intention to fight and prevail over such obstacle. He was a born a warrior, but still tried to change his fate, be something more than what the Floran society, and nature, expected him to be. His two companions turned their heads to look at Oktar. Once they saw him nod at them, they also entered in position to start once again the fight. Of his last people, one has carrying a axe, and the other was using a shotgun type of weapon. Oktar was had with him only a rifle, a pistol, and a dagger. With a warcry, the Floran ran toward Nuru while raising his axe, ready to chop down. Oktar and the other one entered in position and took aim at Nuru. Nuru swiftly changed location by stepping to the side and being face to face with the axe wielding Floran, creating a blind spot for the shooters that were behind the Floran. After bending her knees, Nuru soon released with full strength toward the incoming Floran with her spearhead aiming at his heart. *Clang* In the last moment the Floran was able to switch the place of his axe and placed it in front of his chest to met the full strength pierce attack that Nuru had just delivered. He had to retreat a few steps before finally being able to recover from the attack. *Bang, bang...* Nuru wanted to follow-up with another attack, but was forced to retreat behind a tree by the barrage of bullets coming from Oktar and the other gunner. *Bang* *Crack* Sprinkles of wood was sent high in the air by the sheer impact of the the bullets into the tree trunk. Nuru could even feel the tree shaking from the impact. Oktar took his eyes away from his gun''s iron sights and glanced over the tree that Nuru just hid behind. With just a few hand signals Oktar sent his orders to his companions. Both of them nodded as they acknowledged the orders given to them. The Floran carrying the axe started to slowly go toward the tree from the left side as the guy with the shotgun went to the right. Nuru closed her eyes and listened careful to the rustling of the grass and splashes of the swamp water. [They are advancing...] She opened her eyes and gripped the spear in her hand, she was ready, ready to attack at the moment notice. The Great Hunt (17) *Whoosh* Before the Floran at the right could react he was in the hand by a spear coming seemingly from nowhere. He unconsciously lowered the shotgun as he felt the pain in the hand. It was in this moment that Nuru jumped out from her hiding spot and lunged at the Floran. *Bam* "Argh." The Floran groaned in pain as Nuru''s left fist connected to his stomach. Nuru swiftly used her other hand to grip at the Floran''s neck and lifted him. *Bang* *Puchi* Oktar tried to take a shot but he failed to hit Nuru that used the Floran as a shield. She retrieved the spear in the ground with her left hand. With the spear in one hand and the bleeding Floran in her other hand, she charged toward Oktar. "Shit!" Oktar cursed as he tried without success to find a clear aim at Nuru that was charging at him with full speed while making him unable to fire because the Floran that was being used as a shield was a close comrade of his. Nuru was just three meters from Oktar when she felt something coming from behind. She threw her Floran shield at Oktar and stepped to the side. *Whoosh* An axe went pass by her face just a few centimeters away. She turned her body and used the centripetal force to throw the spear in her hand toward the Floran that had just tried to hit her with the throwing axe. *Swish* *Puchi* The Floran spat a mouthful of blood as he was sent backwards by the strength behind the spear that had just pierced him at the chest. Without glancing back, Nuru launched herself at Oktar that only now able to stand up once again after being thrown in the ground by the Floran that Nuru that thrown at him. Oktar dropped his gun and swiftly took his pistol and dagger.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. *Bang* Oktar tried to take a shot at point blank, but Nuru had already went to side the moment he took out the pistol and thus she easily dodged the first shot. *Whoosh* Moving his head to the side, Oktar was able to dodge the incoming punch that Nuru had thrown. *Bam* He was able to evade the first punch, but not the second one. Nuru''s fist sent Oktar a few steps backward and she tried to follow with another attack. *Bang* She had to stop in the middle of her tracks and twist her body to the side, making the bullet scratch Nuru''s arm. Oktar forced his feet on the ground to stop his body from moving and lifted his pistol once again at Nuru. *Bang* The bullet almost went through her head. She moved her head to the side in the last moment when she looked at the gun''s muzzle and predicted trajectory of the bullet. She bent her knees and sprang toward Oktar once again. *Whoosh* He tried to cut her with the dagger, but she easily caught his arm in the wrist. "Urgh..." He groaned in pain as he felt Nuru twisting his wrist, forcing him to drop the dagger on the ground. Without the chance to anything he was forcedly lifted from the ground. *Bam* "*Gasp*..." The whole air in his lungs were expelled as he was thrown in the ground by Nuru''s shoulder throw. In a simple and crude motion, Nuru gave a fast and strong chop with her hand at Oktar''s nape, making him fall unconscious. "Done..." Nuru gave a sight of relief and relaxed her tired body. She looked at her handy work, the destroyed battlefield that her fight with Oktar and his crew had left behind. Now that everything went quiet once again, she was able to still hear the faint roars and other sounds coming from distance. The whole swamp looked so eeriely calm and silent around the place she was standing. "Huh?" Nuru glanced at a certain direction after she heard a low noise, and her nose caught a strange scent coming that location. She frowned for a split second before casually smiling and spoke, "Why don''t you show yourself, human..." With the sound of rustling grass and splashing water, John emerged from behind a bunch of trees and bushes. "You senses are more accurate then I thought." He spoke. In his hands were the pistol and dagger. His body was still covered most in bandages from that he didn''t had the time to take off, and his clothes were filled with rips and tears. Even his breast armor had some dents and scratches. The only piece that was left mostly untouched was his helmet. "I can feel that you want to get rid of me..." Nuru kept the calm smile on her face even after sensing John''s intentions. From his guarded stance, his tight grip on his weapons and the sharp glare that he was sending on her direction. "Nothing personal..." John lifted his white pistol, MX801S, high enough to keep the muzzle right at Nuru head''s height. "...I just need to win this contest." He calmly spoke. "Wow." Nuru exclaimed amusedly. "Looksss like the eldersss were right. Humansss really are deviousss and honorless creaturesss. You waited until I got tired and weaponless to appear." "We are not honorless." John said, "It''s the circumstances that forced me to act this way. You''re way too strong for me to defeat in a fair fight, and I really, really need the prize, so.... I''m sorry, but I can''t lose time fighting with you." "You think you can defeat me...?" Nuru immediately squinted her eyes after she heard John. Her eyes glowed with fierceness while the smile on her face widened. "I''m sssomewhat tired after fighting ssso much at a ssshort ssspan of time, but I ssstill have enough ssstrength to put you down." Her whole body started to emanated a strong fighting intent as she finished speaking, "I have won variousss Huntsss, so I don''t really care about the prize or the fame of winning. I only come here to fight even ssstronger opponentsss and prevail over them asss the ssstronger warrior. I won''t lossse, not againssst you that aren''t even a warrior." The Great Hunt (18) "You underestimate me too much." John helplessly shook his head. "Well...I''m already used to it, so your commentary won''t affect my mind state. I won''t act impulsive and neither try to prove myself, or something along these lines." "Well, why don''t-" *PENG!!!!!!* A loud sound of something metallic being hit resounded throughout the entire swamp landscape. John stopped looking at Nuru and stared at the source of the sound. *PENG!!!!!!!* The whole place place trembled with each impact in the metallic door that was just a few dozen meters away from John and Nuru. *PENG!!!!!* Nuru''s expression instantly changed when she saw a huge dent that appeared in the door. She was able to feel...the overwhelming animalistic killing intent coming from that direction. It was on a level way higher than anything she ever felt before. The creature behind that door...[It''s way too strong...] She frowned at her thought. Nuru snuck a glance at John and saw that his expression had became ugly as well. It was clear to her that even a human was able to feel the strong presence that was on the other side. *PENG!!!!!* With another hit, the dent widened a bit more and some cracks could be seen appearing around the metallic door. "I don''t think we have time to fight againssst each other now." Nuru commented with a grim expression on her face. "Agreed." John nodded in acknowledgement and slowly started to retreat. Nuru saw John''s actions and decided to follow suit, but before she did that, she went back to a Floran that was on the ground a few meters away and retrieved her spear. She was about to leave when she stopped on her tracks and glanced around at Oktar and his crew that were on the ground unconscious. John felt that Nuru stopped following him and curiously looked behind him. With a single look he realized the situation, but there was basically nothing he could do about it, there was simply way too many of them for him and Nuru to carry into safety since the door was almost falling apart from the strong bashing. He also hesitated on whatever or not leave the place.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. To possibly have a single chance to save all of them he would have to... "I''m going to face it head on." Nuru said with determination. John glared at Nuru. He wasn''t surprised by the decision she just took. From the few interactions he had with her, he already had a understanding of her personality. John shrugged his shoulders and helplessly sighed, "I can''t simply leave them here to die as well. Besides, that thing is probably my prey, I need the prize of the game." Nuru smiled in response to John. She didn''t speak but she really appreciated the fact that John was willing to risk his own life to protect the life of others. Even though she criticized his selflessness, she still appreciated it, admired even. *PENG!!!!!* *CRACK, CRACK, CRACK...* With another slam, a gaping hole was made in the door. John lifted his head to look at it. Nuru followed him and also glanced at the situation in the door. From the dark hole in the door all they could see was an eerie, red eye looking at them. Nuru had already seen a few of these creatures in her previous participation on the Great Hunt. But somehow she felt that this one was somewhat different from the previous one she fought. *PENG!!!!!* The creature slammed its body once again in the door, sending more metal shards in the air and widening the hole. "We need to get closer." John said while looking at Peri. "If we fight here, they might get killed." "Yes, let''sss go." Nuru nodded and was about to go when John called out from behind. "Wait!" John shouted when he saw that Nuru was leaving. "I need to be certain of something. If we actually kill it, who''s going to claim the prize?" John asked seriously while keeping a close watch at every bit of change in expression coming from her face. Nuru glanced back as her eyes flashed with a sharp glint before it returned to normal. She calmed herself and calmly thought about it. She doesn''t want to lose and neither she wants to go through the risk of letting Oktar and his comrades die by chasing out John. "I don''t need the prize, you can keep it." She flatly spoke and left in hurry toward the door. John sighed in relief and followed along. *CLANG!!!!!!!!* "What''s that thing?" John asked Nuru that was beside him while staring at the little he could see through the hole in the door. They stopped just a few meters away from the door, so after every slam they could feel the strength of the creature that was trying to break out. "It wasss sssupposed to be an adult Ixodoom..." Nuru went in deep thought while looking at the door. "Supposed to be?" John switched his sight from the door to Nuru. "I''m not certain." She frowned. "Ixodoomsss are huge, but thisss one isss bigger and looksss like more aggressssive than the previousss onesss I killed." "That''s bad news..." "Very bad. They are already hard to kill normally sssince they always have a group of Ixolingsss, now that thisss one is going to be more agressssive, I can only imagine that thisss isn''t going to be the sssmoothessst fight-" *CLANG!!!!* *BAM!!!* With another powerful slam the hinges of both side of the door were broken and fell on the ground sending a huge amount of dust and swamp water into the air. "Well..." John grimly glared at the door that was about to fall. "It''s too late to run now." He stored his pistol and reached into his PIPS for the Spitfire assault rifle. To fight something huge as the one he was about to, fire power and fire rate of a weapon were very important. "What? Were you thinking of fleeing?" Nuru said in a joking manner, trying to ease up John. "The thought really crossed my mind, but...there some things that I must do, not just for myself, but also for a lot of people." John mysteriously smiled. *BAM* With another slam the door was finally put down by the creature that was on the other side. Its enormous shadow could be seen emerging from the dark room that was on the side. Once John saw the creature that destroyed the door, he couldn''t help but swear a little under his breathe. The Great Hunt (19) The Ixodoom is a vicious, massive, long-lived predator, like a cross between a crab and a spider. Provided they survive their much more vulnerable Ixoling juvenile state, these beasts can live to be over 200 years old. They are covered in thick, beige, bony plates that can regenerate with unsettling speed, keeping them safe from most things crazy or desperate enough to attack it. Its red flesh isn''t very hard in the opened areas of the exoskeleton but they are also very flexible, enabling the creature to twist its body and make fast, unpredictable movements. It can climb along steep vertical surfaces with ease thanks to its ability to create sticky climbing webs from its rear end, and also use the deadly scythe-like limbs to climb. Add to this the potent acid it can spit from its maw, and Ixodooms are monsters best avoided if at all possible. Threat Level: 4 (Dangerous) John glanced at the entry about Ixodooms in the Universal Bestiary Codex and was able to confirm that the creature in front of them was some kind of Ixodoom. But there was a difference in the image that was presented in the Codex, the size of the body and also the size of the scythes. This one was a lot more menacing then the one shown in the Codex. John looked beneath the Ixedoom and saw the small army of Ixolings following along. "I have a small feeling that this ain''t going to be easy." John commented while grimly watching the creatures approaching the location where he and Nuru were standing side-by-side. "If it was easssy, the Great Hunt wouldn''t be fun." Nuru shrugged her shoulders. John rolled his eyes at Nuru''s comment. He checked his Spitfire Assault Rifle, looked at white pistol in the holster, and then glanced at the Dark Wraith dagger in the sheath. He was ready. After checking himself, he looked at Nuru. She was casually standing there with the spear in her hands. Her whole demeanor was calm and serene, like this battle was just like all the others. "How you suggest we to do this?" John asked for advice. "I think isss for bessst if you maintain your distance and keep the attention of the Ixodoom in you while I deal with the Ixolingsss." "Alright." John looked into his PIPS and counted his Spitfire ammunition. Once he saw that he had more than enough, he nodded in acknowledgement of Nuru''s suggestion. He raised his gun aimed at the Ixodoom''s eyes.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. *Bang* The bullet travelled the whole distance in a blink of an eye and reached the target. *Clang* *ROARRRRR* The bullet ricocheted after hitting right in the eye, even though John failed his initial intent of making the creature blind in one eye, he at least managed to enrage it. "I have his attention, good luck to you." John said while he placed the rifle on his back and started to climb the nearest tree. "I think you''re going to need more than me..." Nuru said in a low voice while she bent her knee and waited for John to attract the creature far enough for her to engage in a fight against the Ixolings. ... *Bang* John was currently jumping from tree to tree while using his white pistol, MX801S, to annoy the Ixodoom and keep it following him. *Crack* *ROARRRRR* Since the pistol is a Tier 3 weapon, it was capable of somewhat create a few holes in the Ixodoom''s shell, but it didn''t have enough power to fully penetrate a Tier 4 creature''s natural armor. The creature ignore the faint dent created by the bullet in the shell of the head, where John aimed his gun, and just kept going forward while following John with its eyes glowing with killing intent, knocking off everything on the way, trees, monsters. It was clearly enraged by John, enraged at a strange level... Once he dragged the Ixodoom into a more open space, John finally stopped moving and faced the creature. The Ixodoom realized its'' prey stopped fleeing so it slowed down. John put away his pistol, and readied the rifle that was on his back. He calmly stared at the Ixodoom''s crimson eyes that were looking down at John. The creature started to slowly walk toward John. John kept his locked on the Ixodoom, while he secretly placed his left hand behind the back and reached for a specific object inside his PIPS. The moment the creature was close enough, John immediately threw the white cylinder object that was on his left hand toward the creature and placed his hand on his eyes. *Bang* With a small explosion, a strong and fast flash illuminated the whole place and disappeared as soon as it appeared. *ROARRRRRRRRRRR* The creature roared in pain as it futilely tried to close the eyes to recover the sight. What John threw at the Ixodoom wasn''t a simple object, but rather a Flashbang left behind at the ship by Lenny. With the Ixodoom temporarily blind, John started to take action. He retrieved the Grappling Hook from his PIPS. *Bang* He aimed at the creature and shot the hook. Soon enough he was able stand on the creature''s back. John took the Spitfire Assault Rifle and aimed at the beige shell. *Bang, bang, bang...* With the trigger fully pressed, the gun sent a flurry of bullets at its target, making a huge hole in the shell that was able to see the red flesh at the other side. *ROAR* The Ixodoom wasn''t so happy to being injured right after with so much difficulty it was able have its sight back. It started to sway and move around with abrupt movements, trying to shake John off. John retrieved the Dark Wraith and pierced the shell. This enabled him to maintain his foothold on top of the Ixodoom. With one hand occupied in keeping him on the Ixodoom, he used his other hand to retrieve another grenade from his PIPS. This time, the grenade was colored red and not white like the Flashbang. He stuck the grenade in the fast closing hole that he just created and jumped out from the Ixodoom''s back. *BOOMMM!* *ROARRRRR* The grenade exploded with a loud noise, sending shards of the shell and flames up in the air. This time John used a Incendiary Grenade to put flames right inside the shell. *ROAR* The Ixodoom let out roars of pain as it tried to move around more frantically, but it was still unsuccessful in erasing the growing flames on its back. John retreated to a safe distance and observed the situation. He knew this wasn''t enough to bring down such creature, so he still waited by the side and tried to think in more plans to decisively take down the Ixodoom. The Great Hunt (20) After a few seconds of struggle, the fire caused by the inflammable substance inside the Incendiary Grenade, was gone and the Ixodoom was completely enraged by John now. It charged at John in the second the pain on its back stopped. The creature wanted nothing more than kill the little human that dared to hurt it at such extent. John did successively jumps to the side wanting to dodge the incoming charge. *Whoosh* The charge he was able avert, but... *Bam* "Puh...." John was sent flying spraying a mouthful of blood by the Ixodoom''s scythe that moved at a blinding speed. *Bam* "*Cough*..." John coughed more blood as he had hit a tree bark. *Splash* His head was dizzy and his body momentarily weak. He fell directly on the small pound of water that was beneath the tree. The attack came out too sudden that he didn''t have the time to even think of activating the Barrier Tech that he has. He didn''t even had the chance to recover himself when he felt his senses tingling, warning of the impending danger. Gritting his teeth, he recovered some strength and rolled to the side. *Splat* In the place where he just have been, there nothing more than a small crater that was soon filled with water from pound. The Ixodoom''s acid that made the crater, proved its strength. If the green ball of acid had managed to hit John, he would be just a pound of melted flesh and bones by now. Cold sweat dripped from his back as he thought of the possible sad ending if he wasn''t fast enough to roll. He cleaned the corner of his mouth that had blood dripping from it and grimly looked at the Ixodoom that appeared to be preparing itself to do something. [Nuru...where are you?] John thought while he struggled to keep himself on his feet. The armor on his chest has a huge, deep, diagonal slash mark on it, caused by the Ixodoom''s scythe.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Before he could properly stand, John saw that the Ixodoom had spit a ball of green liquid toward him. He was having difficulty to even stand, so he had no other choice than using the Tech Ability. *Tsssshh* The moment the ball of acid was about to his John, a dome of that looked to be made of transparent blue glass appeared around John. John''s PIPS was able to store up to 300 UE, together with his Scavenger''s Set of Armor, which in total provide 900 UE of storage, he had a total of 1200 UE that he could use. To activate the Barrier Tech Ability he had to pay a initial price of 100 UE to form the forcefield. The acid was blocked by the forcefield, further dropping John''s UE to only 900 UE, from the previous 1100 UE that he had after using 100 to activate the shield. *Swish* But it was in this moment that a string of web suddenly was shot from the Ixodoom and had John''s Barrier. *Bam* The attack didn''t dropped a lot his UE, but it still sent John flying backward until he smashed into a tree once again. Even though the Barrier protected him from direct harm of the web and also from hitting the tree, he still was dizzy for a moment after smashing on the tree, before he recovered and tried to get out from the tree because he saw that the Ixodoom had start to charge at him. "Huh?" But John soon realised how sticky and strong was the web. He tried to move from the place with the Barrier still activated, but he was stuck on place. John struggled to get out of the web, unfortunately all his efforts were in vain. The web had completely covered the Barrier, once John deactivate the forcefield, the web would fall on top of him. He was also unable of cutting it with the dagger from the inside since the Barrier Tech Ability completely isolate the person from any contact with the exterior. In other words, it was impossible to shoot a gun from the inside and hit something on the other side without first putting the shield down. John was on a tense situation now. His mind worked overclock trying to think of a solution. He looked up and saw the Ixodoom picking up speed and charging directly at him. "Fuck!" John cursed out loud. Bullet Time John decided to use the power to give himself more time to think at how to deal the situation he found himself into. He didn''t know how strong was the web and neither if he deactivate the shield he would be able to cut it open. There was a risk, but John decided to try it out. He unsheathed the dagger and deactivated the forcefield. As the forcefield disappeared, the web started to fall upon John. *Swish* John slashed with his dagger using his full strength, trying to cut the white, sticky, web. The dagger cut the web with somewhat difficulty, but John was still successful. He was about to leave his position when he saw that the Ixodoom was already right before him, charging with full force. "Shi-" *BAM* John was hit by the charge, but just before he was sent flying, he was able to activate the Barrier Tech Ability once again. *Crack* But that didn''t worked up well enough. The strength behind the Ixodoom''s scythes slashed at the Barrier and completely broke it into shards. John was able to fall on the ground, on his knees, but at least better than being burried into another free trunk. He gasped for breath as he swiftly glanced at the PIPS. His entire UE storage was used up to protect his life from that charge. *Roar* The Ixodoom roared to the sky and stared at John that was already somewhat weakened. *Boom!!!* The monster was about to spit another ball of acid when it was hit by something that exploded right into its face. *ROARRRRRRR!!!!!* The creature howled in extreme pain. "What the..." Once the smoke that came with explosion vanished, John was able to see the gaping hole that was made in the middle of the head''s shell. The Great Hunt (21) "Good, you''re ssstill alive." Nuru casually appeared behind John, scaring him a little. "I thought you would have been dead by now, you''re ssstronger than I initially thought." Nuru said a joking way with a wide grin. She extended her hand toward John, willing to help him get up. "Thanks for the compliment, I think..." John grasped her hand and stood up. "How did you managed to open up that hole?" John scanned Nuru''s body up and down, and he didn''t saw anything that could be used to cause such explosion, there was no Rocket Launcher, grenade, etc, visible, she was only with the spear in her hands. "It''sss a little trick, take a look." Nuru smiled and pointed at the spearhead. She slightly shook the spear and at the same time a small sphere, seemingly made of energy, appeared in there. The blue energy ball quietly hovered over the green and brown spear, it didn''t seem to menacing, but John that was to it could feel the power within it. "It''s...your spear?" John asked, unsure if his guess was right. It could be something in the spear, a new Tech Ability, or something like what Peri showed him before. "Yes, you are right. This is my ssspear''sss Ssspecial Ability, Energy Bomb, but I don''t think we have time to discuss about this now." Nuru pointed at the Ixodoom that have recovered itself from the pain and dizziness cause by Nuru''s Energy Bomb. The Ixodoom instantly ignored John and stared at Nuru with its eyes filled with rage. "Looksss like I have his attention." Nuru calmly spoke to John, "While I keep hisss attention in myssself you need to go and attack the openingsss that I''m going to make in itsss ssshell. I can''t repeatedly ussde the Ssspecial Ability one after the other. I also am using a close range weapon. Before I can even fire another Energy Bomb, his ssshell would have ressstored. It''sss your job to caussse irreparable wounds into the flesssh of the holesss that I''m going to make. If we keep with thisss ssstrategy I think we might end thisss rather fassst." "Alright..." John nodded as he agreed with the plan she suggested. With a simple motion the Spitfire Assault Rifle appeared once again in his hand. As they readied themselves, the Ixodoom started to charge at them. John took another Flashbang, the white grenade, and threw at the Ixodoom.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. *Bam* With a muffled explosion and a bright flash, the Ixodoom was once again blinded by a Flashbang. The creature stopped the charge instinctively, and stayed put. It didn''t start to roar and madly move around like before, it stood in the place and cautiously listened to the surroundings. It clearly learned from the previous lesson. Nuru positioned herself in a safes distance and swung her spear, sending the cracking energy ball at the Ixodoom. *BOOM* *ROARRRRR!!!!* The creature roared in pain and anger as it started to erratically move around. John focused his eyes at the Ixodoom and waited to the opportunity to fire at the the crater that was created in the monster''s forehead. Bullet Time. Using his ability he was able to lift his rifle and focus at the creature through his gun''s iron sights. Once the opportunity presented itself to John, he held his breath, his eyes sharpened, and his finger firmly pressed the trigger, sending a barrage of fire. *Bang, bang, bang...* *ROARRRRR!!!!!* The Ixodoom roared again in agony as the bullets penetrated deep into his flesh, spraying huge amount of blood everywhere. The recoil of weapon was big and so after about 10 bullets from the 50 that were on the megazine, John had to stop and reposition the weapon again. He tried to open fire again, but the creature turned its head to the side, obstructing his sight of the hole made by Nuru. "Damnit, this isn''t going to work..." John cursed under his breath. Even though he was able to land a solid 10 bullets in the Ixodoom''s flesh, the amount of real damage dealt was way too small. John needed something with way more power to deal serious damage at the creature, a few small projectiles wouldn''t be so effective as he thought. He looked at Nuru and saw that she was also frowning. "I have a plan." John said as his eyes flashed with determination. "Alright, what I have to do?" She asked while keeping her eyes glued at the Ixodoom that was still roaring in agony. "You just need to throw another Energy Bomb at its head. I think I might be able to kill it." Once he spoke until there, Nuru switched her sight from the Ixodoom to John. Her eyebrow slightly lifted and she stared with uncertainty at him, but she still nodded at the end, she was without a plan as well to deal with such troublesome beast. "We have do it fast. When your ability recharge, and you have a clear aim, send another Energy Bomb in the Ixodoom''s head." John said with a serious tone while he stored his rifle back at the PIPS, and retrieved only a Grappling Hook and a grenade with a slight yellow coloration. "What are you planning to do? I think we could ssswitch placesss, you fire up the Energy Bomb while I do what you want." She suggested when she realized caught wind of the uncertainty in John''s undertone. "That won''t work." John shook his and spoke, "I have already dried up my UE by trying to stay alive." "That''sss a problem then. I only have UE for another ssshot. It would take sssome time until I have enough for another ssshot." Nuru said calmly and in a light tone, but John couldn''t help but tense up when he heard her statement. He was uncertain if his plan would work, and even more uncertain that he was in a physical condition to do so in the moment. There was only one chance, they probably could run away if they fail, but Ixodoom are know to be very vengeful creatures that would hunt their offender doesn''t matter the price. They are fast enough to outrun the creature for a time, but they would eventually get tired while the Ixodoom would have energy to spare. His hand over the Grappling Hook tightened and slightly shuddered. The Great Hunt (22) The Ixodoom soon recovered from the injuries caused by John and Nuru. The creature didn''t turn around to face John again, but rather lifted its head to the sky and stood in that position for a while. "What''s it doing?" John frowned his eyebrows at the sight. He looked at the side and asked Nuru, "Can you use it already?" "No." She shook her head. "In just a few seconds I''ll be able to use it." "Okay..." When John glanced over the Ixodoom once again he realized that he was able to hear a faint rumbling noise coming from inside the creature. He squinted his eyes and tried to see anything different from the outside, but it was unnecessary because he was about to understand what was happening. *Plop* With a strange strange sound, the creature spat a giant ball made of green acid up in the air. "What the-" *Boom* John wasn''t able to finish exclaiming when he saw the ball exploding and sending droplets of acid everywhere like it was raining. One look at the sky and John was able to see that the whole area around him, Nuru and Ixodoom had begun raining this extremely corrosive acid. "It''sss recharged!" Nuru shouted from beside him. "I''m going in, send the Energy Bomb at the head!" John bent his knees and sprang forward with all his strength. Bullet Time. By activating his power he was now able to somewhat predict where the droplets of acid would fall and so he could choose the path which had the least amount of acid. As he ran forward, twisting and turning his body, he heard the sound of cracking coming behind him. He was sure that it was Nuru, she had already begun charging the Energy Bomb. Without turning his back he continued running with the Grappling Hook in his hand. The creature had already lowered its head and turned around, hoping to see both John and Nuru as nothing more than a pound of melted flesh. But the Ixodoom''s eyes enlarged as it watched another blue ball made of condensed energy fastly approached its'' head. *Bang* *BOOMMM!* As soon as the energy ball touched the surface of the Ixodoom''s shell, it instantly exploded, opening a gaping hole in the shell located in the head. The acid rain was unable to stop John, while he was hit by a few drops of acid, he didn''t suffer any severe wound. With a quick draw, John aimed at the Ixodoom''s head and shot the hook a second before the explosion occurred. *ROARRRRR!!!!!* Just as the hook inserted in the shell, the creature once again roared in pain and anger and started to run around, destroying the tree on the way. John was dragged around by the Ixodoom until he had the time to press the other trigger of the Grappling Hook and make him ascend to the creature. He had to be fast, the creature''s healing ability was superb and he had to get to the place of the injury before it''s completely healed. *Bam* While the creature was desperately moving around in pain, John was sent directly in one of the towering trees. He coughed a mouthful of blood as the impact was way too strong and heavy, but he kept his grip over the Grappling Hook tight. His vision was slightly blurred and dark, his hand and body shuddered in pain. However, he kept ascending over the Ixodoom. Old and new injuries were flaring up, making the pain almost unbearable. Even though adrenaline has made some of the pain bearable, now it was starting to lose its effects. Such hormone has a limit at how much pain it could contain, and now this limit has been surpassed.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Realizing that he wouldn''t be able to have a smooth landing, he stored the grenade it was on his hand, unsheathed his dagger and prepared for impact as he got closer to the creature''s head. *Blam* His body slammed at the hard surface of the creature''s shell. At the same moment his body slammed at the shell, he used the dagger on his hand to pierce into the shell, this way he would fall over from where he was. The wind howled at his years as he felt the centripetal force trying to send him away flying from the random and violent movements that the Ixodoom was doing. Even with the burning pain spreading throughout his body he started to climb the head of the creature towards the opening created by Nuru. Just when he was about the charred crater made by the Energy Bomb, the Ixodoom felt John''s presence on its head, and so it started shaking the head violently trying to send John away. John kept his hand tight over the dagger''s handle and stood rooted by his target. Since it was of no use anymore, he stored the Grappling Hook back at the PIPS and took out the yellow grenade. While keeping one hand over the dagger, he took the grenade with his other hand. He slowly climbed upward, while using his full strength to keep himself to being thrown off by the violent turns made by the creature. Once he was by the crater made by Nuru, he saw that it had already healed about 30% of the shell. Without losing too much time, kept his dagger pierced on the shell with one hand and raised the hand that was grasping the grenade. "HAHHH!" John summoned his strength and swung down his arm with everything he had, completely ignoring the pain in his whole body. In this exact moment, John felt stronger than he ever felt before. The blood in his vein circulate faster, the muscle in his arm completely bulged. He felt his strength increasing as his arm descended. *Boom!* Blood sprayed all over John''s body after his hand opened a deep hole into the Ixodoom''s flesh. *ROARRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!* This time the roar was so loud that even some of the trees that were left standing swayed after being hit by the sound waves. John immediately retrieved his Grappling Hook and aimed at the nearest tree. *Bang* The moment it hooked on the tree John jumped out from the maddened beast that was still painfully roaring. Just as he jumped, John saw one of the creature''s scythes coming toward him. In the air, there was nothing John could do to actually dodge the incoming attack. The deadly scythe was fastly approaching, and it was about to cut John in half... "*Roar*" With a loud warcry Nuru jumped and entered between the scythe and John. She skillfully wielded the spear in her hand and thrust toward the incoming Ixodoom''s slash. *CLANG!!!* "*Puh*..." Nuru was sent flying backward while spraying a mouthful of blood after the clash between both forces. While Nuru''s attack didn''t manage to damage in the scythe, she was strong enough to change the direction of the Ixodoom''s limb and save John from certain death. "Nuru!!!!" John shouted as he couldn''t do anything besides watch as she disappeared from his line of sight between the lush trees. Once he landed on the tree the first thing he did was to run in the direction Nuru was sent flying, he ignored the terrible pain and bleeding coming from his uncountable wounds all over his body. The Ixodoom was about to madly chase behind John when it realized that there was something inside its huge wound created by John. John looked back at the creature. *Tic* With a low pin noise, the timer of the grenade inside the Ixodoom''s head came to zero. *BOOOOOMMMM!!!!!* Blood and flesh pieces were sent high in the air with the explosion that occurred on the creature''s head. John gave one last look at the corpse that had its brain blow up before resuming his ran toward Nuru. "Hm?" John suddenly forced himself to come to a halt when he started to feel an extremely painful burning sensation on the back of his right hand. "Are you alright?" Nuru walked out from a bush while holding her right arm that was completely bloodied and clearly broken. With one look at Nuru and John was certain that even though her life wasn''t at risk, her injuries were very serious. "You shouldn''t worry about me look at yourself." "I''m fine, thisss isss jussst sssome flesssh woundsss." Nuru cleaned the blood away from her mouth and approached John. "Well at least- ARGHHHH!!!!" John was about to speak something the pain in his hand intensified to an insane degree and started to spread throughout his entire body mainly his head. He felt like there was something grabbing his brain and squeezing it tightly. "What happened?" Nuru panicked and got closer, but John fell on the ground while loudly groaning in pain before she could hold him. "AHHHHH!!!!" John''s eyes flared opened and he looked at his hand. A few burning marks slowly started to appear in his hand. But more than that. He was able to see those same blue particles that he had seen before with Peri, but this time the particles were coming directly from the Ixodoom''s body and entering inside his body through the mark that slowly being formed in hand. With difficulty, he turned his head to look at Nuru. Her mouth was opening and closing, but he was unable to hear a single thing besides the buzzing noise. It was way too pain the whole process. John couldn''t handle it and after a few minutes, he immediately fell unconscious. ... "Hmmm?" A lonesome figure exclaimed while lifting its head to look at the endless black sky. This figure was on the rooftop of the Shopping Complex in the Ark Outpost. There was a lot of Hylotl guards walking around but none of them seemed to see this figure completely clad in a purple rode that covered its entire body. The only thing that could bee see was its crimson two eyes that shone with intensity. "A disturbance in the universe..." The figure whispered with a deep and ethereal voice. "It doesn''t seem to be another survivor of one the Ancient Challenges...what could this be...? Maybe another Dimensional Rift? No, this happened way too close and not beyond the Frontier..." The figure started to think of what could have caused the disturbance that he felt. "It doesn''t matter...maybe this could be an opportunity. I was doubting that the people would be able to destroy the Ruin once for all, but now..with the help of this person, maybe it can be possible." His eyes gleamed with a powerful red light directed at the black sky like he was wanting to pierce through it and see beyond. "Hahahahahaha... It looks like things are about to get interesting." The figure loudly laughed and the Hylotl guards continued to carry their duties without even realizing that there was laughing in the middle of the rooftop, just by their side. Traitor (1) The frosty wind howled drifted with the snow in the surface of an Arctic Planet. In the middle of the completely white planet, a single wooden house could be seen far in the horizon. The lights of the rooms were turned on, and in the outside of the house, multiple vehicles could be seen parked just outside the house. There was some big Mechs, Hoverbikes and a singular Space shuttle. Voices could be heard coming from inside the wooden house that was strong enough to withstand the howling winds. Hurried footsteps walked around, stomping on the floor with their heavy boots, coming and going from the first floor to the second one. "Sir..." A Nova Rebellion soldier approached a red-haired young man wearing glasses that was on the fluffy couch made of some kind of animal''s fur. His seating position was completely casual and relaxedly like there was nothing that could perturb him. "Yes?" He responded to the soldier that called out for him, his voice was dragged, and somewhat sleepy. He turned around faced the soldier. It was a handsome red-haired young man, Jevil. He was wearing a complete black suit with a red tie that matched his hair color. In his hand, there was a small cup of glass filled with wine that he would from time to time sip a little. "We...we couldn''t find her..." The soldier said slowly and in a low tone, afraid to perturb Jevil any longer. His voice slightly trembled as he spoke, "The equipment she used to hack our base had been uncovered, but they were all destroyed. All evidences had been completely...wiped out." Jevil closed his eyes and rested his head the back of the couch. "This isn''t good news..." He said with a small smile on his face. He turned around and faced the twenty guards he brought to him in this mission. "You can all stop now. There''s nothing we can do..." Jevil helplessly sighed and drank a mouthful of wine. "Arianne...TBug..." He mumbled some names under his breath. "Looks like Ferris was one step ahead of me this time. I never thought the notorious hacker TBug was in fact Arianne, an important pawn for Ferris." The soldier worriedly glanced at Jevil. All them knew the consequences of the hacker escaping. They would probably all die in the next few days, but they weren''t worried about their own lives, they were worried about Jevil''s life.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. They were loyal soldiers, trained since birth by the Nova Rebellion to be fully dedicated to their cause. All them were wearing the signature lightweight armors with the signature blue and green coloration while carrying Maliwan elemental weapons across their chests. Between the twenty of the soldiers, only two were humans, the other ones came from all the other sentient races, Floran, Apex, Hylotl, Glitch, Novakid, and Avian. The Nova Rebellion had open doors to whoever was unsatisfied with the political situation of the universe. Most Avians that joined them want nothing more than to destroy the Holy Kluex Church that reign over the Avians people for thousands of years. The Apexes joined wanting to free their race from the dictator Big Ape and the authoritarian thought control of the Miniknog. The Florans left their tribe to experience life outside those closed society of theirs, they wanted more than just be a strong warrior. The Hylotl wanted to leave their country that was under political strife and experience something bigger, to travel around the universe to collect more knowledge. The Glitches that joined the Rebellion were banned from their kingdoms after they started to show some more liberal and democratic views. And the Novakids, well...mostly joined just for the fun of it. Each person in the Rebellion wants to see a different world, a different place. It is worst than the one they had currently, but they wanted changes, it doesn''t matter what kind of change. And to achieve those objectives they were more than willing to give up on their lives to protect people that could help them change the world, and Jevil was one of them. Jevil was way more important than all of their lives combined. So, they were already thinking of a way to let Jevil leave alive and return to the headquarters, even if it means to sacrifice themselves. "She really wants to end me..." Jevil''s lips moved upwards into a thin smile. *Blam* "Master Jevil!!!" A soldier hurriedly charged into the house while heavily knocking the door on his way. "..." Jevil frowned in displeasure when he saw the noisy soldier. The other ones in the house switched their eyesight and stared at the newcomer with displeasure and anger. The young soldier broke in cold sweat as he felt the pointy glares fixated on his body. He swallowed hard and spoke with some difficulty, "We are just receiving a request for a private call... it''s Ferris Laparte." Jevil''s eyebrows jumped when he heard what the soldier had to say. "Patch it through." He lazily said. After the initial surprise, Jevil quickly recovered himself and spoke. [She probably want to gloat at my defeat in her hands...] Jevil thought about it and was only able to come to this conclusion. One of the soldiers at Jevil''s side nodded and took a small cubic object from his PIPS and placed in the middle of the room, facing Jevil. After the object was in position, Jevil inched closer and clicked to accept the call on the floating screen of his PIPS. A small hole opened on the top of the cube and from that dark hole rays of blue light exploded out from there and slowly formed some images. It took a few seconds for the light to stop flickering and stabilize. The cubic object was nothing more than an advanced projector, it had better image and security quality than the usual PIPS everybody use. These projectors were used to make hard for hackers to find their way into someone else''s PIPS and thus steal confidential information. With the stabilization of the call, the hologram showed a single beautiful woman. She was Ferris Laparte. Traitor (2) Jevil never expected that when he tried to open the documents inside the device that was in Oscar''s briefcase, the briefcase he took from Lenny''s hand when John and Lenny helped Peri save the young Florans from the Syndicate''s clutches, his terminal would be silently infected as soon as the device entered inside the computer by a malware created to the hacker known as T-Bug. His carelessness placed him on the tight spot he was now. T-Bug easily dug up private messages between him and Nova Rebellion people once it was infected. Now having to face Ferris Laparte that outsmarted him, he wasn''t happy, but still maintained a calm demeanor. "Oh!" Ferris exclaimed with a small, playful smile hanging on her charming lips. "Why all these soldiers, Jevil?" "Why don''t we go directly to the point, Miss Laparte?" Jevil said faintly with squinting his eyes into two slits. "What do you want?" "This reminds me of our past, doesn''t it?" Her smile widened a bit when she saw the impatient Jevil. She decided to tease him a little and beat around the bush to make him a little more anxious. "Our past..." Jevil''s eyes lost focus for a moment as he reminded of the past. "Isn''t this what we always did to each other? Tricking, doing favors and ultimately trying to destroy one another." Jevil lightly chuckled. "Yes, but this time, looks like I won." Ferris smiled triumphantly. "Are you sure about this?" Jevil casually supported his head with his hand. "Maybe this whole situation is all part of my plan." "I don''t think so, Jevil." She stood unfazed in the face of the possibility of her falling into some of his plans. "You are a madman, but I don''t think you are this insane to put your life at stake just for a measly plan. You know very well how Letheia Corporation deal with traitors such as yourself." "Of course, I know." Jevil just smiled and maintained a calm behavior. "After all, I have personally dealt with some traitors for them." Jevil threw a glance at Ferris''s hologram above the cubic object. "So...why did you call? I don''t think you would waste your precious time just to shove your supposed victory at my face, right?" "You really know me well." Ferris''s eyes flashed with some unknown emotions before she calmed down and spoke, "Yes, you are correct. I don''t plan to my time with such useless action. My objective is very simple. I want you." "...what the...? Jevil''s had a stunned expression on his face, and he almost fell from the couch he was sitting. He thought he misheard her and wanted to ask again, but Ferris spoke before him. "I want you, your talents. I lack good subordinates that understand me, is good with negotiations and social interactions." "Oh, Ferris...you know me well enough to know that I would never accept such a proposition." Once he recovered his calm, Jevil let loose a low laugh before he finished talking, "I work for no one but myself."You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. "Really?" Ferris''s eyebrow slightly lifted and she charmingly smiled, "What about Husk? Aren''t you working for the Nova Rebellion''s leader?" "It''s different. We are helping each other, I help him with his goals, and he helps me with my own goals. Although our objectives are similar, it has some differences. I don''t work for him. We are partners." "For Letheia Corporation is all the same, partner, slave, lover, soldier, or spy. You are a traitor, in their eyes, and that''s more than enough for them to eliminate you." Ferris said seriously before asking in a more persuasive tone, "Why don''t stop being so stubborn and join me? I can convince the Ocean, and Reef Factions agree not to have you killed. It might not appear, but I have a certain influence over the Reef Faction. Of course you will suffer a little, but nonetheless-" Jevil laughed and waved his hand to interrupt Ferris. "I''m sorry, but there is no turning back to me...not anymore. I''m way too involved with the Nova Rebellion. It''s impossible to turn my back on them." "Really?" Ferris glared at Jevil then at the soldier around him. She was able to see that the moment she extended her hand to Jevil, those soldiers'' grip over their weapons tightened, and they changed their line of sight from her to Jevil. They also wanted to know how Jevil would respond to such situation, and depending on his answer...they would have killed him. "That''s a shame...I really wanted to work together with you." Ferris sadly smiled. She thought her plan would work, and Jevil would die by the hands of the soldiers, but it didn''t go well. If Jevil survived the assault by his own soldiers, she would take him to her side. It would be a waste not to use such talented man. Ferris cleaned up those thoughts after seeing that her plan didn''t work. She looked at Jevil and said, "I already gave the information to Letheia Corporation, and the Sumeragi family had immediately sent someone to capture you, alive. They sent someone that you are rather familiar with, Sumeragi Itsuki. Be careful. She is a lot more powerful and ruthless than she shows in the surface. Good luck, Jevil Redhook." With those words, Ferris turned off the call. Jevil silently stared at the Hologram Projector, the cubic device on top of the table. He turned around, stared at the soldiers, "What you guys think?" "We should get out of this place immediately." One of the soldiers said respectfully. He started to respect the young even more after hearing the conversation and seeing him standing with their cause without a single moment of hesitation. All the soldiers around him were the same. "They want me alive..." Jevil scratched his chin thoughtfully before touching his PIPS and dialing a number. Soon enough, the call connected. This time there was no hologram but just a voice chat between Jevil and the person on the other side. "Jevil..." The voice was seemly belonged to a middle-aged person, somewhere around 50 to 60 years old. It was a low, masculine, and strong voice, and it had a lot of authority behind it. "Husk, my friend." Jevil smiled and greeted the person warmly like there was nothing wrong. "Did something happen? You seem a little off." "My insiders in the Letheia Corporation already caught wind of the situation and informed me that you had been uncovered by that girl, Ferris Laparte." "Just a minor setback don''t worry too much. This won''t affect the overall plan. We just need to accelerate it even further." "So be it. Just don''t get caught, or else...I won''t have another choice." Husk said emotionlessly. "I can''t have you giving away some of our secrets. You know too much-" "Don''t worry, Husk. I still have a plan. I just need more time, trust me." "..." There was no voice coming from the other side for a few seconds before Husk asked Jevil, "How much time are we talking about?" "One week, in one week I think I can have everything sorted out, I just need the ''Fortitude'' to be given to our primary agent inside the Black Star Syndicate, I''ll give him instructions of how to act." "...one week. You have one week to sort this out if you are unable to do it. I think you know very well what happens to those who disappoint me..." Husk said threateningly. *Beep* And just like that, the conversation was over. Traitor (3) "Whatever." Jevil shrugged his shoulders and dialed another number on his PIPS. "Hey Jevil, you messed up really hard this time." Jevil''s lips twitched once he heard the playful tone belonging to the young person on the other side. "Let''s just get to business, Jason. I don''t have too much time now." The blonde young man, whose name was Jason, on the other side of the line smiled in response to Jevil. (Jason''s first and only appearance was on the chapter 70, "The Floran Colony (22)") "I talked with Husk, and we are going to accelerate the plan. You have one week to take full control of the Black Star Syndicate." Jevil said with a severe tone. "I trust you. Don''t fail me, Jason." "You worry too much." Jason lazily spoke, "One week is more than enough. I''m more worried about your side, Jevil. How are you going to do your part if you get killed or arrested by Letheia Corporation?" "It''s not a problem. I have a plan now. Husk will give you control over ''Fortitude,'' someone inside the crew will give you the instructions of what to do." "Alright, but what about Dreadwing? Won''t he be a better choice to use ''Fortitude''?" "That penguin? He''s useless and coward. I''m more than 90% sure that he already jumped ships and fully joined Letheia Corporation as soon as he caught wind of my situation. Never trust a penguin, I learned these words in the hard way." "Okay, I guess we are going to contact each other in a few days then." "Yes, everything is going to be okay. The plans might have changed a little bit, but everything is still on the rails. That was all." "I''ll be taking my leave." With that, Jason turned off the call between him and Jevil. "Fuuu..." Jevil softly sighed as he rested his head at the couch. He closed his eyes as he thought about the plan he had come up. It was a complete mad plan, the plan he came up with. To complete his plan, he would have to bet his own life. This wasn''t something he would do without being forced to do it. He neglected the threat known as Ferris Laparte for far too long, and this led him to fall in one of her plans to get rid of him. [Next time...] Jevil''s slowly opened his eyes. [Next time I''m going to kill you, Ferris. Severe our ties, our past, once for all.]If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. *BOOM* A loud explosion broke the silence on the peaceful wooden house. "What was that?" The soldiers clamored and started to go the windows and stare at the sky, where the sound came. "*Tzzz* we...