The whispers started a few days after the Gristle job. A lone wolf hunting scavengers. Efficient. Brutal. Someone had connected the dots. Kael felt the pressure mounting. His **Energy Sense** tingled constantly now in the Rust Quarter – not just machines, but the low-grade bio-electric fields of people, some pulsing with the sharper signature of latent or active power. He avoided them. He needed EXP, not a war.
He found a promising lead: a rumor of a "Guardian" in the old chem-plant annex – an automated defense unit left over from before the Collapse, still active, protecting a sealed vault. **THREAT: MODERATE-HIGH (MECHANICAL). EST EXP: 150+. HIGH POTENTIAL LOOT.** Mechanical meant no conscience, just Energy and tactics.
The annex was a nightmare of corroded vats and twisted pipework. Chemical residue stained the floor in psychedelic patterns, emitting faint, sickly glows his Energy Sense registered as toxic. **BASIC ANALYSIS (1 ENG/min) + ENERGY SENSE (Passive)** mapped the hazards. Deep within, a heavy blast door stood partially ajar. A low, rhythmic thrumming pulsed from within.
Kael slipped inside. The vault chamber was vast. In the center, atop a raised dais, stood the Guardian. It wasn't humanoid. It was a squat, armored dome on six spider-like legs, with a single, glowing red optical sensor and multiple weapon ports. **ADVANCED ANALYSIS ENGAGED (3 ENG/min):**
**- DESIGNATION: SENTINEL MK-IV SECURITY DRONE.**
**- PRIMARY ARMAMENT: ROTARY BALLISTIC MICRO-CANNON (FRONT ARC).**
**- SECONDARY: STUN NET PROJECTOR (REAR).**
**- TERTIARY: CLOSE-DEFENSE SHOCK FIELD (BODY).**
**- WEAKNESSES: LIMITED ELEVATION ON PRIMARY WEAPON. SLOW TURN RATE. VULNERABLE OPTICAL SENSOR. POWER CONDUIT VISIBLE AT LEG JOINTS.**
**- POWER SIGNATURE: MODERATE. ESTIMATED DURABILITY: HIGH.**
**ENERGY: 92/105.**
The Sentinel's sensor swiveled, locking onto Kael with a piercing red light. A harsh, synthetic voice grated: "**INTRUSION DETECTED. LETHAL FORCE AUTHORIZED.**" The rotary cannon on its front whirred to life.
Kael dove behind a corroded chemical tank as a hail of hypersonic slugs shredded the air where he'd been, pinging off the tank's thick metal. **ENERGY: -10 (Evasion + Analysis).** He couldn't stay pinned. The cannon tracked, chewing through the tank's flank. He sprinted to the next cover – a stack of reinforced crates – as slugs chased his heels.
*Exploit the elevation limit.* The dais was only half a meter high. Kael grabbed a heavy piece of fallen pipe. He waited for the cannon's firing cycle to pause, then burst from cover, sprinting *low* and fast, not directly at the drone, but on a tangent. The cannon tracked, but couldn't depress enough to hit him as he closed the distance near the dais base.
**SHOCK FIELD ACTIVATING!** The drone pulsed with blue energy. Kael felt his hair stand on end. **WARNING: PROXIMITY TO ENERGY FIELD. CONTACT WILL RESULT IN STUN/TERMINAL NEURAL DAMAGE.**
He didn't stop. He jammed the pipe into the gap between the dais and the floor, right under the drone, leveraging it with all his Strength (10). **STR CHECK: SUCCESS!** The Sentinel lurched, one leg slipping off the edge. Its cannon fired wildly into the ceiling as it struggled for balance. Kael scrambled up the side of the dais, avoiding the shimmering shock field.
The optical sensor was right there, glowing malevolently. Kael swung his cudgel with every ounce of force. **CRITICAL STRIKE ON VULNERABILITY!** The reinforced polymer lens shattered. The red light died. The Sentinel staggered blindly.
**SECONDARY SYSTEM ACTIVATED: STUN NET PROJECTOR.** A weighted net shot from its rear, spreading wide. Kael, anticipating the blind shot, threw himself flat. The net passed overhead, tangling harmlessly on pipes.
The Sentinel was blind and disoriented, but still dangerous, its shock field flickering erratically. Kael spotted the power conduit at the base of one leg joint, exposed by its stumble. He grabbed a sharp piece of shrapnel. Timing the flickers of the shock field, he lunged, driving the shrapnel deep into the conduit. Sparks erupted. The Sentinel shuddered violently, the rhythmic thrumming stuttering into a dying whine. It collapsed, limbs twitching, then fell still.
**COMBAT RESULT: VICTORY!**
**ENERGY EXPENDED: 67**
**EXP GAINED: 150**
**LEVEL: 6 → 7 (285/700 → 7: 285/800!)**
**NEW UNALLOCATED POINTS: 5.**
**GRADE 2 PROGRESS: 46% (Level 7/15).**
Kael sagged against the dais, breathing hard. **ENERGY: 25/105.** He'd done it. Neutralized a machine. The vault door beckoned. He approached, finding it sealed with a complex electronic lock far beyond his skill. **ANALYSIS: TIER-3 CRYPTO-SEAL. REQUIRES SPECIALIZED TOOLS OR ABILITY.**
Frustration warred with fatigue. Then, his **Energy Sense** flared – not from the vault, but from the entrance. Multiple signatures. Fast approaching. Aggressive. Bio-electric fields sharp with intent. Four, maybe five. And one... brighter, hotter. A wielder of power.
"Found the rat's nest," a rough voice echoed from the chamber entrance. Figures fanned out, weapons drawn. Leading them was a woman with eyes that glowed faintly amber, heat shimmering around her clenched fists. A fire-wielder. Grade 1, at least.
**THREAT ASSESSMENT: CRITICAL.**
**- GRUNTS x4: LOW-MODERATE (EST EXP 30 EACH).**
**- FIRE-WIELDER LEADER: HIGH (EST EXP 100+).**
**TOTAL ESTIMATED EXP: 220+**
**ENERGY RESERVES: 25/105. ADVANCED ANALYSIS: 3 ENG/min.**
**RECOMMENDATION: IMMEDIATE EVASION. SURVIVAL PROBABILITY: 17%.**
Kael was trapped. The vault was sealed. The only exit was blocked. The Crucible had given him power, but now it demanded the ultimate price: fight near-empty against overwhelming odds, or die.
The fire-wielding leader smirked, a small flame dancing on her palm. "Heard you were hunting, gutter rat. Turns out, *you're* the bounty."
Kael James, Level 7, battered, Energy draining by the second, gripped his cudgel. The War God's Crucible flared coldly in his mind. **OBJECTIVE UPDATE: SURVIVE.** The path to Grade 2, to answers, led straight through fire. He bared his teeth in a grimace that wasn't a smile. The hunt was over. Now, it was war.
**<<< STATUS SNAPSHOT >>>**
**HOST:** Kael James
**LEVEL:** 7
**EXP:** 285/800
**ENG:** 25/105 *(Draining)*
**GRADE 2 PROGRESS:** 46%
**POINTS:** 5 (Unallocated)
**SKILLS:** Energy Sense (Lv.1)
**ABILITIES:** NONE MANIFESTED
**OBJECTIVE:** SURVIVE.