Ryan held the Faded Precursor Emblem in his hand. It was small, round, the symbol on it was so worn down it was mostly just a hopeful smudge.
"Okay, Mr. Smudge," Ryan said to the emblem. "My fancy new Lore Scanner, powered by that other broken tablet piece, what do you make of this?"
He focused, and his Interface, which was getting quite good at this whole 'ancient mystery' thing, lit up.
Scanning Object: Faded Precursor Emblem [LORE FRAGMENT]
Cross-referencing with Corrupted Data Fragment [Precursor Lore]…...Partial Match Found!
Emblem Possibly Linked to: Submerged Precursor Waystation – Bio-Archive Sector 7.
System Note: Looks like this little doodad might be a library card for a very old, very underwater library! Or maybe a locker key. Precursors were notoriously bad at labeling things clearly.
"A Submerged Precursor Waystation? Bio-Archive Sector 7?" Ryan's eyebrows shot up. That sounded important. And probably very wet. He wasn't sure if his new Cloak of Shifting Umbra was waterproof. Probably not.
Before he started planning his underwater adventure, he remembered the Anomaly corpses still littering the fissure.
He hadn't fully extracted from them yet, just the initial big stuff. Waste not, want not, especially when "not wanting" meant missing out on free stat points.
He went back to the remains of the massive Rage Boar.
"Alright," he murmured, activating his SSS-Tier system. "Anything else for the road?"
Target: Rage Boar Corpse [Level 2, Depleted]
Initiating Focused Extraction: Physical Essence.
Extraction Complete!
Acquired: Agility Essence +2 Permanent Agility!
His Agility jumped to 27. Nice! Boars weren't known for being graceful, but this one must have had some hidden ballerina genes.
Next, the shadowy Grove Stalker.
Target: Grove Stalker Corpse [Level 2, Depleted]
Initiating Focused Extraction: Vital Essence.
Extraction Complete!
Acquired: Vitality +1 Permanent Vitality!
His Vitality was now 26. Every little bit helped him not feel like a bruised tomato after a fight.
And finally, the twitchy Distortion Hound.
Target: Distortion Hound Corpse [Level 2, Depleted]
Initiating Focused Extraction: Spiritual Essence.
Extraction Complete!
Acquired: Spirit Essence +1 Permanent Spirit!
Spirit up to 39. He was feeling mentally tougher by the minute!
He wasn't done yet. He remembered the poor souls who had been killed by the Rage Boar before he got there. He'd already extracted their base essences and any obvious Aptitude fragments.
But what about the one who had been dragged into the fissure? Markos "Rhino" Cole, the Level 2 player. His body was nearby, in that pile of bones near where the Dark Echo Node had been.
It still felt ghoulish, but Ryan reminded himself: knowledge, survival. He approached respectfully.
Target: Deceased Code-Bearer [Markos "Rhino" Cole, Residual Signature]
Previous Extraction: Muscle Fiber Density [E-Tier Talent Fragment].
Further Potential Detected: Combat Style Echo.
Initiating Extraction: Combat Style Echo.
Extraction Complete!
Acquired: Charge Attack [D-Tier Talent Fragment – Kinetic Focus]!
System Note: You've snagged the basic 'oomph' of this fellow's signature move! It's not a full skill yet, more like the muscle memory for a really determined headbutt. Might help you open stubborn doors. Or, you know, charge at things.
Ryan felt a brief jolt of aggressive energy, the phantom sensation of wanting to lower his head and just run at something very hard.
It faded quickly, but the understanding of a "Charge Attack" and how to put all your momentum into a powerful forward strike settled into his mind. Another tool for the toolbox!
He also noticed some of Markos's equipment scattered nearby, scorched and broken. He focused on a piece of what looked like a singed leather chest guard.
Target: Scorched Armor Fragment [Novice Gear]
Initiating Extraction: Residual Energy.
Extraction Complete!
Acquired: Minor Fire Resistance [E-Tier Talent Fragment]!
System Note: Your body now has a slightly better understanding of "ouch, fire hot!" It won't let you swim in lava, but you might not yelp quite as loudly if you spill your hot space-cocoa. Existing resistances improved.
He didn't feel a new talent form, but his general resilience to heat felt a tiny bit better.
It was like his internal thermostat had been upgraded from "cheap motel" to "slightly less cheap motel."
Ryan took a mental inventory of his new and improved self.
He had temporary strength boosts from "Kinetic Residue Absorption".
He had "Hyper-Awareness" [D-Tier] for his Agility-related senses.
He now had "Mental Fortitude" [B-Tier fragment] backing up his Intellect.
And his Vitality was supported by "Muscle Fiber Density" [E-Tier] and "Pain Resistance" [F-Tier].
He wasn't exactly a superhero team all by himself, but he was definitely becoming a well-rounded "Elite Human."
He finally climbed out of the dark, smelly fissure, blinking in the brighter light of the desecrated grove. He noticed something interesting.
The oppressive, heavy feeling in the air, that "wrong" energy, was much weaker now. The local area felt cleaner. Calmer.
Destroying that Dark Echo Node had apparently done more than just stop a few monsters; it had actually helped purify the immediate surroundings a little. That "God Purifier" title wasn't just for show, it seemed.
He checked the CommNet for Outpost #7. It was abuzz.
People were talking about the "Dark Echo event," as they were now calling the wave of Frenzied Anomalies that had apparently popped up in a few places [though his little four-monster party seemed to have been the main event].
Some were attributing the sudden calming of the chaotic energy in certain areas to "god stabilization" or "the system rebalancing itself."
Emma "Sage" Thorne, the B-Tier with Tactical Insight, sent him a private message.
Emma_Sage_Thorne_PM: Ryan, that was you in the Southern Fissure, wasn't it? The energy signature shift was… significant. And it coincided with your Anomaly hunt reports. Just wanted to say, if it was you… impressive work. And thank you.
Ryan smiled. It was nice to be appreciated, even if he wasn't going to broadcast exactly how he'd done it.
He sent back a vague but polite, "Just trying to help keep the neighborhood safe. Glad things are calmer."
Now, about that Submerged Precursor Waystation. The Faded Precursor Emblem was his clue.
His Neural Symbiote Map [from the Prime Genesis Cache, which still felt like a dream] didn't show anything specific called a "Waystation," but the emblem's link to "Bio-Archive Sector 7" and the word "Submerged" gave him an idea.
There was a large, mist-shrouded swamp marked on the edge of his map, an area most people avoided because it was rumored to be full of… well, swamp things. And probably very bad smells.
"If I were a secret underwater Precursor library," Ryan mused, "I'd probably hide myself in a big, gloomy swamp where nobody wants to go."
It was a long shot, but it was the best lead he had.
He took one last look at the now slightly-less-desecrated grove, then turned and headed towards the mists of the swamp, his new collection of talents, stats, and mysterious Precursor junk clanking metaphorically in his pockets. Adventure, it seemed, was about to get a whole lot soggier.