As the shuttle landed, each of the four Draconarii stepped off, the hammer-wielding man stepping in front and crossing his arms. "Alright. I'm the highest leveled one here, so I'm gonna be taking charge for now." He pointed his thumb at himself. "Name's Jackson. Now lemme know all of yours." "Ooh, I'm Jessica! But…" Jess plopped down on her rear, quickly taking a health stim and jamming it into her arm, moaning as she felt the euphoric liquid course up her veins. "Everyone calls me Jess." "Hector." The sniper simply spoke, looking over at Taylor as he spoke up. "I'm Taylor, and I… g - guess I'm the newest one here, from the looks of it." "You'll be alright. Just stick with us and don't do anything stupid." Jackson assured, Taylor nodding his head, following behind the larger man alongside the others. The planet they landed on was far more devastated than the last one Taylor stepped foot on. Every bit of soil and nature was ripped and devoured by the Voidkin, leaving only jagged rock and bits of flowing stardust beneath the darkened, cloudless sky. Some of the stardust gathered in the sky, swirling around in a vibrantly colored mass, glittering the sky with hauntingly beautiful rays. A sense of nervousness brewed in Taylor's chest as he took in the destruction, but seeing such confidence in his teammates was enough to give him the willpower to keep on. "So… Rookie." Hector began, Taylor looking over at him. "What's your assistant look like, huh?" "Uh…" Taylor rubbed at the side of his neck, Hector chuckling while Taylor struggled to answer. "She er… she's some kind of… fox-wolf girl, I guess." "You got a picture of 'er?" Hector asked, Taylor shaking his head. "Well, I got a picture of mine. Take a look." Hector held out his palm, letting a projected screen emit out from it before Taylor. Taylor narrowed his eyes as he looked at Hector's assistant, raising an eyebrow as he saw a younger, blonde-haired woman in thin lingerie, covered only by a red, fluffy cloak with ears on top of the hood. Taylor recognized her as Red Hood from the game Black Souls 2, but was hesitant to speak on it. "Eugh… this guy must be really weird, just… openly showing people that he likes that game. At the same time, though…" Taylor exhaled through his nose while he continued to ponder to himself. "It's not like I can say that I know where she's from, since then I'd be weird, too." "Think she's cute?" Hector asked, Taylor shrugging his shoulders. "She's… y - yeah, she's cute." "Heh. She sure is." Hector replied. "So, uh… how long have you been doing this for? The whole Draconarius thing." Taylor asked, Hector rubbing at his chin, him and Taylor stopping for a moment when Jackson stepped in front of an armored door leading into an underground bunker, reaching his hands forward and beginning to pry it off. "Gonna be coming on my 2nd year here in a bit. I'll admit, I was a little bitch about it at first too, but," Hector laughed softly and shook his head. "You'll get used to it." With a grunt, Jackson managed to pry the door off, tossing the armored remains of the entrance away and exposing the dark interior. "Intel says there's some data drives in here that need extracting. Chances are we're gonna bump into some Voidkin on the way down, so…" Jackson walked in ahead of the group, waving for them to follow him. "Keep your eyes peeled." "I'll scout ahead." Hector added, pointing forward and ordering his drone to zoom into the bunker. Hector remained standing for a moment, the group slowly walking forward and awaiting Hector's results. "...alright, we've got some aliens scurrying around down there, but… not too many." Hector stated, Jackson nodding in response. "Good. Let's get this shit over with, then."
The mission in the bunker so far was uneventful, the dimly lit steel hallways of what was once a Asgorath Empire base now desolate and rundown, with some hallways caved in. There were a few voidlings scattered around the remaining hallways, but it was nothing that even the low-leveled Taylor couldn't handle. Due to his low level, the group allowed Taylor to get most of the killing blows, Taylor stabbing his blade into the energy orb of a lesser voidling, watching as it imploded in on itself, pulling Taylor down slightly.
[--- DRACONIC SYSTEMS ---]
Level Up!
Health increased by 15
Mana increased by 10
Attack Power increased by 5
Defense Power increased by 8
New Passive: "Arctic Resistance"
Reduces Attack Power of incoming heat-based attacks by 33%
New Skill: "Bulwark of Ice"
Consumes 15 mana, then envelopes your shield in magical ice, significantly increasing its effectiveness against magical attacks. This effect lasts for 30 seconds.
