The air over the River Basin was thick with the chilling sound of Xylos pursuit.
The high-pitched whistle of the aerial drone had cut through the night, followed instantly by the searing crackle of plasma fire. Kael's Stone Shield, massive and blindingly yellow, had bought them a precious second of cover, but they were now exposed on a four-kilometer stretch of slick mud and fragmented ice.
Axel, Level 5 with 5 unallocated Stat Points, ran.
His DEX 13 and VIT 14 were immediately apparent. While Kael's heavy steps churned the mud and Zaya struggled to maintain traction, Axel found his footing instantly.
He felt lighter, his balance correcting before his brain could consciously register the slip. He moved in a low, tireless crouch, his focus absolute. The Enhanced Endurance passive skill muted the screaming protest of his lungs.
"Keep close to the bank!" Zaya yelled, her voice strained, throwing her right hand out. A sheet of Ice Shards sprayed backward, not aimed at the enemy, but at the slick ground, creating an immediate, temporary ice patch to slow any ground pursuit.
Kael was running like a battering ram, his Stone Shield still radiating faint yellow energy, though he kept it minimized to conserve the energy it required.
"The bridge! We get under the collapsed suspension bridge! It buys us cover!" Kael bellowed over the roar of a closing Xylos patrol.
Axel glanced back. Three Xylos Grunts were sprinting out of the rail tunnel entrance, their plasma rifles spitting green bolts that sizzled harmlessly against Kael's receding shield. More worrying was the drone overhead, its red target beam locked onto their positions.
> [SENSORY WARNING: HOSTILE AIR SUPPORT FIRING SEQUENCE INITIATED.]
> [NEW SUB-OBJECTIVE: EVADE PLASMA STRIKE!]
> Time Limit: 3 Seconds.
> Reward: 50 EXP.
>
Three seconds. Axel didn't hesitate. He knew the plasma strike would be aimed at the largest target: Kael. He had to clear the blast radius.
He screamed, not in pain, but as a warning:
"DIVE!"
He threw himself hard to the side, his enhanced Dexterity turning a desperate fall into a controlled slide. Zaya, quicker to react than Kael, mirrored his move.
The plasma strike hit exactly where Kael had been standing moments before. FWOOM! The air roared as the superheated energy impacted the mud, vaporizing the water and turning the ground into molten glass. Kael, recovering from his delayed reaction, was thrown forward by the concussion, rolling heavily and losing his grip on his shield.
> [HOSTILE PLASMA STRIKE EVADED! SUB-OBJECTIVE COMPLETE!]
> [REWARD ACQUIRED: 50 EXP.]
>
Axel scrambled to his feet, ignoring the minor impact damage. Kael was struggling, dazed. The ground Grunts were closing fast.
"Kael! Your shield!" Zaya screamed, already launching ice shards at the approaching Grunts, forcing them to take cover.
Axel knew they were done if they didn't get Kael moving. But they needed a distraction, something massive to cover the few hundred meters remaining to the bridge.
He looked at his status screen. Level 5. 5 Stat Points. He had to commit. The threat was immediate, aerial, and ground-based.
More power won't help if I die from a burst of fire. More speed won't help if Kael is paralyzed.
He slammed all five points into Vitality (VIT).
> [VIT +5. VITALITY: 19]
> [HOST'S HP INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. IMPROVED RESISTANCE TO CONCUSSIVE FORCE AND ENERGY DAMAGE.]
>
The change was instantaneous. A warm, almost electric sensation flooded his body. He felt a density settle in his bones, an unshakeable resilience.
He didn't hesitate. He sprinted toward Kael, activated his Kinetic Punch, and grabbed the larger man's armored jacket.
"MOVE!" Axel roared, yanking Kael upright with a sudden, impossible strength boosted by his STR 19 (+2). The Kinetic energy, already flowing, had to be spent. He spun, his body low to the ground, and delivered a devastating, focused punch to the largest, thickest object nearby: a massive, half-buried concrete piling.
CRACK-RUMBLE!
The sound was a sickening, bone-jarring impact that eclipsed the plasma fire. Axel felt the shockwave travel through his arm, but his newly reinforced VIT absorbed the feedback. The concrete piling, a structure meant to last centuries, fractured, shifting off its base and tumbling into the shallow, muddy water.
The massive splash, the dust cloud, and the sheer noise were the perfect distraction. The ground Grunts ducked, momentarily disoriented. The aerial drone, confused by the sudden seismic shift, wobbled.
"Go! Bridge!" Axel yelled, shoving Kael toward Zaya, who was covering their retreat with a furious flurry of Ice Shards.
The trio sprinted the remaining distance and plunged into the murky shadows beneath the collapsed suspension bridge. It was a tangle of rusted steel cables, broken roadway, and thick, supportive columns—a veritable fortress of cover.
> [NEW SUB-OBJECTIVE: REACH SAFETY ZONE.]
> [STATUS: REACHED COVER. THREAT LEVEL: HIGH.]
>
They collapsed behind a massive concrete column, their bodies heaving. The drone couldn't get a clean lock through the dense steel webbing, and the ground Grunts couldn't risk charging into the shadowed maze.
Kael was the first to recover, rubbing his temple. "What… what in the hell was that, Axel? You shattered a column!"
"Distraction," Axel gasped, his heart beginning to slow to a manageable rate thanks to his Enhanced Endurance. "You were getting targeted. I shifted the column for cover."
Zaya stared at Axel, her expression a mix of relief and intense curiosity. "You hit like a heavy artillery cannon, Marble. You're Level 5 now, aren't you? You just poured everything into your core defense. Smart. You're still soft to energy, but that physical resilience is terrifying."
