*Condition: Ultimate Sacrifice has been met.*

'Ultimate sacrifice? Did I actually die? A pathetic sacrifice, though.'

*System of Legendary Heroes Unlocked.*

*Kill enemies and complete system missions to gain points.*

*Earn special points by completing specific tasks or achieving feats.*

*Spend points levelling your stats, on items, or unlocking Legend specific skills.*

'System?'

*Current objective: Escape the enemy ship. Reward: 50 Legendary points.*

*Bonus objective: Lead your allies to safety. Reward: 10 Alexander points.*

'Alexander points? What is this?'

As though responding to his thought, a menu appeared before his eyes.

'What?'

The menu was made up of five options

*Stats.*

*Skills.*

*Points.*

*Store.*

*Milestones*

'Huh? What's going on?'

Upon realising the Bru'uka still towered over him, he forced the thoughts out of his head. Whatever it was, it was right about one thing. He needed to escape.

As soon as he thought that, the menu disappeared from his view. Quickly glancing, he found that the door was left slightly ajar by the Bru'uka. What's more, the alien's Brute hybrid had been conveniently left by the door.

"Connor!" he yelled. "Fight with me! Help me escape!"

He quickly rose to his feet and charged the Bru'uka, ramming it into the wall with his shoulder.

"Connor! Fight!"

The sound of silence momentarily filled the cell, before the room was filled with footsteps rushing forward.

Four captured soldiers, led by Connor, charged from the shadows and slammed into the Bru'uka, adding their weight to pin it to the wall.

Satisfied it wouldn't move, Gus split off and grabbed the hybrid that rested on the wall. Spinning it round to wield it like a melee weapon, he assaulted the Bru'uka until it stopped resisting the soldiers holding it back.

*Enemy killed: Bru'uka Primia.*

*Reward: 10 Legendary points*

'What is this...'

He firmly decided to not think about this strange thing happening to him, and instead focused his attention on escaping their prison.

"Everyone, with me!"

Gus led the other soldiers out of the cell and into the hall.

"Oh my god..."

"Is that..."

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

The interior of the vessel they were on was like flesh. The walls, unnervingly warm to the touch, moved ever so slightly in a rhythmic pattern. Liquids dripped from various points along the corridor, coating the metal walkways, the only part of the hall that wasn't organic, with its foul stench.

"I guess the rumours are true, then."

Gus looked at Connor in shock, the truth of what he saw finally settling in. The rumour, was that the Bloody Dawn possessed the means to utilise giant creatures in their war efforts.

"That doesn't matter right now. We have to get out."

"Agreed. But how? Do you know where we're going?"

"Not really," Gus said with a nervous smile. "It's just a gut feeling.

Everyone, come on!"

Gus cautiously led them through the living corridors of the vessel, taking great care to avoid any of the Bloody Dawn that patrolled the vessel.

Eventually, they journeyed through the vessel, travelling up narrow staircases and through small hatches for long enough for their surroundings to become entirely mechanical.

It turns out the vessel was just one of the large creatures that the Bloody Dawn had enslaved to their service, with parts grafted onto its back and through its body. As Matty, a blonde haired engineer hailing from the northern province of Europea who had been captured during the battle of Sierra, had assessed, the things that were done were absolutely barbaric.

It was in this mechanical section where they found their salvation.

At the top of the area was the hangar. And, luckily for them, the hangar was deserted.

They hurriedly entered a ship and departed, thanking whatever allowed them to escape so easily.

A voice popped into Gus's head.

*Mission complete. Reward: 10 Legendary points.*

*Bonus objective complete. Reward: 10 Alexander points.*

Now that he felt that he had reached safety, he began thinking about what happened to him.

"Just what the hell is a system?" he muttered to himself.

Once again, the menu appeared before his eyes, summoned by his thoughts.

*Stats*

*Skills*

*Points*

*Store*

*Milestones*

"Guess I'd better check out my stats first."

Responding to his wishes, the menu changed to display the stats and associated scores.

*Level [1]*

*Strength [1]*

*Speed [1]*

*Stamina [1]*

*Leadership [1]*

*Defence & Durability [1]*

*Ranged [1]*

*Proficiency [1]*

"Huh. Guess I start at the minimum. So what can I do with those points?"

In response, the menu shifted once more.

*Points can be spent on skills, or on items in the shop.*

*Legendary Points [20]*

*??*

*??*

*??*

*Alexander Points [10]*

*??*

*??*

*??*

"Why is everything blocked out?" He sighed before continuing. "Guess I should check skills next."

For a third time, the menu shifted.

The menu was divided into sections, most of which were blocked out like the points.

Currently, he had access to the 'Basic Skills' section and the 'Alexander' section.

The 'Basic Skills' was exactly that. Basic. For the cost of 50 Legendary points, he could increase the level of one of his stats by one.

The 'Alexander' section was a little different. For the cost of 10 Alexander points, or 100 Legendary points, he could invest into 'The Greatest Commander,' a skill that grants an increase to his leadership stat.

Initially, he thought that the skill was pointless, especially with how easily he could level up his skills through the 'Basic Skills.' His mind was quickly changed as he studied the skill tree for longer.

"I see. I have to invest in that skill to unlock further skills on this 'Alexander' tree."

Deciding to explore more, he attempted to enter the 'Milestones' section of the menu.

*Milestones are locked until you have discovered all Legends.*

"Huh. Guess I'll just bank my Legendary points for now."

He spent his 10 Alexander points on 'The Greatest Commander.

*Level [2]*

*Strength [1]*

*Speed [1]*

*Stamina [1]*

*Leadership [2]*

*Defence & Durability [1]*

*Ranged [1]*

*Proficiency [1]*

*UNLOCKED SKILLS*

*The Greatest Commander [1]*

"So level is determined by the score of each stat."

"Hey man, you alright?"

Frank was a bald medic who was captured during the Sierra battle. Naturally, he concerned himself with the wellbeing of his comrades and, noting Gus's pale face and intense expression, he became worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Gus replied. "Thanks."

"Uh, bad news."

Klaus's Mid-Europea accented voice rang out through the ship. As the only one with experience as a pilot, he was the only choice to get them out of danger.

"If you look right, you'll see a small asteroid. We're being called in by a Bloody Dawn base. There's nothing I can do."

"A base?"

"Isn't this the Emerid system? How do they have a base here?"

Words of confusion echoed through the ship.

"Gus, you got us out. What do you think?" Connor asked him.

Gus remained silent, waiting for an answer to come, thanks to the point he just put into his 'Leadership' stat.

"We go down, and we fight," he decided after a while.

'Why did it feel like the leadership skill didn't help at all?'