CVETKA KRALJ

Something was about to go terribly pear-shaped, Cvetka could practically smell it. She had understood the amount of manipulation Rush was under, but Skips had no idea. And wow did it show. She was one step away from asking her strange spider pet, or companion, to wrap him up and take him with her that way. Or just to leave him there. She had to be on edge the entire time. Skips was anxious, jumpy and always looking behind herself as if fearing that Rush had randomly materialised there. She often breathed heavily, as if she was either exhausted or annoyed. Cvetka assumed the latter. As she once again ran off, this time to look for the boss portal, Cvetka looked at the scorpions hoping to recognise Shivers-in-Sunlight among them. She asked one of them but that Scorpion made a few clicking sounds that she didn't understand. At that moment, she felt absolutely lost. The silver-snake, the spider and the scorpions didn't look like they were using the same language as the group and she didn't know how to communicate with them. She feared a total communication breakdown leading to violence should one side feel threatened or should a monster attack. She frantically looked around the group, then asked: "Does anyone understand me?"

The silver snake, to the shock of Cvetka, responded in a gurgled voice: "I do. What is the issue?"

She breathed in, reminded herself to keep steady and asked: "Where is Shivers-in-Sunlight? Is xe okay?"

The snake swayed to and fro for a moment: "Still waiting outside. Shivers waits there for us. We were not able to extend the group further than 5 more folks." After a short pause, he added: "Also, Shivers isn't a fighter. Xe's a person who excels in other areas. I can see xir work feed a nation, I cannot see xim clear a grade 90 dungeon."

Cvetka raised an eyebrow: "I thought he would become a liaison between humans and natives."

The snake responded: "Do you really think humans will remain on Tsanh after integration? The planet is pretty devoid of everything humans like: food, water, precious metals, fossil fuels, magic crystals or lewd entertainment."

Cvetka breathed in and stared at the snake, then responded: "You seem to know humans quite well."

The snake took a moment to answer: "I lived on earth long enough. I know how humans are…" Then that particular snake shocked her again by saying: "I worked for Greenland Inc for far too long. I am currently part of a class action lawsuit against them for how they sacked me working the integration onsite and then demanded money to take me back to earth. So yeah, I experienced a lot of what environments humans thrive in… the only reason I can see them here is to exploit the natives." Another pause as he looked into the faces of the shocked group: "I mean, not all humans are like that… but the humans who go into a freshly integrated world tend to be. Most good humans remain in their societies to make them better. Most miserable humans spread out and share the misery."

Cvetka barely could speak: "H… how do you know?"

The snake spoke in a measured voice: "I am Thrives-in-water. I used to be the integration specialist of this planet. And before you ask: I am a keani, just wearing a watersuit because this absolutely is not the place for a keani."

Cvetka looked shocked: "They fired the integration specialist? Then how does the integration progress‽"

Thrives responded quickly: "The work can be done remotely. Via relays."

Rush asked, consternated: "So, it was you who made Salimars that hypnotise us?"

Thrives nodded: "Yeah, I am sure your parents would have wanted my scales if I actually killed you, so I put a dungeon there that didn't kill you, but wasn't as useless to your advancement as a Rank 1 dungeon… Yeah, the Salimars can be a pain, but they also work for resilience training. You had a way easier start than Skips. Their settlement was close to the rank 9 dungeon. That was an interesting run, especially as the final lair negated Skips' movement speed, which I honestly didn't take into account but should have."

At that moment, Skips arrived: "Found it! Everyone after me. We're going in!"

JAARU ANIIK

Walking next to Init, she felt like a caveman walking next to a modern warrior: There was so much that she didn't know and that Init casually told her from her use of the Interception skill. Sure, she could have used the same skill, but she had no idea where to look and what to look for. This was not just a skill, this was also the result of experience with technology and really high stats in just the right areas, just as well as the Solidarity's Technologist class.

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

Init stopped for a moment, then nodded and said: "It's happening. Get ready!"

Jaaru breathed in audibly and asked: "Do you need any skills?"

Init shook her head: "I'm fine. My stats are not for fighting anyways."

