Destiny Among the Stars - Scifi - LitRPG - Adventure

Into the tree line they moved, helmet lights cutting through darkness, comms open, weapons live.

That's when they saw those damned raptors again, hiding in the dark, between the ferns. Dozens of them. Reflecting their lights from the underbrush.

It had been subtle at first. A flick of leaves... a shuffle of claws.

Then the forest exploded. From the shadows, raptors poured like a wave, bounding low across the ground, claws tearing at soil. Wet footsteps and snarling cries filled the air.

Only this time they didn't panic.

"Form up!" Luca yelled. "Danny, Emily, frontline. Ryan and Chris, stagger back. Move!"

With a satisfying thunk, Joey's shield slammed into the deployable barricade, the metal shield locking in place. Beside him, Danny took point, plasma chainsaw igniting with a vibrating roar. Pulsing orange light bathed his armor as he stepped forward like a knight out of some post-apocalyptic fever dream.

Luca dropped into a crouch behind the forward boulder, lining up his sniper as Ryan fumbled with his rifle beside him.

"Try not to shoot me this time."

"No promises!" he shouted.

The first raptor lunged, and Joey caught it mid-air, hurling it straight into a tree. The crack of bone echoed like a gunshot.

Another raptor flanked right. Danny swung in a wide arc, catching its leg. The limb flew free, spraying black blood across the moss. The raptor collapsed, screaming.

Six, maybe seven more poured in.

Emily fired rapidly, short bursts that stitched glowing lines through the underbrush. One raptor leapt too high and took a blast directly to the chest.

Luca activated [Proximity Threat Map], his interface flickered as silhouettes popped up all around them, motion paths drawn in glowing blue. Three raptors flanking the rear. One about to pounce on Ryan.

"Ryan, behind you!"

He spun just in time, ducking low as the raptor sailed past, claws grazing his helmet.

"Thanks!" he yelled, tossing down his Arcwave Disruptor. The pulse flared out in a cone of blue energy, catching two of the flankers mid-charge. They seized up, electricit discharge zapping them., enough to interrupt their lounge.

"Emily, left!" Luca shouted. "Two more inbound!"

"Already on it." Her blasters sang, twin bursts of light turning the darkness into strobe-lit chaos.

Joey shoved another raptor away with brute force, his armor catching a few slashes but holding. Danny chopped the creature down mid-stagger, chainsaw whining through sinew and bone.

Luca tracked the final raptor darting low through the brush, its movement too erratic for a clean shot.

Time for [Reflex Shot].

Luca exhaled and triggered the skill; his vision tunneled as the system lit up the beast in red. He let the rifle pull itself into line. One shot. A burst of blue plasma split the raptor's skull. It dropped like a puppet with cut strings.

24 dead raptors.

[+75,445 XP]
[+27,000 credits]
[Skill level up! Adaptive Cover Proficiency Level 9 --> Level 10]
[Ability Unlocked: Cover Spotting, Level 1: Highlights the most effective nearby cover options, taking visibility, line of sight, and environmental factors into account when single a target, grants two additional targets per level. Cooldown: 60 minutes, decreasing by 10% per level]

Luca just stared at it. Four years of grinding Adaptive Cover, diving, ducking, hiding, weaving fire lanes in portal gauntlets, tweaking angles like a psycho with a death wish, and an obsession with cover geometry. It paid off.

Now Luca had it, he was officially in the realm of ops guys. Not just the scrappy scout kid anymore. He had real tech now. Real tools.

Pattern Recognition let him see flanks coming before they happened. Proximity Threat Map could track enemies in the dark when his eyes couldn't. Target Lock Assist, Reflex Shot, Trajectory Focus, Weak Point Focus... everything he needed to land the first hit or the last one when it mattered most. Silent Step, Ghost Protocol, and Heightened Awareness turned him into a shadow when he needed to slip in and out undetected. System Bypass could crack any lock the System threw at him.

And now Cover Spotting. All his combat skills now had their ability unlocked, except Blade Expertise, which, honestly? He couldn't care less.

[Item acquired: Centauri Phantom Mk-64 Silent-Step Boots]
[Power Cell x2]
[Item acquired: Neural Scrambler Grenade]
[Item acquired: Centauri Juggernaut Mk-64 Core Plating]
[Item acquired: Adaptive Alloy Chips]
[Item acquired: Centauri Starfire Lance Heavy Assault Rifle]

Luca's jaw actually dropped a little. That… was a haul.

"Uh," Luca said, raising a hand to the team. "System just puked out some real shit."

Everyone gathered around the glowing loot beacon as the items materialized in pulses of blue light on the forest floor.

Ryan was already crouching by the Starfire Lance, eyes practically sparkling as he reached for the weapon like a kid on Christmas morning. "Oh, hell yes. Look at this beauty."

