The portal spat them out into a vast cavern. The air was thick, heavy with the sll of damp earth and sothing alien. Lighter gravity made their movents feel unnervingly buoyant.
"Subterranean hive," Danny murmured. "Classic."
Luca's eyes swept the cavern, his intel-gathering passive lighting up fresh scuff marks and disturbed moss patches on the slick stone floor. "They're close," he said, his voice low. "Zoe, take point. Everyone else, tunnel formation. We move now."
The mission directive popped up on his interface:
[Mission Objective: Defeat the Hive Mother]
Standard portal delve. Kill the drones, get to the queen.
Emily fell in beside him as they advanced. "Please tell this is just another hive dungeon," she said, grinning. "I'm ready to kill so bugs."
"Standard hive delve," Luca replied with a smirk. "Level 64 instead of 60, but sa playbook. Let's go clear house."
Everything they'd handled had been level 60 or below; this was level 64. But the system was predictable. They'd done dozens of these scenarios.
Emily's hand gave his a quick squeeze. That was nice.
Zoe's passive camouflage made her almost disappear into the shadows as she led them deeper. The cavern narrowed into a descending tunnel, moss thickening along the walls in pulsing patterns. A hive scenario usually involved a queen sowhere deep below them.
"This way," Luca said, following the downward passage.
The tunnel narrowed, walls pressing closer. Then, the silence exploded.
Thousands of needles scraping tal tore through the tunnel... skittering, clacking, the dry rustling of chitin. Luca's HUD lit up red as movent filled his visor, fast and erratic, closing in.
"Incoming!" Luca yelled, dropping to one knee. "Form up! Stay tight!"
They poured out of the darkness, all legs and armored plates, carapaces glistening with moisture. The acrid sll of alien musk filled the tunnel. Luca's critical strikes passive kicked in as he fired, the energy bolt striking chitin and barely scorching the surface. The creature screeched and kept coming.
"Shots aren't penetrating!" Luca yelled, switching targets. "Aim for joints only! Their shells are too thick!"
Ryan's scattergun spat short bursts, energy bolts sparking off armored plates. "What the fuck?! I'm barely scratching them!"
"Tunnel formation!" Luca barked, his command voice cutting through the chaos. "Danny front center, Joey shield-wall left side, Chris right flank! Zoe, high angle shots from the rear!"
Zoe's voice ca through calm and steady, her sniper rifle cracking in asured shots. "Targeting leg joints. Taking them down one by one." Each shot was precise, calculated, finding the gaps in armor that their standard weapons couldn't penetrate.
Danny barreled forward, his massive warhamr humming. "I'll soften 'em up!" The hamr connected, shattering shell and exposing soft flesh.
Ryan seized the mont and pulled the trigger. The bug's head exploded, green sli hitting the wall. "Nice assist, big guy!"
The cavern went nuts. Shapes surged up the tunnel ahead, dozens of them, their skittering claws scratching the ground like a tidal wave of chitin and legs.
"Joey, cover the rear!" Luca yelled. "Don't let them flank us!"
Joey's Energy Shield flared to life. The bugs slamd into it hard, but it held. "Keep moving!"
Emily was moving, her twin Energy Blasters spitting energy bolts. She twisted and rolled, dodging claws. "They're too fucking fast! We need to slow them down!"
"I've got a stunner grenade ready!" Ryan yelled.
"Make it count," Luca said, aiming at a bigger bug's knee joint. The shot hit, and the thing went down.
Ryan's stunner detonated. Energy washed over the bugs, freezing them in place.
"Now! Focus fire!" Zoe commanded. Bolts converged on the frozen bugs. Shells cracked, green goo sprayed, bugs dropped.
Danny roared, charging with his warhamr glowing. His Taunt flared, pulling attention. "Co on, you ugly bastards!"
The tunnel beca a at grinder. Energy bolts crackled through the air, illuminating carnage in strobing flashes. Bug parts littered the ground, pools of green ichor spreading across stone.
Luca's HUD flashed critical warnings - energy reserves dropping fast across the team. Joey's shield was draining power, Ryan's weapons were overheating, and they were burning through cells at an unsustainable rate. This is supposed to be routine! What the hell are these things?
But the bugs kept coming. For every one they dropped, two more seed to take their place. Their skittering filled the tunnel, echoing off the walls like a chitinous symphony of death. So of the creatures were bigger now, their shells thicker, their movents more coordinated.
"We're barely making a dent!" Ryan's voice was tight, his carbine overheating as he switched to his Energy Blaster. "These things are chewing through our ammo."
