Climbing across the ceiling of the cavern was something that, up until Oliver got the system, he would have said was impossible- for him, at least. While he had seen videos of it being done, those people were clearly very experienced climbers. And they used safety gear.
And they were significantly more fit... Well, more fit than he was pre-system.
With drastically increased attributes compared to his past self, not the mention the claws he received from Aspect of the Familiar, he was finding it manageable... Though he was sure he looked ridiculous.
He had been forced to store the helmet of his hazard suit in the warehouse, as the pointed, pink squirrel like ears jutted up above his head. Worse, the blue-green tail covered in downy pink fur was nearly six feet long and waving lazily behind him. At least Lita covered the entire thing, making it look almost like his shadow... a bit. He was still struggling with how to properly control the extra appendage.
At least the claws were helping with his climb, even if they were bright pink. And he couldn't cover them with Lita and still use them properly.
Though they did ruin his boots, as he hadn't expected them to sprout from his toes as well.
Nearly three inches long with a slight curve to them, they shot out from where his toenails were previously. Wickedly sharp and durable, he was surprised that, with a bit of effort, he could actually pierce the cavern's rocks- a handy little feature that made his climb a bit less insane than he initially thought.
Unfortunately... it hurt.
Unused to having claws, or using them to climb, it put a great deal of stress on his hands, fingers, feet, and toes. At times, it almost felt like torture. Like someone was trying to rip his fingernails out.
But the worst part, as far as Oliver was concerned, was the smug look on Henrietta's face as she easily skittered along ahead of him, guiding him along the safest path.
Though how he knew what 'smug' looked like on a squirrel, he wasn't sure. Maybe he was projecting.
While the familiar bond didn't offer them any form of shared telepathy or empathy, the increase to Henrietta's intelligence at least made her able to somewhat understand his words- he was fairly sure, as she had quickly latched on to words like 'snack' and 'treat' in the little time they had had with each other. That and she seemed to understand when he asked her to guide him along a safe and easy path for their climb.
While he had considered waiting to bond with something different, he was honestly quite pleased with his choice for a familiar- minus the smug look, of course. He kinda liked the vicious little critter.
His traversal of the ceiling was slow and cautious by necessity, as he doubted even his heightened attributes would save him from a fall at that height. Despite his distance above them, every inch he drew closer to the sentries just ratcheted up his anxiety... Until he was past, with them none the wiser.
And he finally got a good view of the base in its entirety.
Because his first look with the binoculars had been at an upwards angle, he had only seen some of the taller buildings. And, while he had assumed there would be an airstrip for the planes, he didn't really know where it was located or how the planes would be situated. But now, from his perch above, it was all much clearer.
The airstrip itself was off center to the right and ran all the way from the entrance to what he guessed was some sort of safety net near the back wall. In the somewhat dim light, he wasn't quite able to judge its length, but he guessed it to be a mile long. Maybe more; he wasn't quite sure.
Further to the right, the planes all sat in staggered rows. A quick count caused a second of confusion for him, as there were forty-eight of the... It was a bit of an unusual number, at least to him. Then he remembered that he had destroyed one... And another had crashed into the shuttle.
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“They have fifty, but they didn't send all of them at us... Not wanting to risk them all in one attack? Or a lack of pilots?” He murmured to himself as he pondered it.
Only for his musing to be interrupted by Henrietta's annoyed squeak. Throwing an amused glance at his tiny familiar, Oliver quickly returned to surveying the base layout.
Past the planes on the far right were several small buildings set right into the side of the cavern- possibly storage for parts and tools? It was only a guess, but it felt right to him. Especially since the rest of the right side was entirely devoted to their planes.
While the right side was mostly open, the left was the opposite. Clusters of buildings of a variety of sizes filled the left side, with the only open spaces being the roads and walkway that cut through them in a neat grid.
With three exceptions: a large, open square that looked like it may have been a mustering fields, an expansive obstacle course- likely where the soldiers trained, and a wide open plot around a single building in the far back of the cavern.
Which also happened to be the most elaborately decorated, and well lit, building in the entire place.
“The Commander's home? Or his office? Both maybe?” Oliver mused even as he started moving again... He wanted to finish the climb before his hands or feet started to cramp.
As much as he wanted to get back at these assholes for trying to kill him, his first priority was to disable their ability to interfere with the shuttle when Omi- hopefully- came to retrieve him. For that reason, he angled his climb off to the right. The planes were far too large to fit in the warehouse, so he would only be able to disable them...
Oliver's hand nearly slipped, the claws digging gouges in the stone as he quickly dug in to save himself... As a thought flashed across his mind with such force that he nearly forgot what he was doing. The warehouse was a ten foot cube... currently.
But...
Warehouse Expansion Cost: 10,000 credits
He stared at the small note at the bottom of the warehouse tab, something he hadn't really looked at or thought about in months. He had practically forgotten that he even could expand the warehouse.
But how much more space would the expansion grant?
The last time he had even considered it, he had quickly brushed it off. It was simply too far out of reach. At that point, 10,000 credits was almost an impossible amount... Because he had been going slow, afraid of being discovered.
But now... that amount wasn't even ten percent of the credits he held in reserve for emergencies.
Oliver only hesitated for a second before he clicked the button. Spending 10,000 credits, even if it turned out to be a disappointment, wouldn't break him at this point.
For a moment, it felt like a rumble went through his soul... Only to cut off in an instant, the entire process being quick and painless. Which he was suddenly glad for... and berating himself for being stupid. What if it had hurt? Or paralyzed him temporarily? Or just knocked him out for a bit?
He would have fallen to his death, like an idiot. All because he was being impulsive.
“Stop being a fucking dumbass, dumbass...” Oliver chastised himself, even as he checked out the expansion.
And was immediately disappointed.
The ten foot cube that was the system warehouse... became an eleven foot cube. Oliver was... unimpressed by the improvement. While realistically it meant he could store quite a bit more, it was a bit lackluster compared to his hopes. It would take at least twenty more expansions for him to fit a single one of the fighter planes. And that was without taking into account the Scrambler, or the many other things he didn't want to just toss away.
It wasn't a bad upgrade, just not an impressive one. The only bright side, other than having more storage space, was that the price to expand it further didn't increase at all.
It was just a nice, stable upgrade path. And a bit disappointing. At least it wasn't that expensive.
With a sigh, Oliver tried to shrug off his disappointment and finish his climb. He still had a lot of work ahead of him if he wanted to escape this planet.
“Damn expansion... Can't steal a plane... And I can't even sell them, since the next auction isn't available for a couple days...” He grumbled quietly as he started to descend the cavern wall.
Right above one of the buildings that he guessed housed the parts and tools for the planes.
At least destroying the planes would be fun, right?