Multiverse Marines — Episode 3: "The Audit"
The barracks always smelled like sweat, metal, and resentment.
Zack "Speed" Marlin felt every stare like a knife. Two missions in, and the squad still wanted him dead. Mina's glare. Dax's muttering. Even Patch's sighs, like Zack's heartbeat was an insult.
Levels weren't given. They were ground out. Every Marine knew that. A thousand Prestiges, a thousand levels per Prestige, twenty-thousand Prestiges in total—most never reached even one. You could spend a decade gutting monsters and still crawl through Prestige 0 like a worm in dirt.
So when Zack jumped to Level 17 in just two sweeps, everyone wanted his blood.
⸻
Grinding Reality
The HUD in Zack's eye now tracked the grind in cruel detail. Each mission gave XP based not only on kills, but risk, stamina, and execution.
Examples from the last run flickered back at him like receipts:
• Drone kill with clean headshot, low risk: +50 XP.
• Drone kill mid-swarm, while flanked: +200 XP.
• Warrior kill, unassisted, full clip spent: +700 XP.
• Assist on Warrior: +250 XP.
• Alpha Matriarch kill share (squad contribution): +3,000 XP.
It wasn't simple. It wasn't easy. Marines bled for every notch. And Zack? Zack's HUD bent in his favor—measuring him different, rewarding precision, speed, daring. Nobody else had it.
Nobody else knew.
⸻
The Audit
The squad gathered in the dome for orders. Instead of a briefing, there were strangers waiting. Two Marines in long black coats, helmets sealed. Rumors whispered: Auditors.
Lt. Kincaid stiffened. Dax spat. Mina muttered, "Fuck."
The lead Auditor's voice came through the vocoder, cold as vacuum. "This squad's output has triggered review. Discrepancy in XP distribution. One rookie leveling disproportionately."
Everyone's heads turned to Zack.
"Marlin," the Auditor said. "Step forward."
Zack did, calm. His rifle rested across his back like a sleeping beast. His lips twitched into a grin.
"Your report says you're Level 17 after two missions," the Auditor said. "Explain."
"Good aim," Zack said flatly.
Laughter broke from Dax, bitter and harsh. "Good aim? Bullshit. I've spilled guts for twenty years, I'm still under four hundred. This kid sneezes, he levels twice."
Mina cut in: "He's cheating the grind. No other way."
Patch sighed. "If he's cheating, he's putting us all at risk. Audit him."
The Auditor stared into Zack's faceplate. "We'll be watching this mission closely. Any anomaly, and you're terminated. Understand?"
Zack nodded once. "Crystal."
But inside, the HUD pulsed, smug and alive.
Mission Assignment
Director Vere herself flickered in on holo, her voice smooth as silk.
"Your squad will clear the Black Maw Ruins. Reports confirm adaptive predators—Chimeras. Mutations from failed experiments. XP scales by form and risk. Survivors rarely make it out whole. Grind carefully."
Her smile lingered. "And remember, Marines—Prestige 20,000 exists. The grind never ends. Dismissed."
⸻
Drop Into the Maw
The ruins loomed like broken teeth. Jagged towers bent inward, windows gaping like hungry mouths. The air stank of rot and oil.
"Stay tight," Kincaid ordered, voice iron. "Chimeras don't play fair."
Shadows moved fast. First strike—hybrid wolf-things with extra jaws. Zack spun, bursts chewing two down, but the HUD gave him only +100 XP each. Too easy, it whispered.
Dax crushed another with cannon fire. +350 XP.
Mina dropped one from range mid-leap. +500 XP.
Patch knifed one tearing at his leg, blood flying. +450 XP.
The grind was real. Sweat pooled. Ammo vanished. They fought tooth for tooth, curse for curse.
⸻
Adaptation
The ruins warped around them. The Chimeras adapted, limbs sprouting where there shouldn't be limbs. One burst from the wall itself, stabbing Kade in the shoulder. He screamed, detonating a charge point-blank. Blood sprayed.
ASSIST — +200 XP.
Zack pulled him out, rifle blazing. +600 XP for a Chimera kill mid-rescue.
The HUD ticked.
LEVEL UP!
Level 18 → 19 → 20
(200 / 500 XP toward Level 21)
Gun Skills: 4
Enhancements: 4
The squad saw the way he moved faster—too fast, too sharp. Hate deepened.
"Rookie's glowing," Mina snarled.
"Cheating bastard," Dax spat.
Even Hodge growled, low and warning.
Only Sachi smirked, knives dripping blood. "I like watching them choke on envy."
The Apex Chimera
Deep in the ruins, the ground cracked. Out came the Apex: a Chimera three stories tall, plated in bone, heads writhing, voices screaming in human tongues.
"Targets locked!" Kincaid barked.
The fight was hell. Dax unloaded till his cannon smoked. Mina's rounds shattered bone. Kade limped, Patch dragged him back, Hodge held the wall until it buckled.
Zack charged in. Pure suicide. The squad screamed at him. The Apex's claws slashed, missing by inches. Zack slid, bursts chewing into the underbelly, climbing levels mid-battle.
Apex Chimera Kill Share — +2,500 XP.
Direct Damage Contribution Bonus — +1,200 XP.
⸻
The Grind Reward
MISSION PAYOUT:
— Chimera Drones: +900 XP
— Warrior Chimeras: +1,600 XP
— Apex Kill Share: +2,500 XP
— Direct Contribution Bonus: +1,200 XP
TOTAL: +6,200 XP
LEVEL UP!
Zack "Speed" Marlin
Prestige 0 | Level 32
(400 / 500 XP toward Level 33)
Gun Skills: 6
Enhancements: 6
From Level 17 to 32 in one mission. Fifteen levels. Impossible. Unnatural.
The squad stared, hatred thick enough to choke.
⸻
Fallout
Back at base, the Auditors watched Zack like hawks. They said nothing. Yet.
Mina cornered him. "You think you're untouchable? You're one lucky glitch away from a bullet in the back."
Dax snarled, "If the Auditors don't bury you, I will."
Patch muttered, "Too fast. Too damn fast."
Only Sachi leaned near, whispering, "Good thing I know how to keep secrets… and how to pipe you where no one's watching."
The hatred, the envy, the whispers of betrayal—it was fuel. Zack liked being their nightmare.
⸻
Closing
Alone, Zack opened the HUD again. His stats glowed, mocking the grind everyone else suffered through.
ZACK "SPEED" MARLIN
Prestige 0 | Level 32
(400 / 500 XP)
Gun Skills: 6
Enhancements: 6
He scrolled higher, toward the Legends. Admiral Kross, Director Vere, Helix Reaver—all maxed out, capped at Prestige 20,000, Level 1000. Gods in the system.
But gods could fall. And Zack would be the one to climb over their corpses.
He grinned into the dark.
"Let the grind kill them. It won't kill me."