*Tzzz* under...*Tzzz* attack!!!" From the static noise coming from Jevil''s PIPS, he pieced up together what the other side wanted to say. They were under attack. Their ships on the planet''s orbit were being destroyed by an unknown enemy. [They are already here...] Jevil glared at the ceiling. His lips slowly turned upwards, forming a cold smile. [All the pieces have fallen into the chessboard. Now I just need someone to make the first move, and the game is going to start. They are going to destroy each other, and the whole universe is going to fall into a chaotic period. If they are hesitant to make the first move, I have no other choice but force them to make a move.] Jevil chuckled alone in the couch. The soldiers didn''t hear him because they were by the window watching as a few more explosions happened in the sky. Jevil realized that his soldiers were dumbfounded by what was happening and shouted at them, "What are you doing!? Get in position, ready your weapons. They are coming here to kill us. If we don''t fight back, we are dead." His shout awakened the soldiers. They saluted Jevil and acknowledged their orders. "YES, SIR." They shouted in unison. With that, they hastily left the house, and 10 of the 20 soldiers entered into their respective mechs. The giant robots looked menacing with their 4 meter high bodies, the giant sword in their back and the weapons crossed on their chest. The mechs matched with the colors in the soldiers'' armors, the mixture of blue and green. The remaining 10 soldiers used the other vehicles to create some barricade and hid behind it. They readied their most potent weapons and equipment for this moment. Since they are fighting for survival, they would use everything they could. Jevil slowly walked out of the house and tried to beam up to his ship. But, unsurprisingly, it didn''t work. It appeared a giant red message window that showed the words, "No Signal." Jevil was sure now that the enemies were close to his ship by far and that they were carrying a Teleport Signal Jammer with them, and they probably also had an FTL Warp Jammer. "Well..." Jevil lifted his glasses and looked at the skies. "Let''s see what they got..." The whole place around the house was freezing cold, the temperature on the planet''s surface was about -70 degree Celsius. Even in this cold environment, the soldiers and Jevil looked unperturbed by the low temperature. That''s because all of them had a Heat Protection Mod in their armors and clothes. This modification on armor creates a fine layer around the piece of armor that stop the exchange of heat between the outside of the sheet with the inside, thus allowing them to survive in extremely hot and cold environments easily. As long as they kept feeding UE into the Mod on the armor, the protective layer would remain working, but as soon as the UE ran out, the layer would disappear and expose the person to the environment. Jevil calmly accompanied the approaching vehicles coming from the sky with his eyes. The aircrafts that were hovering above the house had their lights turned on to enable them to see in the dim surface since almost always the planet was covered in gray clouds and kept snowing the whole time. Jevil''s black eyes glimmered with an unknown light when he saw the Sumeragi clan''s symbol on the aircrafts. "So it really is them coming for me." Jevil chuckled. He knew that from all the three factions, the one that wanted him the most was the Sumeragi family. He was, after all, a person hired by them. Now that word about his betrayal spread, their image would surely be somewhat tainted, they would also lose some power over the Hylotl government. They had finally earned some advantage over the Reef Faction after the whole Tepei mess, but they lost the advantage and even more after Jevil''s betrayal. Traitor (4) Of the five aircrafts that descended from the sky, only two of them landed on the planet. The other three kept hovering just above Jevil, his soldiers and the house. Accompanying the aircrafts, 15 mechs also landed heavily on the ground, throwing vast amount of snow up in the air. All the vehicles were colored entirely in red and white, just like the logo of the corporation, and also fully weaponized. The mechs on both side were made of Titanium, Tier 3 armory. It was way expensive to make a lot of mechs made of Durasteel, so they usually made of Titanium that is easier to find and extract, and thus a lot cheaper. Of course, to maintain a certain degree of safety, the mechs were built with some more layers of the metal, and they also had forcefield around them. The mechs were fueled by batteries made of Core Fragments, which is the best energy source beside Erchius liquid and Erchius crystal. On the aircrafts hovering, there was turrets, missile launchers, and lasers, all aiming at Jevil and his soldiers. The mechs were using almost the same weapons the Nova Rebellion''s mechs were using, a medium to long-range weapon, a side firearm and a gun for close-range. They stood straight right in front of one of the aircraft that had landed. Their weapons were raised and ready to fire at anyone in Jevil''s side that would make any suspicious move. Jevil calmly watched as all this happened with a small smile on his face. His soldiers, on the other hand, had their backs filled with cold sweat. They were living beings and as such afraid of death. But they knew their mission, to protect Jevil, even if it means to throw away their lives. So, they kept their position and ready to fight. If they were going to die, they would make sure to bring a few enemies with them down to hell. This was their mentality after they made up their mind and hardened their emotions and conviction. The door of the aircraft in the middle slowly opened. A row of armed soldiers wearing Tier 4 bulky armors made of Durasteel left the aircraft first and entered in position beside the door.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Different from the lightweight Tier 4 armor that was being worn by the Nova Rebellion''s soldiers, the one in the Letheia side was way stronger and resistant. From within the aircraft, a slim figure slowly walked out. It was a beautiful pale blue, female Hylotl. She was wearing an ornamental, white, leather armor that was tight on her slim body, and there was a sheathed katana on the left side of her waist. The Hylotl''s three, crimson eyes immediately focused on Jevil that was on the other side, behind the barricade that the Rebellion''s soldier created. "Itsuki, how are you on this beautiful day?" Jevil greeted her with a wide smile on his face. Itsuki''s three eyes gleamed with anger and coldness when she heard the way Jevil was speaking with her. "Who allowed you to call me by the name, traitor Jevil Redhook." She pronounced each word through her tightened lips. "Wahhh..." Jevil cowered behind on the soldiers and only peeked out with his head. "Why are you so angry~?" He said with a playful tone. Itsuki gnashed her teeth together. "You still have to ask? You surely know why I''m here." "Of course, I know. I just want to know how you will deal with this mess?" "Why would I tell you? I''m going to smash that annoying smile from your face first." "Not going to kill me? I''m glad to know." Jevil''s smile widened, and he flirtatiously winked, "Did you fell in love with me?" Itsuki''s eyes got a few degrees colder when she heard Jevil, "I''m going to rip your mouth and cut off your tongue." Such low provocation coming from Jevil wouldn''t work if Itsuki were in her usual self, but at the moment she filled with anger and shame since she was the one who hired Jevil and continuously had him promoted. The responsibility of him betraying the organization would partially fall upon her. Of course, Sumeragi Hanzo, her father, would deal with some of the criticism, but there was no way the Reef Faction would let the chance slip to use such event against Itsuki and the Central Faction. She was filled with anger right now, and thus, she didn''t realize the sly intentions hidden behind Jevil''s smile. "Don''t be so agressive." Jevil said in a playful tone while he played with his tie. "While I like a strong, independent woman, I dislike the forceful and unreasonable types." "Jevil..." Itsuki''s eyes grew colder after each word uttered by Jevil. "Just turn yourself in. Don''t make this harder than it has to be." "Turn me in?" Jevil madly laughed without restriction and spoke in a mocking tone, "I know very well what awaits me. It''s something worse than death; after all, I have dealt with traitors for the Letheia Corporation before. I know very well the treatment they received, even the more "VIP" treatment isn''t something that I''m willing to go through." Itsuki squinted her three eyes and spoke in a grave and cold tone, "Then I have no other choice but to take you by force." Her hand gripped the sheath of the sword, while the other hand went toward the katana''s handle. Jevil chuckled and retrieved two objects from his PIPS. It was two gauntlets, made of some red metal. As soon as he wore the gauntlets, they started to produce fire. It looked like Jevil''s hands were on fire, but his face was casual, and it didn''t seem like he was feeling the immense heat on his hands. His eyes glowed with an even stronger light than usual, his bright red hair swayed with the strong frosty wind, creating quite a contrast between him and the white surroundings. The moment Itsuki''s katana left the sheath, the ground around her started fastly freeze in solid ice and not snow. The air around her got several degrees colder. It was cold enough to freeze someone to death in a matter of seconds. Jevil''s blazing eyes locked with Itsuki''s freezing eyes. The pressure around the soldiers of both sides grew exponentially. Traitor (5) "Reiketsuna, huh." Jevil recognized the blade in Itsuki''s hands, "One of the Hylotl relics created by the legendary Glitch blacksmith, Hephaestus. Who would have thought the ice blade chose a little girl to use it." Jevil said in a playful tone, but deep inside, he was shocked to know that the Reiketsuna katana had chosen Itsuki to be its owner. He was able to see that the sword had recognized Itsuki as the owner because of the faint blue glow, and cold wind that surrounded the blade, and the wielder. "I''m more surprised than you." Itsuki eyes glued at the red gauntlets in Jevil''s hands. "To think that a little pirate such as yourself would also have one of Hephaestus'' weapons. If I''m not mistaken, yours should be Agni''s Hands, the ruler of fire''s gauntlets." Both looked at each other''s hands with a surprised expression. They were this surprised because the legendary Glitch blacksmith, Hephaestus, only created a few works on his lifespan, no one knew how many there were around the universe. Information about this person and his weapons were extremely confidential that only the top members of the most influential organizations in the world knew about the blacksmith. Some believe that Hephaestus wasn''t the real name of the blacksmith, but there was no way to confirm such speculation because of the mysteriousness surrounding such person that hid in the shadows while only releasing to the universe his top-notch pieces of work. The reason why people was able to identify the blacksmith as a Glitch was because most of his works were in the Privy Council''s hands, which is the government that controls most of the Glitch colonies and kingdoms. Only a few of his weapons were sold to outsiders, such as the Reiketsuna, the Hylotls bought that. The reason why everybody wanted such weapon was because of the quality and unique attributes attached to the items forged by the blacksmith. The most notable attribute was the fact that the weapons that he created would choose the owner, not the other way around. While anyone could wield his weapons, only the selected few would be able to release the true potential of his weapons. No one was able to understand why his weapons were so different and powerful, even after decades of research, not a single clue was found. Around Jevil, a fiery aura revolved around his body, melting the snow in the air and beneath his feet.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Steam slowly rose from the ground around him as the temperature suddenly rose. While on Itsuki''s side, spikes of ice grew from the ground, and frost winds became even fiercer. The freezing temperature made even the soldiers beside Itsuki, that were protected by the Heat Protection Mod, shudder by the cold reaching deep into their bones. Jevil flashed a grin toward Itsuki and raised his hand in front of his face like he was in a boxing match. Itsuki bent her knees placed her katana right in front her, slightly inclined towards Jevil. "For the Rebellion!" Jevil shouted as he sprang forward. "FOR THE REBELLION!!!!" The Nova Rebellion''s soldiers raised their weapons and aimed. "You guys deal with those little soldiers." Itsuki coldly spoke in the communicator, "I''ll deal with Jevil, I need him alive. Don''t interfere; if he dies, someone will have to shoulder the blame." Once she gave her orders, she also sprang forward to meet up with Jevil. "Yes, miss!" The soldiers acknowledged their orders through the communicator, and they began to enter the action. Just as Itsuki was about to clash with Jevil, he wickedly smiled and gave an order, "Focus your weapons on Itsuki!" "Despicable!" Itsuki''s face became ugly when she saw multiple weapons, belonging to the mechs and foot soldiers that were behind the barricade made of vehicles, switching their targets to her. She stopped her forward momentum and hastily retreated. The Rebellion''s soldiers unleashed a devastating barrage of fire toward Itsuki without any shred of mercy. Their weapons were different from the Letheia Corporation''s weaponry. While Letheia mostly uses weapons made by Hyperion, which focuses more on Physical weaponry, the Nova Rebellion uses weaponry made by Maliwan, which focuses on Elemental Energy weapons. The best way to bypass an energy shield is by using an Electric Energy Weapon to drain out the shield way faster than just using some material projectile. Electric elemental was used to drain out shields, Corrosion elemental was used to destroy metal armor faster, and both Frost and Fire elementals were better against a flesh and blood creature. Of course, there was also Explosive elemental, but they were better against multiple targets rather than using against a specific one. In this case, the Nova Rebellion''s soldiers knew that it was impossible for Itsuki not to have some kind of shield equipped in her PIPS or armor, so they used Electric Elemental weapons first and drain her shield faster. *FZZZT* The moment the weapons charged and opened fire, the aircraft that were still on the air opened their side door and started to use the guns that were located inside to deal with the mechas. Before the Rebellion''s energy bullets could reach Itsuki, the Letheia Corporation''s mechs used everything in their thrusters to put themselves in the path of the projectiles and protect Itsuki. *Bam* As the electric bullets hit the protective forcefield of the Letheia Corporation''s mechs, snake-like electric remains of the bullet kept around the shield, draining the forcefield of the mech. The Rebellion''s mechs were ready to follow up with another barrage of fire once their weapons were charged once again, but the attack from the aircraft on sky rained upon them, making them unable to deactivate the forcefield to open fire. Just like the Barrier Tech Ability, the forcefield on the mechs also make them unable to use their weapons as long as the shields were activated entirely around them. Usually, the mechs, aircraft, and spacecraft, had a system to allow them to open little holes in the forcefield so that they can use their weapons without the need to shut down the field completely. Traitor (6) Once the forcefield on the aircraft was down to shot at the mechs, the Rebellion''s soldiers on the ground retrieved Rocket Launchers from their arsenal and shot at the hovering vehicles. *BOOOM!* The rocket hit right at one of the aircraft''s engine. Without one of it, the aircraft lost control and started to fall to the ground. And so it began the battle between both sides. While the mechs were fighting mechs, soldier against soldier and aircraft, Jevil and Itsuki had their own fight in a place not very far away. Jevil unleashed a restless barrage of punches towards Itsuki with his burning gauntlets. Itsuki was forced to maintain in defensive while she relayed at her Reiketsuna katana and the Barrier Tech Ability to fend of against Jevil''s ruthless attacks at aimed at tricky and deadly spots. *Whoosh* She jumped backward once she felt another impending attack. Against a person such as Jevil that was proficient in using his fists, she had to maintain a certain distance between them, and this way, she would also be able to better use her sword. Jevil bent his knees and sprang forward, not allowing Itsuki to widen the distance between them. "Hah!" With a low shout, the fire in his gauntlets burned even brighter and stronger and traveled toward Itsuki. Seeing the fire fist right before her, Itsuki''s eyes shone with a cold light. *BAM* "Tch." Jevil clicked his tongue in displeasure once he saw that his punch landed in a wall of ice. He retrieved his hand that was buried deep in the wall and glanced at it. The gauntlet was drenched in water that came from melting the ice. The raging fire in his right hand had utterly died out because of the water. "Stealthy activating your Pyrokinesis Tech Ability..." Itsuki calmly walked from behind the ice wall and spoke in a grave tone, "You sure like to fight dirty, don''t you?" Pyrokinesis was a Tech Ability that allows the user to control the vibrations of molecules around him, thus increasing the heat and generating fire. The consume of UE was extremely high, so the user should be cautious about when and how to use.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Jevil cleaned up the water on his gauntlet and smiled, "There''s no way around it; after all, I was a pirate and outlaw for most of my life. I know no concept, such as honor and loyalty." "That''s how humans are... sly and deceitful creatures." "Not all of us are like that. If you say something like that, then I can say that Hylotl''s are nothing more than greedy, cold-blooded aquatic creatures. You also used your Tech Ability just now to create this ice wall, Cryokinesis." Jevil rebutted with a shallow smile on his lips. Cryokinesis was a Tech Ability that allows the user to control the molecules of water in the atmosphere, stopping their vibrations and thus decreasing the heat until they became ice. "There''s no point in keep talking." Itsuki sheathed her katana and slightly bent her knees. "To clean up my name, and the name of my clan, I must capture you today." The wind around Itsuki became even fiercer than before. Her eyes radiated a frost and dangerous glow as they fixated in Jevil''s body. "Wahh~ scary~" Jevil said in a fearful tone and flinched himself before laughing out loud, "HAHAHAHAHAHA... why staring at me with such fierce eyes. Let''s have some fun~, Itsuki~" Jevil eyes shone with a mad light as his smile widened. He raised his hands, and with a small motion, the fire in his hands started to burn once again. As his mind wandered into his past, Jevil''s black eyes started to burn with a fiery fire of hatred. The fire around the Jevil''s Agni''s Hands increased in intensity as it seemed to feel the burning hatred inside Jevil, and such it answered by increasing the flames. A shallow smiled blossomed in his face as both stood in fighting stance, staring at each other while in the background the clash between both sides were still madly ongoing, with Nova Rebellion''s soldiers slowly dying and losing. Sounds of explosions, metal clashing against each other, the noise of electricity, and corrosive projectiles melting armors, were just about a few meters away from where both sides were facing one another. "Hah!" Jevil made the first move and jumped towards Itsuki. As she watched Jevil approaching, the world seemed to slow down. Her eyes glinted with coldness, her grip on the katana tightened. Just as Jevil''s burning hands were about to hit her, she quickly moved to the side and unsheathed her sword in a blindly fast motion. Jevil saw that his target dodged his track and wanted to switch his stance to follow up with a kick at Itsuki, but he didn''t have the chance since all he saw was a quick and white flash coming directly towards his neck. He moved his head downwards to save his life, but... *Swish* *Slash* Blood rained upon the white snow. With a muffled sound, something fell in the snow. On closer look would reveal it was Jevil''s glasses, but it wasn''t complete, it had a part missing of it. "Argh..." Jevil groaned in a low voice as he clutched his head between his hands. The crimson red liquid dripped from his finger down to the ground. Despite Jevil bleeding, Itsuki katana remained clean and beautiful as it gleamed with a chilling light. Itsuki''s face was cold and calm, like nothing in the world could enter in her sight. Completely different from how she was acting earlier. Her crimson eyes coldly watched as Jevil groaned in pain and stopped the bleeding on his face. "Give up." Her voice was ethereal and chilling. "You never stood a chance against me." "HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!" Jevil angrily laughed as he kept the left side of his face covered by his hand while he used his right eye to glare at Itsuki, "This ain''t over yet. I''m not done." He slowly revealed his left side of his face. Blood dripped from the deep cut that was horizontally presented on the left side of Jevil''s face. His left eye... destroyed and drenched in blood. Such big and deep cut would surely leave a gruesome scar once healed if healed. Traitor (7) "Is it worthy? To continue fighting?" Itsuki asked Jevil, "You already lost an eye, what else you have to lose until you give up and surrender?" "Heh..." Jevil snorted and spoke through his gritted teeth, "My own life, how does it sound? Does the answer satisfy you?" "No." Itsuki helplessly shook her head and sheathed her katana once again. She proceeded to glare at Jevil and said with a threatening tone, "Give up already, or else... you might end up losing a few more... things. I won''t kill you, but this doesn''t stop me from cutting your legs and arms. Better think twice before replying, Jevil.." Jevil touched the injury in his eye, and his lips twitched with the pain. Even though he was used to pain, it still hurt after a few years of not getting the slightest feeling of pain. He has grown weak over the past few years... He had already recovered his endurance and pain tolerance by now, so the painful injury wasn''t much painful after a while. Jevil raised his hands, entering in fighting stance. His face cracked open with a smiling face, "Come, I won''t give up." Itsuki squinted her eyes after hearing what Jevil said. She didn''t want to follow up with such gruesome plan, but Jevil left her with no other choice than doing this way. Her face became even more expressionless and cold as her concentration peaked. As they both jumped toward each other, an outsider would only be able to see a red and blue blur clashing against each other. Their speed had reached an unprecedented level as both fought with ferocity and killing intent. While Itsuki had to be careful not to kill Jevil, Jevil didn''t give a damn and continued to be reckless in his approach, often placing his life of the life to deal some injuries at Itsuki. Each of her movements and attacks were gracefully made, and she seemed like dancing rather than fighting. He sword gleamed with a cold light and often spikes of ice would come from the ground aiming for Jevil''s weak spots. Jevil, on the other hand, used the most brute and tricky way to fight. He would unleashed a barrage of attacks and search for an opening, then release a power punch at the spot, dealing massive amount wounds. His fighting style was dirty, without any method or training. He fought almost wholly based on instincts. To counter Itsuki''s spikes, he would unleash some walls of fire to stop them and continue with his restless onslaught barrage of punches and kicks. Jevil''s eyes gleamed as he created a small distance between him and Itsuki. Itsuki was confused by Jevil''s sudden move and raised her guard. "HA!" With a shout, Jevil punched the ground with every ounce of strength he had. *BAM* Because of the impact, a blanket of snow was sent to the air, creating a curtain made of snow around Jevil and Itsuki. Jevil also used his Pyrokinesis Tech Ability to send a heatwave as his fist touched the ground, immediately making some snow become steam. As everything around her darkened, she was unable to see anything around here because of the steam and snow that enveloped her.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The world seemed to slow down as her eyes calmly scanned her darkened surroundings. Her ears twitched as they caught a small sound coming from her right. Without hesitating, she handled her blade and directly slashed at the source of the sound. *Whoosh* The katana cleanly cut through the steam and snow, enabling small rays of light to enter her eyes. She missed. There was nothing there. Realizing that it was a trap set up by Jevil, the moment she felt that her blade had not touched anything she had already started to turn around. But she wasn''t fast enough. Jevil''s flaming fist caused ripples as it crossed through the steam. *Bam* Itsuki was sent flying backward as she moaned in pain by the punch that she received in her back and the burning pain from the flames. Her back became a mess with the charred injury mixed with blood on her back. The punch burned his way through the armor and easily connected with her skin. Feeling that the danger wasn''t over yet, she maneuvered the Reiketsuna to meet with Jevil''s next attack. *Clang* The burning fist met with the freezing sword. More steam could be seen forming as both weapons collided. Itsuki gritted her teeth and tried to keep her head cool and resist the pain that was slowly spreading throughout her body. It wasn''t just the pain coming from the injuries caused by Jevil. There was also coming from something else. [I have to finish this...] Itsuki thought as her eyes gleamed with a cold light, [...as soon as possible.] While Itsuki was able to maintain such a calm mind and sharp eyes for some tens of seconds, this state wasn''t something she was able to stay forever. It wasn''t anything natural. To keep herself this cool, with high reflexes and strength higher than what she usually has she had to pay the price. Her breath started to get haggard. Her limps shuddered after each collision with Jevil''s fist. *Clang* After Itsuki met Jevil''s fist once again, she was sent flying. *Bam* Her legs were weak, and she lost balance when trying to land on her feet. She fell directly on the ground. Itsuki''s entire leather armor was covered with some holes and charred marks. There weren''t so many wounds outside, only that most of them were internal injuries. "I knew it." Jevil smiled as he spoke. His face was covered in blood with a few cuts here and there, but none more deep than the one in his left eye. His clothes were almost completely gone from all the cuts he received from Itsuki''s katana. Despite his numerous wounds all over his body, he was relaxed and calm, like he couldn''t feel anything. He looked down at Itsuki that was struggling to get up. "So that''s one of the Reiketsuna''s special abilities, making so that the user could enter in a trance, a special state which shut down most of the brain, and body''s operations that aren''t needed when fighting. The person would become something akin to a perfect warrior, no mistakes in judgment, not letting any opportunity slip. A calm and cold analysis of the situation, and how to properly fight, and counter, the enemy. That''s not even it. From what I can see, this state also enhances your reflexes, thought speed, and even strength. Truly something abnormal and overpower. But nothing comes for free in this world. Such ability surely have some side effects." Itsuki that was about to get on her feet froze for a moment when he heard what Jevil spoke. [How did he...?] She incredulously stared at Jevil. Jevil was able to understand so much about Itsuki''s weapon and the abilities after less than 2 minutes of fighting. Seeing the stunned expression on Itsuki''s face, he knew that he guessed right. It wasn''t that difficult for him to figure it out. It was impossible for her to change demeanor so fast. She went from angry and reckless to calm and calculative in mere minutes, that wasn''t something someone as young as Itsuki would achieve. Of course, his Agni''s Hands also had a special ability, but he couldn''t use it, or instead, if it is used, he would end up killing Itsuki, this wasn''t something he wanted. For his plan to work, he need Itsuki to live. It was almost in the same lines of Reiketsuna''s special ability; it changes the user''s mental state and also the body. Jevil''s eyes glinted with malice and hatred as he slowly approached Itsuki that had a place face and was struggling to maintain herself on her feet and keep her eyes open. He should keep her alive, but... that didn''t mean he wasn''t allowed to cut her a few times... right? He calmly cleaned the blood on his face as his smile slowly widened. He cracked his knuckles when he was just a few centimeters away from Itsuki. Itsuki tried to move, but her body seemingly wasn''t listening to her orders anymore. [Such beautiful Hylotl...] Jevil thought while shaking his need. [What a waste. Unfortunately, I need to damage such beauty.] He raised his flaming left hand above Itsuki and was ready to drop it hard on her head. Itsuki lifted her head and helplessly stared at that flame burning with infinite hatred and fury. Right when Jevil''s fist started to drop, Itsuki''s eyes went from fear and helplessness to complete coldness. Traitor (8) *Swish* "Eh?" Jevil confusedly glanced at his left. There was only an empty space there, in the place which his left arm should be. The world seemed to slow down at this moment as Jevil stared with his eyes wide open at Itsuki that effortlessly stood up from the ground which she had been struggling to stand again just a few minutes ago. "Wha- urgh!" Jevil groaned in pain the moment he saw his bloodied arm twitching on the snow beneath him. Blood gushed in streams from his chopped off arm. Without delay, Jevil swiftly moved his right hand towards the injury and forcibly grasped it to stop the continuous bleeding. He had an ugly expression on his face as he looked up at Itsuki that was calmly glaring at him. Her helplessness and despair look on her eyes completely disappeared without a trace. There were only calmness and cold eyes staring straight at Jevil''s eyes. "How..." Jevil asked through his gritted teeth. He couldn''t believe he was mistaken. There was no way. From his experience and knowledge, her special ability should have a time limit, Jevil couldn''t understand how he was wrong. "That''s quite a wonderful expression you have there, Jevil." Itsuki''s ice block face cracked, forming a charming, but cold, smile when she saw the ugly expression and confusion of Jevil''s face. She couldn''t help but admit to herself that she quite enjoyed the sight of Jevil''s face right now. Her hatred toward Jevil wasn''t something small at the moment. She hated him to the bones. Because of his betrayal, her name, and probably her family''s name would be tainted. The Reef Faction would never miss the opportunity to make troubles to the Ocean Faction, and Jevil just gave them more than enough ammunition to close the gap between both factions ever since Ocean took the lead after Reef''s disaster at the Ark Outpost. They had finally the lead, something to rely on to push back against the Reef Factions, but all this was lost now that Jevil messed up everything for the Sumeragi family. "Heh." Jevil snorted as he released his right hand from the fresh injury. His hand was drenched with the crimson liquid that slowly slipped through the holes between his fingers.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. "Ah!" Jevil clenched his fist tight. A fire sprouted from his clenched fist, immediately evaporating the blood that was present there. His eyes flashed before he directly moved his burning hand toward the wound. *TZZZZS* Jevil gritted his teeth while maintaining himself calm despite the intense pain. The injury was swiftly cauterized and so stopping the intensive bleeding. The smell of burnt flesh reached both Itsuki and Jevil''s nostrils. Jevil remained indifferent and more focused on the pain he was suffering while Itsuki frowned as she watched what Jevil was doing. She was impressed by his pain tolerance, but this wasn''t something good for her. To take some information out from him they surely need to do specific physical actions that involve a lot of pain... torture. But if Jevil were this resistant to pain, the method would be less effective. They could go with a more prolonged plan to slowly influence and destroy his mental state, but it would take too long, they need the information as fast as possible... The pain was way too huge that it definitely took a toll on Jevil''s mind. He was angry, very angry. He was angry at himself for falling into Ferris''s plan. He was angry at losing his eye. He was angry at falling into Itsuki''s trap and losing an arm. He was angry with the world, with the universe, with everyone and everything. Rage slowly clouded his eyes. Hatred and fury engulfed his mind. The only internal voice that could be heard was the loud resonating chant that kept repeating inside his mind. "You were right about the time limit, Reiketsuna''s special ability really has it. Unfortunately for you, it wasn''t closer to the time limit. It was all just a scene, an act. To end this nonsensical fight as fast as possible, I have no qualms in using some underhanded methods, even though I despise using it." Itsuki calmly explained what happened earlier. She was unaware of the changes happening inside Jevil. [Kill her! Kill her!...] The voices chanted, taking over his body. [Remember the pain, remember all that they had done with you, with your family. Remember it all. Focus your hatred and kill her, rip her, tear her apart!] Jevil''s eyes flared open. "And..." Itsuki was about to continue speaking when she realized something wasn''t right. Jevil was way too silent. When she looked at his eyes, she felt a chill down her spine. She never saw him like that. It seemed like he became an animal which only instinct right now as to kill her. Beastly reddened eyes focused on Itsuki''s body. Eyes that gleamed with malice and desire to kill. The bloodthirst and killing intent was so strong that Itsuki felt light-headed when she was hit with the first wave. Not only his eyes reddened, but his skin also started to become red. The increase in the bloodstream caused his chest to go up and down as his breath rushed. From his body, steam could be seen leaving his skin. The high temperature made Jevil''s sweat completely evaporate. At his uncountable injuries made by Itsuki, bubbles popped left and right as his blood literally started to boil. The temperature rose exponentially around him even though there was no heat source next to him. His gauntlets were turned off; there was no fire burning at his hands. Seeing the particular situation Jevil was in, Itsuki unconsciously tightened her grip over the sword. Even though looked a lot stronger and mad than before, her Reiketsuna''s special ability was still activated, her mind was cold and calculative at the moment, searching for a way to strike Jevil the fastest way possible. Just as Jevil was about to lose control over his emotions, mind, and body, he heard a voice of reason deep within his conscience. Traitor (9) It was a soothing and lazy voice that seemed to be gently whispering at Jevil''s ears, "Victory is reserved for those who are willing to pay its price." Remembering his master''s quote, his clouded eyes and mind immediately cleared up. His eyes returned to normal, along with his skin and everything else. The temperature also dropped a little. [That was close...] Jevil broke in cold sweat when he thought about what could have happened if he lost control. [The Agni''s Hand''s side effect is really powerful. The longer I use it, the stronger it affects my mind and destabilizes it, making me fall into a state of frenzy, which I become a killing machine filled with fury towards everything and everyone. If not for my master''s teachings, I would have fallen today.] Jevil''s eyes brightened like two torches in the darkest of nights, [His words were always right. An arm and an eye are low prices to pay for the victory in the end. I might lose the battle, but I will definitely win the war. I must continue. The only path left to me is straight ahead. There''s no turning back.] "!!!" Jevil''s train of thought was broke when he felt danger fastly approaching. Sensing the impending death, Jevil decided to get away from where he was. "What!?" But something happened when he tried to move. Jevil realized he was immobilized in the ground by ice that had wholly engulfed his feet, gluing him at the ground He didn''t see how and when it happen. Most probably right when he recovered from Agni''s Hands side effects. He didn''t have time to think about anything else as he saw a silver flash swiftly coming for him. *Swish* As Reiketsuna''s blade slashed, blood was sent flying in the air. "*Cough*..." Jevil coughed blood and tried to recover his balance. With each breath he took, blood gushed out from the grievous injury on his chest. It was a deep diagonal slash that went from the base of his neck all the way to his waist. Without strength remaining in him, Jevil fell down backwards into the snow with a muffled *Thud* sound. Fortunately for him, Itsuki wasn''t trying to kill him; if not, he would have been dead by now, slashed in half. The injury was so deep that a few of Jevil''s ribs could be seen from outside. As his chest rose and fell, streams of blood leaving his body, slowly seeping his life away. The white snow beneath him had already been corrupted by the crimson liquid coming to his body, painting it red. Jevil tried to open his mouth, but only blood came out instead of words or any other sound.