Chapter 110 - Discovery (Patreon)

<---Chapter 109 - Dungeon Exploration   | Table of Contents | Chapter 111 - Military Industrial Complex   --->

The noxious salamander reared its gigantic body on its hind legs, the weight of its limbs resting on other pillars nearby that slightly buckled under the immense force while its webbed feet flattened fungi, flora, and insects alike. A sudden drop in pressure could be felt around Kyle as the salamander inhaled in, resulting in a series of sickening crunches as the rock spiders in its maw were crushed and pulverized by unknown mechanisms deep within the beast.

Already, the other rock spiders were scattering frantically, their spiky rock legs jabbing the ground furiously as they sprinted away, though it was impossible to escape the noxious salamander that seemed to occupy the entire area. Kyle and Sasha ducked as a barbed tail swung past right over them, dragging and carving through the ground in one fell swoop while the salamander chased the fleeing rock spiders, looking to eat more. Each step the salamander took sent tremors through the earth, frightening the commandos. They were well-trained to kill humans, but such monsters were far beyond what they were prepared to fight.

Kyle was trained to, but whatever EXP the Trial offered now meant nothing to Kyle - he wasn't about to try and kill the beast that was almost three stories high and the length of a regular patrol starship, at least not without enough information. It wouldn't be his largest alien kill, but all of them had been done with a functioning exosuit, at least. "We're retreating back to where we came from. The moment that salamander gets out of range, we're leaving." He explained to the rest of the squad, the rest nodding back in response. No one came here to sacrifice their lives, not when they could simply retreat and fight another day, preferably with more firepower.

As soon as the noxious salamander disappeared beyond the various pillars, Kyle and Sasha led the squad out, keeping low as they moved with haste, sneaking through the rotting environment with a clear sense of urgency. However, for some unknown reason, the tremors felt by the salamander's footsteps did not subside, instead increasing with intensity as they neared the tunnel from which they had entered. "Hold! Something isn't right!" Kyle urged, but it was far too late.

From beyond a wall of refuse that obscured their vision, a second noxious salamander burst out in an exploding torrent of sludge and excretion, lunging right at Sasha and catching her off-guard. Penchant for Violence! Kyle clenched his armored right fist and kicked off as fast as he could, tackling Sasha right on the waist to knock her out of the way. The body of the noxious salamander soared past them and crashed into a river of sludge with a thunderous splash while Kyle and Sasha tumbled through the mud, their armor and gas masks coated in filth.

Sasha scrambled to her feet, leaping for the runic falchion as the three commandos began to fire at the attacking noxious salamander. The pellets lodged themselves into the slightly glossy scales on the salamander's skin, earning a shriek before the salamander turned to face them. With the salamander distracted, Kyle recovered into a fighting posture, drawing his Tattoo Knife and charging forward. Thankfully, the size of this salamander was about a third of the first one they had seen, though it still possessed tremendous muscular strength and agility.

The moment Kyle took three steps forward at a running pace, the salamander flicked its head in alertness, stopping its approach towards the three commandos while flicking its tail at Kyle, the barbs lined with seeping poison threatening to impale him through his guts. Without hesitation, Kyle nimbly leaped up high, the Penchant of Violence effect allowing him to jump two meters up to avoid the sweep of the tail before landing with a strike aimed right at the base of the salamander's tail. The custom prototype exosuit arm glowed as it imbued additional strength into the punch, the fist collapsing the scales proper and reaching flesh. A gruesome stench erupted from within in a ghastly pulse of bodily liquids and sludge as three red moths fluttered out from the wound, their feelers sharp as nails and threatening to stab him. They swarmed Kyle's face, forcing him to dedicate time to slicing the moths apart as the salamander recovered, giving him its full attention now. It inhaled sharply, the mist sucking up into its gills and mouth as its belly inflated fully.

As Kyle cut down the last moth with his Tattoo Knife, a compressed blast of air shot straight at him, slamming straight into his chest and sending him sprawling and tumbling backward. Kyle gasped and choked while he rolled on the floor, his innards suffering from the sudden impulse as he struggled to recover, his vision swirling when the shadow of the salamander's body loomed towards him. Before it could lunge, a barrage of pellets slammed right into its head, the three commandos buying time for Kyle.

