Chapter 51 - The Breakthrough

The portal spat them out into a vast cavern. The lighter gravity made their movements feel unnervingly buoyant.

“Subterranean hive,” Danny murmured. “Classic.”

Luca’s eyes swept the cavern, picking out fresh scuff marks and disturbed moss patches on the slick stone floor. “They’re close,” he said, his voice low. “Zoe, take point. Everyone else, tunnel formation. We move now.”

The mission directive popped up on his interface.

[Mission Objective: Defeat the Hive Mother]

Standard portal delve. Kill the drones, get to the queen.

Emily fell in beside him as they advanced. “Please tell me this is just another hive dungeon,” she said, grinning. “I’m ready to kill some bugs.”

“Standard hive delve,” Luca replied with a smirk. “Level 64 instead of 60, but same playbook. Let’s go clear house.”

Everything they’d handled had been level 60 or below; this was level 64. But the System was predictable. They’d done dozens of these scenarios.

Emily’s hand gave his a quick squeeze. That was nice.

Zoe’s passive camouflage made her almost disappear into the shadows as she led them deeper. The cavern narrowed into a descending tunnel, moss thickening along the walls in pulsing patterns. A hive scenario usually involved a queen somewhere deep below them.

“This way,” Zoe said over comms, following the downward passage.

Thousands of needles scraping metal tore through the tunnel, skittering, clacking, the dry rustling of chitin. Luca’s HUD lit up red as movement filled his visor, fast and erratic, closing in.

“Incoming!” Luca yelled, dropping to one knee. “Form up! Stay tight!”

They poured out of the darkness, all legs and armored plates, carapaces glistening with moisture. Luca’s Hard Lock kicked in as he fired, the energy bolt striking chitin and barely scorching the surface. The creature screeched and kept coming.

“Shots aren’t penetrating!” Luca yelled, switching targets. “Aim for joints only! Their shells are too thick!”

Ryan’s scattergun spat short bursts, energy bolts sparking off armored plates. “What the fuck?! I’m barely scratching them!”

“Tunnel formation!” Luca barked over the chaos. “Danny front center, Joey shield-wall left side, Chris right flank! Zoe, high angle shots from the rear!”

Zoe’s voice came through calm and steady, her sniper rifle cracking in measured shots. “I’m targeting leg joints. I’ll take them down one by one.”

Danny barreled forward, his massive warhammer humming. “I’ll soften ’em up!” The hammer connected, shattering shell and exposing soft flesh.

Ryan seized the moment and pulled the trigger. The bug’s head exploded, green slime hitting the wall. “Nice assist, big guy!”

Shapes surged up the tunnel ahead, dozens of them, their skittering claws scratching the ground like a tidal wave of chitin and legs.

“Joey, cover the rear!” Luca yelled. “Don’t let them flank us!”

Joey’s Energy Shield flared to life. The bugs slammed into it hard, but it held. “Keep moving!”

Emily was moving, her twin Energy Blasters spitting energy bolts. She twisted and rolled, dodging claws. “They’re too fucking fast! We need to slow them down!”

“I’ve got a stunner grenade ready!” Ryan yelled.

“Make it count,” Luca said, aiming at a bigger bug’s knee joint. The shot hit, and the thing went down.

Ryan’s stunner detonated. Energy washed over the bugs, freezing them in place.

“Now! Focus fire!” Zoe commanded. Bolts converged on the frozen bugs. Shells cracked, green goo sprayed, bugs dropped.

Danny roared, charging with his warhammer glowing. His Taunt flared, pulling attention. “Come on, you ugly bastards!”

The tunnel became a meat grinder. Energy bolts crackled through the air, illuminating carnage in strobing flashes. Bug parts littered the ground, pools of green ichor spreading across stone.

Luca’s HUD flashed critical warnings, energy reserves dropping fast across the team. Joey’s shield was draining power, and they were burning through cells at an unsustainable rate. This is supposed to be routine! What the hell are these things?