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. He deeply stared at the cloudy sky; his eyes slowly became dull. With one last try to speak, Jevil immediately fell unconscious due to the considerable blood loss. Itsuki approached Jevil and looked down at him. She never intended to make his injury that bad, but that transformation of his scared her and made her decide to kill him. It was only midway that she saw he return to normal and decided to restrain her vicious attack. But it didn''t go all well. The sword still caused a deadly injury onto him. Luckily he had a sturdy body and resilient will to live. These allowed him the stay alive. "Young Miss Sumeragi... It is done." One of the Letheia''s soldiers walked up to Itsuki and reported to while saluting. Itsuki was absent-minded while silently staring at the unconscious Jevil. The soldier''s armor had some dents and even holes caused by bullets. Most the dent had some of its metal melted around it, a clear indication of corrosive projectiles hitting it. While there was some blood on his armor, most of it was from his enemies, the Rebellion''s soldiers. "Young Miss, are you ok?" The soldier asked worriedly while looking at Itsuki''s armor that was filled with charred holes and cuts. There were only a few injuries that were bleeding. Some of Jevil''s attack opened holes in her flesh and created some grave charred wounds but nothing too much serious that couldn''t be fixed after a visit at the best medicine the biggest Corporation can provide. After hearing the soldier calling her out again, Itsuki woke up from her trance and glanced around her. There were scrap metal, body parts, and blood everywhere on the battlefield, which both sides were fighting against each other just a few seconds ago. She immediately frowned upon the sight. This much blood, this much violence, she always disliked it. It was her master that taught her how to fight by her father''s orders. She never really liked fighting, but for the sake of her future, she earnestly learned it and became good at wielding her sword. Itsuki could only sight and softly spoke to the soldier, "Use a RIL Syringe on him and take him to the Medical Bay. Don''t let him die." "Yes, Young Miss!" The soldier replied while saluting once again and approached Jevil with another soldier that came to report the result of the battle to Itsuki. She sheathed her katana and watched as both soldiers retrieved Jevil using a white stretcher. When they were at a certain distance, Itsuki fell on her knees. She kept breathing heavily with one of her hands, clutching her chest. Her face twisted and her three eyes twitched with the intense pain she was feeling from her injuries and from the side effect of using Reiketsuna''s Special Ability. The Special Ability made it possible for her to ignore the pain from Jevil''s relentless and ruthless attacks, but now that it wore off, the pain came in full swing. She had to keep herself in that position while groaning with the pain. Seeing that the pain wasn''t going away but getting stronger, she took an analgesic from her PIPS and immediately used it. After a few seconds, the pain became bearable enough for her to move. Once again on her feet, she deeply looked at Jevil that was still being carried toward one of the aircraft. She couldn''t shake off the feeling that this wasn''t over yet, despite the fact that she knew there would be no way for him escape from the prison he will be sent to. Despite this fact, she couldn''t understand why this feeling. The feeling that she had fallen into someone else''s plan. ... The soldiers that were carrying Jevil didn''t realize that the moment they were about to enter in the aircraft him up, a small smile creeped out in his face. [Success... for now.] He thought while maintaining his eyes closed and pretending to be passed out. [With this, finally, Operation Ragnarok can be set on motion.] Out of nowhere, a memory from 2 years ago resurfaced on his mind. Words that his master spoke to him before they had to part ways resurfaced in his mind. "You''re insane, planning to go against the universe..." His master said while chuckling, "Remember, Jevil. Victory is reserved for those willing to pay its price. The price that you will have to pay is... immeasurable. You are going to lose your mind, your conscience in this pursuit for vengeance. At the end of your road... there would be left only mountains of corpses and sea of blood..." As he slowly disappeared in the cold aircraft, nothing more than his blood was left behind in this frosty and desolate planet. What happened there would never be known for a long time... Jason Silverhand (1) Somewhere in the universe... After turning off the call with Jevil, Jason looked deeply into the endless and dark outer space just outside of his window. "It''s about to get interesting..." Jason flashed a playful yet smile that could bring a chill at anyone who sees it. "Well..." Jason stood up from his chair and walked towards the door of his room. "Time to put the plan on motion." He straightened the tie on his tuxedo suit and fixated his rebel blonde hair before walking out of the room. ... *Knock, knock* Jason knocked on a huge wooden door that was just before him, and respectfully waited with his head lowered. The soldiers that were guarding by the door were wearing thin, black, Titanium armor. Different from the usual bulky ones, these grant more mobility, flexibility, and agility for the soldiers. The two soldiers looked down at Jason and had mocking smiles on their lips, and sneer could clearly be seen in their eyes. Both were humans, like the majority of the people in the Syndicate. More than 80% of the BSS''s members were humans, and this was because the group was founded after the USCM''s downfall. Since the USCM was a human organization that had some prejudice against other races, it was of no surprise that one of the organizations that were born with a few of the surviving members of the USCM would also be against other races. The destruction of the USCM by the Miniknog led to the birth of two organizations, Occasus Cult and Black Star Syndicate. While the Syndicate could be considered moderate in their treatment with other races, the Cult was a human supremacy group that believes that only Humans were the true heirs of the Ancients, and thus the other races were lower beings that should be eliminated or subjugated. The Cult''s fast growth could be seen by everyone and thus made people''s question why was such dangerous group growing so fast. The answer was obvious ¡ª the rising dissatisfaction with other races. Hylotl''s meddling in Human government. Miniknog''s attack on Human settlements to capture Humans for their terrifying experiments. Novakid outlaws robbing barely protected Human colonies. And mainly the dissatisfaction with the Terrene Protectorate at how they never actually dealt with these groups taking advantage of the Human race. It was always silence or half measures. They felt abandoned and scared. In the search for security and a purpose, they found themselves stuck between choosing Nova Rebellion, Black Star Syndicate, or Occasus Cult.Stolen story; please report. These three organizations didn''t have the same goals, but they had a similar objective. To oppose the establishment. To fight for changes. Even if the changes turn out to be bad, they still wanted to see something different. But the Black Star Syndicate lost its way. In Travis Silverhand''s hands, Jason''s father, the organization started to ally and make dealings with groups that it was supposed to be fighting against, Letheia Corporation, Holy Kluex Church, and Miniknog... In a position where the soldiers couldn''t see, Jason''s eyes gleamed with a cold light. [It''s time for changes.] His lips hooked up in a slight smile. "Come in." A deep voice called out from inside the room. "Excuse me." Jason said while entering the office. He carefully closed the door not to make a sound and disturb his father that was still engrossed in his computer''s screen. Jason walked up by the luxurious table made with gold and sat on the chair just across his father. He looked up and glanced at the middle-aged man across the table. That was Travis Silverhand. A fat, white, middle-aged man with a bald head and blue eyes. He wasn''t that fat, just about 100 kilograms for his height of 1.87 meters. He was wearing an expensive tuxedo suit made by one of the best Glitch''s tailor. In the art of craftsmanship, almost no race could beat the Glitches. Be it in blacksmithing or tailoring. While they were the best, their items were also costly, and thus, just the most powerful and wealthy people could afford top craftsmanship from them... "What do you want?" Travis lifted his eyes from the screen and asked Jason. From his tone, he was clearly annoyed and angry at Jason for interrupting him. His voice and speech were rude, and it doesn''t seem like he recognizes Jason as his son at all. "Jevil, he-" "They found out he''s a traitor. I know this much." Travis interrupted Jason and started to type on the keyboard once again. "If this was all, leave. I don''t want to see you again." "Father..." Jason showed a pained look and pitifully glanced at Travis, "What are we going to do? We had some deals with Jevil and Dreadwing. If information gets out from his mouth-" *Bam* "SHUT UP!" Travis angrily hit the table. The strength was enough to flip one of the coffee cups on the table, spilling the brown liquid all over it. "I know! I''m dealing with this! Don''t you see, I''m occupied!? First, the mess with Miniknog, now this!" Travis hit the table a few more times while his face reddened in anger, and the veins bulged. "Get out, bastard! Leave now!" Travis waved Jason off when he saw that Jason still had something to say. "Father-" "GET OUT!" Travis shouted as he lifted from his chair, making his belly voice a little. His chubby face contorted in extreme anger as he pointed at Jason. "You are a bastard and a traitor! Do you think that I don''t know that I have been secretly meeting with a few high officers and even started to make connections with them!? I''m not stupid." Travis sneered at Jason. Jason''s face paled as he heard Travis''s accusations. He bit his trembling lips and slowly stood up. Throwing an aggrieved glance at Travis, he spoke again, "Father... why don''t you believe in me, your son. This is a plan created by some people to sow discord between the family and destabilize your mind. Don''t fall for their plan." *Pah* "Silence!" Travis slapped so hard at Jason''s face that his lips started to bleed, and his face immediately swelled a little. "You''re a traitor, just like your mother." Travis''s cold eyes locked on Jason''s body as he spoke to Jason, "That whore tried to kill me, but failed. I executed her for that crime. I shouldn''t have done that, she deserved to suffer more." Travis''s unfeeling eyes shone with a more chilling and dangerous light, "Now you have begun to spread your wings and also developed ambitions. Do you wish to meet with your mother? If you want so badly, I can grant your wish." Jason lowered his head. His eyes were cold and gleamed with hatred and killing intent. "Leave," Travis said again as he sat back on the chair. "After I finish the negotiations with the Miniknog and Letheia Corporation, I''m going to personally deal with you, traitor." Jason kept his head lowered and just nodded once Travis finished speaking. Jason Silverhand (2) After berating with Jason one last time, Travis turned his attention toward the screen and wholly ignored Jason. This was a clear indication that doesn''t want Jason to remain in the office for a single minute longer. Seeing this, Jason turned around and immediately left the room without turning back. Under the mocking gazes of the soldiers and workers that were around the place, Jason hastily disappeared from there. ... Returning to his room, Jason found himself looking at the mirror. He was a splitting image of his mother. It might be because of this that his father hated him way too deep in his heart. He slowly moved his finger toward his mouth and cleaned the blood on the corner of his lips. He watched as the crimson liquid slowly stained his white hand. Raising his hand closer to his mouth, he licked the blood out of his fingers and closed his eyes to savor the metallic taste of his blood. After finishing, he opened his eyes, and his lips slightly moved upwards, forming an alluring, yet dangerous, smile. "Father, oh, father~" Jason said to himself in a playful tone, "I''ll enjoy seeing you fall... I''m to enjoy it a lot." Jason looked down and caught sight of a picture in a beautiful and detailed wood frame. In the picture, there was a young boy, around 6 years old, and a beautiful young woman no older than 23 years old. The woman was wearing something that looked like a maid outfit. She was lovely and angelic, with a gentle and happy smile on her face. She had bright, long blonde hair, and blue eyes. Her body was very proportionate, neither her chest, nor here hip could be called big, but neither were small. It was indeed a beautiful and charming young woman, a flower that looked untainted and perfect, but she far from that. The amount of stress and hardship that she endured was something that almost no young woman like her would have been able to go through. Her name was Renna Nandor. Jason took the picture and carefully caressed it like it was his most precious treasure. In his face, there was a surprisingly small, gentle smile and a melancholy expression in his face. His eyelids dropped, and his eyes glistened with tears on the corners. "Worry not, mother, I''ll avenge you." He said in a sweet tone. "Travis is going to pay for what he did to you." Jason hugged the picture for a while before placing it back on the table he took it from. His whole room was very simplistic. There was a bed, a wardrobe, a separated bathroom, and a study table with a computer on top. There was nothing expensive insight. Only his clothes were somewhat more expensive since Alfred gave it to him, the only person Jason somewhat trust, but not enough to show him his real personality and thoughts. Jason learned since young to wear masks. He uses one when talking with his father, another in public, and a new one in front of Alfred.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. He always kept his real face hidden from everyone else. Without anyone to protect him ever since his mother died, he learned by himself how to manipulate other people and hide his true thoughts and emotions behind masks. The reason why he treasured that picture so much was that it was the last one it was taken before his mother''s death by Travis''s hands. One day, when he was 6 years old, his mother tried to kill Travis in his sleep. But right before she was able to stab him to death, his wife, that was just beside him at the bed, woke up and screamed. Travis woke up by the scream and unconsciously dodged the deadly knife Jason''s mother was wielding. Yes, Jason''s mother, Renna, wasn''t Travis''s wife. Renna was nothing more than a maid of the Space Station, a beautiful and innocent one that was tainted by the beast known as Travis Silverhand. Jason''s mother always loved Travis, but Travis never acknowledged her existence besides the fact that he kind of admired her beauty, but that was it. In a drunken stupor, Travis ended up taking Renna to his bed, which ended up with a barely 17 years old woman getting pregnant. After waking up, Travis regretted what he did because he already had a wife. He covered up the incident and convinced Renna to keep secret, or else he would have no choice but to kill her. The fact was, Travis''s wife was the daughter of a high officer in the UEG, United Earth Government. He couldn''t sleep with any other woman, and he had to keep the marriage stable, to hold his position inside the Syndicate stable. When he found out that Renna was pregnant, he even thought of killing the baby, but Renna stopped him and promised to never tell anyone about the exact origin of him. Unfortunately, the secret about a bastard son was still found out by Travis''s wife when Jason was 5 years old. And just like this, the abuses began. His mother was often beaten up and abused by everyone in the Station. The soldiers and servants did it because Travis''s wife allowed and even motivated them to do it. She hated Renna to the bones. Sexually abuse was something that happened daily. Syndicate''s soldiers weren''t known to be gentle; they were brutes, cruel, and unfeeling. Renna only had Travis, she tried to ask for help, but even if he wanted, he couldn''t. He was in the wrong when committed adultery, so he could only obey his wife and keep quiet about all the abuses against her. Renna never fought back because she was afraid that Travis''s wife started to target Jason, but that never happened. It was daily abuses against Renna continued, and she always endured and kept quiet, but one day, something happened that completely snapped Renna, and she tried to kill Travis. It caused an uproar in the Syndicate. In his rage, Travis furiously shot Renna to death. Renna died just like that. The only regret she had was leaving her son, Jason, behind in a pit filled with snakes. By the time Jason was 9 years old, Travis''s legitimate son was 7 years old. Travis''s wife started to see Jason as a thorn in her eyes, so she decided to get rid of him. Unfortunately for her, she died in an accident when her spacecraft exploded right after it got outside of a planet''s atmosphere. Her son was there as well and died alongside his mother. Seeing bad things happen one after another, Travis started to suspect someone had betrayed him and wanted him dead. Assassination attempts started to happen more frequently after his wife was killed. He swiftly became someone meticulous and cautious around everyone, always suspecting that they could be a traitor or even an assassin. Travis''s sanity slowly decayed as he suspected of everyone and everything around him. This lead to his situation right now, which he could even suspect his own son without even a single clue or evidence that claimed that Jason could be a traitor. Jason looked up at the ceiling, and a small smile creeped out on his lips. "Father, oh, father..." Jason reached for his PIPS and looked and dialed a number at it. "You can''t blame me for being ruthless now. I''m not going to this because I''m altruistic, or someone good that wishes to see the Syndicate became something better for the universe. I''m doing this because I hate you because I want to kill you." The smile on his face widened a bit as he finished whispering, "As for getting the Syndicate''s leadership, I''ll do only because Jevil and Husk asked me." "Hello, Jason?" A feminine voice came from Jason''s PIPS and reached his ears. "Stina, it is time..." Jason said with a low and calm voice, "Begin the plan to get rid of that old fuck known as Opert and all his influence over the faction. We have one week to get full control over the Black Star Syndicate." "..." There was a small period of silence before the other spoke again, "Did something happened?" "Some issue on Jevil''s side. Don''t worry, just trust him. He always managed to pull himself out of trouble." "Alright, it will be done." "Okay, bye." Jason was about to finish the call when he heard the other side saying for him to wait. "Jason..." Stina''s voice quivered a little. She hesitated a bit but still spoke in a voice so low that was almost a whisper, "Be careful..." "Sti-" Jason didn''t have the chance the speak again as Stina''s immediately turned off her communicator once she spoke those lines. Jason bitterly smiled as he looked at his PIPS, "Strange girl..." Ferris Laparte and Arianne Somewhere else in the universe... Ferris was seated on a small chair while she looked at the starry sky of the planet she was currently located. *Beep, beep* Her train of thought was cut when she felt her PIPS vibrating and beeping. "Mr. Kurogane." Ferris bowed as she greeted the hologram that appeared before her as soon as she answered the call. It was an old Hylotl with a long white beard and black scales all over his body. He was wearing an old and somewhat stylish ancient clothing belonging to Hylotl race. His deep, three eyes gleamed with wisdom and authority that had been accumulated throughout years of hardship and battle. His whole being was shrouded in an aura that belonged to war veterans that had their hands stained with a fair share of blood. Ferris kept her head lowered in sign of respect and also because she couldn''t stand looking at those crimson eyes that seemed to be able to see through her. "Ferris Laparte." The old Hylotl known as Kurogane Kishi said with a deep and husky voice, "You surprised me. I never thought we could have a comeback so soon after the mess with Tepei. You did well, Ferris." He smiled as he praised Ferris. "I did what I had to do, Mr. Kurogane." Ferris said with her head lowered so that Kurogane Kishi couldn''t read her expression. "I ask for your pardon because I didn''t report to you about this, but I had to act quick before Jevil could escape." "Yes, you should have reported to me first, but since it worked out in the end, I won''t hold it against you. But... if you have failed, our talk would be different now." Kurogane Kishi said in a flat tone. "It won''t happen, Mr. Kurogane." Ferris knelled by the hologram, "I will guarantee not a single action of mine could reflect badly onto the Reef Faction." Ferris vowed. "Good, good." The old Hylotl lightly laughed as he smoothened his beard, "With this mess in the Sumeragi''s hands, we can sway the public and political opinion to have us in a better light once again. I''ll make sure that this doesn''t die down fast." "Yes, I''ll assist in whatever is needed." "Good. I have something that I need you to do." "What would it be, Mr. Kurogane." "We need to show that we aren''t pushovers. Kill those two that created the mess in Lunar Base 12." "Pardon?" Ferris lifted her head and confusedly looked at Kurogane Kishi, "You mean John Connor and Lenny? They were just dragged into this by external factors, and they had no hands in the overall situation. The one set up the situation to get Tepei arrested was Miss Sumeragi Itsuki." "I know, but Tepei''s family want some kind of revenge, and we can''t touch that brat, Itsuki. To quench their thirst, nothing better to give them the death of someone that was somewhat involved in the situation that led to his death. From the reports I received, John Connor should be nothing more than a little stray Protector with no backing beside that old hag, Esther Bright." Kurogane Kishi sneered once he spoke the name of the previous Grand Protector. "..." Ferris frowned and kept silence for a bit before speaking, "Are you sure you want to do this? From the investigation, it seems like he entered in contact with Miss Sumeragi. We don''t know their relationship. I think it''s too risky to make a move now." "Ferris Laparte, listen to me." Kurogane Kishi pronounced each word at a time. He was clearly somewhat angry, "You are nothing more than a Human, Ferris. Don''t question my orders; just do as you are told to do. Just because you accomplished something great this time, it doesn''t mean that you have the liberty to question my orders. Are we clear?" "Yes, Mr. Kurogane." Ferris lowered her once again, "I ask for forgiveness, I acted brazenly and rude." "You are pardoned, this time. I hope that it doesn''t happen again." Kurogane Kishi waved his hand and allowed Ferris to get up from her kneeled position. Ferris slowly rose to her feet but kept her head lowered. Her expression, unreadable. "Do as you were told, bring me John and Lenny''s head. I want them dead even more now that you told me that they have some kind of connection with that brat." Kurogane Kishi then concluded the call by saying, "You did a good job; you''ll be promoted once you return to the home planet."The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. *Beep* The call ended, and the hologram disappeared. "He''s still as rude as I remember." Ferris was surprised by the sudden voice and looked behind her. By the door of Ferris''s room, there was a beautiful woman that was resting at the door frame with a small charming smile on her face. "Arianne..." Ferris said the woman''s name. The woman approached Ferris until they were just a few centimeters apart from each other. It was a young woman with curly brown hair and enchanting yellow eyes hidden behind round glasses on her face. Her body was curvy with somewhat large chest. She was in her middle twenties. "Why do you keep working for them?" Arianne sadly looked at Ferris, "I know you hate them, why torture yourself?" "You know why." Ferris dodged Arianne''s eye and looked at the window, "I have ambitions to reach. Ambitions that only a large organization such as Letheia can help me reach it." Arianne sighed and embraced Ferris from behind. She caressed Ferris''s long blonde hair, and she spoke softly at Ferris''s ears, "I know very well, but I don''t think is worth it." Ferris let her head fall down and rest at Arianne''s shoulder, "I already have my hands completely tainted with blood. I have suffered a lot more before. This much abuse... is insignificant compared to what I have gone through in the past." "That''s why I think it isn''t worthy. You have already suffered so much... why don''t just give up and move on." "Impossible. I have already walked so far, look at what I just accomplished. I finally outsmarted Jevil, my rival. I climbed the impossible ladder of rising up to this position inside a faction with clear bias against non-Hylotls such as the Reef Faction... they are not like the Ocean Faction that usually employ other races and even have high staffers from other races. Reef Faction always had only Hylotls. I''m the first to climb at such position." Ferris reasoned while Arianne silently listened and gently caressed Ferris''s head. "Yes, yes. I''m very proud of you." Arianne just smiled at nodded with her head. "I personally hate the Reef Faction and almost everyone you have worked with. Personally, I would have left long ago." Ferris''s body instantly froze when she heard Arianne. "But... I''m more than willing to stay here, because of you, and share your burdens." "Arianne..." Ferris turned around and met with Arianne''s enchanting yellow eyes, "Thank you..." She said softly. If someone else saw how Ferris Laparte was acting right now, they would have thought it was an entirely other person. Most people only knew the Ferris Laparte persona that she wanted them to see ¡ª a sadistic, calculative seductress. "It''s a pleasure to be at your side." Arianne''s eyes showed the affection she felt for Ferris as she once again embraced her. "But I have to warn you that this isn''t over. You and Jevil have been fighting and scheming against each other for years, you know him better than anyone else. So, if even I can feel that this is far from over, how could you not feel. Even though his mistake was legitimate, he will certainly find a way out of this predicament." "Really?" Ferris was surprised for a moment before she remembered the conversation she just had with Jevil. It didn''t seem like he was lying throughout the whole discussion, but she had always been unable to read his thoughts and emotions, the main reasons she hated being around him. Now that she thought about it, Jevil always had the talent to improvise and get himself out of trouble. "It''s possible... but... I don''t know. I think the Ocean Faction will have him locked up in a secret maximum security prison with no way for him to escape..." Arianne chuckled before nuzzling at Ferris''s neck. "Okay, okay..." She seductively whispered at Ferris''s ear causing her to slightly blush, "Let''s not talk about him anymore, we can''t do anything to him now that he''s on the Ocean Faction''s hands. Even if we warn them, they will suspect our intentions since we belong to the Reef Faction." "Indeed." Ferris tried to separate herself from Arianne to escape from her embarrassing position, but Arianne''s embraced just tightened. The door of the room wasn''t locked, and she was in one of Reef Faction''s military base, it was forbidden to have romantic interactions in these kinds of places. "They can catch us..." Ferris embarrassedly whispered. "Don''t worry." Arianne mischievously smiled, "I hacked into the base''s security network, and I''m in control of all the sensors, if somebody gets closer to this room, I will be the first to get the notice." "You..." Ferris wanted to speak something, but just helplessly sighed, "Bad habits die hard, huh." "Yep." Arianne nodded and tightened the embrace, "Now what''s the plan? What will you do with those two, John and Lenny?" "What else can I do? I can just send the kill order." "Is it really necessary? I mean, they were just caught in the situation..." "Arianne... you know better than anyone else the amount of innocent blood in my hands. All those workers in Lunar Mining Facilities. All those slaves in the Debt Enslavement Camps. I have a part in all of it. I regret none of my actions. In this universe, you have to learn how to be cruel, how to be merciless. I was born in the lowest of the lowest places. In my infancy, I learned through the hard way that only by climbing up a mountain of dead bodies would I be able to succeed, and that''s what I did. That''s what I am now. The most successful Human inside the Letheia Corporation." Ferris lowered her head in Arianne''s bosom. Ferris lifted her hand and stared at it with deep eyes, "Don''t you feel disgusted by being touched by these hands?" "No." Arianne grabbed that delicate hand and moving it to her lips, "I love them. I love everything about you. If you someday decide to destroy the whole universe, I will be there with you. I own my life to you. Use me however you want." "Arianne..." Ferris locked her arms behind Arianne and embraced her and then sealed her lips with Arianne''s lips in a deep and passionate kiss. Arianne was surprised for a moment before responding by tightening her hug and enjoying such passion that Ferris rarely demonstrate. Omen Lana Blake was a member of the Nova Rebellion; in fact, she was one of the high ranking members together with Portgas Balorio and Starkid, only beneath president Husk in the organization''s hierarchy. She was an Apex with all the typical physical characteristics of that race. A body covered in fur, menacing fangs, big nose, and prolonged skull. What really differentiates between a male and a female is their bosom and chest; in this case, they are very much like Humans. Lana had her body covered in a rough and dry brown fur, the result of her long live life on the battlefield, she already lost her hair on fire more than once. She wasn''t what an Apex would call beautiful; she was average looking in Apex''s standards. There was also a big red scar across her left eye, courtesy of a ruthless slash of a Miniknog soldier. Not counting her scar on the eye, there were many more that were hidden behind her fur. They were all granted to her by her long years fighting as a revolutionary against the oppressive Miniknog and Big Ape''s government. She was more than 30 years old, in which almost 20 she spent fighting. A master tactician that also help run black-market goods between rebel camps and Nova Rebellion. But she''s not the sort of to merely sit behind a desk and lead from the back. Lana is often right up front leading the charge against heavily-armed Miniknog installations, cool red scarf flapping in the wind, and a battle-scarred, green military uniform, as she sprays the battlefield with hot lead. Despite these overwhelming odds, she kept coming out alive and on top. She had entirely devoted her life to toppling the oppressive Apex government. Today she was in one of her hidden rebel bases just with some of the soldiers of the Nova Rebellion. She was preparing an attack on another Miniknog''s laboratory on a faraway planet when her PIPS started to ring. Her cold face frowned as she glanced at her PIPS. She wondered who was calling her at this important moment. The members inside the chamber she was currently hosting the reunion were all Apaxes as well. The conference room was reasonably big, with a giant table in the middle with 11 seats. On the sides of the room, there was a giant glass screen that showed images of cameras of the facility they were at and also other things. Lana was listening to a report coming from a soldier that just stood up when she received the call. The soldier stopped speaking when he noticed that Lana wasn''t paying attention to him anymore. He didn''t show any displeasure and just respectfully stood by the side and waited until Lana authorizes him to continue.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Once Lana caught a glimpse of the number in her PIPS, her face immediately changed. "I need a minute. Continue with your report, soldier. I''ll take a look at the resume after I''m back." She said at the people that were sitting on the table and also at the standing soldier before immediately walking out of the room. At the back of the conference room, Lana immediately answered the call. "President!" She saluted the person that appeared on the hologram just before her. The image of the hologram was very blurred, but it was still able to see that the person on the other side was a man, possibly human from his hands and body structure. He was wearing what seemed to be a formal tuxedo suit, and on his face, there was a complete white mask that covered his facial features. The person in the hologram was known as president Husk, the leader of the Nova Rebellion. "Lana Blake, change of plans." Husk said with a deep and calm voice, "There''s a problem in Jevil''s side. Forget the mission I gave you before. Your new mission is to harass and earn the Miniknog''s attention for one week." "Yes, sir!" Lana saluted and replied in a loud voice. "That''s all. Get back to work." With those words, Husk turned off the call. [One week...] Lana Blake frowned and scratched her furry chin. [That''s too much time. To keep the Miniknog''s attention for this long, I have to do something that will really piss them off...] She continued to think of a way until she returned to the conference room and announced the change of plans. ... The engines of the ship roared as the spacecraft left the planet''s atmosphere. Itsuki rested her head at the chair and closed her eyes as she waited for the nurses to bandage her wounds. *Beep, beep.* Her eyes opened as she felt her PIPS vibrating. Glancing at the number displayed, she bitterly smiled. As soon as she answered the call, she spoke, "Hello, father." "Itsuki, my daughter." The person on the other side was clearly not angered but rather thrilled, "I''m glad that you are okay." "Father..." Itsuki''s eyes softened once she heard her father, Sumeragi Hanzo, worried about her safety. But his worry also brought a sense of shame and disappointment at herself because it was her fault that the name of her family and their Faction suffered a hit. "I failed you." Itsuki lowered her head asked for forgiveness, "It was my fault that Jevil Redhook betrayed us. I should have never invited him." "There was no way for you to know that Jevil would betray us. He always seemed loyal, always doing his job perfectly without mistakes. Who would have thought he was already a spy of the Nova Rebellion." Hanzo spoke slowly and gently with Itsuki, "You don''t have to blame yourself. He''s already underway towards Alpis Prisonal Center; there''s no way for him to escape from there. Also, look at the bright side, we could get something from him. Letheia Corporation has been struggling to deal with those rebels for a long time. Maybe we can finally get some information about the Rebellion from Jevil''s mouth." "Yes, father. I understand." "Return home. Come back to Kuraokami. Your grandfather misses you." "Alright, I''ll go back once Jevil''s secured in Alpis. Nothing must go wrong." After saying goodbye to one another, they ended the call. She stared at a Condor-class spaceship flying beside her own Condor-class. It that ship was where Jevil was. Their destination was Alpis Criminal Detention Center, one of the biggest, and secret prison of the UHG, Universal Hylotl Government, that was basically built and controlled by Letheia Corporation. The premonition, the omen, she felt when looking at that spaceship only increased after each minute. Ever since she captured Jevil, she couldn''t shake off this feeling creeping in her body and mind. The feeling that something was about to happen in the near future... Occasus Cult and the Vault (1) Asra Nox, the founder and Great Leader of the Occasus Cult. She was a middle-aged woman with short black hair and sharp black eyes. She was slim and almost 1.85 meters tall, but her atmosphere and aura make her feel more towering and older than she looks. She didn''t have some developed bust and waist and lacked almost any feminine charm. She was wearing some purple, tight militaristic outfit with metal shoulder pads and some medals on the chest. On hands and on her feet, she was wearing black leather gloves and black leather boots. Asra slowly moved her hand up and fixed her old-stylish black, military peaked cap and black trench coat. Asra Nox was in her forties, which meant she had been fighting on the battlefield for more than 20 years since she was barely 18 when she founded the organization. The Cult was completely formed entirely of Humans, xenophobic and extremist Humans. Most members of the organization were people that had some conflict with other races. People that had their families killed by Novakid outlaws. Their relatives sacrificed in the name of the Kluex God by the religious Avians. Their friends were eaten alive by tribal Florans. Their cities bombarded and enslaved by Apexes agents of the Miniknog. Or their families were enslaved by mountains of debts after making deals with Hylotl''s Letheia Corporation. There was even a significant number of Protectors that grew tired of being Letheia''s watchdogs and left the Terrene Protectorate to join the Occasus Cult to fight for humanity. They didn''t hate other races, besides Hylotls, but between the outlaws of the Syndicate and the Occasus Cult, they often preferred the Cult since they fought, supposedly, for the betterment of humankind. Almost all the Cult''s members had a reason to hate and fight against other races. Asra herself also had a past with other races. Her whole family, her entire Colony was killed and destroyed by a group of criminals that were formed by all the 7 humanoid races. There were even some Penguins there. She was forced to silently watch in horror, hidden beneath the floor of her house, as her mother and father were tortured and killed by the outlaws. They tortured the victims only for the sheer enjoyment and then executed to leave no evidence that the Terrene Protectorate could use to track them. It was her mother that locked her beneath the floor, and said for Asra to stay there and don''t do anything. Asra stood in her hiding spot, crying and helpless since she was too young and weak to lift the heavy metal trap door that was the only viable exit from where she was.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. The young Asra was only saved when a Terrene Protectorate patrol found the ravaged colony. The person that saved Asra Nox was none other than Esther Bright. Esther Bright saved Asra a few years before she became the Grand Protector. At that time, she was nothing more than an above-average Protector. A few things happened that led to Asra fleeing from under Esther''s years of care. They spent almost 5 years living together before Asra decided to leave. The main reason she left was because of Esther''s discovery of the Ruin. Esther wanted to warn the universe of this threat, but Asra saw the Ruin with other eyes. The Ruin, for her, was a savior, a being that would eliminate all the other races of the universe until only Humans will be left standing. Despite the danger of such creature, Asra believed that she could control it. Her mission to find the Artefacts led to her to travel throughout the universe while fastly growing her force that would soon become the Occasus Cult. Her search led to her to the planet she was currently at. Asra Box was on her usual tight, purple military clothing. Her cold eyes sweep at the three people that were seated at the opposite side of her in that spacious conference room. The three of them were wearing the same kind of purple military clothing as Asra''s. She slowly opened her mouth and asked with a chilling and powerful voice, "Any suggestion?" "It''s for the best to cut ties with Nova Rebellion since Jevil Redhook has been captured." One of the three calmly raised his voice as he respectfully suggested. The one who just spoke was an old, middle-aged man, right at his fifties. He had a full beard and short black hair with a few strands of white hair signaling his age. He was tall, about 1.94 meters, broad shoulders, and had a muscular body. His aura was a war veteran that had more than a fair share of blood in his hands. The fierce and bloodthirsty aura around him conflicted with the calm and imposing exterior. "Didn''t Husk said that they would fix the situation in a week? Let''s wait before making a decision. Don''t rush things, Knax." A smooth and gentle voice came from the middle-aged man''s side. The speaker was the handsome young man with complete white, short, hair, and purple eyes. He was at the size size of Asra, 1.85 meters, and had a slim body. The feeling he gives to people around him was like of a close friend, someone you could talk with and trust. He looked frail and delicate, but beneath that fragile and gentle exterior, lies his true self. Knax turned his head to the side and just threw a quick glance at the young man before ignoring him. His eyes landed at the figure seating at his right, "What about you, Elana. What do you think?" The person seating at Knax''s right side was a charming, seductress young woman with silky, black hair, and enchanting black eyes. Her bust was massive, at least twice as big as Asra''s. She also had a rather large bottom. She sweetly smiled and answered Knax''s question while looking directly at Asra, "I suggest that we wait one week before we decide our next move. There''s still one month until Unity Day. We still have more than enough time." Asra nodded, satisfied with their answers, "Then we shall wait." She said before turning her head once toward Elana and asking, "How is the mission I gave you going?" Occasus Cult and the Vault (2) Hearing Asra''s question, Elana immediately answered, "After interrogating some Hylotl historians and scholars, I finally found some clues at where the Hylotl Artifact is located. Sorting everything out, it appears that the Hylotl Artefact is located in a place called Grand Pagoda Library. An old library that dates far before even the historical battle between Florans and Hylotls. But worry not, Great Leader, it won''t take long before I find the coordinates of that place." Asra slowly tapped her finger on the table before asking again, "What about the Floran Artefact? Didn''t you sent a Floran mercenary to the Great Hunt?" "This..." Elana dodged Asra''s sharp eyes and embarrassedly lowered her head, "My Floran mercenary failed to win the Great Hunt, but don''t worry too much. His chances of winning were already meager. Against monsters such as Nuru and Peri, he would have no chance at all." "Really?" The young man played with the glass filled with water in front of him. He mischievously smiled and spoke, "From what I heard, the winner was a Human, not Nuru and neither Peri. Peri didn''t even participate in the Great Hunt." "Mao..." Elana frowned in displeasure at the young man spoke so suddenly before she could explain to Asra what happened. Mao shrugged his shoulders and smiled wickedly. Asra frowned, and her piercing eyes focused at Elana that started to break in cold sweat by being stared by Asra''s eyes. "Explain yourself." Asra coldly commanded. "Yes, ma''am," Elana replied as her back become filled with sweat, and her body stiffened. "The information I received from my informant says that the winner was a Human, apparently. His identity is still unknown, and I have a feeling that my informant is still upholding the info, unwilling to disclose it to me. I''m still looking into it, and also trying to figure out why he''s being so careful now. Once I have more information, I will certainly report to you, ma''am." "Why don''t you give your informant to me?" Mao said as he casually looked at Elana. "He will spill the information in no time." Mao said in a playful manner with a gentle and heartwarming smile plastered. "I know about your methods, Lieutenant Mao." Elana threw a side glance at Mao and said in a flat tone, "Bloody and ruthless. Your torture sections always leave a mess behind. The informant has a rather high profile on the Floran community. I don''t want something to happen to him that could make the Greenfinger''s Council set their eyes on us. We are already basically fighting against almost all Hylotls and Apexes, as we go head to head against Letheia Corporation and Miniknog, I don''t want another race joining the frail of wanting us dead."If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "*Tch*" Mao clicked his tongue in displeasure, "But you can''t deny that my methods work, right?" "Yes, indeed. They are effective. After all, you are better than us in forcibly taking information from people. Unfortunately, you are way too occupied with the mission Great Leader Asra gave to you; if not, I might have thought of throwing this mission at you." "About my mission, don''t worry too much. My Vulture Special Ops will deal with it in no time." He said, somewhat proudly. "Oh, I don''t doubt it. You always complete your missions. Albeit, I have to say, I''m no fan of your methods. The last mission was a simple stealth operation to retrieve the target, but you went there, killed almost everyone, and tortured the survivors for the sheer enjoyment. You should always bring the higher officers of such locations to me, and I''ll extract whatever useful information he has, but you always have them killed." Elana angrily threw one complaint after another at the unfazed and casually smiling Mao. "But I completed my mission stealthy. No witnesses were left behind." Mao chuckled as he said playfully. "You-" "Enough," Asra interjected both Elana and Mao before the conflict between both of them escalate. Elana immediately tensed up and returned to look at Asra. Mao just lazily sat on his chair and switched his eyesight from Elana to Asra. Knax stood by the side, silent and steady as a rock. Once she saw that both had stop bickering, she started to speak, "Mao and Elana, I-" *Blam* "MA''AM!!!" Somebody charged into the conference room while breathing fast and covered on sweat. It was a middle-aged man with short black hair, full beard on his face, about 1.89 meters of height, and a somewhat fit body, not very muscular and neither slim. He was wearing a miner hard hat with a flashlight attached, and an orange uniform. His face filled with dust and dirt was flushed red because of the physical effort he did to get to the conference room and because of excitement. Once he lifted his head and saw four pairs of eyes menacingly glaring at him, his excitement died down a bit. "I''m sorry about the intrusion, ma''am, but I bring important and urgent news." He said respectfully toward the cold middle-aged woman know as Asra Nox. "Say it, Clark." She spoke with a flat and menacing tone, "If I deem to be unworthy news, I will behead you because of this intrusion." "Yes..." Clark broke in cold sweat as he straightened his back and spoke with his excitement rekindled, "We found it! The excavation was successful. We have arrived at the Ancient Vault." His eyes brightened with decor as he spoke. Yes, this man was Clark, the same Overseer that was in Lunar Base 12 before the John and Lenny arrived there. He was forcibly taken away by Occasus Cult troops that went to investigate the Base. Still, once they found that the situation was worse than they predicted, they decided to leave after kidnapping the Overseer, Clark, to question about some Letheia Corporate''s secrets. After spending some time with the Occasus Cult, Clark disclosed everything he knew willingly to them and also decided to join the cause. He wasn''t fighting for humanity and neither for hatred against another race. When he saw Mao''s methods and way of work, disposing of everybody that lost their value, he decided to make himself valuable once he learned that the Cult was leading an excavation in a faraway planet. He convinced Asra to make him oversee the excavation process and thus save his own skin. Occasus Cult and the Vault (3) "Good!" Asra stood up from her chair, and her stiff face cracked, forming a rare happy smile. The four people in the room, Clark, Mao, Elana, and Knax, stared at Asra as they witnessed such rare event. "I need to see it personally." Asra walked pass Clark walking directly toward the place Clark came. Elana and Knax swiftly followed her. "Ah." Clark was awoken by his stunned situation when he felt someone patting his shoulder. Turning his head around, he came face to face with the ever-smiling Mao. "Why are you standing here? Asra is going to be mad at you." He said with a gentle and warm tone. Clark instantly shuddered when faced with that friendly and gentle expression. He respectfully moved his shoulder to leave from Mao''s clutch and swiftly ran away from Mao. Seeing this scene, Mao just chuckled and left the conference room soon after. ... Asra, Mao, Elana, Knax, and Clark were standing in a service elevator that was slowly descending deep into the Erchius Mine. Giant purple crystals could be seen all around them, making the need for a light source unnecessary. Asra silently watched as the elevator descended deep into the enormous, circular hole. She turned around and suddenly spoke with Clark that was behind her together with Mao, Elana, and Knax, "Tell me again about the Ancient Vaults that were found by Letheia Corporation in the past." "Ah! Yes, ma''am." Clark was surprised for a second as he was trying to diminish his presence as he was beside the three highest officers of Occasus Cult and also behind the Great Leader of the organization. He lowered his head and spoke weakly and somewhat fearfully, "This information is only known by a selected number of people inside Letheia. Even politics of the Hylotl government doesn''t know about this, the Ocean and Reef Faction made sure to keep it secret. All the miners and people overseeing the excavation of the Vaults were silenced. The miners were executed, some overseers mysteriously disappeared, other traveled far away, never to return." He stopped for a moment before continuing, "I became aware of this Vaults because one day I saw some confidential documents left behind by Ferris Laparte when she came to analyze the Lunar Base 12, I think she went there to be certain, whatever or not, there was a Vault there. From the documents, I was only able to take a glance at, Letheia Corporation found three other Vaults. Each Vault had something precious. One of them was found many, many years ago, and it contained the knowledge to develop the FTL Warp System, the technology that we all know very well. This was the knowledge that led Letheia to rise from a simple mining company to the behemoth that is today in a short span of time. The second Vault also contained some knowledge. It appears to be knowledgeable about the development of weapons using Erchius Crystals. As we know, it has always been a desire for every government, weapon company, and militaristic organization to discover a way to turn such powerful crystals into weapons, but they never succeed. It appears that Letheia now can create such weapons... I think I''m not certain."A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Asra frowned a little then asked, "What about the third Vault?" "This..." Clark scratched his head a little before reluctantly saying, "When I glanced at the documents, Letheia had just found the Vault, they were in the process of opening it." "Should we expect something unfortunate to happen as we open a Vault?" "Well...in the documents was said that inside each Vault there was always an army of humanoid robots that greatly resemble Glitches, but they are incapable of speaking and apparently have just a single mission, to kill any trespasser. Their weaponry is heavy and powerful, their armors sturdy and light. In short, very deadly. I recommend using mechs to explore the depths of the Vaults since they also have lots of deadly traps." Clark warned Asra to not go directly into such dangerous place. Asra silently stared into nothing as she lost in deep thought after hearing what Clark said. As soon as the elevator reached the deepest part of the mine, Asra and the others were greeted with the incredible sight before them. "Amazing, isn''t it?" Clark''s eyes were sparkling as he looked at the enormous building that was located in the deepest part of the moon that they were currently at. The Ancient Vault before them was a large gray structure. There were strange symbols carved in each piece of those gray stones that coupled formed the structure that was more than 20 meters high, and with an unknown number of width since it wasn''t completely excavated. The language and the stone were the same used in the Ancient Gateways, making one to easily connect the dots that these buildings were all made by the people of the same civilization and probably culture. In the middle of the building, there was a massive door that had beautiful blue crystals ornaments all around it. Asra''s eyes brightened as those crystals caught her attention. "What are those?" She asked. "Believe or not, they are Erchius Crystals, 100% pure Erchius Crystals." Clark answered Asra''s question with enthusiasm. He spent most of his life working in Erchius mines, so he knew the value of such blue crystals. "The purer the crystal is, the bluer. Sometimes we can barely see a few pieces of such blue Erchius Crystal. Seeing this much, I can help but drool over them. A single one of the ornaments in that door cannot be sold in the black market, but rather in an auction house, people in the market won''t have enough money to pocket such expensive items." "Don''t Letheia Corporation know how to purify Erchius Crystals? The FTL Engines are made primarily of purified Crystals." Elana frowned in suspicion and glanced at Clark. "Yes, Letheia have a method they keep hidden behind secure lockers. But they can only purify it barely 10% of it. If they try to do more, the crystal will undoubtedly crack and lost it''s energy and losing its value." Clark answered the question unfazed. "Knax," Asra called out for the stern middle-aged man behind her. "Yes, ma''am." Knax walked forward and saluted. "Prepare your most trustful 300 soldiers with the best Mechs and weapons we have. I want what is inside that Vault as soon as possible." "It will be done, ma''am." Knax saluted once more before leaving the place. Mao stood by side with a casual smile on his face, but when nobody was paying attention at him, his eyes flashed with an unknown and eerie gleam... Leaving Bellatorsilva (1) The known universe was divided into 6 sectors, each controlled by a unified government by one of the 6 main races that were granted an Artefact by the cultivator. Florans mainly populated sector Alpha, and thus it became the Greenfinger''s Council''s territory. Humans mainly populated sector Beta, and thus it became the UEG and Terrene Protectorate''s territory. Hylotls mainly populated sector Gamma, and thus it became the UHG (Universal Hylotl Government) and Letheia Corporation''s territory. Sector Delta was mainly populated by Avians and thus became the Holy Kluex Church''s territory. Sector Psi was mainly populated by Apexes and thus became the Miniknog''s, Big Ape, territory. Sector Omega was mainly populated by Glitches and thus became the Privy''s Council''s territory. But the universe wasn''t something that ended within the six sectors. It exist infinite galaxies and planets beyond these sectors. Beyond the Center of the Universe, aka the six sectors, lies what was called by the people of the six sectors, the New Frontier. Traveling into the New Frontier was a hazardous endeavor. Because of the high number of Spatial Distortions and mysterious reasons, the use of FTL Warp Jump was naturally jammed around those places. There were also unpredictable meteor belts that come and go in random intervals. The New Frontier is a crazy place that few dared to explore. The job of exploration usually fell on the Protectors'' shoulders. Letheia Corporation paid a lot to the Elder Council inside the Terrene Protectorate to continuously send Protectors deeper and deeper into the New Frontier, searching for Vaults and other things that might interest them. The number of Protectors that died out there was uncountable... .... Sector Alpha, Gaia galaxy, Bellatorsilva forest planet, near Ceremonial Hunting Caverns... Sound of fighting could be heard coming from the back of a large, beautiful mansion made primarily of wood and sturdy-looking flowers. In that spacious backyard, two blurs, one green and the other blue, were constantly clashing against each other. Using only their fists, they fought savagely, without rules, using everything on their disposal to defeat the other person. *Bam* Ultimately, the green person prevailed as it delivered a devastating blow right at the blue person''s chest. The blue person recovered his balance and stopped flying backward by the green person''s blow.