Hank blinked It’s it’s only been three days His team wasn’t ready They barely knew each other And he knew each of them especially Ezekiel was hiding something
This time Alan hung up on him
Chapter 492
The group was grim as they readied themselves to depart for the borderlands As it happened the new area that Ghost sensed and the place from which the other energy was emerging was to the Northeast They couldn’t get quite as close as Alan wanted them to be but Hank couldn’t do anything about that He could take his new bike and likely make it there in record time but he supposed that Ezekiel and Affina were made of more sensitive stuff
As they were departing however they were stopped by a vaguely familiar young woman with a shock of orange hair
Have you seen my brother She asked I know he’s been coming here a lot since you saved him Sheriff but he hasn’t come home in a day and I’m a bit
Hank’s eyes widened Holy shit that little punk had a right pretty sister
When the punk had disappeared Hank hadn’t noticed And if he was being honest he was quite pleased to have one less fly buzzing around his shit As he cast his mind back he tried to remember anything particular that the kid had said that would have tipped a listener off that the punk had something planned but he had largely been ignored by the entire squad
Hank felt a flash of guilt There wasn’t much trouble the kid could get up to around here and that was the problem no trouble meant no profit With the kid’s type he was out to make a mark on the world to impress upon other people that he was important No doubt the fool dreamed of the day that he could raise himself from Tier 1 Citizenry
His face grim Hank informed the girl that he hadn’t seen him but the group would be heading North along the outer rail circle They would ask and if the kid had gone there they would find out Because the real threat and Hank’s real worry was that the kid would hear that his group was going into the newly opened borderlands and get the dumb idea into his head that the Mana Discharge Skill and a plasma pistol meant he could be a hero
Thirty people dead
Alan hadn’t bothered to mention the wounded
The kid wouldn’t last a second
After bidding the girl goodbye the group headed for the train Hank halfheartedly asked at the station but they hadn’t seen him Discretely he sent messages to some acquaintances farther afield closer to the borders asking them to keep an eye out But there was very little to be done in terms of the grand scales helping address this huge outside threat was more important than a willful child
On the train some of the soberness passed and Ezekiel left his reflection to return to reality and make some quips Most of them were forced and sarcastic to the point of being acidic but it eased the mood somewhat Everyone had felt the weight of the abrupt casualties Although it hadn’t been peaceful in their Zone 1 they had forgotten how dreadful their true adversary was
It was only an hour on the train and then a half hour of jogging to a military waystation where a harried corporal waved them inside There they obtained several weeks rations as well as tents and fire starters To Hank’s surprise everyone seemed to have good instincts in regards to what to bring and he was silent for most of the packing concerned with storing his own gear in his interspatial watch
Don’t underestimate them Laurel said quietly to Hank as the duo headed over to grab bed padding They each feel dangerous They are bright knives in the dark Even you are only their peer I doubt you could overpower any of them easily You would need to shoot to kill
That surprised Hank somewhat and his eyebrows rose Even the blind girl
Laurel flashed him a smile Especially that one The Jade Prince might look like a youthful man but he is old and wily This girl will be something special to catch his eye
Then she turned and walked away heading towards Affina who was standing at the canned proteins Hank scratched his head
You didn’t grab a bedroll Laurel Hank called
She didn’t disappoint simply turning and giving him a slow wink To the side Ezekiel mimed gagging while Katie chuckled
From there two more hours of jogging to the Northeast corner of the Zone before the edges opened up 6 months ago Once they were on the edges it became a bit slower as they had to hike across overgrow countryside Again his team impressed Hank they hardly moved slower than he although they crunched through the underbrush with all of the subtlety of a rhinoceros All of them aside from Laurel of course
Once again their attitudes took a nose dive as they passed what was clearly a triage station filled with wounded soldiers and broken exosuits They passed without stopping by It wasn’t clear to what military command these soldiers were attached but they were not elites just the average units And the borderlands had chewed them up and spit them out
It was immediately apparent when they passed an invisible line that let them into the borderlands Not from the front but as soon as Hank took that step a certain white background noise ceased The air smelled of blood and stale sweat His eyes narrowed
Behind him was Ezekiel and he immediately stiffened Then he swore quietly I guess it was too much to hope for that the Expedition fools just improperly stored energy cells for exosuits and the deaths were their own fault
No such luck Hank rumbled squatting to the ground He picked up a pinch of dirt and rubbed it between his fingers It stuck together easily like clay After rounding the bit into a ball he took it and threw it as hard as he could at a tree The small clay ball bounced harmlessly off Grunting Hank stood
Things were stronger here Not just monsters but everything It had been enriched by the ambient energy in the air Aether Ghost called it although he couldn’t explain where that term came from It was the base energy of the System however Ghost was very sure It affected their world in strange ways one of them giving AI a chance to exist but another was to alter matter on a subsonic level Cellular bonds grew stronger the energy they stored more volatile and explosive
Something’s watching us Affina said quietly moving next to Hank and Ezekiel Katie and Laurel’s faces were grim Hank’s hands tightened into fists before he forced them to relax They had only just now crossed into this place but even he could sense the dripping saliva of a predator
There is a field over yonder Hank said nodding to their East He did his best to make all his movements smooth and relaxed If we make it there we at least have some sight lines on what is coming at us
And we give its friends more space to surround us Ezekiel grumbled but the group moved together towards the field When he saw the actual field in its entirety Hank winced somewhat Its slow was gradual at the top but it quickly increased in angle as it went downwards before arriving at a bank above a small river
It was not good fighting land But this was the wilderness and they hadn’t much choice
When they entered the field the monster was waiting for them almost as if it had guided them to this spot It was a large purple ram its curling horns heavy and golden Above its head floated a truly oppressive message
Golden Horned Ram Lvl 59
Hank pressed his lips together It was widely agreed that difficulty in leveling increased by a fair amount every 5 Levels and a huge amount every 10 Levels Therefore their Level 59 threat was a fair bit weaker than the Level 65 that the first expedition had run into However they had over 100 combat ready veterans which included three Tier 5 citizens
Inwardly Hank immediately cursed himself If he was going to give others a hard time for it he needed to stop defaulting to sorting people based on their Tier His eyes flashed as he flexed his fingers and considered their opponent It stood waiting a mild expression on its almost regal face Hank knew himself to be strong in comparison to the people of his Zone His companions were strong too