Havok Bringer

While Tiff and the rest of the crew decided to get down to business and start training like a team back on Earth, I had unknowingly been doing the same thing in the dungeon tower, with Kaj and Sherlock helping move me forward in my path.

I had now spent a few days in the extensive mountain range that served as the tower's second level, using that time to train, hunt, and get a better grasp on my armor's abilities. There was no lack of monsters to kill in this place, it seemed. I had hunted nearly exclusively in the three days that I had been in the mountain range and had pretty good success so far, fighting a variety of creatures that I had never encountered and gaining a healthy amount of XP.

The revelation that I could create constructs using its mass as building materials proved to be something that would take some time to master. The possibilities were nearly endless, but there were some drawbacks. I could create basic constructs already, as I had proven with the legion of tiny drones that were still actively surveying the mountain range. The difficulty, though, would come in when I tried to create something that wasn't necessarily native to my armor's materials.

"So, I can make any type of melee weapon that I can think of?" I asked as I stabbed at the giant wolf standing before me with a 6-foot-long spear created from my armor.

"That is correct," Sherlock replied. "If you want to create weapons with alternate abilities, you will need to absorb something that allows the armor to break down and synthesize the properties of said ability."

The Wolf, now bleeding from a wound on its side, growled. I took a second to identify it, as it was quite a bit larger than the four smaller wolves I had already downed.

Frost Wolf Alpha

Level – 46

– These large wolves often hunt in packs and can be found in most frigid climates. While most smaller members of the pack will utilize strictly physical means of attack, the Frost Wolf Alpha does possess some alternative forms of attack, including but not limited to telekinetic attacks.

"It seems this beast may yet have some surprises left to show," Kaj said, standing to the side with his arms crossed, quietly judging my technique. Kaj couldn't physically assist me outside of the safe room. We did find out quickly that his ability to teach and correct was turning out to be just as, if not more, important to my progression, though. He would watch me fight and give me pointers as the fight progressed. His knowledge of fighting styles and techniques was honestly mind-blowing. Whether my foe was humanoid, a beast, or some insectoid monster, Kaj was able to coach me throughout the fight on ways I could improve both offensively and defensively.

"I think you should kill it quickly before it decides to show its more powerful attacks."

"Kill it quickly? That is the sum of your infinite wisdom for this particular fight?" I asked through gritted teeth as I slowly circled the injured Frost Wolf, spear in hand.

The Frost Wolf circled in response as it growled menacingly, large teeth bared, its tongue darting from its mouth between menacing chomps. Then, without warning, the beast stopped. Its ears shot back, and its hackles raised as it howled loudly in my direction. The sound was ear-splitting. I was sure my eardrums would have burst if it weren't for my helmet. The sound shot from the wolf's mouth in visible circular waves that expanded as they traveled, slamming into me with significant force.

"I've seen that trick before. You are gonna have to do better than that mutt!" I said, holding my arms in front of my body, bracing against the impact. I remembered the Red-necked Swamp Donkey from the first floor and the sonic attack it had used. If I had to be honest, I was more than a little disappointed at the dungeon's lack of diversity.

Kaj grinned knowingly as he looked at me, "I fear you have underestimated the beast, Captain."

"Why do you say that?"

"Attack the beast and find out," Kaj replied with a chuckle.

I tensed in preparation to jump at the wolf, but nothing happened. I stood locked in the defensive position I had taken before being hit with the wolf's howling attack. The great beast stopped circling and looked at me knowingly, lowering its head and growling, once again baring its teeth as drool dripped from its snout.

"This is going to hurt," I groaned as the wolf attacked.

What I had mistaken for a simple sonic attack was actually a telekinetic attack disguised as a sonic attack. The howl had managed to paralyze me completely, and in the face of the attacking wolf, all I could do was prepare for the pain, and the wolf was happy to dish it out. It leapt toward me, latching onto my left forearm with a crunch. Once it had hold of my arm, it began thrashing its head back and forth, lifting me entirely off my feet and swinging me back and forth like a rag doll. The thrashing didn't stop until it ripped my arm off below the elbow.

