Destiny Among the Stars - Scifi - LitRPG - Adventure

Emily was different. Unlike Ryan, she could actually shoot. She grew up around guns, her dad, the one that had walked away from Emily and her mom, had been a cop, and she'd always had a bit of an obsession with weapons.

Swords too, as a big sci-fi nerd.

The problem? Swords break. Even with all her skills, she knew durability mattered. So instead, she packed two Hyperion Devastator Energy Blasters.

Same model as Joey's, but while Joey's was Truestrike-class for aim assist, Emily's were Devastator-class, modded purely for damage.

Add in her Deadeye path skills, and yeah, she was their best DPS by far, no thanks to Ryan.

Chris might be able to outgun her, but they hadn't seen him in action yet. The way people talked about him, though? It could just be his fan club hyping him up. Guess they'd find out soon enough.

She would need at minimum three energy cells, though four would be better, especially if she was toggling on the Power Surge ability on her Tethys Medium Armor.

Then there was Zoe.

Assassin Path. Master of long-range takedowns, silent kills, and generally making things miserable for anyone on the wrong side of her rifle.

Her armor? Same as Luca's. Dione Vanguard Light Armor Suit. Or, as they called it?

The Scout Suit.

The original Level 10 version had been called that, and no matter how many upgrades the system did to it, that name was never changing. And honestly? This thing was a technological masterpiece.

Like the others, it had five core pieces: helmet, chest, gloves, legs, and boots.

Once equipped, it wasn't like normal armor. Nope. Instead, a black, elastic material spread from each piece, merging together into a form-fitting bodysuit.

Form-fitting didn't even begin to cover it; this thing clung to you and squeezed. A little scandalous at first, sure, but it moved like nothing else.

Unlike Medium Armor, which gave you mobility and some protection, the Scout Suit gave you mobility and zero protection. But the benefits? They were worth it.

Passive camouflage: always blending into the background meant you were harder to see and harder to hit.

Active ability? Full camouflage for 30 seconds. Turning them completely translucent, day or night, moving in total invisibility. Problem? Cooldown was a bitch: 2 minutes and counting.

If you weren't seen, you couldn't be hit ...That was the theory, anyway.

Zoe didn't just snipe from a distance; she dominated it. Her Enceladus Devastator Energy Sniper Rifle was her pride and joy, a weapon that could melt skulls from miles away.

The rifle had pinpoint accuracy, a long-ass effective range, and the power output to punch through most armor like it was wet paper. If she had a shot lined up, the fight was usually over before anyone knew it had begun. Headshots weren't just her specialty; they were her personality.

If something, or someone, was stupid enough to get close? That's where her Phobos Devastator Energy Dagger came into play.

Most people didn't take energy daggers seriously. They saw the small frame, the sleek handle, the humming energy field around the blade, and assumed it was just a fancy knife. They were dead wrong.

The thing cut through armor like butter, burned straight through flesh, and cauterized the wound on the way out. It was quick, quiet and efficient, a perfect weapon for infiltrator missions.

Luca had seen her use it before, fast, brutal, and usually over before her target even realized they were dead. Zoe didn't fight fair. She didn't need to.

Zoe was built for the shadows. And whether she was lining up a shot or sneaking up behind someone, you'd never know she was there, until it was too late.

She would need at least three energy cells, one for her suit and two more, one for each weapon. She had her own energy blaster, which, depending on the scenario, might come in useful.

Finally, there was Luca.

Operative Path. Same Scout tree as Zoe, but instead of focusing purely on long-range kills, his combat path leaned into hand-to-hand combat, infiltration, and hacking.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

The Dione Vanguard Light Armor Suit adapted to his body, molding itself snugly, offering full mobility at the cost of actual armor. The thing was downright revealing, but it more than made up for it in performance.

While all their armor was airtight and could keep them alive in a vacuum, they weren't all created equal. Joey and Danny's Rhean Powered Armor? Built to handle insulation, temperature control, and negate body heat buildup.

The Scout Suit?

Let's just say things got hot and steamy real fast. The material wasn't spandex, but... yeah. It was tight.

For weapons, Luca carried his trusty Energy Tomahawk, a New England regional drop, twice upgraded with System mods, and still his favorite weapon. His dad had one too.

Lightweight, deadly in close quarters, and great for quick, brutal takedowns. But when Luca wasn't getting up close and personal, he had both his Enceladus Farstrike Energy Sniper Rifle and Hyperion Truestrike Energy Blaster.

Yet, regardless of how good their armor was or how much firepower they carried, the truth was, they all got dinged. They hadn't lost any extremities permanently. Not yet.

But time in the medical pods was a necessary evil. Whether it was resting, recovering, or regrowing a few fingers, they'd all been there.