But the bugs kept coming. For every one they dropped, two more seemed to take their place. Their skittering filled the tunnel, echoing off the walls. Some of the creatures were bigger now, their shells thicker, their movements more coordinated.

“We’re barely making a dent!” Ryan’s voice was tight, his scattergun overheating as he switched to his Energy Blaster. “These things are chewing through our ammo.”

“It feels like they’re unending,” Zoe muttered, her rifle firing precise, three-round bursts. “The more we hit, the more crawl out.”

These creatures were different. They shrugged off damage and adapted, and if they didn’t find a solution, they’d be overwhelmed.

“Danny, use that hammer to clear us a path,” Luca ordered. “We need to keep moving. Don’t let them box us in!”

“Got it!” Danny shouted, his Taunt pulsing again to draw the swarm toward him as he swung wide, clearing space.

“Joey, keep that shield up! Zoe, Ryan, support Danny, watch his flanks! Emily, you’re with me. We need to take down the big ones, break their swarm.”

Emily’s blasters fired in tandem with Luca’s shots. “Right here,” she said. “Let’s do this.”

As the swarm surged, Ryan activated Power Surge, his scattergun unleashing a series of powerful shots that cut through the thick exoskeletons. Each shot struck with deadly force, and the creatures fell back in spasms, their limbs snapping and twisting as they hit the ground. The weapon’s whine grew higher-pitched as it drained power at triple the normal rate.

“Hell yes!” Ryan shouted, grinning as his shots found their mark.

Power Surge is burning through his cells like crazy, Luca thought, watching Ryan’s energy meter plummet on his HUD. But it’s the only thing that’s actually working against these shells.

Chris followed suit as he planted himself against an oncoming wave. His energy driver flared with amplified energy, the beam punching through armor that would normally absorb most of the impact. The air crackled with ozone as the supercharged beam carved through chitin. He moved from side to side, targeting the densest parts of the swarm, creating small gaps that the crew could use to maneuver.

Emily glanced at Luca and nodded, jaw set. With a quick flick, she activated her own Power Surge on her twin blasters. “Double trouble, let’s go!” Each blast left a smoldering hole as she took out several with quick, controlled shots. The twin beams lit up the tunnel like lightning, casting wild shadows on the moss-covered walls. “Clear a path!” she shouted.

Three Power Surges running simultaneously, Luca thought grimly. We’re burning through energy reserves at an insane rate. This better end soon.

“That’s my girl!” Luca called out, his Threat Scan tagging the bugs’ weak points as his blaster tore them apart.

Joey’s shield held the rear, Chris’s driver kept the flanks covered, and Danny’s hammer cleared the front. Ryan and Emily moved on each side of him, their shots cutting down any stragglers.

The swarm thinned, and Zoe activated Active Camouflage, disappearing into shadows. “I’ll find us a way through,” she whispered over comms.

As the last creature twitched and died, Luca’s hands were shaking. Standard hive delve, my ass.

There were no heat signatures and no movement, just twitching limbs.

Zoe’s voice cut through his comms. “I’ve got a chamber up ahead, Luca. It’s large, open, and bioluminescent. Nothing’s moving, but the space feels like a kill box.”

“Zoe, pull back to the group. We go in together.” He lowered his blaster. “Sound off. Status report.”

Ryan’s laugh came over comms. “Status? Fucking dominant. Did you see Danny-boy go? Looked like poetry, but with more smashing.”

Emily nudged Luca’s side. “Don’t listen to him. Your noodle arms command us all so well.”

Joey’s calm voice cut in. “Over here! I’ve got a glow on this one.” He was crouched over a larger carcass where faint light pulsed.

Danny stomped over, heavy armor shaking the ground. “Loot boxes!”

“Everyone, check your kills,” Luca ordered. “Let’s see what we’ve got. Zoe, eyes on that chamber while we do.”

