The sounds of machinery sounded out throughout the warehouse, ranging from the auto dismantlers that were dismantling all of the parts coming in to the auto assemblers putting together parts for tools of various kinds. Using a welder, I carefully weld certain parts of the expert mechanical gloves I’m working on. On the bench I’m working on are three other projects I had been switching between and a small bed where Noir currently slept peacefully despite the noise of the workshop.
He had grown slightly in these two months, now the size of a large watermelon. He slept quite a bit, but when awake was very active, always taking the chance to go and play with the other spirits. He’d taken a big liking to those he met that night, frequently disappearing to go find them and play with each of them. The first time he’d disappeared, I nearly had a breakdown, only to then find he’d found Isabelle who was spoiling him.
Since then I’d marked him with Hunter’s Mark and whenever he disappeared I checked in on where he was. Noir would always return before the sun set, so I wasn’t worried. Setting aside the welder and removing my face mask, I wipe the sweat from my forehead with a hand towel before carefully sliding in the metal platings, using a drill to tighten the screws in. Once done, the wiring is soldered, connected to the various circuit boards throughout the gloves. Finishing the last circuit board is met with a message from the System.
Expert: Mechanical Mithril Armour - Gloves (Sniper Version) Completed
Grade: Blue
Increased Durability
+50% Magic Resist
+20% Grip Strength
+20% Additional Physical Projectile Damage
“Not yet.”
Moving right over to the next project, I continued with smouldering more wiring, inserting more metal plating and more welding. A few hours later with more drilling and screwing bolts in, I finally finished.
Expert: Mechanical Mithril Armour - Arms (Sniper Version) Completed
Grade: Blue
Increased Durability
+50% Lifting Power
+10% Power Efficiency
+20% Increase Toughness
Completing both gave me 600 Job Points, meaning I could easily progress either Job when I felt like it.
“Phew. Alright, let’s test them out.” Sliding on the mechanical arms first, I test their resilience to my strength and reflexes. Finding they did extremely well surprised me, no damage or strain, nor did they prevent me from my usual activities. A very quiet mechanical sound could be heard, basically clicks and clanks, but that is to be expected. And this is in its unpowered state.
Putting the gloves on next, I make sure to connect everything correctly. The barrel for the sniper I built into the gloves runs up from my index and middle, leading into the mechanical arm which held several chambers, about twenty bullets held within.
Once the gloves are fully connected, I flick the switch on the shoulder, turning them on. I hear the hum of electricity running through the arms and gloves, excitement welling within me. In both shoulders is a lithium battery pack which powers the arms and gloves for about twelve hours, with room to improve. The hydraulics kick in, making the arms far more flexible, allowing me to punch out with more strength.
“Alright, let’s give this a whirl…” Raising up my right arm, I power on a tablet that rests there. While wifi isn’t used within the base, as to prevent potential attempts at hacking the network in the future, I had made a new, separate wifi network purely for cameras monitoring the walls, facing outwards. If they were hacked, the most an opponent would get is their own army staring back at them.
Flicking through the cameras with no problem or lag, I felt happy with how it turned out. This would allow me to receive real-time information in the event of our base falling under attack. During the last two months, our decision during the Vice-Leader meetings had landed on one priority that needed to be dealt with before the new Incarnates came. Haven.
“With these done, all I need to do is make a few more and we’ll be good to go.” Playing with the armour, I enjoyed how light it was. It wasn’t bulky, but slim and fit my arm easily, just like a glove should do. The padding inside helped and popping the tablet out, I could turn it and place it in, letting it match the rest of the armour.
“We just need someone to sneak into Haven and plant these cameras. All Traitors need to be located…” The third project I had been working on are more cameras, but with a more tightened and complex operating system. Of course, since I’m the only known programmer of Night Rose, I’m also the only one who can try to crack it, which is like trying to proofread your own essay. Sure, you know it, but finding mistakes or typos is difficult since it’s your own writing.
The reason we had decided to deal with Haven is simple; the number of Traitors were increasing, currently sitting at 76 compared to the 29 when we first received the quest. We had no qualms killing them strangely. We had expected killing another human would be a big thing for us to overcome, but we barely felt anything when it came to killing the last lot. Or maybe it’s because they became monsters at the end…who knows. We just knew they were a threat that needed to be dealt with.
Shrugging my shoulders, I depowered the armour and took it off. Walking over to Noir, I scoop his sleeping self off his bed and cradle him in my arms, leaving the workshop, my feet pointed to the office.
We had gradually expanded, the second wall nearing completion while the third was underway. Factories were being built at a very quick rate and we had successfully gotten the Useless project underway. Even though they were only humans, their manpower was desirable so now the curse is being lifted off them we had more and more hands.
