According to his map of the facility, the next exit was far from their current position. They could try running for that one, but there was no guarantee it would be open either. And this facility only had so many defenses. Distant explosions told Daniel that the Gamma class enemy was currently destroying some of the deadliest defenses on the upper floors, drawing closer to the Pioneers all the while. So, he weighed his options. By his calculations, the Archangel System should be strong enough that it could allow him to contend with a Gamma class fighter. The key word there was ‘contend’. He couldn’t steamroll this new enemy like he had Korta, especially if it was in the upper echelons of Gamma class. Even if he outmatched it, the System’s current charge was not conducive to a protracted battle, even with improved battery efficiency. He might’ve tried it if the System was at 50% or even 25%, but 2.5% percent was out of the question. It was better odds than not that he’d burn through the charge and leave himself vulnerable.
That left him with limited options. There wouldn’t be enough defenses on this floor to safely defend the Pioneers as they ran to the next moonpool. If they tried to run, the enemy would likely catch them. Standing their ground and fighting back was also a bad idea, for reasons he’d already stated. That left Daniel with limited options. As he stared at the map, his eyes wandered further downward. And he got an idea.
“This way!” he waved to the others, bringing them down a passageway to his right. They’d left the old moonpool room and started running through the facility once again, the others trusting Daniel to lead them to safety. Ideally, they’d all decide on the best course of action together, but there was no time to sit down and put his new plan to a vote. However, questions from his companions became inevitable as the hallway started sloping downward.
“Where are we going?” called Arnold, brow furrowed with concern.
Daniel answered back quickly and with certainty: “We’re not going to be able to outrun this thing if we try to go for the exit. I have a new plan, but I’m gonna need you to trust me.”
“Do we have any choice but to trust the man who killed our superior?” one of the men asked sardonically, apparently one of the Pioneers who’d come into this facility with Korta. Daniel found the man, looked him in the eyes as best as he could, and answered in a deadpan voice: “No.”
There was little debate after that statement, as everyone knew that Daniel was right. Even if some of them weren’t happy about it. As the Pioneers ran, Daniel mustered his determination and pulled out the Morphic stone he’d gotten from Korta. He’d need all the strength he could get if he wanted to survive this situation, so he’d have to absorb it. Unfortunately, Daniel had good reason to be reluctant to do so. Many dreamed of growing stronger as a Pioneer, but many also liked to ignore the consequences of growing too strong too quickly. People who absorbed too many Morphic stones in a short period of time were liable to contract acute Psionic poisoning. Unless you did something nuts, Psionic poisoning wouldn’t kill you immediately. Instead, it would slowly eat away at you, subtly destroying your body and shortening your lifespan.
A certain amount of Psionic poisoning for any Enhanced individual was inevitable, but usually unnoticeable. Biologically, anyone with a higher Constitution stat should live for a ridiculously long time, considering how resilient and efficient their bodies became due to that Enhancement. But Psionic poisoning ate into that on a foundational level, affecting different classes differently. Lower class Pioneers often lived longer than the average civilian, but not so much longer that it was terribly noteworthy. Even then, their lifespans depended on how their stats were distributed. At the most extreme end, a Gamma class with a disproportionately high Constitution might live until 140. Since Psionic poisoning did its damage non-linearly, the lifespans of higher-class Pioneers actually went down after that. For example, Commander Oran Brekinar was well known to be on the higher end of Alpha Class, which meant that most scientific projections estimated he wouldn’t live past 70. A normal man in his physical shape could easily expect to push a high 80.
A lot of that also depended on how quickly someone rose to power. Brekinar had been the scion of one of the Great Clans, so they’d advised him on how to develop to a high level without eating into his lifespan too much. That involved monitoring stone and Xenos meat consumption and angling for a steady growth rate over time, giving his body time to process and recover. If he’d just woken up one day and absorbed what he needed to get to Alpha class immediately, he would have died the very next day. But even with all that effort, his days were still numbered.
These facts brought Daniel to his current conundrum. He needed to get stronger, but he’d already absorbed tons of resources within a relatively short period of time. To make matters worse, the document Nuntius had given him on the Kharnidd had said that Kharnidd Morphic stones imbued a much higher amount of Psionic poisoning than normal stones. Fortunately, the Kharnidd stones he’d absorbed so far were lower class, so the poison they imparted was much smaller than their higher-level contemporaries. Still, it was enough that Daniel didn’t want to absorb another higher-class stone anytime soon. Even the weaker Zeta and Delta class stones he’d been absorbing were slightly risky in his current condition, and this Delta class was another beast entirely.