"Feels like they're unending," Zoe muttered, her rifle firing precise, three-round bursts. "The more we hit, the more crawl out."
Luca's mind raced. This was supposed to be routine, but these creatures were different, shrugging off damage, adapting. If they didn't find a solution, they'd be overwheld.
"Danny, use that hamr to clear us a path," Luca ordered. "We need to keep moving. Don't let them box us in!"
"Got it!" Danny shouted, his Taunt pulsing again to draw the swarm toward him as he swung wide, clearing space.
"Joey, keep that shield up! Zoe, Ryan, support Danny, watch his flanks! Emily, you're with . We need to take down the big ones, break their swarm."
Emily fell in beside him, her blasters firing in tandem with Luca's blaster shots. "Right here," she breathed. "Let's do this."
As the swarm surged, Ryan activated Power Surge, his scattergun unleashing a series of powerful shots that cut through the thick exoskeletons. Each shot struck with deadly force, and the creatures fell back in spasms, their limbs snapping and twisting as they hit the ground. The weapon's whine grew higher-pitched as it drained power at triple the normal rate.
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"Hell yes!" Ryan shouted, his confidence spiking as his shots found their mark.
Power Surge is burning through his cells like crazy, Luca thought, watching Ryan's energy ter plumt on his HUD. But it's the only thing that's actually working against these shells.
Chris followed suit as he planted himself against an oncoming wave. His energy driver flared with amplified energy, the beam punching through armor that would normally absorb most of the impact. The air crackled with ozone as the supercharged beam carved through chitin like a hot knife through butter. He moved from side to side, targeting the densest parts of the swarm, creating small gaps that the crew could use to maneuver.
Emily glanced at Luca and nodded, determined. With a quick flick, she activated her own Power Surge on her twin blasters. "Double trouble, let's go!" Each blast hit with devastating force, leaving smoldering holes as she took out several with quick, controlled shots. The twin beams lit up the tunnel like strobing lightning, casting wild shadows on the moss-covered walls. "Clear a path!" she shouted.
Three Power Surges running simultaneously, Luca calculated grimly. We're burning through energy reserves at an insane rate. This better end soon.
"That's my girl!" Luca called out, his weak spot analysis passive lighting up the bugs' weak points as his blaster tore them apart. He moved with her, no words needed, their coordination seamless.
The creatures were relentless, but the crew adapted, moving together and covering each other's vulnerabilities. Joey's shield held the rear, Chris's driver kept the flanks covered, and Danny's hamr was a wall of force, clearing space with each swing. Ryan and Emily moved on each side of him, their shots cutting down any stragglers threatening to flank.
As the swarm thinned, Zoe activated Active Camouflage, disappearing into shadows. "I'll find us a way through," she whispered over comms.
As the last creature twitched and died, Luca felt his hands shaking. Standard hive delve, my ass.
Luca felt the cavern fall silent, echoes of the fight surrendering to stillness. No heat signatures, no movent, just twitching limbs and eerie quiet.
Zoe's voice cut through his comms. "Got a chamber up ahead, Luca. Large and open. Bioluminescent. No movent, but the space feels like a kill box."
"Zoe, pull back to the group. We go in together." He lowered his blaster. "Sound off. Status report."
Ryan's laugh crackled over comms. "Status? Fucking dominant. Did you see Danny-boy go? Looked like poetry, but with more smashing."
Emily nudged Luca's side. "Don't listen to him. Your noodle arms command us all so well."
Joey's calm voice cut in with rare excitent. "Over here! Got a glow on this one." He was crouched over a larger carcass where faint light pulsed.
Danny stomped over, heavy armor shaking the ground. "Loot boxes!"
"Everyone, check your kills," Luca ordered. "Let's see what we've got."
Luca pried open a container, breath catching at a matte-black rifle pulsing with cobalt energy. Plasma. Before he could process it, Emily's sharp laugh rang out. A blade of shimring blue plasma ignited in her hand, coming from her own loot box. She was carving a buzzing arc through the air.
"Holy shit, it's a plasma sword!" she breathed, eyes sparkling.
Ryan was on Luca in a flash.
"Let see that!" Ryan snatched the rifle, testing its weight. "This thing's gonna have serious kick."
[Item Acquired: Proxima PS-64 'Solar Edge' Plasma Sword - TL9]
[Item Acquired: Proxima PR-64 'Starfire Lance' Plasma Rifle - TL9]
[Item Acquired: Power Cell - TL9 (x3)]
[Item Acquired: Stim Pack – TL9]
"Alright, settle down," Luca commanded. "We need a tactical assessnt, not a show-and-tell."