Luca tilted his head. "You touch that thing and I'll smack you."

He looked up at Luca. "C'mon, man! It has burst fire, full auto, and an overcharged plasma shot, what's not to love?"

"Your aim," Emily chimed in, crossing her arms with a smirk.

Danny didn't even look up from inspecting the Juggernaut Core Plating. "It'd be a waste on you, bro. You fire like you're trying to draw shapes in the air."

"Stick to engineering, hotshot," Joey added, nudging him with a grin. "We'd rather not have our suppressive fire suppress us."

Chris finally stepped forward and hefted the Starfire Lance, cradling it like it was made for him. "Now this is a gun. Plasma-stabilized, built-in cooling coils, multiple fire modes. Perfect for my class."

Ryan groaned. "You guys suck."

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"Cry harder," Luca muttered, already pulling the Silent-Step Boots closer to him. He ran [Inspect] automatically, his interface lighting up with a satisfying flood of green highlights.

[Centauri Phantom Mk-64 Silent-Step Boots]
Lightweight, reinforced boots with variable traction soles for silent movement across multiple surfaces. Magnetic grip mode allows for zero-G traversal, and ankle stabilizers improve balance during rapid maneuvers.

"That's number four," Luca muttered, turning the boots over in his hands. "Between Zoe and me, we have three pieces of the Phantom set. These make four."

Emily raised an eyebrow. "Only one pair of boots though."

Luca nodded. "Still need the gloves to make a full set, so I'm not switching out just yet."

He turned the boots over in his hands, studying their sleek design. Four pieces. So close, but the set wouldn't activate with four pieces. Without that fifth piece, these were just expensive boots with decent individual stats. No camouflage, no Ghost Protocol, no movement prediction dampening, no threat response coordination. The integration matrix needed all five pieces to unlock the real power, the abilities that made scout suits legendary.

Zoe peeked out from the Peregrine's ramp, still pale but watching them closely. When she spotted the boots, her eyes lingered, and Luca gave her a nod, she got it. If either of them were going to keep up in this tier, they needed those armor bonuses. And the suit made them who they were out there. Exposed in anything else.

Danny, meanwhile, had finally picked up the Juggernaut Core Plating, eyes wide.

[Centauri Juggernaut Mk-64 Core Plating ]
Heavy duralloy and carbon-titanium hybrid chest armor with layered reactive plating. Contains the Fusion Drive Core that powers the exosuit functions when all five pieces are connected. Emergency reinforcement mode boosts armor density by 35% for 15 seconds.

"Damn," he whispered. "Joey… this is insane."

Joey stepped up beside him, folding his arms across his chest. "We both need it. But the set doesn't activate until we find the boots."

Danny looked over. "You wanna roll for it?"

Joey shrugged. "You tanked more of the raptors than I did. You take it."

Danny blinked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. I've got better hands for medical. You've got better hands for chainsawing things in half."

Ryan snorted. "Romantic."

Joey gave him a deadpan look. "Don't make me test the medical scissors on you."

Emily grinned. "Can't we all just agree Ryan's not allowed to use any weapon more advanced than a wrench?"

"I fixed the shield emitter," Ryan snapped.

"And then immediately missed four shots," Luca said, smirking.

He pointed at Luca. "Next time I'm letting you fall out of a tree."

"You did let me fall out of a tree."

"Semantics."

Luca laughed, the tension of the earlier fight bleeding out of him as they tucked the gear into storage crates. Their bags were getting heavy with rewards, but they weren't done yet. This place still had more to give. And Luca still had gloves to find.

They fanned out, searching for the herbs. Strange ferns, twisted vines, clusters of bioluminescent moss, but none looked like what they needed.

After a while, the search felt futile.

Finally, Danny, frustrated, pointed his helmet light upwards. The beam stretched high, illuminating the sprawling canopy, and there, nestled within the tangled vines about two hundred feet above them, were bright purple flowers glowing faintly in the dark. Bingo.

"What the f-"Ryan muttered, squinting up at the impossible height. "How are we supposed to get up there?"

Luca cracked his neck and adjusted his gloves. "Guess that's on me, huh?"

Ryan made a sound halfway between a scoff and a laugh. "What, because you're wearing your little noodle suit? Please."

Luca glanced at him, unimpressed. "Jealousy's not a good look, Mitchell."

"It's not jealousy, it's concern," he shot back. "One rogue breeze and we're gonna see way too much Rossi."

Emily chuckled. "Nah, let him go. We're all enjoying the view."

Luca looked over his shoulder at her, arching a brow. "You're flirting with me while I risk my life?"

"Multitasking," she called sweetly. "Now climb, Scout Leader. Make it sexy."

With a dramatic sigh, Luca stepped to the base of the tree and grabbed a thick vine, giving it a firm tug. It creaked but held steady. Good enough.