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. "Not enough, John." The green figure approached the blue figure and extended its hand, "You think too much when fighting. Don''t rely on your powers. Someday you might have to fight without them." "Alright, alright. I''m trying, don''t you see?" John shook his head, making the few blades of grass on his black hair fall back on the ground, "Can''t you take a little easier with me, Peri?" "No. You almost died in the Great Hunt because you weren''t strong enough." Peri instantly rejected John''s proposal, "You have almost made a complete recovery after three days, but I won''t let you leave this planet before you can at least land a few direct hits on me." "Argh..." John groaned as he felt his whole body in pain after being fighting with Peri for almost 2 hours without resting. In fact, it couldn''t be called a fight. It was a one-sided beating. John barely could almost land a few hits of Peri, while she ultimately defeats him every time. If he used his power, Bullet Time, he might be able to win, but this was a training session for John to learn how to fight without using powers. Or, as Peri once said, he should learn to trust his instincts, he should hone them. He always thinks of the next move and how to respond, which led to him making moves slowly. Peri always fights almost wholly based on her instincts. She defeated John without significant effort every time. He entered in position and charged once again towards Peri. This time, he was going to try something different. *Bam* Without surprise, John was soon on the ground once again. Peri lightly chuckled as she walked by John and helped him stand up again. "It''s difficult..." John said under his rushed breath. "Getting stronger is a difficult and painful process. It took more than 16 years of intense fighting and training for me to get this strong." Peri comforted him by patting his shoulder, "Let''s go. Take your time to rest. You haven''t recovered completely yet." John smiled bitterly and glanced at the back of his right hand. He would never forget that unbearable burning pain he felt that day. A few days ago, just when he fainted because of the pain, it was Nuru that brought him back to surface while caring Thim on her back despite her own grievous injuries. She found Akna and Peri waiting by the exit and delivered him to them. They swiftly brought him to a Greenfinger alchemist to have a look at John that was burning in fever and having constant seizures. His whole body was already covered in wounds, plus the mysterious fever and seizure, the Greenfinger was left lost at what to do. He just gave some medicines to relieve the pain and fever, nothing else could be done with his rudimentary medical skills. Peri thought of using the medical pods in John''s ship, but she didn''t know what to do, and how it works. Right before she decided to try it out, John started to get better as the fever got lower and lower, until it disappeared as soon as appeared one day later. Peri and Akna could finally sigh in relief as he recovered at a speed that stunned them. In less than two days, John was finally able to wake up, despite his body not completely recovered. The instant he woke up, he looked at his right hand to see if something changed, but there was nothing there. Even though he was clear that something changed inside him, he wasn''t sure what changed and decided to run full check-ups in his ship, and also training with Peri. The only notable difference was that he got stronger, sturdier, and resistant. Which was good, but still made John worried since he didn''t know from where such improvement came from. It was impossible for him to improve so much in a short amount of time. Even after searching for a long time, he still found nothing and decided to ignore this, for now, to wait until he was fully recovered before going to search an Ancient Gateway and go back to the Ark Outpost. He won the Great Hunt, and thus had the Floran Artefact in his hands. He wanted to give to Esther, but it doesn''t matter how many times John called her in the past few days, she never answered. So, he decided to go to the Ark Outpost to search for her and deliver the Artefact. As for finding out what was happening to his body, this could wait. John stared at his right hand while a frown formed in his face. Unknown to him, Peri that was by his side also was casting a long glance at his hand while her black eyes gleamed with a mysterious light. She unconsciously lowered her left hand and slowly caressed her own right hand that had started to shine with a barely visible blue light. Leaving Bellatorsilva (2) After he was done training with Peri, John went back to his room to take a shower. Looking at his naked body through the mirror, he could see that all his injuries that he suffered in the Ceremonial Hunting Caverns left only faint scars. Scars weren''t a problem; he could just go to a specialized hospital and have them removed, for a hefty price, of course. He never really cared about his own appearance, and this didn''t change a bit over time, so he didn''t see the need to get rid of the scars and was planning to just leave them there. After taking a bath and cleaning up the dirt and some blood from scratches he suffered when battling with Peri, he walked out of the bathroom only with his towel covering his waist. In the room''s wardrobe, there were some clothes that could be used by him. He tried out those plant-based, natural, usual clothing style of Florans. He couldn''t keep them for more than a few minutes. He immediately switched back to his blue Terrene Protectorate uniform. Since he kept himself only with the towel and underwear, while his Terrene Protectorate''s uniform was being cleaned by a butler that worked in Akna''s mansion for more than a few decades. Feeling somewhat bored, he switched his PIPS on and decided to watch some TV while connected in the SkyNet. SkyNet was the network that spanned across the whole Center of the Universe, the six sectors. There were satellites across the entire universe that provided connection to the universal internet to everyone. The project was created by the ISU, Independent Scientific Union, with the help of Letheia Corporation, Terrene Protectorate, and the Miniknog. The Independent Scientific Union was a non-governmental and non-profit driven organization that focuses entirely on scientific inventions and advancements while abiding by moral codes and laws of the Terrene Protectorate, different from the Miniknog that seek knowledge and scientific advancements whatever the cost and without any moral and ethical standards. They work with all governments and organizations, but they never deal with military science. Their inventions and advancements were focused on the betterment of everyone in the universe. That''s why SkyNet was free and without any censorship. While some governments restrict the access of SkyNet in their planets, like the Miniknog, they couldn''t block it everywhere since the amount of SkyNet satellites were unknown even to ISU that continuously builds new ones. As John was roaming in the SkyNet, he decided to check up the news channel. The moment he clicked in it, the holographic screen in front of him just got bigger and started to show images after a short period of static. It was a charming Hylotl female behind a large table. She had a big, casual smile plastered on her face. On the panel on her back, there was the number of the channel, 196, and the three red dots in an L, forming the symbol of Letheia Corporation.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. It was clear that the news channel had some close connection with the Corporation. "Good day people of the universe, I''m you let host, Hiraki, and you''re watching Channel 196''s news." She said calmly with a pleasant voice for the ears, "For the first story, we have breaking news coming from Sector Beta. Two days ago, Mars and Mercury planets from Milky Way Galaxy were destroyed by the same mysterious red tentacles that attacked Earth and some other places, mainly Terrene Protectorate''s outposts across the universe..." John''s hands closed in a tight grip as his whole body started to tremble. His face was expressionless, and he looked to be calm, but his body reactions showed his true emotions. She continued, "...In response to this sudden attack, the United Earth Government, UEG, called an emergency meeting in the new political central planet for the Humans, Pandora. We don''t have specific information about what was discussed there in detail. Still, just a few minutes ago, they met with representatives of the Independent Scientific Union, ISU, and they said in a press conference that they had valuable information about this mysterious threat that was destroying planets, and it needed to be shared and known to the public. For this intention, ISU and UEG announced that they are organizing an assembly with governments that represent each race and giant organizations. The appointed representative of the UEG in this reunion has been decided, from our sources, it is said that Esther Bright, the previous Grand Protector, is the one they chose, together with the president of the UEG. The reunion has been set in the Unity Day, the universal holiday that takes place every year in the day that the Terrene Protectorate was founded..." John fell on the bed and absentmindedly stared at the ceiling. [First Earth, now Mars and Mercury...] He thought, [I must act faster...the seal is getting weaker and weaker. More people are going to die.] His eyes flared open as his determination to search for the Artefacts was rekindled with even stronger flames. He was about to turn off the new when Hiraki started to speak about the next news. "Now, for the breaking news at Sector Gamma. A Letheia Corporation''s employee was recently arrested, suspected of selling trade secrets. Jevil Redhook, a white young man, apparently 23 to 25 years old, with bright red hair, he was a successful and rather high member in Letheia Corporation''s Ark Outpost, but it seems that his loyalty was in another place. Our sources say that he was closely working with the terrorist group known as Nova Rebellion that strikes terror across the whole universe for decades. He is also being investigated and charged for his previous crimes as a pirate that terrorized Sector Beta before the cleaning operation by the Terrene Protectorate that took place there years ago..." "Jevil? Nova Rebellion?" John only saw images of the Ark Outpost''s Underworld leader. The reason he remembered the name was because Lenny commented that he had spoken with Jevil while he was utterly drunk during the competition at the Iron Fist Arena. As for Nova Rebellion, he heard about their history during one of his lessons in the Terrene Protectorate''s School. They were a group formed many, many years ago. The founders were all Apexes that grew tired of being ruled by the ruthless Big Ape and his Miniknog. The rebels fought and grew against the Miniknog, and time pass, more and more people joined the Rebellion. As it grew in numbers, and diversity of race, their objective changed from fighting against the oppressive Big Ape, to fight against the establishment, against the norms. People that wanted change, even if changes might not bring something good, they still wanted changes. Their growth threatened Miniknog that decided to make deals with Letheia Corporation to help them deal with this rising organization. Letheia Corporation''s Hyperion was the primary arms dealer with Nova Rebellion. Soon after Miniknog and the Corporation closed the deal, Hyperion stopped selling cheap and powerful weapons to the Rebellion. Letheia also released a statement that any arms dealer making deals with Nova Rebellion would be blacklisted by the Corporation and hunt down by Miniknog agents. Terrene Protectorate also started to crack down at Nova Rebellion personal. Surrounded by every side, it was no wonder that the once-rising Nova Rebellion saw a fast downfall. They were on the verge of disappearing when a new leader took over the Nova Rebellion. His name was Husk, the leader of the Rebellion that adopted the title of President. Leaving Bellatorsilva (3) Husk was so mysterious that no one knew his face or even an inkling of his origin. The only available information about him was that he was a Human and a male. His face was always covered with a mask. But no one could doubt his skills. He brought Nova Rebellion from the brink of extinction to become one of the biggest organizations in just 13 years. While his rise within the organization was filled with hideous plots, betrayals, and backstabbing, he left no opposition to his rule and swiftly had complete control over everyone. Even Letheia, Terrene Protectorate, and Miniknog together were unable to stop Husk''s meteoric rise. And thus, Nova Rebellion became even stronger and ruthless under his rule. The soldiers were loyal to the point of carrying suicide missions and exploding themselves during combat to bring an enemy down with them. This brought fear onto Terrene Protectorate and Letheia Corporation that suffered terribly lost on Husk''s hands. They never fought an enemy that knew them better than themselves. It was around the rise of Husk that Asra was also able to grow. The rise of the organization against the establishment. No government can stay forever in power. No country can rule forever. No corporation can grow indefinitely. The limits had been reached. Corruption inside the Terrene Protectorate. The fractured Letheia Corporation in three Factions that continuously oppose each other. It was inevitable the rise of opposition. John frowned as he thought about Nova Rebellion. They weren''t as terrible as the news network claimed them to be. While it was true that they always caused death to where they go, they still refrained from causing innocent casualties. Different from Occasus Cult that where ever they go, an ocean of blood was left behind. Letheia Corporation had a lot more blood in their hands than Occasus Cult, and Nova Rebellion combined. After learning the truth from Esther Bright, John became skeptical and doubting everything that had some connection with Letheia. [What Jevil actually did?] John frowned as he thought, [I don''t believe one bit that his crime was just what they told the news channel.] He gave up thinking too deeply at Jevil''s situation and started to think about humanity''s condition. With the loss of Earth and the other two most significant Human colonies, the Human government should be in shambles and filled with infighting. Even though Pandora seemingly took control over the UEG, John didn''t believe that they had the influence and military power to fully control other Humans colonies. Especially now that Letheia would not waste this chance to cause internal strife in the Human government and decide which side will become the overlord of the Human race.Stolen story; please report. While Esther Bright might be able to help bring stability, it won''t last long. What humanity needed was a strong leader able to inspire them to go forwards towards the future, unafraid of the other powerful goverments. It was certain that foreign governments and organizations will start to influence different parties within the UEG. John realized the need to speed up his search for the Artefacts now more than ever. As soon as the Ruin is destroyed, the fewer casualties. John stood up and went to the door since he heard someone knocking on it, interrupting his train of thoughts. It was one of the mansion workers that came just to deliver his blue uniform. John thanked the man and entered his room to changes clothes. On wore them, he looked inside his Inventory and retrieved his Scouter''s Set of armor. Seeing the state it was in, John bitterly smiled. There was no way he could continue using it. The whole metal armor was filled with holes and deep cuts that went through the entire armor, almost ending on the other side. He decided what he should do next. He needed to go to the Ark Outpost, search for Esther, upgrade his ship, get new weapons, and fix his armor or get a new one. John left his room and walked entered in the living room that was downstairs on the first floor. The moment he got there, he saw the old Floran, Akna, and Peri that was beside her. She had her gray spear in hands and was using an armor that was a mixture of wood and plant fiber. While John thought it was an armor, he couldn''t actually see it as one, mainly because it was way too reviling. There were too many open spots in the abdomen, and above the chest, vital parts of a body that a well-delivered bullet could easily create deadly wounds. John never understood the motives of Floran armors since they leave most of the vital spots open. If it is to leave it unprotected, why wear the armor? It was for the best to just change to regular clothes since it''s way lighter, and since Floran''s basically fight using their physicals advantages in speed and strength, it wouldn''t change much. But John decided that it wasn''t time to think about such things. He should get directly to the point. "Are you leaving?" Akna''s sharp eyes instantly saw through John''s intentions. "Ah? Yes, a few things happened, and I cannot wait any longer. I need to continue with my mission." "You''re not fully recovered, John." Peri interjected, "It will take one day or two with your current recovery speed." "I need to go." John''s determination was burning stronger than ever. He was adamant about leaving despite his internal injuries that had yet to recover. "A lot of lives depend on it." Akna''s eyebrow rose slightly as she saw John''s determination. Peri stared directly at John before saying in a serious tone, "I''ll go with you." "What?" John confuses glanced at Peri''s serious face before asking, "What did you say?" "I''ll go with you." She said slowly, "I can feel something calling for me out there in the space. My place isn''t in a tribe. My adventurous spirit cannot be contained. Besides..." Peri''s eyes suddenly glowed with an eerie and cold light, "I still have a debt to settle with the Syndicate after what they have done with my tribe and family." "Are you sure about this?" John asked Peri while he stealthy glanced at Akna. He wasn''t against this, but he wasn''t sure about Akna''s will. Peri seemed to respect her grandmother very much, and he was sure that if Akna were against it, Peri would surely obey her grandmother. "Go with him, child." Akna lovingly looked at Peri as she gently caressed her head, "I know that you hate being forced to do something." "Thanks, grandmother." Peri closed her eyes and enjoyed the gentle feeling of Akna''s fingers running across her head. "John, take this." Akna took something from her PIPS and threw it in the air. John easily caught the bag. As soon as he glanced at the contents, his heart couldn''t help but skip a beat. It was a bag filled with Pixels. From the weight and size of the bag, John could calculate that there would be about 100 thousand Pixels, that was an enormous quantity. "Consider this my prize for victory in the Great Hunt." Akna smiled. "Thanks, this will be of great help." John said, sincerely. "Now, go." Akna lifted her hand from Peri''s head and urged her to leave. John and Peri both said goodbye to Akna as they left the mansion through the main door. The moment they left the door, both disappeared in a blinding blue as they beamed up to John''s ship that was still on orbit. Leaving Bellatorsilva (4) John glanced at the Navigation Console in his ship''s cockpit. He was currently seated on the captain''s chair and roaming around the Interstellar Map given to him by Itsuki, searching for a planet that had an Ancient Gateway that could lead him to the Ark Outpost. Still, it doesn''t seem like the map showed this particular information. While he could return to the first planet that he had been, it would take more Erchius Fuel than what he had. Be used most of the fuel to jump directly to Bellatorsilva, where he took part in the Great Hunt. Now he didn''t have enough to jump back. [Looks like I''ll need to get some Erchius Crystals or Liquid by myself.] John thought as he closed the map. While it was possible for him to mine such resource since he had the Matter Manipulator, he heard that there was a lot of danger in exploring such moons that contain Erchius resources. Such a danger was the mysterious entity known as Erchius Ghost that roams in moons that are rich in Erchius resources. "Hmm..." John thoughtfully scratched his chin. He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn''t notice a green figure that sat on the chair that was beside him. It was only a few seconds later that John caught a glimpse of the figure from the corner of his eye. "Peri? I thought you were in your room." He identified the green figure and spoke. "I was bored." She commented. She lazily sat on the chair and placed her feet on top of the console. John''s eyebrows twitched as he watched this scene being unfolded before him. "What is the-" Peri was about to ask something to John when he stopped her from speaking because he got a message from SAIL. "Protector, there are multiple spacecraft approaching at high speed." The robotic voice echoed in the cockpit, "They are about 30000km away from our current position. Based on their speed, they will arrive next to our location in less than 3 minutes." "Really?" John wasn''t that worried about, "Change our route. Let them pass by. I don''t want to enter any troublesome situation." "Yes, Protector." John''s spaceship swiftly changed direction and started to get out of the path. "There''s a call incoming." SAIL warned John. "A call? It''s from Esther?" John hopefully glanced at the console.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He had been trying to contact Esther since he woke up, but it was complete radio silence at her side. He urgently needed directions to complete his quest. The weight of such mission was making John feel suffocated, and he hasn''t been able to feel any kind of joy or strong emotion besides guilt. After the news of Mars and Mercury also falling by the Ruin''s tentacles, John unconsciously placed the blame on himself. If he had completed the Great Hunt sooner if he had warned them on the possibility of an attack... "No." John looked down and sighed as he heard SAIL''s answer. Peri worriedly glanced at John. His situation was well known to her since even she could see the changes. His psychology looked like it had something wrong ever since the day he suddenly said he was going to leave. There seemed always to have a gloom and depressing aura around him that really worried Peri. The robotic voice continued, "It''s coming from an Independent Scientific Union''s Stationary Space Station not very far away from our current location. From the info in Protector''s PIPS, the caller is Lenny." "Lenny?" John''s head instantly lifted, "He is back there?" "That Novakid?" Peri remembered the Novakid that was beside John on both the Iron Fist Arena and in the Black Star Syndicate''s Outpost. Remembering that Novakid also made Peri unconsciously glance at her right hand. Different from everyone, the feeling she gets from Lenny is...strange. She never had a reaction like that with no one else. It seemed to be something that connected both of them, something that both had. She never demonstrated before, but the moment she Lenny''s entered in her line of sight back in the Ark Outpost, she already felt something wrong as her mark reacted with his presence. She wasn''t sure if it was Lenny or John that caused such reaction at the Ark Outpost and the Black Syndicate''s Outpost. Since both of them were together at these times, she was unsure of who was causing such reaction. It was only after John landed at Bellatorsilva that she confirmed that it was indeed Lenny that generate this reaction at her mark. But ever since John came back from the Ceremonial Hunting Caverns, she also started to feel some reactions when close to John. Although they were only faint reactions, barely felt by her, it was still a fact that something happened inside the Caverns that now made her mark have reactions whenever she was close to John, very close. "What''s he doing?" John whispered with a low voice as he pressed in the touchscreen of the console to answer the call. "CONNOR!!!! I NEED HELP!!" As soon as the call stabilized, John heard Lenny''s loud shout over the sound of gunshots in the background. John''s face immediately changed as he straightened his back and asked Lenny, "What''s happening?" "I don''t have to say, *Bang!* just come to my loca...*Bang*...tion. I really need your help," Lenny''s voice was filled with urgency. "Wait-" Before John could speak, the call was cut short, "What happened?" John turned to his PIPS and asked SAIL. "The signal was lost. I''m trying to connect again, but the signal is being jammed." "You got his location?" "Yes, the location has been saved." "Take us to him..." John said in a grave tone. "It''ll be done, Protector." John sat back in his chair with frowned eyebrows and pressed lips. "Don''t worry." Peri saw how John was acting, "He''ll be alright. He''s a lot stronger than you think." John glanced at Peri and nodded at her. He was grateful that she was saying such comforting words to him, but his worry wasn''t just Lenny. Even though he really wanted to save Lenny, he also needed to hurry up with his primary mission. Lenny was a very important friend to John if not the last person he sees as a friend since most of his old ones were probably dead after Earth was destroyed. John was actually thinking if someday he had to choose between his friends or to complete his mission, what would he choose. The fate of the entire universe lies in him gathering the six Artifacts. [Selfishness or selflessness...?] John silently rested his head on the chair and wondered. Lennys Situation (1) A few light-years away from John and Peri... An enormous building made of metal was silently standing in the nothingness of the outer space, surrounded by nothing but little dots of lights in the distance. But there was something wrong with this space station. Around it, multiples small ships could be seen. These ships were all Condor-class spacecrafts. The ships were all colored pitch black and had no other mark or anything that could show its origin, owner, or organization it belongs to. The inside of the Space Station was beautifully built in the most simplistic way possible to maximize utility rather than beauty. Long white corridor with enough light to illuminate the whole place. Uncountable rooms that were bedrooms and also various types of rooms made specifically for scientific use, such as the laboratories. The energy cost to maintain such enormous building was very high, that''s why it wasn''t powered using Core Fragments, but rather with Erchius Crystals. It was very expensive to power the Space Station with Erchius Crystals, but the Independent Scientific Union (ISU) had more than enough money to operate more than ten of such stations across the known universe. How they earn such amount of money? It''s simple; they develop and research new technologies to all governments and organizations. But they never touch the subject of militaristic use of their technology. They remain neutral in conflicts and had set their goal as the betterment of the universe. That''s why they are funded by everyone, but the technology developed and researched by them would be publicly available, and not belonging to one group or another. Although their policies make some people unhappy, they had no other choice than bitterly accept how ISU deal with it because ISU was at the forefront in scientific discoveries, even further than Letheia Corporation and Miniknog. Letheia Corporation didn''t see the need to destroy such an organization since it doesn''t meddle in worldly affairs. But Miniknog saw ISU differently. Most of the scientists from the ISU were Apexes that fled from Big Ape''s dictatorship. For the Miniknog, the ISU was only a bunch of rebels that needed to be eliminated... ...Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Inside the ISU''s Stationary Space Station: Alarms could be heard all around the station as the previously bustling corridors were now empty and illuminated only by the red emergency lights in the ceiling. Corpses from all races were lying lifeless in the cold, metallic white floor. A pool of crimson blood beneath them drenched their clothes and body with the sticky and thick liquid. In one specific room, there were three people hiding behind a lab table that had all kinds of glass containers with unknown liquids in them. One of the people was a yellow Novakid with an "Omega" brand on his face. He was wearing leather leggings with metal pads on the knee section, a simple white shirt covered by a leather coat, a cowboy hat, and a red scarf on his neck. On his hands, two weapons gracefully made with dark, bluish metal. They looked like a piece of art, but of course, a lot more deadly than one. On his back, he had another weapon hanging out from a string. It was a shotgun, the one he took from Oscar. The Novakid was Lenny. Crouched by his side, hiding with him, there was a middle-aged female Apex and a small Hylotl kid. The Apex had a yellow coloration fur with the typical characteristics of her species, prolonged skull, larger nose, and fur covering almost the whole body. She had a small bust, higher pitch voice, and wider wrist, which indicated that she was a female. In her body, she was wearing simple white pants and a black shirt underneath her white lab coat. Her fearful and worried black eyes hidden behind her thick, round glasses stared at Lenny as he carefully reloaded his weapon. She had a sad and grieving expression. The Hylotl kid was at Lenny''s other side. He was a light blue Hylotl with the signature three red eyes that belonged to his race. His scales were soft and very bright. This indicated that he was indeed very young, younger than 8 years old. Currently, the kid was lying on the floor, unconscious. Beneath its eyes, tear stains could be seen with some more tears that slowly dripped from his eyes. Blood drenched the little kid''s clothes, but it was clear that it wasn''t his blood but from someone else. Lenny glanced at the for a moment as he heard it murmur in its sleep, and immediately returned to reload his weapons with an unknown expression on his face. His yellow light kept flickering as he was in deep thought. While his emotions and expressions couldn''t be seen on his face, the reactions on his bodily light were more than enough to know how he was feeling. "Will he come?" The scientist Apex that was beside Lenny worriedly asked him. "I don''t know..." Lenny said as he placed the last bullet in the barrel of his revolver, "Knowing Connor, it''s very likely that he will come." He said with some confidence, but not completely sure. After he finished reloading his revolvers, he swiftly took another weapon from his PIPS and started to reload it. It was a shotgun, the same that was on Oscar''s hand when he faced off against Lenny. The female Apex caught the doubt in Lenny''s tone and shuddered at the thought that she had to stay in such place and probably die in this station together with most of her colleagues. If it wasn''t for Lenny''s timely arrival, she would be resting on the cold floor, bathing in her own blood like her colleagues. Lenny casted a side glance at the tearful and trembling Apex and spoke with a grave and low tone, "Put yourself together. I don''t know how long it will take for him to arrive, and I don''t even know if he can go through all those ships and Mechs out there." "..." The female Apex cleaned up the tears in her eyes using her sleeve and nodded, "I know..." "We don''t have much time. Let''s hurry." Lenny said while he slightly raised his head to look at the room''s door to see if it was clear. Once he was sure that there was no one in the way, Lenny looked at the Apex and asked, "Can you shoot?" "Eh? What?" She confusedly stared at Lenny. Lenny glanced at the weapon in Forge''s holster and the rifle across her chest. Forge followed his line of sight and looked down at her weapons. Lennys Situation (2) "I received some basic training before, but..." Forge hesitated a little before speaking in a low voice, "I never killed before." Lenny sighed and changed the topic, "By the way..." He looked at the Apex, "What''s your name? I didn''t have the chance to ask." "Oh? I''m Forge Umbra. The lead scientist in biology and genetics of this station." She answered with some pride in her voice. "What about the kid?" Lenny was uninterested in her position on the ISU. "I don''t know." Forge thoughtfully scratched her chin as she tried hard to remember. It didn''t take long before realization came to her, "I remember something. The kid came with some important people of the UHG, Hylotl Government. He''s probably the son of one of the representatives that came today." Lenny glanced at the kid and thought, [So, this kid is their target... Fujiwara Saito... why I always end up in troublesome situations...?] Lenny helplessly sighed at his terrible luck. ... Independent Scientific Union''s Stationary Space Station. Some minutes earlier... [Why the hell he would choose this place!?] Lenny complained inwardly as he sat on the comfortable couch of the reception hall of the ISU''s Space Station. After parting ways with John, Lenny immediately resumed his hunt for Starkid. But it didn''t go well. The infamous Novakid, Starkid, disappeared out of thin air. There were no clues, nothing at all that help Lenny locate the person. Frustrated, Lenny went to near the Frontier on Beta Sector, a place which was now utterly lawless after the Terrene Protectorate fell. With the destruction of Earth, the Protectorate''s Outposts, Space Stations, and bases near the Frontier were all raided by outlaw groups, Rebellion''s members, and Occasus Cult''s members. The planet he went was a wasteland of death and criminals and also the headquarters of the Bounty Hunter Guild. He just went there to fill up with alcohol and get drunk, but he found something he wanted, a clue. It was an inconspicuous letter left by a mysterious person. The barman told Lenny that the man said it was to give only to the Bounty Hunt known as Lenny and no one else.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Opening the letter, Lenny found out that the sender actually knew about his real identity as a previous member of the Starkid Outlaw Crew, and also stated to know where Starkid was currently hiding. Lenny was suspicious but still followed the coordinates written on the letter and reached the ISU''s space station. Now, Lenny was sitting in the lobby, waiting for the sender to appear. He was getting impatient since he had been sitting for almost one hour. There would be a lot of visitors, businessmen and scientists come and go. They often curiously glanced at Lenny to know why would there be a Novakid in such place since it was common sense that Novakids don''t like science and neither have any interest in it. "Mister Lenny?" A normal-looking middle-aged man approached from behind Lenny and cautiously asked. Lenny turned around and took a glance at the man. The middle-aged man was wearing formal clothing and looked like a Butler, which was very strange to have one in a place like this space station. "Yes, I am." Lenny answered while keeping a close eye at the person. He couldn''t tell if this was really the sender of the letter, which by the way...who would send a letter in this day and age? "Oh, thankfully, I''m right." The man sighed in relief and flashed a kind smile at Lenny, "Director Yang wishes to see you, Mr. Lenny." [Director Yang!? Morgan Yang!?] Lenny was dumbfounded. Morgan Yang was a legend in the ISU. As one of the founders of the Union, he was also the one who rose the organization to the pinnacle that it was today. Lenny was amazed that such legend wanted to see him. "Are you sure it''s me?" Lenny pointed at himself and asked. "Yes, certainly." The middle-aged man nodded, "Director Yang said that he wanted to see a yellow Novakid, named Lenny, with an Omega brand on his face. This certainly can only be you." "Really? But I have to meet with someone else..." "The person who sent the letter was Director Yang, Mr. Lenny." Lenny stared at the man, searching for any falsehood on his expressions and body language, but he found nothing. This showed that the middle-aged man was telling the truth. "If you follow me, I''ll bring you to Director Yang." The man politely made a gesture for Lenny to follow him. Lenny nodded and made up his mind to go and see what Morgan Yang had to say. The moment Lenny stood up, something caught his attention. Glancing at the door, he saw a group of people enter the lobby. There was a stern middle-aged male Hylotl with a small male Hylotl kid with light blue scales walking beside him, curiously looking around, wanting to see everything that was in his surroundings. Around these two people, multiple Hylotl guards wearing some orange armors with menacing-looking weapons on their hands. Their eyes continuously scanned the people in the lobby, searching for any possible threat. As soon as their eyes fell on Lenny, their eyes dangerously narrowed. They suspiciously stared at the Novakid. It was evident if someone there could represent danger towards the middle-aged male, and the kid was obviously Lenny since he was the only person around that wasn''t wearing some formal clothing or lab coat. It was also common sense that most Novakids were outlaws, hitmen, or Bounty Hunters. Be either of them, it was clearly a danger towards their master, that''s why the moment they caught sight of Lenny, their grips over the weapon tightened. Lenny only looked at them for a few seconds before walking away with the middle-aged man. [This has nothing to do with me.] Lenny thought while walking beside the man as he led both of them towards the elevator. Lennys Situation (3) The man brought Lenny to the highest floor of the station. To use the elevator and get to that place, one needed a special ID Card that the man had. This fact brushed away Lenny''s thoughts, whatever or not he was being fooled. People that had access to the highest floor were undoubtedly important, worked for the Director, or had some relationship with him. From the looks of the middle-aged man, Lenny immediately concluded that such person worked for Director Yang. He was way to respectful and humble to be an important person enough to have an ID Card that had free access towards Director Yang''s room in the station, and neither looked to be someone that had any kind of personal relationship with Morgan Yang. The only logical conclusion was that the butler-looking man was one of Morgan Yang''s workers. Both Lenny and the man kept silent as the elevator swiftly arrived and the floor. As soon as the door slide open, Lenny saw the long corridor In front of him that led to a double wood door at the end of it. "You can go ahead. Director Yang is waiting in that room." The man politely smiled and pointed at the wooden door. "Aren''t you coming?" Lenny turned to ask him. "No, this is as far I have to go." He calmly answered, "I have more work to do. Take this. You are going to need to use the elevator once you''re done. Have a nice day, Mr. Lenny." The middle-aged man gave a white, metallic card to Lenny, and waved his hand as his image was soon blocked by the elevator door that closed up. Lenny frowned a little but still walked forward. He stored the card in his pocket as he moved. Staring at the wooden door up close, Lenny had to admit that it looked like an enormous piece of art. Lenny carefully lifted his hand and lightly knocked on the door. *Knock, knock* The sound echoed in the empty hall. Not even a second later, Lenny heard a voice coming from inside, "Come in." "Excuse me," Lenny said while slowly entering the room. As the door opened, the magnificent office entered his eyes. Chirping sounds of birds, the rustling of leaves by the warm wind of summer.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. All around him, Lenny could see trees, birds, bugs... [What the hell!?] Lenny was dumbfounded at the sight before him. It felt like he was transported to another world. In the middle of the room, there was a relatively big table with only a computer on top of it. Lenny went to the side and tried to touch on the birds that were on a low branch of the tree. "Um!?" He exclaimed on surprise as his hand through the body of the bird and also the branch. "These are holograms." Lenny straightened his back and turned to look at the source of the voice. "Nice to meet you, Lenny." The old man smiled. Morgan Yang was a human with about 80 years old. His head was filled with white hair and on his face a full, long white beard. His body was covered with a clean, white lab coat. Sparkling blue eyes gleamed with wisdom that belongs to someone fairly aged. "Holograms? This life-like?" Lenny asked. "Yes. Usually, holograms have limitations not because of technology but because of cost. It''s very expensive to build a projector able to create such detailed holograms." Director Morgan said. "Hmm..." Lenny admired the details in such imagery. He really thought for a second that he entered in some kind of greenhouse, but now he understood that it was all just holograms. "So...what about Starkid?" Lenny was done admiring everything and went directly to his cause. "How about you take a seat?" Morgan kindly smiled and pointed at the table in the middle of the room. Lenny shrugged his shoulders and took a seat opposite to Morgan. While Lenny was carefully staring at Marfan, he saw that Morgan''s image had flickered a little... [Wait... flickered?] Lenny suddenly realized something, "Are you also a hologram?" "That''s right." Morgan nodded his head, "I''m currently in a ship, going to Beta Sector. So, you will probably see my image flick from time to time." "Alright...the information you said in the letter that you have...what is it?" "Impatient, aren''t you?" "I''m a Novakid, after all." "True...one of your race''s characteristics." "So, can you say it to me?" "Yes, not a problem at all. But...I must warn you about something before." Morgan''s eyes focused at Lenny''s face as he casually smiled, "Starkid... he''s not someone you can face right now." "Why not?" "Because he joined Nova Rebellion. His weaponry and his henchman''s skills are on another whole level now. Also, his crew''s growth in number had been rising exponentially since the decision. Now, he has become one of the main personal of the Rebellion." "That''s not a problem. I just need to kill Starkid. I''m not seeking to destroy his crew and neither kill everyone." "Getting to him is the problem, Lenny. Starkid is way too powerful right now. You may not know, but a war is coming. It will begin sooner than you think. Husk will surely protect Starkid because of his importance in the upcoming conflict." Lenny frowned and said, "You don''t have to worry about me. I''m not weak, either." "Of course, you aren''t." Morgan acknowledged with a smile, "You were the best sharpshooter of the crew before you left." "See? I can take care of myself." "Not against Starkid, but..." Morgan glanced at Lenny and sadly sighed while shaking his head, "Forget it, I will give Starkid''s location to you. Take what I said previously as a warning for you to not act mindlessly and get yourself killed." "Thanks, I appreciate it." Lenny gratefully said. "Here...take it." As Morgan''s voice dropped, a small hole appeared in the table, and a delicate chip appeared before Lenny''s sight. Lenny reached for the chip and immediately inserted it on his PIPS. Opening it, Lenny saw the coordinates of his target in the holographic screen of his PIPS. It was a desert biome planet in a Fiery Star System. That means the temperature on the surface of the planet was extremely high. Of course, such high temperatures would never affect Novakids, neither low temperatures. Novakids could basically survive on any planet, as long as it had something that could be used as food for them. Lennys Situation (4) Now that Lenny had his hands on the information he wanted, he finally relaxed. He lowered his PIPS now since he could carefully scan through the contents later. Lenny and Morgan chatted for a few minutes. Through the conversation, Lenny learned that Morgan had inside information about Nova Rebellion because ISU had lots of dealings with the group. Not only the Rebellion, but ISU also had dealings with all governments and organizations. The only exception was Miniknog. Although they had some deals with them, they were substantially less compared to everyone else. The main reason was that most of their scientists were Apexes that were born free from the brainwashing dictatorship of Big Ape. Some were even scientists for the Miniknog, but they left their influence after learning some truth about atrocities that they committed over the years. Because of this, the relationship between Miniknog and ISU was very turbulent and rather cold. While the Miniknog didn''t take force action, they usually resort to other types of strategy to target the ISU. To protect themselves from Miniknog, ISU usually asked the Intergalactic Police and Nova Rebellion for help. As for Letheia Corporation, ISU never asked them because they knew that they would, without a doubt, stab them in the back if they asked for help. Letheia never targeted ISU directly, but they, without doubt, approved Miniknog''s actions against them. It was true that sometimes Letheia needed ISU, but for them, if they cannot control, they rather destroy it. To maintain their image, Letheia refrained from taking actions, but this didn''t stop them from supporting Miniknog from behind the scenes. Because of this, ISU only trusted Nova Rebellion and the Intergalactic Police with their safety, not even the Terrene Protectorate, when they still around because of their ties with Letheia Corporation. But because Nova Rebellion stopped providing the usual amount of security to the ISU as soon as the news of the destruction of the Terrene Protectorate, ISU was left relatively open for attacks. Morgan Yang knew for sure that Nova Rebellion was planning something big, massive, and that''s why they were conserving their strength and focusing on growing the numbers and quality of troops. Lenny tried to pry more into the secrets of Nova Rebellion because Morgan Yang showed that he knew way more then what he showed.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. He wasn''t very interested in this complicated world of politics and interest between governments and organizations. He was just curious. Glancing at his PIPS, Lenny saw that he stayed far more than what it needed. Lenny stood up and, with a smile on his face, said to Morgan, "Thanks for the piece of info you gave me. Although the chat was good, I need to go. Lots of stuff to do, you know." "That''s not a problem." Morgan waved his hand and showed that he didn''t mind, "I''m old and easily lose track of time when chatting." "It was a pleasure to meet you, Morgan Yang." Lenny reached out his hand. Remembering that the person in the opposite of him was just a hologram, he embarrassedly put down his hand. Seeing this, Morgan chuckled and said, "Equally. I''m sure that we will meet again sooner than you think." Lenny smiled and waved his hand in goodbye as he turned around to leave the room. "Lenny." He heard Morgan calling from behind. Lenny turned around and looked at Morgan. "In that ship, I also placed the location of an old friend of mine that might help you with you need equipment and more information on how to deal with Starkid. He''s a Novakid, and also a Bounty Hunter, just like you. I think both you can be great friends. His name is Noble, but he likes people to call him Captain Noble." Morgan smiled as he spoke, but after he finished, he became serious again. "Be careful." Morgan''s face was expressionless, without a trace of that kind smile as he spoke, "Nova Rebellion...no, President Husk isn''t someone you wish to mess up with. Even if you manage to kill Starkid, your end won''t be pretty on the hands of Husk, trust me, I know him very well." Once he spoke until there, his face revealed a smile once again, "Treat this as my last warn-" He couldn''t finish speaking when his voice started to cut and his image to flick intensely. "Wh-at is happ-" Those were Morgan''s last words as his hologram completely disappeared. Lenny immediately became alert as he witnessed what happened. Without hesitation, he darted out of the room and entered the elevator. Retrieving the card from his pocket, Lenny inserted in the panel. Without delay, the screen beside the elevator''s door turned on. The door opened, and Lenny entered the cabin. He swiftly pressed on the reception floor, and the elevator started to descend. [What''s happening?] Lenny frowned. Previously he thought the elevator was rather fast, but now he felt it was way too slow. His foot hit the floor as his impatience skyrocketed. A foreboding feeling grew inside him. He could feel that something was about to happen. He learned to always trust his senses, and this time wasn''t different. Reaching for PIPS, Lenny took out a vest holster and put it on beneath his leather coat. After that, he took out the two revolvers and stored them in the holsters. [Better be careful.] That was his thought while he readied himself up for anything that might happen. He also took some round speedloaders from his PIPS and placed them in his pockets. Speedloader is a device used to reduce the time to reload the revolver by loading all chambers of a revolver simultaneously. Lenny''s weapons had six holes in the barrel, so it could have six bullets readied. His speedloaders were made for his revolver, and that''s why they also contained only six bullets. Lenny also retrieved two knives from his PIPS, one small and the other was the same size as the average military knife. He hid one in his right boot, and the other one he put it the right side of his waist. The whole process took less than a few seconds. *Thud* Without warning, the elevator stopped descending as the light also was turned off. As soon as the light went dead, the red emergency light in the ceiling was turned on. Lenny almost lost his balm with the sudden stop but managed to stay on his foot. Before he could recover from the change of events, Lenny heard the alarms resonating throughout the whole station. "Shit..." Lenny cursed as he looked around, searching for a way out of the elevator. Lennys Situation (5) Looking on top of him, Lenny saw a small square trapdoor. He tried to push open, but unsurprisingly, it was locked. After that, he went to the panel that was beside the door. Roaming over everything, he soon found a small key that reads "Emergency Exit." Without hesitation, Lenny pressed it. *Clang* The sound of metal coming from atop him caught Lenny''s attention. Looking up, he saw that the trapdoor was not locked anymore. With a light push, Lenny effortlessly opened it. Grabbing at the corner of the opening, Lenny propped himself up and left the claustrophobic elevator. As soon as he left the cabinet, Lenny was met with the sight of the dark space that the elevator moved up and down, filled with thick cables that connected to the machine. There were some platforms that he could use to climb up since going down was impossible because there was only one elevator, and it was on the way to go down. Grabbing on the metal supports, Lenny climbed up until he found one of the floor''s elevator doors. Lenny tried to force open the sliding door, but it was closed tight. Without an option, he had to resort in explosives to pry it open. Reaching into his PIPS, Lenny retrieved some outdated C8 charges. Different from the weak C4 used by Humans before the war, C8 explosives were almost ten times stronger than a C4. While there were stronger plastic explosives in the market, C8 were still largely used because of the low price. He glued them in the door and took over a few meters atop the door. *Click* Lenny pressed the button on his remote control. *BOOM!!!!