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Despite all these health concerns, Daniel only hesitated for a moment before absorbing the stone. What was the use in holding back if he died here? The power rushed throughout his body, waves of hot and cold causing him to shiver mildly as he ran. A D class Morphic stone was taxing to deal with at E class, but a normal stone was nothing compared to the stuff he’d absorbed from the Kharnidd. In time, the energy was fully absorbed, leaving a single message in its place: “Class Upgraded! Congratulations, you are now Delta Class!”
Curious, Daniel pulled up his Status:
User Name: Daniel Sylvester Hardgrave
Age: 18
Pioneer Class: Delta
Rank: Sergeant
Status
Strength: 220 -> 250
Dexterity: 236 -> 284
Constitution: 190 -> 215
Adaptability: 198 -> 230
Psyche: 230 -> 282
Psionic Capacities:
Slot 1: Hunter’s Domain (Delta) (MP=0/21)
- Establish an Extrasensory Domain with Psionic Energy surrounding the User.
- Senses are enhanced within the Domain. User extends Senses throughout the Domain.
- Dexterity is enhanced while the Domain is active.
Slot 2: Destroyer’s Strike (Delta) (MP=0/21)
- Use Psionic Energy to temporarily Enhance a user’s limb or weapon.
- Enhancement increases the attack power and durability of the limb or weapon.
- Enhancement reaches its pinnacle when first activated, losing power quickly over time.
Slot 3: Empty
Personal Attributes:
Slot 1: Predatory Grace (Delta) (MP=0/15)
- Significant enhancement of natural Dexterity.
- Improves the ability of the User to move silently.
- Scales with Dexterity (D) and Adaptability (E).
Slot 2: Titanic Might (Delta) (MP=0/15)
- Considerable enhancement of natural Strength.
- Toughens skin, making User harder to damage.
- Scales with Strength (D) and Adaptability (E).
Slot 3: Pneumonic Enhancement (Epsilon) (MP=0/7)
- Increases lung efficiency, allowing the User to survive with less Oxygen.
- Allows User to more easily convert the atmosphere around them to Oxygen, making breathing in many hostile environments possible (e.g. Breathing underwater)
- Scales with Adaptability (E).
Slot 4: Empty
Slot 5: Empty
Integrated Technologies:
Slot 1: Archangel System (???) (Power=2.5%)
The total stat threshold for Delta class was 1,250, which he’d happily eclipsed by a hair. He wasn’t planning on trying to fill up those empty slots anytime soon, but the increase in class should boost the System’s performance. Exactly what Danny had been going for. The Morphic points from the Delta stone had also upgraded his Hunter’s Domain to Delta class, something that might come in handy.
With that settled, the Pioneers approached one of the first important open rooms they’d seen so far. It was a prominent, rectangular place filled with a wide variety of strange machines. The machines struck Daniel as different from those he’d seen back at Facility 749. Those machines involved lots of lasers and mechanical arms, oriented toward manufacturing tech. These…seemed more like they revolved more around chemicals. There were tubes and glass bottles filled with strange-looking liquids. Chrome cylinders, circular sample analyzers, and advanced microscopes populated horizontal rows of workbenches, stretching all the way down the room. They hummed softly with energy as the Pioneers ran past them, heads turning with curiosity to look at the machines despite the danger nipping at their heels. As they neared the end of the hallway, a set of syringes caught Daniel’s eye.
They were filled with a beautiful crimson liquid that caught the light mesmerizingly. Daniel would’ve paused for a fraction of a second and moved on, but he got a sudden ping from Nuntius:
“Alert: Litradia spotted. Acquisition of strategic resource advised.”
A hitch caught in his stride as he looked at the suggestion. After a moment of internal conflict, Daniel stopped and turned around, the others letting out noises of surprise as he did. The young man dashed backward and stored the group of syringes in a flash of blue light. He heard Arnold call out behind him: “What are you doing, Daniel?”
He turned and rejoined the group, leading them to the far door of the room and saying, “Sorry. That stuff might be useful.”
He had no idea how it would be useful, but he’d learned to trust Nuntius. He’d only taken a few seconds, and the Gamma class had slowed down significantly. They still had plenty of time to get away.
Daniel had just finished that thought when he felt something stirring in the distance. The Pioneers had just a few moments’ warning before they felt an eruption of power, and the walls exploded.