[Setting: Copper Mill Central Office, Evening]
The smoke cleared, leaving the office smelling of chemicals and scorched metal. The silence that followed Ana's escape was heavy, thick with the weight of her betrayal. Lara stood rigid, staring at the empty space where her father's friend—her trusted guardian—had just been. The raw shock was overwhelming, threatening to derail her focus.
Leo gently placed his hand on her shoulder, the warmth grounding her. "Lara. We have to move. The explosion and the gas—Trinity will send the heavy response team now."
Lara flinched, not at the touch, but at the stark reality of his words. She forced a deep, stabilizing breath. "She's sick, Leo. She thinks the Divine Source is the cure. My father—she believed in him, but not in his warning. She thinks he was wrong to destroy the key."
"She's a fanatic now, Lara. And she's Konstantin's pawn. Sick or not, she just stole the ATLAS fragment—the final navigational guide to Kitezh. We can't let her run." Leo's voice was firm, prioritizing the mission.
Lara nodded, her eyes hardening, the grief momentarily compartmentalized into pure, cold resolve. "The map she left... it highlights the Ancient Archive deep within the Geo-Thermal Valley. It's the next logical step—it must hold the final piece needed to enter the city: the Cosmic Ring or another key artifact."
Leo quickly pulled the salvaged radio from one of the neutralized guards and tuned into the Trinity frequency. His Mind (18) was already translating the scrambled military chatter.
"They're mobilizing. They've sealed the main exits and they know we're heading toward the valley floor. They're sending a Fireteam to intercept at the main gorge leading out of the mill."
Leo checked his current standing. The recent massive combat encounters had pushed him over the threshold again.
[Host Level Up! Level 18 Reached!]
[New Attribute Points Available: 3]
They were about to fight a full Trinity Fireteam—highly trained, heavily armed, and expecting them. Leo needed to boost his defensive capability and refine his stealth to move through the thick jungle of the valley.
[Attribute Allocation Log]
* +2 Points to Dexterity. Rationale: Maximizing speed, silent movement, and reaction time for infiltration and evasion.
* New Dexterity: 20 (MAXED)
* +1 Point to Stamina. Rationale: Boosting passive defense and resistance against Tier 3 hostile effects (fire, gas, concussion).
* New Stamina: 18
[Attribute Allocation Complete! New Base Stats: Strength 18, Dexterity 20 (MAXED), Stamina 18, Mind 18]
[Skill Points Available: 1]
Leo had reached maximum Dexterity, granting him a permanent passive bonus: 'Ghost Movement' (Near-silent traversal in any environment). He immediately spent his final point to reinforce their tactical edge.
[Skill Point Allocated to HUNTER Tree!]
* Tier 3 Executioner (Stealth Takedown Chain): (Allows Leo to chain multiple, rapid, silent takedowns against adjacent Tier 3 enemies, provided the first kill is initiated from stealth.) Rationale: Essential for clearing clustered patrols without raising a full alert.
"We're going to hit them before they hit us," Leo stated, feeling the surge of his refined abilities. "We use the ravine walls and the valley growth for cover. I'll use the Executioner skill to silently neutralize the flanking unit. You take the primary squad leader."
[Setting: The Gorge Leading to the Geo-Thermal Valley]
They approached the gorge, a narrow, treacherous path bordered by dense, pine-and-rock walls. The Trinity Fireteam—six men total—was setting up a barricade, their heavy weapons pointing directly toward the mill.
Leo activated his Recon Sense. The team was split: three men on the main barricade, and three men flanking high on the left gorge wall.
"Lara, three right, three left. The left team is isolated. I'm going high," Leo whispered, his newly acquired Ghost Movement making his ascent entirely silent.
Leo moved up the gorge wall like a phantom, his Dexterity 20 allowing him to scale the slick rock face with impossible speed and silence. He dropped down directly behind the three flanking Trinity guards.
He initiated the attack. The first guard never saw him. Leo wrapped his arm around the man's neck, snapping it in a rapid, practiced motion. As the first body slumped, Leo pivoted instantly, using the man's momentum to block the line of sight to the second guard.
He launched the Pry Axe in a short, powerful throw, embedding the blade deep into the second guard's unarmored throat.
The third guard reacted instantly, swinging his assault rifle. Leo, moving faster than the guard could register, used the prone body of the first guard as a launch point, delivering a devastating kick that shattered the third guard's jaw and knocked him unconscious.
[Action: Stealth Takedown Chain (3x Trinity Guards)]
Tier 3 Executioner Skill Activated! Success!
[EXP Gained: +1500!]
The silent carnage was complete in under four seconds. The three guards on the barricade had heard nothing over the ambient mill noise.
Lara was ready. She fired a single, highly stabilized Explosive Arrow from her position, targeting the barricade's weak point—a stack of highly flammable fuel drums.
KA-BOOM!
The resulting explosion was massive, ripping through the barricade and throwing the two remaining guards clear. The Fireteam Leader, however, shielded by a concrete slab, survived the blast and opened fire on Lara's position.
"He's mine, Lara!" Leo yelled, already moving down the gorge wall to join the fight.
Lara engaged the remaining guard with disciplined bursts of fire, forcing him to take cover.
Leo sprinted toward the Fireteam Leader, dodging the heavy suppressive fire. He ran straight into the line of sight, forcing the enemy to engage him.
The Trinity Leader, a powerful, hulking figure, dropped his rifle and drew a massive tactical knife, anticipating a melee fight.
Leo met the challenge head-on. With his Strength (18) and Dexterity (20), Leo was now a blur of calculated power. He blocked the leader's first savage swipe with his Pry Axe, then used the momentum to pivot, leveraging his full body weight into a bone-crushing kick to the enemy's armored side..
The Trinity Leader roared in pain and surprise. Leo followed up by slamming the blunt end of his Pry Axe into the side of the enemy's helmet, delivering a powerful concussion strike. The leader dropped, unconscious.
[Trinity Fireteam Leader Neutralized!] - +600 EXP
[Tier 3 Melee Dominance Achieved!]
The gorge was silent again. The road to the Archive was clear.
Lara ran to Leo, her relief visible, quickly checking him for new injuries. "You move too fast. You scare me, Leo."
"It's the new model," Leo joked, leaning on his axe, breathing heavily. "Silent and deadly. Let's move. We take their gear, we follow the map, and we find the Archive."
They quickly salvaged the high-grade components, bypassing the barricade. Ahead of them, the vast, green Geo-Thermal Valley opened up—a dense jungle of ancient ruins, hidden paths, and the deep, dark shadow of the Ancient Archive, their final destination before Kitezh.
Chapter End.