Luca pried open a container and found a matte-black rifle pulsing with cobalt energy. Plasma. Before he could say anything, Emily’s sharp laugh rang out. A blade of shimmering blue plasma ignited in her hand, coming from her own loot box. She was carving a buzzing arc through the air.

“It’s a plasma sword!” she breathed.

Ryan was on Luca in a flash.

“Let me see that!” Ryan snatched the rifle, testing its weight. “This thing’s gonna have serious kick.”

[Item Acquired: Proxima PS-64 ‘Solar Edge’ Plasma Sword - TL9]

[Item Acquired: Proxima PR-64 ‘Starfire Lance’ Plasma Rifle - TL9]

[Item Acquired: Power Cell - TL9 (x3)]

[Item Acquired: Stim Pack - TL9]

“Alright, settle down,” Luca commanded. “We need a tactical assessment, not a show-and-tell.”

“Oh, come on, Captain,” Ryan shot back, clutching the plasma rifle. “I vote dibs.”

Zoe rolled her eyes. “Sure, Ry, because you’re known for your marksmanship.”

“We’ll test everything,” Luca said, “and assign gear based on proficiency. This is TL9 tech, people. Next level shit.”

“Exactly!” Danny boomed, grabbing a Power Cell. “We’ve hit the jackpot!”

[+111,515 XP]

[+90,606 credits]

[Level up! Level 61, +5 attribute points, +1 Ability Point, +2 PER, +1 DEX, +1 MEM, +3 INT]

Goosebumps erupted across Luca’s arms. Heat shot up his spine as his interface flared, whiting out his vision. The floor dropped out from under him.

XP. And a real fucking level-up.

They were free of the cap that had held them back for two goddamn years. Level 60 had been a wall. Now it read Level 61.

“Holy shit! Level 61?” Ryan shouted. “I thought we were stuck forever!”

“FUCK YEAH!” Danny roared.

“It’s real,” Emily breathed, already allocating points. “What does it mean, Luca?”

He swallowed, swagger returning. “It means this whole star system is a tier-up. Sol was the tutorial. This is the main game.”

Joey was the calm one. “It all makes sense now, the TL9 gear and the XP breakthrough. Alpha Centauri just unlocked the next tier of the System for us.”

“Or it was always here,” Chris added, “waiting for someone to get this far. We’re the first.”

Luca pulled up his status screen. For two years, it had been static, mocking. Now? It moved.

[Status]
Name: Luca Rossi
Combat Path: Operative (+2 PER, +1 INT per level)
Profession Path: Starship Commander (+1 DEX, +2 INT, +1 MEM per level)
Level: 61
Experience Points: 5,701,234/6,148,692
Credits: 90,606

[Attributes]
STR: 15
PER: 106 (+2)
DEX: 68 (+1)
MEM: 43 (+1)
INT: 81 (+3)
CHA: 12
Unallocated Attribute Points: 5
Unallocated Ability Points: 1

[Abilities]
Combat Path: Weapon Sense 8, Silent Step 6, Hard Lock 6, Threat Radar 6, Dead Ground 3, Threat Scan 5, Reflex Shot 5, Blade Form 2, Port Scanner 2
Regional: True Throw 10
Professional Path: Steady Hand 1, Null Drift 1, Atmo Sense 1, Adaptive Burn 1, System Pulse 1, Trajectory Lock 1, Command State 1, Combat Drift 1, Command Uplink 1, Damage Control 1

The XP bar was finally moving again, and five fresh attribute points were waiting for him to spend them. The build he and Emily had argued over back on the Triumph finally had something to work with.

THANK YOU, JESUS.

Emily caught his expression, nudging him. “Feels good, doesn’t it?”

“Emily,” Luca said, voice thick with gratitude, “I could kiss you right now.”

“Please do,” she grinned, leaning in.

Ryan bulldozed between them, clapping Luca’s shoulder. “Dude. We’re fucking back.”

Luca steadied himself, feeling the raw, untamed potential of this moment settle in his bones.

Yeah. They were.