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“God damn it, Max. I wanted daemon Stephen Hawking. He’s like a hero to me.” Xavier whined as he smacked the kiosk again as the team filtered back into the transition room between levels.
“Sorry, Xav. Too late now. I need him to understand my dad’s new tech. Once we get out of this dungeon you can download him, right?” Max said, not willing to cave to his friend's insistent complaints.
“Damnit. Ever since you tweaked Clotho’s nose, the rewards have been lame. I hope they improve when we transition into the next AI domain, what’s her name…Lachesis.” Xavier continued.
“Alright. Enough complaining, Is everybody ready for the next level? Pull your swarm motes in, weapons ready.” Charlie said, stomping on Xavier’s diatribe.
“Okay, okay. I’m ready.” Xavier said as he made his selection and waved away the virtual award screen.
“So, Max. Tell me why you think the next level is going to focus on resistance training.” Leah said as she reloaded her spetsdod dart throwers with fresh clips.
“It's the logical next step. Clotho said at the beginning she would build up our foundations for Lachesis to challenge us. Most of the challenges have improved our fighting, movement, and perception skills so far. None of her monsters or challenges pushed hard on our resistance skills. If Charlie hadn’t created his sadistic torture vest, most of my resistances would still be unimproved since we started. Clotho said she only had about 10 levels. So it's finishing time. As Sherlock would say; It’s elementary, my dear.”
“It sounds like a good hunch to me, Max. But why did you compile all that survival gear you’ve got stowed in your Tesseract? The whole point of training is not to depend on gear so our augmentations improve.” Charlie asked.
“I’m hoping we won’t need any. But not everyone is trained up as well as you, Charlie. If it gets too intense, it’ll be good to get what little help my supplies can provide. I’ve loaded up some tanks of oxygen and water. Parkas, Hazmat gear, scuba suits, inflatable shelter and raft, fire extinguishers and blankets, and food. I’ve got the basics covered, and my MC is loaded with feedstock material in case we need to compile anything else.” Max said.
“Nice! How’d you fit all that?” Xavier said.
“With the materials and energy that I’ve been feeding it, it’s grown to 7 meters across now. According to my dad’s math, expansion is going to cost more of both on an exponential level, but I haven’t reached the end yet. His initial calculations were off, not accounting for the material needs of the Yggdrasil structure. Theories are great and all, but experimentation always corrects wrong assumptions. Now that I’ve got Hawking looking into it, maybe I can improve it more.” Max said with a grin.
“Ok, you geeks. Load up. I’m opening the door.” Charlie said and hit the button.
The last level transition had changed the format. Instead of a spiral staircase, it featured a mining cart transit system. The new transfer room was a dome with a hole in the ground and a brass fireman’s pole going from the ceiling into the hole’s dark recesses.
“Oh joy! Looks like you boys get to play on the jungle gym yet again. The augmentation training designers must really enjoy kids' games, I’m guessing.” Leah said. Xavier was visibly excited, and Max smiled in turn. Charlie just grimaced, not enjoying being stereotyped.
“Awesomesauce! I’m first. Come on, you party poopers! The last one down is a Luddite with a capital L.” Xavier said, jumping on the pole and sliding out of sight.
“Shit! That kid is going to get himself killed. I always take point.” Charlie grunted and rushed. Jumping on the pole he swiftly followed. Max shrugged and followed with Leah close behind.
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Max slid with increasing speed down the dark tube. Light exploded in his vision as he cleared the tunnel. He subconsciously gripped tighter, slowing down, as he tried to assess the new level. His hackles rose and fear gripped him as he understood where they were.
The firepole exited the roof of a monstrous cavern many kilometers wide and a couple high. Max gripped tight, realizing how very far they would fall if anyone slipped. He looked down and saw vegetation and rolling hills far below. The view was interrupted as a cumulus cloud rolled past…underneath the team. The whole cavern was a patchwork of wildly different regions with abrupt and violent shifts in the landscape like it was slammed together by a capricious god.
He saw lightning clouds and thunder to the north, fire and volcanoes to the west, frigid snow caps to the east, and darkness with strange bursts of light to the south.
Max’s attention and amazement were cut short as Leah lightly bumped into him and stopped. Xavier and Charlie were screaming below.
