Opening Moves (The Gam3 Book 1) (44 page)

“Yes, it was rather odd that we faced resource gathering slimes and Spiderbots that multiplied, wasn’t it?” Alan asked lightheartedly, though he was secretly feeling rather depressed he had said that he had given up his loot rights.

Void shrugged. ”I wouldn’t call it odd, exactly. Monsters and the like adjust to their surroundings. Look about you, do you see any food? I don’t think so. Thus, you have the self producing Spiderbots that can eat scrap metal, and these slimes that absorb energy. It makes perfect sense.”

“Um, right.” Alan replied.

The nuclei Aurora and Sidestep had slain dropped the exact same items, and after a short break, they continued up the ramp the slimes had dropped from with the help of icy steps Aurora created. At the top they found a large platform, with a cage at the center, probably where the slimes had been released from.

Eve had Alan try out his different forms of vision, and sure enough he detected an invisible path that branched out from the platform, similar to the path that he had found when he first entered the Abyss Labyrinth.

“Well, looks like that’s it, better head back now,” Void said.

“Um, if it’s okay, I’d like to look around a bit, you guys can head back without me,” Alan said, trying to appear unconcerned.

“Oh, know something about the secret pathways?” Void asked. “Don’t bother, it's a dead end. Trust me, we’ve tried.”

Well, that sounds surprisingly familiar,
Alan silently said to Eve.

“Um, I’d still like to try to go down the path myself. I want to try to gain some sort of trap detection skill,” he responded.

“Hmm, alright,” Void said, “Just remember, it’s your fault if you die! I won't be here to save your ass. I’ll head back with the others, and have someone wait for you to return. It might be a few hours though, so don’t get too impatient. The creatures shouldn’t respawn anytime soon. Probably.”

Void then turned back the way they came, Kitana, Sidestep and Aurora walking with him. Aurora sent Alan a questioning glance right before she left with the others, but Alan simply shook his head.

Once the others were out of sight, Alan stepped onto the hidden pathway, activating his power armor’s basic invisibility. It was time to find some treasure.

Alan progressed slowly and steadily. Unlike the last time he had tread down a hidden path, he did not simply rely on Eve’s directions and assistance. Instead, he attempted to navigate through the traps and puzzles without help. Eve would occasionally bring up a warning or complete a task for Alan, but the number of obstacles Alan was able to get through on his own surprised him.

After stepping through a hidden trigger before Eve could even warn him, Alan learned the value of patience. He managed to dodge most of the lasers that shot from the wall at him, taking minimal damage, but from that point on prudently examined his surroundings. After waiting too long at one intersection, Alan learned the value of haste. A giant boulder descended from the sky, crashing onto the ramp behind Alan, triggered by some unseen timer. He had to follow Eve’s directions to barely avoid being squashed like a bug. (She had solved the simple astrological riddle in 2.71 microseconds, whereas Alan had been sitting there trying to figure it out for over 15 minutes.)

A few hours later, Alan finally made his way to a cube-like structure. Only slightly worse for wear, he had gained a basic rogue ability, Trap Detection (Rank F). He wasn’t sure if this structure looked like the one he had been to earlier, as then he had been blindly following Eve’s directions. Now he could see.

It was miraculous what a difference sight could make. Whereas before the Abyss Labyrinth had been an unknown, inhospitable dungeon, it now seemed more like a clean, orderly facility to Alan. Gone were the shady pathways, the ever encompassing darkness. In their place Alan was able to see well maintained metal roadways, connecting the overall facility in a logical manner like detailed circuitry. While there was still a depth which Alan could not penetrate all around him, he had plunged into the darkness before, it was no longer unknown.

Boldly, Alan strode up to the doorway that blocked his path, noting the letters and numbers painted onto the wall. Consciously, he attempted to find an AI presence to interact with. His mind immediately thought of the Connect ability he had gained, and he felt his subconscious activate some protocol. A faint presence began to power up. Alan sent it a message immediately.

Greetings.

 … Systems Initializing. Error. Warning: Limited Power.

Greetings Traveler. Warning: Main Systems Offline.

Right, can you let me in? I have something that contains some energy, and wanted to test it out.
Alan held up the crystal he had received earlier.

Energy signature recognized. Hypothesis: Enough energy for five months in Low Power Setting. Adequate… for now. Please follow the designated path. Traveler set as friendly. Please do not fire upon defensive structures and workers. Sector 3 Chief Warden will guide you on how to deposit the energy.