I hit the ground with a thud, the air leaving my lungs temporarily. On the plus side, I had gained mobility back and could move again. On the downside, I was missing half of my left arm.

"Why is it always my arms?! Don't any of you fuckers ever go after other limbs!" I shouted at the wolf as I rolled back to my feet and found my breath. I focused on my armor, forcing energy into the end of my arm. Liquid began to leak from my elbow as my arm quickly reformed. I wiggled my fingers and looked at the wolf, who promptly spat out the piece of arm it had ripped from my body. The arm disintegrated as a small black liquid trail returned to my body and reabsorbed into my armor.

"Huh, isn't that nifty?" I said as I curiously watched the severed arm reintegrate into my body. "You're a bad dog! No more treats for you!"

Sherlock turned a deadpan gaze on Kaj. "This man," he said, pointing a finger at me. This man is who we have chosen to follow. I regret few things in my short life, but I am wondering if this should be one of them."

Kaj just smiled, "Let the boy show why we follow him."

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I began circling the wolf again, knees slightly bent and arms held low to each side. Without a word, the spear returned its mass into my armor as my daggers appeared in each hand, pointed down. I glanced down at the daggers to see the familiar description:

Black Hole Daggers – there exists no force more powerful in the universe than the dreaded Black Hole: a place void of matter and the peril of countless starships. The black hole will aid you in your quest.

Kaj had been drilling me on technique over the last few days, but it would take time for me to master hand-to-hand combat, much less weapons techniques. In the meantime, we had been focused on using my abilities to my advantage instead of using them as a last resort. The abilities were meant to be incorporated into my fighting style, and according to Kaj, this would be the first step in truly creating a style that was mine.

"Now, Captain!" Kaj shouted from behind.

My hands and forearms began glowing. The wolf had ripped off half of my arm, causing a pretty serious injury. Although it hurt like hell in the moment, I wasn't concerned. The reason was twofold: first, I knew I could regrow the arm, and second, the more damage I took, the more the Shield of Solaris ability charged.

Shield of Solaris was my newest ability, and other than not allowing me to heal or take stims for 10 minutes, there wasn't a ton of downside to using it. It hurt, but the pain was starting to be a constant friend, and if it brought me victory, I would embrace that friend.

I smiled as I rushed the wolf, daggers still at my side. It jumped toward me, aiming to hit me in the chest and stop my sudden advance. The wolf was strong, fast, and ferocious. Unfortunately, it wasn't any smarter than an average monster. As it jumped toward me, I rolled forward, coming up directly under its belly. I shot my fists into the air, having momentarily dismissed my daggers, and used the command to activate the ability.

"Shield of Solaris!"

As the ability was activated, a brightly glowing orange shield of heat and power materialized over my fists. I knelt under the shield as it seared into my hands and arms. As it materialized and grew, I mentally chose to expel the immense power upward, creating a blast of solar-infused power that shot the wolf directly into the air above me.

The wolf reached its crescendo at nearly 25 feet in the air as it twisted erratically and yelped in pain. As it fell, the shield, now having exhausted its power, disappeared, and I summoned my daggers once more. I held them aloft, directly over my head, as the wolf fell onto the jagged blades with another yelp.

I stood holding the giant beast above my head as blood from its wounds leaked down and covered my arms and upper body. The wolf continued to twist, trying to free itself from the daggers that were buried in its gut to no avail.

Ability Activated

Black Hole Drain - unique weapon skill - Black Hole Implosion – upon cutting an enemy, this dagger will drain vital energy with each slice. Upon successfully piercing an enemy with both daggers simultaneously, the Black Hole Implosion ability will activate, imploding the target completely after three seconds embedded in its body.

3…2…1…

The text scrolled across my interface as I watched the wolf break and twist in on itself, quickly consumed by my daggers' black hole ability.

"Do I look cool?" I asked, still holding the pose as I turned toward Kaj and Sherlock.

