The rapid, tearing sound of the automatic fire, the shattering rock, and the terrifying sight of Lara Croft plummeting into the black void below ripped through Leo's mind.
System Alert!
[CRITICAL THREAT: Proximity to Protagonist (Lara Croft)]
Protagonist Status: Falling (Lethality Rating: 95%)
Action Required: Immediate Intervention.
Failure to act may result in Game Over (Protagonist Death).
Leo's body reacted before his conscious mind could process the horror. He had two choices in this horrifying, frozen instant: continue his ascent toward the Gunner, or sacrifice his momentum and risk his own life for her.
His Meta-Strategist II trait, now fully unlocked, gave him an immediate, cold analysis:
* Option A: Save Lara. (Drop back down, use rope to arrest fall.) Success Rate: 60% (due to damaged rope/unstable ledge). Risk: Extremely High. Result: Possible survival of both, but Gunner Threat Remains.
* Option B: Continue Ascent. (Neutralize Gunner.) Success Rate: 85%. Risk: Medium. Result: Lara Croft Dies. Game Over.
The System was clear: Lara was the protagonist, the nexus of the story. Her death meant Leo's mission—and his life—was over. The choice was never truly a choice.
He roared, a sound of pure, desperate fury, and spun around. He found the discarded end of the hemp rope they had used to winch Reyes, which was thankfully still secured to his utility belt. He threw himself flat onto the narrow ledge, anchoring himself by driving the Pry Axe into a stable rock fissure.
He felt the terrifying, nauseating slide as his body went over the edge.
"LARA!"
He was now hanging upside down, the wind trying to tear him free. He quickly let out the slack on the rope, watching for the blur that was Lara's falling form.
She was already twenty feet down, scrabbling desperately at the slick rock. She couldn't reach a handhold.
Leo braced himself. He couldn't just catch her; the impact would rip the axe from the fissure and send them both plummeting. He had to arrest her fall.
He played out the last bit of rope, securing it around the Pry Axe's handle. He calculated the necessary timing, relying entirely on his maximum Dexterity (11) and Strength (9) to manage the force.
"GRAB!" he screamed.
Lara's hand shot out on instinct, fingers brushing the rope. She missed.
The automatic fire ceased. The Gunner was reloading. Leo had seconds.
He swung the rope, using his Strength (9) to generate a controlled pendulum motion. The rope whipped out, and this time, Lara, seeing the desperate lifeline, twisted her body in the air—a final, incredible act of survival instinct—and grabbed the hemp rope with both hands.
The impact was brutal.
The force of her fall, suddenly arrested, nearly tore Leo's arms from their sockets. The Pry Axe handle ground deep into the rock. Leo grunted, his vision tunneling with the strain, every muscle in his Stamina (9) core screaming.
But the rope held. The axe held. Lara was dangling forty feet below him, alive.
[Host: Leo]
[Action: Protagonist Rescue (Arrested Fall)]
[Skill Check: Strength (9) / Dexterity (11) – SUCCESS (Critical!) ]
[EXP Gained: +500!]
[Host Level Up! Level 6 Reached!]
[New Attribute Points Available: 3]
The rush of EXP and the leveling up felt hollow against the roaring wind and the reality of the situation. He had saved her, but he was exposed, exhausted, and the Gunner was about to finish reloading.
"Lara! Can you climb?!" Leo yelled over the storm.
"Y-yes! Just… hold!" her voice came back, thin and raw.
Leo didn't need to be told to hold. He was straining, his arms shaking uncontrollably, the rope burning his hands. He could hear the metallic CLACK of the heavy gun reloading in the tower above.
He had to get her up, and he had to eliminate the threat.
He began hauling, using the rough technique of a desperate man—pulling the rope over the axe handle, using the friction to gain purchase.
Lara, fueled by terror and her own fierce survival drive, began to climb the rope hand-over-hand.
Suddenly, the firing pin dropped. TAT-TAT-TAT-TAT!
The heavy machine gun roared back to life. The bullets chewed into the stone just above Leo's head, fragments of rock stinging his face. He ducked, sheltering himself behind the thin pillar.
Lara was only ten feet below him.
"Almost there!" Leo screamed, pulling harder.
He couldn't use the Recurve Bow; he needed both hands to keep Lara from falling. He couldn't use his Meta-Strategist trait to calculate the perfect counter; he was fighting a losing battle against brute force.
He looked around desperately. His eyes fixed on a loose, heavy pile of rocks near the pillar—debris from the Gunner's last barrage.
The only way out is to stun the Gunner, then finish the climb.
Lara reached the ledge, scrambling over the edge with a sob of pure relief, collapsing onto the stone beside him, battered but whole.
"The gunner! We have to move!" she gasped.
"No, we have to fight!" Leo shot back.
He grabbed the largest rock he could manage, its surface sharp and heavy. With a desperate heave powered by his full Strength (9), he threw the rock upward, not at the tower itself, but aiming for the muzzle flash—the Gunner's exposed firing line.
The rock was a Hail Mary. It flew high, arcing against the stormy sky.
It slammed into the thick metal casing of the machine gun mount. Not the Gunner, but the weapon itself.
The heavy firing ceased with a sickening CLANK and the screech of grinding metal. The machine gun had jammed.
A furious, guttural roar came from the tower above.
"Now, Lara! We take the tower!" Leo yelled, scrambling to his feet, grabbing his Recurve Bow and nocking a fresh arrow.
Lara, instantly recharged by the cessation of fire and the sight of the ascent, was already ahead of him. She scrambled up a series of shallow indentations in the cliff face, moving with a focused, savage speed.
Leo followed, his Dexterity (11) making the climb an accelerated blur.
They reached a narrow ledge that led directly into a small, broken window on the ground floor of the tower structure. They paused, both panting, both ready to engage in the final, deadly confrontation.
"I'll go high, you go low," Lara hissed, her eyes shining with fierce resolve. She was no longer just the lost girl; she was hardening into the legendary survivor.
Leo nodded, confirming the plan with his Mind (9). "I'll draw him to the center. Use the Pry Axe on his back."
They slipped through the window into the cold, metal-and-stone interior of the base.
Leo rushed to the central stairs. He could hear the heavy boot-falls of the furious Solarii Gunner descending from the upper level, his primary weapon disabled, likely grabbing a backup weapon.
Leo took position behind a stack of crates, his bow ready. He had three attribute points and a full tank of adrenaline. He was about to confront the first true boss of this world.
He was ready to fight.
He raised his bow.
The shadow of the massive Solarii fell over the crate. The final confrontation was here.