* The area was shaken by the explosions created by the C8 charges. Lenny climbed down and glanced at the result of the explosion. While it didn''t completely blew the door open, it still opened a hole large enough for him to pass through. After passing through the hole, Lenny realized that he had entered a corridor similar to the one on the top floor. The only difference was that it was wider and had a lot of doors on both sides. The weak emergency lights poorly illuminated the place.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Lenny controlled his body and dimmed the light that his body produced. While he could be easily seen because of his glowing yellow body, at least he wasn''t a beacon of light right now. Lenny took a revolver from his holster and carefully walked forward. Reaching a bifurcation, Lenny was unsure of where he had to go. Looking around, he searched for a sign, anything that could help him locate himself and see where it was located the emergency stairs. He caught sight of a sign on top of him. Glancing at it, Lenny found out that the emergency stairs were at his right. He followed the sign and went to the right. The floor was strangely quite. While he could hear the sound of some machinery coming from some of the closed rooms, he held his curiosity on check and continued to walk through the right path. The moment he reached the door and grabbed the knob, he heard voices and gunshots coming from behind the metallic, thick door. He leaned his head over the door to hear better. "Floors 1 to 10 had been cleaned. The target isn''t there." Lenny heard a few people speaking with each other. "We need to go higher. There''s a high possibility that the target is in one of the last floors." "Besides the target, leave no one alive. Also, make sure to erase your tracks. We cannot let the ISU found out that we did this assault." Lenny hastily retreated as he heard the footsteps getting closer to the emergency stair''s door. It was three sets of footsteps that mean that there were three invaders coming up to his floor. Facing them without a strategy wouldn''t be a good idea, so Lenny wanted to stealthy get away without entering in conflict. He reached for the closest door of one of the rooms and entered. Lenny carefully closed the door as not to make any sound. After entering, he scanned his surroundings and found out that he was in a simple bedroom. [The scientist''s quarters...] He realized where in the space station he was. Although it wasn''t of great use right now, it was better to know where it was than not knowing. "Check out the rooms. Be careful. I heard an explosion coming from this floor earlier." When he heard that, Lenny instantly froze, [Fuck.] He cursed inwardly. Lenny moved his body and hid behind the door. His left hand slowly reached for the knife sheathed on the right side of his waist. With a revolver in his right hand and a knife on the left, he waited for the invaders'' next move. While he did not have a heart, he could still feel his plasma pumping faster as he listened to the footsteps getting closer. The footsteps stopped by the door. The person slowly opened the door and carefully peeked in the room. He had seen some light coming from beneath the door, and he wanted to make sure it wasn''t someone hiding in the room. Lenny could see the muzzle of the invader''s rifle that had a flashlight attached just beneath it that provided enough light to illuminate the whole room. As the person entered the room, Lenny readied himself. The moment Lenny had sight of the person''s head, he immediately launched himself on him. Lenny''s knife gleamed with a sharp and deadly light as it found its way in the weak spot of the invader''s armor, right between the helmet and the chestplate. The knife cleanly pierced through the neck. Lenny didn''t end with only this. "Ghlargh..." The invader wanted to fight back while gnarling sounds came from his mouth. Lenny pushed him, and both fell on the floor with a loud thud. Twisting his knife, Lenny managed to finish him off. "Contact! Contact!" Lenny heard another invader shouting from outside the room. Without hesitation, Lenny stood up from the corpse and rolled to the side, getting as far away as possible from the door. *Bang, bang, bang...* Multiples gunshots could be heard as Lenny saw the bullets piercing the metal door and hitting the corpse on the ground. Crimson blood sprayed from holes made by the bullets. "Dead?" One of the two invaders outside asked. "I don''t know. Don''t lower your guard. 0367 is dead. His heart had stopped beating." Lenny frowned when he heard the invader knew the fact that his companion was dead. [Are they monitoring the heartbeat through the PIPS?] That was the plausible conclusion that Lenny could come up with. Lennys Situation (6) Lenny glanced at the soldier on the ground and took a careful look. It was probably a male because of the lack of breasts and the width of the waist. The black tactical armor was very simplistic, and it appeared to be a light armor that prioritizes movement and flexibility rather than safety. As for the helmet, it looked more like a mask than an actual ballistic helmet. Apart from the metallic glow and the Hi-Tech visor, the helmet also had two cans, one on each side, near the mouth, which presumably indicated that it also come with protection against gas. Seeing the bluish glint that came from the metal used on the armor and helmet, Lenny knew that it was made of Durasteel, which means a Tier 4 armor, something costly that no ragtag outlaw group could afford. That means the invaders weren''t simple outlaws, or they could be but were receiving support from a rich person, or an influential organization, or government. It doesn''t matter for Lenny, be them outlaws supported or may they be from an organization, it wasn''t good news for Lenny since it would mean he got himself in big trouble. Throwing the unnecessary thoughts away, Lenny stood up and hid behind the bed that was in the middle of the room. He did it because the soldiers outside had stopped speaking and were only making some small noises. That means they were being careful to not let him know what they were going to do next. Lenny reached out his left hand for his other revolver and soon was with one in each hand. One of the invaders outside slightly opened the door until there was only a small opening. Lenny watched carefully with his guns pointed at the door, ready to fire at a moment''s notice. *Cling* With a small sound, a round object was thrown inside the room, and the invader immediately closed the door and leaned on the door, using his weight to keep it close. Lenny recognized the object in an instant. [GRENADE!] His face immediately changed as he swiftly stood up from his hiding spot and ran towards the door. Lenny lifted his weapon and aimed at the door. *Bang, bang, bang* Lenny''s revolvers spat fire as he repeatedly pressed the triggers without hesitation and sent bullets at the door. While the door was made of metal, it was only regular steel. It couldn''t block bullets shot from Lenny''s revolvers. "Urgh..."Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. Lenny heard a low painful groan coming from outside, but it only made him run even faster for salvation. *Blam* Lenny sped up and used his body to tackle at the door. *BOOM!!!!!!!* The grenade exploded and sent Lenny flying even faster towards the metal door. The invader that was hit by the door and sent backward along with it by the momentum Lenny gained from the explosion while the other invader raised his rifle and aimed at Lenny. *Bang, bang, bang...* The invader pressed the trigger and sent a barrage of fire at Lenny. Lenny answered by also shooting at him with his weapons. *Bang, bang.* "Urgh." Both Lenny and the soldier groaned in pain as the bullets penetrated their respective protections. Crimson blood and yellow plasma sprayed from their injuries as both of them slowly fell on the ground. The walls and floor were tainted with a mixture of hot, yellow plasma, and warm, red blood. Before falling, Lenny used one of his hands to support himself while lowering his revolver to shot down the invader that was also falling. The invader was using a heavy rifle, and he lost his balance after receiving Lenny''s bullet. The world seemed to slow down as the invader could only helplessly stare at the muzzle that was pointed at his head. *Bang* Another gunshot sounded in the empty corridors. Blood sprayed out from the wound in the soldier''s head as his body fell lifeless on the previous white floor. Lenny didn''t have time to recover as he felt danger at his side. He didn''t try to stand up. He just rolled to the side towards the invaders he just killed. *Bang, bang...* The other invader that was knocked to the ground after Lenny tackled the door had to stand up by now and released a barrage of bullets at Lenny. "Urgh..." Lenny groaned in pain. Yellow plasma soaked the floor as more bullets hit him. While his clothes were some kind of light armor, the weapons in the invader''s hand were strong enough to effortlessly penetrate his protection. As soon as he reached the lifeless body on the floor, Lenny lifted it up and used it as a shield. The soldier couldn''t care less about the dead body of his companion; he continued with his finger pressed in the trigger firing at Lenny''s meat shield. *Click, click...* Lenny''s lips lifted in a faint smile as he heard that sound. Without hesitation, Lenny threw the body at the soldier before he could reload his weapon or switch to the pistol that was on the holster in his waist. *Blam* He didn''t expect Lenny to make that move, so he fell backward with the body on top of him. Before he could recover, the soldier''s eyes were met with a black muzzle pointed directly at his forehead. *Bang* Some droplets of blood ended up in Lenny''s face while the ground beneath the invader became soaked in blood in no time. After ending the man''s life, Lenny stood up from the corpse and rested by the corridor''s wall. Plasma was still leaking from his bullet wounds. He had tend them before it got even more severe. Reaching for something in his neck, Lenny swiftly retrieved an object that was behind his scarf. It was a simple necklace with a round blue crystal hanged in the middle. Clutching the crystal, Lenny closed his eyes. After a bright blue flash, Lenny''s wound started to recover at an incredible speed. Even at naked eye, one could see the tissue slowly closing and stopping the leak as the leaked plasma that was near Lenny fastly moved towards his injuries as if they had life. As all this happened, there was a faint glow in the mark that was on the back of Lenny''s hand, the mark that was written in the Ancient tongue. In no time, Lenny was completely fine, uninjured. If not for the holes in his clothes, no one would have thought he had been shot a few times already. Lenny sat on the ground and took a bottle of whiskey from his PIPS. He opened it and drank a few mouthfuls of the beverage. After swallowing it, Lenny sadly sighed and stared at the corpses in the ground. He simply hated using this power he earned in the Ancient Challenge. What he had gone through inside that place... It wasn''t something he wished to remember, but every time he uses the power, he would unconsciously remember everything that happened there, everything he did there. Alcohol was the best choice he found to deal with these memories and emotions. [Just a few more shots, and I''m good to go.] Lenny thought as he continued to drink the whiskey. Lennys Situation (7) Lenny searched the corpse of the soldiers and took everything useful. He took the armors, weapons, tools, everything he could from them. While he was curious to see what was inside their PIPS, he found out that he couldn''t access them without a password and the owner''s fingerprint. Of course, it was possible to break the security by contracting a hacker to do so, but cracking open PIPS''s security system was something very costly and time-consuming. It takes days to break such security, and even if the hacker break through the security measures, the PIPS would send an alarm to somewhere, probably the organization the soldiers belong. From what Lenny heard they speaking, these people would never allow information about their attack to be publicized, they would undoubtedly track and kill anyone with a PIPS from these soldiers. Looking at the appearance of the invaders after stripping them, Lenny was certain that he was probably in big trouble. The soldiers were all Apexes, and coupling with the expensive equipment and armory, they were probably from the Miniknog. "Fuck..." Lenny cursed, "Why had to be Miniknog?" Although it is well known that Miniknog and ISU were at odds with each other, no one would ever thought they would go as far as to send troops at the ISU''s stations. After he was done with the corpses, Lenny lifted them and hid them in one of the rooms on the floor he was. [My spaceship in the station''s hangar has probably fallen in their hands. To escape from this place I need to hijack one their ships.] Lenny started to think about a way to leave, [This station also had emergency escape pods, but it would certainly be one of the invader''s primary objective if their intentions are also to lock everybody that was already here.] Lenny frowned. He couldn''t come up with a good plan. [I could call for help...but they probably also had some kind of jammer around this place. To bypass the jammer, I need a better communication device.] Lenny glanced at the map of the space station that was by the wall just beside the emergency stairs. [Probably in some laboratory or workshop, I can find a prototype of such a device, but my best bet is, of course, the communication center that is just one floor beneath the control room. The problem, of course, is how to get there. From the looks of it, the supposed Miniknog won''t let anyone get out of here alive. No clues or survivors will be left behind. There will certainly have lots of guards by the communication center.]If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Lenny looked at the necklace with the blue crystal. He took and placed it back behind his scarf again. [I can only restore myself 4 more times...I need to be careful and use my power wisely.] After thinking it through, Lenny reached a conclusion and started to follow his plan. He opened the door of the emergency stairs and fastly disappeared as he ran upstairs. ... Forge couldn''t hold it anymore and vomited on the ground as soon as she heard the invaders in black tactical armor leave the room. Her dinner mixed with liquid gastric fell with a loud splash sound on the ground that was filled with a thick, sticky, crimson liquid. All around her were scientist bodies of the facility still with their white lab coats, the difference was that now they were covered in holes by bullets, and their coats drenched in blood. With trembling legs, she tried to stand up but immediately fell on the ground. Even though her physical strength was higher than an average human, now she could barely keep her back straight. She tried to look around in search of some platform to help her stand up since she was currently unable to do it by herself. Unfortunately, she couldn''t see anything with her dirtied glasses. Through the lenses, Forge only saw red whenever she turned her head. There was blood all over her body, face, and glasses. When the invaders, the people clad in black armor, forcibly entered the room, Forge immediately dropped in the ground after the first barrage of bullets were sent towards the scientists that were occupied working. Forge feigned dead and escaped from the clutches of death, but she also had to watch her partners, co-workers, die in front of her. Although they weren''t blood-related, their ties were even stronger than that. As she watched the lifeless bodies fall on the ground while spraying blood everywhere, she had to keep herself together and not throw up or make any noise as the invaders were still looking for survivors. The room was at complete silence, and the only sound that could be heard was Forge''s faint breathing and sobbing. Tears streamed down her eyes. She was heartbroken, completely heartbroken at the moment. After the intense fear vanished, a little, guilty, and sadness came with full strength to take over her heart and mind. While she knew that she couldn''t have done anything to save everyone, in her mind, there was only "what if" scenarios playing. The guilt was way too strong for her bear. She immediately took a towel that was on top of a table and silently sobbed at it. Forge couldn''t make a lot of noise, or else they might still be able to hear her. After calming her emotions a little, Forge finally stood up by taking the table as a support. She looked at her side and went for the wardrobe that was on the corner of the laboratory. Sometimes when dealing with experiments, they could explode and dirty the scientist coats. While some doesn''t care about it, others disliked being dirty, so the higher-ups built a wardrobe filled with spare white lab coats, and other clothing, in some labs for these type of people. She opened it and fastly exchanged her clothes while also being careful a making the less noise as possible. While at it, she walked up to the bathroom that was on the corner of the room and cleaned her glasses. As soon as she finished, the lights in the ceiling started to flicker before turning off. The normal lights were turned off, but the red emergency ones were turned on just at the same time. [They probably have the power room in their control now as well...] Forge''s expression immediately changed as she heard some of the machinery being turned off all around her. Lennys Situation (8) Because Forge Umbra was an Apex, her senses were also extremely developed, worse only to almost all Florans and a few Avians. Her ears caught the faint sound disappearing of those machines that normally no one would have been able to hear because of the usual noise of busy days in the station, and no one cared about it. But, now that there was complete silence in the laboratory, she heard the small noises disappearing out of nowhere. As for why her expression changed, it''s simple. Life Support System... Without oxygen, most people in the station will die. Only Novakids, Florans, Glitches, and people with some kind of oxygen tanks would survive. While Novakids also need oxygen, they can easily survive prolonged periods without it, from hours to days, depends on the Novakid and its age. Be it on outer space or underwater; they can survive in all harsh environments as long as it has some kind of inflammable gas. In underwater, Novakids can absorb small particles, even molecules, of these gas in the water. Florans, on the other hand, typically live by breathing oxygen. Still, if they are deprived of the resource, their body immediately starts to produce oxygen using carbon dioxide and water, present in their blood, to generate the energy necessary to keep them alive through the process of photosynthesis using the pigment, chlorophyll, that makes the Floran skin green. Because of the extended use of water in their body, higher than normal, they get weaker, a lot weaker, but this defense mechanism enable them to survive in harsh environments. While normally a Floran breath through their lungs, their skin doesn''t stop their work as it keeps recycling the dioxide carbon produced by the Floran, but the recycling is very low because they are no need, in an oxygen-rich environment, only when thrown in a harsh environment that the body automatically reduce the usage of lungs and start giving the skin the work. This is one of the reasons, besides the cultural one, that Florans dislike using armors and full clothes. The difference between Florans and Novakids, in this aspect, is the fact that the later could survive in outer space for hours without any device or protective suit, while Florans would die like all the other 5 sentient races, and penguins. As for underwater, Floran''s skin also can absorb molecules of dioxide of carbon deep underwater and even filter oxygen molecules present in water, making Florans also able to survive in such an environment. As for Glitches...they are robots...no need for breathing. If the invaders turned off the Life Support System, things were about to get very serious.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Forge walked up to the door and carefully opened a little to peek outside. The corridors were dimly lit by the emergency light, but with her superior eyesight, she could see clearly the lifeless bodies lying in blood pools all around the floor. It was a massacre that happened there. Without any type of weapon, the scientists were slaughtered by the invaders after they dealt with the guards. Forge could still hear the sound of screams and gunshots echoing in the empty corridor. She felt a chill and had the urge to throw up once again, but she closed her mouth with her hand and forced it down. She couldn''t stay there. She had to leave as soon as possible for the escape pods that were about the in the middle section of the space station, at an equal distance from the furthest floors on each extreme of the station. If the invaders turned off the Life Support System, the people of the station were completely screwed. Turning it off won''t only affect the Recycler, but also the Heating of the whole station. With this building being in the outer space, the temperature won''t drop immediately, and sudden, it would take a while, a few minutes to hours. As there was no air in space, temperature exchange with the outside was very limited, losing heat was only possible via radiation, that''s why it would take very long time until the temperature inside would drop to levels that would make it impossible to survive without protection, of course, it was different for Novakids, Penguins, Glitches, and Apexes since they have better protection with lower temperatures. In the end, turning off the Life Support System was a death sentence for those that were unprepared, such as the scientists and other staff members of the station, the guards not so much because of their armor that was already coupled with all types of protections. Although she was sure that the invaders had the escape pods under their control, she still had to risk it. Now that she calmed down a little, her mind went back, and she thought about the actions and words of the invaders. The logic conclusion she came up with, was that they were searching for something or someone in the station, they weren''t aware of where it is, and after getting what they wanted they would certainly leaving nothing behind, not a single trace that could track the assault of the station back to them. Killing everyone was the best solution, erasing all witnesses. While it''s possible they could blow up the whole station, Forge thought that it wasn''t viable because the amount of firepower and explosive needed to accomplish such action was a way to high. Forge opened the door and carefully walked out. She crouched and silently walked down the corridors towards the emergency stairs. As her feet dragged her forward, she could hear the plopping sounds when her boots step on those puddles of blood on the floor. All around her were corpses of people she lived together with for more than 5 years. People she considered her family, people who sheltered her, and taught her after she escaped from the Miniknog''s clutches. Holding her tear back, she crawled forward without stepping in any of the bodies dropped on the floor. Her forlorn shadow casted in the cold floor by the dim emergency lights slowly disappeared at the end of the corridor... Lennys Situation (9) The whole space station could house about 10 thousand people. Most of these people were family of the staff members, mainly scientists, and researchers. In this enormous piece of metal wondering in the space, there was everything the people living there needed. There were huge floors dedicated only to entertainment, such as shopping and a garden for relaxation. As for other enormous floors like the greenhouse and water depot, water recycler, etc. Were heavily guarded by guards and periodic patrols. All of the Independent Scientific Union stations were built almost the same. The main difference was only in size and capacity. If the target of the invaders were a person and not something, it would take some time for them to find the person in such a big station. Forge was sure that as soon as they find what they want, it would be the doom of anyone in the station. So, she decided to follow through with her plan to get to the escape pods, even if the risks of death were high. As she stealthily walked through the corridors, she stumbled across a body that belonged to one of the facility''s guards. Forge crouched by the body and retrieved the weapons in the body while holding back her uncomfortable feelings growing inside her. She put the holster that had a pistol at her waist and carried the rifle across her chest. Although she wasn''t a soldier, she had received training in close combat and also weapons. Under the rule of the Miniknog, every citizen is forced to learn how to fight, at least the basics. Carefully scanning every corridor while walking forward, she finally reached the emergency stairs. On her way, she met with some invaders, but she just hid in rooms until they were far enough. Just when her hand grabbed the knob, the door opened by itself. "Eh?" Forge blankly stared at the two invaders wearing black tactical armors that opened the door. The two soldiers were also dumbfounded and stared at Forge for a moment before they finally recovered. As they were trained, they recovered from the surprise faster than Forge and lifted their weapons at Forge. Once she recovered, she was met with two muzzles pointed at her.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The soldier didn''t hesitate as his hand tightened, and the finger over the trigger moved. Forge was filled with despair. She closed her eyes, and in a last struggle, she lifted her weapon to fire at the soldiers. *Bang* A gunshot echoed across the empty corridors and stairwell. "What?" Forge was waiting for the pain, but it didn''t come. *Bang, bang...* Two gunshots followed after the first one. *Blam* Forge fearfully opened her eyes and just caught the sight of one of the soldiers falling in her direction while the other one fell on the ground beside her. "Ah..." Forge exclaimed as she stepped to the side and dodged the falling body. *Blam* The black-armored soldier fell headfirst in the ground. She was instantly dumbfounded by what was happening. She really thought that her life was about to be over, never crossed her mind that the two invaders would mysteriously die right in front of her. "Are you alright, cutie?" A voice came from the dimly lit stairwell. Forge immediately reacted by aiming at the door. There was still fear in her face, and her heart was beating like crazy because she just escaped from death''s door. "Why so aggressive?" From the stairwell, a glowing yellow figure emerged. It was a male Novakid wearing their usual leather cowboy clothing with a red scarf, and an "Omega" brand on his face. "W-w-who are you?" Her voice stuttered a little as she asked. "I''m Lenny, a Bounty Hunter." The Novakid bowed while taking off his hat and placing over his chest as a greeting. He had a lazy and charming smile on his face as he asked, "And who might be you, beautiful?" "What are you doing here, in the space station?" She asked cautiously. Her aim quivered a little, but she kept the rifle up and aiming at Lenny. Her eye involuntarily went to the rifle that was on Lenny''s hand. It was the same as the invaders, that''s one of the reasons she was still careful and wary at him. Although she could see the faint smoke coming from the muzzle of his rifle, which indicated that he was the one who accurately shot the two soldiers on the head, she still had to be cautious. "Nothing much, I just had a meeting with an informant. That''s all." Lenny calmly shrugged his shoulders as he didn''t mind being under Forge''s aim. [Is it the truth?] Forge asked herself while staring at Lenny''s face, searching for any indication of falsehood. Lenny''s face showed a relaxed and honest expression. Coupling this with the fact that he shot dead both of the invaders, Forge had no reason to doubt that Lenny was telling the truth. She lowered her weapon but stayed alert while asking, "Where were you going?" "The communication room of sorts, I''ll try to communicate with someone and ask help. Who knows, maybe I can contact the Interstellar Police or the Nova Rebellion." "But they certainly have jammers around this station, communication will be difficult and limited." "Better than nothing... But certainly, this station has better devices that can somewhat bypass normal jammers, right?" "Yes, that''s true, but..." Forge glanced at the fallen soldiers and their equipment before continuing, "They came prepared, I don''t think this is going to work." "We can''t know without trying." Lenny lazily said, "Besides, even if we fight our way in one of the escape pods, we would be shot down by one of the enemy''s ships. Chances of survival are minimal." "As I can see, the chances of survival are already grim, it doesn''t matter what we choose to do." "Don''t be so pessimistic, how are we going to survive if we don''t even try?" "I''m not saying we-" "Shhhh..." Lenny placed his finger over Forge''s mouth and signaled for her to be silent. [...?] Forge was confused for a second before she heard some noises coming from a few floors above them. It was strange since the emergency doors are soundproof. That could only mean that what was making the noise was inside the emergency stairs. She looked at Lenny''s face and caught him looking at her. Only one glance was needed to Forge realized what he was planning to do. He nodded with his head, and Forge also did the same. Lennys Situation (10) "Fujiwara Saito..." Lenny mumbled the name of the invaders'' target while he stripped two soldiers with black tactical armor he just killed. Lenny lowered his head and glanced at the chestplate of both soldiers. There was a huge opening at it, and the hole was drenched in blood. [These pieces are useless now...I should have used another weapon.] Lenny glanced at them one more time before throwing away since he had no use for them. It was of no surprise the amount of damage it those pieces of armors since Lenny used of Oscar''s shotgun that had blown off Lenny''s arm previously at the BSS''s Outpost. It was previously a Tier 3 weapon, but after some modifications, Lenny made it a lot more powerful, close to a Tier 4 generic weaponry. Even with the soldiers'' Durasteel Tier 4 armors would never block his modified shotgun at close range. Just like that, his weapon blasted their armor open while also opening a hole in the Apexes'' bodies. And so they died right at the emergency stairs with a surprise attack by Lenny. But before dying, Lenny heard their conversation and got to know some information, such as the name of their target, and a little of what they are planning to do. While Lenny was occupied stripping everything useful from the soldiers, Forge was by the side while staring at the ground, refusing to take a single glance at the dead bodies by her side. She always hated the sight of dead bodies, that''s also one of the main reasons why she fled the Miniknog. Unfortunately, she fled without her younger sister that decided to stay behind. Different from her, Forge''s younger sister was way more emotionally stronger than herself, which, more often than not, the sister would always comfort and be by Forge''s side when she had to deal with the terrible experiments the Miniknog forced her to do and watch. "Githa...I miss you..." Forge mumbled the name of her sister and covered her eyes as she silently sobbed. Hearing the low sob, Lenny cast a side-glance at Forge before ignoring it and going back to take everything useful from the bodies. [Fujiwara...] Lenny frowned as he thought about the family name of the Miniknog''s target, [If I''m not mistaken, Fujiwara is the head family of the Pacifist Sea Faction. Everybody knows about the infighting in the Hylotl Government and Letheia Corporation. Still, I never expected that it would reach this bad that they would kidnap family members of their rivals...] Lenny was sure about the involvement of one of the other two factions, Ocean or Reef, because the Miniknog would never dare to do such action without a backing within the Hylotl Government or the Corporation, and also because both factions have dealings with the Miniknog while the Sea Faction would never make any deal with the Miniknog.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. No, the Sea Faction would rather condemn the other two factions for having dealt with the Miniknog and would make everything I''m their power to stop them like they have done in the past and enraged the Miniknog. So, one can say that between the Miniknog and the Sea Faction, there is the only hostility, and the Miniknog would be more than happy to get rid of this faction that had entered in their way so many times in the past. If the Ocean, or Reef Faction, were willing to help them to get rid of the Sea Faction, the Miniknog wouldn''t hesitate a second to grab the opportunity. Also, for the Miniknog to be willing to take the risk of offending, even more, the Independent Scientific Union to capture this person, it means its identity was rather high inside the faction. As he thought about the possible identity of the target, his mind went back a few hours earlier, when he was by the reception hall. [Could it be...that blue Hylotl child?] Lenny was almost sure about his hypothesis. Soon enough, Lenny was shaken awake by the static noise coming from one of the Apex''s radio. Lenny took it and brought it near to his face to listen to it better. "Target is on the 23rd floor. We need reinforcements!" Hearing what the voice at radio said, Lenny, lowered his hand and stared intensely at the radio in his hand. [To go or not to go...] He was hesitating on whatever or not he should risk his life to save the Miniknog''s target or go towards their goal while the soldiers were focused on something else, this way, they might have a better chance of escaping. "Floor 23rd?" Forge suddenly spoke, "That''s just beneath the broadcast center of the station." Lenny lifted his head and looked at Forge, "What do you mean?" "Well...they want their target alive. So, if we use him as a shield, we might be saved from being shot down when we board an escape pod or spaceship." She said with an honest expression on her face, "Also, it''s almost on our way, the floor. We are on the 29th floor. "You are correct..." Lenny took the radio and attached it to his clothes so that he could easily hear the updates on the operation... "You didn''t need to speak so much just because you want to save someone," Lenny said to Forge as they hastily went down the stairs. Forge''s face changed slightly, and she almost tripped on the stairs after hearing Lenny''s comment, "I-I-I don''t know what you are talking about." "You don''t really want to use Saito as a shield or whatever you were saying." Lenny said without showing any emotion, "You just wanted to convince me to save someone completely unrelated to us." Hearing what Lenny said, Forge knew that he had already figure it all. Yes, she wasn''t really intending to use a person as a shield, but rather save the person from the Miniknog''s clutches. She only didn''t want people to die. If Forge hadn''t come up with such an idea, Lenny wouldn''t risk his life to save Fujiwara Saito. Lenny was, in his roots, a selfish person, and not at all selfless. Everything he does is for his own good, at least that''s how he sees it. While if he sees someone in distress and he can help, he will certainly help, but everything would change as long as his life is at risk. Before meeting John, Lenny would never have accepted Forge''s suggestion as the risks of him dying were way too big. While he may appear to outsiders as a jokester, casual and lazy, he''s, in fact, more serious and cold-blooded than he seems to be, but still somewhat lazy. Unbeknownst to him, he had been influenced one way or another by John in their little time together. The rest of the time, they spent running down the stairs at full speed was in silence. Neither Forge or Lenny spoke. Lennys Situation (11) "Target secured. Over." One of Miniknog''s soldiers said on the radio while he lifted the unconscious blue Hylotl from the ground. *Bang, bang, bang...* Around him, there were six more soldiers carrying assault rifles and shooting the corpses of the Hylotl''s security to make sure they were indeed dead. "Objective completed. Bring the target to the hanger to be safely extracted, and we will proceed to turn off the Life Support System of the space station." A female voice said over to all the invaders in the station, "Also, we lost communication with four men in the stairwell, be careful on your way there, it might still have enemies around. Over." "Roger that." Another soldier answered as he motioned for the three other soldiers to follow him, "Send the message for all troops to start regrouping and placing the explosive charges in the Life Support System." With him taking the lead, the other two behind him readied their weapons while the last one was with just a pistol in his hand and carrying the Hylotl kid over his shoulder. Lenny that was hiding by the emergency stairwell heard the announcement through the radio he caught from one of the soldiers he killed. "We need to hurry," Lenny whispered and hurried Forge that was transpiring all over her body, and breathing In rapid succession due to exhaustion. She was a scientist, a person that never bothered to train her own body. Running around and climbing stairs was very exhausting to her. Lenny frowned and forcibly grabbed her by the lab coat, dragging her outside the stairwell and into the dark hallways barely bright enough to see with the emergency red lights on the ceilings. With one hand in at Forge''s coat, Lenny crouched and dragged her with him into the nearest room that was by the stairwell''s exit. Lenny placed Forge down and returned to the door. He leaned in and opened the door only enough for him to see the situation outside. *Plop, plop...* Footsteps were approaching after each second. From the sound, Lenny could guess that their boots were wet, most probably with blood. Although the soldiers were careful to make the minimal amount of noise, Lenny heard every step they made as they were almost by Lenny''s hiding spot.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Seeing that the enemies were close, Lenny closed the door and waited by only hearing the sound. Lenny readied the shotgun on his hand and aimed at the door while carefully hearing for the footsteps. *Step, step, step...* When the noise was just at the other side of the door as the soldiers were walking down the hallway towards the emergency exit, Lenny pressed the trigger. *Bang* A yellow flash briefly illuminated the darkroom, along with the roaring sound of the shotgun being fired. The pellets fired from Lenny''s weapon smoothly went through the metal door and directly pierced the helmet of the closest soldier. Without the chance to scream for help or react, one of the four Miniknog''s soldier was killed. Lenny didn''t plan to give the other three time to process what happened and adequately react. He followed by opening the door and shooting once again, this time at another soldier. Just like the previous ones, faced with a shotgun at close range, they were blasted backward while blood splattered everywhere when the pellets mercilessly went through their flesh. By the time the two survivors reacted, it was too late for them to fend off Lenny, as he had pumped up another bullet in the gun and aimed at the soldier carrying the kid. *Bang* At the distance of less than a meter, the head of the soldier, along with the helmet, was blasted, splattering metal shards, brain matter and blood all over the place. *Bang, bang...* Despite his speed, Lenny couldn''t dodge bullets from an energy assault rifles at close range and was shot two times in his back by the last soldier. Since he chose to take out the guy that was carrying the kid first to stop him from running away, he showed his back to one of the soldiers. Lenny flinched a little because of the pain, but proceed to send a kick at the last survivor. *Whoosh* With the swift back kick, Lenny disarmed the guy and turned around with his shotgun ready to fire. *Bang* The last gunshot echoed throughout the empty hallway. Lenny walked past the bodies and retrieved the blue Hylotl kid from the ground. Although the kid was uninjured, it was drenched in blood from when Lenny exploded the end of the soldier that was carrying the kid. Yellow plasma leaked from Lenny''s wound and mixed with the small pool of blood. Lenny paid no heed for his injuries as he carried the kid back to the room where he was with Forge. Ending four more lives was nothing for Lenny, but as for Forge, she was close at her limit as she watched more people die before her eyes. She crouched by the door, closed her eyes, and covered her ears. She didn''t want to witness bloodshed again. "We have to go." Lenny said to Forge that was trembling by the destroyed metal door. "Right..." Forge weakly stood up, "I have remembered something that could help us." "What is it?" Lenny asked as he carried the kid with one hand and applied some bandages on his injuries. He won''t show his power in front of strangers, who know what could happen if information about what he could do spread. "There''s a lab on this floor that has the prototype of a communication device created by a friend of mine. It was created to bypass some of the commonly used jamming devices." She said. Lenny stopped applying the bandages when he heard what she said, "It won''t hurt to give it a try. We just a few minutes until the Miniknog realize that something happened to the soldiers with their target." Lenny glanced at Forge, "Lead the way." "Okay..." Forge answered and forced herself to walk forward with her weak body. Lennys Situation (12) And just like that, Forge took Lenny to the room and gave him the prototype her friend was secretly working. Lenny used it to try to communicate with anyone that was somewhat close by, but he didn''t manage to get any help. Right when he decided to try again, another Miniknog agent appeared out of nowhere in the room. It just happened that the communicator''s signal went through the jamming device by the Miniknog and found its way towards John. Lenny swiftly disposed of the soldier while he screamed at the device so that John could hear past the gunshots. After asking for help, the communicator failed and broke. It was, after all, a prototype. Forge was surprised it worked as she knew how incomplete was the device. Despite incomplete, it could still achieve such results, so, Lenny decided to take it with him, better than falling into Miniknog''s hands. It was only now that Lenny remembered to ask for Forge''s name, and she said it to him. Forge Umbra was her name. Storing the device into his PIPS, he asked Forge to carry Saito. He dragged both of them out of the room, as he heard from the Miniknog''s radio that they lost communication with the team that was with their target and as such a squad was sent to investigate what happened, to retrieve the target, and bring him back as fast as possible. They couldn''t take the emergency stairs, or else they would have to face a lot of soldiers. Lenny quickly changed his plans and dragged Forge and Saito with him towards the elevator. "Wha-what are you thinking?" Forge asked as soon as she realized that they weren''t taking the path towards the stairs. "The stairs should be swarming with soldiers by now." Lenny answered without turning his head, "I don''t know how many of them there is here. I don''t want to risk going there." "But...the elevators should not be working." "Of course, they aren''t." "Then...how do you expect to go towards the escape pods?" Hearing her question made Lenny briefly turn around to flash a wide smile, "By falling!" "Eh?" Forge was surprised for a moment and almost fell on the ground the moment Lenny''s answer entered in her ears, "Ehhhhh!?"Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ... "Such weakling..." Lenny glanced at Forge that was on the ground, trembling and foaming from her mouth. "What the hell!!!!!" The moment she heard Lenny''s criticism, she sprang up from the ground and glared at him, "You are insane, you know! Why would you throw me down the elevator''s hole! I almost died!!!!" Lenny laughed as he remembered Forge''s screams as she fell for about three floors, about 12 meters. It happened just a few moments ago when they got near the elevators that were deactivated. When Forge saw that gaping pitch-black opening in their path down, she hesitated and got scared. Lenny was in a hurry, so he decided to grab Saito from her and directly threw her down. Of course, he also dropped down and used a Grappling Hook to descend. Just as Forge was about to splat on top of an elevator that was on the way, Lenny grabbed her and stopped the Grappling Hook. He looked down at Forge to see if she was alright, but she had already passed out. Lenny couldn''t help but laugh then and now. After he was done mocking Forget and seeing her angry face, he grabbed Saito and walked forward, "Let''s go. We are close to our destination." Forged humphed and unhappily followed behind. ... It took about three minutes to Lenny to get to the designated floor that had some escape pods. For the case of an attack, the space station was built in a way that has almost an entire floor with escape pods after every ten levels. This way, the people in the station could swiftly get to the nearest pods. But this time, it didn''t work because the Miniknog knew about the infrastructure of the station and sent some incognito troops in advance to get control of the essential places before the main soldiers got there. In the floor 20, where the nearest pods were, more than five soldiers were guarding the place. Although they were separated from each other by walls and hallways, they kept constant communication with each other. Five people were way too low of a number to guard such a huge floor, but the other soldiers went up to search for the missing squad that Lenny killed to take Saito. The emergency lights barely lighted the hallways of such floor; it was almost complete darkness in some spots. This was highly disadvantageous for Lenny because of how much light his own body made of yellow plasma emanates. It was easy to spot such yellow beacon in dark environments. So, to keep themselves hidden, Lenny found a safe spot and started to think in a plan on how to get to one of the pods. Despite thinking for a few seconds, he couldn''t come up with a good plan. If he kills a single soldier, the others would realize the situation in almost no time and swiftly charge towards the last location in which they lost communication with their comrade. Although he would undoubtedly survive and kill all four of them, it would take some time, and he couldn''t guarantee the safety of Forge. As for Saito... he would not be harmed, he''s their target from the looks of it they need him alive... probably... "What do you think, girl?" Lenny gave up and turned his head to ask Forge that was unusually silent. Forge was surprised for a moment when Lenny suddenly called her. She never expected that Lenny would ask for her opinion. Until now it Lenny was calling the shots and deciding the plans. "Hum..." Forge entered in deep thought and caressed her Yello fur. Lenny frowned as she was taking too long to think about something. He was about to reach for some whiskey in his PIPS when he saw Forge''s eyes brighten. "Came up with something?" He asked. "I think... I''m not sure if it will work..." She said somewhat hesitantly, "It''s a very crazy idea, and I don''t think we have some high chance of success." Lenny thought for a second before saying, "Let''s hear it out. What''s your plan?" The Pursuit (1) The Miniknog soldier on the 20th floor carefully scanned his surroundings with his night-vision goggles already implemented into their high-tech helmets. He was using all his devices and senses to secure the hallways designated to him. It was a very important mission not to let anyone get close to the escape pods that were on the floor. In this mission, they were ordered not to let a single person survive. All must die. So, he was doing his job to the utmost of his abilities. For the honor of Big Ape and the Miniknog, he must not fail in his mission. As he was patrolling such floors, he heard some hurried steps coming from the distance. He immediately lifted his weapon and aimed the dark hallway in front of him. "I hear footsteps at my position. Over." He said on his radio. "Stay cautious. We are on the way." The others on the floor said. "No, this might be a distraction. I''ll see who is it. If you don''t hear about me in 30 seconds, presume my death, and immediately send someone to stop the killer from escaping." The soldier said emotionlessly, like his life meant anything at all in his eyes. "Roger that." With that, the swift conversation was over between the soldiers on the floor. Right at the end of the hallway, the soldier could see a figure approaching despite the darkness by using the night vision. From the armor that was the figure was using, the Apex could very see that it was also another one of them, it was the same black armor he and the ones were using. But the soldier remained cautious and unceremoniously aimed at the approaching person. "Stop right there and identify yourself." The soldier coldly asked as his finger rested in the trigger, ready to fire. The figure followed the orders and stopped at his tracks while lifting his hands, "ID number MKA97034S." The soldiers looked at his PIPS and confirmed the number of the armor of the figure his ID. There was nothing wrong with the information given. However, the soldier was still cautious as it was strange as to why someone that was designated to be on floor 25 would be there. "Why are you here?" He asked. "A scientist that survived ran towards this floor. I''m here to stop her from fleeing." The figure answered. "Really?" The soldier squinted his eyes at the figure and carefully scanned his surroundings using his visor.