Thalos left the corpse of Jaker in the Gastric Lining and began the climb.
His body felt heavy, but not with fatigue. It was density. His bones felt like lead pipes. His skin felt tight, as if he were wearing a suit of leather armor that had been stitched directly into his nerves.
[Status: Hungry.] [XP to Level 2: 85%]
He needed to eat. Jaker had given him a taste, a single point of Strength and a skill fragment, but it was not enough to trigger an evolution.
He reached the "Bronchial Tubes," a maze of rusted ventilation pipes that separated the deep mines from the residential Ribs. The air here was thick with steam and the chittering sounds of vermin.
Suddenly, a scream echoed through the pipes.
It was high, terrified, and human.
Thalos froze. His new ears twitched, rotating slightly toward the sound. He could hear the heavy, metallic clanking of chitin against steel.
[Perception Check: Passed.] [Target Detected: Razor-Back Beetle (Lvl 3).] [Status: Aggressive.]
Thalos did not run away. Yesterday, a Razor-Back would have been a death sentence. It was a tank on legs, a mutated insect the size of a minivan with a shell that could deflect small arms fire.
Today, Thalos smiled.
"Second course," he whispered.
He sprinted toward the sound.
In a clearing of rusted pipes, a young woman was backed against a wall. She was a scavenger, wearing a ragged grey flight suit. Her mining pick lay broken on the floor.
Towering over her was the Beetle.
It was a nightmare of biology. Its carapace was black and oily, covered in jagged spikes. Its mandibles dripped with acidic saliva that hissed when it hit the metal floor. It raised a massive, spiked leg to crush the girl.
"Please!" she screamed, covering her head. "Help!"
Thalos did not shout a hero's challenge. He launched himself from the shadows.
He hit the Beetle from the side with the force of a battering ram.
CRASH.
The impact knocked the one ton insect off balance. It screeched, a sound like grinding metal, and stumbled sideways.
Thalos landed in a crouch between the girl and the monster. He stood up slowly, dusting off his hands.
The girl looked up. Her eyes went wide. She recognized the mining suit, but the person inside it was wrong. He was too big. Too calm.
"Run," Thalos said.
The Beetle recovered. It turned its massive head toward the new threat. It clicked its mandibles and charged.
It was fast for something so heavy. It closed the distance in a second, swinging its spiked leg like a scythe.
Thalos did not dodge.
He raised his left arm.
CLANG.
The Beetle's leg, sharp enough to cut through steel, slammed into Thalos's forearm.
The girl screamed, expecting to see his arm severed.
Instead, sparks flew.
Thalos's skin had turned a dark, slate grey. The insect's blade bounced off his flesh as if he were made of stone.
[Passive Skill: Titan Skin (Basic) resisting damage.]
Thalos grunted. It hurt, like being hit with a baseball bat, but his bones held.
"Is that all?" Thalos growled.
He grabbed the Beetle's leg before it could pull back. He dug his fingers into the chinks of the armor.
"Hydraulic Grip."
He squeezed.
CRUNCH.
The Beetle shrieked as its leg was crushed. Thalos planted his feet and pulled. With a roar of exertion, he lifted the front of the massive insect into the air.
He looked at the soft, pale underbelly exposed beneath the armor.
He pulled back his right fist.
He did not have his gauntlets yet. He did not need them.
He punched.
SPLAT.
His fist punched through the soft meat of the Beetle's throat, burying itself deep inside the creature's chest. He felt organs burst. He felt the hot rush of ichor.
[Critical Hit.]
The Beetle went rigid. Then, it collapsed, twitching.
Thalos pulled his arm out. He was covered in green slime.
[Enemy Defeated.] [XP Gained: 40.] [Level Up!]
Thalos took a deep breath. The level up energy washed over him, repairing the bruises on his arm instantly.
He turned to the girl.
She was still pressed against the wall, shaking. She looked at the dead monster, then at Thalos.
"You..." she stammered. "You killed it. With one punch."
Thalos wiped the slime from his face. He recognized her now. Kaelin. She worked at the noodle stall in Sector 4. She had given him free broth once when he was starving.
"Take the legs," Thalos said, pointing at the corpse. "The meat in them is good. Sell it."
Kaelin blinked. "What? But... you killed it. It's yours."
Thalos walked over to the Beetle. He placed his hand on the thickest part of the black shell.
"I do not want the meat," Thalos said. "I want the armor."
[Skill Activated: DEVOUR.]
His hand glowed with a dark, red light. The Beetle's shell began to dissolve, flowing like liquid smoke into Thalos's palm.
Kaelin watched in horror and awe as the massive carcass withered, its essence consumed by the boy in the mining suit.
[Consumed: Razor-Back Beetle (Carapace).] [Skill Acquired: Dermal Plating (Tier 1).] [Constitution +2.]
Thalos felt his skin itch. He looked at his arm. The grey skin shifted, becoming harder, darker. Overlapping scales formed along his forearms and shoulders.
He was bulletproof now.
He turned back to Kaelin.
"Go," he said gently. "Before the scent brings others."
Kaelin nodded frantically. She grabbed two of the severed legs, worth a week's wages, and looked at him one last time.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Who... who are you?"
Thalos pulled his hood up, hiding his glowing eyes.
"Just a hungry neighbor."
He turned and walked away, heading toward the upper levels. He had armor. He had a level.
Now he needed money. It was time to visit Doc Silas.