[--- ver 1.602.801 ---]
"Hey. Taylor." Jackson said, Taylor turning back towards him. "Yeah?" "Try and not be so close when you kill those Voidkin. Lesser ones aren't too bad with their death throes, but…" Jackson sighed. "The death implosions of the bigger ones can right rip your arms off if you aren't careful." "O - Oh. Yeah, I'll… I - I'll try and stop being so close." Jackson nodded, leading the group down the bunker and towards the officer room at the end. "Wait, just… gimme a sec." Jess requested, nibbling her lower lip as she injected another health stim into her arm. "Oh fuck… these health stims are so much better than the shit they had back at Earth." Taylor tilted his head, resting his hands on his sides while he and the others gathered in front of the abandoned officer room, aiding Jackson in opening it while he spoke. "Hey, uh… ah," Taylor grunted as the door bucked from him and Jackson's prying. "What kind of people were you all back on Earth? If you don't mind me asking." "Eh. Guess it'll help pass the time." Jackson said, gritting his teeth as he managed to successfully break the door off of its hinges. "I was a truck driver. Lived in Louisiana most of my life, but traveled all over the place once I got my CDL and certs." "Ooh, you were a truck driver?" Jess asked, Jackson narrowing an eye at her. "Hehe… well, I was a humble little lot lizard. Ooh, what are the odds you think we hooked up?" Jess asked, Jackson sighing and shaking his head. "I don't have HPV, so 0." "Haha. So you're all Americans then?" Hector asked, Taylor chuckling slightly and giving him a nod. "Yeah. I'm from Texas, though." "Oh, you're close to where I'm from, then. Lived in Puebla most my life, but uh…" Hector chuckled. "Went up and met the wrong guys in Nuevo Laredo. And now I'm here." "Huh. So you died and ended up here too?" Taylor asked, Hector giving a simple "Yep." in response. "Alright, enough chatter. Who's carrying the drive?" Jackson asked, walking into the room and taking out sleek, electronic drive, it whirring softly from its bigger rectangular shape. "I'll do it." Taylor volunteered, Jackson handing him the drive, then pressing down on the back of his own neck. "Draconarii to base, got a hold of the drive. Gonna need that tractor beam ready once we're on the surface." "Copy." A voice emitted, the party beginning their march out from the bunker. "Hold on… lemme just make sure nothing followed us in here." Hector said, the others not protesting his cautiousness, watching as he ordered his drone to fly ahead of them into the bunker's corridors. "Anything yet?" Jackson asked, a faint tremor in the earth shaking the ground slightly while Hector replied. "Looks like a couple low-level stragglers, but… nothing really serious." Hector raised his hand, ordering his drone to return to the room, it letting out a mechanical chirp as it hovered behind Hector's shoulder. Resting his hammer along his shoulders, Jackson walked forward, leading the others out of the room and down the corridors of the bunker. Another tremor shook the walls of the underground structure, Taylor raising his eyebrows and looking between the others. "Uh… w - what is that shaking?" Taylor asked, Jackson shrugging before he answered. "It's the Voidkin feeding most likely. Feels pretty close, though, so should probably get out of here before they start leaving sinkholes." Taylor swallowed, nodding his head as he more briskly began to march throughout the halls of the bunker. With the data drive snugly held under his shoulder, Taylor marched into the next room with Jackson, them nearly reaching the exit of the bunker before a wide, purple-colored laser blasted in through the top of the bunker, opening a crater above the group and exposing them to the surface. Taylor raised his shield and Jackson created a shielded field around himself and the others, deflecting away another laser firing out from the giant, faintly humanoid Voidkin towering over them. It stood on two legs, with one smaller arm dangling from its body, and another gigantic, thickly armored arm. The Voidkin's energy orb rested within the middle of its tall, rectangular head, this orb facing to the ground as it channeled another attack. "Shit. Atlas." Jackson muttered, Taylor raising his eyebrows and stepping back, keeping the data drive behind his shield. "Look out!" Jess cried out, her and the others scattering away as the Atlas slammed its thickly armored arm down towards them, creating a crater in the ground and spraying rubble across the field. As Taylor climbed out from the gaping hole in the bunker, he received another bestiary entry notification, a small HUD displaying in front of him while he pulled himself onto his feet.
[--- DRACONIC SYSTEMS ---]
Bestiary Entry
Atlas
An incredibly massive and powerful Voidkin. A single Atlas exists on every planet being harvested by the Voidkin, acting as a commander for the Voidkin's defensive forces.
Atlases are extremely durable and capable of dealing high amounts of damage, but are very slowly and generally inaccurate. Disabling its weaponized arm will mostly neutralize the Atlas. Be wary, though, for an Atlas rarely fights alone.