Sherlock gave a proper English slow clap, "Oh yes, you are definitely giving Jason Momoa vibes right now. Well, except for the overwhelming manliness, the perfect hair, the beard, the ability to attract most members of the opposite sex without even trying, the…"

"I get it. No need to continue, I am the absolute pinnacle of manliness. Thanks, Sherlock!"

"The subtle art of sarcasm is utterly lost on you, Captain."

"You are improving, Captain. It is good to see you starting to employ your abilities in new ways. I do believe we need to continue working on your defense, though. It is lucky that you were only facing the one wolf when you lost your arm. You may not have time to regenerate a limb if you are outnumbered, and you would be at a severe disadvantage if you find yourself in that situation. I fear we still have much work to do," Kaj said as he rubbed his chin with one hand, obviously deep in thought about future training sessions.

"Damn, I would complain about the lack of encouragement, but I got a few levels over the last few days, so that is reward enough," I said as the text scrolled across my interface.

Frost Wolf Alpha defeated!

Experience Earned!

Level Up!

After seeing the notification, I quickly pulled up my stats.

Name – Andrew Timothy Dawes

Race – Human

Level – P-50

Class – Havok Bringer

Stats –

Strength – P-51 – 98%

Intelligence – P-50 – 21%

Dexterity – P-51 – 12%

Defense – P-50 – 32%

Current skills:

Health stim activation

Stamina Stim recovery

Current abilities :

Pulsar Blast – Planetary class ability. Upgrade status – 81%

Big Bang – Planetary class ability. Upgrade progress – 76%

Do Over – Galaxy class ability – Upgrade progress – 0%

Shield of Solaris – Planetary Class Ability -Upgrade Progress 34%

"Gotta love those sweet, sweet levels. I finally hit level 50! Sherlock, have you made any progress on pinpointing exactly when I can expect to see my grade evolve? It would be nice to know everything that goes into that. Do I just get a new letter designator and start back at level 1, or are there things I need to do first? I'm kind of flying blind here."

"Haaaa…well, Captain. See, the funny thing is that while I have been working on the internal systems of the armor, I haven't been able to make any headway on the file caches yet. I won't be able to start that process until we perform the hard reset, which you have been dodging quite aggressively by the way."

"Ohhhh, excuse the fuck out of me for not wanting to let you temporarily kill me just to unlock some files," I waved my hands emphatically.

"Semantics, Captain. I assure you that you are completely safe and that there is minimal long-term risk to you," Sherlock replied with a wave of his hand.

"We can do the hard reset tomorrow. I just wanted to work on clearing this floor before then. Now that we have cleared the rest of the Wolf pack, all we have left is the boss. According to my drones, it is located to the north, on the other side of the mountain range. I haven't gotten an ID on it yet, but based on the thermal imaging, it is damn big," I said with a whistle. "Now, back to what you were saying about messing around with the guts on my armor."

"Well, as I said, I am still unable to access the file caches secured behind the firewalls, but I can access some of the other functions of the armor that were disabled. The descriptions of the features are, frustratingly enough, tied to the files that are not accessible. Even so, I wanted to test what would happen if I activated one of the features," Sherlock replied.

"Wait, are you saying that you have been playing around with the internal operating systems of the armor and are just flipping switches all willy-nilly, hoping for a good outcome?"

"I wouldn't use such vulgar terminology. I… I was just… testing a theory," Sherlock stuttered.

"A theory? A fucking theory?! Sherlock! What if you had damaged the armor or damaged me for crying out loud?"

"Captain, please calm yourself. My theory is that the power of the armor was being limited. Call it a governor of sorts. I believe I was able to remove that governor and open up the full potential of you and your armor," Sherlock said, holding his hands out in a defensive posture. "I believe you will now be able to surpass any being on the universal power scale with time."

"What are you saying, Sherlock?"

"I am saying that the combination of the Havok Bringer armor and your capacity as a Scandare could allow you to become the most powerful being in the universe, with time."

"Hell yeah! Always lead with the good news, Sherlock!" I started walking toward the boss's location. "Let's go see if we can speed things up a little bit."