"Alright, wish me luck," Luca muttered, and began to ascend, legs wrapped around the vine, pulling hand over hand. The vine was cold and slick with moss, biting into his gloves, and within seconds Luca could feel the strain in his arms. Easy does it. Just a few dozen meters of vertical hell to go.

Ryan's voice crackled in Luca's earpiece. "You know, if you die up there, I'm not going after your body."

"Noted," Luca grunted. "Also, rude."

About halfway up, Luca paused to catch his breath, chest heaving as he leaned into the trunk. He glanced down, the squad was barely more than a glow of helmet lights far below. And the flowers were still so far above him, swaying gently in the breeze. Why is it always me?

"Keep going, Luca! You've got this!" Emily called from below, her voice light, though Luca could hear the worry behind it. "And don't think we can't see that cute butt of yours from down here!"

"Glad you're enjoying the view," he muttered.

"Always."

He rolled his eyes. Always the comedian. But as he ascended, the rough surface of the vines turned slippery as the chill of the damp forest air turned his grip slick with moisture.

About halfway up, he paused, adjusting his hold on the vine, glancing down at the others below, small figures clustered in their lights. He was high, but the purple flowers were still a good distance above him. I'm not exactly a fan of heights.

He took a breath before continuing when a sudden screech tore through the air, and a dark shadow passed overhead, wings beating against the branches. His helmet's light caught a glimpse of a leathery-winged creature, clawed and furred with scales glinting under the light, its long tail trailing behind it as it circled back. What the fuck is that?

"Careful!" Joey shouted. "We must've set them off!"

"Yeah, well, they can get in line!" Luca yelled, gripping the vine tighter as he climbed. His eyes moved between the flowers above and the shadow sweeping around him, each wingbeat bringing it closer. Just get the damn flowers.

With a sharp breath, he activated [Combat Predictive Modeling], and the interface flooded with threat diagnostics and projected behavior paths.

What the hell?

"There should be three of them," Luca shouted as he grabbed the vine and tried to swing out of the way.

One of the creatures dived, sharp claws extended, and he barely twisted to the side in time, feeling the whoosh of air as it shot past him. He pressed himself closer to the vine, feeling the thrum of his heart against the rough bark.

Chris and Ryan fired quick bursts from below, their shots slicing through the canopy, forcing the shadow back as it wheeled to dodge. At least they're trying. Luca was more afraid of Ryan's aim than whatever the hell that was. And where the fuck was Zoe when you needed her?

"Luca, keep moving!" Emily shouted. "We'll cover you!" Easy for her to say.

He gritted his teeth, his arms burning as he pulled himself up the last stretch toward his target. He was nearly there when a second Vireling let out a piercing shriek and released a cloud of shimmering, purple spores that swept down toward him.

Oh, shit.

His eyes stung as the spores burned, coating his exposed face with a tingling numbness that seeped through his senses.

What the hell is this stuff?

He blinked, fighting the haze as he felt claws slice through his chest armor, the fabric tearing under the creature's razor-sharp talons.

Pain shot through him as he lost his grip, one hand slipping as he fumbled, struggling to hold on. His armor hung in tatters, exposing raw, scratched skin beneath, and for a terrifying second, he felt his balance waver.

No, no, no!

"Luca!" Ryan yelled from below, voice frantic as he saw me slip.

His fingers scrambled as his body jolted downward. Luca was falling, but in a twist of fate, his foot snagged on a tangled section of vine, leaving him hanging upside down, suspended far above the ground, his vision swimming.

"Hold tight! We've got you!" Ryan yelled, his plasma rifle blasting a shot straight at the Vireling diving in for another attack. Worst. Shot. Ever.

The creature screeched as the shot struck, and it veered off, wounded, leaving Luca swinging from the vine.

Danny and Joey fired quick bursts, taking down one of the Virelings that lunged toward Luca, crashing into the forest floor with a sickening thud. He steadied himself as best he could, disoriented, his blood pounding as he swung upright.

Reaching toward the flowers, Luca grabbed hold of a handful, yanking them free from the vine with a final effort before sliding down as fast as he could manage, the rough bark cut through his gloves. Almost there.

By the time he hit the ground, his breaths were ragged.

[Mission Objective: Medicinal Harvest – 5% Complete]

Are you fucking kidding me?

"That was insane!" Danny said, his voice relieved as he lowered his rifle.

Luca barely registered the solid ground beneath his feet before the pain in his chest sent a fresh wave of dizziness through him. His vision blurred, and he caught a brief glimpse of his own chest, the deep claw marks stretching from shoulder to leg, blood seeping freely from the ragged wounds.

Oh, shit. That's not good.

The world tilted, and in a heartbeat, darkness claimed him.