The Hunter-Seeker drone hovered fifty feet above the canopy, its red ocular lens spinning as it locked onto our heat signatures.
[Threat Analysis: LIRI Mark IV Drone]
Armor: Reinforced Composite
Armament: Twin Neuro-Dart Turrets
Weak Point: Cooling Vent (Underbelly)
"Tory, it's locking on!" Shelton screamed, diving behind a fallen cypress.
The drone's turrets whirred.
Thump-thump-thump!
Three silver needles hissed through the air. In the old days, we would have been hit. But now, the System's red 'Danger Lines' projected the trajectory onto the mud.
"Left! Now!" I commanded.
Ben moved with me. Because of the [Pack-Link], his reaction time was synced to mine. We moved like two halves of the same brain. The darts buried themselves harmlessly into the tree bark behind us.
[Pack-Link Sync: 15%... 20%...]
[Buff Active: 'Twin Instinct' ... +10% Movement Speed when within 5 meters of a Pack Member.]
"I can't hit it from here!" Ben growled, looking at the drone. "It's too high!"
"I'll give you a boost," I said. My mind was racing. If I used my new Agility, I could bridge the gap. "Ben, when I say 'Go', you jump. Don't think, just move."
[Energy: 8/50]
[Warning: Energy Low. Consuming 'Caloric Reserves'...]
My stomach cramped with hunger again, but I ignored it. I slammed my hands together, interlacing my fingers to create a step.
"GO!"
Ben slammed his boot into my palms. I threw him upward with every ounce of my [Strength: 14].
[Skill Triggered: Apex Toss!]
[Ben Blue velocity increased by 40%.]
Ben soared through the air like a cannonball. He didn't just reach the drone; he overshot it. He grabbed the landing skids, his weight jerking the machine downward.
"Gotcha, you overgrown toaster!" Ben roared.
The drone began to spin wildly, its thrusters screaming as it tried to compensate for the 180-pound teenager hanging from its belly.
[Objective: Neutralize the Hunter-Seeker (0/1)]
"Ben, the vent! Under the lens!" I yelled.
Ben didn't hesitate. He pulled back a fist and punched. Thanks to the [Guardian] status the System had granted him, his knuckles were reinforced with a faint, silvery shimmer.
CRACK.
The composite plating shattered. Sparks showered Ben's face as he ripped out a handful of glowing fiber-optic cables.
The drone's red eye went dark.
[Target Neutralized!]
[Exp Gained: 150 (Shared)]
[Level Up! Ben Blue (Level 0 -> Level 1)]
The machine plummeted.
"Ben!" I lunged forward, catching him just as he tumbled from the wreckage into the mud. We rolled through the dirt, coming to a stop as the drone exploded in a small, pathetic puff of electrical smoke.
[Quest 'The Den' Progress: 1/3 Members Escorted.]
[Reward Unlocked: Skill Tree access.]
"Did... did we just kill a robot?" Hi asked, peeking out from behind a bush.
"We 'neutralized' it," Ben corrected, standing up and dusting off his jeans. He looked at his hands, then at me. "Tory, I felt it. When I hit that thing... it was like my hand was made of iron."
"That's the System, Ben," I said, checking my own notifications.
[New Skill Available for Purchase: 'Pack Camouflage' or 'Alpha Roar'?]
I looked at the dark forest around us. LIRI wouldn't just send one drone. They'd send a whole swarm. We were still miles from safety, and the 'Caloric Hunger' was making my vision blur.
"We need food," I said, my teeth feeling sharper in my mouth. "And we need a place to hide. Now."
[Warning: High-Level Signature detected within 1km.]
[Identity: 'The Tracker'.]
My heart skipped a beat. 'The Tracker' wasn't a drone. It was a name we'd heard whispered in the LIRI labs. A specialist. A human-hybrid like us, but one who had been 'perfected' years ago.
"The tutorial is definitely over," I whispered.