The salamander growled, immediately charging towards the three commandos in a headlong rush. They dived out of the way as its head smashed into a pillar of refuse, temporarily disorientating while the squad re-positioned.

A blistering fast red flash raced up one of the pillars, Sasha using her powerful legs to climb up a few meters before leaping out in a backflip right above the noxious salamander. As she sailed through the air, the salamander shot another burst of air at her. Reading the movements of the salamander accurately, Sasha contorted her body, twisting and avoiding the incoming shot by using her runic falchion to pierce the incoming blast, the compressed air splitting apart and crashing against the ceiling, dislodging stalactites and slicing through unfortunate airborne insects too slow to evade.

With gravity as her force, she dove straight towards the salamander, falchion first. Her calloused hands gripped the hilt of the falchion tightly, and the cold sharp tip of the runic blade stabbed right into the body of the salamander, narrowly missing the head as the salamander tried to dodge. It let out a loud shriek, expelling the mist it had sucked in as Sasha clenched tightly, summoning all her strength to drag the falchion through the flesh, ignoring the resulting swarm of red moths that began to jab at her from all directions.

The salamander emitted a guttural roar of pain as it flinched, trying to flail its body to shake off Sasha. As its body twisted and flicked in all directions, the three commandos had to scamper, dodging and ducking in all directions. Its tail swept wildly but suddenly contorted itself backward and lunged towards Sasha, the barbs digging into her flesh as she was lifted upwards. The poison began to invade her bloodstream. Sasha used her hands and tried to pry the barbs out of her own body.

However, a sudden explosive tremor shook through the salamander's body, the tail immediately letting go of Sasha while she tumbled down onto the filthy floor, poisoned and injured. The wounded salamander twisted its head around, seeing a fearsome Kyle charging up its body, aiming for the runic falchion that was still lodged in its body.

Clasping its hilt with his armored hand, the imbued strength of the exosuit arm empowered his strikes even more as he carved bloody slashes deep into the body of the salamander. Scales and flesh were torn apart by the devastating combo; the red moths instantly split in half while Kyle let out a battle cry. While Sasha staggered to her feet, assisted by another commando, she could tell that Kyle's sword slashes had a higher strength even compared to when she activated the runic enchantment. "Get to the exit! I'll handle him!" Kyle roared, prompting Sasha and the others to limp away while the battle unfolded behind them.

The salamander stood no chance, Kyle unleashing a frenzy right in the middle and chopping all the way into its internals, dicing up the eerie glowing entrails and pulsating digestive tracts filled to the brim with rancid sludge accumulated over time. Uncaring about the stench, Kyle plowed his way to the very center, trying to find the heart. Yet instead of a heart, Kyle found six thick muscles wrapped around in a cocoon, siphoning what seemed to be arcia energy through its veins with each rapid pulse.

He jabbed the runic falchion forward before flicking it upwards, tearing through it in half from the bottom to reveal a singular arcia crystal embedded in the midst of the torn muscles, far larger than the ones he had found in the rock spiders. However, he did not grab it right away, instead continuing to slash the meat all around, the bodily fluids coating him entirely from head to toe.

Letting out a final whimper, the noxious salamander collapsed, keeling over while its limbs intermittently twitched, the life fading in its reptilian eyes as the arcia energy coursing through its veins began to peter out. A thunderous roar erupted from afar as if in response to the last cry of the salamander.

Young? Kyle reached out and grabbed the arcia crystal into his hand, clambering his way out of the hole he had carved into the salamander.

Kyle didn't have time to consider the implications of the system message, noticing that the collapsed salamander had crashed into a pillar of refuse that was teetering on the brink of collapse. He could only watch as the towering pillar began to crumble, leaning towards the side and slamming into another nearby pillar, causing a domino effect that fell in the same direction as where Sasha and the rest of the squad were heading.

The mountains of trash and sludge fell like a torrential rain, forcing Sasha to retreat while the exit tunnel was now heavily blocked by the never-ending collapse of the pillars stacking up onto of one another into a thick pile that would take ages to carve through, even if Sasha used her runic falchion. [Sir, the exit is blocked!] Sasha's voice exclaimed in Kyle's head.

