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LOCATION: CORK AIRPORT
CITY: CORK, IRELAND
DATE: AUGUST 21, 2026 | TIME: 3:30 AM
It was just before 3:30 AM when Erik Drexler landed in Ireland.
He carried his heavy bag over his shoulder, and after exiting through a back gate that had been left open for him, he followed the map on his System interface toward the manufacturing facility, running north alongside Kinsale Road.
Twenty minutes later, he slowed down.
He saw the sign for the Ballycureen Industrial Estate far ahead. Apparently Elliot Voss had a flair for hiding in plain sight, because Ballycureen was about as bleak and dingy as industrial parks come.
Even this far away, the air smelled faintly of jet fuel from the airport and old diesel from trucks passing through.
Pastures and agricultural fields populated the area around the highway on both sides, but the western edge of Kinsale Road contained a sizeable buffer of dense forest cover to help provide a noise buffer between the noisy highway and the farmlands beyond.
"Perfect," Erik muttered.
He lugged his sack into the woods and withdrew the suppressed sniper rifle, the long barrel barely gleaming under the half-moon.
He hid the bag in the brush and climbed the tree he'd chosen. There was a wide branch stretching out just far enough. Just what he needed.
Erik had been told that the Spetsnaz unit would be coming up Kinsale Road in a stolen box truck. At this hour, there wouldn't be many of those on the road.
Drexler had put all of this extra points into Perception recently, and from his perch, lying flat on a branch with the AXMC sniper rifle extending straight in front of him, he could see the road perfectly.
System enhancements made a lot of things easier. Sitting still for long periods of time without losing your concentration was one such area. Erik focused on his breathing and maintained his focus.
His patience was rewarded twenty minutes after he settled in. A white box truck with fading blue stripes along the sides and Emerald Linen Services across the front came from the south.
Erik noticed that it was going under the speed limit, a clear sign they were both being cautious and trying not to get noticed.
As they drew closer, Erik focused his Perception. Amplified by the rifle scope, he saw four men crammed into the cab, their shoulders squared and weapons braced upright between their knees.
The truck's suspension sagged heavy.
"The other two men must be in the back," Erik muttered.
He took a breath. Exhaled. As he did so, he squeezed the trigger gently three times. A few quiet coughs, and a second later, the engine of the box truck sputtered out.
Before the truck even came to a stop, six men had hopped quickly out of the truck and fanned out in standard special ops format.
Within seconds, they were away from the road, moving forward toward the industrial park to the north. Rifles up and at the ready, every man was on high alert.
They looked serious. These weren't the cannon fodder who'd been sent to the front lines in Ukraine. These were actual operators.
Erik smiled.
At last, a worthy fucking challenge.
He hopped down from the branch, landing silently in the brush below. Folding up and stowing the long-range rifle, he took out the HK416A5 assault rifle and checked the suppressor.
He began stalking through the forest until he saw the first two of the six soldiers straight ahead of him. Erik stayed low and waited a moment.
The linen truck was parked at an angle in the lane of traffic. The Spetsnaz didn't bother turning on hazard lights before they exited the vehicle.
A sedan came barreling up the highway, and as it got close to the box truck, it suddenly slammed on its brakes and held down the horn, swerving out of the way to narrowly avoid what would have been a truly horrible collision.
In that instant, Erik let loose two double taps, dropping two of the Russian soldiers silently.
The thump-crack of the supersonic rounds was drowned out by the car's horn, and Erik made a mental note: Two down. Four to go.
Erik stalked forward and was able to take down one more who was moving along the ditch on the west side of the road.
He took the earpiece from the third man and put it in his ear. He was pleased to see that automatic System translation worked as it had in the Tutorial.
It didn't take long before the stealthy part of his mission was over, however.
A gruff voice came over the comms.
"One, check."
No response.
Then, a moment later: "Two, check."
Still nothing.
Erik knew what came next, so he launched into motion.
Another car came blasting from the north, and the headlamps illuminated the three men squatting and moving quickly through the meter-deep ditch on the opposite side of the road.
Right after the car had passed, Erik charged forward at full speed. He had dropped his assault rifle and elected to go with his tomahawks for close quarters.
In the few moments the men were still temporarily blinded by the bright lights, Erik leapt into the air, dropping his axes in a furious arc toward the closest soldier.
At the last second, the man caught the motion and brought his weapon up to block.
But Erik Drexler had 73 Strength behind that downward swipe, and the rifle shuddered in the man's hands, sending him staggering back.
He called out in pain, and Erik swiped to the side, beheading the man before his voice even reached a crescendo.
A wet thump sounded out in the chilly night air as the two remaining men turned on Erik, their rifles trained on him.
"Go ahead, fuckers," he said, "try me."
A vicious smile on his face gave one of the men pause, but the second started firing.
Erik rolled to the side, staying low, and slashed at the man's knee.
He toppled over and Erik slammed the blade of his axe into the center of the man's chest as he was on his way down to the ground.
One to go.
The man let his rifle fall to his side, and his expression said more than words could. He knew he could never beat this monster in front of him.
Erik stood and sheathed his weapons, blood still dripping from the axe blades.
"You have two choices," he said, his voice calm despite the carnage around them. "Call your handler and report mission complete, or I start taking pieces off you until you change your mind."
The Russian's eyes darted to his dead comrades. One headless, another with an axe-shaped hole in his chest. When he looked back at Erik, his hands were trembling.
"What... what are you?"
"Someone having a very good morning," Erik replied. "Make the call."
The man didn't even question it.
He pulled a phone from a pocket inside his gear and called it in.
"Ireland target destroyed."
He hung up, and didn't even have a chance to put the phone away. The monster moved faster than his eyes could follow, and his world turned black.
Erik sent a System message to Samir, Grim and Li.
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Cork, Ireland secured.
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He stood among the bodies for a moment, rolling his shoulders and checking his hands for cuts. Nothing. Not even a scratch.
Six months ago, taking on eight Spetsnaz operators would have been suicide. Tonight, it felt like a warm-up exercise.
The System enhancements had made him into something beyond human. Faster reflexes, impossible strength, stamina that barely registered the exertion. It should have been unsettling. Instead, Erik found himself grinning.
He put the box truck in neutral and pushed it off the road until it fell partially into the ditch.
Then, he turned back toward the woods, picked up all of his gear, and ran south toward the airport.
He'd be back home in time for a late breakfast.
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System Broadcast
Vitalyx Recipients: 7,998,524,391
Rejuvenex Recipients: 2,406,335,907
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@GratefulGretchen: I used to count my blessings to stay positive in a challenging world. But thanks to #Vitalyx and #Rejuvenex, there are just too many to count.
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