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. At the corner of his field of vision, right at the end of the hallway in his right, he caught some white blur that swiftly hid itself. "Do you hear me?" The soldier asked on his radio. "Yes." The other soldiers that were on the floor and on the same radio channel answered. "We have a survivor on the floor, be cautious. Over." "Affirmative. Over." The soldier glanced at the newcomer and lowered his weapon as he said, "Let''s go. We have to capture her." "Yes, sir!" The figure saluted and followed behind the soldier. ... Not long after that, another Miniknog agent said that he had captured a female Apex scientist together with a blue Hylotl child that looked to be their target of attacking the station. At a specific place, the five soldiers guarding the floor were all at the same spot looking down at the two people they have just captured trying to get in one of the escape pods. By the side of these 5 soldiers, there was another one as well, but he was a little away from the group. This soldier, in particular, carefully stepped back as he slowly lifted the rifle across his chest. "Stop it." One of the 5 realized something and directly aimed at the newcomer among them. "Take off your helmet, would ya?" The soldier asked politely with a menacing rifle pointed directly at the newcomer''s head. The other four looked at each other for a moment before also lifting their weapons and aiming at the newcomer. "What is happening?" The newcomer calmly asked. "I never trusted you since the moment you appeared before me." The soldier flatly spoke, "You are with them. I''m sure about it." The soldier took one hand off the rifle and pointed at the PIPS in his wrist, "I have a Tech Ability that currently, only the Miniknog military has. It''s called X-Ray, a Tech Ability that makes it possible for me to see through surfaces, depending on the material and the thickness. To see through a Durasteel armor such as ourselves isn''t hard for this ability. Now, guess what I saw when I activated my ability and looked at you?" "..." "I didn''t see an Apex at all. I just saw a yellow Novakid behind that armor. "...I''m not a Novakid. I''m with you guys." "If you are really one of us, we''ll confirm soon enough. If you don''t have anything to hide, why are you refusing to take off the helmet? I really don''t know what your plan was, but I have to say that it had lots of flaws. I didn''t try to kill you the moment you appeared just because my instincts were telling me that I would lose if I tried to fight against you, that''s why I followed with your plan until I grouped with my comrades. Now that we have the strength on numbers, I don''t think we''re going to lose." The newcomer flinched when faced with the accusations. "Okay... I''m going to take it out." The newcomer released one of his hands from the rifle and went for his helmet. The soldiers followed his hand with their eyes. *Bang, Bang, Bang* The newcomer unceremoniously pressed the trigger with his only hand over the gun and sent a barrage of fire at the distracted soldiers that were carefully watching his other hand. Sparks and metal shards were sent flying in the air as the projectiles pierced the armors. A single body hit the floor while spraying blood before the soldiers managed to fight back with their guns. Although the newcomer killed one, fatally wounded another, and somewhat injured one more, he was still at a disadvantage. He was directly turned into a sieve as soon as the surviving 4 opened fire with their automatic assault rifles. The newcomer fell on the floor but not spraying blood, the liquid that flew from the body was yellow plasma. *Bam* The body fell on the floor with a loud thud, and as soon as it touched the ground, the helmet left from the newcomer''s face. What reveled for the soldiers was just like that soldier had said, it was a yellow Novakid with an ''Omega'' brand at its face. "Now, mission complete?" One of the soldiers asked the others without even batting an eye at their fallen comrade that was bathing in his blood. "Looks like it." Another one answered as he came by Forge and Saito, "Let''s just get rid of the Apex female and bring the target with us." They all agreed with the suggestion given by their comrade. Without delay, they grabbed the Hylotl kid and aimed their guns at the unconscious Forge Umbra. The Pursuit (2) "Hm?" Just as they were about to open fire, they saw a flash of blue light coming from behind them. They immediately turned around with weapons in hand and ready to attack. But there was no one behind them, just the Novakid''s corpse on the ground. "What was that?" One of them asked. "I don''t know..." The others shook their heads as they also didn''t know what happened. "Maybe it was just one of the lights malfunctioning..." The soldier tried to find an explanation, "Let''s get our job done and leave this place. Reinforcements from Nova Rebellion, Intergalactic Police or UEG will be here in less than 5 minutes, we need to be far away when they arrive-" *Bang* Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere as the head of the soldiers exploded along with his helmet. "Wha-" *Bang* Before they could recover from the sudden attack, the heavily wounded was shot and directly killed. The surviving two Miniknog soldiers finally were able to fire back at the Novakid. What they saw was the Novakid with his armor filled with holes, but not a single injury, standing right in front of them and shooting at them with a wide from plastered on his face. The two sides shot at each other. Still, it didn''t matter how many bullets were sent towards the Novakid, he just didn''t fall. The injuries on his body were healed as fast as a blue light flashed at the Novakid''s hand and neck. Against the undying Novakid, the soldiers couldn''t do anything but die after they exchanged bullets. After he was done with the soldiers, the yellow Novakid, Lenny, swiftly stored everything that he found useful from the bodies and woke up Forge. Forge''s eyes were blurry for a few seconds before she was fully awakened. She scanned her surroundings. She almost jumped in fright when she saw the bodies all over her, making a small puddle of blood that even reached her and the Hylotl kid, Fujiwara Saito. She looked at her hands and saw that it was drenched with the sticky red liquid. She hurriedly cleaned her hand using her own lab coat.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. "Let''s go." Lenny crouched by her side and threw the kid over his shoulder, "We have to hurry. I don''t know the pods work, you better know how to take us out of here." "Yes, yes..." Forge answered as she stood up from the ground, "Did the plan work? I didn''t see anything before the world suddenly went black." "Somewhat worked." Lenny said dismissively. The plan was for Lenny to kill them while they focused on how to deal with Forge and Saito. But he never expected his cover to be blown before he could even start killing them. He had to use his power a few times, but it all worked in the end. He managed to kill all the guards before they could ask for reinforcements and without alerting the other soldiers in the whole station that their target was on this floor. Just like that, Forge led Lenny to the closest escape pod. The pods looked like small spheres with small thrusters in every direction to make it easy to change directions or slow down while flying in space. There were about four passenger seats and a single pilot seat facing the console of the pod. At the corner, Lenny could see some space suits that worked in outer space, but as a Novakid, there was no great use for it. Of course, if an accident happens, these suits would be lifesavers for Forge and Saito as they were an Apex and a Hylotl. Such races can''t survive in outer space without protective equipment like Florans, Glitches, and Novakids. Lenny took one of the suits and started to change Saito. Forge was about to take over the controls when Lenny called her out, "Put the spacesuit." He warned, "If they decide to shoot at the pod and penetrate the protection, you won''t die." "Alright." She followed Lenny''s warning and wore the suit. As Forge was on the pilot seat, Lenny found himself a comfortable chair and sat down. After that, he placed the unconscious Saito at the seat beside him and fasten both their seatbelts. "We are ready." Lenny said as he made a second check on their seatbelts to see if they were safe. "And... finish." Forge pressed a few keys on the console and son, they started to hear the sound of the engine coming from all around them. Over the sound of engines fastly being turned on, they heard a robotic voice coming from the console in front of Forge, "Escape Pod number...09467, activated." "Escape Pod, launch." As soon as the robotic voice dropped, the small shuttle was ejected from the space station and sent towards the endless and dark space. "Destination: Nearest habited planet. Mantis-7." Lenny heard the name of the planet, but he didn''t know anything about it. Of course, he didn''t have the hope they could reach the destination, as he knew for sure that the Miniknog would never want any witness to survive. And just like Lenny thought, as soon as the shuttle was ejected from the ISU''s Space Station, a few Miniknog spaceships that were besieging the station turned around. It went full speed after their escaped pod. Forge looked at the images in the holographic screen in front of her and saw the ships pursuing them. "Warning, the Pod is being targeted by homing missiles." Red lights shone in the small shuttle as it warned that the ship had been locked-on by the pursing spaceships. "Forge, turn on the open channels of them comms!" Lenny shouted. Forge''s forehead was dripping with sweat as she followed Lenny''s order. Soon enough, they were at the open channel. Lenny stood up from his seat and took Forge out of the way from the small camera in the console to show the whole escape pod. "Hey, you bunch of monkeys." Lenny spoke rudely at the microphone that was already integrated with the camera, "Better not shot us down, or else..." Lenny glanced at the kid that was on the seat and made sure that the other side could see it as well, "...He''s going to die." Lenny spoke with a faint and cold grin on his face. The Pursuit (3) Just as Lenny finished speaking those lines, he turned off the comm system of the Pod. Without delay, the warning ranging all over shuttle''s console stopped. "Starting FTL Warp Jump." The robotic voice said, "Failed: Escape Pod is unable to perform Warp Jump. Reason: Jamming equipment interfering with the FTL Engine. Solution: Get out of the jamming''s range of effect, or destroy the source." "This is bad." Lenny spoke as he walked back to his seat, "They are still after us, and they also have some FTL jammers." "What about your friend?" Forge suddenly asked. "If he performed the jumped just after I called him, he might be arriving." Lenny said, "Try to stay out of their reach until Connor arrives to save us." "Okay." Forge nodded and went back to type at the console. "Autopilot deactivated. Starting manual maneuver. Please, pilot, be ready." Just like that, Forge grabbed the controls of the shuttle and started to pilot the escape pod manually. Lenny could only watch as Forge moved the escape pod with her pilot skills. Although Lenny couldn''t say that she was the best pilot he had ever seen, he had to admit that she was better than himself. He was simply terrible in piloting spaceships, a little better with Mechs, and a professional with his hoverbike. While he was filling a little down as he couldn''t do anything to help Forge right now, Lenny consoled himself by remembering that he was one of the best sharpshooters in the known universe, at least as far as he knows. The Miniknog ships were quickly getting close to the escape pod as they had better thrusters and pilots. It was impossible to overrun a Sparrow-class spaceship that was built to pursue and destroy enemies with such escape pod. Those ships had more thrusters than standard Sparrow-class spaceship, and also had better weaponry. "Warning, warning!" The robotic voice rang at the shuttle once again, "High levels of energy coming from behind the Escape Pod. Energy weaponry locked-on at Pod. Pilot, start evasive maneuvering!" "Shit!" Lenny cursed as he heard the warnings. He was sure that the Miniknog wouldn''t give the order to destroy them, but that this didn''t mean they could damage the escape pod enough to bring them to a halt. If they were aiming for the engines, the laser would pierce the hull and destroy the equipment in the way and the surroundings due to the sheer temperature of such energy weapon. "Forge!" "I''m on it!" Forge said out loud as she made the pod change route and shook off their aim. But the movements were limited with such shuttle, and the Miniknog kept their aim at them as the weapon finished charging.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Lenny stretched his neck to see the situation outside from the screen in front of Forge her shoulder. He could only see about 5 Sparrow-class spaceships in hot pursuit, and the two leading the group had already finished charging the energy weapon. *BOOM!!!!!!* *BOOM!!!!!* The shuttle in which Lenny and Forge were, shook at as soon as they were hit with the energy beam. "Critical damage at FTL Engine, Warp Jump now is impossible." Lenny heard the robotic voice warn them as emergency red lights flashed all over the shuttle, "Back thrusters 3 and 4 had been destroyed, speed will be slowed down significantly. The external hull has been heavily damaged. Life Support Systems are failing. Please wear spacesuits." Lenny was glad that he wore the spacesuits as soon as they got into the pod. With that hit, there was an oxygen leakage, and the Oxygen Recycler had also been destroyed with those hits. "*Tzzzt..." "Hm?" Lenny shook his head that had been hit by a flying metal shard. As soon as he recovered from dizziness, he heard some static noise coming from his the Pod''s communication system. "*Tzzzt... Lenny!?..." The moment Lenny heard that voice, right in front of their shuttle, a spaceship suddenly appeared seemly out of nowhere. Without delay, Lenny cut his seatbelt, grabbed the Hylotl kid and the dizzy Forge that was bleeding from gnashing wound on her forehead, and launched off from the Pod towards the familiar Sparrow-class spaceship in front of him. ... "Lenny!?" John shouted at his comm as soon as the Warp Jump finished. What appeared in front of the ship was an incoming damaged spherical white shuttle and a small fleet of Sparrow-class spacships completely weaponized, chasing the spherical shuttle. John was astounded at the sight of a spaceship filled with weapons. Even the Protectorate ships didn''t have as many as those ships. And, as said before, it was forbidden to put weapons in spaceships by the Terrene Protectorate, so John never saw any ship different from those coming from the Protectorate having those types of advanced weaponry. He wasn''t given any time to recover before he caught sight of Lenny through the magnified image on his screen. Lenny, together with two other people, launched himself out of the pod towards John''s ship. [That insane bastard!] John thought to himself as he saw Lenny flying off from the pod at high speed he carried on with the momentum given by the shuttle''s speed. "Peri, grab them!" John shouted as he pressed a key on his console to open the side door. Peri nodded and flew over narrow corridors towards the door in which John opened. John took control over his ship and turned it around so that Lenny didn''t need to find a way to change direction in the middle of space''s vacuum. Lenny saw the ship turning and opening the door. He became thrilled that John had reacted this quickly and took a jetpack from his PIPS. As the ship turned, Lenny also an opening appearing on the faint and transparent Forcefield around John''s spaceship. But some people weren''t that happy. The small fleet of ships immediately accelerated and started charging their energy weapons as they couldn''t risk firing missiles, or use their machines, and end up killing their target. So, they could only resort to their strategy of destroying the engines of the spaceship that was in front of them. While carrying Forge and Saito, Lenny used the jetpack to slow down his speed before he could get to John''s ship, or else he would be flattened entirely together with Forge and Saito. Lenny looked at his arm and saw that both Forge and Saito were unconscious now. The kid had been pass out since there beginning, as for Forge, Lenny could see the blood leaking from a cut in her head. She probably had a concussion with some object that flew after the explosion and hit her in the head. As he approached the ship, Lenny saw someone appearing in the open door. It was the green female Floran that he knew well, Peri. His expression instantly changed. Although he didn''t hate Peri or anything like that, he disliked being around her because of the faint burning pain he felt on his hand whenever he''s close to her. It isn''t that much pain. Still, every time it activated, he''s forced to remember the terrible things he did inside the Ancient Challenge''s dimension. Memories that he rather forget, but every time he''s around a "survivor," the memories come back with full swing. As soon as his expression worsened, he brought it back to normal. Just like that, Lenny flew towards Peri, and she quickly grabbed the three people. The Pursuit (3) Just as Lenny finished speaking those lines, he turned off the comm system of the Pod. Without delay, the warning ranging all over shuttle''s console stopped. "Starting FTL Warp Jump." The robotic voice said, "Failed: Escape Pod is unable to perform Warp Jump. Reason: Jamming equipment interfering with the FTL Engine. Solution: Get out of the jamming''s range of effect, or destroy the source." "This is bad." Lenny spoke as he walked back to his seat, "They are still after us, and they also have some FTL jammers." "What about your friend?" Forge suddenly asked. "If he performed the jumped just after I called him, he might be arriving." Lenny said, "Try to stay out of their reach until Connor arrives to save us." "Okay." Forge nodded and went back to type at the console. "Autopilot deactivated. Starting manual maneuver. Please, pilot, be ready." Just like that, Forge grabbed the controls of the shuttle and started to pilot the escape pod manually. Lenny could only watch as Forge moved the escape pod with her pilot skills. Although Lenny couldn''t say that she was the best pilot he had ever seen, he had to admit that she was better than himself. He was simply terrible in piloting spaceships, a little better with Mechs, and a professional with his hoverbike. While he was filling a little down as he couldn''t do anything to help Forge right now, Lenny consoled himself by remembering that he was one of the best sharpshooters in the known universe, at least as far as he knows. The Miniknog ships were quickly getting close to the escape pod as they had better thrusters and pilots. It was impossible to overrun a Sparrow-class spaceship that was built to pursue and destroy enemies with such escape pod. Those ships had more thrusters than standard Sparrow-class spaceship, and also had better weaponry. "Warning, warning!" The robotic voice rang at the shuttle once again, "High levels of energy coming from behind the Escape Pod. Energy weaponry locked-on at Pod. Pilot, start evasive maneuvering!" "Shit!" Lenny cursed as he heard the warnings. He was sure that the Miniknog wouldn''t give the order to destroy them, but that this didn''t mean they could damage the escape pod enough to bring them to a halt. If they were aiming for the engines, the laser would pierce the hull and destroy the equipment in the way and the surroundings due to the sheer temperature of such energy weapon. "Forge!" "I''m on it!" Forge said out loud as she made the pod change route and shook off their aim. But the movements were limited with such shuttle, and the Miniknog kept their aim at them as the weapon finished charging.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Lenny stretched his neck to see the situation outside from the screen in front of Forge her shoulder. He could only see about 5 Sparrow-class spaceships in hot pursuit, and the two leading the group had already finished charging the energy weapon. *BOOM!!!!!!* *BOOM!!!!!* The shuttle in which Lenny and Forge were, shook at as soon as they were hit with the energy beam. "Critical damage at FTL Engine, Warp Jump now is impossible." Lenny heard the robotic voice warn them as emergency red lights flashed all over the shuttle, "Back thrusters 3 and 4 had been destroyed, speed will be slowed down significantly. The external hull has been heavily damaged. Life Support Systems are failing. Please wear spacesuits." Lenny was glad that he wore the spacesuits as soon as they got into the pod. With that hit, there was an oxygen leakage, and the Oxygen Recycler had also been destroyed with those hits. "*Tzzzt..." "Hm?" Lenny shook his head that had been hit by a flying metal shard. As soon as he recovered from dizziness, he heard some static noise coming from his the Pod''s communication system. "*Tzzzt... Lenny!?..." The moment Lenny heard that voice, right in front of their shuttle, a spaceship suddenly appeared seemly out of nowhere. Without delay, Lenny cut his seatbelt, grabbed the Hylotl kid and the dizzy Forge that was bleeding from gnashing wound on her forehead, and launched off from the Pod towards the familiar Sparrow-class spaceship in front of him. ... "Lenny!?" John shouted at his comm as soon as the Warp Jump finished. What appeared in front of the ship was an incoming damaged spherical white shuttle and a small fleet of Sparrow-class spacships completely weaponized, chasing the spherical shuttle. John was astounded at the sight of a spaceship filled with weapons. Even the Protectorate ships didn''t have as many as those ships. And, as said before, it was forbidden to put weapons in spaceships by the Terrene Protectorate, so John never saw any ship different from those coming from the Protectorate having those types of advanced weaponry. He wasn''t given any time to recover before he caught sight of Lenny through the magnified image on his screen. Lenny, together with two other people, launched himself out of the pod towards John''s ship. [That insane bastard!] John thought to himself as he saw Lenny flying off from the pod at high speed he carried on with the momentum given by the shuttle''s speed. "Peri, grab them!" John shouted as he pressed a key on his console to open the side door. Peri nodded and flew over narrow corridors towards the door in which John opened. John took control over his ship and turned it around so that Lenny didn''t need to find a way to change direction in the middle of space''s vacuum. Lenny saw the ship turning and opening the door. He became thrilled that John had reacted this quickly and took a jetpack from his PIPS. As the ship turned, Lenny also an opening appearing on the faint and transparent Forcefield around John''s spaceship. But some people weren''t that happy. The small fleet of ships immediately accelerated and started charging their energy weapons as they couldn''t risk firing missiles, or use their machines, and end up killing their target. So, they could only resort to their strategy of destroying the engines of the spaceship that was in front of them. While carrying Forge and Saito, Lenny used the jetpack to slow down his speed before he could get to John''s ship, or else he would be flattened entirely together with Forge and Saito. Lenny looked at his arm and saw that both Forge and Saito were unconscious now. The kid had been pass out since there beginning, as for Forge, Lenny could see the blood leaking from a cut in her head. She probably had a concussion with some object that flew after the explosion and hit her in the head. As he approached the ship, Lenny saw someone appearing in the open door. It was the green female Floran that he knew well, Peri. His expression instantly changed. Although he didn''t hate Peri or anything like that, he disliked being around her because of the faint burning pain he felt on his hand whenever he''s close to her. It isn''t that much pain. Still, every time it activated, he''s forced to remember the terrible things he did inside the Ancient Challenge''s dimension. Memories that he rather forget, but every time he''s around a "survivor," the memories come back with full swing. As soon as his expression worsened, he brought it back to normal. Just like that, Lenny flew towards Peri, and she quickly grabbed the three people. The Pursuit (4) As soon as Lenny, Forge, and Saito were on the ship, John immediately powered up the thrusters to escape from their pursuers. "Hey, Connor, long time no see!" Lenny greeted John with a wide grin on his face the moment he entered the cockpit. "Fuck off!" John was very angry at the casual Lenny. The universe''s fate was at risk, and here he was, saving a freeloader named Lenny. John started to regret his decision of coming as soon as he saw that annoying and dumb smile on Lenny''s face. John glanced at the Navigation Console and saw the ships still on hot pursuit. It didn''t seem like they were willing to give up. They started to charge their energy weapons that could easily penetrate John''s spaceship''s weak Forcefield and the fragile hull. Lenny went beside John and looked with a grim expression at the images on the console. "Those two should be comfortable now." Peri entered the cockpit and said to Lenny, "The Hylotl kid looks to have been drugged, as for the female Apex, is just some minor injuries, and a concussion. She should be awake in just a few minutes." Immediately after landing on the spaceship, Lenny gave the two he had been carrying for Peri to put them in a comfortable room, before walking for the cockpit. "Oh, thanks." Lenny dismissively thanked as he only threw a quick glance at Peri before returning his attention at the console. "Wait a minute..." Lenny suddenly realized something. He glanced back and forth between John and Peri before slyly smiling and nodding in understanding, "You surely are a womanizer, John. I have been away for only a few days, and you already got yourself a lady-" "Shut up!" Both John and Peri shouted at Lenny. "Ouch..." Lenny made a face he been hurt before laughing and saying, "I take away what I said. She''s no lady at all; she''s a brute-" *Bam* John only saw a green blur before Lenny was sent flying away from the cockpit. Peri''s face was emotionless and cold as she lowered her arm that she just used to punch Lenny away. [You deserved it.] John thought to himself as he took pleasure on Lenny''s misfortune. He was angry at Lenny, but the punch delivered by Peri at Lenny''s chest was enough for him to forgive Lenny. It was on that day that Lenny learned that teasing John was okay, but teasing Peri would have heavy consequences. "Urgh..." Lenny stood up from the ground as he rubbed the place in his chest where Peri hit, "Like I said, a brute..." He made sure to whisper in a voice low enough that only him heard.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Protector..." Lenny heard a robotic and emotionless voice through the speakers in the hallway, "The pursuers'' weapon has finished charging. They are aiming the spaceship. I suggest starting evasive maneuvers." "Alright... SAIL, give me full control over the spaceship." John went for the controls and started to type as fast as he could. With full control over the ship, John could easily start to properly pilot the ship. Although he had never been the best pilot in his class, he was about in the middle. For the Terrene Protectorate''s standards, he was very above the average pilot outside the Protectorate. [This is no simulation...] John thought as cold sweat dripped from his forehead, [Is a life and death situation. Let''s hope my skills can take us out of this predicament.] ... Inside the leading ship that was pursuing John, the captain looked at unfamiliar spaceship in front of him. There were no marks, neither anything that could identify from where it comes and the model of the ship. Just like their own used in this operation to raid the space station for the Hylotl kid. The Apex captain squinted his eyes as his finger hovered above the button to send an energy beam towards the spaceship. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to damage the engines and stop the ship from working. As he was concentrating on the screen in front of him, he suddenly heard a voice coming from his copilot beside him, "New orders from the commander!" "What is it?" The captain asked without taking his eyes from the screen. "The orders are to eliminate the target and everyone with it." The copilot said before he turned around to look at the captain that stopped aiming as soon as he heard the change of plans given by their commander, "We cannot allow the ISU neither the Sea Faction to find out about this operation." The copilot thoughtfully said. "Yes." The captain nodded, "The consequences would be disastrous." He said absentmindedly before turning his head to his copilot, "Relay the new orders. Let the fleet change from energy weapon to lethal and destructive ones." ... Just when the laser beams were about to hit John''s spaceship, he twisted the joysticks on his Navigation Console and changed direction. *Bzzzt* The spaceship shook as the lasers just barely hit the energy field around the ship. "Forcefield has been hit by a laser beam." SAIL''s voice sounded at the cockpit, "Damage absorbed by the Forcefield. Forcefield''s energy dropped to 95%." Cold sweat dripped from John''s forehead, "Luckily they aren''t trying to kill us or else-" [Or else, that single shot would almost empty 1/4 of the shield if it was a direct hit.] It was what John was about to say. Still, he didn''t manage to continue before being interrupted by Lenny. "Errrr... John..." Lenny spoke beside John as his eyes were glued at the screen showing the situation behind the spaceship, "You should take another look." "What?" John glanced at the screen, "Why do you-" John was about to ask something, but it got stuck on his throat as soon as he saw the fleet''s next movements behind him. "Oh...fuck..." John cursed as his lips twitched, [Why did I have to speak those words...] He thought to himself. The fleet behind them just entered in formation, and all had unlocked their guns. Missiles, energy beams, gattling guns... "This is bad, isn''t it?" Lenny grimly asked John. "Worse than you think..." John answered, "This ship doesn''t have a single weapon or defensive mechanism. Although Pete did some modifications, it only increased the speed and the overall look." The fleet behind them was slowly catching up with them, they didn''t have enough speed to simply shake them off, nor any guns to destroy, and neither defensive mechanisms besides the standard Forcefield to protect themselves from the barrage of projectiles and explosives they will send their way. John''s mind worked at a speed never seen before as he tried to figure out a way to get themselves out of this predicament. He didn''t have time to regret his decision of saving Lenny and neither the to blame his situation at anyone else. In this kind of situation, John immediately tried to find a way out and not lose time with unnecessary thoughts. [I need a way out...what do I have available...?] This was his current thoughts. The Pursuit (5) "Lenny." Peri called out the Novakid while John was concentrated in maneuvering the ship to make it difficult for the enemy to lock on their guns at the spaceship, "You''re a good sharpshooter, right?" "Good?" Lenny switched his sight from the Navigation Console''s screen. He stared at Peri with a prideful smug as he declared, "The adjective, ''Good,'' is not enough to describe my abilities. I''m the best in the universe." "Yeah, yeah." Peri rolled her eyes at the smugness coming from Lenny before speaking, "If you''re the best, then answer me truthfully. Can shoot homing missiles in outer space?" Lenny''s expression froze for a second before he hesitantly replied, "Well...I never tried before, but I think... probably...maybe...I should be able to pull it off." "Oh..." Peri exclaimed before saying with a provocative smile look on her face, "You didn''t sound very convincing with your answer just now. I thought you were the best..." "I''m the best!" Lenny said, "But there are limits of how good a person can be, okay? Firing at a missile traveling that fast and with unpredictable movements, it''s... it''s impossible!" Peri''s expression suddenly turned serious as she spoke to Lenny, "You better make possible, or else, even if John finds a way to increase our speed and get further from our pursuers, we would still be shot down by the missiles." "But..." Lenny tried to argue, but he knew that she spoke the truth. Although it might exist another way, they simply couldn''t just think of one in the spot. Their biggest problem was the homing missiles. Bullets and energy beams have predictable and linear movements, which make it possible to dodge by using some evasive maneuvers. As for homing missiles, it was a lot more complicated. Usually, the way most spaceship deals with such missiles is by launching a bunch of scrap metal at the rear end of the ship, and by doing this, one of the shards would hit the rocket and explode it before it could get close. John''s ship simply didn''t have something like an ejector or hatch at the rear end. They did have some things to throw away from the hatches at the side but surely wasn''t enough to make sure to stop the missile while dodging the incoming bullets and energy beams. Lenny thought about it, but still couldn''t come with a better solution, "You''re a madwoman, I have to say." "Why so serious?" Peri''s face broke into a smile, "It''s just like practice to you, right?" Lenny''s mouth twitched, [I know what she''s thinking, but this is precisely why I''m afraid...this woman is crazy.] With a long sigh, Lenny turned around and stopped by the door of the cockpit, "Then...wish me luck." "Powerful and skillful people don''t rely on luck." Peri said, "They trust in their own ability to go through even the hardest and impossible trials in front of them. Lenny, I don''t think you need luck..." Peri flashed a faint, mysterious smile. In the face of Peri''s answer, Lenny just turned his head around and spoke in a low tone, "Damn, I just asked for you to wish me luck, that''s all."If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Peri watched as Lenny disappeared from the room, and the automatic door closed, leaving only John and her inside. She looked at John that seemed to have completely sealed off from the outside as he concentrated in piloting the ship and thinking on the way to speed up the ship. With a wild twist in the joysticks, the ship turned around and dodged a burst of bullets that came from the fleet pursuing them. Although some of the projectiles managed to hit the shield, the damage was neglectable, for the most part. If the fleet keeps shooting a burst of bullets as they get closer, the damage would continuously pile up and end up creating cracks in the shield around the spaceship. That''s why John was getting more and more nervous. "SAIL." John called out the spaceship''s AI. "Yes, Protector?" "Is it possible to activate some kind of turbo with our engine to increase our speed?" "..." There was a moment of silence before the robotic voice answered, "Yes, it is possible. It would increase the speed for almost thrice the current speed..." John was joyful for a second before SAIL crushed his hopes with the rest of her answer, "...but for only 2 minutes. After this amount of time, the engine and power generator could fail at any given moment, and there exists a high probability of it exploding. Chances of survival if such explosion occur...close to 1%. Most probable scenario, everyone on board would die." John''s fist over the Navigation Console tightened, "Only 2 minutes..." He grimly thought. Although speeding up thrice was very good, he didn''t know the range of the FTL Jammers the enemy was using, if he really took the risk to activate the overclock, it exists the chance of them unable to flee, the engine exploding, or the scenario that John wishes to see, they successfully escape. "Warning! Side hatch has been opened." It was a gamble that John had in his hand. "Side hatch has been closed." "Wait..." John suddenly thought of something, "SAIL, can the time be increased if I stop the usage of power within the ship?" "Yes, by turning off all unnecessary power usage, the overclock could go on for a few more seconds before the engine reaches critical and could explode at any moment. Probable amount given: 5 to 10 seconds." John clicked his tongue. *Crack* *BOOM* The ship violently shook as they were hit by one energy beam. Such a powerful beam could easily penetrate the weak shield around John''s spaceship. Red alerts appeared on the console as it showed the damage they received from the direct hit of such weapons. "Damnit." John cursed as he recovered himself. While he was occupied thinking of a solution, they were hit and taken such substantial damage. "Warning!" SAIL spoke, "Direct hit detected. Damage partially absorbed by the Forcefield. Forcefield capacity dropped to 54%. Remnants of the highly concentrated laser beam penetrated the shield. Thruster 6 has been destroyed." "What!?" John checked the console and saw that the sixth thruster had stopped working. Such blow wouldn''t change their speed in the space''s vacuum if they were simply going straight in a line, but since John had to keep turning and twisting, the loss of a single thruster could be fatal as it would make maneuvering and acceleration a little slower, slower enough for them to be hit by a few more bullets and energy beams. [There''s no more time to hesitate!] John''s eyes flashed with determination as he opened his mouth to speak, "Peri, put on the-" The moment he turned around, he saw that Peri had a small grey cylinder on her back. Of course, John recognized the object, it was one of his ship''s Breathing EPP. He was about to ask for Peri to put on a spacesuit, but from the looks of it, it was unnecessary. "I heard your conversation with the AI." Peri explained, "I can probably guess what you are going to do." "Well..." John embarrassedly scratched his head as he remembered the fact that he was so focused that he ignored Peri''s existence and only talked with SAIL, "This at least spare us time." Breathing EPP. EPP stands for Environment Protection Pack, which basically is a device that creates a thin barrier between the wearer and the outside to protect him/her from planetary hazards and dangerous environments, such as lava, poison, radiation, and lack of oxygen. Each EPP had its use, the one that Peri was using could carry a specific amount of breathable air to explore, or survive, in places that don''t have air. Such device wasn''t that expensive, but John didn''t have one, at least not until Lenny left behind some tools to John before he disappeared. Peri couldn''t have taken John''s, as his EPP was inside his PIPS. So, John could only assume that Peri had her own. It wasn''t strange. After all, such device was crucial to explorers and anyone with a sane mind that would risk traveling in outer space. The Pursuit (6) "Incoming missiles!" SAIL loudly warned just as John switched his attention from the situation outside to Peri that was just beside him. "Oh, fuck." John cursed. In the face of homing missiles, John didn''t have any tricks to fend it off. All he could do was to continue dodging the bullets, and energy beams as the missiles slowly get closer and ultimately blow them to smithereens. With the missiles, the Apex ships lowered the number of projectiles firing at John because they didn''t want to hit the rockets accidentally. As John focused his mind on trying to find a way to deal with the situation behind him, John controlled with the utmost of his ability to receive the least amount of damage from the attacks. *Bam* *Bam* The shield glowed with a faint light where it was hot, John saw some small cracks appearing in some places, but it was soon fixed. "Direct hit by projectiles detected. Forcefield capacity dropped to 43%," SAIL warned. This time John made sure to skillfully maneuver the ship in a way that the thrusters and engine didn''t get damaged, and they slow down even further. "Put your seatbelt." John spoke as he kept one hand in the joystick, and the other reached for his PIPS, [I don''t have a choice than to overclock the engine before the missiles get closer.] "Okay." Peri followed along with John''s order and obediently fastened her seatbelt. John took his Breathing EPP, a grey cylinder device, from his PIPS and placed it beside him. "SAIL, depressurize the ship, turn off Life Support System, the Artificial Gravity Generator. Prepare to turn the shield off at my order. Channel all energy and fuel onto the engine and thrusters. After I turn down the Energy Defensive System, we are going to activate turbo." John gave a stream of orders as his hand flew across the keyboard in front of him as he got ready to activate the turbo mode. By turning off everything that was using energy, John could redirect all the energy generated by the Power Generator towards the engine and increase even further the speed of the spaceship. Of course, to do this, he needed SAIL''s help to force the engine to work more than it was built for and disable all safety systems to stop the engine from entering in a kind of turbo mode. "Yes, Protector. Initiating the process of turning down all requested systems." "I need some time..." John glanced at the screen in front of him and saw the fastly approaching objects behind them.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it There were about 5 homing missiles that had been launched by the enemy. *BOOM!!!* "What!?" John exclaimed as he saw one of the homing missiles explode out of nowhere. There was only a trail of red light that came to contact with the missile, and it exploded. Peri saw the development, and a faint smile appeared on her face, "Looks like he began to take action." Sensing his PIPS vibrate, John glanced down and saw that Lenny was requesting a direct local connection between both of their PIPS. As the Miniknog fleet behind had FTL Jammers, they also had some kind of jamming device for communication, and as such, simply calling wouldn''t work, that''s why Lenny chose to request a local connection and not to use his PIPS to give a call. "Looks like I''m indeed the best!" The moment John accepted the connection, his ears were greeted Lenny praising himself. "What do you want!? I''m a little occupied here trying to save our lives and all." John was annoyed and somewhat angry that Lenny was calling him in such a tense and deadly moment just to speak nonsense. "That''s how you thank me for destroying the missile?" "What!?" John exclaimed, "It was you!? But...how!?" *BOOM!!!* Another missile exploded as soon as the red trail met with it. "I''m simply shooting them down, that''s all." John''s lips twitched as soon as he heard that. Shooting such small objects flying at incredibly high speeds with unpredictable patterns of movement, and Lenny still had the face to say he was just shooting them down. "How about it? Am I good, or am I good?" At this moment, John really wished he had the chance to punch Lenny just like Peri did, but he rather deliver it on the face and not in the chest. John sighed and calmed himself. This wasn''t the moment to quibble and chitchat, "Where are you?'' "I''m at the spaceship''s roof, I think. I''m beside the long-range communication antenna." "How the hell you got there?" *BOOM!!" As he destroyed another missile, Lenny answered, "I went out through the side hatch, the same from where I got in." John stopped to think about it and realized he had some recollection about hearing some warnings from SAIL about a hatch being opened and then closed. While John was focused on piloting the spaceship and trying to think of a solution, Lenny had already opened the side hatch, where he entered together with Forge and Saito and climbed his way to the top of the ship. "Alright, Lenny. I''ll have to turn off the Forcefield so that I can activate some kind of turbo by overclocking the engine. You need to be careful with the bullets and energy beams they will send our way as soon as they realize the shield is down." "What!? Are you serious!? Do you wish to get me killed!?" "No!! We need to do it, or else they will get even closer, and it will be impossible to dodge the beams at a closer distance. You saw how easily one of those energy beams went penetrated the ship''s shield." "..." There were some moments of silence followed with another explosion that shook the spaceship just a little, signifying another missile being destroyed. John heard Lenny sighing, and his voice came through, "Alright, do it." "... Don''t die, Lenny. If you do, we''re all probably going to die with you." "That''s reassuring to hear." "SAIL, deactivate the Defensive Energy Forcefield System." John gave the orders, "Overclock the engine and push it beyond its limit, I don''t care about overheating, and the damages are done. Only get us out of the jamming device''s range." "Yes, Protector. Deactivating requested system and initiating turbo mode." John glanced at his side and saw that Peri was also staring at him. She had an expressionless face as he nodded at him. John turned back to his Navigation Console, [Let''s see if we can get out of this alive.] Soon enough, rumbling noises could be heard echoing throughout the spaceship. The spaceship started to faintly vibrate as the engine began to work more than it was built for. Along with the engine, the Power Generator also heated up as the engine consumed more and more energy. The Pursuit (7) "Captain." One of the pilots called the captain of the fleet that tailing and attacking John''s ship. "What is it?" The Apex captain glanced at the pilot that was at his side. "It appears that their Forcefield is down." The pilot commented with a frown on his face. "Really?" The captain was surprised for a moment. In his mental calculations, the shield of that ship could still take a few more hits before it was disabled for good, "Double check their power usage." "Yes, Captain." The pilot did what he was told and carefully scanned John''s ship from their distance, "Indeed, their shield is down. They seem to be redirecting the power usage from their Defensive Energy System to somewhere else." The Captain frowned and entered in deep thought before asking in a low voice, "Do you think they have some kind of weapon?" "I don''t think so." The pilot readily answered as he also thought about the possibility but immediately dismissed it, "From our scans, we found no weapon in that ship. Despite it appearing to be a custom made spaceship, there doesn''t seem to have any kind of weapon, and just the simplest Forcefield as a defensive system." "What we of actions do you suggest we take?" The captain was a cautious person and didn''t wish to fall into a possible trap set up by the enemy. The pilot knew of his Captain''s cautious nature and made his suggestion, "We should slow down until we are at the same speed as them, maintaining a certain distance, and also send some probationary attacks to see if they are planning something. We should use mainly our machine guns and energy beams, homing missiles are useless ever since that sniper Novakid climbed on top of the spaceship." "Good." The Captain nodded, "We are going to do as you suggested. Relay the new orders, all ships shall slow down and keep the same speed as the enemy and use only the machine guns and energy weaponry." ... "Why are they slowing down?" John confusedly looked at his Navigation Console. He saw the pursuing ships dropping their speed until they were at the same as him. "Because you turned off the Forcefield." Peri explained, "They think it''s a trap. It''s the same as when, in a fight, your opponent suddenly drops his defense and leaves such an obvious gap for you to strike. Any experienced fighter would be wary of exploiting the gap since it could very likely be a trap. Of course, a normal and inexperienced fighter would most likely attack, even though it could possibly be bait, but an experienced one will surely hesitate. That''s what''s happening, the Captain of that fleet is a veteran, he thinks your opening is a trap for them. His next sort of action will to probationary attack a few times to test the waters. If the opening is genuine, he won''t hesitate to send everything after us. Your careless move made them hesitate and give us time. Nice one, John."Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. John''s lips twitched after he heard Peri''s explanation, [They have an absolute advantage in the numbers and also in weapons. What could they possibly be overthinking we have with us to lure them into a trap?] These were his thoughts, although he was speechless about their decision, he was also joyous. This will buy them time for the engine to be ready to speed up with the improvised turbo. ... "Fire the lasers." The Captain ordered his fleet to do so as soon they finished charging their weapons. *Bzzzt* The beams were sent, and they watched as the enemy spaceship maneuvered and dodged all of them. "Not a single hit, Captain." The pilot reported. "I saw." The Captain answered with a cold tone. He was getting impatient, despite him being cautious, he couldn''t allow the enemy to flee. As such, he received orders to destroy them, but he simply couldn''t charge forward and fall into whatever trap the enemy was planning. They have been cautiously tailing John''s ship for about minutes now while sending a barrage of bullets and energy beams. [Maybe...] The Captain thought to himself as his eyes flashed, [It isn''t a trap at all...? It''s a possibility, but why would they lower their Forcefield? Wait...maybe their Defensive Energy System malfunction...] His head was running through all possibilities as he tried to find a way to destroy the enemy and return as soon as possible. [Should I sacrifice a ship?] The Captain thought, [It''s for the best. To see whatever or not is a trap, I should send one forward to test the waters.] "Hear my orders." The Captain in the communicator, "Spaceship number 5 go forward and do your utmost to destroy the enemy." "Yes, Captain." The pilot at the spaceship number 5 gladly accepted his orders, even knowing that he was a possible sacrifice. ... "They are starting to get suspicious." Peri commented as soon as she saw one of the Miniknog''s ships break formation and speed up towards them. "It''s too late by now." John said, "We are almost ready, just a few more seconds." John looked at the lever at his side, pushed it upward to the maximum. Soon John felt a weightless sensation as the Artificial Gravity Generator was turned off. He tightened the seatbelt to stop his body from floating away, looked at the screen of the Navigation Console, and watched as the spaceship picked up speed. "Here we go." John lightly said, "Lenny, be ready. They are going to do everything they can to stop us. Don''t die." "*Tzzt* I won''t die, John. After all, I''m too good to die." John rolled his eyes as he heard Lenny bragging, but he flashed a smile and turned up to Peri. She nodded, indicating she was ready. "Well, it''s time. Full force ahead, SAIL. Let''s get away from them." The Pursuit (8) "Sir." In the Miniknog''s fleet, the pilot turns to look at his Captain, "Their spaceship is picking up speed." The Captain frowned and looked at spaceship slowly getting further from, "Tail them, maintain the same speed. If they speed up, we speed up. If they slow down, we slow down. Until we figure out what they are planning, maintain a safe distance." "Yes, Captain." The pilot acknowledged the orders and relayed the message to the other spaceships. ... "Protector, missiles incoming." SAIL warned with the robotic and emotionless voice. "Lenny!" John called out in his PIPS. "I have my eyes on them." John sighed in relief when he heard Lenny. ... Lenny was on top of the spaceship, without a single piece of clothing or device to protect against the natural hazard of outer space. But as a Novakid, he didn''t need it. After all, he could easily survive in an environment without oxygen and fuel for long periods, and neither would his body suffer from the lack of gravity. His body was only able to keep itself together because the metal ''Brand'' on his face was made of a unique metal that creates a high magnetic field around his body that keeps his plasma within this thin ''skin.'' Such skin would never be able to keep the hot plasma within. It needed the help of something else, and there comes the magnetic field that keeps his inside together and also prevents the high temperature of his inside to influence his surroundings. With a rope that toes himself on the antenna that was on the spaceship, Lenny was watching as the missiles approached through the scope of his completely black energy sniper rifle. Although he prefers standard weapons with matter projectiles, in the outer space, energy weapons reign supreme. That''s why despite his dislike for energy weapons, he brought himself to use one to save their skin in such a dangerous situation. As he focused, the world seemed to slow down by a notch. After going separate ways with John, Lenny trained his skill with the information he got from making John his guinea pig on the Iron Fist Arena. It didn''t take long before he somewhat mastered this ability of his, and now he got used at will without too much backlash. *Bang* Lenny pressed the trigger and sent a red laser flying towards one of the missiles, but he missed.