“Got damn it! You almost knocked me off, you maniac!” Xavier yelled.
“If you hadn’t stopped so quickly, I wouldn’t have!” Charlie screamed back.
“Easy, boys! We’ve got a way to go yet, don’t panic.” Leah said tightly, her fear shaking her voice, making it less calming than she had intended.
“Easy for you to say! You're the only one with flying equipment.” Xavier retorted in a high-pitched whine.
“Fuck! I never thought of parachutes. After getting dumped into the lake on the very first entry, I should have anticipated this.” Max growled.
The winds chose that moment to pick speed and shift about the team, pulling and pushing them lightly. The clouds below were billowing and dark like it might rain. Max saw some specs in the distance and focused his vision for extended sight.
“Uhm, guys. We gotta go. Now! Look west.” Max’s vision had resolved the specs. They looked like pterodactyls. He couldn’t tell how big without any points of reference, but he didn’t want to find out.
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“Go, go, go!” Charlie urged, kicking down lightly at Xavier who had a tight grip and had closed his eyes.
Hearing the group’s urgings, Xavier opened his eyes fearfully and slowly resumed his sliding descent. The ancient dinosaur bird replicas were growing in Max’s amplified vision. Max felt a pulse from just above him coming from Leah and his system blinked in his vision.
[New Sense Skill unlocked: Radar 1 - Utilizing radio-embedded emitters and sense clusters; you can pretend to be an airplane as you soar through the sky.]
“Faster! Those big bird things are 500 meters and closing fast!” Leah yelled.
Xavier started going even faster, with Charlie almost on top of him. Max tried to keep a little more spacing to avoid crashing as he tried to focus downward and toward the pterodactyls at the same time. Another pulse from above, and Max’s vision filled with extra details, position, and velocity of soft targets about him. They were coming fast.
“200 hundred meters!” Leah screamed.
More than twenty were almost on them, each with a huge wingspan of 10 meters. Max extended his blade arms ready for a fight. He focused on the lead bird and cut loose with his [Laser] skill.
He shot the foremost bird in the face and it veered screaming to the side, disrupting the approach of two other monsters. More beasts funneled around the wheeling scrum. Screeching monsters roared and cawed all around the group. Charlie was cursing Xavier below who had stopped again.
From above, Max heard Leah’s spetsdods coughing in a rapid full auto chuffing. Wings flashed past, far too close. Max stabbed out with his blade arms while holding on desperately. He deflected a talon and felt his blade score as blood flew.
A resounding clang boomed and the pole shook in Max’s grip. A bird had impacted the pole below. Xavier screamed as he was pulled from the pole, one leg held tight in a terror bird’s talons. Charlie screamed and leaped grabbing Xavier in a tackle while slashing at the monster’s leg with Ohm’s Razor.
Max’s world slowed…as he ramped up his thought speed. He split his mind into fragments. He performed each move with preternatural speed. Each was executed with calculated precision. He shot out a pair of grapples at Charlie and Xavier. He fired off stun, laser, and strobe attacks at the nearest attackers at maximum speed while leaping upward to Leah.
He pinged her and thankfully she responded instantly. Max rejoiced as a plan formed in his mind. He triggered the Tesseract to open a sizable portal and he connected with Leah and explained in fast time.
“[Leah, we’ve only got one option and you are the key! I’m going to grab and yank Charlie and Xavier back. You can fly, but none of us can! I don’t think your levitation cloak can hold us all. We would all fall too fast. So we are going to pile into the pocket space, while I give you the anchor to hold while you slow-fall down.]” Max said quickly, as the portal expanded slowly against his fast frame rate.
“[Jeojoo hae! That’s only half a plan, Max. Then all these featherless bastards will tear me apart!]” Leah yelled. Max smiled at her, as he initiated his special project; the automated weaponry that now lined the central Yggdrasil of his pocket space.
“[I’ve got your back, Leah! Watch this.]” Max said.
His grapple clamps had locked on one of Xavier’s arms and Charlie's belt. He yanked hard with his device’s power-cinch retract accelerating to help pull them both toward him. Max strained to hold on one-handed as he pressed the Tesseract Anchor into Leah’s free hand.