Another roar boomed out from across the chamber like a crack of thunder, the squad's expression paling as they could feel the tremors approaching them, the vibrations causing the mud to violently squirm with each slam. "That's not good..." One of the commandos gulped instinctively, checking his repeater and frantically wiping the residual mud off it.

Kyle knew exactly what was coming - the question was what to do next. Penchant of Violence is still on cooldown, but the rest of my skills are still functioning. It's going to take a while to break out through the collapsed trash, better to find another path. He was about to suggest a new battle plan until he noticed Sasha breathing heavily, drinking a slew of various potion vials as she tried to catch her breath, unwilling to show any signs of weakness. The other commandos also suffered minor bruises and scratches that were starting to fester as well, one of them even having a broken arm dangle lifelessly.

The correct choice would be to sacrifice the three commandos to stall the salamander while Sasha and I find a way out of this chamber. Kyle nearly started before he caught himself halfway. I'm not running a gang here, I'm running a rebel movement. If I mindlessly sacrifice troops against something I can clearly defeat, it would be a bad look for other recruits. On the other hand...

"You three, grab her and go back towards the cave we first found." Kyle quickly pieced together the next steps, planning the best course of action while taking into account the future. That cave was the safest location he could think of, especially with their path of retreat completely blocked off. "I'll fend it off until you're all recovered and ready to fight once more."

[Sir, I can still fight!]

"Not now." Kyle ignored Sasha's words, stepping away and flicking salamander's blood off the blade of the runic falchion with a furious flick.

[But sir, that salamander must be three times larger in size!]

"Good. Then it'll be a worthy fight." Kyle grinned, his steps firm and steady as he walked towards the approaching tremors, undeterred. The sight of his strong back and blade at the ready burned itself into the memory of the three commandos and Sasha, all of them staring at him in awe and admiration. Already the expressions of the three commandos were turning from reluctant soldiers to signs of loyalty, though Kyle did not turn around to witness it.

As the rest of the squad made their way back to the cave they found, Kyle readied himself, checking all of his gear once more. A few armor plates on his leg were already punctured while he stretched his limbs in all directions as though he was going for a routine exercise.

In the distance, his keen eyes could spot a raging black figure that was charging right at him, blasting and shoving aside any environmental obstacles like they were ragdolls. He pulled up the Aspis MK2 repeater, activating its overcharge function and pushing his own internal arcia energy into it. The barrel's engraving glowed brilliantly as the metal itself became red hot, on the verge of deforming while Kyle pulled the trigger with the stock pushing against his chest.

A straight line of pellets erupted like a laser, aimed right at the head of the incoming larger salamander. The empowered pellets almost broke the sound barrier, puncturing the dense scales protecting its vitals easily and tearing apart flesh. With a grunt, Kyle dragged the barrel while controlling the recoil, the laser-focused rain of pellets now blasting into the left eye of the salamander.

The sudden jolting pain of its eye being shredded into a slurry of meat caused it to recoil, its initial momentum slightly lost. It stumbled as it tripped into a deep pit of mud, its body swerving off course and tail swinging wildly, the sharp barbs cutting through the air where Kyle had been standing. Kyle dove to the ground headfirst, rolling out of the way as the large salamander tumbled and crashed into a mountain of trash, sending insects, rodents, and rock spiders fleeing from their previous hiding spots within.

Kyle hurriedly recovered to a fighting stance, pulling up his repeater again only to notice that the red hot barrel had been deformed during the dive, proving useless for shooting anything anymore. The moment he tossed the repeater aside, alarm bells started to ring in his mind as he instinctively ducked, a wave of compressed air tearing through the chamber and cutting pillars right through.

He swerved, dodged, and weaved through the flora and fauna as more blasts of compressed air shot towards him, far more powerful than the one he was facing before. As he rolled on the ground through the mud, a towering shadow loomed over him, the salamander's size blocking the bio-luminsicent glow of the fungi all around. It was only now that Kyle fully comprehended the sheer size of what he was facing.

