I had argued blue before leaving the trial grounds without clearing it all. Being from a weaker species, the resources there had given us the foundation we needed. Seekers became commanders through struggle, and while there had been a large chance to die, the trial ground had been a holy land I would never have been able to access again.

The resources found there could set up a commander for months afterward. Acquired technology and items could be exchanged or used for favors. A large part of what got commanders killed was that they believed they were invincible. Even with common non-combat modules, a commander could have eked out a living. A common module had been an extended salvage module. It was for the disassembly of defeated craft into their raw materials on top of the normal loot function.

Most commanders hadn’t liked this module as it meant doing mundane work. But I would have done it for the money. The salvaged material had been valuable to mundane and growing powers. Also, if I had gotten lucky and drawn the repurposing module, I could have salvaged entire modules and items. The vast industry in the Hegemony had limited the value of the salvage; it had been more cost-effective to sell one’s wrecks to a mundane salvager.

I had delved into the available item information, letting the raw sensation of feelings refusing to be controlled crash against my force of will and genuine curiosity. The familiar feel of researching Symbiont crafts had been a balm on a raw wound. I had opened the missile system. All commanders always split the system between missiles and torpedoes. A carrier had twenty-five self-replicating missile ports. These twenty-five-meter boxes could have been placed anywhere on a symbiont ship. I had been looking for more rare modules so I could plan, but then I had gotten a warning.

[Potent Trial will close in twelve hours]

I hadn’t realized they took more than five hours to clear a single room. It made sense, given that if I had been right about them using a trophy. And I had found only one hidden room and no loot. This had all but guaranteed that they must have gotten things I hadn’t been aware of.

I couldn’t take that long; each trial had to be cleared. The Guardian rooms had always been sealed off. So I could clear each room's security force, look for secret rooms, and try to find weapons and tech. I had checked my Gauss rifle. I had needed to be fast and accurate. Leaving the cleared room, disappointed that I hadn’t come across a ship module.

[Do you wish to take this trial?]

[YES/NO?]

I had clicked yes, and the room door had opened. A clear blue mist had slinked out like slime. The room had been open and filled with a biomass chamber. They were used to grow bio-droids, an elite type of fighter that only got better with experience.

I had come across this room's security force. It had been a Hexlik Warrior cast. The semi-aquatic aliens were from the Gamma sector. They owned everything between Sirius A and B. They weren’t as big as the Hegemony, but they were much more united. As while the space had been controlled by them, each Matriarch had been a sovereign country. Hexliki internal politics had been more complicated than micro plasma conductivity. The Hexliploc society had functioned like a Kabal of Benevolent Dictators.

The golden vacuum armors had been beautiful as the replicated scales had gleamed in the light. They had had a face in the sense that it had been a head, and the lights had gathered at a particular point in the front, but other than that, their brain had been prominent, running from the top all around the spine going down.

They had had three tentacles on a bipedal body. The lower had been mostly machine. I had fired three shots into the head of the Hexlik. It had dropped dead, to my utter relief.

[1 exp gained]

[Rush Room started!]

[49 minutes remaining]

I had smiled at that. Rush rooms were a common format. They contained one kind of monster that had to be killed until time had run out. All rewards had been added at the end. The good thing had been that I could kill them, but my problem had been ammo. I had needed to make a decision. If I had finished all my ammo and hadn’t gotten a weapon, it could have been a disaster. The ammo packs had been in my suit, stuck inside the door.

"Fuck it!" I had switched to single fire; each bullet had been a headshot. It hadn’t been difficult, given how big their heads had been.

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[1 exp gained]

In a real combat situation, the Hexlik had been led by a head warrior who would have coordinated their movements. Without one, they had acted without regard for the pod. I had been able to mow them down. The Hexlik had fought without any fear of retribution. Hexlik society had been complex and weird, but individuals had been responsible for themselves. Only when they had joined the pod had they worked together.

[38 exp gained]

The pop of my rifle hadn’t affected me, and sometimes the 235ms bullet had popped multiple warriors. Where they had gone, I hadn’t known. The room had felt infinite, but I had seen all the biomass capsules I had destroyed, letting me know the way back. This would have been even faster with the others.

I had known Refilwe would have used her Gatling gun. I could have looked for hidden loot, and the others could have listened to Batz, who would have told them about how white his teeth had been.

[89 exp gained]

I had found a new kind of Hexlik. But I hadn’t been able to hit it as it had kept slipping away. The Mesmer cast of the Hexlik had had an innate form. This form’s nature had been similar to how some Predator Commanders had manifested. Manifestation had been rare and oftentimes difficult to trigger before one had gone Supreme. Mercy had had one; that had been why she could use that plasma attack and why Batz had been so in love with her. I had tried to follow the rush of warriors and had started to double-tap them. I hadn’t been as accurate as I really had wanted to be. It had been common knowledge that the stronger the opponent, the greater the reward. Worse, my analysis had kept hitting the warriors.

[234 exp gained]

[Simple Designed M.O.B.]

Name: Hexlik Warrior

Rank: Cadet

Rarity: Bronze

Information: A 'Mechanoid or Being,' construct. The helix warriors had been a proud and unified fighting force. Most armies had found it difficult to assault a Hexlik Pod. They had used complex armor vacuum suits that had been the envy of the galaxy.

Exp per kill: 1

The worst part had been that I hadn’t gotten new experience points each time I had analyzed one of them. The warriors had been like blades of grass, and I had been a lawn mower. I had rushed faster, leaving some to bleed out, no longer caring about the warriors. They had all carried melee weapons. I had only caught glimpses of the fucker, and I had tried to figure out where it would appear next.

[444 exp gained]

I had spent most of the time trying to get a hit on the Mesmer. If I had had a team, we could have cornered it or something. It had frustrated me from the moment I had seen it. I had known killing it would have granted me something great. I had given up on killing the Warriors in front of me. I had lunged my body into a warrior and had shot my last hundred rounds in less than four seconds, spreading my shots as wide as I could. I had dropped my rifle and had grappled with the warrior. It hadn’t been able to pull its weapon as I had been on top of it.

The slippery fucker had used its tentacle to pull me off it. Twisting while it had tried to stand. I had squirmed as my shoulder had been wrenched and twisted unnaturally under the grip of its powerful tentacle. I had raged, letting the pain strengthen my resolve and the fear of death guide me. The rooms had been deadly, and I had forgotten that, blinded by greed. I had taken a risk. A risk I hadn’t needed to take. I should have... Wam! The Mesmer’s blade had hit me. The flat had smacked my side. I had lunged forward again, making it impossible for it to stab me.

The Hexliki had been cephalopods, so it had twisted its arm in unfathomable angles. I had grabbed it, remembering years of masters’ teachings. Hexlik had been uncomfortable on the ground. I had tripped the bugger as it had tried to slice into my side with its sword. I had hammered my head into its visor. I had been wild with rage and would not be denied. The swell of emotion had burst forward as heat had pulsed on my side. I had smashed its visor, punching through the crack and had pulled at the soft brain matter. Even as my forearm had gotten cut on the glass, I hadn’t stopped. My flesh had knitted itself together. Even after the creature had stopped squirming as I had unleashed it. I had yelled while crying, unable to stop, not wanting to stop.

[Rush Room Completed!]

1007 points earned!

Hexlik warriors killed 807!

Hex