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. He wasn''t bothered by the miss because to take down those things, Lenny would miss a couple of shots as he couldn''t predict the random movements of the missiles and John''s evasive maneuvers to dodge the barrage of projectiles and laser beams. Lenny calmly focused once again and looked through his scope. There were about eight homing missiles locked-on the spaceship, it would take a few seconds before they reach the spacecraft, Lenny had to take them all down before that could happen. *Bang* *Bang* *BOOM* Finally, after missing three shots, Lenny managed to destroy one of the eight homing missiles. This was a huge step forward for him, as the previous time, Lenny missed a lot more shots before destroying a missile. As he completely cleared his mind and only focused on the task ahead, the world seemed to disappear right in front of him. In such a world, he created there was only him and his seven targets remaining. *Bang* *BOOM* With a blank expression on his face, he calmly pressed the trigger as soon as the missile entered his crosshair again. Lenny''s whole body became like an emotionless machine that only knew how to shoot. *Bang* *BOOM* There were only 5 left. Lenny lost himself in that world of his that he didn''t even felt the speed of the spaceship gradually increasing. The other ships of the fleet also sped up, and they were now trying to catch up while throwing everything they got on John''s ship. But all this was nothing for Lenny that only continued to aim, shoot, destroy, reload robotically, and repeat. He didn''t realize at all that every time he pressed the trigger, at least a missile was destroyed. The increasing number of homing missiles being thrown towards John''s ship as they couldn''t allow them to escape didn''t bother at all the current Lenny. The Captain of the fleet was swift to understand that their target was trying to run away and not planning some kind of trap, that''s why he sent the order for the spaceships to go full force forward and destroy the spacecraft before it could get away from the FTL Jammer''s reach. ... "Lenny!? Lenny, do you hear me!?" John tried to contact Lenny, but despite them still being a call, he couldn''t hear at all Lenny. It was like he was dead. Still, John knew that it wasn''t the case since he could see from the situation behind his spaceship that the missiles are destroyed before they could even get closer by some kind of red laser being fired from on top of his ship. ... "Lenny..." "Urgh..." Lenny slowly became aware of his surroundings when he heard a faint voice calling his name. "Where am I?" He scanned his surroundings while asking himself. Lenny was sure that this wasn''t where he was just a moment ago; after all, he was in what appeared to be a completely dark room without a single source of light beside himself. As he was wondering what was happening, the place suddenly brightened up. Lenny was surprised for a moment before taking in the changes. It appeared that he was in some castle, right at a throne room. There weren''t many details he could see because the images he was seeing were very shadowy, barely visible. In front of him, three figures were talking with each other. Two of them were kneeling on the ground, while the last one was at the throne, looking down at those two beneath him. "Your Holiness, you must kill him." One the shadows kneeling said with a slightly distorted voice, "Even though he''s your brother, he cannot be allowed to live any longer." "I agree." The one beside the shadow that just spoke agreed with him, "He''s gaining too much support lately. He''s going to tear the empire in two if this goes on." The shadow in the throne stayed silent for a few seconds before speaking, "I''m the Cultivator now. I can''t intervene with worldly matters; you two know this very well. As long what he does don''t put us in the risk of extinction, I''m not allowed to make a move. I can''t go against the old texts and rules written by the First Cultivator." The Pursuit (9) "But this... You have to stop him." The shadow beneath the throne begged, "I don''t know how he got so strong so fast, but only you have enough power to defeat him." "You''re wrong, Miklos. He''s as strong as me, at the moment." The shadow in the throne shook his head, "If I fought him, there would be no certainty of who would win. And even if I win, the aftermath would most likely be the complete destruction of our dimension." "If he grows stronger, he will attack you nonetheless!!!" The shadow, Miklos, appeared to have lost his cool and stood up, "You know how much he hates you. If he gets even slightly stronger than you, I fear... If he comes to know he can kill you, he will do it, regardless of the cost." "So, you want me to attack first and destroy our dimension?" The Cultivator in the throne remained calm and casually asked. "We have found another dimension, right?" The other shadow suddenly spoke, "We could just take our people out of here and put them there. That dimension only has some primitive races, we can easily dominate and rule them." "I won''t allow it." The shadow spoke with a heavier tone. "Why?" The shadow asked. "Are you asking me, Rurik?" The Cultivator stood up from his throne and slowly climbed down, "Do you think I don''t know that you have been building Dimensional Gateways connecting our dimension and the other dimension? Do you think I don''t know how you went there and built your... Dragon Keep Forge?" The shadow, Rurik, trembled as he felt the pressure coming from the Cultivator. "It doesn''t matter what I do, the results are worst in every scenario I predicted." The Cultivator spoke, "Why do you think I allowed him to grow stronger despite having the ability to see the future?" "Ah...uh..." Rurik was in lost of words. "I have predicted the future. If I had killed him back then, it wouldn''t have ended just like that. From the moment I became the Cultivator, I have seen this crisis rise. Since I couldn''t stop it, I can minimize the harm. I already have a plan to stop my brother and that...thing... inside him." "..." Both Rurik and Miklos kept silent and calmly listened to the Cultivator. "I''m going to die...by the hands of my own brother, this is the best-case scenario. With my death, I can use the remnants of my power to seal the weakened brother of mine." "Sealing? This is not going to deal with the trouble." Miklos said, "He won''t stay weak forever. Once he gets stronger, he''ll free himself." "Who said I would allow this to happen?" The Cultivator turned to Miklos, "It isn''t me that is going to kill him once for all. My heir is going to do it in my place." "Your heir?" "Yes... thousands of years in the future. Since I can''t see that far in the future, I can''t be sure of the results, but I have this feeling...my heir is the one destined to destroy my brother once for all." ... "Lenny!"This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Lenny woke up when he heard a shout by his ears. He looked around and saw that he was right at the metallic surface on top of John''s spaceship. "What was that!?" Lenny confusedly looked around. When he turned his head, he saw the person that woke him from that dream-like experience. A pair of black eyes stared at him from such a small distance. "Peri?" Lenny recognized the one by his side, "What are you doing here?" "I''m here to take you back inside." Peri said as she scanned Lenny up and down, looking for injuries. "I''m fine." Lenny spoke up after seeing Peri''s eyes scanning his body, "I was just too focused on my task and forgot about everything else." Lenny decided to keep what happened in secret and just outright lied through his teeth without a single change in his expression. "We have to go back in. The spaceship is about to perform a Warp Jump." Peri said as she cut the chains Lenny used to tie himself with the antenna of the ship, "John took us out of their FTL Jammer''s reach. But we can perform the jump with you outside, or else you will die." Lenny nodded and helped Peri untie himself. Once they were done, they climbed back towards the side hatch of the spaceship and entered. "All good." Peri spoke in her PIPS, "You can activate it now." "FTL Engine has been activated." Soon after Peri spoke, SAIL''s voice echoed throughout the metallic hall, "Please, fasten your seatbelts, Warp Jump starting in 5..." Lenny stood up and directly entered in the Crew''s Quarters. "4..." There he saw that Forge and Saito were still knocked out. "3..." He went by their side and hastily tied them to their beds. "2..." After done with the two of them, Lenny walked by the other table and tied himself. "1... Starting..." ... "Warp Jump in process." SAIL''s voice could be heard once again after a few seconds, "You are now free to roam around the spaceship for...3 minutes." Lenny loudly sighed as he released his grip over the rope he used to tie himself. After untying himself, he went by the bed and untied the Forge and Saito. He left the Crew''s Quarters and went towards the cockpit. On his way there, he saw John and Peri walking towards him. "What happened to you?" John looked relieved after seeing Lenny safe and sound and started to angrily question him, "Do you know how worried I was when you went silent all of a sudden?" Lenny smiled when he saw John all worked up for his sake, "Sorry about that. It wasn''t intentional. I just happened to focus too much on my task and forgot about everything else." "Luckily, we met with people that saved us." "Uh?" Lenny confusedly looked at John. "While we were running away, we met with a fleet of ships that had just performed a Warp Jump." John explained after seeing Lenny''s criticism confusion, "They were ships belonging to Nova Rebellion. They didn''t even care about us and immediately started to fire at the Miniknog fleet. I didn''t expect their enmity to be this strong..." "Well...good that we managed to survive." Lenny said with a small smile, "You should rest, John. Your complexion doesn''t look good." "Yeah, I''m exhausted. I''m going to my room to sleep for a few hours." John was about to walk away when he stopped and spoke again, "You should also rest, Lenny. After we are rested, you can tell me what the hell happened and who are those two you brought." "Thanks, I''m going to take a nap as well," Lenny assured John with a smile. Lenny watched as John walked deeper into the hallway. "What really happened up there?" Peri narrowed her eyes at Lenny. Of course, she didn''t buy the lie he previously told. Still, she didn''t question him there because she was in a hurry to get him inside, and neither questioned him earlier because she didn''t want John to hear about it. "..." Lenny took a quick glance at Peri before walking away, "Nothing much." *Whoosh* Lenny stared at Peri that appeared right in front of him. "Lenny, there''s something I wish to know." Peri said with a serious face, "You seem to remember how you got your mark, your full experience in the Challenge Dimension. I want to know what it was like in that place." "Why do you want to know? Haven''t you experienced the Challenge Dimension as well?" "You probably know about my situation, the reason why I don''t remember with details my experience there. The fact that I also have a mark is the reason you avoid me and also has some enmity against me, right?" Lenny stared at her and spoke without a change in his expression, "You really want to know?" Peri was surprised that Lenny was willing to talk with her, "Yes." "Let''s find a better place to chat." Lenny motioned for Peri to follow him. Morgan Yang and Husk An old man with white hair and beard was sitting in his wide chair while looking at the outer space through the glass on his room in the spaceship he was currently at. His eyes were slightly opened, and his unfocused gaze followed the stars that disappeared from his sight as the spaceship speed up towards their destination. "Director..." An Apex cautiously entered the room and said in a low tone, "Husk is calling..." The old man''s gaze broke away from the glass and went towards the Apex. He kindly smiled and said, "Thank you. Send it to me." "Yes, sir." The Apex respectfully bowed his head and left the room. Just as the Apex left, a holographic image appeared in front of the old man. The image was slightly distorted and frequently flickered. The man showed in the image was sitting in a simple, wooden chair while staring at the old man through the white mask on his face. "Morgan Yang..." Husk said with an emotionless voice, "Long time no see, old friend." Being identified by the man in front of him made Morgan show a faint smile, "Mat-" "Don''t call me by that name, Morgan." Husk interrupted Morgan that was about to warmly greet him, "I gave up on that name a long time ago." Morgan sighed the moment he heard Husk speak like that. He really wanted to help Husk to heal from the scars of the past and his enormous hatred towards Letheia Corporation and Terrene Protectorate, but it didn''t matter how many times he tried, Husk simply didn''t listen to him and just continued down the path of revenge. "Looks like you still want revenge, huh." Morgan commented. "Nothing will stop me, not even death." Husk said with confidence with his grim tone. "Yeah, yeah..." Morgan sighed once again, "It is in times like this that I regret helping you create Maliwan. It was a mistake to give this much power to a warmonger like you." "Yes, if you wished for peace, it was indeed a mistake." Husk didn''t even try to rebuke Morgan''s comment, "Thanks to you, Nova Rebellion doesn''t need Hyperion''s, or should I say Letheia''s, weapons. We are completely self-sufficient in terms of weapons and ammo. Any Letheia''s attempt to embargo the Rebellion is useless. All thanks to you, Morgan Yang." "You...ahhhh...forget it, I don''t want to talk about this. Let''s get back to business, how was it?" "I sent a fleet at the coordinates you provided me, all they saw was one of the ISU''s Space Station in the distance and a Miniknog fleet pursuing another spaceship." "What happened to be people in the station?"This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. "All dead, not a single survivor." "What about the Miniknog Fleet you mentioned?" "We destroyed their spaceships and tried to capture them, but they killed themselves before we could get them. The Miniknog ships surrounding the Space Station also retreated as soon as they caught sight of us." "Miniknog is still as merciless as ever..." Morgan looked at the distance with cloudy eyes. Guilt filled his mind as he blamed himself for what happened in the station. After a few moments of silence, Morgan looked over at Husk as said, "I need your help, Husk. Without the Terrene Protectorate, it is getting a lot chaotic around the universe. I fear for the safety of the space stations. I cannot let the same thing happen again." "I can help, but it comes with a price." Husk spoke coldly. Morgan frowned and glared at Husk, "Do we really need to do this? Aren''t we old friends? If so, I will just contact the Intergalactic Police and ask for their help." Hearing about the Intergalactic Police made Husk laugh out loud for a few seconds before saying, "I don''t think it''s a good idea. After the Terrene Protectorate fell, the Police started to take over in the Beta Sector and provide safety, but that''s it. Their hands are already full with all the troubles brewing in that sector, I don''t think they have enough manpower to help you with the stations outside Beta Sector. Also, if I were you, I wouldn''t even try to contact the UEG (United Earth Government) for help. The new president, Nicole Gon?alves, is not keen on spending money and personnel with the ISU (Independent Scientific Union), or so I heard. She''s trying to rebuild Human society. For this, she''s going to need a lot of money and people, she doesn''t have time and neither resources to give to the ISU." "..." "That means I''m the only one you can ask for help. The price is going to be very high, Morgan. Be prepared." "...are you sure, Husk?" Morgan said after Husk finished speaking, "I know your identity and your secrets." "It doesn''t matter anymore. Don''t even try to threaten me." Husk spoke dismissively, "Now that the Terrene Protectorate is gone, I don''t fear my identity being exposed, you can do whatever you want with all those info about me." Morgan''s frown deepened. He knew that making a deal with Husk was going to be difficult, but he never expected for him to be burning the bridges this soon. In his calculations, Husk would only start to burn the bridges once the conflicts escalate even higher, and not when it just started. "You are lucky, you know." Husk started to speak again, "I''m asking just a little. If you weren''t an old friend, I would''ve you killed for betraying me." "I never did that." Husk chuckled in response, "No? Alright, I''m going to pretend I don''t know those shady businesses you do behind my back." "..." Morgan''s hand slightly shook, [Did he know about what I gave to Lenny? Or is it about the deal I made with Hanzo?] "Why are you so silent now, Morgan?" Husk''s magnetic and cold voice drawn Morgan away from his thoughts. "I shouldn''t have saved you back then...the universe would have been more peaceful." Morgan hid his emotions deep down and spoke with staring directly into Husk''s eyes. "Yes, you made a mistake, Morgan. Now, do you want, or not, my help?" "Alright, you win, Husk. I''m going to share some of the ISU''s scientific findings with you. Are you happy now?" Husk''s face behind the make broke in a faint smile, "A little. Your contribution will greatly help me to shake up the foundations of the Miniknog and Letheia Corporation. It''s a shame that I lost my chance to give a fatal blow in the Terrene Protectorate...well, that was it, see you later, Morgan Yang." With those words, Husk turned off the call. He leaned in his chair and closed his eyes. "President Husk." A soldier entered in the completely dark room and called for Husk with his shaky voice. "Here." Husk said with a cold tone as his eyes opened and fiercely glared at the person that interrupted his rest. "Ja-Ja-Jason Silverhand ha-ha-has arrived." The soldier''s voice trembled for a while before he recovered, "He''s waiting at the Orbital Spaceport. He''s here to take Fortitude with him." "Oh..." Husk exclaimed. Husk nodded and said, "Let him take along with Jevil''s old crew of pirates." "Yes, sir." The soldier saluted and hurriedly left the room. "Now..." Husk murmured to himself with his flat tone, "How''s Jevil doing over Alpis? I hope he''s still useful; if not...well, I don''t have interest in maintaining a useless person. If that''s the case, I will just finish him off..." Alpis Criminal Detention Center Sector Gamma, Alpis Criminal Detention Center... In this secretive and highly guarded prison was where most of the political prisoners and revolutionaries against the current government were arrested. There were other kinds of people locked up in such place, like spies and traitors. This prison was highly dreaded because of what happened to those that are sent there. In such facility, they torture the prisoners for all the information they can get out of them. Pretty normal for this universe''s standards. But what happens next was what really makes people fear this place. After they were done with them, the Universal Hylotl Government, UHG, wouldn''t just dispose of the person, no, they would either send them to Debt-Enslavement Camps or just sell them to the Miniknog to become nothing more than lab rats. In this dreaded prison, at a completely white prison cell, a single red-haired person with only one arm, completely naked, could be seen hanging in the air by chains in his wrist, and others pierced all over his body. Blood dripped from his injuries, slowly forming a small puddle of red liquid that stained the white floor beneath him. At his side, another person was standing there, wearing a militaristic uniform. It was a humanoid with three red eyes, and colorful scales that covered his whole body, in short, a Hylotl. The one chained and currently undergoing a round or two of torture sessions was Jevil Redhook, the recent prisoner for betraying the Letheia Corporation and colluding with Nova Rebellion. Jevil coughed some blood, and with a faint smile on his face, he spoke, "Why don''t you use better chains? I mean something made of Durasteel would at least make me think that I''m an important or a dangerous prisoner." *Bam* the soldier punched Jevil in the stomach. Jevil coughed even more blood as he thought inwardly, [There''s nothing they can do to me that I haven''t gone through before. I had gone to hell and came back alive and stronger than ever. I guess it really is true the ancient saying, ''What doesn''t kill you, make you stronger.'' Ahh... This situation that I find myself into really bring back some memories...how nostalgic.] After finishing, Jevil flashed a smile with his bloodied teeth, "Continue, I like it rough." *Bam* another punch. "Gosh, *cough, cough*. I like it rough, but not too much. Look, I''m already disabled. I lost an eye and an arm. Take a little easier with me-" *Bam* The soldier mercilessly delivered another heavy punch. "I don''t care that you lost an eye and an arm." The Hylotl guard said as he threw a disgusted look at his own hand that had been dirtied with Jevil''s blood, "I would take the rest of your limbs and organs as well. In fact, I might do it. As long as you are still alive, the higher-ups gave me the freedom to do whatever I want with you." The man smiled and spoke, "So, Jevil. You want this to go in the hard and painful way, or not? You better tell us everything you know about Nova Rebellion, and we can grant you a fast death, rather than being endlessly tortured without the chance to die."If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Don''t bother trying to convince him." The prison cell was open by some armored guard and a red Hylotl young male wearing a blue military outfit entered. There was a casual smile on his face, but Jevil could feel the danger hidden behind such facade. [He remembers me of Mao...] Jevil frowned as he thought of that psychopathic monster of the Occasus Cult. "Lieutenant Shougo?" The man that was hitting Jevil was surprised as soon as he saw the person who entered, "Why are you here?" He immediately gave a military salute and stood with his back straight. Despite he saluting, his body was shuddering as his face showed fear of the young Hylotl. "The Sumeragi want answers as soon as possible. Of course, they would send me." The young Hylotl answered nonchalantly without even bothering to glance at the guard that was already in there, "I''ll take over from now on. You can go..." "Yes, sir." The guard acknowledged his order, and hurriedly left the place like he was running away from a monster. Seeing the guard fleeing from him, Shougo just smiled and shook his head. "It''s a pleasure to finally meet you, Jevil Redhook." Shougo said courteously, "I didn''t know when I would have the chance to meet a leader of one of Letheia Corporation''s information network." Jevil frowned for a moment before realization came to him, "You aren''t from Letheia...you are from the UHG''s army." "Correct." Shougo walked forward and looked up as Jevil was suspended a little higher by the chains, "I''m new in the army. I don''t have too many connections with the corporation and neither with the army." "That means you are a rare talent. For them to allow a young person such as yourself to climb until becoming a Lieutenant." "Yes, just like you..." Shougo lifted his hand caressed Jevil''s chest wounds. Shougo''s white glove was soon painted red with all the blood that was on Jevil''s body after some rounds of torture. Jevil slightly flinched at Shougo''s touch. As soon as Shougo''s hand touched his chest, his hair stood up, and he had goosebumps in his whole body. "No need to fear." Shougo''s smile widened. He got closer and whispered, "I won''t cause you harm, not physical harm, I mean." After saying those lines, he stepped back created some distance between them once again. Jevil saw Shougo''s kind smiling expression, but he couldn''t help turn serious when feeling that eerieness and coldness behind it. "You know why they gave you for me to handle?" Shougo asked casually, "Because they have your whole backstory in files. They know you are going to be a tough nut to crack. Your dislike for the corporation runs deeper than they thought. In the end, physical torture won''t make you talk, so they needed someone else... someone like me. Every person has some kind of weakness. You have it as well. It''s just a matter of time before I can figure it out." Shougo lifted his arm and grabbed Jevil''s head to put it closer to his. Jevil saw that face up close. It really reminded him of Mao, both of them were the same type of person, but Jevil knew that Mao was a lot more dangerous than the young male in front of him. Of course, this didn''t mean that he didn''t feel the danger coming from Shougo, but compared to Mao, it was a lot lesser. "Do know what I''m going to do?" With one grabbing Jevil''s head, Shougo used the other to touch the scar in Jevil''s left eye, "I''m going to break you. I''m to going to break your mind and make you willingly disclose all the information we want. I have a lot of toys and drugs that need to be tested, I really hope you are as strong as it said on the reports, it would be a shame if I don''t have the chance to test everything on you. Oh... I''m looking forward to our private time together." Shougo released Jevil and straightened his clothes before shouting an order for the guards outside, "Guards, give him a shower and him to my... playroom..." "Yes, sir." Four guards entered the jail. Jevil''s face darkened as he felt a syringe being injected in his neck. He knew it was just a drug to make him weak and completely unable to move on his own, he really disliked the feeling of unknown substances injecting in his body. As he was dragged outside by two guards, Jevil''s eyes fell on Shougo that was with his back turned to him, talking with someone. [This Hylotl is dangerous.] Jevil thought, [Another one that just entered in my kill list.] He smiled inwardly. He was unworried because he knew it was just a matter of time before he could escape from this prison. And when he was free, he would undoubtedly make plans to kill the person known as Shougo. Changes in the Black Star Syndicate (1) Black Star Syndicate''s secret headquarters, 2 days ago... The higher-ups of the Syndicate were all seating on the big table that was in the middle of the room. There were about 20 people seating, while about 10 other soldiers were wearing unique Armors and carrying highly advanced weapons. These soldiers were by the doors and windows of the room, they were there for the security of the members that were inside. They were all waiting for the Syndicate''s big boss to show up and take his position at the seat in at the center of one of the corners, that was empty at the moment. The members that were at their seats were all mostly old and middle-aged men, with just a few women, only 3 of them. Almost all of them had a fierce and cold aura around them since they were all soldiers before, but some of them were more calm and calculative. Sound of hurriedly whispers traveled in the isolated room. All of them were called for an emergency meeting, but they had no ideas as to why. Even though the Syndicate''s big boss had some power over them, they could still choose to not give any face to the boss, and just don''t come. But no one of those sly and cautious people in the room would buy a fight with a member of their group without some kind of blood debt or something. They all stopped what they were doing the moment they heard footsteps coming from outside. Their eyes were unconsciously drawn toward the person that slowly opened the door. As their eyes landed on the figure that emerged from the double doors, most of those present frowned and glared at the blonde young man that entered the room with reproachful looks. "Jason, what are you doing here?" One of the members stood up said with a deep voice at the young man. "We are currently in an important reunion, this isn''t time to play around. Go call your father." Jason looked at the speaker and flashed a smile at him, "My father... won''t be leading this reunion..." "What do you mean?" The higher up squinted his eyes at Jason''s comment. "Didn''t Trevis Silverhand call us here?" "No, he didn''t." Jason answered calmly while casually sitting on the main chair. "I did." As soon as his voice dropped, whispers exploded once again in the room.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. *Blam* Another person hit the table with a fist. It was such a strong hit that the table that was made with a sturdy wood wasn''t able to handle and cracked. "Bring Trevis here, Jason Silverhand, we don''t have time to play. Time is money." He said with an angry voice. His aura was intense and filled with killing intent. It was evident that he was a seasoned soldier that had his fair share of blood in his hands. However, Jason remained unfazed by being hit directly from that threatening aura. "Captain Erty, don''t go around damaging the property of this room." Jason said with a faint, playful smile on his face. "Enough!" The man named as Erty stood up from his chair. "Punk, if your father doesn''t show up now, I''ll be taking my leave." It was clear that this person has short-tempered and easily angered. Jason kept his silence and continued looking at Erty with the smile in his face widening after each second. Once he saw that Trevis wasn''t going to come, Erty angrily turned around and snorted, "I''ll be taking my leave. Since that fucker doesn''t respect me, why would I respect him?" He was about to reach the door when all the guards in the room lifted their weapons and unceremoniously aimed at Erty. "You''re free to go, but..." Jason''s smile slowly turned frosty and made several of the people in the room shudder, "...don''t think you are going to keep your life if you do so." Erty knew better than fight when he doesn''t have the upper hand, so he let go of the door and angrily glared at Jason. "What does this mean, Jason? Has your father gone insane this time and decided to kill all of us and take the total power to himself?!" He started to laugh and threw a mocking side glance at Jason. "My men are loyal just to me, and me alone. If I die here, they would surely rebel against your father." Some of the people frowned when they heard Erty and turned their heads to Jason, wanting answers about what was happening. "It''s very simple. The reason why I called all of you here is to call for voting." Jason said while playing with a pen he found on top of the table. "Voting?" Erty unconsciously asked, "What for? Wait..." Erty soon realized something wrong. "Why are you calling for voting? You aren''t even a member of the Syndicate, you are just Travis''s child, a powerless kid." "Exactly, good that you pointed it out for me." Jason''s eyes flashed with an unknown light as he spoke word by word, "We are going to vote about a change in the leadership. My father has suffered an... accident. And thus is unable to act as the representative anymore. He appointed me as the new boss. The voting is just a pleasantry, I''m already the boss-" *Blam* "What did you say?!" This time the one who struck the table was another person. This one was way older than the first one. His face was contorted in anger as his threatening eyes fixated at Jason. "What does your father see us as!? Call that motherfucker here immediately, bastard." The moment Jason heard the word bastard, his eyes immediately became frosty, and his smile disappeared. "Jason, can you better explain what is happening to us?" A graceful middle-aged woman stood up from her chair with difficulty using her supporting cane. Of the 20 people in the room, 12 stood up and started questioning Jason. The eight that were left sitting threw mocking glances at the ones that were questioning Jason. They became very energetic and were waiting, waiting to watch a good show. "Sara, you want so badly to see my father?" "Yes, bring him to us, bastard." The old man arrogantly said while looking with disgust at Jason. The woman, Sara, threw a reproachful glance at the old man, but still nodded, indicating that she also wanted to meet with Travis. "Alright, bring him in," Jason said with a faint voice towards the door he had entered. Changes in the Black Star Syndicate (2) The doors were immediately swung open, and two soldiers wearing the signature Syndicate''s black, bulky armor entered the room carrying the sorry figure of a fat, blonde middle-aged man. The middle-aged man was completely naked as he was rudely dragged by the soldier. His whole body was covered in deep cuts, burnt marks, and other injuries. It was clear that this person has been tortured for quite some time. The soldiers approached the table and threw the man on top of it with loud *bam* noise. The naked man ended up being thrown at the place right in front of Jason. The fat man grunted in pain as his back hit the hardwood table. "Travis?" Sara had a stunned expression the moment she recognized the man that was thrown like a pig on top of the table. The old man''s arrogant face instantly took a turn. He lifted his eyes from Travis to Jason, just in time to catch Jason staring at him with deep eyes and a cold smile on his face. "Here, he is." Jason continued to sit on the comfortable chair casually. "Wha-wha-what''s the meaning of this?" Sara took a step back while staring in horror at Jason that was able to calmly sit at the table, with a face like he was enjoying everything that was happening. "Oh, Sara...why don''t you ask my father?" Jason stood up with a huge smile on his face. "This won''t do. Look at what you have done, you tortured him way too much, now he''s unconscious." Jason said with a fit of fake anger toward one of the guards that dragged Travis into the room. "Yes, big boss. It was my mistake, it won''t happen again." The guard lowered his head and spoke with deep respect and fear toward the Silverhand family''s young master. The respect that he showed toward Jason was miles further than the one he always showed toward Travis. "Now, now~" Jason acting all casually like the person in front of him was a complete stranger while speaking with a playful tone. "I need to wake him up, how I''m going to do this~?" "Oh!" Jason touched his chin like he was in deep thought before suddenly snapping his finger with a face with enlightenment. He reached for something in his breast pocket, and, with a swift move, Jason swung his arm toward Travis. *Puchi* "ARGHHHHH!!!!!" Travis''s eyes flared open as he screamed in pain. "Oh, sorry about that, dad." Jason released the grip over the pen that now had pinned Travis''s hand in the table, creating a small puddle of blood on the ground beneath the table. "YOU FUCKER!!!! LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!!!" Travis said through his gritted teeth and groans of pain. "LET ME-" "Shhhhhhh..." Jason grabbed Travis''s mouth to shut him up. "Look at how you are acting. Isn''t it embarrassing? I mean, doing all this in front of all your high officers."Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Travis''s looked around and realized that he was pinned down at the table he usually used as a place to hold reunions with the people that were now present. He was completely naked and being pinned down by his own son...it was indeed very embarrassing for him. Travis tried to ask for help, but Jason was way stronger than him, so he could only resort in staring at the people in the room with pleading eyes. "I don''t think they are going to jump in and try to save you." Jason saw Travis''s actions but just smiled in response, "They have more important things to wonder right now. For example...if they are going to, whatever or not, leave this room alive." "Heh." The old man snorted at Jason''s comment and said with a sneer, "Like if you have the guts to kill us. After all, without us, how do you think you are going to control our factions and subordinates?" "Oh, Opert...you are really naive, aren''t you?" Jason kept his hand over Travis''s mouth even when the latter tried hard to leave Jason''s grasp. "You keep calling me a bastard and even criticize my father for having a sexual relationship outside of the legal wife. But...aren''t you the same? You committed the same mistake, didn''t you?" Jason''s eyes glinted with a cold light as the smile on his face darkened a bit. Opert''s face instantly froze, and his eyes widened. "Don''t be so surprised...I know a lot more about all of you here than you guys think." Jason''s cold eyes went through everyone in the room. "Yes, you are correct. I can''t just take control over your faction, but there''s someone who can. I think your bastard daughter, Stina, would be more than capable of doing so." "Impossible!" Opert berated at the possibility of something like that to happen. "I stripped all her power and influence. She''s just a nobody!" "Opert...how na?ve of you..." Jason shook his head, seemingly disappointed at Opert. "Your daughter... she''s way smarter and sly than you think. She already has a powerful grip over your faction''s power. She did all this right beneath your nose." "IMPOSSIBLE!!!!" "Let me tell you something," Jason said with a low and playful tone. "Your family, wife, and legitimate son are an obstacle for her complete domination over your faction. Tell me...what do you think is going to happen to them now that you are locked in this place?" "No...no..NOOOO!!!!" Opert screamed on top of his lungs and tried to jump toward Jason. Still, the guards that were near him acted even quicker and restrained the old man before he could take a second step toward Jason. "I''m going to tell you." Jason released Travis and approached Opert until they were just a few centimeters away from each other. "If you could leave this room alive, the first thing you would receive would be a message telling you that your wife and son died in an... accident, they were crushed by a meteor or something." Opert''s eyes reddened, and he tried to struggle, but the soldiers were the elite of the elite in the Syndicate, they were more than enough to hold down the old man. "Your daughter, I must say... she''s pretty ruthless...just the way I like it." Jason looked down at Opert that was on his knees. "Tell me, Opert. Since I don''t need you anymore, what''s the use of keeping you alive?" Jason''s face didn''t change a bit when he spoke those words, causing everyone in the room to feel a chill down their spine. "This is also a revenge for my mother." Jason lowered his head and whispered at his ear, causing Opert to flinch. "You tried to use her to get rid of my father. You tried to use me as a tool. But I''m smarter than you think." "Also, don''t feel lonely, you will soon enough rejoin with your family in wherever you will go." Jason rose again and straighten his back. In his face, a wide and eerie smile. "JASON, YOU ARE GOING TO BURN IN HELL YOU SON OF A BITCH, BAST-" *Bang* Jason took a pistol from the holster that was on his waist''s back and fired at Opert''s head, ultimately killing him off. Blood and brain matter sprayed at some of the members that were seated close to where everything unfolded. They weren''t affected by the gruesome sight, but the context behind it, and how just calmly and ruthlessly Jason did it. That caused them to shudder and fear the blonde young man. "What a waste..." Jason sadly shook his head while he fixed his blonde hair that had somehow got a little disordered. "To waste a bullet in such person..." Jason calmly returned to his seat and glanced at his father that was staring at him with eyes filled with fear. Changes in the Black Star Syndicate (3) "Oh, dad, I forgot about you." Jason said, apologetically. "Now, back to business." "Why are you doing this?" Travis forced himself to ask with his hoarse voice. "Because I remember, dad." Jason inclined his head until their faces were almost touching. "I''m doing this because I know what you, and your wife, did to my mother and myself." His smile got a lot colder, and his eyes glinted with complete hatred and madness. "No wonder..." Travis suddenly came to an understanding and glared at Jason. "You were behind my wife''s death, weren''t you?" "Yes. I did it all. It was me who planted the bomb that destroyed her spacecraft when she has just left the planet." "Bastard..." Travis cursed Jason in a low voice. "I should have killed you. A son born from that whore...I should have expected he would be of the same kind, treacherous, and evil." "You''re not mistaken about myself." Jason was calm this time when he heard the curses that Travis uttered. "But my mother...she was an angel, a perfect person. Her only mistake was falling in love with someone like you, a monster." Travis tried to move, but Jason acted swiftly and gripped Travis''s hand that wasn''t pinned down by the pen. "She was innocent. You corrupted her. You destroyed her. And when you were done with her, you just threw her away, like a broken toy." Jason''s eyes became filled with rage as his grip slowly got stronger, making Travis''s bones let out cracking noises. "She tried to kill me! I acted in self-defense!" Travis tried to explain himself. "Did you even tried to understand why she tried to kill you?" Jason walked up to Travis and asked by his ear, "I tried to tell you a lot of times that there was someone making plans behind the scenes to kill you, but you never listened to me. The person who released the well-hidden secret that you committed adultery and even had a son with my mother when I was 5 years old. When I was 6 years old, this same person took me as a hostage and gave the order for my mother to kill you, or they would kill me. After what you, and your wife, did to her throughout years old constant abuse, it comes to no surprise why would she rather choose to save her child and try to kill you. You might be wondering... who wanted you dead?" Jason smiled at the constant changes in Travis''s expression. Jason turned his head and locked his eyes at the old man''s body on the ground, "It was him, Travis. It was Opert. He wanted you dead the most. Your most loyal aide turns out to be the traitor you always wanted to find after those incidents with my mother, your wife, and those assassination attempts." Travis''s face twisted in anger and disbelief, "You are lying..." He said in a low voice, almost whispering, "LIARRR!!!" he shouted at Jason. "Why would I lie? I don''t have any reason to lie at this stage? After all, you are going to die today." Jason calmly said with a chilling tone.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. "You can''t kill me." Travis said while turning his blue eyes from Jason to the high officers. "They would never follow you." "I would not place your hopes on them," Jason spoke as his eyes went through everyone in the room until it stopped by the eight people that were left sitting. "I already have my subordinates, loyal ones." "Yes, sir!" The eight that were previously in their chairs immediately stood up and saluted Jason without batting an eye at Travis. "As for these..." Jason''s cold eyes went to the twelve that stood up, and we''re questioning him. They instantly shuddered and lowered their heads. "They aren''t that big of a threat. I already made countermeasures if any of them decide to do something. If they betray me, I just need to use my backup to take control of their factions." Travis''s face becomes uglier as his eyes showed despair. "Father..." Jason lowered his eyes to look at Travis that had fallen in despair. He smiled at the sight and savored every moment of it. Unfortunately, he knew that he couldn''t stay this way forever, so he reached out his hand and gripped Travis''s throat. Travis was surprised by Jason''s move and tried to struggle, but Jason used his other hand and locked up Travis in his grip. "...I''m done with you..." Jason''s face was expressionless as he said those words, and the grip on Travis''s neck tightened. "... goodbye." *Crack* Jason effortlessly snapped Travis''s neck, and thus Travis Silverhand was killed. His expression was still of despair and unwillingness in the face of death. He always knew there was the possibility of Jason betraying him. He always suspected his son. That''s why he never gave him any power. However, he never thought that despite his efforts, Jason was still able to grow his force inside the Syndicate. Those 8 that unquestionably followed Jason''s order showed how capable Jason really was. He looked down too much at Jason, thinking he was just boy. Still, Jason already had killed Travis''s wife, together with Travis''s son that was 7 years old, in an "accident" when he was just 9 years old. Jason had already started his plans to destroy his father ever since Travis killed his mother. Travis underestimated Jason, and this is what led to his inevitable downfall. "Ah, that was exhausting." Jason relaxedly fell on the chair and gave a long sigh of relief before looking at the guards and saying, "Clean this up. The room is reeking blood." "Yes, big boss." Two soldiers saluted before going toward the two bodies and carrying them away from the room. "Now..." Jason''s cold and emotionless eyes swept over the remaining 19 members that were left on the seats. They didn''t dare to meet Jason eye to eye and just lowered their head. Jason smiled, satisfied at the effect that he was able to achieve by doing what he did. "How about we go back to our original conversation. Let''s have a peaceful, democratic vote to elect the new big boss of the Black Star Syndicate. No pressure~ just do what you think is right~" Jason tapped his finger on the table. He continued speaking when he saw everyone nodding, "Who is in favor of me, Jason Silverhand, taking over the Syndicate?" Some members hesitated for a second. Still, after remembering Opert and Travis''s fate, their hearts grew cold, and they didn''t hesitate to raise their hands. "Good." Jason grinned in great satisfaction when he saw the unanimity of the votes. "From this day onwards, I, Jason Silverhand, will lead the Black Star Syndicate to its glory. This is a promise from me to all of you. If you don''t betray me, you will have riches for all your life, but if you betray me... well... your fate is going to be a lot worse than my father and Opert''s." "Yes, Big Boss!" The members stood up and saluted their new boss, whatever it was going to be something good or bad, only the future would answer it for them. At least they were alive. They could rejoice for this fact. For now... Graduation (1) When John woke up, it was morning already. Even though today he didn''t have class, he still woke up earlier since it was a very special day. It was 7:00 am. John walked by the window and opened the curtains to enjoy the brisk sunlight of the early morning. The yellow sun that brought light and warmth to this planet, the beautiful endless blue sky with birds flying along with the few white clouds in this time of spring. And even the uncountable skyscrapers on the horizon. John enjoyed the scenery in front of him with a peaceful expression and a gentle smile on his face. He always loved this planet, where he was raised. The planet home of the organization that brings peace and security to the whole known universe. Earth. The cradle of humanity. Anyway, today was a very special day. It was his graduation. After today, he wouldn''t be a student of the Terrene Protectorate University anymore. Finally, his dream would come true. He was going to become a Protector, a Junior Protector. There was still 7 hours before the ceremony, but he wanted to get ready and be in the auditorium early. John stopped admiring the outside and went to take a shower. After 20 minutes, John stepped out of the bathroom after he took a shower. John went towards his closet and looked at his clothes. There weren''t that many clothes since he didn''t use a lot. John obviously selected his Terrene Protectorate blue uniform. While wearing it, John looked at himself in the mirror. John combed his short black hair until he was satisfied with his current looks. He went towards the kitchen and made a quick healthy breakfast with bread, cheese, eggs, and bacon. After eating, he went back to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Done with everything, John walked towards the door and left his apartment while deeply gazing at his closed door, he thought, [From today onwards, I will no longer be a simple student. I''m going to a Protector. To explore the unknown, save those in need, and protect the weak.] ... John took the elevator of his apartment, the university''s dormitory. He lived on the 59th floor, right in the middle of the giant edifice that was localized inside the university built in the center of the city known as New Haven. The same town where was located the Terrene Protectorate''s HQ. The moment he left the edifice, he looked at the giant tree that was in the middle of the plaza that was surrounded by 7 buildings that seemed no different from one another. The university''s dormitory, the edifices, were huge, they were almost higher than those skyscrapers in the distance.