The larger salamander raised itself on its hind legs, almost rivaling the mountains and pillars of trash in height as it let out a guttural roar that would have deafened anyone close enough to its maw. Its body was covered in dense armored scales that were stained with the same color as the mud and sludge around, while the barbs on its tails were the size of longswords, threatening to impale Kyle if he was ever unfortunate enough to come face to face with it.

Amdist the armoured scales, strange warts and pods that glowed with pulsating arcia energy were visible on its back, Kyle mentally targeting them as potential weak points. The salamander's furious gaze swooped back onto Kyle as soon as it was done with its roar, the battle commencing proper with Kyle leaping out of the way to avoid an incoming stomp.

The barbed tail swung towards Kyle with full force, the width of the tail far larger than what Kyle could jump over. Gritting his teeth and clenching his jaw, Kyle brandished the runic falchion gripped in his right armored hand, blocking the incoming barbs and digging in his feet. The impact of the barbs sent reverberations through his arms, his muscles numbing as he was sent skidding backward through the mud for three meters, some of the barbs narrowly missing his gas mask.

"That all you got?" Kyle took the temporary chance to deliver a slash, the runic falchion cutting through the armored scales of the tail and finding soft flesh within. The tail recoiled backwards in pain, before the salamander lunged at Kyle with its gaping maw, intending to swallow him.

Kyle deftly side-stepped the incoming lunge, the blade spinning around in a vicious slash that aimed right at the still-injured eye, cutting through to the nerves and sending it reeling backward. He quickly charged towards the flailing salamander, unwilling to let up the pressure. There should be a weak spot where I shot it in the head - huh?

Despite the barrage of pellets that he had seen tear through the armoured scales, new armour was being rapidly regenerated, growing over the wounds in real-time and forcing Kyle to reopen the wound. The salamander flicked its body back, slamming into Kyle and sending him flying back, though Kyle easily recovered due to him blocking the impact with his exosuit arm.

As he continued his fight, he also noticed that the wound he had inflicted on his barbed tail was also healing over time. I can't fight a battle of endurance - I have to find a way to kill him in one hit!

The battle raged on for another five minutes, neither side truly landing a solid blow on the other as they fought across the entire chamber, their battlefield continuously changing. Kyle's eyes darted around rapidly as he rapidly recalculated attack trajectories for every new object in his surroundings, using it to his advantage to exploit the blind spot. Kyle found a climbable pillar, leaping up and utilizing it to launch himself off onto the top of the furious salamander, right next to the glowing pods.

Before he could use the runic falchion to burst the pods, the glowing pods themselves began to swell larger in size, exploding outwards and unleashing a disgusting stench that sent Kyle staggering even as he inhaled through his gas mask. Unexpectedly, something from within the pod lunged towards him, his battle instincts quickly swinging the blade to chop it down.

As he recovered his senses, he soon realized that he had just cut down a baby salamander, its translucent glossy skin still fresh with goo and lack of pigmentation. The pods are its babies?! Kyle spun around to see five more pods bursting, revealing a squad of baby salamanders that immediately targeted him as the enemy.

The large salamander suddenly twisted its body, shaking Kyle and the baby salamanders off its back and flinging them aside. Kyle twisted his body, controlling his landing while the salamanders landed with grace as well, instantly charging towards him. Other glowing pods began to burst as well from the large salamander's back, revealing more than two dozen baby salamanders that began to swarm toward him.

"Sasha, are you ready? Now would be a good time to help out."

[Just a bit more, sir!]

For a brief moment, a memory of his former life betrayal flashed through his mind, even as he readied the runic falchion and the Tattoo knife in separate hands. If I were Sasha, I would have taken this chance to run away and leave my boss to die. Maybe she is lying to me, and there is no help coming. Will it happen again to me? Will I have to take revenge once again on those who betrayed me? He started to doubt the original plan he had, aimed at creating an inspirational story to galvanize the rebel movements with his 'heroic sacrifice. Yet deep in his subconscious, a hidden fear began to rise to the surface once more; his body no longer possessed his former genetic modifications that removed such unnecessary emotions and thoughts.