Four birds whirled about, their claws out front, with another score behind lining up for their attacks as the space beside Max split. The soft blue glow of the portal erupted with laser auto fire and Kinetic minigun rounds exploding outward. Each round was targeted with augmented skill assistance to connect with deadly accuracy.
Flesh exploded and burned all around the team. The Maser Ray split one bird in half, then shut off as Charlie and Xavier tumbled into the portal’s maw. Max saluted Leah and flipped backward into the waiting portal.
Inside, utility fog and manipulator arms pulled the men aside and the guns resumed their harvest. Max's body was held in the foglet cocoon as he focused his mind on the Tesseract. He moved the portal by changing its focus on the anchor. He wheeled and slew the portal about, never slowing as his fire continued to tear into the beasts.
Leah had released the pole and was dropping fast, but in control, as her techno-magical levitation cloak billowed around her. Nanoscopic turbines pulled air from above and forced it downward to slow her descent.
Chunks of dinosaur meat rained from the sky as Leah dropped into the rainy cloud deck.
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The team was on the way to getting collectively drunk. Leah had successfully floated to the ground with only two swarms of flying dinosaurs attacking. The firepower issued forth from the pocket space portal on both occasions mincing the enemy before they became a threat.
The bottom of the sky pole ended in level 9’s first safe zone. Leah shakily dialed up a decanter of sake while the men decamped from the pocket space. She had immediately taken several huge swigs. Max had distributed copies of most of the gifts his family had provided before he came into the Labyrinth. Mira’s gift, the compact camper, had been a big hit; making everyone more comfortable when roughing it in the maze. After everyone settled down from the hectic fight and were reclined in cloud chairs, she spoke.
“Max, I know you have great aim and confidence in your new weapons, but next time give me a wider zone. I felt the air of those bullets whipping past me.” Leah groaned, handing the decanter to Charlie who took a swig.
“I’m so sorry, Leah. One was coming up behind you and you were facing the wrong way.” Max said.
“Meong-cheong-han! I have sensors that are full three-hundred-sixty vision just like you. I saw him coming.” Max chuckled, acknowledging her point with a nod.
"Next time, I'll adjust the fire pattern. Let's consider today a dynamic calibration exercise." He raised his glass, toasting to their survival. The team joined in, the laughter growing amidst the clinks of glassware.
They relaxed as the adrenaline of the battle slowly ebbed away. Xavier gushed at the massive array of firepower in the tesseract as Charlie compiled a large party pizza and more drinks. Max shared designs with Xavier as they reviewed the specifications. Suddenly Max's head jerked up and he said.
“Hey guys, I’ve had one of my instances reviewing the replays from our descent and start assembling a map. Look at this!” He shared a team-wide OverLayer virtual with his incomplete map of the patchwork terrain.
Once they accepted he zoomed in on the fire domain with maximum magnification. They all saw the pyramid with a minuscule orb at its top.
“Bets that this thing will be part of a quest?” Max said.
“Nope, I’ll keep my money. Thank you very much. You’ve gotten far too good at predicting this dungeon. Hey, I’ll get my Auggie working to layer my video recordings to try and fill in some of those blank sections, maybe we can locate more quest targets.” Charlie answered.
Soon the whole team was adding their views and splicing together a much more detailed map. There was a rocky zone with another pyramid with its orb drawing rapid lightning down from a rotating storm above. Something was glowing under the ice in a frozen region.
Max pulled out his sym-hornets, his robot raven, and a pair of recon drones that he’d copied from Xavier’s design and sent them off to scout out the pyramids. Xavier and the others quickly followed suit, using theirs to hunt for anomalies and fill gaps in the map.
Luckily the drones all had limited AI intelligences to guide them. As the tension and alcohol combined with the extreme comfort of the cloud beds, the inevitable didn’t need prediction. Very quickly the team was passed out and snoring as the drones began their mission. Nobody was awake when their system notifications rolled in.
[New Quest Unlocked: Elemental Alignment - the elemental spheres need to be arranged in their correct locations. Fix the misalignment. Carrying the spheres is a burden that must be done by hand. Iron will and fortitude are required to complete this trial. Objective: (0 of 10) complete.]
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