Resuming Power Savings Mode. Estimated remaining power supply for limited functionalities: 3,000 years. Please contact the Authorities and repair or supply a permanent power source, Traveler. Current threat level: Gamma.

The connection ended. Alan’s quest failed to update, but he did receive a notification that he was now on friendly terms with the Abyss Labyrinth, which hopefully meant the wardens wouldn't attack him. Alan pushed against the doorway in front. This time, as a whirling of gears sounded, Alan could see a metal tunnel extend outwards from the structure, downwards to his right.

Not questioning it, Alan proceeded forwards. This central hub area looked to be in somewhat better repair than the one he had been in earlier. A few metal desks and tables remained, while the screen held fewer cracks. There was a flicker of light as the screen suddenly flashed to life, displaying what Alan assumed to be a map.

The hub that he was now in was a green circle. Hundreds of other circles were displayed as well, showing a vastness to the dungeon that Alan couldn’t quite comprehend. If he was reading it right, this map was equal in size to North America. Eve let Alan know that this was only a portion of the facility. One of four red squares was shown to be Alan’s destination, roughly 50 miles away.

Um, we aren’t expected to walk there, are we?

Eve sent a mental shrug. 
Proceed down the path provided.

Sighing, Alan went into the corridor open to him. As he made his way to the end of the hallway, he found himself in front of a metal slide. Remembering his earlier slide, Alan hesitated.

Um, how fast is this thing gonna go? And how am I going to get back? I have a limited food supply and time. Isn’t there somewhere closer or some other entity that can take this power crystal?

Proceed as ordered
, an unknown voice told Alan.

Taking a deep breath, Alan decided to continue. What was the worst that could happen?

You die and lose your power armor in addition to the quest item, levels and new abilities, resulting in servitude to the Black Rose Guild and Icewolf for the foreseeable future,
Eve sent.

WHAT?
Alan furiously thought, as he began a rapid descent, the panels below him negating friction.

You asked,
 Eve replied.
 I considered this update prudent, despite the rhetorical nature of your question. I thought you may have forgotten that Rank A items and above always drop upon death.

I did… 
Alan silently fumed as worry began to set in as he began hurtling through space. He wanted to take risks, but this was a bit much. It turned out that he did not want to see what was in front of him. Unlike what he had previously surmised, the metal tunnel he was sliding down was not an ever-present fixture in the facility. Instead it was being constructed before his eyes, assembled seconds before he reached the spot, pieces appearing from points unknown.

This would have been fine, or at least not so nerve wracking, if he had been proceeding at a sane speed, but apparently the unknown entity that had constructed the facilities had a different idea of safe. Alan truly began to panic as a large missile shot by the opening in front of him, narrowly missing the constructing ladder-way of doom. Unable to take it any longer, he shut his eyes, concentrating on the feeling of his dropping stomach, trying to avoid thoughts of nausea and dropping into the abyss.

***

Countless minutes later (42 according to Eve), Alan finally felt his descent slow. The slide gradually began to level out. When he opened his eyes, Alan found that he was moving alongside a metal pathway nearly 50 feet wide. All about him were heavy fortifications, turrets and mechanical behemoths that would have been intimidating if they hadn’t been powered down. Eve highlighted countless shield batteries and hidden traps that were turned off as well. Alan couldn’t help but feel as if he was cheating the system somehow, but silently accepted it. It looked like he’d soon come face to face with someone with real power in this place. Probably a gigantic computer of some sort.

The slide finally came to a stop, depositing Alan before a massive metal doorway, hundreds of feet tall, the entrance to a structure that was built into the surrounding walls. It looked as large as an imperial palace, if not quite so impressive in its current dilapidated state. Alan could see wires sticking out the various battlements at the top of the door. Like much of the rest of the prison, the building was devoid of much that would tell Alan its purpose, the only outstanding features being the defensive battlements.

In front of the doorway stood two level 1500 mechanical golems, modeled after an ancient race of giants, at least according to Eve. Each stood nearly twenty feet tall with six appendages, four winding arms of coiled metal and two legs, but no discernible head. Each arm held massive cleaver-like blades. They appeared to be made out of a dark grey metal with a more stone-like texture. Similar to Sidestep, the entirety of their bodies were covered in tubing that pulsed green. In the center of each golem’s cylindrical torso was a large, mechanical eye that glowed blue. Unlike the other defenses, the golems were still active.

