The lack of cover in front of the mouth of the cave made Val drop any pretense of stealth as she sprinted towards the pair of lizards. The full day of combat had finally allowed her to feel comfortable in her new exosuit. The assistance of the constant but subtle body enhancement subroutine empowered her legs, each powerful stride quickly eating up the distance between her and her targets. The reptiles barely had time to raise their heads and eye her warily before she pounced on them.

Ruthlessly leveraging every advantage she had was part of Val’s modus operandi even before becoming a User. Lowering her left shoulder, she slammed into the leftmost lizard’s ribs as it started to get to its feet. Despite weighing several hundred pounds more than her, the force of the impact still caused the lizard to stumble slightly. A gap opened up between the lizard’s leg and its side, exposing the softer scales surrounding the armpit.

Without hesitation, Val drove the needle in her right hand while activating the armor-piercing subroutine. She felt Noir’s influence guiding her as before, although it felt like she got further by herself before they had to step in. The needle sank deeply into the creature as the weak scales near the joint failed to hold up against her assault.

The beast’s angry growl morphed into a bellow of pain as she switched from the armor-piercing subroutine to the nano disruption one instead. This time, Noir handled the majority of the nano manipulation since Val’s control was too weak to deal with the feedback of the first subroutine. She felt the nano surge through her arm into the lizard before rampaging through the creature’s nanosystem.

Clearly in pain but undeterred, the lizard kicked out with its front leg at Val. Pulling out her weapon and ducking under the limb, Val prepared to stab a second time when she sensed movement in her peripheral vision. Jumping backwards, she turned her head in time to see the second lizard’s claws narrowly miss her. Her brow furrowed with concern as she watched the strike leave deep gouge marks in the stony ground of the mountainside.

Taking several quick steps back, she licked her lips and re-assessed the situation. The near miss of the claw strike had proven that the lizards were quicker than she had originally thought, and Noir’s traditional one-two strike wasn’t enough to take one down immediately. Luckily, it was certainly enough to do some damage, and she didn’t miss the slight limp in the first lizard’s right leg as it turned to face her. A small smile blossomed on her face as she felt her earlier frustration melt away into excitement.

Well this is certainly a nice little challenge, eh, Noir? Hopefully I did enough damage in that exchange to give me an opportunity to pick off the first lizard. Two 1v1s sounds much easier than a 2v1.

I agree. Circle around to the left, see if you can keep the immobile one between you and the healthy one. I’ll dedicate some of my processing power to monitoring the cave entrance so that you aren’t blindsided by any newcomers.

Val nodded her agreement and started heading to the left. As Noir had predicted, the injured lizard’s movements were stiff as it tried to orient itself towards her, forcing the second lizard to take a longer path around. It snapped in frustration at the first lizard, which retaliated with a roar and a headbutt.

Val darted back in as the two creatures distracted each other. She activated the cutting subroutine on her knife, hearing the characteristic high-pitched whine of the nano along the blade’s edge come to life. Coming up alongside the lizard’s injured side, she plunged the knife into the creature’s ribs.

The muscles in her arm strained against the lizard’s tough hide as she tried to open up the cut further. The lizard’s scaly hide offered significant resistance at first, but the combination of her initial nano disruption and the knife’s nano-enhanced edge was too much for the lizard’s compromised defenses. With a grunt, Val yanked her arm sideways and opened up a foot-long cut down the lizard’s side.

Val drove the needle into the gaping wound, not even needing the armor-piercing subroutine anymore. She was sorely tempted to fire off another blind nano disruption and hopefully take down the beast for good. However, that would leave her starting against a completely fresh lizard with no more advantages.

Better to learn what I can while I have the chance.

Excellent choice.

The Daemon’s approval radiated out over the mental link as they reached out and fired the nano imaging subroutine into the lizard’s nanosystem. Blood spattered across Val’s arms as she removed her weapons from the wound, dodging backwards again as the lizard’s front leg collapsed. After a few seconds, her display’s overlay updated as the delayed activation of the imaging technique triggered and the nano she left behind broadcast information to her.

Val took in the details of the lizard’s nanosystem as the beast struggled to get back to its feet. Not much out of the ordinary here. Strong bands of nano ran down each of the lizard’s limbs and tail, explaining their strength and speed. A thin mesh of nano traces just below the skin presumably contributed to the toughness of their scales, although Val could see the subdued glow near the front leg where her nano disruption had thrown the nanosystem into disarray.

Noir also highlighted high concentrations of nano as important locations for further disruption. The core in the upper torso served as the body’s reservoir of nano, making it the most obvious target. Many beasts utilized nano on an instinctive level, the same as breathing or keeping their heart beating; as a result, the brain stem at the bottom of the skull was another critical target. However, Val was surprised to see Noir highlight another bundle of nano at the base of the lizard’s neck.

As I surmised, these lizards have evolved a specialized set of glands in their necks. I’m pleasantly surprised we haven’t had acid or fire spit at us yet, but you should stay on your toes. Luckily, it does give you another target.

Val snorted. Not a particularly appealing target. Risk getting bitten while trying to punch through the heavily armored chest, only to blow up something that’ll explode or coat me in acid? I’ll pass, thanks.

Never say never… Well, now that we know what we’re up against, what’s your plan?

Still testing me?

You’re doing great so far.

Val rolled her eyes but focused on the pair of lizards. The injured lizard had finally gotten back to its feet, and unfortunately the healthy one had finally maneuvered around its brethren. Val started circling around before sprinting to the side as the healthy lizard charged her. Despite its impressive speed, it lacked the agility to correct its trajectory and shot past Val harmlessly.

