Daniel grunted as he dodged a Kharnidd attack, leaning left to avoid a spinning green bludgeon as it flew through the air past his head. He didn’t even get the chance to counter before another strike was incoming.
Daniel’s group had won their second firefight with the same ease that they’d won the first. It was the third battle that was now causing trouble. They’d run into a larger Kharnidd group that was being led by three Gamma class enemies, and these new enemies had suddenly rushed their group at high speeds. One of the G class fighters had attacked Daniel, while the others were doing battle with the captain. His opponent was an Alternate Evolution of the Kharnidd Goliath, known as a Grinder. While shorter than a Goliath, the Grinder still towered over Daniel. It had held onto its extraordinary musculature, tight waist, and leathery skin, but the Kharnidd had still undergone some meaningful transformations. Its toadlike head had become more humanoid, though its features were blocky and grotesquely muscular to the point that they were deeply inhuman. Its arms had become disproportionately long, and instead of hands, they were tipped with spiked, cylindrical bludgeons.
When the creature struck at Daniel, the spikes on those bludgeons glowed a bright green, and the bludgeon began to spin at extreme speed. They made terrifying noises as they cut through the air toward the young Pioneer, and he hurriedly jumped back to avoid the beast’s second strike. He quickly expanded his Hunter’s Domain to get a better view of the battlefield.
Captain Moravan didn’t seem to be in danger, but he was distracted and likely would be for some time. The other Pioneers were fighting hard to stay alive, but they were outnumbered and in legitimate danger. Daniel himself was in trouble, too.
The Grinder didn’t pursue him as he jumped backward. Instead, it pointed one of its spinning bludgeons at him and shot forth a torrent of vibrant emerald fire. The edges of this fire were bright amethyst, and Daniel sensed that the flames would poison him if they made contact, so he took evasive maneuvers. He activated his Sky’s Mastery and took off into the air, allowing the flames to pass underneath him harmlessly. He felt the Dexterity boost from Aerial Combatant start to kick in as he swiftly flew into the enemy’s blind spot, Daniel swiftly stabbing downward with a Destroyer’s Strike. Hurriedly, the Grinder managed to get one of its maces up in time to defend, and the two attacks met in a small explosion of light.
The Grinder staggered backward, injured but unyielding. It roared, and its uninjured hand suddenly expanded grossly in size, glowing even brighter as it did. It swung upward at Daniel, displacing huge quantities of air as it spun toward the Pioneer with an evil-sounding hum. Daniel zipped away, clicking his tongue in irritation. It that thing hit him, he’d be nothing but a fond memory. He wouldn’t even necessarily have time to activate the System before he died. Furthermore, Daniel needed to win this fight quickly if he wanted to keep his friends from dying. That made his next choice was an easy one:
“Engaging Gabriel Protocol, [Minimum] Power”
System Power: 19%
Status
Strength: 691 (+250)
Dexterity: 733 (+300)
Constitution: 615 (+150)
Adaptability: 657 (+450)
Psyche: 732 (+450)
Cornu Potestatis: Offline
Oculus Mundi: Offline
Gravitas Cingulum: Offline
Subfunctions: Standard
The horn was in Daniel’s left hand faster than the blink of an eye. He dodged another torrent of green fire as he activated the device, and his enhanced senses immediately perceived the immediate shift in battle. Several Pioneers were spared from death or injury by an influx of power, and the whole company now fought with increased ferocity. Moravan in particular was laughing triumphantly as he cut down one of the Gamma class enemies. With his allies shored up, Daniel twisted and swooped downward. Flying perpendicular to the ground, he activated two Psionic abilities at once. He imbued his spear with the Destroyer’s Strike. And Daniel Overclocked the Sky’s Mastery.
As a Beta class ability, Sky’s Mastery was already carrying Daniel at speeds that his Gamma class mind could barely keep up with. He was able to handle it, thanks to his experience with the Makiel Protocol’s maneuverability gear, but when he Overclocked it…
The young Pioneer practically teleported across the remaining distance, his whole body shining a bright ochre as he tore through the air. His spear, held straight outward, took the surprised Grinder directly in the chest, causing both fighters to be carried across the room by the momentum. They slammed into the rock wall in a cloud of dust, though Daniel quickly withdrew his spear and shot backward to avoid any possible counterattack.
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He needn’t have bothered. The Grinder didn’t follow him, the Xenos pouring blood from a massive hole where its heart should be, but it was still twitching, so Daniel swooped in with another flurry of stabs. The more he stabbed, the tougher the beast seemed to become, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Daniel’s Destroyer’s Strike. It wasn’t long before the Grinder was little more than a glorified pincushion. Once done, Daniel pivoted and began attacking the other Kharnidd. The captain soon finished off the last of his assailants as well, so it wasn’t long before the Pioneers were thoroughly dominating the battlefield. Daniel deactivated the Protocol once things were well in hand, and it wasn’t much longer before the Kharnidd were either dead or retreating. He could have gone after the retreating Xenos, but he chose to help heal the wounded and poisoned members of his company instead. Even so, several humans had died in the battle, causing the Pioneers to mourn once again.