[--- ver 1.602.801 ---]
Just as Taylor was reading the warning about the Atlas potentially having reinforcements, he looked up to see a floating, spherical Voidkin with a trail of stardust leaving its rapid flying movements, it strafing him with a series of implosive gravity projectiles, Taylor narrowly diving out of the way and landing on his stomach as the bestiary notified him once again.
[--- DRACONIC SYSTEMS ---]
Bestiary Entry
Comet
A common aerial unit of the Voidkin. They attack primarily by performing bombing runs over their enemies. If shot down, they will attempt to crash into their aggressor, leaving behind a deadly implosion in its wake.
Though quick, they aren't very durable, and can be reliably taken down with a single ranged attack. They do not discriminate in their bombing runs, and can be fairly easily baited into firing upon their fellow Voidkin.
[--- ver 1.602.801 ---]
Gritting his teeth, Taylor raised up his shield, casting Bulwark of Ice and watching as his mechanical shield was enveloped in a film of ice. This empowered shield managed to absorb the implosive projectiles of the Comets, giving Taylor enough of an opening for him to cast Blizzard Edge at the flying Voidkin. His newfound reflexes were still something for him to get used to, Taylor feeling as though his hand and eyes were moving on their own as he automatically aimed his blade ahead of where the Comets flew, lining up the icy projectile ahead of them and striking them down. "Nice shot, Rookie!" Hector called out, his drone firing its machine gun into the hordes of Lesser Voidlings running at the group while he fired his sniper rifle at the Comets circling around the Atlas. "Yeah! Draconis Deus!" Jess called out, charging forward alongside Jackson towards the Atlas. They both engaged with the titanic Voidkin, Jackson's gravity hammer clashing with the Atlas' arm while Jess whittled away at its legs, blowing off chunks of its stone body. With the Voidkin decreasing in number, Taylor felt the confidence to charge forward, driving his blade through the energy orbs of the Lesser Voidlings and dashing back before their death implosions could reach him. Taylor looked up to see the Atlas raising its primary arm and channeling another burst of gravity magic from it, Jackson and Jess running away as the earth beneath them trembled, and bits of rock and stardust gathered in the barrel-like opening within the Atlas' palm. "...let's do this." Taylor muttered, raising his shield up and casting Bulwark of Ice again, holding it out in the direction of where the Atlas was aiming. "Get it while it's aggroed on me!" Taylor called out, wincing a little from his accidental shouting of gamer terminology. The others seemed to understand, Jess leaping forward at the Atlas' legs while Hector fired at the Atlas' energy orb. When the intense blast of gravity magic fired at Taylor, he kept his shield steady, his vision blurring slightly while his feet slid across the ground. Taylor nearly lost his footing, his grip on his shield faltering, but Taylor managed to keep his balance long enough for Jess to pummel the Atlas' leg with an explosive punch, breaking the limb apart and causing the creature to fall to the ground. The party and the Voidkin surrounding them all retreated back as the Atlas' body crashed into the earth, the ground shaking and cracks forming around the impact. "Shit! Get away from that thing, now!" Jackson ordered, Taylor going to try to turn and flee away from the impending implosion. He was stopped when a Comet dove in and crashed into him, exploding and sending Taylor tumbling towards the body of the Atlas. Cracks glowing with a menacing, purple energy formed in the Atlas' body, Taylor grunting as he stood up. "Oh no, Draconarius! Your health is super low! Here, use this, quick!" Okami called out, Taylor looking down to see a health stim materializing in his hand. Before Taylor could fully regain his bearings, Jackson ran forward and grabbed him, throwing Taylor away from the Atlas' body. A powerful, space-warping implosion rapidly expanded from the Atlas' body, Jackson trying to dive away from it, nearly escaping its grasp before the pull of the implosion ensnared him by his legs. Jackson gripped his hands into the ground and tried to drag himself out of the imploding field. Taylor could see the strain on Jackson's face, and then the exponentially lowering Health number from Jackson's status, Taylor running over towards the man and reaching his hand down. Jackson grabbed onto his hand, Taylor nearly slipping from the sudden force tugging at his arm, but managing to keep his feet grounded. With a step back, Taylor felt the weight of Jackson's body decrease, feeling a surge of optimism, quickly replaced with horror when Jackson let out a pained scream. Blood wept out of the stumps that were once Jackson's legs as Taylor managed to pull him out of the implosion, the red liquid flinging into the final throes of the Atlas' death implosion, shaking the earth and sending nearby Voidkin flinging away.