It was not a fear of the enemy, for Kyle knew he wouldn't lose against the salamanders. Instead, it was something that had been engraved in him since he arrived here, a simple question that had been persistent with him. Can I trust anyone but myself anymore? Already Guang Hwa had betrayed the Seven Snakes previously, and Kyle always had the mindset that it was only a matter of time before his own vipers tried to kill him. This was the main reason why he had not told anybody too much about the Oracle Chambers or of his origins - even after spending more than a year with them, Kyle still could not trust anyone but himself for his own survival, not even Sasha. He had lost track of the countless 'loyal' employees he had over the course of his former life that he had personally executed for betraying his criminal empire, their faceless visages washing over him in a never-ending stream.

He closed his eyes as the stampede of baby salamanders approached him in a frenzy, preparing himself for a possible back-stab, a betrayal. Even in this new life, some things don't change. Looks like I can only count on mys-

[Sir, we're here!] Sasha's excited voice came in, Kyle opening his eyes to see Sasha and even the other three commandos charging right into the fray. [We'll handle the smaller ones!]. They fired their Aspis MK2 repeaters over the swarm of baby salamanders, the pellets easily penetrating the translucent, unarmoured skin.

They... they came back...? Kyle was stunned for a moment but shoved whatever emotions and thoughts he had to the back of his mind, dual-wielding both the falchion and knife and charging forward in a straight line towards the roaring large salamander. Penchant for Violence!

The familiar power surged through his veins as he unleashed a brutal combo, each arm cutting, jabbing, slashing with force, the armoured scales of the salamander cracking and peeling apart like they were sheets of ice. Even the salamander's attempts to counterattack were useless, Kyle dodging each of them with ease.

Before the salamander could rear up again for another attack, Kyle lunged toward its belly, diving deep once again right into the flesh with abandon. Its heart should be an arcia crystal as well - I just have to find it!

Outside, Sasha had already cleaned up most of the baby salamanders, now focusing her firepower on the large salamander. However, instead of the large salamander trying to squash her, it coiled up its barbed tail, using the barbs to protect itself from the pellets, all while arcia energy sparked and accumulated at its tails, stemming from within the body. [Sir, something bad is charging at the tail - the source is in the very center!]

"On it." With the direction given now, Kyle drilled his way through the Penchant of Violence, allowing him to churn through the flesh rapidly with ease, soon reaching the heart, which was a far larger cocoon compared to the young salamander he had slain before. He performed the same procedure, severing every connecting flesh tendril to the central arcia crystal.

However, instead of letting out a death cry, arcia energy continued to charge on the tail; Kyle even noticed that the pulsating arcia energy in the body did not subside. Shit, it has another crystal! "Sasha, what's happening outside?"

[It's about to cast an arcia engraving on its tail!]

Not good! Kyle raced to find the other crystal but could tell that he wouldn't be able to find it in time. Instead of trying to dig any further, he stretched out his hand and focused his mind on the surging arcia energy. Arcia Disruption!

The flow of arcia energy suddenly reversed, the sparks at the tail petering out as the salamander let out a high-pitched scream that stunned the rest of the squad outside, its lower body rapidly disintegrating and melting, the resulting liquid seemingly being sucked and coalescing in a large black crystal, leaving the upper half to collapse and squirm violently. Kyle was flung out of the body by the sudden sundering, tumbling onto the floor painfully with one of the arcia crystals held tightly in his hands.

Kyle gasped for air as he struggled to get back to his feet. He heard footsteps approaching him, prompting him to raise his Tattoo Knife in instinctive self-defense, before finally recognizing that it was Sasha. [Sir, are you okay?]

"I'm fine." Kyle nodded weakly, acting like it was nothing, though his body was aching all over, scratches and cuts all over his skin, his blood-stained face panting heavily. He pulled out a health potion vial from one of his side pockets, downing it in one single gulp, exhaling as the regenerative effects took over. "We need to move - that might not have been the last of them. We'll have to find a new exit as well."

[Sir, about that... the exit is actually right behind you.] Sasha motioned over Kyle's shoulder. Sure enough, an opening was visible in the chamber's wall, the battle with the salamander having taken Kyle all across its length to the other side. Kyle nodded, putting one foot forward before stumbling, Sasha lunging to grab and support him with her shoulders. He tried to stand on his own two feet, but Sasha held his arm down firmly as they limped towards the opening. Kyle squinted his eyes in suspicion, assuming Sasha was doing this for an ulterior motive. However, it soon became clear that Sasha just wanted to help him, showing no signs of betrayal, causing turmoil in Kyle's mind.

