Axel, Zaya, and Kael huddled in the dark interior of the ruined Factory Complex, the scent of stale oil and rust filling their lungs. Axel was Level 6, standing on the precipice of the final push.
He quickly addressed his 5 available Stat Points.
The internal defenses of a high-value target like the Academy would be automated, shielded, and heavily reliant on electronic countermeasures. Raw strength alone wouldn't cut it.
He chose the analytical path.
He focused his will, allocating all five points into Intelligence (INT).
> [INT +5. INTELLIGENCE: 13]
> [HOST'S MENTAL PROCESSING SPEED AND ANALYTICAL CAPABILITY INCREASED. ENERGY POOL (EP) EXPANDED.]
>
The change was instantaneous and profound. It wasn't physical, but mental. The chaotic tangle of pipes and wires around him suddenly seemed to organize itself in his mind. Information he'd absorbed about the factory's layout and electrical systems felt immediately accessible.
His thoughts flowed faster, clearer. The faint, nagging hunger was replaced by a sharp, focused acuity.
He checked his EP (Energy Points): they had jumped from 50 to 65. More fuel for his Kinetic Punch or any future skills.
"Ten minutes is up," Zaya stated, clicking off her watch light.
"This complex is divided into three zones. Zone One: Maintenance tunnels.
Zone Two: The Foundry Floor, open ground.
Zone Three: The Admin Tower, where the Academy entrance is hidden.
The entire complex has motion-sensitive sentry guns."
"Sentries are the problem," Kael grunted, polishing his arm guard. "My shield is good, but it bleeds power fast absorbing machine-gun fire."
Axel spoke up, his new INT 13 organizing his thoughts swiftly. "The sentries run off the old factory grid, but the power isn't stable.
The grid is decentralized; they can't run all systems at full capacity. We focus on the most stable lines, the ones powering environmental control, not the weapons. If we can trigger a cascading overload in one substation, we might disable Zone Three's defenses before they can reactivate."
Zaya stared at him, surprised. "That's high-level grid theory, Axel. How do you know that?"
Axel shrugged, falling back on his cover story. "Scavengers learn how to strip a factory.
The power relays are in the maintenance tunnels. We go in fast, hit the relays, and race across the open Foundry Floor while the sentries are rebooting."
Zaya agreed to the plan. They entered the maintenance tunnels, a cramped, claustrophobic maze of dark pipes and dripping condensate. The humidity was oppressive.
Zaya led, using small bursts of her Ice Shards to freeze and fracture rusted locks on access panels. Kael followed, his stone-skinned hands tearing open doors that refused to budge.
Axel, his senses sharp, spotted the faint, almost imperceptible laser tripwires strung across the narrow passages—the sentries' eyes.
"Stop," Axel whispered, pointing to a wire too thin to see without focused attention. "Tripwire. It connects to the junction box on the ceiling. It's feeding power to the primary relay for this section."
Using a piece of salvaged wire, Axel, guided by his analytical mind, bypassed the connection, shorting out the circuit without triggering the general alarm.
They moved like this for twenty tense minutes: Zaya slicing obstacles, Kael forcing heavy blockages, and Axel—the System-Born—silently neutralizing the electronic traps.
They reached the Central Substation. It was a massive room filled with sputtering transformers and humming conduits.
"There are three primary relays for Zone Three," Axel whispered, pointing. "The main power line is the thick one, marked 2-Delta. We overload that one by diverting power from the cooling unit. Kael, hit the emergency cooling valve—it'll divert the current. Zaya, use your power to short the main contact when I tell you."
Kael, now trusting Axel's sudden technical expertise, didn't argue. He rushed to the massive, rusted valve. Zaya stood ready, her hand glowing white.
"Now!" Axel shouted.
Kael slammed the valve open. The room filled with the hiss of escaping steam. Zaya instantly launched a concentrated Ice Shard directly into the exposed relay contact.
The combination was volatile. The ice provided resistance, the sudden power surge provided the heat. BZZZTTT-BOOM! The relay exploded in a spectacular shower of sparks and smoke.
> [SABOTAGE SUCCESSFUL: POWER GRID DISRUPTED!]
> [SUB-OBJECTIVE COMPLETE: INITIATE DISTRACTION!]
> [NEW SUB-OBJECTIVE: CROSS THE FOUNDRY FLOOR!]
> Time Limit: 90 Seconds.
>
"The sentries are offline!" Axel yelled. "But the backup power comes up fast! .