[--- DRACONIC SYSTEMS ---]
Level Up! x18
Health increased by 450
Mana increased by 250
Attack Power increased by 108
Defense Power increased by 162
Prestige now available!
[--- ver 1.602.801 ---]
Taylor's eyes were assaulted by a flurry of new passive and active abilities for a moment. He waved the HUD from his face and looked down at the critically injured Jackson, ignoring his levels and trying to tend to his savior. "O - Oh shit! Jackson, just…" Taylor grunted, looking over to see Jess and Hector quickly sprinting towards the two. "Just stay with me, alright?" Taylor assured, Jackson heaving for breath, his face red and veiny while he looked down at the remains of his legs. "Raise his arm up." Hector ordered, Taylor nodding, lifting Jackson's arm and giving Hector an opening to prick him with a health stim. "I'll get his legs!" Jess chimed, kneeling down in front of Jackson and channeling her flaming magic, cauterizing the bleeding ends of his stumps. The tractor beam of the space station began to shine down on the four, Taylor letting out a relieved sigh as he saw Jackson's health begin to slowly climb back up. "...thanks for saving me back there." Taylor spoke, Jackson snorting and nodding his head in response. Both Hector and Taylor held up Jackson's body as they entered the space station, Taylor looking in to see the usual applause of the Draconarius' return broken up by several medical droids all driving through the crowd with their wheeled frames, plucking Jackson out of Taylor's arms and onto a stretcher. "Hey! You two wanna go grab some grub? All those near-death experiences made me pretty hungry." Jess proposed with a grin, Taylor and Hector looking at one another, sharing a shrug before Hector answered. "Sounds good."
The cafeteria of the station was a massive, industrial space of steel benches and servant droids zooming between the tables, providing the hundreds of crewmates and soldiers aboard the interstellar station with the food they needed. Taylor looked around to see many different species of people all receiving food curtailed to their dietary needs, with one person in particular catching his eye. Taylor narrowed his eyes at a human-sized, squad-like person with dozens of tentacles exiting out of their gelatinous, glowing body, them shoveling up a microbe-filled goop from a steel bowl and absorbing it into their body. As Taylor leaned slightly closer to them, his bestiary lit up with a notification.
[--- DRACONIC SYSTEMS ---]
Bestiary Entry
Pod
A race of sentient, gelatinous people, originating from the asteroid belt of the Caelum System. Their low-pressure, partly gaseous bodies allow them to live in space, and most Pods will spend the majority of their lives in space.
Pods are capable of living in gravitational environments, but require medication in order for their bodies to not succumb to internal injuries from the pressure changes. This medication saw mass production when the Voidkin devoured much of the Pods homes on the asteroid belt, forcing many to evacuate and live on Empire worlds.
They are a surprisingly hardy race, with very few vital organs and the ability to regenerate fairly quickly. They tend to be slower than other races, moving by floating and grappling forward with their tendrils. If one is to face a traitorous Pod in combat, do not aim for their head, as no vital organs are stored there. Try to aim for the center of their bodies to cull them quickly.
[--- ver 1.602.801 ---]
Taylor couldn't help but feel a little disturbed every time he opened his bestiary, unsure as to why every race needed to have its fatal weaknesses read out to him. Choosing to ignore this, Taylor instead turned his mind to his food, watching as a droid placed a tray in front of him. His request to be surprised was met with a plate with a purple, writhing mass of flesh in front of him, Taylor feeling a bit of disgust at the sight. "Ooh, you got a starcalf steak, huh? Didn't know you were such an aristocrat, Taylor." Jess teased, Taylor shrugging his shoulders, chuckling a little while he cut off a piece of the flesh. "Is it… good?" "I dunno. Just try it." Jess replied. Drawing in a deep breath, Taylor bit into the meat, raising his eyebrows as a new flavor entered his mouth. Though a bit chewy and definitely on the rarer side, the steak was surprisingly good, mixing sweet and savory flavors in a way that Taylor found pleasing. "Huh… not bad." Taylor said, Jess grinning, scooting closer to Taylor and poking him on the shoulder. "Hey… you wanna come party later, Taylor? I raided a Unimate holdout a couple days ago, and got some really good stuff out of it." Taylor raised an eyebrow, staring at Jess in a bit of disbelief for a moment. "H - Huh? Isn't that, like… really illegal?" "Oh, c'mon, no one has to know." "Yeah, I… I think I'll pass." Taylor replied, Jess shrugging her shoulders and scooting away. "Oh well. Your loss." She dismissed, plucking a fry from her tray and eating it.