The euphoria of breathing freely was short-lived. The ruins drew closer, gradually revealing their true nature. They were not the vestiges of a human city. The structures were too organic, too twisted. Broken arches resembled giant ribs, and the walls were streaked with veins of black metal that pulsed weakly, as if asleep.
"It's... xeno," murmured Julius, his Gauss Pistol held tight against him. "Completely xeno."
A feeling of unease invaded him, far worse than the fear of the reptilian creatures. This place was alive, in a sickening, ancient way.
< Architectural analysis: Unknown style. Biomechanics detected. Residual energy signatures. Threat level: High.>
"Thanks for the reminder," he grumbled.
He slipped through a breach in what must have been a wall, entering a courtyard littered with debris. The air was still, heavy with a smell of mold and rotting flesh. And that's when he saw it.
In the center of the courtyard, the ground wasn't rock, but a spongy, black matter, dotted with holes the size of his torso. Around it, empty, slimy, translucent shells were scattered. Bones, some clearly human, others bestial, were gnawed and dispersed.
It was a nest.
"Oh, shit..."
Too late. A shiver ran through the black matter of the nest. From one of the holes, a creature emerged. It was a larger, more agile version of the reptilians he had faced earlier. Its eyes shone with cruel intelligence, and a bristly dorsal crest rose on its back. It spotted him instantly and let out a piercing cry, a call.
In response, half a dozen other beasts sprang from the holes, their claws scraping on the stone.
Panic tried to overwhelm Julius, but his new lungs, clear and efficient, provided the oxygen his brain needed to function. No time for fear. Only for action.
He aimed at the largest one, the alpha, and pressed the contact plate.
BZZZZT. The green ray hit it head-on, partially disintegrating it. But it didn't die instantly. It collapsed screaming, agonizing.
< Energy: 15/100.>
"Just one! I only have one shot left!"
The other creatures, encouraged by their leader's injury, charged in a scattered formation. Too fast, too numerous.
Julius backed away, tripping over debris. He fired his last ray, vaporizing another, but three were already upon him.
< Energy: 0/100.>
< Recharge: 1 unit/hour.>
The weapon was now useless. A club of livid metal.
A beast leaped, its claws aiming for his throat. Julius had a desperate reflex: he brandished the Gauss Pistol like a club and struck with all his might. The Necron metal hit the creature's skull with a dull thud. It fell, stunned, but not dead.
The other two latched onto him. He felt their claws tear his coat, gash his arm. He cried out, more in rage than in pain. He fought like a demon, rolling on the ground in a cloud of dust. It was a bestial struggle, without grace. He kicked, punched, even bit a slimy leg that pressed against his face.
He felt his strength leaving him. His sedentary body wasn't made for this. One creature broke free and slashed a large gash in his thigh. The pain was blinding.
"NO!" he screamed.
That's when one unit of energy recharged.
< Energy: 1/100.>
"THE ENHANCEMENT! THE FASTEST ONE!" he screamed mentally, while blocking a bite with the weapon's stock.
< Analyzing available options... [Basic Muscle Reinforcement - Level 1] cost: 60 units. Insufficient resources.>
< No complete enhancement available.>
Despair washed over him. Then, an idea. The menu! There had to be something else!
"Consumables! Healing! Show me!"
The menu changed, listing one-time-use items, much cheaper.
[Terran Stim-Pack - Single use]
Cost: 5 units.
Injects a cocktail of adrenaline and coagulants. Suppresses pain, temporarily increases reflexes, and slows bleeding.
Side effects: Post-use lethargy.
FIVE UNITS. He had one.
"BUY! HURRY!"
< Acquisition of [Terran Stim-Pack]. Consumption of 5 energy units.>
< Energy: 0/100.>
A heavy, cold object appeared in his free hand. A thick syringe, filled with a bright red liquid.
Without a second's hesitation, Julius drove it into his thigh, through his torn pants.
The effect was lightning fast.
A tsunami of heat and power coursed through his body. The pain in his thigh and arm disappeared, replaced by a sensation of numbness and brute force. The world around him seemed to slow down. The jerky movements of the creatures became predictable.
With a roar, he straightened up with an inhuman push, throwing off the two beasts clinging to him. He grabbed his Gauss Pistol with both hands and, with a strength he didn't know he had, smashed one in the skull. The skull gave way with a hideous crack.
He pivoted, avoided an attack with new agility, and crushed the foot on the neck of the creature he had knocked out earlier, finishing it off.
The last two, seeing their prey turn into a predator, hesitated. The Stim-Pack gave him an aura of pure ferocity. He walked towards them, his face covered in dust and blood, the bloodied weapon in his hand.
They backed away, then, with shrieks of defeat, fled into the depths of the nest.
Julius stood there, panting, his body trembling under the effect of the combat drug. The artificial adrenaline was already subsiding, giving way to overwhelming fatigue and returning pain.
He had survived. By a hair's breadth.
< Threats neutralized. +75 energy units.>
< Total energy: 75/100.>
Seventy-five points. He looked at the bodies around him, then at the deep gash on his thigh. The lesson was cruel, but clear.
"System," he said in a hoarse voice. "As soon as I have enough points... Muscle Reinforcement. I never want to be that close again."
He collapsed against a wall, exhausted, but alive. He had won this battle. But the war for his survival had just begun.