Axel, regaining his breath, simply nodded. He didn't confirm the level, just the immediate effect.
They were temporarily safe, but they couldn't stay. The Xylos would bring in heavier equipment to break through the bridge's cover.
"We follow the river bank under the bridge structure," Zaya ordered, pointing a flashlight beam down a narrow crawl space formed by twisted steel. "It leads directly to the Factory Complex wall. We need one more solid break."
"The Grunts are coming in," Kael warned, his ears twitching as he heard the faint metallic chittering of the pursuit team.
> [SENSORY WARNING: XYLOS GRUNT SQUAD ENTERING COVER ZONE (3 GRUNTS).]
> [NEW SUB-OBJECTIVE: SILENT TAKEDOWN.]
> Description: Eliminate the three Grunts without using explosive abilities to avoid attracting the drone.
> Reward: 200 EXP.
> Failure: Detection by Air Support.
>
Silent takedown. Axel looked at his crowbar, then at the thick, rusted steel pipes crisscrossing above their heads.
"Zaya, Kael," Axel whispered, his voice low and intense.
"I'm going to draw their attention to the ceiling. You eliminate them when they look up. Zaya, ice the legs. Kael, shatter the head. No plasma fire."
Zaya raised an eyebrow, clearly ready to argue, but the desperation of the situation forced her to trust his plan. "Fine. On your mark.".
Axel didn't need his System for this—just the heightened strength and speed it provided. He focused his power into his legs, leaping silently onto a column and scaling it with ease, his DEX 13 making the movement quick and quiet.
He moved along a narrow I-beam, positioning himself directly over the path the Grunts would take.
The Xylos Grunts entered the shadows, their rifles held high, sweeping the dark space. They were cautious, relying on their internal infrared sensors.
As the middle Grunt passed directly beneath him, Axel focused all his strength, using the last remnants of his STR 21 (base 19 + 2 from Kinetic Punch) to rip a three-foot length of rusted steel cable from the bridge superstructure.
The sound was a loud, tearing screeeech of metal—enough to attract their gaze, but not enough to trigger an aerial alert.
The three Grunts instantly snapped their heads back, their multi-faceted eyes locking onto the source of the noise.
That was the mark.
From the ground, Zaya struck low. Three sharp Ice Shards flew, not aiming to kill, but to maim. They impacted the joints of the Grunts' legs, shattering the chitinous armor and sending them stumbling to the muddy ground with cries of alien pain.
Kael was waiting.
As the Grunts fell, he rushed forward, his arms enveloped in a dull yellow glow. He didn't use an explosive shield; he used his brute force, slamming his now reinforced, powerful arms down on the heads of the two nearest Grunts.
CRUSH. CRUSH.
The sound was sickeningly final. The third Grunt, wounded but still struggling, raised its rifle.
Axel dropped from the ceiling like a stone, landing silently on the Grunt's back, driving his heel into its already broken leg. He grabbed the rifle and smashed the stock against its neck, forcing the Grunt's head back against the concrete floor. Another sickening crunch, and the final enemy was silenced.
> [HOSTILE SQUAD ELIMINATED! SUB-OBJECTIVE COMPLETE!]
> [REWARD ACQUIRED: 200 EXP.]
> [LEVEL UP! AXEL MARBLE HAS REACHED LEVEL 6!]
> [STAT POINTS ACQUIRED: 5]
>
Axel stood over the dead aliens, his heart hammering, but his mind perfectly clear. He was Level 6. He had earned his place.
Zaya and Kael approached, both breathing heavily.
"That was… brilliant, Axel," Zaya said, genuine admiration in her tone. "Ripping the cable, the coordinated strike. You're not just a powerhouse; you're tactical."
"The System is giving him good reflexes," Kael grumbled, wiping alien ichor off his jacket, his voice now devoid of contempt. "Alright, Level 6. Let's get moving before the drone realizes its patrol is late."
They moved quickly through the last segment of the bridge.
The Factory Complex wall loomed ahead, a massive, unbroken expanse of rust-red corrugated iron.
"There," Zaya pointed to a section of the wall near a rusted drainage pipe.
"There's a known seismic weakness there. Kael, you hit the wall. Axel, you use that punch to widen the gap. We go in fast."
Kael, now respecting Axel's raw output, simply nodded.
They reached the wall. Kael focused his raw Aether, his arms flaring brightly as he delivered a massive, booming blow to the targeted weak point. The corrugated iron screamed in protest, buckling inward.
"Axel, now!" Zaya shouted.
Axel focused his last burst of energy. Kinetic Punch. He hammered his fist into the dent Kael had created. The force was concentrated, focused, and overwhelming.
RIIIP!
The metal wall tore like wet paper, creating a man-sized opening. Axel shoved the torn edges back, and the three of them dove through the jagged hole.
They were inside the sprawling, ruined Factory Complex—the gateway to Sector Gamma. They were off the exposed River Basin.
> [CURRENT QUEST: ARRIVE AT THE ACADEMY!]
> [OBJECTIVE 1: MAINTAIN PACE – COMPLETE!]
> [OBJECTIVE 2: DO NOT REVEAL THE FULL EXTENT OF THE MARBLE SYSTEM – SUCCESS!]
>
They had done it. They had escaped the gauntlet.
Axel leaned against a cold metal container, catching his breath. He looked at his status screen. Level 6. He had 5 Stat Points waiting. He was no longer the frail scavenger. He was a force to be reckoned with.
"We'll take ten minutes here," Zaya said, her voice calmer now. "The drone won't spot us in this tangle of warehouses. We're close to the Academy entrance.
We'll need a final plan for the complex's internal defense grid."
Axel looked at his points. He was stronger, healthier, and faster. Now, he needed to think.