Because standalone houses were purchasable with contribution points, a large number of dorms were built. A single bedroom, shared bathrooms and kitchens were provided to all residents. The contribution system was very successful though, since it allowed purchasing of food, water and entertainment. Of course, we provided weekly rations so they could survive, but they could spend points to upgrade their food packages, and we weren't stingy either.
Entering the office, I made my way up to the third floor, entered my passcode and entered my office. Placing Noir down on his bed next to my desk, I sat down and picked up a folder that had been left on my desk. The folders however are all sealed, with the words ‘For Midnight's Eyes Only’ written on the cover.
Cutting the seal with a thin knife, I took out the sheets and looked at them. Six pieces of paper, the first one is a portfolio on me, complete with my face in the top right. This folder contained the team that would be infiltrating Haven.
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We wanted to avoid a full scale battle, as it would hinder us and from the information gathered, it's likely the Traitors are those who control Haven, so waging a full scale war could pull in innocents that could instead be slowly converted to our base.
Flicking the papers, I saw Ghost then a new Lvl 3 called Rainbow Tears, real name Jessica. Coming from Jokestar's core group, she took the Class ‘Hunter’, and unlike those from MMOs, it didn't have pets or bows, but is literal in its name. They hunt and if they target their prey, they gain all sorts of ridiculous bonuses against it and be able to track them down easily. She'd be good for ensuring our leads find people.
The next two weren't surprising. Rebecca, who will be my guard, and Geralt, who would be the false leader of our group. He wasn't Lvl 3 yet, but we would enter Haven normally so he would be presented as our leader.
The last one rounded the team up nicely. Another new Lvl 3 named Victoria, a young female who took the Class Witch. She specialised in curses, diseases and leeching. She dressed like a normal, everyday goth, but her abilities could easily kill a town in seconds if left unchecked. She'd been working with the Alchemists to create counters to all her spells, in case we were besieged by a Witch.
Her skillset in this mission would make assassinations more potent. She'd worked with Ghost already and prepared dozens of jars that contained a disease that would kill within minutes. Not yet tested on a Lvl 3, but she was confident that the effects would still be deadly.
This team would be used to identify, track down and assassinate the Traitors. We had a long term plan spanning a month prepared, thanks to the information Trinity had prepared for us. All we had to do was locate who the Traitors were and once eliminated we would seize control over Haven for ourselves, since it would prove to be a very lucrative source of manpower. Plus for it to have survived this long, they obviously have a source of water or know of one.
Burning the portfolios with fire magic, I put them into the bin next to me and stood up, moving to the Void Crystal on the shelf. Picking it up, I sat down, caressing it for a moment before breathing out and focusing on it. I quickly found myself in a void of nothingness, floating there surrounded by nothing.
My comprehension of this element had undergone a transformation. Greyback, after much persisting, had told me everything he knew about the Void. Not only is it a form of nothingness, but it also represents the space between dimensions, space and time. Those last two are important, time did not exist, you were not a part of the world in the Void.
As I started to understand the strangeness of this feeling even more, I felt myself on the cusp of understanding, true understanding. But as I felt like I’m about to reach it, I felt that stare once more, this time far more intense. It held no hostility, but the way it’s staring at me…it’s like it wants to reach out…
Unable to focus, I release my concentration and return to my original self. Rubbing the back of my neck, which is where the stare had been the most focused, I felt uncomfortable as it still felt like something was staring at me. Looking at the Void Crystal, I now felt a bit hesitant to study Void Magic. According to Greyback, the previous Spirit Queen had studied Time Magic so he had no idea about Void Magic.
“Maybe another time…” Putting the Crystal back on my shelf, I head over to my bedroom, enter and walk over to a pair of doors. Opening it reveals an armoury that I’d made, filled with various types of long ranged weapons. Taking two Deagles and a XM500, I closed the armoury and headed back out, placing the weapons on my desk.
“Between my magic and long range weapons, I’m nigh unkillable unless someone with a close combat oriented Class gets close. That’s what Rebecca will be there for though…”
Grabbing a long case to pack the sniper away, I heard a knock at the door and without turning around I told her to enter. Thanks to being able to sense magic, I knew who it was that entered.
No words were exchanged while I worked on packing my sniper. The silence very quickly turned awkward, causing me to frown and after putting all the parts away, I closed the case before turning around, crossing my arms and looking at my guest.
“What do you need, Kate?”
Kate stood there, looking nervous, her eyes previously darting around the office and once I spoke she looked at me before looking towards the ground, wordlessly moving her lips for a moment. Leaning against the table, I waited for her to speak. We hadn’t spoken nor seen each other since the night at Diana’s dinner.
