[Good morning, everyone, I hope you made good use of the short break. The attacking waves will be resumed as of today, at 13:00. Also, since all subjects have visited the research station at least once, production related quests have been issued. They offer you the rare chance of investing in mastery points for any skills, regardless of their connection to your current activity.]

[In addition to this, the last quest, Tutorial: Lesson 4, will be issued if the current wave is kept under control. Completing this quest will automatically end the tutorial series. However, you will miss the chance of acquiring more experience and resources that you would otherwise receive by completing remaining quest lines, production quests, hidden scenarios, as well as training or studying in one of the many unexplored facilities. It might also be the last time you will be able to enjoy the recreational areas, such as the swimming pool, game center, and casino]

Ignoring Ai’s voice, Arthur finished inputting the commands on the panel and gazed at the digital clock.

“9 a.m., I’m not going to finish it in time...”

From Seven’s line-up, Arthur wouldn’t go to the frontline. That was not neglecting his fighting power, but his proficiency in making traps made him suitable as a supporter. He would coordinate with the remnants of his group to take care of the production line after it was set in motion, relieving core combatants of their duties, namely Nathan with Kyel’s group.

While checking on the manufacturing progress, a message arrived on the interphone.

-A message to all: check the list of production quests. If they are both easy to accomplish and require little time, start completing them in parallel to your duties...

The rest of the message dealt with how they should spend their points. Most of them had to focus on leveling any skill related to movement, to prepare for a chase if the ants escaped the net, with Arthur it was no different.

The amount of detail and precision in Seven’s plan was on a level that surpassed anything a human could devise in a day, and it finally occurred to Arthur how abnormal it was that Seven knew so much. Things were hectic, everyone was forced to simply follow his instructions without doubting the logic behind them. Even now, asking those questions would hold no effect.

“I have no idea what I’m doing. I can still follow on some things in the materials section, but at the nuclear... How does he know so much about this complicated stuff?”

***

Bats quickly flapped their wings, sending waves that crashed into the stalactites, far from the field of vision of any human situated anywhere near the edge. At best, one could figure their general placement as water quickly accumulated on the rough ends, appearing as nothing more than shining needles before disappearing in the depths of a bottomless chasm.

At a few points in the horizon, grey light reflected the surface of streaks of water, small ponds rarely, though they were quick to disappear as the howling wind tilted the bridge into washing them off. If not for these hard to notice details, it would be impossible to detect its existence as the ebony color of both the wood planks and the rope mingled exceptionally with the surrounding darkness. At the end of it, the reddish blur of oxidized iron: the gate.

The way out of the 6th Research Station into the 5th was a mostly inaccessible place. This was made on purpose to encourage the people at WHISPER to seek the people at HOPE, since the gate had easy access from the outside, though what actually happened was that Kyel’s people were split into the two entrances.

-Ladies first. Monster girls included!

-Hmph...

Natalya ventured a boot against the blank and creased her brows. With a firm step, splinters fell as it broke in two. Maybe, at some point in time, it was a safe and sturdy bridge, but many iterations of this game of death took a heavy toll on its durability, and no one bothered to have it fixed.

Ignoring the danger, she looked for another place to insert her foot and felt a presence looming toward her, quickly moving her hand to bar its way. Beneath her gloves, the soft skin of Kyel’s neck was tightly grasped between her fingers, and it would take no effort to break his chicken bones and send him to the afterlife.

-A...Air...

With an unpleasant face, she dropped him to the floor and moved on. In her heart, though, there was mild satisfaction in giving him a dose of suffering. The prick deserved it.

-Cough cough*… So much for a piggyback.

-Hmph.

-Wait... I’m afraid of heights - he massaged his throat and gulped upon looking down.

-Ha...

-Hey! - he screamed upon seeing her leave – I’m serious, I can’t cross this!

-...Tsk - she turned and offered her back to Kyel, fully expecting him to jump on it and proclaim his fear a mere joke. She had one too many jokes during that trip.

Surprisingly, though, he didn’t say anything. She was neither pleased nor irritated. After walking night and day without rest and killing battalions of workers and rogue ants, she knew better than to waste her energies. She wasn’t as tired as Kyel, but between hunger, thirst, and lack of sleep, the latter one hit the hardest.

Each step forward made the planks creek and the bridge tilt. Coupled with the wind that seemed to recognize their presence and battle against it, Natalya had a difficult time making progress. No matter how much she walked, she didn’t seem to get any closer to the destination. The first time she did it, her conditioning was much better since she briefly stopped on the vacated 5th Research Station: RAIN. With a 30º inclination on the bridge, the way up was vexing, and as her body was pushed to the limits, her eyes emitted a faint silver glint.

-Hey, did you hear that?

-Hm?

-Howling. It sounds like that – with eyes shut tight, Kyel had none of his jovial intonations.

Natalya thought it was a reaction from fear, but she still stopped to pay attention.

“Better safe than sorry”

She focused on her ears. If he used “howling” to describe the sound of the air currents, it was certainly accurate, but amidst that barrage there was indeed something. A low grunt, almost a babble.

-rrrr...

“...”

Natalya felt a tingling at the side of her ear, a feeling of unease crept through her skin and she dodged sideways out of instinct.

Woosh

Something flew past her shoulders and hit a plank at the very bottom, rocking the bridge and she exerted all her strength not to fall, causing friction on the rope. Before she could look ahead and see what was going on a barrage of pillars rained on her, Natalya bounced on the ropes to avoid getting struck down and killed.