Jaaru responded: "Skills beat stats. I have seen level ones pedal the flying thing here when they took on the skills."

Init stopped for a moment, then asked: "I mean, I saw this, but these people were not…" she paused and then said: "Unlucky."

Jaaru put her hand on Init's shoulder. She had no idea where this was suddenly coming from. "It works because Solidarity works! And from my low-level understanding of it, there is no luck to it."

Init looked ponderously for a while: "I see. I actually might take a level or two in fighting skills… and we need to talk about something later."

Jaaru shifted her hand to hold her neck in a supportive gesture that also allowed her to connect to the Repository. She didn't feel others connect to the Repository in that way, but she could see the minute changes in Init's posture and expression: She seemed to stand much straighter and have a more sharp facial expression. Then, they both rushed to the place Init indicated and Jaaru found on the maps of the place.

They actually found the group of leaders in the lounge. As they approached, they heard these people talk in hushed tones, complaining about the wind, the weather and the fact that their ship could not depart. It was about a dozen folks in suits much more adequate for earth weather than Windrush weather, who were talking. Jaaru could not understand why you want a weird flap of cloth just hanging down to be moved to and fro by the wind as soon as someone steps out of a house for even a moment. Init her head looked at Jaaru, tilted her head in a silent question. Jaaru nodded. Then all hell broke loose.

Social skills and spells generally require you to be heard, read or otherwise understood. Sure, at high levels, that can also work telepathically, but right now, their levels were effectively halved and they hoped these spells were out of their reach for now. The light inside of the lounge was strobing and the announcement system was making the kind of noise that was hard to bear. The door of the lounge was locked and would require a keycard to unlock, but a deft use of the Interception skill was also sufficient.

As soon as they entered, Jaaru threw a chair at the group of people. Some were able to dodge, others fell to the ground, screaming. Jaaru continued to throw things at whoever was near and not Init. She no longer cared about who got killed. They never cared about her either. The fact that the governor immediately became angry and sanctioned every non-Sigyan just confirmed her view, but even before that, there had been too many smaller or bigger insults and disappointments that made her hate them. She threw chairs, plates and whatever was near her hands at the people in their weird earth-costumes. As she did so, she saw a notification:

New Skill: Throwing (Level 1)

After this notification, her improvised weapons found the mark much better.

Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw Init wrestling with a human who seemed kinda familiar to her. As a human approached, she rushed towards him and threw punches at his face. With her full power and the Brawling skills of the repository, she smacked into the creature until there was blood and the screams stopped. One person seemed to have agility, more so than Jaaru's own balanced build. In the still-strobing light, it looked like the man appeared at different places with every flash without an indication how he got there. Jaaru again tried to pin the man down by a flung piece of furniture, but he evaded skillfully. She saw, in the strobing light, Init running towards the guy. Rushing towards a broken chair, she kept an eye on the runner and as Init ran towards him, she threw the cushioned chair at the guy. The guy dodged the chair, but ran into Init, who hit him hard onto the side of the head. The guy fell down. Init smashed the guy with a shapeless piece of wood while the lights turned on continuously again. Jaaru recognised the person: Caine Triumph. She was not sure about his actual title, but he was the one highest-ranked person in the company Jaaru and Init worked at here on Windrush. He was also an absolutely rude asshole to her the few times they met.

Jaaru rushed towards him and kicked his face. "I remember your emails about cost-savings! I regret to tell you that your position on Windrush has been eliminated!" she said while continuously kicking the person.

As the person stopped struggling, Init and Jaaru looked at each other. Both of them were shocked at what they had just done. The room was a mess. Blood was everywhere. Broken furniture riddled the place. Even the walls were broken: riddled with holes, the pipes showing, some even showing the adjacent kitchen, which laid abandoned.

Jaaru spoke first: "Skills beat levels, right?"

Init smiled: "That was intense… and now I feel sick. And exhausted."

Jaaru nodded: "Same. We should leave. We have done something pretty unspeakable, so we probably should not be around anymore."

"To the dungeon?" Init asked.

Jaaru nodded: "Might as well."