"Wh... why did you come back?" Kyle muttered weakly. "That was your best chance to kill me and be free."

Sasha raised her eyebrows, an awkward silence resting between the two before Sasha finally spoke with a wide grin. [If I killed you now, how would I be able to see what you've promised me? I won't let you die, not until you show me the true heights you mentioned.]

Kyle's mind recalled his chat in the Culdao Peaks, his face smiling a little as he could finally put a reason for Sasha's lack of betrayal. "Are you sure you want to wait that long? It might take years. Decades, even."

[Take as long as you want. We've got time.] Sasha averted her gaze slightly as they continued to walk towards the opening.

Unlike the corridor from which they had entered the chamber, this opening was a standard circular sewage tunnel, sludge dripping out through a canal drop by drop. The squad ignored the pervasive stench, the smell from the rotten chamber far worse. "I'm alright now," Kyle shrugged off Sasha's support, clambering up into the sewage tunnel himself as strength finally returned to his limbs, regaining his proper self.

The EXP required for each level is exponentially increasing rapidly... Kyle felt a bit disappointed at the rewards the System gave. While he internally already knew that he could not rely on the System alone to increase his strength and power, it was still a necessary crutch. If he did not have such a System, he would not have been able to access the Oracle Chambers nor the laser prison cells he discovered, nor would he have had access to the combat skills necessary. It would still be possible to kill the salamanders without it, albeit a bit longer

"We should be able to find a way up to the third layer. Let's move." Kyle ordered, the squad complying almost instantly. Whatever suspicion, assumptions, or doubts the three commandos had harbored about him were now completely eliminated, having witnessed Kyle's 'heroic' sacrifice for their sake. Kyle held a small smile on his face as they trekked down the tunnels, knowing the plan had paid off and would continue to give returns over time.

True enough to Dekar's map, there was an exit tunnel at the very end, a simple ladder that ascended up to the third layer. As they clambered up the rungs, Kyle found himself in yet another similar abandoned hideout to the one they had occupied on the other end of the third layer. However, unlike the abandoned hideout, most of the machinery and furnishing were still in place, coated in copious amounts of dust, soot, and dried grease.

It was a trivial affair to find their way back through the third layer to the fourth layer, thanks to the provided map, but it soon became clear that the route on the third layer between the two hideouts was too complex to traverse on a daily basis to be used as a proper base. Kyle immediately designated the newly discovered hideout as a backup one in case of an emergency, to be evacuated towards quickly using the fourth layer dungeon, whose layout they were now familiar with.

Returning to the main hideout, many were shocked to see Kyle, Sasha, and the three commandos coated in filth and sludge as though they had just taken a mudbath, the rancid scent permeating the chamber and living quarters. They had been out for a day now, including the time it took to traverse the third layer back. Kyle ignored the complaints of the smell as he walked up to the astounded Dekar and Feldon. Both of them recoiled from the stench and pinched their nose tightly, Feldon almost gagging instinctively. "You've made it back from the fourth layer?" Dekar struggled to stay standing.

"I have. Feldon, Lisa. Sasha will instruct you on a new training routine using the fourth layer. It will be useful to harden the new Ghosts as well to carve out a potential escape route through that method." Kyle explained the next steps quickly. "We will need to stock up our new escape hideout as well." He pointed towards the third layer map, marking a chamber right next to a tunnel that led to Desham.

"Understood!" Feldon saluted with his free hand, hurriedly rushing away to get rid of the scent.

"How's the progress on Yona?" Kyle asked.

"Almost done, she should be ready with every detail we need to infiltrate Harrison's military industrial complex."

"Is there a way in?"

"There is, but it requires one of us to infiltrate their offices. All of us here would immediately draw suspicion and attention, even if we try to disguise ourselves. The identity checks are sure to be far more stringent than some random Nest guard. We would be revealed almost immediately!"

"Almost all of us - I know just the perfect candidate for this task."

<---Chapter 109 - Dungeon Exploration   | Table of Contents | Chapter 111 - Military Industrial Complex   --->