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Each one of them could reach 200 floors, with each level having about 6 rooms that could hold up to two students. Roughly making the calculations, there was, at maximum capacity, 16800 students in total on just Earth''s university. This university was the best amongst the best of the available ones, with only the cream of the top students from all over the universe. Pink petals drifted along with the wind, making the plaza a little more colorful and beautiful. Those petals all came from the giant pink cherry tree planted in the middle of the plaza. John closed his eyes and enjoyed the breath of fresh air and the perfume of the tree and the colorful flowers all over the plaza. He followed the path of concrete towards the exit, but just when he was crossing by the tree''s side, he heard someone calling him, "Good morning, John." Looking at the source of the mellow and warm voice, John found a yellow Hylotl seating at a bench just beneath the tree. It was a young, female Hylotl with her smooth and yellow skin. She wasn''t beautiful, but rather good-looking, what really stood out from her, is her mature charm, and the kind-older-sister-like aura around her. Her three crimson eyes gently gazed at John as in her lips were lifted slightly upwards. "Good morning, Aoi." John politely greeted the Hylotl female that goes by the name Aoi. "There''s no need to be polite, we''re both students, after all." Yes, the Hylotl was wearing the same kind of uniform that John was wearing. John knew her because they were both from the same class that would graduate today. From all the 2000 classmates of his, Aoi was one of the few he talked with. Because of his personality, and his preference for loneliness, he didn''t try to make a lot of friends. He wasn''t a socially awkward, he just prefers to stay alone. In his class, he has some friends here and there, but rarely contact them outside the college. He became close to Aoi mainly because she always wakes up early, just like him, and take a seat beneath the tree to read a book, or just daydream. When he wakes up, he usually goes exercise and always meet with Aoi, they chat a little, and then go their separate ways. What really surprised him was the fact she was friends with everyone in the class. When they need someone to talk or after advise, they search for Aoi. She was very friendly, warm, and always smiling. Even John couldn''t help but feel good around her. "Are you going to exercise today?" Aoi asked while cutely tilting her head to the side. "Not today." John calmly answered. "That''s a surprise." Aoi slightly exclaimed before a wide smile blossomed on her face, "Why don''t you take a seat, then? Let''s chat and enjoy this cherry tree''s blossoming." John smiled in response and nodded. He walked towards Aoi and took a seat at the bench, just a few centimeters away from her. Of course, he knew why Aoi was doing this. She thought he was feeling nervous and anxious as he woke up early and already got ready for the graduation. Despite knowing why she invited him, he didn''t speak about it. "After today, who knows when, or even if, we are going to meet each other again," Aoi commented with her warm tone that could make one feel really at ease around her. "True." John nodded, "Depending on our individual skills, we''ll be selected to different divisions within the Terrene Protectorate." "Yes, I''m going to the Medical Division. Travel throughout the universe, helping people and easing their pain. Hopefully, it''ll just like I always dreamed." Aoi''s eyes sparkled as she spoke about her dreams. "I don''t know where I''m going." John said, "But it doesn''t matter to me. As long as I can help others, save lives, and protect those in need, I''ll be happy." "You''re really different, John." Aoi''s eyes deeply gazed at John''s eyes. John also gazed back at her. They maintained this position until John broke eye contact when he heard people approaching. "Aoiiiiiiiiii!!!!!" From the distance, John saw multiple females coming towards them. "I''ll be going now, Aoi." John stood up and smiled towards her, "Until later." "See you later, John." Aoi waved her hand with that same smile on her face. "Uh?" The female that screamed exclaimed when she saw John standing up and swiftly leaving, "Did I interrupted your date?" She cutely asked with an innocent tone. "We aren''t dating." Aoi sent a flick at the forehead of her junior that was a few years younger than her, "He''s just a friend." "Really?" The junior glared at Aoi with suspicion on her eyes while rubbing her sore forehead, "You two really look harmonious and good together." "Stop talking nonsense." Aoi sent another flick at the junior''s forehead, "He''s not someone that easily let others get close to him. He always maintains a certain distance from everyone else. While he can appear to be gentle, kind, and gentlemanly, he has a strange aura around him. An aura that I cannot describe with words." The junior giggled when she heard Aoi, "So, you do like him, right?" In response to the rude question, Aoi simply let loose a gentle smile while she rubbed the head of her junior. As someone that didn''t have even the freedom to decide what she wanted to become, she knew that getting into any kind of relationship was nothing but a pipe dream. Although her family could somewhat leave her be after running away from home, she knew they would come after her anytime soon. Aoi lifted her head and deeply gazed at John''s back before sadly sighed. Her thought was unknown, even to herself. Graduation (2) John entered the Terrene Protectorate''s HQ and was greeted with a luxurious reception hall brimmed with people from all races and corners of the universe. Massive pillars made of marble on both sides, with a singular red carpet going all the way towards the reception desk. Such an enormous and grandiose building matched pretty well the status of the organization. John decided to take a look at one of the sides of the hall, so he turned to his right. At the wall, John saw various paintings hanging on the wall. All of those paintings had only one person in there, and all of them had only one thing in common, they were all Grand Protectors in the past. With just a glance, anyone would realize that all the Grand Protectors were Humans. Not even a single non-Human insight, at least not until John got closer to the end of the paintings. The 24th Grand Protector, the first non-Human on top of all. John stared at the painting that showed a lime green Hylotl with old features and wisdom in his eyes. As the first non-Human, he inevitably suffered a lot. Still, he nonetheless prevailed and pushed the Terrene Protectorate even further. He was also the one that started to send even more Protectors beyond the Frontier to explore. It was all because of him the Terrene Protectorate went through a vast reformation and growth in a short period of time. His name was Sumeragi Ryuji, but people often call him Ryuji the Great. After he stepped down, there hadn''t been a single non-Human yet to become a Grand Protector. The next 2 Grand Protectors didn''t do something different to make people remember them. As for the 27th Grand Protector, there was something compelling about her. Her name was Esther Bright. People remember her because she was the first Grand Protector to resign her seat before her death or until she got too old to work as a Grand Protector. She barely kept herself in the position for more than 15 years, which was low compared to most Grand Protectors that remained in their position for almost 30 years.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The sudden resignation caught everyone but the Elder Council by surprise. It created a lot of rumors and conspiracy theories about why she gave up and disappeared as soon as she left Earth. But she didn''t leave the seat vacant, as she convinced the Elder Council to give her position to a relatively young Protector. And so, Leda Portia, 33 years old Protector, became the youngest Grand Protector to this date. Five years after Esther Bright, Leda Portia continued as a Grand Protector and proved herself to be capable even though she was young. Compared to the other paintings, Leda''s one stands out as it pictured someone clearly younger than everyone else. Although she was 38 years, right now, she has full white hair. She''s a kind and gentle-looking middle-aged woman with a faint oppressive aura around her. John stared a little more at the Leda Portia''s painting, which was the last one in the wall, before walking away. Even though John always dreamed of being a Protector, he never had lofty dreams of becoming a Grand Protector. He knew that, compared to others, he was simply too dull and not unique in any way. In his class, he could be considered one of the best, but he was just at the 36th rank in the overall grades. He could get high in the overall grade just because he was ranked 1st in tests of survival, just because of his abnormal adaptability. In other tests, John was pretty much above average, at least. On the other hand, Aoi, the yellow Hylotl from previously, was very high in the ranks, 9th place. She was a genius in medicine and chemistry, while also having top tier grades in all the other tests. Compared to the geniuses all over the universe, he was very average. All he had was the fruit of hard work and determination. To achieve his dreams, he seldom took time off and neither rest. He was always working hard and improving himself in everything he could. John looked at the auditorium''s double doors in the distance. They were still closed with some Protectors acting as guards at the outside. It would take some time until the ceremony begin, so John decided to walk around the Terrene Protectorate''s HQ. ... John was walking down a particular hallway while admiring the paintings on the wall when he heard someone call him, "Hey, John..." Hearing that voice caused John''s lips to twitch, [Why is he...?] He cursed inwardly. Before John could react, an arm dropped over his shoulder in a friendly manner. "What''s up?" The person asked with a wide smile plastered over his face. John looked at the young man that was acting all friendly with him by putting his arm over his shoulder. The Human young man was 18 years old, he wasn''t handsome, but could be considered to be good-looking. With a combination of white skin, silky brown hair and yellow eyes, he became rather popular in their class. "Good morning, Cael." John greeted him. Cael flashed a wide smile when he heard John, "What''s this? Are you actually greeting me? Am I dreaming right now?" John rolled his eyes, "It''s not like I never greeted you." "Yep, but every time you did, you always had that not so friendly face, which clearly said, ''leave me alone, you prick." Cael tried to poke at John''s cheek, but his hand was slapped away. John glared at Cael. "What?" Cael innocently looked at John''s eyes. John''s eyes narrowed as he looked at the arm over his shoulder. "Ah..." Cael realized what he did and immediately took his arm out, "I forgot you dislike to publicly display our love-" *Bam* Cael dropped on the floor without having the chance to finish speaking. "Ouch..." Cael rubbed his cheek that was completely red with a fist mark on it, "Your punches really hurt." John started to walk away without sparing a glance at Cael that fell on the ground. Seeing the angry John fleeing made Carl''s lips blossom in a smile. He hurriedly stood up and ran to catch up with John, "Wait for me!!!!" Graduation (3) John and Cael were, at most, acquaintances. They rarely spoke with each other, just a few times in the past, and it always started when Cael kept pestering John until he talked with him. Most of the time was John fleeing as soon as he caught the sight of Cael''s shadow. Although John was always relatively cold towards him, Cael continually pestered him. Cael was the guy that almost everybody in their class avoided like the plague. With his inherent ability to read people''s emotions, expressions, and body movements, he could easily see through lies and falsehood. On top of his ability, he was also the type of guy that knew about almost everything about everyone. Spying, hacking, observing. He always made sure to know everything possible from everyone. Cael does it more like a hobby. It was in his nature. If someone wanted to know something about someone else, they go ask Cael, and he would know a few things. That''s why a lot of people hated Cael and maintained a certain distance from him. As for why he was overly friendly with John, no one knew why the other students always wondered the reason. The only person that he was somewhat close was number 1 in the overall ranking. Only these two speak with Cael. Well...for John, it was more like Cael keep bothering him and pestering him despite John clearly showing he was annoyed by his actions. In the overall ranking of their class, he was at the 5th place. He was the best at spying, psychology, and hacking. With his abilities, it was sure he would be assigned to a pretty relevant post as soon as they graduate, that means, after today. ... "John, I have some juicy news that I can''t help but share with you." Cael was accompanying John as they mindlessly walked around, "All the higher-ups of the Terrene Protectorate came to Earth." John was surprised by what Cael just told him. "Curious?" Cael mischievously smiled, "If you give me a kiss, maybe-" Without waiting for Cael to finish, John had already walked pretty far away from him.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Wait!" Cael shouted as he caught up with John, "I''ll tell you, don''t run away. Geez, I was just joking." Cael cleared his throat and continued, "From the information I gathered, some outposts have been destroyed by a mysterious entity. All the higher up of the Protectorate across the entire universe came back to Earth to discuss this entity with the Grand Protector and the Elder Council." Cael''s face turned serious, "For them to leave their posts just to come here and discuss, this shows how important and confidential this information is. They could have used their PIPS to make a reunion, or have made it via SkyNet, but they still chose to discuss face to face." "If this is so confidential, how did you got the information?" John curiously asked. "That''s a secret~" Cael smiled coquettishly. John''s whole face twitched as he saw how Cael tried to act cute, "Please... don''t try act cute...it hurt my eyes." Cael laughed at John''s reaction. "Where do you plan to go after graduation?" Cael asked John. "I''m planning to go to Beta Sector''s border." John answered, "Crimes have been rising around that area, a lot of colonies are suffering under the attacks from pirates and criminals from the BSS." "Hmm..." Cael scratched his chin. "And you?" John glanced at Cael that was beside him, "What are your plans?" "None." Cael answered with an innocent and lazy smile on his face, "You know how I am. I don''t like troublesome things and neither too much work." [Why would you want to become a Protector then?] John thought to himself. "Look, who is it." Cael suddenly said as he pointed at the people approaching from the distance. John looked at where Cael was pointing, and what he saw made his face change. The 1st in the overall ranking of their class, Liese B?hm. And the 82nd rank, Zyanya. Liese B?hm was a cute young girl that barely reach 1.60 meters in height. Despite being 19 years old, she pretty much looked to be around 15 at maximum. She severally lacked charm and sex appeal, at least for John since he wasn''t into the very young, cute and innocent-looking type. She has blonde curly hair with blue eyes, she came from an old family with a lineage that dates back even before the 100-Years Great War. From what John heard, her family came from a country that was known as Germany, in the past, when Earth was still divided in multiple countries that always fought against each other. Her family has deep roots in the United Earth Government and also the Terrene Protectorate. She was the B?hm family''s princess, she had it all, money, influence, and background. Her outer appearance really makes people underestimate and lower their guards around her...a fatal mistake. Liese B?hm was, after all, the 1st rank. She was pretty much well-rounded in everything, top 5 in every single one of the tests. Although she wasn''t the best in everything, she was close to being. And one person that was better than her in something was the Floran female walking beside her, the 82nd rank, Zyanya. Also known as the monster that was 1st ranker in close combat and strength. Despite having two first ranks, her overall rank was very low. That''s because Zyanya was only good at those two things. Her grades in the other tests were pretty much disastrous, to say the least. Zyanya was big, bigger than most Florans, about 1.90 meters. Her body was bulky and muscular, she pretty much looked like a bodybuilder. The green in her skin showed that she was young, younger than 30 years old. She didn''t have much foliage as her hair, and only a small flower in the top of her head. She had a menacing smile on her face as he talked with Liese. It was clear to anyone that saw both of them could see they were close friends. The two women also saw Cael and John and started to walk towards them. Zyanya''s eyes brightened when she caught sight of John by Cael''s side. "Hey, John-" Cael looked to his side and was surprised to see that John had already disappeared from his side. *Whoosh* A green blur passed by him so fast he didn''t even manage to catch a glimpse of what was that, he only heard a voice shouting, "Lil''Johnnnnn!!!" Graduation (4) *Blam* John was knocked on the wall by the green blur. He coughed and took some time to recover himself before he realized he was in someone else''s bulky arms. "Release me!" He demanded John as he struggled to get off from Zyanya''s clutches. "Nop, don''t feel like doing it." Zyanya instantly rejected John''s demand and walked back towards Cael and Liese that had already begun amicably chatting with each other. John tried once again, but he found himself powerless in the face of a monster such as Zyanya. "Good morning, John." Liese giggled when she saw how Zyanya was holding him. Her eyes sparkled like stars as her mouth curled up in an enchanting and innocent smile. Cael absentmindedly looked at Liese before looking away with a faint blush over his face. Of course, his reaction was seen by John that reveled a knowing smile towards Cael. Cael narrowed his eyes and fiercely glared at John. His eyes were clearly saying something along the lines of, [Don''t you dare say anything, or else...] John lifted his chin and glared back, [Or else, what? I have no secret and neither weakness, what can you do against me?] *Tch* Cael clicked his tongue and broke contact with John''s eyes. Although he was unwilling to admit defeat, he really couldn''t do anything with John. Cael had already hacked the systems and even the government to find information about John, but he never saw anything unusual. John Connor was basically an orphan found in some planet near the Beta Sector''s Frontier, right at the border. Because of the talent, he showed since young, he was retrieved from the orphanage send sent back to Earth to become a future member of the Terrene Protectorate. His background was as simple as that. There was basically no information about John''s parents and would be very difficult, almost impossible to find who they are since. Apparently, he came from a border planet, and those planets lack information and government control on the people around there. There was only one thing that Cael found, and it was fascinating, but since he wasn''t sure, he kept quiet and didn''t mention it at all about it. "Let me go." John said through his gritted teeth. Liese covered her mouth and laughed. Some people that were around the area also saw the situation and tried to keep the poker face. Still, it was easy to see their mouths twitching as they watched the young man being easily held down by the monstrous-looking Floran. Zyanya looked at John that was on her arms and reached her hand towards John''s head. "Now, now..." She spoke as she rubbed his head.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. John froze by the sudden action before struggling even harder to set himself free while angrily demanding Zyanya to release him. It went for about a few minutes before Zyanya reluctantly let John go after Liese coaxed her to do so. John stepped away and created some distance between himself and Zyanya while fixing his clothes and hair that Zyanya messed up. Liese smiled and said, "We are going back to the dormitory to grab my friends, do you guys want to come?" "No, thank you." John immediately rejected without bothering to hide his annoyance and rudeness. Liese didn''t take it as an offense, in fact, she pretty much liked this side of John that didn''t care about people''s background and appearance, he always treated people the same. Cael looked between John and Liese, wondering if he should stay with John or go with Liese. John saw his hesitation and decided it was time for some payback, "Lolicon!" "John!" Cael angrily glared at John before worriedly glancing at Liese. Liese just innocently looked at John, "Lolicon?" "Yes, you know-" "That''s enough." Cael interrupted John while sending threatening glances at him. Liese was confused as she tilted her head to the side while innocently looking between John and Cael. Zyanya also was confused and thoughtfully scratched her chin. "Let''s go, let''s go." Cael was worried that John would still try to get a payback and pushed Liese and Zyanya away. "Bye, John. Till later!" Liese shouted. Zyanya also said goodbye and walked with Cael and Liese away. [Damn...] John looked away and left the place, [How annoying those fellows.] ... As they were walking away, Liese turned to her side and asked Zyanya, "Zyanya, why do you always act that way towards John?" Zyanya revealed a smile and said, "Because he''s just like me. We''re both orphans, I somewhat understand him. In fact, he always had this lofty aura around him that gives the impression he greatly disliked people and preferred to be alone. I was like that as well, thinking I''m alone in the world, thinking that nobody understands me. If I haven''t met you, Liese, I would have stayed a loner and don''t carrying about anything else." Cael was surprised that Zyanya said something deep as she was often seen as a fool and dumb. Liese sweetly smiled, "Is that so? But from the looks of it, he really doesn''t like social interactions; he rather stay alone. Even after all these years trying to get close to him, you never got close to break that wall he made around himself to protect against everything and everyone." "He''s strange, that''s certain." Cael spoke, "Despite disliking to socialize, his desire to save people and protect them is real and strong." "Of course." Liese said, "He might be a loner, but that doesn''t mean he hates people. He''s just misunderstood." "I don''t know." Cael shrugged his shoulders, "He''s a strange one that''s certain." "What about his background, found anything interesting?" Liese asked. "Not really." Cael shook his head as he spoke, "He''s clean, there''s nothing wrong with his character and neither background." "So, Cael, do you think he is worth being friends with him?" Liese asked. "Yes, despite not being very high in the ranks, he''s very hard-working and will inevitably be big in no time." "Hmm..." Liese scratched her chin before saying, "Let''s get closer to him after today. I don''t want such good seedling to be corrupted by the shady inner workings of the Terrene Protectorate. It will be for the best if we find a way to make him join the UEG." "But I must warn you, Liese. John Connor is a scary man in his own way. His sense of justice doesn''t allow any kind of evil and unfairness to exist. In his eyes, the world is separated in black and white, good and evil, there''s no gray area. Without a doubt, he looks to be perfect for the role we have in mind, but he can also be a thorn that would create great damage to ourselves since we operate in this said gray area. His selflessness knows no bounds, if one day he deems us unworthy or evil, he will spare no strength and efforts to bring us down with him." "I know the consequences, but I just can''t let such a fine person with a strong sense of justice leave. Cael, you should not worry about this at the moment, we still have a lot of time before putting our plan on action." "Yes, Young Miss." "The future belongs to us, the new generation. We are going to weed out those old fogies that corrupted the UEG and Terrene Protectorate. They brought humanity to a new low, and we became nothing but toys for Letheia Corporation and Miniknog. We''re going to bring a new era upon humanity and bring us back to greatness." Cael nodded and bowed towards Liese before turning to look at Zyanya that was already daydreaming and not at all interested in the conversation between Cael and Liese. Seeing Zyanya like this made Cael helplessly sigh as he thought about their plans for the future. Graduation (5) Six hours later, John walked towards the back of the auditorium. The moment he got near the door, he saw a stream of people also going towards the door. They were all wearing the same uniform as John. They were trying to maintain a stern face. Still, it was impossible to hide the happiness and excitement in their faces since they would finally become proper Protectors. John easily blended with the crowd and entered in the backstage. When they went through the door, the students were greeted with a few Protectors with some devices in their hands and others with weapons. They ordered the students to form a line and went identifying one by one. There was no trouble, and the Protectors soon liberated the students. "Curious. Why the need for so much security?" A robotic voice sounded behind John, "Do you have any idea why, John Connor?" John glanced back at the person that spoke with him. It was a male Glitch, a robotic humanoid. He looked like those robots from old movies, with a bulky and metallic hull that didn''t bother to hide the fact he was a robot. The coloration of his shell was gray, slightly chromed. His two unblinking round eyes that resembled lamps stared directly at John''s black eyes. John was surprised for a moment before recovering and spoke, "I have no idea, Leonard." The name of the Glitch was Leonard Kepler, son of a Councillor of the Privy Council. The Privy Council was the united government of the Glitch. To be recognized as a king, a Glitch needs the approval of the Council, If one tries to forcibly become king, he will suffer grave punishment from the Privy Council. As it stands, a Councillor of the Privy Council was more influential than any Glitch king. Despite being the son of such important person, Leonard never showed any arrogance that these people usually had. He always stayed silent most of the time, and only talked when someone talked with him first. John never had any interaction with him before, and that''s why he was surprised that Leonard was suddenly speaking with him out of nowhere.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Glitch''s face was always solid and emotionless, that was why it was difficult to show their emotions. The only way to know how they were feeling was when they speak. Most of the cases, their first word spoke is how they were currently feeling. John scanned Leonard, and then his surroundings, but he didn''t manage to find why would he choose to speak with him. [Why is that everyone is suddenly coming towards me today?] John wondered, [First Aoi, then Cael, Liese, Zyanya and now Leonard... what''s happening?] "Suspicious. You have an inkling about the situation, right?" Leonard continued pressing John. "Why would you think so?" John curiously asked. "Because out of everyone here, you are the only one that isn''t curious about the current situation." Of course, John wasn''t curious. The current situation only confirmed the information Cael told him. There were a lot of important people in the auditorium. High ranking officials and the Grand Protector herself. While most of the students were curious about why the security was so tight today, John just casually glanced at the Protectors before losing interest and moving to a corner to stay alone. Suddenly the chattering in the backstage stopped. The students all looked towards the door as five people walked in. Every student stared at those figures with admiration and reverence. John and Leonard also were attracted by the situation and looked over. The newcomers were none other than Cael, Liese, Zyanya, Aoi, and one other that John barely knew about. John looked at the unfamiliar figure among those 4 he knew and searched his memory for a name. It took less than a second for him to remember the name of the figure. Khu-en-pthah, a male Avian. The colors of his feathers were, in the majority, blue, with some white around the neck and the end of the limbs, near the talons and wrists. His entire being had a cold aura around him, and his eyes gleamed with sharpness as he looked to be a sword ready to drawn blood whenever it was needed. There were faint scars on his beak and body, which showed that different from most students in vicinity, he had experience deadly combats. He completely ignored everyone else as he coldly walked with large strides. Liese and Aoi greeted everyone, one by one, with warm smiles in their faces. Zyanya just waved her hand as she greeted those few that dared s to get close to her. Cael blended with the shadow of those four that were more famous than him and was utterly ignored by the crowd. After they finally were free from the crowd, they saw John at the corner and tried to get closer. Still, it was at this moment that a Protector entered the room and gave orders for everyone to be silent and ready as the ceremony was about to begin. John knew how the ceremony would be carried out. The Grand Protector will open the ceremony with a speech. Then someone would call the students one by one in overall ranking order to go to the stage to receive their Matter Manipulator and receive a round of applause from the officials and family members at the seats. The ceremony would be televised through the entire universe as it showed the grandiose of the new members of the Terrene Protectorate. At least that''s how it usually happens, John''s was curious if it was going to have some change as the Grand Protector and a lot of high officials were present this time. The other ceremonies, the Grand Protector, would only be present as a hologram and just say a few words before needing to leave. Grand Protectors are always busy with a lot of matters and wouldn''t have time to be present at such a small ceremony. Still, this time was different since the Grand Protector herself was on the planet and was surely going to climb that stage. John was very curious to see the legendary young Grand Protector, Leda Portia, in person. His glued at the holovision in the backstage that showed the situation at the auditorium. Graduation (6) The auditorium became silent as soon as footsteps could be heard climbing the stage in front of the audience. After a few moments, floodlights shone at the single person in that massive wooden stage. A middle-aged white-haired woman with her back straight stared at the audience. She said with a smile on her face, "Welcome to the graduation ceremony of the Terrene Protectorate University''s 3627th Class." The voice sounded throughout the entire auditorium as she spoke at the microphone in front of her. Applause resonated in the auditorium. Leda Portia simply waved her hand, and everyone immediately stopped clapping. One could see how much influence she had over those seating below her. Leda cleared her throat and spoke, "Well, it was supposed to be principal up here to deliver a speech to open the ceremony, but they ended up pushing the responsibility towards me just at the last minute, so don''t expect an elaborated and inspiring speech since I haven''t got time to prepare one." Some of the people in the crowd chuckled in response. She tapped in her PIPS that created a projection in the table in front of her and continued, "Good Afternoon Honored Guests, officials, Protectors in the audience, and to everyone across the universe. My name is Leda Portia, the current Grand Protector of the Terrene Protectorate, and also a graduate of the Terrene Protectorate University''s 2816th class." "A graduation ceremony is always a special occasion. It is the culmination of years of hard work, the actualization of goals attained, and acknowledgment of success achieved. So, it is only fitting that this afternoon, we commemorate the road that they all traveled these last few years." "It has been a journey that started with tentative steps, perhaps, but one that has taken us to remarkable heights. Despite the trials and tribulations along the way, you soldiered on and came out stronger. The experiences and magical moments will be without a doubt remembered in the years ahead of you, maybe for all your life." "Let''s begin where all stories begin, from the beginning. Nervous young students that barely knew the basics entered in the best Terrene Protectorate University here on Earth along with their proud parents that watched as their children walked those stairs to become independent adults." "After today, these younglings will no longer be simple students. No. They will Protectors, officials of the Terrene Protectorate with the duty to protect the weak, enforce justice, and spread fairness throughout this universe." "They were steadfast, brave, and determined to walk this difficult path. Day-by-day they worked hard and together to overcome their difficulties, to become someone great, to become someone that will inspire others."This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is nothing but a stepping stone for their future. The real trial begins now. It''s time for you show your worth, to show what you have learned, to show what you have become and make us...no, make the universe proud of you." "I, Leda Portia, am present here, on behalf of the Terrene Protectorate, to congratulate all of you for graduating. Congratulations, graduates of the 3627th class! May your life be long and fulfilling!" With the end of her speech, thunderous applause sounded throughout the entire auditorium, and even the students at the backstage couldn''t help but also give a round of applause. It took about 2 minutes before the audience calmed down. Leda Portia waited for the silence to continue, "With this, I end the graduation ceremony opening. Next up, the representative of the class will come up to give her speech. Please, give a round of applause for the 3627th class''s first rank, Liese B?hm!" Leda calmly walked away from the center of the stage and stopped right at the corner, relatively away from the center, giving space to the representative. Soon enough, Liese emerged from behind the stage. The lights shone on her figure, showing her beautiful face as she steadily walked towards the table at which Leda was. At the moment, her aura ultimately underwent a change. She wasn''t the same innocent and cute small girl that everyone knew. She had an aura of a leader of someone that was born to be above people. Leda''s eyes sparkled with admiration when she saw the young girl that appeared on the stage. Even the audience was in awe of her presence. "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen in the audience and across the universe." Liese started with a calm and mature voice, "My name is Liese B?hm, the 3627th class''s representative. It''s a pleasure to be at the presence of all of you at this important day for us, students, and soon to be Protectors." "I would like to begin this speech by talking about the importance of Protectors. We are not young anymore. We are not as naive as we were when we entered university. After hardships, tribulations, and training, we become what we are today. The path we chose for ourselves is a hard one, we are going to put our lives on the line to protect our ideals, the Protectorate''s ideals." "Fairness, justice, and protection. We shall give these to those that greatly need, and wipe the evil and corruption from this universe." Liese stopped there and intentionally or unintentionally glanced at the Elders and Senior Protectors at the audience. It was only a fleeting glance, and Liese quickly continued, "Our path until today was trodden with our friends, our comrades to support and share our burdens throughout the way." "Although we had competed against each other in grades and everything, we shall not be blinded by those superficial numbers that represent something temporary, and leave all this on the past, since from today forth we''ll be all comrades in the battlefield, in the spaceship, in the station, everywhere." "This is all but the beginning of our journey. Until today we all have only trained, did simulations, and went in some basic training on other planets. But the moment you choose which division you enter, you will be facing life-threatening situations. We are only getting started, we wouldn''t die, not before leaving our mark on history. The future belongs to us, the young, and we are going to shape it as we see fit..." Liese continued her speech by talking about a few events that happened throughout their years, and after a few minutes, she ended her speech, "...We might never see each other again after today, but the moments we spent together will always be dear to me. It has been an honor to study with all of you. May we meet again. May the Terrene Protectorate never fall!" At the end of her speech, Liese gave a sharp salute as her eyes glowed with unwavering determination. Graduation (7) After saluting, Liese walked to the side and bowed towards the audience. The audience clapped with enthusiasm, almost like they did with Leda Portia. But on the students'' side, their eyes glowed with admiration as they stared at the figure in the middle of the stage. Their hands didn''t stop clapping even when Leda walked towards Liese and stood by her side. Back at the stage, Leda took an exquisite box that a Protector brought over and gave it to Liese. Opening it, Liese retrieved a Matter Manipulator that was different from most of the others. The Matter Manipulator they should receive was made in a very simplistic way and colored in orange, but the one Liese got was carefully crafted and painted in white. This Matter Manipulator represents her status as some that stood on the top of her class from the beginning to the end of the course. Liese thanked Leda and bowed towards her before both of them shook hands while smiling towards the audience and the cameras. After Liese finished with her part, she found herself a place within the stage. She stood there while Leda immediately called the next one, the 2nd in the overall rankings. Each student was rewarded with a Matter Manipulator and give a 5 minutes speech before giving space to the next person. The moment they get their Matter Manipulator, they would then walk to the back, and stood side by side with those that already got have gone up. When was John''s turn, he walked up towards the stage and stood before the entire audience. He didn''t waste much time after Leda gave the Matter Manipulator to him. He only made a short, standard, and straightforward speech, nothing much unusual that barely caught the attention of those in the audience. John didn''t seem bothered and swiftly found his place right beside the 35th rank. It went for about 2 hours before it finally ended the ceremony of graduation. Leda walked towards the microphone and cleared her throat before speaking, "With this, concludes the graduation ceremony, but before we can properly end, I have an announcement to make for those that are present here, and those that are watching around the universe." "All you might have the rumors already. Yes, it is true, most of it. My fellow citizens... Our collective worlds face a threat, unlike any we''ve seen before. Five major Terrene Protectorate hubs have been destroyed in the last days." With those words, the audience exploded in whispering and chattering as they talked with each other. Leda waved her hand, and as such, it became silent again. She continued, "It''s time to take action. We must join forces to repel this strange new enemy and stop fighting against ourselves over petty nonsense, lest we face unparalleled danger." Some in the crowd nodded; others just suspiciously stared at Leda, not at all convinced of the danger. "If we do not engage immediately, we risk total annihilation! We cannot whatever this...thing, organization, or person...tear our great republic apart, our hard-earned peace!" "To combat the threat, our scientists developed a toxin derived from Aether. With it, we can weaponize our greatest tool, the Matter Manipulator!"This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. The ones that knew the threat that the enemy poses to them immediately stood up from their seats and clapped with all their might. "Now, I''ll demonstrate this new-" Leda was about to continue her speech when she felt something wasn''t right. Her sharp senses were tingling and warning about the impending danger all around her. "Security." Leda called out, "Could you take a-" Leda didn''t have time to finish her orders when the ground beneath them started to rumble and quake. The sudden shaking caused some of the students and staff to lose their footing and almost fall, but as they received extensive training, it didn''t take long before they stabilized themselves. "What''s happening!?" Feeling the tremors growing stronger, Leda Portia exclaimed, "Earthquake? No, impossible!" The ground suddenly quaked even harder. *BOOOOOOM* The whole auditorium exploded all of a sudden. Dust was sent up in the air, those that survived the initial explosion, were soon squashed by the falling debris of the ceiling. There were blood, limbs, and corpses everywhere. Few survived the explosion and falling debris, they groaned in pain as they struggled to stand up and recover from the dizziness and shock. John dug himself out from some debris that fell on top of him. Blood drenched half of his face after something fell on his head and wounded him. He coughed to expel the dust, entering his lungs. With blurry vision, he scanned his surroundings. At his side, he saw some students standing up and others that disappeared beneath the rocks, and all that was left was a pool of blood. John''s ears were buzzing and eyes blurry, he stumbled his way towards one of the debris and tried to lift and save someone. Even after trying to lift it up with the remaining strength of his, it was a failure in the end. Despite being surrounded by a nightmarish sight, there wasn''t a single change in John''s expression. Seeing he couldn''t save people around him, he turned towards the audience seats. There he saw with the little remaining sight he had, Leda wielding a gun and a sword slashing at red tentacles that burst from the ground. John squinted his eyes and tried to take a better look. Sensing someone else behind her, Leda turned just in time to meet John''s eyes. "John! Are you alright!?" She worriedly shouted. John opened his mouth to say something, but no words managed to leave his lips. Leda gave one more slash at the tentacle, cutting it in half and approached John. She scanned his injuries and saw the deep cut in his head. "This is bad." She said when she realized the situation John was. John''s unfocused eyes drifted to the side, and he spotted a few more students that survived. Leda took John to the other students and said to all of them, "The Terrene Protectorate must survive. Now, go! Leave this planet. You are the future of this organization, doesn''t matter which race you are, as long as you survive the Terrene Protectorate will survive." After she gave the order, Leda turned around and charged toward the closest tentacle to save some civilians. The students saluted and obeyed her orders, they swiftly dispersed from the auditorium while dodging the tentacles coming from the ground. Some had better reflexes and athletics that other and so they were able to go through the tentacles while the other one was ripped apart by those red menaces. John didn''t know how he got there. Still, when he finally recovered full conscience, he was already inside a spaceship and was about to leave the atmosphere. He endured the headache and clicked at the Navigation Console in front of him, and switched the camera mode to see the situation beneath him. What he saw shocked him to the core. John watched as the planet he much loved crumbled I''m the face of those red tentacles that destroyed everything in their path and surroundings. As giant red tentacles burst out from the ground, the whole planet trembled. The tentacles appeared out of nowhere with no forewarning, destroying anything on its path Red tentacles streamed about, crushing towering skyscrapers and flipping the shuttles trying to escape out of the sky. Earth. The home of humanity, the capital of United Earth Government, the birthplace of the Terrene Protectorate, was falling and burning right before John''s eyes. Looking at the situation just beneath him, John witnessed as the towering building of the Terran Protectorate was split in half by a single thrust of a tentacle. The symbol of peace, prosperity, and order was no more. By luck, a few spaceships were able to escape the tentacles'' onslaught. A few of those ships had the logo of the Terran Protectorate, they were escaping right beside John while there was some on his front and back. He saw a few of those ships crashing down after it was barely touched by one of the giant tentacles. John activated the FTL Engine, and just when his ship was about to perform the Warp Jump, a tentacle came out of nowhere and hit his spaceship. One metal plate came out from the cockpit''s ceiling and knocked John unconscious... Lost in Space...Again (1) John woke up covered in cold sweat and trembling. "Why did I dreamt about my graduation?" He muttered while his tired eyes scanned the surrounding. It took only a moment for him to realize he was in the Crafting Room of the spaceship. And he slept while sitting in one the chair of the room while using the touchscreen keyboard in front of him as a pillow. He moved his hand to rub his eyes and felt something slipping from his body and falling on the ground. John looked down and saw it was a blanket. When he fell asleep while working, someone came by and put on a blanket over his body. His hands clutched the blanket as he deeply looked at it. After taking everything in, John looks up and freezes when he saw Lenny leaning by the door of the room with his arms crossed and staring at him. "It was Forge that put it on you," Lenny said as he pointed with his chin at the blanket in John''s hands. "Oh..." John was surprised for a moment before nodding. Lenny looked at John''s situation and asked, "Nightmare?" "Yes..." John weakly answered while wiping the sweat from his forehead. "That assassin?" Of course, John knew who Lenny was talking about. It was none other than Mouro, the one that tried to kill both of them in the Lunar Mining Facility 12. John''s first kill that often invaded his dreams and turned them into nightmares. The frequency of nightmare got even worst after John went through that illusion in the swamp when he was in the Great Hunt. "No, worst." John''s face twisted a little when he heard Lenny commenting about that event, but, as soon as his face worsened, it recovered to normal, "Earth..." "Huh? That sounds bad, indeed." Lenny walked by John and stopped at his side, "Can you think of any reason as to why you had this nightmare?" "Probably because the situation we''re right now kinda reminds me when I just escaped Earth''s destruction and was all alone in outer space with a damaged spaceship."The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. After John managed to flee from the Miniknog''s pursuit and activated the FTL Drive, they soon found themselves stranded in a foreign place. John tried to see their coordinates with the Navigation Console and the map Itsuki gave to him...there was nothing in the map. Even though John could clearly see the massive planet made of gas right at their side, there was nothing about such place the map, nothing at all. It was like someone purposely erased this place from the map. John was curious, and even though he wished to explore around and see if there was something Itsuki or Letheia is hiding something, he simply couldn''t make the spaceship move. After all, the only engine that wasn''t damaged was the normal one. To get out of their place, they had first to fix the engine. Secondly, they need fuel, Erchius Liquid Fuel. In other words, they were currently stranded at the place, orbiting this giant planet that was surrounded with moons of all sizes that could smash their ship if they were not careful enough. A very familiar situation to John, since he had been stranded once, not long ago. But he was lucky that the Warp Jump put him just beside a low Tier planet without many dangers. Lenny suddenly broke John''s train of thought, "You should properly rest, you spent 5 hours straight working with Forge to create a blueprint. It isn''t surprising you would simply pass out while working." "Yeah..." John nodded in acknowledgment, "My brain is going to melt if I have to work any longer in this engine. Physics and chemistry weren''t my strengths at school. I only have basic knowledge in mechanics, and Forge is simply a biologist and geneticist. How the hell can we fix that engine." Lenny patted John''s shoulder and laughed, "You thank that she at least know a lot more than us. Me Peri and Saito are useless in this situation. I''m a Bounty Hunter that only knows how to kill. Peri is almost the same, she only knows how to fight, and can know some basics in medicine. Saito, well... he''s a kid." "Thanks for the encouragement." John said sarcastically, "You useless Novakid. I shouldn''t have gone save you..." "Too late for regrets! Hahahahaha!" Lenny swiftly left the room while gleefully laughing. John casted a glance at Lenny''s back and sadly sighed. Lenny knew that John was kidding when he said those words. He knew John very well, what type of person he was. He was someone that believe in order, law, and a selfless idiot. ... At the Captain''s Quarters. John looked at his reflection in the bathroom''s mirror. He never thought that one day, he would miss his peaceful time on Earth and his not-so-peaceful time when Cael, Aoi, and Zyanya would search for him and bother him all day long. John opened the sink and placed his head beneath the stream of water. As he closed his eyes, his mind took him back about one day ago, when John was about to go rest while the spaceship performed the Warp Jump. Right before walking away, he heard Peri and Lenny speaking with each other. If it were before, John would have never been able to hear them from such distance, a bit after he got that strange mark in his hand, his senses, including hearing, got a lot better. He stopped on his tracks and went back where just was with Peri and saw both her and Lenny walking together to a more secluded place within the ship. John maintained a certain distance as he knew that Peri would sense him if he got any closer. When both Peri and Lenny stopped, John also stopped outside the door of the room, both of them entered. John looked up and saw the sign written "Crafting Room" on top of the door. "So, Lenny, how about you begin?" John heard Peri''s voice muffled by the thick door.