“S-so you’re l-leaving again…”
My eye twitched with slight annoyance as Kate gasped and looked at me with shock, waving her hands around frantically.
“I-I didn’t mean it like t-that, I-I…”
“I get it, Kate. I’m busy, so either say what you came here to say or come back another time.”
Kate’s gaze met mine before quickly looking at the ground again. After a few minutes of silence once more, she started speaking.
“I’m sorry, Ruby. I l-lost myself to my thoughts and I didn’t have my trust in you. I had thought you had abandoned us and my mind wouldn’t accept anything else. I regret everything I said, before you came back and after you came back, I wish I hadn’t said any of it. I now understand more than anything that you do care for us and that you wouldn’t abandon us…no, I always knew that, I just turned my head to that knowledge.
“As long as I could blame you for abandoning us I thought that it would be fine. I thought once Deven, Diana and the rest moved on from you, we could once again laugh and move forward with the base. But I was wrong, they waited for you because they trusted you. They kept the base moving forward, kept laughing and even tried to get me more involved, but I kept stewing in my own thoughts of hatred at the time…
“I failed to realise their trust in you, even Trinity, Geode, Geralt and Cass trusted in you to return, they never had any doubts. I’m sorry, Ruby. For everything. I know you won’t be able to forgive me, but I’d like to at least have the chance to build that trust again.”
A moment of silence followed as I continued to look at Kate, her eyes still downcast, her shoulders trembling slightly as if afraid of my response.
Walking over to her, I raised a finger and poke her forehead, forcing her to look at me in the eyes.
“Stop looking down. I'm not some scary basilisk that'll turn you to stone.”
“Isn't that Medusa?” Kate whispers as if on reflex before covering her mouth looking panicked.
“Oh…yea it is. Basilisks kill you if you look at them. Anyway, say what you came here for while looking me in the eyes.”
Kate looks at me, determination welling up before speaking. “I'm sorry, Ruby. I was an idiot.”
“Better. I forgive you, Kate and I understand your feelings about everything. I too apologise for my actions of suddenly leaving. I should've done better to relay a message back.” Raising my hand, I give her a small smile. “Let's move on, from now on, no more talking about it, okay?”
Kate blinks at me for a moment before taking my hand and nodding furiously. “Y-yes! Thank you, Ruby.”
“Don't mention it. I do advise that you go and talk to Rebecca though.”
“Ah! Is she mad at me too?”
“She's my wife and you bad mouthed me in front of her, of course she is.”
“T-then I'll go now!” Kate suddenly turns and runs out of the office, not giving me a chance to say anything. Sighing and shaking my head with a chuckle, I grabbed the case, my handgun and the sleeping Noir and headed back to my workshop.
***
Placing the inside of the car door back together carefully, I get up and dust myself off while looking over the car we would be taking. It’s an old car, one of the last few with actual fuel in it, enough to reach Haven. In the back are a few decoy bottles of water and scraps of food, our actual valued items, weapons and more secured in the rings Ghost and I had on us.
“You return then head off again so suddenly. I thought you were giving me a few months off, Ruby.” Hearing a cheeky and irritating voice nearby, I turned to look at Deven.
“Yea I know, it's why I left Jupiter in charge this time. Plus we’re only going for a month, if we can’t complete everything by then we’ll be back.”
“You better be or Kate will get mad again.” Saying so in a cheeky tone, Deven handed something to me. Looking over it, I noticed that it’s an item I hadn’t received in some time, a Talent Stone. Giving him a questioning look, he simply smiled. “It was found in the baggage of one of those who passed during the last Nexus event. I figured if you needed the power spike it would come in handy. If not, just return it, we can distribute it later.”
Putting the Talent Stone into my ring, I thank Deven. “Either way, be careful, Ruby. This will be the first time we’ve made proper contact with Haven and if those Traitors who attacked us are anything to go by they’re not exactly the nice type. Given your good looks, they may try something.”
“And if they do, they'll be dead before their nasty hands can touch me. Don’t worry, Deven, we’ve got a really good team going. We should finish up and get out of there pretty quickly. In the meantime, get that radio tower going, the parts are all ready.”
“Got it. And you’ve made a separate network for wifi and we are to not post any sensitive information on it. I swear if you say more I’ll drive head first into Haven myself.” Deven reaches out with a hand and with me taking it, we shake hands. “Don’t die, Ruby.”
“I won’t. Keep everyone here alive, boss.” We give each other a grin before turning from each other. Seeing Ghost, Geralt, Rebecca, Rainbow Tears and Victoria standing there, I give them a nod. “Let’s get going and get this over with.” Seeing them all nod with determination, we got into the car and started the journey into Haven.