Kyel had it worse, he was on the verge of losing consciousness. Natalya’s movements were too much for his body to cope with, the strength he exerted in that stressful moment was enough to rip the flesh off her back. Air currents hit his nostrils and he ceased breathing – it was impossible not to asphyxiate if that went on.

“Shit... If only I was alone...”

Kyel was the only one capable of hacking into the Control Rooms, an absolute necessity for completing the last quest, as it was suspected by Seven and known by the two at the bridge. If not for that, he wouldn’t even be on this journey.

In those circumstances there was no way but up. It would be too difficult to dodge while backtracking, and she had crossed most of the distance already. Going up did not hold any particular strategical advantage, quite the opposite, but there was no choice.

Natalya quickly put Kyel on her arms and propelled herself on the planks to go up. As the bridge continued to rock, she spun and rolled mid-air and got by a hair’s breadth onto the next step while she herself couldn’t get any breathing room. In her chest, Kyel slowly regained some color.

-rrrrr... - the reptilian growl hid between the wind blades, fast approaching.

“I can see the scanner’s light. Just a little bit more...” she bit her lower lip and persevered, but the next moment she got a clear view of her assailant.

“A hunter!”

The second she thought of that, the humanoid monster flew with its arms extended to grab her. She spun on her back and kicked his head, propelling in the air, but it came at such strength that instead of holding her shoulders and crushing her skeleton in a single push, it missed and hastily grab onto the ropes, tearing them.

-No!

Before her feet could even touch the bridge, it split. With quick judgment, she threw Kyel through the last mile and clung onto the nearest thing, a plank. It broke almost immediately and had her descend a few steps until she could grab onto the rope, leaving a burning red line on her palm.

Natalya’s throw was such that it completely negated gravity by the time he reached the top, but it was impossible to avoid the crash of his body against the wall. If he didn’t hit his head and instantly die, it would be more than crushing a few bones and having them impale his organs.

-Rrrrrrr... - the reptilian grabbed Natalya’s feet and tugged her down, the rope she was holding onto slowly but surely started to split.

-Gah! - she flailed around with her feet on top of a plank, her foot raging on the beast with full force as the bridge arched with reaffirmed impetus against the cliff.

A chill coursed through her body, filling her insides, and the more imminent the clash, the faster her irises turned into slits surrounded by a black hue. Exactly a second before the collision, her skin that had been passing through minute changes grew dark scales that ripped through her clothes like sword ends and covered her as natural armor.

Boom

The rope split along with the crash. Her nails, turned into claws, were carved into the boulder as she fell relentlessly with her unpleasant companion tightly holding onto her ankle. The claws wore down after a full ten seconds, slowing them to a standstill. The reptilian used her body as leverage to climb up, and she could do nothing but clench her teeth in pure hatred. As soon as it stepped over her head and clung to the wall, it slithered past her as if magnetized. She didn’t let off the chance and grabbed its tail, throwing it down the deep end.

-Guh...

With difficulty, she fought against the weight of her body while embedding the claws into the crumbling rock formations, making for an arduous climb.

A cool drop of water fell on her eye. How much time did it pass? She lost the track of it even after finding the rope. Every second felt like an eternity. The end of the ordeal was not at all pleasant, the transformation came undone and she dropped to the ground, sapped of all of her energies. She didn’t close her eyes – she wouldn’t dare. Natalya knew that once her eyelids came down, she wouldn’t wake up again, and this was a terrible place to fall asleep.

Ignoring her collapsing body, she punched the ground in hopes that the pain would give her that last push she needed to stand up, but all it did was add to her battered wounds and nasty gashes. Her veins were visible on the entirety of her naked body, a mantle of erratic pulses.

She punched the ground a few more times. She wouldn’t give up. She couldn’t give up. Her skin split into several disconnected parts, why couldn’t she feel anything?

“Ah... That’s right... I can’t even feel my hands”, what she thought punches were nothing but her trembling fingers.

In the eerie silence, her body maintained a relaxed position with her head faced towards the now distant gate. Drenched in earth-covered sweat and coagulated blood, crystalline beads filled her eyes deprived of vision.

“Fuck...”

***

[The invasion will start in 60 seconds. Enemies will approach from Terminals F-1 to F-8. I wish you all good luck]

Milen kneeled on the ground and let Seven ride on her back. Whispering a fast, inaudible chant, chains materialized on her arms as her spiritual counterpart, brighter and bordering on the physical realm, invaded every pore of her body while inducing a bone-chilling pain. Her dark eyes acquired a tinge of green and she quickly cast an array.

“Lost Ground”

A circle of glistening arrows surged spontaneously on the surface, all beginning at her feet and expanding into the distance. As Seven absorbed the filth of the mark, Milen got to experience a level of power she could’ve never dreamed of when she took the rites as a child and started on her studies. This was the dream of every Naiyid, to use their gift without restrictions. She didn’t need a purpose to use it, it would simply be a waste not to make use of this unrestrained power, even in this limited realm that condemned her to death.

If these were going to be her last moments, she would thoroughly relish them.

Her heart beat faster with each passing second, and though she was previously afraid of this very melody of life, she was now eager to hear it. To what extent the ancients feared her people, to have them persecuted and banished to the netherworld? To what extent the legends of warriors that massacred whole armies alone, passed down for generations amongst her clan, rung true? The tales of the Naiyid shamans were spread from the lowliest taverns to the halls of kings throughout the world, both feared and respected as a relic of the past.

Though history would not remember her name, she now had the chance to earn her spot in the hall of the ascended.

||Invasion started||