They burst out of the maintenance tunnels and onto the vast, open Foundry Floor. It was a desolate space, large enough to house a blimp, scattered with giant casting molds and abandoned machinery. Above them, dozens of deactivated sentry guns were frozen mid-sweep.
"Sixty seconds!" Kael shouted, already sprinting across the floor.
They ran, a desperate, final dash. But the Xylos weren't the only ones defending the Academy.
Mid-way across the floor, a towering Internal Security Golem—a ten-foot-tall, rusted metal automaton—roared to life. It wasn't powered by the complex grid; it was self-contained.
WHOOOSH! It swiped a massive metal claw at Kael. Kael roared, throwing up his full Stone Shield, absorbing the blow with a metallic shriek that echoed through the vast space.
"It's not Xylos! It's the Academy's defense!" Zaya screamed.
"It only needs three seconds to recalibrate its targeting!"
Axel saw the Golem. Its joints were rusty, but its central power core, a pulsating red orb, was exposed for a fraction of a second when it attacked.
> [THREAT: SECURITY GOLEM. TARGET VULNERABILITY: CENTRAL CORE (3 SECONDS).]
>
Axel didn't hesitate. He launched himself forward, activating Kinetic Punch and focusing every ounce of his STR 21 (19+2) and the raw force of the System into his fist.
He didn't need to damage the Golem's armor; he just needed to disrupt its core. He hit the exposed red orb with a concussive force that felt like hitting a steel wall, but his VIT 19 absorbed the brutal feedback.
BZZZZZZZZT!
The Golem screamed a sound of ripping metal. The red core shorted out, turning a dead gray. The massive robot staggered backward, its systems overloading, before crashing to the ground in a thunderous metallic heap.
> [SECURITY GOLEM ELIMINATED!]
> [REWARD ACQUIRED: 300 EXP.]
> [LEVEL UP! AXEL MARBLE HAS REACHED LEVEL 7!]
> [STAT POINTS ACQUIRED: 5]
>
Axel didn't even stop to check his new level. He was running again, fueled by adrenaline and the System's relentless drive.
They reached the far wall and scrambled into the darkness of the Admin Tower lobby just as the power flickered back on across the Foundry Floor. The sentry guns above began their eerie, mechanical sweeping motions once more, having rebooted just seconds after the trio cleared the zone.
They found the heavy, reinforced steel door marked with a subtle, glowing symbol—a stylized Möbius strip, the sign of the Awakened.
Kael slammed his fist against the door, his Stone Shield flaring in impatience. "Open up! We have recruits! We met the deadline!"
A cold, mechanical voice echoed from a speaker above the door. "Identification required. Unauthorized passage results in terminal defense activation."
Zaya stepped forward, her hands glowing. "Zaya Volkov. Code Crimson-Nine. Kael Stone. Code Boulder-Three. We bring a recruit, Axel Marble. Activate Protocol Omega."
There was a moment of silence. Axel felt a wave of icy apprehension.
"Access granted. Welcome to the Citadel."
The heavy steel door hissed, retracting slowly into the floor. Beyond it was not a factory interior, but a clean, brightly lit subterranean corridor. It smelled of ozone, antiseptic, and something else—order. A world away from the filth and chaos of the surface.
A woman in a crisp, black combat uniform, her face stern, stood waiting. She looked at Kael and Zaya, then her eyes settled on Axel, covered in mud, soot, and alien ichor, his body radiating the raw, chaotic energy of the Marble System.
"Axel Marble," she said, her voice sharp. "You arrived with less than a minute to spare. You took out a Golem and disabled the grid. Impressive. Welcome to the Academy. Your trials are about to begin."
> [CURRENT QUEST: ARRIVE AT THE ACADEMY!]
> [QUEST COMPLETE! YOU HAVE REACHED THE ACADEMY!]
> [REWARD ACQUIRED: 500 EXP, 5 Stat Points, Unlocks [INVENTORY] tab.]
> [LEVEL UP! AXEL MARBLE HAS REACHED LEVEL 8!]
> [STAT POINTS ACQUIRED: 10]
>
Axel stumbled across the threshold, feeling the sudden, total exhaustion crash over him, but his mind was alight with the flood of new information. Level 8. Ten Stat Points. The [INVENTORY] tab was now glowing invitingly on his screen.
He had escaped the surface. His System had brought him to the heart of humanity's secret fight.
His true rise was about to begin.
Axel is now Level 8 with 10 Stat Points and has reached the Academy.