Nervously, Alan proceeded forwards. The two sentinels slowly turned to face him. Alan slowly took another step forwards, then another, until he was between the two. As they took no further action, Alan let out a sigh of relief before walking onwards. He noticed that each golem had a second eye on the opposite side of their torso. A small doorway opened up when Alan got close enough to the entrance.

Alan glanced inside, then froze. He immediately activated hypercognition mode, as well as his armor’s advanced stealth mode. Within the structure was a Predecessor.

The Predecessor stood in the middle of the structure, a lightly glowing collar around its neck. It wore a tightly woven chain mail vest made of the writhing black metal the other Predecessor’s knife had been made of, and wielded a massive two handed great sword made of the same material. The metal, which absorbed light, shrouded the Predecessor in darkness except for the collar. Alan discovered the metal absorbed every other type of radiation as well as he rapidly switched between types of vision to try to get a better look.

It is called soulsteel, 
Eve informed Alan, 
a physical manifestation of a Predecessor’s psionic abilities, the only known metal capable of cutting their skin. It is impossibly dense, yet light, with numerous other properties we don’t have the time for now. They forcibly draw out their psionic ability, through their blood, and it solidifies into the metal you see before you. A small ingot about the size of a mark is able to be produced about once a millennium by every Predecessor. That mark-sized ingot could easily be exchanged for a small spaceship worth billions of credits. The fact that it has so much…

That Predecessor is either very strong, or very old, quite possibly both. Predecessors often challenge each other, dueling for soulsteel, taking half of what the defeated party owns. A symbol of status, and strength. I am unable to determine its level, and it is an S class threat, if not higher. You are right to proceed with caution.

Alan stood still, staring at the Predecessor, continuing to test out his different types of vision. He almost gasped when he finally switched to gamma vision, noticing what was behind the Predecessor. Most of the structure was devoid of anything except for metal tiling on the floor, a large hall perfect for a massive raid boss. At the far end of the room the massive wall was adorned with metal cables stretching out of one central point, a cylindrical barrel with ten small slots, each containing a symmetrical cube crystal the size of a fist. All but one was devoid of color. This tenth crystal glowed softly in Alan eyes.

Gamma radiation, at least according to the basic lesson Eve had given Alan, was deadly. It also emerged from highly energetic events: black holes, supernovae explosions and the like. That it was contained within a crystal, which didn’t seem to leak any of the light elsewhere, was amazing. If this facility depended on such power sources, Alan wasn’t sure how he’d ever find a suitable replacement. Alan switched back to his normal, see in the dark vision, in which the crystal was black.

Next to the ring of crystals was a small, glowing circle. When Alan concentrated it, it became clearer, manifesting into a solid teal circle of color that rose up and became a cylinder.

A Capture Point,
 Eve let Alan know. 
The Predecessor must be the area boss.

The Predecessor turned to face Alan.

“What is the delay? Come in.” It spoke in a gravelly tone, as if it hadn’t used its voice in years.

“And, uh, what if I don’t want to?” Alan nervously said, backing away from the door way a bit.

In a single step, before Alan could react, the Predecessor was at the doorway. It looked down at Alan.

“Then I will end you. Even if you are a figment of my imagination.” It widened its teeth in a vicious smile.

“Um, I’m real, please don’t hurt me.” Alan swallowed nervously, stepping into the room, deactivating his armor’s so-called advanced stealth mode.

“Good.” The Predecessor attempted what it thought was a calming smile, though to Alan it looked more like a grimace. “Why are you here? Another search of Aleph, perhaps?”

Hands trembling slightly, Alan brought out the small violet crystal. The Predecessor narrowed its eyes.

“Um, I'm here to recharge the power or something like that.”

“Why don’t you leave here and never return?” The Predecessor rested its massive hand on Alan’s shoulder.

“And, um, why would I do that?”

“Do what? That was simply an errant… suggestion.” The Predecessor punctuated the last word by gripping Alan hard enough that his shields quickly drained, halved by the simple squeeze. Alan winced as there was a crushing sound, and a message popped up notifying Alan his armor was damaged.

“Sorry, that was an accident. I hope nothing worse happens if you stay here longer,” the Predecessor said, staring at Alan menacingly.

Alan looked up blankly at the Predecessor, not taking the hint. “Um, okay? Here’s the crystal, to help with the, um, quest?”

Alan, I believe the Predecessor was threatening you, trying to get you to leave.

Oh, he was? Why would he do that?

Unclear.

Um, right.

The Predecessor stared down at the miniscule human holding out the little crystal, then let out a throaty chuckle. It took the crystal out of Alan’s hand in a blur of movement.