Val turned her head to watch the lizard as it careened past her, noting that she probably had only moments before it barrelled down on her again. Not enough time to run in there… but certainly enough time for something to make it. The needle she was holding retracted and slotted back into her armor in the blink of an eye, leaving her with a free hand to reach down and pull out a grenade from her belt.

She was sure that overhand pitching grenades like fastballs was not the generally accepted way to treat the explosive devices, but it had already worked wonders once today. Val’s eyes focused on the large gash in the lizard’s side. Even if she missed the cut itself, it was still the weakest point and therefore her best bet.

Val’s arm whipped forward as she threw the grenade forward, activating the device just as it left her fingers. Time seemed to slow as she watched the grenade arc towards the lizard. The beast half-heartedly tried to move out of the way, but it was not mobile enough. The grenade exploded on contact, ripping the lizard’s side apart. The creature collapsed on the ground, twitching momentarily before falling still. Unfortunately for Val, she had no time to revel in her victory as she felt the ground shake behind her.

Dodge right.

Val followed Noir’s direction immediately, flinging herself into a roll towards the right. Popping back up to her feet, she extended the needle back into the right hand as she faced the remaining lizard. The creature slid to a stop before turning back to face her, huffing angrily through flared nostrils. Noir helpfully overlaid the expected weak points that she had learned from the first lizard: deep in the chest, the base of the neck, the bottom of the skull.

Val licked her lips with nervous excitement. Part one of her plan had gone well, leaving her with only one enemy. It was still at full strength, but she had proven she could take one down already.

Just need to take my time and be pati–

A deafening roar shattered her focus, causing her to flinch and stare back at the cave entrance. Her eyes widened as she took in the newcomer to the fight. A massive reptile slowly stepped out of the darkness. Her head barely came up to its shoulders, and it must have been at least fifteen or twenty feet in length. Its scaly hide was criss-crossed with a multitude of scars, including one jagged line carving through its face that left the gargantuan beast with a single eye.

A shiver ran down her spine as she gazed into its one remaining good idea. A savage intelligence lingered there, and while it did not give off the same human-like calculation the enhanced Direwolf had, she had no doubt that this lizard was far more dangerous than the ones she had faced so far. An opinion that was only solidified as the large reptile let out another roar.

Time to go. That one’s clearly an Enhanced variant and way out of our league.

Val needed no additional encouragement, turning away from both lizards and sprinting away at full speed. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the Enhanced lizard’s neck bulge before it spat a thin stream of liquid at her. She broke up her straight retreat with several zig-zagging turns, but the lizard seemed to track her with unerring precision as the stream splashed over her armor.

Hmm, that’s odd. I predicted that it would be a fire-based attack. Guess my algorithms need some slight tweaking.

As if responding to the Daemon’s challenge, the Enhanced lizard cut off the stream of liquid abruptly. As its jaw clamped down, the gnashing of its teeth caused several sparks to fly. Val watched in horror as the last remnant of the stream caught fire. The flame quickly rushed towards her, jumping across the chain of flammable droplets that still hung in the air until it reached her armor.

Her exosuit went up in a burst of flames, causing her to wince as the temperature inside the armor started rising quickly. Various ports opened on the exterior of the suit and doused the exosuit in fire suppressant, but the liquid coating seemed resistant to being extinguished. It wasn’t until she had made it all the way back to the treeline that the exosuit’s safety measures finally put out the flame.

Panting heavily, Val finally had a free moment to put away her weapons. She put her back against a tree and slid down to the ground with a groan.

Well, look on the bright side. Seems like my algorithms don’t need updating after all.

I’m glad that’s the lesson you got out of this. Have I mentioned I absolutely hate it when you are right?

That’s a problem considering I’m right most of the time.

Val shook her head solemnly. As usual, the Daemon wasn’t wrong… and that was part of the problem.

Well, at the very least, it looks like you were wrong about that cave being a good spot to spend the night. Got any other backup plans?

Do you feel like sleeping yet?

I’m amped up on adrenaline, so not really, no.

In that case, let’s wait an hour or so to let the local wildlife calm down. Then we can head further up the pass.

Val frowned. I thought the whole point was to find shelter for the night.

That was your suggestion, not mine. I actually think we can make good time through the pass during the night. Plus, we need to rectify your lack of experience fighting in low-light conditions.

Val threw her hands up in the air. Forget low-light conditions. What about pushing myself too hard while I’m tired?!

Good idea, Val! Yes, I doubt you’ll have many opportunities to push yourself to your limits like this with no real mission objectives to fail. An excellent time to condition yourself to perform under high levels of stress and exhaustion.

You’ll be the death of me, Noir.

Now that would just be counterproductive. The Daemon paused for a moment. Val has a sneaking suspicion that they were running the numbers, seeing exactly how far they could push her before she either broke or refused. They clearly thought the answer was a little bit further when they continued, No, definitely not the death of you. Extreme discomfort though, that’s just par for the course for my Users.

Great, glad I’ve got one of the sadistic Daemons. Not that this is new information. Val sighed as she let her head fall back against the tree trunk, her helmet hitting the back with a soft thud.

Deep down though, she knew she was just pushing back for the sake of complaining. The stakes were higher now that she was out alone in the wilderness, but she had always pushed herself hard during her training. Despite needing to retreat, the last encounter had shown her that she could take down some relatively impressive beasts and was able to escape from even more intense monsters. Certainly not every danger in the wilderness, but probably enough to survive this little adventure of hers.

Alright, one hour of rest and then we hit the pass. No rest for the wicked, I guess. Or the poor User whose brain the wicked happens to inhabit.

I resent that.

No you don’t.

No, you’re right. I don’t.