The Pioneers were carrying the bodies of the fallen, both from this battle and from their earlier battles. This was because they knew that the Kharnidd could eat them for sustenance, so the soldiers needed to deny the enemy bodies of their fallen comrades for both practical and sentimental reasons. Digging graves wouldn’t be enough, and it was dangerous to store Codices within Codices, so the Pioneers lugged the bodies around in tarp shrouds that they’d strapped to their backs. The extra weight was negligible in the face of their superhuman strength, and the shrouds could be shed easily before battle, yet their presence was a constant reminder of past losses.
After being reinforced by the Pioneers from Daniel’s group, the company had gone up to 200 Pioneers in total. After all their battles, they’d lost around 34 men, nearly 15% of their original number. This number had been drastically reduced thanks to Daniel’s efforts, but even so, such casualties would have a demoralizing effect on anyone. The Pioneers were hardier than most, but Daniel could see the grim shadow that had begun to fall over the company. The more veteran troops were taking it the worst. Daniel’s group had met them while there were 120 of them left, and now they were down to a bit over 100. After the brutal fighting they’d been doing for weeks, months if you included the time they’d spent protecting the extractors from the normal Xenos, and the more experienced troops were all reaching the end of their rope. Daniel and his newcomers were more psychologically healthy, but they weren’t exactly fresh and happy either.
Daniel was about to say something to Moravan, but the captain beat him to it, calling out, “That was a close one, wasn’t it gents? You’ve all done more than enough. You all deserve a more serious rest. But I’m gonna ask you for one more. We’ll bail out one more group, then we’ll go to the supply depot. We can take some more time off when we get there. Think you can handle that?”
There was a score of affirmative noises, and Moravan spoke again, “I said, ‘think you can handle that?’”
“Sir, yes, sir!” they chorused as one.
Moravan looked at Daniel, and the younger man nodded. He had plenty of charge left for several more scuffles like that. Once they found another battle, he’d activate a Protocol, blitz the enemy, then the group would finally get some real rest. All things considered, Daniel himself was doing reasonably well, psychologically. None of his personal friends had been killed, and he got an incredible rush from combat. Obviously, he was sad to see anyone die, so their losses had definitely put a damper on his mood, though if it weren’t for that, he would’ve been having a good time. Maybe mental fatigue would catch up to him eventually. Right now, his heart was still pounding from that Overclock of Sky’s Mastery he’d used against the Grinder, and he was already thinking about other uses of his new abilities.
Speaking of the Grinder, he searched the creature’s corpse for a stone. When he happily found one, he absorbed it without hesitation. Then, he checked his stats once more:
User Name: Daniel Sylvester Hardgrave
Age: 18
Pioneer Class: Gamma
Rank: Sergeant
Status
Strength: 691 -> 725
Dexterity: 733 -> 743
Constitution: 615 -> 661
Adaptability: 657 -> 673
Psyche: 732 -> 755
…
Personal Attributes:
Slot 1: Predatory Grace (Gamma) (MP=0/42) -> (MP=18/42)
- Major enhancement of natural Dexterity.
- Improves the ability of the User to move silently.
- Scales with Dexterity (C) and Adaptability (D).
…
Slot 8: Bruiser’s Tenacity (Gamma) (MP=0/42)
- User’s pain tolerance skyrockets, allowing User to push through non-fatal damage.
- As User takes damage, User Constitution increases tremendously, making User much harder to kill.
- Scales with Constitution (B) and Adaptability (E).
…
Daniel had absorbed a few Delta and Epsilon class stones during these past few battles, gaining some meager stat improvements and upgrading his Aerial Combatant and Pneumonic Enhancement. To sweeten the deal, Pneumonic Enhancement had also seen a qualitative upgrade when it hit Gamma class, something that often happened with weaker Attributes. Daniel felt each of his powerful breaths deliver nutrients to his body more effectively than ever before, increasing his endurance and alertness. The toxic, thin air of the moon may as well have been the clean atmosphere of the Akaadian countryside. The gain of the Bruiser’s Tenacity from the Grinder would also help to shore up his Constitution weakness and synergize somewhat with the Vicious Hunter Attribute.
The cherry on top of all this was that his natural energy regeneration had covered all the costs of using the Gabriel Protocol. Now that he’d hit Gamma class, his regeneration and energy efficiency had improved drastically, allowing him to accommodate small bursts of power like that regularly without any net energy loss.
With all that done, the Pioneers did a bit more looting and then moved on. They kept running for a little while before coming to another room, only to face a dismal sight.
The chamber they came upon had been completely ransacked. Destroyed metal and broken weapons littered the floor, and the 630 extractor had been shattered. There were no bodies and very little blood, the reasons for which were clear. The Kharnidd had consumed every Psionic resource, destroyed everything of value, and moved on like a horde of locusts. Beside him, Daniel heard Gronik rumble mournfully, and a few of the others let out some curses.
The Pioneers didn’t have time for regret before the earth shook beneath their feet. They were all in battle stances immediately, but it soon became clear that they weren’t under attack. Instead, an enormous battle was taking place in the tunnels somewhere to their left. Captain Moravan was the first to react appropriately, hoisting his weapon and pointing in the correct direction, shouting, “We won’t be late again! LET’S MOVE!”
The Pioneers let out a round of war cries in response and, spirits hardened, they followed their captain into battle.