Considering what they were about to walk into? They were probably gonna need them again real soon.

Luca would need at least three or four energy cells, one for the scout suit and one for each weapon.

Luca led them to the portal's edge, his scout armor fitting snugly around him, the familiar weight of his sniper rifle resting at his back, and his tomahawk at his side. He raised his palm, and his interface lit up, a display shimmering in the air, covering his vision:

A beat of stunned silence, and then the team erupted.

"Holy shit," Ryan breathed, his voice crackling with excitement. "Level sixty-four. Sixty-four."

"And it's inactive," Zoe added, a slow, predatory grin spreading across her face. "It's like it was waiting just for us."

"This is it, Luca!" Emily rushed to his side, grabbing his arm. Her eyes were wide, practically glowing with the reflected light of the portal's interface. "This has to be it! This is how we break the cap. We have to pop it!"

"Hell yeah, we do," Ryan roared, slamming a fist into his palm. "We've been grinding for years for a shot like this. Let's crack this thing wide open!"

It was Joey who finally cut through the hype, his voice a steady, low rumble. "Hang on. Recommended sixty-four? This is our first run together, and we're jumping straight into the deep end. We have thirty-two energy cells between the seven of us. That's not a lot of runway if things go south."

Chris, shifting the empty pack on his shoulders, spoke up before Luca could. "That's the point, isn't it? The bigger the risk, the better the drops." He gestured with his thumb toward Danny, who gave a slow nod, patting his own matching backpack. "We didn't bring these to carry air. We're planning on filling them up. We find what we need in there."

Luca grinned, the raw confidence cutting through any lingering doubt. He nodded, acknowledging Joey's caution. "He's right. We go in smart. But Chris is right, too. We didn't come four and a half light-years to play it safe."

His gaze drifted over his crew, all of them ready to go. Ryan looked like he was prepping for an entire goddamn war.

"Jesus, Ryan," Luca said, eyeing the turret strapped to his back, the grenades jangling on his belt. "You bringing the whole armory with you?"

Ryan grunted, shifting the weight. "Some of us come prepared, noodle boy. Not all of us can prance around in spandex and pretend we're untouchable."

"Hey!" Emily shot back with a laugh, playfully swatting Luca's arm. "He's not all noodle."

Luca smirked, stretching out one leg like he was about to run a marathon. "Jealous?"

Ryan scoffed. "Yeah, I'd love to be one energy bolt away from streaking through a dungeon."

Zoe, not missing a beat, cocked her head, her eyes twinkling. "Would be a real shame if something happened to that suit, huh?"

Luca flipped her off. "Seriously, though," he said, nudging one of the two tank mines strapped to Ryan's thigh. "Do you really need all this crap?"

"Don't worry about me, Cap," Ryan shot back, his grin matching Luca's. "Just keep looking pretty in your rubber suit, and let the real soldiers handle the heavy lifting."

Luca shook his head, the laughter bubbling up. This was his team. Loud, insane, and ready to charge headfirst into hell for a chance at glory. He turned back to the portal, the energy of his decision solidifying in his chest. He felt Emily squeeze his arm in anticipation.

"We're explorers," Luca said, his voice ringing with conviction that echoed the excitement of his crew. "And this is what we fucking do."

He focused on the interface, his thumb hovering over the "Activate" option. He stabbed the button.

"We're going in," Luca commanded, his voice sharp and clear over the rising roar.

This was it. Two months of travel, 500 million credits, building a ship around an FTL engine, and coming 4.5 light-years across the galaxy. All for this moment. All for this shot at breaking the level cap that had kept them grinding for years.

The crew stood in tight formation, their armor catching faint flickers from the Peregrine's outpost mode lights. Luca's voice came through the comms, calm but firm. "Seal your suits. Closed visors."

Each helmet slid into place with a faint hiss, blocking out the bright light of New Dawn and filling their view with cool, blue-tinted HUD displays. Luca glanced around, checking each helmet's green light signal. A tap on his wrist engaged the integrated comms. "Everyone good?"

They'd learned the hard way that system portals could be unpredictable. This wasn't Earth anymore; breathable air couldn't be assumed, and neither could stable environments. Their new suits were leagues beyond their old gear. They were fully pressurized, oxygenated, with layered plating and advanced tech suited for each role.

The portal shuddered. A low hum vibrated through the ground as the dark energy began swirling, getting brighter, spinning faster into a vortex of violent light. The air crackled, charged with raw power.

Just another dungeon. They had this.

They walked into the portal.

It was like being squeezed through a tube made of Jell-O. Luca's stomach did a flip, and for a second, he was just floating in disorientation.

Then, bam, boots hit the ground.

Gravity was lighter here, fucked with his stride for a sec.