"Oh, co on, Captain," Ryan shot back, clutching the plasma rifle. "I vote dibs."
Zoe rolled her eyes. "Sure, Ry, because you're known for your marksmanship."
"We'll test everything, assign gear based on proficiency. This is TL9 tech, people. Next level shit."
"Exactly!" Danny bood, grabbing a Power Cell. "We've hit the jackpot!"
Then, his world tilted.
[ 111,515 XP]
[ 41,625 credits]
[Level up! Level 61, 5 attribute points]
[Skill Level up! Situational Awareness Proficiency Level 6 -> Level 7]
[Skill Level up! Adaptive Cover Proficiency Level 6 -> Level 7]
[Skill Level up! Precision Shots Level 6 -> Level 7]
[Skill Level up! Light Armor Proficiency Level 6 -> Level 7]
Goosebumps erupted across Luca's arms. Heat shot up his spine as his interface flared, whiting out his vision. The floor dropped out from under him.
XP. And a real fucking level-up.
They were free. Free of the cap that had held them back for two goddamn years. Level 60 had been a wall. Now... Level 61.
"Holy shit! Level 61?" Ryan shouted. "I thought we were stuck forever!" "FUCK YEAH!" Danny roared. "It's real," Emily breathed, already allocating points. "What does it an, Luca?"
He swallowed, swagger returning. "It ans this whole star system is a tier-up. Sol was the tutorial. This is the main ga."
Joey's calm voice cut through the excitent. "It all makes sense now. The TL9 gear, the XP breakthrough... Alpha Centauri just unlocked the next tier of the System for us."
"Or it was always here," Chris added. "Waiting for soone to get this far. We're the first."
Luca pulled up his status screen. For two years, it had been static, mocking. Now? It moved.
[Status]
Na: Luca Rossi
Combat Path: Operative (Perception, Intelligence)
Profession Path: Starship Commander (Intelligence, mory)
Level: 61
Experience Points: 1,817,820/2,275,075
Credits: 172,625
[Attributes]
Charisma: 22
Intelligence: 50
mory: 45
Perception: 66
Willpower: 31
5 Attribute Points
[Combat Path Skills]
Ranged Weapons Proficiency - Level 7 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: Intelligence)
Silent Movent Proficiency - Level 6 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: Willpower)
Ambush Tactics Proficiency - Level 6 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: Intelligence)
Adaptive Cover Proficiency - Level 7 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: Intelligence)
Closer Quarters Proficiency - Level 6 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: Willpower)
Precision Shots Proficiency - Level 7 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: Intelligence)
Intel Gathering Familiarity - Level 4 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: mory)
Stealth Infiltration Familiarity - Level 5 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: Intelligence)
Critical Strikes Proficiency - Level 6 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: Willpower)
Light Armor Proficiency - Level 7 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: Intelligence)
Situational Awareness Proficiency - Level 7 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: Intelligence)
Blade Expertise Familiarity - Level 4 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: Intelligence)
Tomahawk Throwing Proficiency - Level 8 (Primary: Perception / Secondary: mory)
[Skill Queue: READY – Awaiting XP Allocation]
Recon Analysis Proficiency: Level 6 → Level 10
Tomahawk Throwing Proficiency: Level 8 → Level 10
Silent Movent Proficiency: Level 6 → Level 8
Ambush Tactics Proficiency: Level 6 → Level 8
Intel Gathering Familiarity: Level 6 → Level 8
Stealth Infiltration Familiarity: Level 5 → Level 8
Critical Strikes Proficiency: Level 6 → Level 8
Starship Operation Familiarity: Level 4 → Level 5
Starship Systems Familiarity: Level 4 → Level 5
Starship Maintenance Familiarity: Level 3 → Level 5
Starship Power Systems Optimization Familiarity: Level 3 → Level 5
Starship Navigation Familiarity: Level 3 → Level 5
Starship Maneuvering Familiarity: Level 4 → Level 5
[Total XP Required: 597,893]
[Unallocated XP Available: 0]
The skill queue was finally online again. For two years, it had been dead, locked behind an XP wall they couldn't break through. The queue he and Emily had ticulously optimized back on the Triumph was finally active. Every drop of unallocated XP could now pour directly into tangible growth.
THANK YOU, JESUS.
Emily caught his expression, nudging him. "Feels good, doesn't it?"
"Emily," Luca said, voice thick with gratitude, "I could kiss you right now."
"Please do," she grinned, leaning in.
Ryan bulldozed between them, clapping Luca's shoulder. "Dude. We're fucking back."
Luca steadied himself, feeling the raw, untad potential of this mont settle in his bones.
Yeah. They were.
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